My Krait seat needs replacing after a long drawn out fight due to its massively destructive Three large plasmas and two Imperial Hammer load out melting it. I love the Krait.
If my cockpit is anything like my drivers seat in my car, it's filled with coffee cups, crumbs, and more charging cables than anyone could possible use.
The Viper, to me, always felt like a police cruiser. I even named mine "Interceptor". You know the "police officer went rogue because he got tired of bureaucracy slowing down his delivery of justice" stereotype? That guy, in the Elite universe, is flying an engineered Viper.
Pretty sure in the first Mad Max movie, the type of car he drove was called an Interceptor. idk if that's what you were inspired by but there are a lot of parallels there and it's very fitting.
In the original Elite, the Viper was the game's Finger Of God that would smite you for doing something incredibly stupid, like say, attacking the stations. These things would launch as soon as you opened fire and a pack of them would cut you apart in seconds if you didn't skedaddle right quick.
You are correct about choosing to fly a viper as opposed to having to; but it’s more than a choice of ships. Choosing to fly the viper is about taking the harder road earlier to learn things that can only be learned from the experience of doing it the hard way first.
You have to keep in mind, when you're flying a viper you're probably going to be forgoing things like flight computers and docking computers so you can have the weapons, warrant scanners, shields, and wake scanners that are imperative to a combat ship. Therefore you're going to have to learn how to land and fly without all of the fancy equipment which is a right of passage for new players graduating from easier ships like the sidewinder and becoming proper commanders.
I chose the Viper for a purpose. ... That purpose was building it into a half-baked Gradius homage. My Vic Viper was never very good, and I need to come back to it.
I still have my viper and I can tell everyone right now it's one of the most pleasant experiences taking it into combat and actually doing well, Up until the point where boost a little too much and end up as viper tomatoe paste on the side of someone's shield or a chunky asteroid.
I took my iCourier out to a res site the other day, picked out an Anaconda with a nice-sized bounty on it, moved to intercept and opened up with my weapons...and then it boosted right into me as I tried to slide over its bow, and I died instantly. That was not a proud moment for me.
Its so fast 🤣🤣🤣i d rated almost 80% stripped and lightwaited it to shits and im lmao just zooming in and out of range barely getting hit because everything else is so slow 🤣🤣🤣
I am really new, but the Viper is my favorite combat ship right now. I'm falling in love with my Chieftain for it's maneuverability, but damn I have gotten use to how my Viper handles and love have to pick fights intelligently or get smashed.
Recently found a wing of two deadly Vipers with my Vulture and picked a fight with them thinking easy pickings. I could barely get a shot off at them and they picked at me incessantly between them. I ended up high tailing it and limping back to starport with my hull at 50% integrity and my pride at half that. ;)
I was mining in my cutter one day and got jumped by a trio of vipers. I open fire on them and proceeded to get my butt handed to me over the course of about 10 minutes. I managed to get one of the sneaky little dudes, but they had no problem out turning me and just pelting me incessantly. I finally decided enough is enough and low waked back to the nearest station to lick my wounds. Not a high point in my career, but I did learn a valuable lesson. Cutters suck at turning.
Yeah, those things turn like nobody's business. My vulture could just about barely keep up with one, but while chasing one around struggling to line up shots the other would just pelt at me incessantly until my shields buckled. Then I'd have to go full evasive while they recovered. Every cycle I was a little more damaged and I could barely touch those bastards. Gained a newfound respect for the Viper, especially in a wing. 😛 My usual strategy is to start with all pips to weapons and switch to sys when my shields are low, but if I had to do it over, with the Vipers I would start with all pips to engines. The only way to get a hit is to boost constantly. I suspect I spent far too much time with my weapons loaded with nowhere to go. 😅
@@mikicerise6250 Were you using fixed weapons? Even the turreted beams and multicannons on my cutter missed most of the time. And there's simply no way, even FA-off, that I could keep anything lined up on one of them. The most damage I did to one of them by ramming it, which was no easy feat.
@@therealstubot Yep. I use Plasma Accelerators. I don't hit often, but when I hit, I hit hard. I managed to get a few pot shots off at one. The trouble was since the other one would pelt me until my shields were down I'd have to shift power to Sys. Since the Plasma Accelerators are power hungry if I missed one shot, without pips in weapons, I'd have to wait for awhile to get another one. It was a complicated dance.
@@mikicerise6250 Ah extreme hardcore mode. Those PA's are great against a Python or Clipper cause they couldn't out turn you on a bet. The shot delay on those is so messed up, makes hits difficult unless you're like 200m away and essentially fill your canopy. I've been waiting for the 3 sized rail guns for some time. In a vulture, that would be devastating. Of course you'd have to pop a heat sink every shot, but you'd do some damage to make up for it.
When learning combat, I thought when I finally aquired the "be-all-end-all" Anaconda I could fight and beat up anything that I came across. After several finance-ruining Ananconda rebuys ... I chose the Viper
Same, only that instead I went for the Chief. Ho boy do those 3 plasma accels' cook her finely (without engineering thus far want to spend some time in'er first) but I've never seen shields or hulls go down so fast.
@@DarthWall275 yeah,viper could be deadly enough to take on anacondas and corvettes, but it would need a somewhat descent pilot to perform,which im not.
The viper isn't just a go-to for newer combat pilots, but it excels as a budget fighter for high-risk engagements. Its nearly trivial insurance makes it a much more attractive option in high-risk conflict zones, while offering a much more aggressive and durable option over the Eagles, and a more dedicated-for-purpose frame than a Cobra. As someone who mostly runs missions and moonlights as an explorer, I normally only go into combat due to interdictions. For bounty hunting and conflict zones, however, I could easily point to the Viper as a go-to if you aren't an Ace combat pilot. In fact, it's probably the best casual bounty hunting ship for the cost.
Yes, I made the mistake of skipping from the Sidewinder directly to the Cobra. Eventually I will go back and get one just to have all the DeLacy ships.
I've never actually owned a Viper Mk III. My first 'favorite ship' was actually the Mk IV (yes, I know most people hate it). I felt it made a great "armed courier" ship, which really matched my play style at the time.
Having tuned my Viper MK III with enhanced performance thrusters, trimming down the tons and analyzing graphs of performance data to get that perfect balance of speed, defense and lethality for myself, this really speaks to me. Sure I have a fully tuned Corvette, and my Chieftain can run circles around everything but there's really something about hunting in a fully tuned Viper that keeps me coming back.
I come back to watch these sometimes. just stunning videos. I'd love them to release more ships partially just so there were more of these, literally some of the most awesome gaming videos I've seen.
I was confused when you said you don't like the Viper, but I like how you turned it around. And you're right. I did choose this speedy little guy even though I could buy any ship in the galaxy, because it's fun. I have more fun fighting in Vipers and Eagles than I ever have in my Python or Anaconda.
Ah the viper mk3 holds a special place in my heart, I’m on PS4 and had the game since it’s launch, in the years before I couldn’t wait for the game and had a general idea of what ship path I would take; Sidey-viper mk3- python-conda. Actual route post launch: sidey- viper- type 6 (farmed a rare commodity trade route for a week)- bought the python and only bought, took another 3 weeks to get it fully outfitted, in that time, I got the vulture and Asp X, doing community goals and ahem...a side helping of quince (hey most of us did that! Blame Mini, he recommended the place xD) there was a CG in the harma system way back when, my vulture, unengineered, but outfitted well, netted me over 550mil that week, and not only did I outfit the python, I bought the conda (I should mention these ships were bought in a li Yong Rui system for discount) and the python helped me outfit my conda. Main point; the Viper mk3 WAS my first real ship, that opened the door to so much more and my beloved “Ankle Biter” still sees use as an over engineered, space-time bending speed demon killing machine, when I feel like taking it out for a spin for ol’ times sake, because all “milestone” ships deserve to be gone back to and loved. o7
I love that what you said is 100% true, because yes I could go into a haz res and blow everything up in 20 seconds with my conda, but I could also take my viper and make it a challenge which personally I find more enjoyable because it reminds me of the old days when I bought the viper and it was the biggest meanest ship I had, so great video as always :) Also I just noticed the outro is a little bit wrong, it’s saying episode 15: type 10 defender, hope this helps
The Viper has pedigree, going back to the original game where the Viper Police fighters were the game's finger of god that would scramble to instantly murder unruly Commanders, who were dumb enough to open fire on space stations. You did not fight the Vipers, you could not run from them, all you could do was die valiantly.
