best long distance exploration ship?

[FBI Avoider]

I've been looking around in different places to find the best ship for long expeditions away from the bubble, but a lot of people have been recommending different things and I've been really unsure. so I decided to ask myself, what's mostly recommended?

[Conan the Brobarian]

Hell if I know. Opinions will vary but I prefer the Asp Explorer. It has a great jump range, can fit a big fuel scoop and has great cockpit view. I also tried Diamondback Explorer and Krait Phantom which have their own benefits with the Asp Explorer being a good middle ground.

[Ser Pounce]

ASP explorer, Krait MKII or Phantom (can't remember which one), Diamondback Explorer and Anaconda are the way to go usually.

[Kaggy]

Krait Phantom, AspX or Diamondback Explorer. They all kind of equal in regard to exploration. Maybe Annie, but she has some issues with landings. Just choose which one's look you like the most, because you're going to spend a lot of time in that thing

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Asp Explorer.

Or you can make an Orca to be a good one, if you want to travel in style. My Orca saw the Beagle Point. :)

[FBI Avoider]

thanks everyone for suggestions, judging from the comments I think it'll be the ASP Explorer! Now just to save for it haha

[Wesker]

I used to say for a long range Explorer the Anaconda because it had the room to fit all I needed and then some but still have plenty of jump range for the return trip or the long jumps between distant stars near the edge, but with the integration of the dss into the ship and the other 2 internal slots (1 in medium and large ships) the Conda is unnecessary, it's now got wasted space.

I fit all the same stuff I had in my conda in a Diamondback Explorer, more jump range, better view, better handling and speed even with D rated thrusters and its lighter and more forgiving on high G landings.

If you need more room then the Diamondback then go Asp or Phantom, in my testing of them both fitted with the same things I deem necessary but still as light as I can the Phantom edges out on the Asp for jump range and speed, not to mention better hull and shield strength, the Asp is still very good at exploring though, if I had one already built the way I wanted I wouldn't even bother with the Phantom, the only real advantage to the Phantom would be the extra shield strength for higher G bouncey landings.

Want more elegance and room?
Get an Orca, also more shields hull and speed, seriously these things are quick, my first explanation ship was an Orca cause I couldn't fit what I wanted into an Asp and didn't want to refit my Conda, wonderful ship, flew her for several months until they introduced repair limpets.......then I no longer had enough room onboard so I put together an alternate build for my Conda, do note at this time the the internal module restrictions have been removed from the Orca and now it will take all I need, however the Orca has the lowest jump range of the exploration ships.

For me at least the Diamondback was always what I wanted to be my exploration ship, but it never had enough space inside, now with the scanners the way they are now and the added slots everything fits, even with the added repair limpets and gaurdian fsd booster it just barely fits.

Most people consider an exploration ship by its jump range, and while the Conda is still jump king, when you take more gear that range quickly goes down, as is now my Diamondback jumps further then my Conda could with the same gear onboard and I enjoy the DBX more anyway for this task.

I do apologize for answering your question with my exploration ship life history but it gives some points on all the ships so hope it helps ya. o7

[imwithdummy]

Originally posted by Wesker:

I used to say for a long range Explorer the Anaconda because it had the room to fit all I needed and then some but still have plenty of jump range for the return trip or the long jumps between distant stars near the edge, but with the integration of the dss into the ship and the other 2 internal slots (1 in medium and large ships) the Conda is unnecessary, it's now got wasted space.

I fit all the same stuff I had in my conda in a Diamondback Explorer, more jump range, better view, better handling and speed even with D rated thrusters and its lighter and more forgiving on high G landings.

If you need more room then the Diamondback then go Asp or Phantom, in my testing of them both fitted with the same things I deem necessary but still as light as I can the Phantom edges out on the Asp for jump range and speed, not to mention better hull and shield strength, the Asp is still very good at exploring though, if I had one already built the way I wanted I wouldn't even bother with the Phantom, the only real advantage to the Phantom would be the extra shield strength for higher G bouncey landings.

