# Elite Dangerous **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [December 17, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501 "2014-12-17T16:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/361 "2016-09-24T20:11:05Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > If you can afford it, replace those medium lasers with turrets. I can’t help thinking that turrets are cheating, especially as the big weapons… ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/362 "2016-09-24T21:50:44Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > I would like some advice from the more experienced players here. > > I’m currently tooling around in [This](https://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk_iii/2pctcFblddbsdf41a1a1111010m0303466e242h.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Cat%27s%20Claw), a somewhat upgraded Cobra 3. I’ve been thinking of doing some more bounty huntery type stuff though, and was wondering if upgrading to a Viper 4, and then spending some cash on it, would help with the whole staying alive thing. > > I’ve only just put the new shields in, upgraded from stock, so I’m quite hopeful that that’s going to help anyway. The Viper mk. IV is a sidegrade to the Cobra mk. III, not an upgrade. It’s a sidegrade in the tankier direction, for sure, but it’s handling is much slower and stodgier than the Cobra. You’d be disappointed in it without engineer upgrades. Here’s my opinion about your Cobra spec: Ditch the electronic countermeasures for A-rated shield boosters. A-rate your shields, thrusters, power plant, power distibutor, and FSD. Replace the docking computer and inerdictor with HRPs. Use multi-cannons in your medium hard points. [In summary](https://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk_iii/2pataFalddasdf427271111040m03034527272f.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Cat%27s%20Claw). Those B- and C-rated modules are doing you no favors. Bi-weave shields would suit this build well, also. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/363 "2016-09-24T22:20:04Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > I can’t help thinking that turrets are cheating, especially as the big weapons… Your opponents will not have that problem. 😉 If you still insist on eschewing turrets, get gimbals instead. Still need to face your target but not directly at them. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/364 "2016-09-25T08:14:06Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > T > > Here’s my opinion about your Cobra spec: > Ditch the electronic countermeasures for A-rated shield boosters. A-rate your shields, thrusters, power plant, power distibutor, and FSD. Yeah, been building up to that throughout, expensive to do though, I don’t have anywhere near the capital. A rating everything is an obvious target for whatever ship. I actually use the interdictor a fair bit for stuff, but I’ll look at the HRP for the docking computer (which I only have because lazy). I might also have to get over my aversion to turret/gimballs 😃 I spent a bit of time putting all this stuff into [Inara](http://inara.cz/cmdr/40050), but it remains to be seen how often I can be bothered to update it - the netlog thing is a good thing to have. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/365 "2016-09-25T17:09:25Z")
For fast, maneuverable ships (such as the Cobra Mk. III), I never use turrets, myself. But if you use a mix of lasers and multi-cannons, which works well, it helps for one pair or both pairs to be gimballed, unless you are very, very good. In DPS terms, fixed \> gimballed \> turreted, but the most important feature is how much you can keep the weapon on target, which depends on skill, maneuverability of the ship, and the quality of thrusters and whether they’re engineered or not with Dirty Drives. For fast ships, fixed can be great as your piloting skills improve. I use turrets on my Anaconda, Corvette, and Python. Of course the disadvantage to gimballed and turreted weapons is that a lot of NPCs spam chaff which throws them off. That’s one of the reasons I use fixed, for lasers at least, and gimballed for multicannons, and also because kinetic weapons have a different targeting solution than lasers. ETA: Anyway, you’ll get more bang for your credits by A-rating the Cobra Mk. III than by moving to a Viper Mk. IV, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/366 "2016-09-25T17:45:51Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > Yeah, been building up to that throughout, expensive to do though, I don’t have anywhere near the capital. A rating everything is an obvious target for whatever ship. I should say, I thought maybe your B-rated modules were to make your build tankier. B-rated modules are heavier but also have higher integrity than A-rated. A fun thing to do is take a ship that’s good for ramming (like the Orca, Clipper, or one of the Federal ships, especially the FAS), and load it up with B-rated modules and HRPs to maximize ship mass and integrity, then smack it into your enemy. This can be remarkably effective. But probably not with the Cobra, for which survivability depends to large extent on its agility. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/367 "2016-09-29T15:43:40Z")
Guess I’ll be around sooner. Completed the main quest line in FO4 allied with the Railroad and taking a break before doing anything else with it. I have two other active characters, one for finishing the game with BoS and one for the Minutemen, but they’re on hold. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/368 "2016-09-30T03:08:24Z")
Updated to the current version and copied the necessary xml settings. Ready to go when the mood strikes. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/369 "2016-09-30T04:28:02Z")
Been out of it for a long while. Just reloading and seeing whats what. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/370 "2016-10-02T02:57:11Z")
Let’s see if the folks in Aditi still like me enough to give good missions… ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/371 "2016-10-02T04:55:33Z")
Try Quince as well if it’s on lockdown. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/372 "2016-10-02T08:10:29Z")
After a week or so, my [Cobra III](https://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk_iii/2pataFbladasdf427271212040m0303466e272f.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Cat%27s%20Claw) is nearly fully updated, with just the just from B to A FSD needed. Once I’ve got that, I’m going to be reconfiguring for a long distance journey out to get Meta Alloys in the Pleiades, which’ll mean putting in a fuel scoop and, likely, moving to Closed Play. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/373 "2016-10-02T14:46:58Z")
No need to go Closed. Join Mobius! Send a request to Mobius to join his private group. We got so large that Frontier had to split us between hemispheres! Those on your side of the pond are in just plain Mobius, over here are in Mobius PVE. We have [a Facebook presence](https://www.facebook.com/groups/699011180175023/?fref=nf) as well. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/374 "2016-10-02T20:51:20Z")
Seconded: join Mobius PVE. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/375 "2016-10-03T18:42:35Z")
I might look around for a “guild” later when I start getting interested in the politics and powerplays and such. At the moment, I’m just bumming around, so I shouldn’t really go into Open at all, there’s no advantage to it whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/376 "2016-10-03T19:50:58Z")
Mobius has a guild but joining them is not a requirement for participating in either private group. All ya gotta do is not intentionally fire on another live commander. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/377 "2016-10-03T20:06:18Z")
IOW, it’s the same as playing Closed but with the chance of encountering other players, virtually all of whom\* will do one of three things:[ul]ignore you. [li]say hi/salute (o7).even the odds during a dogfight (may include offering to wing up).[/ul][/li] \*Gankers sometimes infiltrate the groups but they’re quickly found and booted. Pretty sure the most active of them have gone back to Eve. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/378 "2016-10-10T19:05:26Z")
Just earned Elite Trader. Woo-hoo! Also, just passed 2 billion CR in assets. o.O ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/379 "2016-10-16T09:03:31Z")
Well, I joined Mobius, and mostly stay in there now, and occasionally see people. I’ve got an Asp now as well as the Cobra, and am just tooling around thinking of engineering stuff ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501/380 "2016-10-22T14:25:47Z")
2.2/1.7 to be released 25th October. I had some fun with the fighters in Beta but I’m still not 100% sure if I’m sharp enough to use them in the real game where I actually care what happens to my ship. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elite-dangerous/707501.md?page=20)