Ah Viper MK3, my first 'precious' ED ship. In the early days there was no easy money so this was good stepping stone. You either went Viper or Cobra. And the Cobra never sat well with me. But the Viper, the engine sound was worth the asking price on its own. It's specific combat role fit and handling made it a niche that fit like a glove. You either fell in love with it or didn't 'get it'. It's every Maverick's F-14. Sure there's something better. But you'll never have that 'loving feeling' from another ship as you ride at blistering speed into the danger zone!
I went from the sidewinder to the viper as soon as I could. Skipped the Eagle altogether, until later on. Hauler and Adder were skipped as well. Loved the look of the Viper. A rated it up (before I had opened up engineering) and never looked back. Still have the same ship, never lost in battle with it (PVE only). Love my "Wolf Cub".
How surreal, I'm currently in a Viper MkIII :D I agree with everything you say - While the viper is good at combat and going fast, other ships get close or beat it, but they do other things too - although they cost more. But I still find myself drawn to the viper for a disposable combat ship (mostly for story purposes) but it is limited if you want to do anything other than fight.. but then, it's a police car, not a mini-van :D
What’s crazy is how much progression has changed. I was in a viper a long time because you had to spend time in the small ships as your economy of scale really forced you too. And I miss it honestly
Man I still love taking out a well engineered viper. It's so much closer to everything. Big ships will destroy things faster and more easily, but weaving dogfights through asteroid belts in one of these is totally my jam.
I started out my combat career in a Viper. I guess it made more sense to do so before Horizons, engineering, etc. Because it always seemed like the most viable option to me back then. Definitely it made for a lot of fun! Heading into resource extraction sites in a wing with a Cobra and a Diamondback Scout, and taking on ships twice or three times our size
Seriously man ... Fdev should ask you for voice over description in game of all ships from an independent pilot view. None of this " it's just the best ship " or " it's the meta "... Hands down great review again man. o7 Cmdr...
I found the Vulture to just be better than the Viper completely. And even after owning every ship in the game, I still choose to fly the Vulture into combat
The vulture is fun but it takes a lot of effort to get it right. And that lack of power, ugh. Makes her a bad choice out of the gate. Without engineering it's a bit of a struggle.
I flew the viper from when the game first came out until a couple months after the vulture was released, once the price was reduced to its current levels. I got to know that ship really well.
Can't get back into smaller ships I'm to spoiled and after reaching rank dangerous and hardly ever engineering my equipment it's a chore I miss them tho
I have a few fighter builds (iCourier, vulture, and vip3) and I keep trying to put myself in the vip3, but you're totally right, pilot, it's so hard to step down when you've got bigger readily available for use. Great video dude, keep up the awesome work!
the viper mk3 was my first real ship after the sidewinder. I spent so much time bounty hunting in it that my next ship was the asp explorer. The reason I loved it was because of the freedom the speed gave you, there is no better interceptor in its class. Yes, you were out gunned, and even out maneuvered occasionally, but no one catches you, or outruns you. You're absolutely right in that the ships limitations forces you to learn how to manage all aspects of the ship. Do you have any idea how much space stations charge to refurbish leather? I'd rather craft diamonds with my bare hands!
I always fancied doing a federal review type playlist reviewing all the ships, from the perspective of somone from the federation but its clear that youre doing just that, nicely done o7 cmdr
Ouch! Okay...I mean, I get it. I thought I brought justice to the Courier and the Orca, but I guess the Imperial Navy should expand it's roster a bit so it wouldn't just be some many Fed ships. Right?
I started Elite quite a while ago, working my way from Sidey, to Viper, to Asp, to Python, to Anaconda and eventually up to an engineered Corvette. Most of that in a time when money was not thrown at you. However, I never felt like I actually learned how to pilot and it was mostly a matter of throwing stats at the npc enemies, which is a fight you're likely to win when in a Federal Corvette. The last thing I did before I quit was to build myself a Viper. I found a build somewhere online, decided not to think too hard on it and build it, engineering and all and went back into an RES. Most fun I've had in the game since my first month or so. I toy sometimes with the idea of resetting my save, building a Viper, ignoring engineering, and just seeing what I can get myself into. I miss the days of sitting at a Nav Beacon, scavenging a kill on a big wanted Anaconda that got in trouble with security and rushing back to Ackerman Market or the other station (it's been a while :p) full of excitement to buy the next part for my ship :)
The Viper III is my preferred assassination ship. With a rebuy that might as well be 0CR, I can fully commit to the engagement and not worry about waking before I pop.
@@brianpmack agreed. I have all but the cobra mk 4, Mamba and Asp scout. I've been playing since alpha so have a ship for every occasion. I love how versatile the ships are in Elite. I played the original game back in 1986 on an Amstrad.
This is one of those ships that I never flew, but also, for whatever reason, just don't want to. It's not that I don't appreciate a wing of these coming to help take out bounties at a high res, nav beacon, or combat zone, but when I'm out taking care of business, I just prefer to be in something with a bit more kick to it. Maybe I'll buy one to check it out soon, who knows. Anyway, great video man! Can't wait to see what you've got coming out next!
The Viper was my first bounty hunter. I certainly enjoyed how it felt to fly. By now I've moved up to the Fed Gunship, but the Viper is what taught me how to fight. Sure, the power plant and distributor is limited, but it teaches you power management. You can't just hold down the trigger and keep firing forever, you need to make your shots count.
Came back from a major solo expedition out in the black in my AspX with my Explorer Elite rank and fat stacks of exploration cash a few months back. When you're new, the 'Conda seems like the ship to aim for. Now, I finally had the finances for the big boy... ...and decided I actually wasn't interested. I wanted something smaller. I wanted a cockpit that felt as cramped as an F-16. I wanted to pull enough G's to black myself out. I wanted unmatched speed. I wanted a ship that you didn't strap yourself into, but strapped onto your back instead. I finally finished engineering my Viper MkIII, "Diamond Flash", a couple of hours ago. It is everything I was looking for. Stripped down and unarmed, it is uncaged lightning. When finally given the choice to own any ship I wanted...this is the one I chose. And, I've still got plenty of credits left over, in case I ever change my mind about that 'Conda...
Agreed. With the right armor and hull/module reinforcements, the Mk IV is surprisingly tanky. I love flying it, even though my Chieftain is both tougher and has more DPS potential.
I’ve only recently gotten back into flying in Elite Dangerous solo on the PS4 (I bought the game + Horizons this past May, prior to getting an actual HOTAS...which made the learning curve exceedingly difficult on a controller; pro tip, if you’re playing on console, YOU *NEED* A HOTAS, NO IFS OR BUTS). After getting reacquainted with the game, my first purchase was an Eagle after graduating out of my Sidewinder. My Eagle was a good little courier runner and could get itself out of trouble easily enough, but my next step up was the Viper. That was when I discovered bounty hunting. After (accidentally) leaving the starting zone, I put a Kill Warrant Scanner, an FSD Interdictor, and a Wake Scanner on my Viper and did not look back. And I’ve yet to engineer a single bolt on the thing. I’m planning on upgrading to the Fer-De-Lance eventually...but I plan on earning every penny for it by flying my Viper. Sure, I might make more credits mining and trading, but that’s *boring.* Plus, I’d be a sitting duck for whichever would-be pirate lord decides to poke their nose into my business. With the Viper, when a pirate shows up to a rez site, I’m usually not too far behind to educate him on the errors of his chosen profession. Especially if his price tag has six figures on it. I’m taking things slow, obviously, I’m still kinda green, but I’m loving the Viper. It seems to have been purposely built for bounty hunting. For pirate cleansing. For taking out a larger foe without so much as a broken sweat. No wonder every System Security/Defense Force in the Bubble employs this thing by the bucketload. It’s cheap, it’s reliable, it’s fast, and it’s deadly. What more could you want?