Want more elegance and room?
Get an Orca, also more shields hull and speed, seriously these things are quick, my first explanation ship was an Orca cause I couldn't fit what I wanted into an Asp and didn't want to refit my Conda, wonderful ship, flew her for several months until they introduced repair limpets.......then I no longer had enough room onboard so I put together an alternate build for my Conda, do note at this time the the internal module restrictions have been removed from the Orca and now it will take all I need, however the Orca has the lowest jump range of the exploration ships.

For me at least the Diamondback was always what I wanted to be my exploration ship, but it never had enough space inside, now with the scanners the way they are now and the added slots everything fits, even with the added repair limpets and gaurdian fsd booster it just barely fits.

Most people consider an exploration ship by its jump range, and while the Conda is still jump king, when you take more gear that range quickly goes down, as is now my Diamondback jumps further then my Conda could with the same gear onboard and I enjoy the DBX more anyway for this task.

I do apologize for answering your question with my exploration ship life history but it gives some points on all the ships so hope it helps ya. o7

An aside...iun-depth answers like this are way helpful...the more info the better IMO. Good looking out =]

I'd say Asp Explorer...good jump range, can fit your stuff and most of all, the excellent cockpit view, which I'd think would be a must for exploring. I THINK its the best cockpit view in the game, but I could be wrong. Best I've come across myself, anyway.

[bkrrrrr]

Asp Explorer might not have the highest jump range, but it has the best cockpit view in the game, and is quite versatile for anything except combat.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by imwithdummy:

I THINK its the best cockpit view in the game, but I could be wrong.

You still have to try a T-9/T-10. They beat even the Asp-X' view! :)

[brooklyncontrivance]

With engineering + Guardian FSD boost module (once you unlock it) every single ship in the game has better max jump range than the very best exploration ships had a few years ago. Seriously, every single ship. There isn't one that can't reach the old max jump range of an un-engineered, pre FSD Boost Asp or Anaconda. Even the Federal Assault Ship, with the lowest base jump range of all ships in the game, can break 40 LY jump range.

So basically you can take literally whatever ship you happen to like best and go exploring, and still be better at it than the very best exploration ships were, say, three years ago.

If you really want to have the highest jump range possible, that means looking at the Anaconda, Krait Phantom, Asp Explorer or Diamondback Explorer. Can be handy if you really want to travel vast distances as quickly as possible, but that's not neccessarily so important if you want to explore rather than zip all over the galaxy as quickly as possible. Other characteristics become an important consideration.... how fast can a given ship fuel scoop? How hot does a given ship get? Can it have a fighter bay? Does it have internals enough to accomodate everything you want to bring along?

[brooklyncontrivance]

Originally posted by bkrrrrr:

Asp Explorer ... has the best cockpit view in the game

Not remotely. I wouldn't even put it in the top 5. Doesn't suck, but I'd take the Mamba, the Krait mk2, the Krait Phantom, the T10, the T9, the T7, the T6, the Keelback, the Imperial Courier and the Imperial Eagle over the Asp's cockpit for exploration any day.

[imwithdummy]

Originally posted by brooklyncontrivance:

Originally posted by bkrrrrr:

Asp Explorer ... has the best cockpit view in the game

Not remotely. I wouldn't even put it in the top 5. Doesn't suck, but I'd take the Mamba, the Krait mk2, the Krait Phantom, the T10, the T9, the T7, the T6, the Keelback, the Imperial Courier and the Imperial Eagle over the Asp's cockpit for exploration any day.

As far as viewable space is concerned? Really?

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by brooklyncontrivance:

Doesn't suck, but I'd take the Mamba, the Krait mk2, the Krait Phantom, the T10, the T9, the T7, the T6, the Keelback, the Imperial Courier and the Imperial Eagle over the Asp's cockpit for exploration any day.

Other than T9/10, all other ships you mention don't have a view-though at the bottom of your cockpit. And if you want to explore - you want to see what is outside of your ship. In Asp-X, when I refuel, I can see a star passing under my feet. Your Krait or T6 can't do that.

[brooklyncontrivance]

And you think being able to see it between your feet is better than being able to see it through a clear, unobstructed roof? :D

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by brooklyncontrivance:

And you think being able to see it between your feet is better than being able to see it through a clear, unobstructed roof? :D

My roof in the Asp-X is also unobscured. So I can see both, what is viewed through my unobscured roof, and what is below me.