Any reason to use a Mamba over a FDL?

[Neccarus]

Title says it all

[CEPHY]

Never used either of them.

But from what I heard, Mamba turns like a T9 on steroids but is faster than anything else. FDL is basically a smaller Anaconda.

So I'd say go FDL if you want to go all-out in turnfights and whatnot. Get a Mamba if you like Boom-and-Zoom tactics and musclecars.

[Rragar]

The Mamba has a different hardpoint setup. I have found that it lends itself to more versatility where loadouts are concerned, but this is dependent on your weapon choices as a pilot, so the same might not be valid for you. You will struggle with the layout of the hardpoints if you want to use fixed weapons unless you do the same workaround people do with the Clipper to alleviate the same issue. It takes some getting used to, but it is manageable once you're accustomed. That said, the Lance also has convergence issues for my taste since the medium hardpoints at the extreme ends of the ship will not converge with each other well.

The Mamba has a lower capacity radiator but it dissipates heat more quickly (so if you like to use thermal-intensive weapons, you'll have to get used to the way the ship supports them). Depending on how you fight, this can work to your advantage if you use burst damage weapons. Can be less practical for sustained damage.

People claim it has bad handling but my tests suggest the opposite. In fact, I prefer it over the FDL in terms of handling because the Mamba will not stall if you make tight turns, whereas the FDL will do it all the time. It also offers better axial thrust response than the Lance. And, the Mamba can accelerate and decelerate more swiftly than the Lance; I have found that this feature makes it easier to intercept and then regulate speeds with targets to chase them at close range, than it is with the Lance.

In terms of defenses, both are roughly equivalent. The Lance has a bit more internal capacity and it does somewhat better with higher weight setups; you'll have to be more mindful of added weight with the Mamba because it will be noticeably more susceptible than the Lance in that regard.

The Mamba can also achieve a noticeably higher top speed than the Lance on paper, but I've found that such is only valid in practice with setups in which you deliberately seek to cut the weight down. With "normal" loadouts, both are almost about as fast.

Having said all of the above: I personally find that the Mamba is a better fit for me both because of how I use the hardpoints and because I don't have to be concerned over the accursed stalling that always bothered me about the Lance, and because its axial thrust response works a lot better with my piloting style.

[Rragar]

Originally posted by ILIAD:

Never used either of them.

But from what I heard, Mamba turns like a T9 on steroids but is faster than anything else. FDL is basically a smaller Anaconda.

I do not mean to sound offensive, but what you heard came from a person whose competence as a pilot and objectivity in ship testing procedures, I find questionable.

[Vahnkiljoy]

Because you WANT to, literally the only reason for anything in this game. The mamba is a sexy ass ship both outside and especially inside, LOVE my mamba.

[Neccarus]

Originally posted by Rragar:

The Mamba has a different hardpoint setup. I have found that it lends itself to more versatility where loadouts are concerned, but this is dependent on your weapon choices as a pilot, so the same might not be valid for you. You will struggle with the layout of the hardpoints if you want to use fixed weapons unless you do the same workaround people do with the Clipper to alleviate the same issue. It takes some getting used to, but it is manageable once you're accustomed. That said, the Lance also has convergence issues for my taste since the medium hardpoints at the extreme ends of the ship will not converge with each other well.

The Mamba has a lower capacity radiator but it dissipates heat more quickly (so if you like to use thermal-intensive weapons, you'll have to get used to the way the ship supports them). Depending on how you fight, this can work to your advantage if you use burst damage weapons. Can be less practical for sustained damage.

People claim it has bad handling but my tests suggest the opposite. In fact, I prefer it over the FDL in terms of handling because the Mamba will not stall if you make tight turns, whereas the FDL will do it all the time. It also offers better axial thrust response than the Lance. And, the Mamba can accelerate and decelerate more swiftly than the Lance; I have found that this feature makes it easier to intercept and then regulate speeds with targets to chase them at close range, than it is with the Lance.

In terms of defenses, both are roughly equivalent. The Lance has a bit more internal capacity and it does somewhat better with higher weight setups; you'll have to be more mindful of added weight with the Mamba because it will be noticeably more susceptible than the Lance in that regard.

The Mamba can also achieve a noticeably higher top speed than the Lance on paper, but I've found that such is only valid in practice with setups in which you deliberately seek to cut the weight down. With "normal" loadouts, both are almost about as fast.