Maybe it is an attitude thing. I bought a MkIV to use as a mission runner. Liked it so much I bought the MkIII for bounty hunting. I haven't flown the MkIII yet because there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. You can fly it stock, or you can engineer it. But you can't engineer it in stages. Well, unless maybe you start with the powerplant. I'm sitting at like 140% power consumption. And that's before I turn on the dome light.
Later into the game and Im starting to appreciate these starter ships . This is no exception . Thing is I was spoiled. My first and only small combat ship was the vulture. I held out till I could afford one
It's the speed that makes it great. Being able to move quickly through the resources extraction sites is key to getting more pirates. You can't beat the buyback if it all goes sideways.
Not entirely true at 1:28. The viper is a police interceptor. See the UK's Lightning interceptor. It was blisteringly fast but to do that it lost size to hold much ordnance and combat radar. It was to intercept incoming threats before they got to the valuable assets and impede their process until air superiority jets could be prepped, launched, formed up and sent to intercept. It had to last a short while, but the further out it got an intercept, the better it did its job. The viper is also an interceptor. The problem is that ED isn't a military simulation and we don't have formation assets nor battle plans.
I've noticed a couple ships seem prebaked to a mechanic that doesn't exist. Ships designed to plant themselves in a spot to defend certain areas. Etc. You may be right. Good call.
@@ThePilot_ Well the Viper was the OG Elite. It was not a player ship. So it was only used by stations for local security. Chasing down fleeing suspects (you being a naughty boy in the single player OG Elite) was filled fine. The game kept the ship, despite the fact it was now a player ship. It's the same for a few others, but in two cases they pretty much rewrote the ships entirely. Sidewinder and Asp were both redone, the former by making a long range ship, the latter by handwavium "This is the civilian export version!". Krait was just included as a completely different ship, so really doesn't count. It would have been nice to have this version of Elite as a single player, but a multiplayer tactical MOBA version of Elite would see people take Vipers for interception ahead of Asp owners with their "Main Battle Ship" and the T10 Defender "Flying fortress" with people fighting in that role because they like that style of combat. X2-4 has some fleet mechanics, and so you get M4 interceptors and M3 main fleet fighters and M6 corvettes flying formation with M2 Battleships taking on M2s and M1 carriers with the survivors pounding enemy fighters now the big targets were gone. This game has no way to do that. Which is a bit of a shame.
Agh. I'm very new to the game and although these vids are a bit dated, I find the content a cut above the rest. thanks for what you did as its still relevant today.
And this only made my love for my viper grow. I'm not really good at combat but I do just love my ship. And your right is steam the inside of the ship. She takes care of me I might as well do the same.
I’m also used to my big ships but iv been seriously thinking about getting back in to a vulture for a few week and then engineering it and doing another month to revisit how I used to fight
I used to play Viper all the time, I’ve moved on (still have my Viper for racing now). But now that I fly larger ships it feels like a fighter now haha. Now for fun I did try, a squadron of well trained vipers is terrifying, they can outmaneuver most larger ships in combat
I had a Mk3 that used very little, and then passed to the MK4. Now it's been almost two years from that and I got one, for the fun of it. I built it for pure combat, and like to engage bigger ships in HAZ sites. It requires lot of experience to make it a proficient combat ship.
Viper Mk IV: My favorite ship in the game. Working on engineering mine to the nth degree. About 2/3 there. Strangely, that love does not transfer over to the Mk III.
It’s so true. I should love the viper, but I stick to a Cobra - and I’m not totally sure why. And if I really do feel like a pure combat ship just for a change, the FDL is right there....
I have been eyeing the Viper Mk 3 for a while now. I am still fairly new to Elite but I already have a well outfitted Asp and Diamondback Explorer. I am a multirole pilot hence the Diamondback but I use the Explorer mainly as a long range combat cargo ship, meaning that if that if bandits try to mess with me, then this means war. Lately I am thinking of a ship more combat oriented since I am fighter pilot at heart the Viper Mk 3 seems to fit the bill even though it has less firepower than my Diamondback (which is a beast.) but it is more of a heavy fighter. Regarding what you said about suited for wolf pack combat, I hope to join one one day.
I love my Viper. I eventually replaced it with a DBS, but there's something intoxicating about taking down the biggest nastiest ships in ship that feels like it's held together on a hope and a dream. It's my ship, and there's no other quite like it
I bought Viper as my first real ship and never sold it, it's just so damn good of a ship, I mainly use it for racing because it's so god damn fast, just zipping through canyons with it feels so damn good
I was stuck between this and the imperial eagle for my combat ship, and i went with the viper and dont regret it one bit; in fact its made dogfighting real fun
Thanks for another great video! I'll be heading out on the Perseus Reach Expedition to Semotus Beacon in February in a racing build Viper MkIII. I'm choosing to have fun (in a "space-crazy explorer" definition of fun) ;-)
I also jumped from Sidewinder to Cobra III, but recently picked up a Viper that I'm slowly turning into a racing ship in my spare time. I've never flown it in combat, but the sense of speed is addictive. I think I prefer the Eagle's maneuverability, though.
My current main ship is the Viper mk3. I'm a newbie to this game, but I love bounty hunting in this ship. Of course, I haven't fitted it the most efficient way possible, but I just really like her
I killed things in an Eagle until I had about 5 million credits and then got a Viper Mk3 and fitted it from a build I found online. I LOVE handing out Justice in the form of 4 hardpoints to the enemies of the Federation. The Viper Mk3 pays for it's self and all it's fittings by doing what it does best - Killing shit.
The viper has one thing that just cant be topped. Not by any other ship. The crackle of those engines going from full tilt to full stop or reverse thrust just resonates through my bones like an ls swapped go cart.
I just switched over from an Xbox to PC (with HOTAS) and made my new character, finished the tutorial that isn't included in the Xbox edition and went to a low security RES to scrape enough credits to buy a mining laser and refinery for the ol' sidewinder. Ended up taking out (with the help of the ever vigilant system authority) 300k worth of bounties in ten minutes. The HOTAS is a real game changer! Anyways I floored it back to station, buried all my mining ambitions, threw away the shovel and got a MKIII Viper. Now I'm going around the good old interwebs to ask the more experienced and seasoned Viper pilots what weapons/tips would you advise a new commander to take? Thanks for your help !
I kinda bypassed the viper Mk III initially, going Cobra-Type6-Type7-Python, but bought one later on discount out of curiosity. Fitted two small fixed, efficient pulse lasers (one thermal vent one phasing sequence), and two fixed, sturdy size 2 cannons (one with thermal cascade, one with high yield(probably dumb)). I don´t use it much, I have more effective cash cows, but darn is it fun. I even went to combat zones for kicks and giggles.
As a new pilot the viper was my first love, my first real ship. Moving onto the vulture didn't feel right, its canopy was too large for anything with the title of "fighter." It's more like a camper van that performs like a fighter. In the end I went back to the viper and have been happy to steam clean my seat every day since :) On a more practical note the viper does have a better hardpoint configuration. I'll take a cytoscrambler and a railgun over 1 large hardpoint any day of the week.
I think it depends on what you want to blow up. I'd rather tank an Anaconda in a Vulture than a Viper. Not that it's impossible, but it does take significantly longer in the Viper.
