Did I bite of more than I can chew?

[TorTorden]

Which might not be that far away......

I have to wonder what ship is tempting you? Does it come with a fully stocked bar ?

I know mine does, and a casino\brothel..

[clivewil]

Would a Vulture also be suitable for mission running and trading?

i'd have to say yes for mission running, especially smuggling missions because that's exactly what i'm doing with mine right now. in fact it is unbeatable in this regard when doing a fast entry into a station to beat a scan.

obviously no for trading, it just doesn't have the legs or the capacity

my current Vulture only has 20t of cargo space but i could run 3 smuggling missions simultaneously, and with only a 'B' power distributor i could still boost more than enough to evade any cops or military who interdict me - but most importantly, it could kill any interdicting pirates, you know the ones... e.g. a Dangerous Python spouting "i came a long way for what's in your hold, don't try to run!" - in my Cobra i had to run from him but in the Vulture i could just turn around and smash his fucking face in

after only minimal upgrades* i took it into a HI-RES and figured i'd be leaving soon in pieces, but it dispatched Deadly and Dangerous enemies just as easily as my old A-grade Vultures did - Clippers, Dropships and Pythons, plus the usual gamut of smaller stuff, all without losing shields once

imo i say postpone trading, buy a Vulture. start trading later when your Vulture has earned you enough cash to buy a decent trading ship AND still keep your Vulture for fighting/scavenging/smuggling. imo taking an Asp into a hard fight is just too risky, they seem to have a big red target painted on them that's impossible to miss


* D shield with 2x A0 boosters, D thrusters, B power distibutor, 2x cl. 3 gimbal pulse lasers, 16t + 4t cargo bays, B frameshift drive, A1 fuel scoop and basic discovery scanner - very low-spec and quite cheap, but it performed like a champ and earned me plenty of cash to upgrade it further in just a few hours in the RES

[Schmobius]

Having just gone from an Asp to a Python in the last couple days, I have spent a lot of time in the Asp.

I would say that it makes a decent armored car as trading goes. I moved my shield from class 5 to a class 3 slot, loaded in 96 cargo, three hull reinforcement, and a military hull, and had 6 beam lasers. My Asp technically still has slightly more armor than my Python (like 20 or so) for the moment, even with some hull reinforcement in the Python. Python of course has WAY more shields.

So I've been blown up 3 times in the Asp, tangling with an Imperial Clipper, Anaconda (what was I thinking?) and a Python who had 2 or three fighters with him. Other than that though, it does very well for dealing with pirates or NPC thugs from other powerplay factions, and keeping your cargo safe. It's also fast enough to run away from NPCs when you let them interdict you, and realize there are too many of them, not just the one who was taunting you.

So upgrading thrusters is a must in the Asp, as it sounds like a B-52 giving birth when you try to turn with stock thrusters. I'd also strongly recommend upgrading the powerplant, FSD, and power distributor to give you good jump range, decent heat management, and weapons capacity for those 6 hardpoints. (My Asp has a ~20ly jump range, even with military hull and 3 reinforcements.) The price tag was somewhere around 21 million for the Asp and all the upgrades to make it a solid ship.

I sold my previous ships, even though I had a strange affection for the Adder (not sure why, after being on the other side of one in combat...), and a very solid Cobra, but despite how it would REALLY help with upgrade money for the Python, I couldn't sell my Asp. I may grow to miss the visibility in the turret-bubble cockpit too.

[Falcon_D]

One thing I've learned for this discussion thread, is that choosing a ship is a really personal choice.

There is no right or wrong.

I've recently upgraded my Asp to A power plant, B thrusters, A shields, 2 A shield boosters. And now when I go into low CZs my shields don't really come down even against a Conda. Once they get to the final ring, I just use one of my SCBs. I make at least about 500k before I have to leave due to time constraints. Else about 1mil, then I get tired and bug out. I've taken it out to do trading and made some money, not as much as in CZs.

However, I do not really like flying my Asp. I feels like I'm flying a 2 story apartment building. It's just a means to an end, the end being the Python. Right now I'm contemplating getting a Imp Courier for fighting and a Type-7 for trading, instead of just relying on just one ship. Till I get enough money for a Python.

Thank you very much for your replies Commanders.

[TD Bauer]

Love my ASP. I recently got it upgraded to max with a couple shield boosters and a SCB to boot. I can take pretty much anything PVE with it when targeting the powerplant on enemy ships. Anacondas can be tricky depending on their load out, but doable if one on one.

I don't do much in the way of trading in it, mostly smuggling missions where I will have anywhere from 3-5 missions at a time while bouncing around various systems. I also take it into the high intensity resource zones and blast pirates with it. Nothing fancy for weapons, just two gimbal beam lasers (small), two multi-cannons also on gimbals (small), and multi-cannons gimbals (medium). I use the laser to peel away shields and then once they are down I open up with everything and watch my foes shred.

5A thrusters are a must have in the ASP.

It took a little time to get used to flying the thing, but I simply love it. I know it is a ship I will never sell.