Is the Mandalay a better ship for exploration than the Anaconda?

[Chill°bucket]

Ofc. as it is smaller it is better to land and therefore better.
But is it overall better for deep space exploration?

[Devilish Dave]

Yes, especially given it's size. With the Anaconda you can't land everywhere and if you happen to come across a lost Orbital of sorts, it will only have a landing pad for at most medium ships.

When you're doing proper exploration, you might as well consider exo-biology too, this way you can thoroughly explore the system, do your FSS, DSS and then collect the biologicals. It's far more profitable than just blasting through the system.

So unless you want to haul valuables across the galaxy, I personally don't see why or how the Anaconda can best the Mandalay. Also, it is very rare that you encounter any threats out there unless it's some unexplored Thargoid area, but you don't find pirates out in the deep and if you do come face to face with such threats, you can just boost away.

I never considered an exploration ship, a ship meant for doing combat, which is why my Mandalay doesn't even have a single Hardpoint attached. It jumps 82LY, has 2 Rovers and the modules necessary to scan what needs scanning.

But then again, it all comes down to preference. Sacrifice a couple of LYs for weapons, but in my time exploring I've never needed it. Pirates ignore me and Thargoids are a rare find, also if you're worried about Thargoids, then you'd have to equip it with appropriate weapons for that purpose anyways and by then you sacrifice way too much for combat as opposed to LYs for exploration and it isn't worth it. Might as well just build an anti-xeno ship and fly to known Thargoid locations if that's your cup of tea.

Anyways, this is my 2 cents here and I've only been playing for soon 2 months, but this is how I feel about it.

Edit: Oh yea and if you take the price of each ship into consideration, a 17'000'000CR ship which can be modified to jump 80+ lightyears vs a 146'000'000CR ship which lacks the ability to jump the way the Mandalay can, is a no brainer. Anaconda is best put to use in other ways, such as hauling goods, mining, crew combat ship, etc..

[Chill°bucket]

well, i have a fully engineered anaconda which has different modules stored for different operations, so the costs are not the point.
Yes, the smaller size of the Mandalay is interesting for landing on planets and interstellar stations (medium). Planetary landings with the Anaconda are a pain.
I was just interested if it is worth it getting the Mandalay.

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by Chill°bucket:

well, i have a fully engineered anaconda which has different modules stored for different operations, so the costs are not the point.
Yes, the smaller size of the Mandalay is interesting for landing on planets and interstellar stations (medium). Planetary landings with the Anaconda are a pain.
I was just interested if it is worth it getting the Mandalay.

You just asked which is better, so I took this question generally, you never asked which is better for you, which is why I pointed out the cost.

But yes, it is worth it.

[Chill°bucket]

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

Originally posted by Chill°bucket:

well, i have a fully engineered anaconda which has different modules stored for different operations, so the costs are not the point.
Yes, the smaller size of the Mandalay is interesting for landing on planets and interstellar stations (medium). Planetary landings with the Anaconda are a pain.
I was just interested if it is worth it getting the Mandalay.

You just asked which is better, so I took this question generally, you never asked which is better for you, which is why I pointed out the cost. :lunar2019grinningpig:

But yes, it is worth it.

So it seems the best ship atm for exploration I guess.
thx O7

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by Chill°bucket:

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

You just asked which is better, so I took this question generally, you never asked which is better for you, which is why I pointed out the cost.

But yes, it is worth it.

So it seems the best ship atm for exploration I guess.
thx O7

Oh I also forgot to say, if you like exo-biology it has a glass floor, which can be helpful. You'll still need to do some estimation, if you want to land right in front of the sample, but it's easier. Not sure if you care about exo though.

And you're welcome. 😊

Edit: My anaconda is built for mining, it manoeuvres well, but not as good as the Mandalay. Not sure how your anni is built though.

[razor]

I used my anaconda for a trip to colonia instead of using my Mandalay because if you boost your jump range on a neutron star, the anaconda got longer jump range.