Great video! I know it's a bit early to ask this, but what will happen once you have reviewed all the ships? Will we see more stuff like the Getaway special? Obviously, when new ships release you will review them, but what next? I know you have a long way to go, but I was thinking about it and realized that there isn't an infinite number of Elite ships.
I will say that I will definitely involve the community in what happens next. But even the conversation is still a ways off. There are more specials planned, and I have a few other things I want to talk about too. Ultimately, I really enjoy doing this, and I'd like to keep doing it after Elite's ship roster runs dry, in whatever form that takes. Hope that's a good enough answer for the moment. :-)
These really are fantastic videos. I can count on one hand the number of creators for whom I will dive straight on and watch as soon as I see a new video released and you are one of that number Mr Pilot. :) This one has me scratching my head now though. I have mostly avoided combat so far, but I had planned to buy a Viper next because I had thought, clearly mistakenly, that it would be a great ship to learn the combat ropes in. So the question is, if I now have a Viper class shaped hole in my fleet... I should fill it with what then? Thanks Badger
First, thank you for the kind words! But you should absolutely buy a Viper. If a Viper is what you want. It's not for me, well, because I'm not the kind of guy who tweaks a ship to get a fraction of a percent more firepower. Most of the time. Personally, I prefer the Cobra to the Viper 3, but it really is all about personal preferences. The Viper will serve you well, if you're a Viper pilot. If you're that kind of person.
The Pilot Thanks for replying :). Having only recently subscribed, I’m still exploring the channel. Have you ever done a comparison video starring the Viper and the Eagle? I’d love to see your take on those two head to head.
Splendid video as ever, thanks for making it! I'm not a combat pilot, so I think I only ever used the Viper once ...and I quickly learned the lesson from the video. I piled it with high-grade modules, then when I got into a fight, fired the lasers and 'whooosh' everything shut down! Power management fail lol. You do a very nice job of selling it though. It is a shame that, as you say, the economics of the game are so lucrative now that there's often little reason to use these quirky small ships, which is a shame. And I agree, much respect to those who love the Viper work and make it work for them though.
You post some amazing videos. The way you describe ships, & there gear. It's like watching a movie. You sir have a new subscriber. I need to buy a computer. Have an Awesome day..
I agree with your statement about the current economics of the game, ship progression used to be a hard earned thing, and when you could go up to the next ship it felt you had hard earned it, and as a byproduct you had the skill & experience not to plough it into the toast rack without a docking computer, it took me several weeks originally to jump from the sidewinder into a cobra because of the way the game was back then... I wanted to do it the old fashioned way anyway hauling between systems as in the original game, the mission board didnt pay much either ... and that isnt a criticism.. now you can get a conda in a day, everyone wants the short cut but in doing so you miss out on the 'stepping stones' that were seeded throughout this game, I still keep quite a few vipers as its a pretty cheap option for storing class 2 weapons
The Viper MKIII is my third favorite small combat ship; comming in second after the Eagle MKII and the Diamondback Scout (but before the Vulture). The only thing I genuinly hate about the Viper's is that offset antenna-array in front of the cockpit. It triggers my OCD really really hard, and I would pay real money if Frontier would release a shipkit that only just removes that antenna completely. Currently running it with 4x Fixed Burst Lasers, just for fun. I feel it is the complementary ship to the ASP Scout: Same hardpoint and utility mount layout, but everything else is almost a polar opposite. The Viper is fast where the ASP-S is slow, the Viper is small where the ASP-S is huge (hit-profile about half as that of a Python) BUT: oddly, the ASP-S feels more maneuverable then the Viper. It can track small targets surprisingly well. It's also almost the only thing it can handly on it's own. The Viper has at least the option to outrun an opponent, when you find it to be to tough to handle. That is, if you can't joust it to death. For Thargoid-Scout hunting, I actually prefer the ASP-Scout (4x Plasma Chargers). For anything else I would use the Viper MKIII. For me, both ships pale in comparison to the Eagle MKII and the Diamondback Scout, though. The Eagle is just more fun to fly (although I have to aim really really low in regards to picking opponents), and the Diamondback Scout is more versatile, while being somehwere in the middle of the Viper and ASP-S, speed and maneuverability-wise. It also runs cooler with the exact same weapons-loadout and twice the utility mounts. My 4x Railgun-DB-S is one of he most fun ships to fly and fight in (for me), and it also works with 4x Gauss Cannons as Thargoid-Scout hunter. (You still have to engineer it a lot, but thats even more the case for the Viper and especially the ASP-S.) That being said: Diamondback Scout-Video? ;)
![The Viper Mk4 [Elite Dangerous] | The Pilot Reviews](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nhgbzUC7XNM/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Viper Mk4 [Elite Dangerous] | The Pilot Reviews](/img/tr.png)
![The Cobra Mk3 [Elite Dangerous] | The Pilot Reviews](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5jNIVw8xVnM/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Adder [Elite Dangerous] | The Pilot Reviews](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M8xBafT4cSA/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Krait Phantom (w/ Scott Manley) [Elite Dangerous] | The Pilot Reviews](/img/1.gif)
Trust me my Krait seat is filled with crumbs.
My Krait seat needs replacing after a long drawn out fight due to its massively destructive Three large plasmas and two Imperial Hammer load out melting it. I love the Krait.
If my cockpit is anything like my drivers seat in my car, it's filled with coffee cups, crumbs, and more charging cables than anyone could possible use.
The Viper, to me, always felt like a police cruiser. I even named mine "Interceptor". You know the "police officer went rogue because he got tired of bureaucracy slowing down his delivery of justice" stereotype? That guy, in the Elite universe, is flying an engineered Viper.
Mad Max would fly the Viper.
Pretty sure in the first Mad Max movie, the type of car he drove was called an Interceptor. idk if that's what you were inspired by but there are a lot of parallels there and it's very fitting.
In the original Elite, the Viper was the game's Finger Of God that would smite you for doing something incredibly stupid, like say, attacking the stations. These things would launch as soon as you opened fire and a pack of them would cut you apart in seconds if you didn't skedaddle right quick.
Last of the V8 interceptors.
I named mine “The Winnebago”
You are correct about choosing to fly a viper as opposed to having to; but it’s more than a choice of ships. Choosing to fly the viper is about taking the harder road earlier to learn things that can only be learned from the experience of doing it the hard way first.
You have to keep in mind, when you're flying a viper you're probably going to be forgoing things like flight computers and docking computers so you can have the weapons, warrant scanners, shields, and wake scanners that are imperative to a combat ship. Therefore you're going to have to learn how to land and fly without all of the fancy equipment which is a right of passage for new players graduating from easier ships like the sidewinder and becoming proper commanders.
I chose the Viper for a purpose.
...
That purpose was building it into a half-baked Gradius homage. My Vic Viper was never very good, and I need to come back to it.
The Federal Viper Division thanks you for the showcase. Fly dangerously CMDR.
I was supposted to do something else right now, but there's a new The Pilot video so I have to watch it NoW
I still have my viper and I can tell everyone right now it's one of the most pleasant experiences taking it into combat and actually doing well, Up until the point where boost a little too much and end up as viper tomatoe paste on the side of someone's shield or a chunky asteroid.
I took my iCourier out to a res site the other day, picked out an Anaconda with a nice-sized bounty on it, moved to intercept and opened up with my weapons...and then it boosted right into me as I tried to slide over its bow, and I died instantly. That was not a proud moment for me.
Love my Viper MK III.
It's the reason why I prefer the Vulture as a small fighter
Its so fast 🤣🤣🤣i d rated almost 80% stripped and lightwaited it to shits and im lmao just zooming in and out of range barely getting hit because everything else is so slow 🤣🤣🤣
I am really new, but the Viper is my favorite combat ship right now. I'm falling in love with my Chieftain for it's maneuverability, but damn I have gotten use to how my Viper handles and love have to pick fights intelligently or get smashed.