Having said all of the above: I personally find that the Mamba is a better fit for me both because of how I use the hardpoints and because I don't have to be concerned over the accursed stalling that always bothered me about the Lance, and because its axial thrust response works a lot better with my piloting style.

A very in depth response, thanks a lot. I just bought the FDL but will have to check out the Mamba... maybe I will get it on my XBox account haha.

Thank you everyone else that contributed too. The main reason I asked was because the Mamba IS sexy, but the FDL looked a bit better on paper. I follow a fine line of form AND function but usually stick to function until I have "all the monies".

[Agony_Aunt]

Don't like either.

[Neccarus]

Originally posted by Agony_Aunt:

Don't like either.

what do you fly? I currently have Python (too slugish with current setup) and Alliance Chieftan (love it). And in process of kitting my FDL.

[tomg2012]

I don’t like either as well. I found the shields to be fairly lacking and heat management is not good.

I prefer the Krait MK2. Not as fast or sexy, but it’s durable in most combat situations.

My favorite for combat zones is the cutter.

[Neccarus]

Originally posted by tomg2012:

I don’t like either as well. I found the shields to be fairly lacking and heat management is not good.

I prefer the Krait MK2. Not as fast or sexy, but it’s durable in most combat situations.

My favorite for combat zones is the cutter.

I actually find the Kraits quite attractive. But I figured they are more competitors with the Python.

[Planewalker]

Mamba & FDL are the kings of combat.

They both require getting used to however.

-particularly if one wants to become an ace pilot w them.


Their respective differences have already been quite well covered in the post by Rragar.


And as always ship preference is a case of YMMV.

[Rragar]

Originally posted by tomg2012:

I found the shields to be fairly lacking.

In what regard? These two ships have the most utility slots in any medium ship. You don't get the possibility to install 6 shield boosters in any other ship that isn't big size, and these are medium size. You can strenghten their shields to match or outperform some big ship shield setups. They also have a higher base shield score than anything else you'll find in this size range.

If you mean the shield recharge... well, they are both limited to a size 5 shield generator so the recharge rate can definitely get *annoying*.

If you meant in comparison to the Lance, then depending on your setup, you can get like 100-400 extra Megajoules on a Lance. This will be around 100-200 MJ with a no-drawbacks setup (considering that you can get less durability out of more megajoules against specific damage types if you do not increase your resistances).

Despite that, it is still enough for a Mamba to outperform the average shields setup (assuming that you engineer accordingly) that most people put in their big ships. And you will be a far smaller, far more agile, and much faster target than a big ship. The Lance will also increase your exposure during certain maneuvers that the Mamba can do without increasing exposure, so depending on the pilot, the Lance can soak more fire than the Mamba (so the effective durability of more megajoules can be reduced).

[Lich Lord]

So i took some time playing with them both because i was a hard core FDL fan...Buuut, yeah i sold my FDL. Not because the Mamba was so much better than the FDL but because i was able to make it better with my style...However it runs a little cold for me. I have a Huge efficient beam with thermal vent on it and i actually get cold under full combat stress.. The FDL would never handle heat like this thing.
I also have about 1500 shields with engineered boosters. The rest of the hard points are Large over charged MCs with auto loader and 1 corrosive. 2 small efficient MCs.
I have not engineered my engines yet for better speed but the handling is already better than the FDL. The jump is a little better also 20ly instead of 18.92 in the FDL

[Agony_Aunt]

Despite not owning either, the one thing that would sell me on the Mamba over the FdL is the cockpit. I hate that strut that obscures the view on the FdL.

[Lich Lord]

Originally posted by Agony_Aunt:

Despite not owning either, the one thing that would sell me on the Mamba over the FdL is the cockpit. I hate that strut that obscures the view on the FdL.

True the Mamba looks much cleaner, The FDL reminds me of an old star wars ship boba fett would fly so i guess who needs to see if you look good flying right?

[Wesker]

Personally as a combat craft it's to sluggish at maneuvering for my taste but I can name off 2 reasons why I would pick a Mamba over an FDL,

#1 just look at it, its beautiful, it looks like a hydroplane race boat in space.

#2 That annoying support strut on the FDLs canopy is right in my line of sight.
I wanted a dedicated fighter craft but scrapped the FDL as an idea after the first day with that poorly placed piece of metal, so I built a 35 million credit super Vulture.