Recently found a wing of two deadly Vipers with my Vulture and picked a fight with them thinking easy pickings. I could barely get a shot off at them and they picked at me incessantly between them. I ended up high tailing it and limping back to starport with my hull at 50% integrity and my pride at half that. ;)
I was mining in my cutter one day and got jumped by a trio of vipers. I open fire on them and proceeded to get my butt handed to me over the course of about 10 minutes. I managed to get one of the sneaky little dudes, but they had no problem out turning me and just pelting me incessantly. I finally decided enough is enough and low waked back to the nearest station to lick my wounds. Not a high point in my career, but I did learn a valuable lesson. Cutters suck at turning.
Yeah, those things turn like nobody's business. My vulture could just about barely keep up with one, but while chasing one around struggling to line up shots the other would just pelt at me incessantly until my shields buckled. Then I'd have to go full evasive while they recovered. Every cycle I was a little more damaged and I could barely touch those bastards. Gained a newfound respect for the Viper, especially in a wing. 😛
My usual strategy is to start with all pips to weapons and switch to sys when my shields are low, but if I had to do it over, with the Vipers I would start with all pips to engines. The only way to get a hit is to boost constantly. I suspect I spent far too much time with my weapons loaded with nowhere to go. 😅
@@mikicerise6250 Were you using fixed weapons? Even the turreted beams and multicannons on my cutter missed most of the time. And there's simply no way, even FA-off, that I could keep anything lined up on one of them. The most damage I did to one of them by ramming it, which was no easy feat.
@@therealstubot Yep. I use Plasma Accelerators. I don't hit often, but when I hit, I hit hard. I managed to get a few pot shots off at one. The trouble was since the other one would pelt me until my shields were down I'd have to shift power to Sys. Since the Plasma Accelerators are power hungry if I missed one shot, without pips in weapons, I'd have to wait for awhile to get another one. It was a complicated dance.
@@mikicerise6250 Ah extreme hardcore mode. Those PA's are great against a Python or Clipper cause they couldn't out turn you on a bet. The shot delay on those is so messed up, makes hits difficult unless you're like 200m away and essentially fill your canopy. I've been waiting for the 3 sized rail guns for some time. In a vulture, that would be devastating. Of course you'd have to pop a heat sink every shot, but you'd do some damage to make up for it.
When learning combat, I thought when I finally aquired the "be-all-end-all" Anaconda I could fight and beat up anything that I came across. After several finance-ruining Ananconda rebuys ... I chose the Viper
Been there, bud.
Same, only that instead I went for the Chief. Ho boy do those 3 plasma accels' cook her finely (without engineering thus far want to spend some time in'er first) but I've never seen shields or hulls go down so fast.
if you like the smaller fighters id go with a Vulture :)
Yeah the anaconda and big ships in general are hard to get used to but once you do, you become an absolute... DEMON
I tend to abuse the fact nothing but other class 3s can mass lock me and jump out. 70 million rebuys are a bitch and ai don't care if I jump out.
my viper mk3 is named "suicide booth" and i love it. It is not as deadly as any bigger ship would be,but it makes every fight exciting.
@@DarthWall275 yeah,viper could be deadly enough to take on anacondas and corvettes, but it would need a somewhat descent pilot to perform,which im not.
The viper isn't just a go-to for newer combat pilots, but it excels as a budget fighter for high-risk engagements. Its nearly trivial insurance makes it a much more attractive option in high-risk conflict zones, while offering a much more aggressive and durable option over the Eagles, and a more dedicated-for-purpose frame than a Cobra. As someone who mostly runs missions and moonlights as an explorer, I normally only go into combat due to interdictions. For bounty hunting and conflict zones, however, I could easily point to the Viper as a go-to if you aren't an Ace combat pilot. In fact, it's probably the best casual bounty hunting ship for the cost.
Ah yes my first actually ship after the sidewinder. I think i sold her off a while ago. Rip
Edit: sold her off b/c i fell inlove with imperial ships
for similar ship size. I prefer the courier.
Omg same here
Same 😂 moved up to the IV quickly though. Still have her somewhere. Pre engineering and collecting dust. This might need fixing
@@benjones2270 no cap viper 3 is better than 4 for it's intended job. (Ie bounty hunting)
Yes, I made the mistake of skipping from the Sidewinder directly to the Cobra. Eventually I will go back and get one just to have all the DeLacy ships.
Your reviews are always spot on. you show us how to take the wild untamed ship and put it to work doing what it does best. You are the ship whisperer.
I've never actually owned a Viper Mk III. My first 'favorite ship' was actually the Mk IV (yes, I know most people hate it). I felt it made a great "armed courier" ship, which really matched my play style at the time.
Nothing wrong with that. A lot of Mark IV people in the comments. You're not alone. :-)
I went from the III to the IV for similer reasons. Back when I had no credits and fewer options for making them it was a better all rounder
hell yeah, viper4 is cool courier/explo ship. 1300hrs on, and went back to that nice view from my seat
Having tuned my Viper MK III with enhanced performance thrusters, trimming down the tons and analyzing graphs of performance data to get that perfect balance of speed, defense and lethality for myself, this really speaks to me.
Sure I have a fully tuned Corvette, and my Chieftain can run circles around everything but there's really something about hunting in a fully tuned Viper that keeps me coming back.
I come back to watch these sometimes. just stunning videos.
I'd love them to release more ships partially just so there were more of these, literally some of the most awesome gaming videos I've seen.
I was confused when you said you don't like the Viper, but I like how you turned it around. And you're right. I did choose this speedy little guy even though I could buy any ship in the galaxy, because it's fun. I have more fun fighting in Vipers and Eagles than I ever have in my Python or Anaconda.
Ah the viper mk3 holds a special place in my heart, I’m on PS4 and had the game since it’s launch, in the years before I couldn’t wait for the game and had a general idea of what ship path I would take; Sidey-viper mk3- python-conda.
Actual route post launch: sidey- viper- type 6 (farmed a rare commodity trade route for a week)- bought the python and only bought, took another 3 weeks to get it fully outfitted, in that time, I got the vulture and Asp X, doing community goals and ahem...a side helping of quince (hey most of us did that! Blame Mini, he recommended the place xD) there was a CG in the harma system way back when, my vulture, unengineered, but outfitted well, netted me over 550mil that week, and not only did I outfit the python, I bought the conda (I should mention these ships were bought in a li Yong Rui system for discount) and the python helped me outfit my conda.
Main point; the Viper mk3 WAS my first real ship, that opened the door to so much more and my beloved “Ankle Biter” still sees use as an over engineered, space-time bending speed demon killing machine, when I feel like taking it out for a spin for ol’ times sake, because all “milestone” ships deserve to be gone back to and loved. o7
I love that what you said is 100% true, because yes I could go into a haz res and blow everything up in 20 seconds with my conda, but I could also take my viper and make it a challenge which personally I find more enjoyable because it reminds me of the old days when I bought the viper and it was the biggest meanest ship I had, so great video as always :)
Also I just noticed the outro is a little bit wrong, it’s saying episode 15: type 10 defender, hope this helps
Damn. Thank you though!
"Vipers, clear to launch."
Viper doesn't make you worse, it just forces you to git gud.
The Viper has pedigree, going back to the original game where the Viper Police fighters were the game's finger of god that would scramble to instantly murder unruly Commanders, who were dumb enough to open fire on space stations. You did not fight the Vipers, you could not run from them, all you could do was die valiantly.
Ah Viper MK3, my first 'precious' ED ship. In the early days there was no easy money so this was good stepping stone. You either went Viper or Cobra. And the Cobra never sat well with me.
But the Viper, the engine sound was worth the asking price on its own. It's specific combat role fit and handling made it a niche that fit like a glove. You either fell in love with it or didn't 'get it'.
It's every Maverick's F-14. Sure there's something better. But you'll never have that 'loving feeling' from another ship as you ride at blistering speed into the danger zone!
You don't own that plane! The taxpayers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash!
Wow... There are *way* too many Top Gun references here...
@@KickyFut ..."too many"?
Normally I would come back with a T.G. quote... But it has literally been since the 80's since I saw it last, so... 😔
Maverick: “You don’t have time to think up there. If you think, you’re dead.”
I went from the sidewinder to the viper as soon as I could. Skipped the Eagle altogether, until later on. Hauler and Adder were skipped as well. Loved the look of the Viper. A rated it up (before I had opened up engineering) and never looked back. Still have the same ship, never lost in battle with it (PVE only). Love my "Wolf Cub".
How surreal, I'm currently in a Viper MkIII :D I agree with everything you say - While the viper is good at combat and going fast, other ships get close or beat it, but they do other things too - although they cost more. But I still find myself drawn to the viper for a disposable combat ship (mostly for story purposes) but it is limited if you want to do anything other than fight.. but then, it's a police car, not a mini-van :D
What’s crazy is how much progression has changed. I was in a viper a long time because you had to spend time in the small ships as your economy of scale really forced you too. And I miss it honestly
Man I still love taking out a well engineered viper. It's so much closer to everything. Big ships will destroy things faster and more easily, but weaving dogfights through asteroid belts in one of these is totally my jam.
Mine is unengineered, but hunting bounties in High Rez zones is so much fun. Hell, even CZ are fun, but you need to watch that radar.
I started out my combat career in a Viper. I guess it made more sense to do so before Horizons, engineering, etc. Because it always seemed like the most viable option to me back then.
Definitely it made for a lot of fun! Heading into resource extraction sites in a wing with a Cobra and a Diamondback Scout, and taking on ships twice or three times our size
Seriously man ... Fdev should ask you for voice over description in game of all ships from an independent pilot view. None of this " it's just the best ship " or " it's the meta "... Hands down great review again man. o7 Cmdr...
I'm thinking FDev probably doesn't know I exist. But that's nice. Thank you.
@@ThePilot_ Fdev may not care or take interest in the work you do man but the subscribers of your channel do. Keep up the great reviews man o7
I found the Vulture to just be better than the Viper completely.
And even after owning every ship in the game, I still choose to fly the Vulture into combat
The vulture is fun but it takes a lot of effort to get it right. And that lack of power, ugh. Makes her a bad choice out of the gate. Without engineering it's a bit of a struggle.
The viper is the better pirat. The vulture is too slow to be an outstanding pirat.
@@rixgaming9989 lol you would want an orca to do that
I flew the viper from when the game first came out until a couple months after the vulture was released, once the price was reduced to its current levels. I got to know that ship really well.
The editing you do is phenomenal! Nice work and keep at it.
Can't get back into smaller ships I'm to spoiled and after reaching rank dangerous and hardly ever engineering my equipment it's a chore I miss them tho
I have a few fighter builds (iCourier, vulture, and vip3) and I keep trying to put myself in the vip3, but you're totally right, pilot, it's so hard to step down when you've got bigger readily available for use.
Great video dude, keep up the awesome work!
It's the IROC Z-28 of ED! You know what I'm talking about, Broseph...
Was my first combat ship before I fell in love with the Vulture. I enjoyed it, but as you did, I outgrew it. I like big guns.
I used the Viper for grinding courier missions, fast speed for docking, firepower for interdiction rewards, etc.
2:20 Miniture Mamba..
I missed this ship too, I went straight for the Cobra mk3.
Great videos man. 👍👌
the viper mk3 was my first real ship after the sidewinder. I spent so much time bounty hunting in it that my next ship was the asp explorer. The reason I loved it was because of the freedom the speed gave you, there is no better interceptor in its class. Yes, you were out gunned, and even out maneuvered occasionally, but no one catches you, or outruns you. You're absolutely right in that the ships limitations forces you to learn how to manage all aspects of the ship. Do you have any idea how much space stations charge to refurbish leather? I'd rather craft diamonds with my bare hands!
Ah, The Fast Boi
I always fancied doing a federal review type playlist reviewing all the ships, from the perspective of somone from the federation but its clear that youre doing just that, nicely done
o7 cmdr
Ouch! Okay...I mean, I get it. I thought I brought justice to the Courier and the Orca, but I guess the Imperial Navy should expand it's roster a bit so it wouldn't just be some many Fed ships. Right?
I started Elite quite a while ago, working my way from Sidey, to Viper, to Asp, to Python, to Anaconda and eventually up to an engineered Corvette. Most of that in a time when money was not thrown at you.
However, I never felt like I actually learned how to pilot and it was mostly a matter of throwing stats at the npc enemies, which is a fight you're likely to win when in a Federal Corvette.
The last thing I did before I quit was to build myself a Viper. I found a build somewhere online, decided not to think too hard on it and build it, engineering and all and went back into an RES.
Most fun I've had in the game since my first month or so.
I toy sometimes with the idea of resetting my save, building a Viper, ignoring engineering, and just seeing what I can get myself into.
I miss the days of sitting at a Nav Beacon, scavenging a kill on a big wanted Anaconda that got in trouble with security and rushing back to Ackerman Market or the other station (it's been a while :p) full of excitement to buy the next part for my ship :)
The Viper III is my preferred assassination ship. With a rebuy that might as well be 0CR, I can fully commit to the engagement and not worry about waking before I pop.
I like Ferdilance for assignations.
@@milanondrak5564 that's cool. Elite offers plenty of ships with lots of load-out options. Fly what you like.
@@brianpmack agreed. I have all but the cobra mk 4, Mamba and Asp scout. I've been playing since alpha so have a ship for every occasion. I love how versatile the ships are in Elite. I played the original game back in 1986 on an Amstrad.
Found your channel like a week ago. Subscribed immediatedly. Good content, keep it coming, thanks
And Kerbal
This is one of those ships that I never flew, but also, for whatever reason, just don't want to. It's not that I don't appreciate a wing of these coming to help take out bounties at a high res, nav beacon, or combat zone, but when I'm out taking care of business, I just prefer to be in something with a bit more kick to it. Maybe I'll buy one to check it out soon, who knows.
Anyway, great video man! Can't wait to see what you've got coming out next!
Thanks, man!
The Viper was my first bounty hunter. I certainly enjoyed how it felt to fly. By now I've moved up to the Fed Gunship, but the Viper is what taught me how to fight. Sure, the power plant and distributor is limited, but it teaches you power management. You can't just hold down the trigger and keep firing forever, you need to make your shots count.
Indeed. And you have sneaky good coincidental timing...see you next week. :-D
Came back from a major solo expedition out in the black in my AspX with my Explorer Elite rank and fat stacks of exploration cash a few months back. When you're new, the 'Conda seems like the ship to aim for. Now, I finally had the finances for the big boy...
...and decided I actually wasn't interested. I wanted something smaller. I wanted a cockpit that felt as cramped as an F-16. I wanted to pull enough G's to black myself out. I wanted unmatched speed. I wanted a ship that you didn't strap yourself into, but strapped onto your back instead.
I finally finished engineering my Viper MkIII, "Diamond Flash", a couple of hours ago. It is everything I was looking for. Stripped down and unarmed, it is uncaged lightning.
When finally given the choice to own any ship I wanted...this is the one I chose.
And, I've still got plenty of credits left over, in case I ever change my mind about that 'Conda...
I keep coming back to my Viper 3. Like Mad Max and his Interceptor. It just feels right.
I also have used the hell out of the Viper 3 before moving into a Viper 4 instead. Would love to see a video for the viper 4, very different ship. :)
Agreed. With the right armor and hull/module reinforcements, the Mk IV is surprisingly tanky. I love flying it, even though my Chieftain is both tougher and has more DPS potential.
I’ve only recently gotten back into flying in Elite Dangerous solo on the PS4 (I bought the game + Horizons this past May, prior to getting an actual HOTAS...which made the learning curve exceedingly difficult on a controller; pro tip, if you’re playing on console, YOU *NEED* A HOTAS, NO IFS OR BUTS).
After getting reacquainted with the game, my first purchase was an Eagle after graduating out of my Sidewinder. My Eagle was a good little courier runner and could get itself out of trouble easily enough, but my next step up was the Viper.
That was when I discovered bounty hunting. After (accidentally) leaving the starting zone, I put a Kill Warrant Scanner, an FSD Interdictor, and a Wake Scanner on my Viper and did not look back. And I’ve yet to engineer a single bolt on the thing. I’m planning on upgrading to the Fer-De-Lance eventually...but I plan on earning every penny for it by flying my Viper.
Sure, I might make more credits mining and trading, but that’s *boring.* Plus, I’d be a sitting duck for whichever would-be pirate lord decides to poke their nose into my business.
With the Viper, when a pirate shows up to a rez site, I’m usually not too far behind to educate him on the errors of his chosen profession. Especially if his price tag has six figures on it.
I’m taking things slow, obviously, I’m still kinda green, but I’m loving the Viper. It seems to have been purposely built for bounty hunting. For pirate cleansing. For taking out a larger foe without so much as a broken sweat.
No wonder every System Security/Defense Force in the Bubble employs this thing by the bucketload. It’s cheap, it’s reliable, it’s fast, and it’s deadly. What more could you want?
Maybe it is an attitude thing. I bought a MkIV to use as a mission runner. Liked it so much I bought the MkIII for bounty hunting. I haven't flown the MkIII yet because there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. You can fly it stock, or you can engineer it. But you can't engineer it in stages. Well, unless maybe you start with the powerplant. I'm sitting at like 140% power consumption. And that's before I turn on the dome light.
Later into the game and Im starting to appreciate these starter ships . This is no exception . Thing is I was spoiled. My first and only small combat ship was the vulture. I held out till I could afford one
It's the speed that makes it great. Being able to move quickly through the resources extraction sites is key to getting more pirates. You can't beat the buyback if it all goes sideways.
Not entirely true at 1:28. The viper is a police interceptor. See the UK's Lightning interceptor. It was blisteringly fast but to do that it lost size to hold much ordnance and combat radar. It was to intercept incoming threats before they got to the valuable assets and impede their process until air superiority jets could be prepped, launched, formed up and sent to intercept. It had to last a short while, but the further out it got an intercept, the better it did its job.
The viper is also an interceptor. The problem is that ED isn't a military simulation and we don't have formation assets nor battle plans.
I've noticed a couple ships seem prebaked to a mechanic that doesn't exist. Ships designed to plant themselves in a spot to defend certain areas. Etc. You may be right. Good call.
@@ThePilot_ Well the Viper was the OG Elite. It was not a player ship. So it was only used by stations for local security. Chasing down fleeing suspects (you being a naughty boy in the single player OG Elite) was filled fine. The game kept the ship, despite the fact it was now a player ship.
It's the same for a few others, but in two cases they pretty much rewrote the ships entirely. Sidewinder and Asp were both redone, the former by making a long range ship, the latter by handwavium "This is the civilian export version!". Krait was just included as a completely different ship, so really doesn't count.
It would have been nice to have this version of Elite as a single player, but a multiplayer tactical MOBA version of Elite would see people take Vipers for interception ahead of Asp owners with their "Main Battle Ship" and the T10 Defender "Flying fortress" with people fighting in that role because they like that style of combat.
X2-4 has some fleet mechanics, and so you get M4 interceptors and M3 main fleet fighters and M6 corvettes flying formation with M2 Battleships taking on M2s and M1 carriers with the survivors pounding enemy fighters now the big targets were gone.
This game has no way to do that. Which is a bit of a shame.
Agh. I'm very new to the game and although these vids are a bit dated, I find the content a cut above the rest. thanks for what you did as its still relevant today.
And this only made my love for my viper grow. I'm not really good at combat but I do just love my ship. And your right is steam the inside of the ship. She takes care of me I might as well do the same.
I’m also used to my big ships but iv been seriously thinking about getting back in to a vulture for a few week and then engineering it and doing another month to revisit how I used to fight
Cmdr goomer signing out
Great video, as always.
that Austrailia paintjob makes me think of wing commander...
Love your videos and that music track is hard !
I used to play Viper all the time, I’ve moved on (still have my Viper for racing now). But now that I fly larger ships it feels like a fighter now haha. Now for fun I did try, a squadron of well trained vipers is terrifying, they can outmaneuver most larger ships in combat
Skipped it. Bought a Cobra. Then after some fundage rolled in, I got the Viper MKIV to practice pew. Sold the Cobra since, still have the MKIV :)
I could get the cobra mk 4 but hated it when I had it and sold it for a codra mk 3. Much better fun.
I own both and I have to say I fly my viper far more than I fly my cobra.
Love your videos, mate. Keep up the great work.
Very nice, love your vids and your style. Keep it up fellow commander O7
I had a Mk3 that used very little, and then passed to the MK4. Now it's been almost two years from that and I got one, for the fun of it. I built it for pure combat, and like to engage bigger ships in HAZ sites. It requires lot of experience to make it a proficient combat ship.
The pilot: the viper mk 3 is too small
Me: so, get a viper mk 4
Viper Mk IV: My favorite ship in the game. Working on engineering mine to the nth degree. About 2/3 there. Strangely, that love does not transfer over to the Mk III.
It’s so true. I should love the viper, but I stick to a Cobra - and I’m not totally sure why. And if I really do feel like a pure combat ship just for a change, the FDL is right there....
I have been eyeing the Viper Mk 3 for a while now. I am still fairly new to Elite but I already have a well outfitted Asp and Diamondback Explorer. I am a multirole pilot hence the Diamondback but I use the Explorer mainly as a long range combat cargo ship, meaning that if that if bandits try to mess with me, then this means war. Lately I am thinking of a ship more combat oriented since I am fighter pilot at heart the Viper Mk 3 seems to fit the bill even though it has less firepower than my Diamondback (which is a beast.) but it is more of a heavy fighter. Regarding what you said about suited for wolf pack combat, I hope to join one one day.
Both Vipers were my first run at taking out bug scoots. The most fun I have had yet in this game.
I love my Viper. I eventually replaced it with a DBS, but there's something intoxicating about taking down the biggest nastiest ships in ship that feels like it's held together on a hope and a dream.
It's my ship, and there's no other quite like it
I bought Viper as my first real ship and never sold it, it's just so damn good of a ship, I mainly use it for racing because it's so god damn fast, just zipping through canyons with it feels so damn good
I was stuck between this and the imperial eagle for my combat ship, and i went with the viper and dont regret it one bit; in fact its made dogfighting real fun
Thanks for another great video!
I'll be heading out on the Perseus Reach Expedition to Semotus Beacon in February in a racing build Viper MkIII.
I'm choosing to have fun (in a "space-crazy explorer" definition of fun) ;-)
Fly true, Commander!
I never even flown one of these. I jumped straight to a Cobra III and from there got my Asp X and never looked back :)
I also jumped from Sidewinder to Cobra III, but recently picked up a Viper that I'm slowly turning into a racing ship in my spare time. I've never flown it in combat, but the sense of speed is addictive. I think I prefer the Eagle's maneuverability, though.
@@Datan0de My Courier is my favorite zoom zoom ship. She's not the fastest but god damn I love that ship :)
I too am a Viper IV pilot, give up a bit of the speed to polish out some of the weaknesses, no heat probs better plant, etc
My current main ship is the Viper mk3. I'm a newbie to this game, but I love bounty hunting in this ship. Of course, I haven't fitted it the most efficient way possible, but I just really like her
"Face-meltingly fast" I love it!!!
I killed things in an Eagle until I had about 5 million credits and then got a Viper Mk3 and fitted it from a build I found online. I LOVE handing out Justice in the form of 4 hardpoints to the enemies of the Federation. The Viper Mk3 pays for it's self and all it's fittings by doing what it does best - Killing shit.
The viper has one thing that just cant be topped. Not by any other ship. The crackle of those engines going from full tilt to full stop or reverse thrust just resonates through my bones like an ls swapped go cart.
You described ny feelings on the viper. The first time i bought one I was slightly disapointed
I just switched over from an Xbox to PC (with HOTAS) and made my new character, finished the tutorial that isn't included in the Xbox edition and went to a low security RES to scrape enough credits to buy a mining laser and refinery for the ol' sidewinder.
Ended up taking out (with the help of the ever vigilant system authority) 300k worth of bounties in ten minutes.
The HOTAS is a real game changer!
Anyways I floored it back to station, buried all my mining ambitions, threw away the shovel and got a MKIII Viper.
Now I'm going around the good old interwebs to ask the more experienced and seasoned Viper pilots what weapons/tips would you advise a new commander to take? Thanks for your help !
I dont even own this game but I love listening to this guy
Great video, thanks. I'd be interested on your theatrical take on the Viper IV
Eventually. :-)
No word about how this is an excellent pirat ship.
I kinda bypassed the viper Mk III initially, going Cobra-Type6-Type7-Python, but bought one later on discount out of curiosity. Fitted two small fixed, efficient pulse lasers (one thermal vent one phasing sequence), and two fixed, sturdy size 2 cannons (one with thermal cascade, one with high yield(probably dumb)). I don´t use it much, I have more effective cash cows, but darn is it fun. I even went to combat zones for kicks and giggles.
As a new pilot the viper was my first love, my first real ship. Moving onto the vulture didn't feel right, its canopy was too large for anything with the title of "fighter." It's more like a camper van that performs like a fighter. In the end I went back to the viper and have been happy to steam clean my seat every day since :)
On a more practical note the viper does have a better hardpoint configuration. I'll take a cytoscrambler and a railgun over 1 large hardpoint any day of the week.
I think it depends on what you want to blow up. I'd rather tank an Anaconda in a Vulture than a Viper. Not that it's impossible, but it does take significantly longer in the Viper.
Great video! I know it's a bit early to ask this, but what will happen once you have reviewed all the ships? Will we see more stuff like the Getaway special? Obviously, when new ships release you will review them, but what next? I know you have a long way to go, but I was thinking about it and realized that there isn't an infinite number of Elite ships.
I will say that I will definitely involve the community in what happens next. But even the conversation is still a ways off. There are more specials planned, and I have a few other things I want to talk about too. Ultimately, I really enjoy doing this, and I'd like to keep doing it after Elite's ship roster runs dry, in whatever form that takes. Hope that's a good enough answer for the moment. :-)
@@ThePilot_ That's perfect, thank you so much for responding!
These really are fantastic videos. I can count on one hand the number of creators for whom I will dive straight on and watch as soon as I see a new video released and you are one of that number Mr Pilot. :) This one has me scratching my head now though. I have mostly avoided combat so far, but I had planned to buy a Viper next because I had thought, clearly mistakenly, that it would be a great ship to learn the combat ropes in.
So the question is, if I now have a Viper class shaped hole in my fleet... I should fill it with what then?
Thanks
Badger
First, thank you for the kind words! But you should absolutely buy a Viper. If a Viper is what you want. It's not for me, well, because I'm not the kind of guy who tweaks a ship to get a fraction of a percent more firepower. Most of the time. Personally, I prefer the Cobra to the Viper 3, but it really is all about personal preferences. The Viper will serve you well, if you're a Viper pilot. If you're that kind of person.
The Pilot Thanks for replying :). Having only recently subscribed, I’m still exploring the channel. Have you ever done a comparison video starring the Viper and the Eagle? I’d love to see your take on those two head to head.
@@greybadger3142 I have not. But I'll try to remember that when I do the Eagle.
I've just realised why I like these videos so much. Elite:Dangerous narrated by Dexter Morgan.
Keep up the good work.
...thanks?
I do wanna get one of these and spec it for racing. Doing a shieldless fa-off canyon run perma-boosted just sound like way too much fun.
Splendid video as ever, thanks for making it! I'm not a combat pilot, so I think I only ever used the Viper once ...and I quickly learned the lesson from the video. I piled it with high-grade modules, then when I got into a fight, fired the lasers and 'whooosh' everything shut down! Power management fail lol. You do a very nice job of selling it though. It is a shame that, as you say, the economics of the game are so lucrative now that there's often little reason to use these quirky small ships, which is a shame. And I agree, much respect to those who love the Viper work and make it work for them though.
You're getting more creative. Love this video.
These vids are basically really good ADs for the ship companies
6:53 Episode 15. The Type-10 oops! :D
Yeah, someone caught it earlier. Too late to change it now...
Viper was my first (combat) ship out of a Sidey. Then I saw your video on the Vulture...
awesome vid cmdr
You post some amazing videos. The way you describe ships, & there gear. It's like watching a movie. You sir have a new subscriber. I need to buy a computer. Have an Awesome day..
I agree with your statement about the current economics of the game, ship progression used to be a hard earned thing, and when you could go up to the next ship it felt you had hard earned it, and as a byproduct you had the skill & experience not to plough it into the toast rack without a docking computer, it took me several weeks originally to jump from the sidewinder into a cobra because of the way the game was back then... I wanted to do it the old fashioned way anyway hauling between systems as in the original game, the mission board didnt pay much either ... and that isnt a criticism.. now you can get a conda in a day, everyone wants the short cut but in doing so you miss out on the 'stepping stones' that were seeded throughout this game, I still keep quite a few vipers as its a pretty cheap option for storing class 2 weapons
Damn I just bought the viper and was doubting but you sold me.👍lol
The Viper MKIII is my third favorite small combat ship; comming in second after the Eagle MKII and the Diamondback Scout (but before the Vulture).
The only thing I genuinly hate about the Viper's is that offset antenna-array in front of the cockpit.
It triggers my OCD really really hard, and I would pay real money if Frontier would release a shipkit that only just removes that antenna completely.
Currently running it with 4x Fixed Burst Lasers, just for fun.
I feel it is the complementary ship to the ASP Scout:
Same hardpoint and utility mount layout, but everything else is almost a polar opposite.
The Viper is fast where the ASP-S is slow,
the Viper is small where the ASP-S is huge (hit-profile about half as that of a Python)
BUT:
oddly, the ASP-S feels more maneuverable then the Viper.
It can track small targets surprisingly well.
It's also almost the only thing it can handly on it's own.
The Viper has at least the option to outrun an opponent, when you find it to be to tough to handle.
That is, if you can't joust it to death.
For Thargoid-Scout hunting, I actually prefer the ASP-Scout (4x Plasma Chargers).
For anything else I would use the Viper MKIII.
For me, both ships pale in comparison to the Eagle MKII and the Diamondback Scout, though.
The Eagle is just more fun to fly (although I have to aim really really low in regards to picking opponents),
and the Diamondback Scout is more versatile, while being somehwere in the middle of the Viper and ASP-S, speed and maneuverability-wise.
It also runs cooler with the exact same weapons-loadout and twice the utility mounts.
My 4x Railgun-DB-S is one of he most fun ships to fly and fight in (for me), and it also works with 4x Gauss Cannons as Thargoid-Scout hunter.
(You still have to engineer it a lot, but thats even more the case for the Viper and especially the ASP-S.)
That being said:
Diamondback Scout-Video? ;)