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by razor:

I used my anaconda for a trip to colonia instead of using my Mandalay because if you boost your jump range on a neutron star, the anaconda got longer jump range.

Isn't the bonus just 4x your existing range?

[The Dweller]

I went on my very first long-distance exploration trip in a DBX. After a few thousand Ly and no nameplates in sight - I felt like I was caught with my pants down. That was when I realised I was encsased in a tiny fragile metal box, and my CMDR´s survival was limited to what that box could offer, which was not much if you ignore the fact that it´s a game.

No civilisation or another living being around (if you don´t resort to cheating by messaging someone while playing or closing the game). That´s the realisation of how a present-day human is dependent on technology and planet Earth. This realisation is just one in a chain of several that one would experience on an equally lengthy journey to Mars for instance.

This is why I would pick a large ship - a properly equipped exploration station with all the necessary amenities into the Black (Anaconda in this case + a crew to boot albeit still invisible). I build my exploration ships around comfort and complete CMDR life support, and the sustainability needed to truly be able to live in space long-term. That doesn´t necessarily mean I don´t D-grade the "useless" things, but if it’s about building a real home for long-term travel - I tend to ignore most of the neurotic minmaxer mindset trying to save .01 in jump range while epileptically rolling on the floor.

[Chill°bucket]

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

Originally posted by Chill°bucket:

So it seems the best ship atm for exploration I guess.
thx O7

Oh I also forgot to say, if you like exo-biology it has a glass floor, which can be helpful. You'll still need to do some estimation, if you want to land right in front of the sample, but it's easier. Not sure if you care about exo though.

And you're welcome. 😊

Edit: My anaconda is built for mining, it manoeuvres well, but not as good as the Mandalay. Not sure how your anni is built though.

I change the modul layout for the purposes; atm pirate massacre missions mainly; only have so far also a type 9 heavy and ~2.5 billion credits. I want to purchase+engineer a medium ship as i have none. So I try to find out which...

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by Chill°bucket:

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

Oh I also forgot to say, if you like exo-biology it has a glass floor, which can be helpful. You'll still need to do some estimation, if you want to land right in front of the sample, but it's easier. Not sure if you care about exo though.

And you're welcome. 😊

Edit: My anaconda is built for mining, it manoeuvres well, but not as good as the Mandalay. Not sure how your anni is built though.

I change the modul layout for the purposes; atm pirate massacre missions mainly; only have so far also a type 9 heavy and ~2.5 billion credits. I want to purchase+engineer a medium ship as i have none. So I try to find out which...

I see.

Well whichever ship you end up deciding to get, I hope it will fulfill your needs.
I love the Mandalay for it's ability to explore the way it does.

I love the Anaconda too, but I wouldn't use it for exploration anymore.
On the other hand, we have The Dweller here, who probably launches himself deep into space and "dwells" in his ship for the foreseeable future, that's a way to go too.

[masterscruffies]

the mandalay is very good, and it might have been recommended to get for arx like 2-3 months ago, but it's projected to be released for credits extremely soon, which would be a huge waste of arx. If that's no issue the mandalay is the best exploration vehicle by a large margin sparing some use cases it can't do.

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by masterscruffies:

the mandalay is very good, and it might have been recommended to get for arx like 2-3 months ago, but it's projected to be released for credits extremely soon, which would be a huge waste of arx. If that's no issue the mandalay is the best exploration vehicle by a large margin sparing some use cases it can't do.

I heard somewhere that next week it will be released for everyone for credits.

[Astro the Cat]

I love my Mandalay for exploring. Got the jump range at a decent number (72 LY), which works for me. Doing exo it in, having a blast.

[Sighman]

Originally posted by The Dweller:

I went on my very first long-distance exploration trip in a DBX. After a few thousand Ly and no nameplates in sight - I felt like I was caught with my pants down. That was when I realised I was encsased in a tiny fragile metal box, and my CMDR´s survival was limited to what that box could offer, which was not much if you ignore the fact that it´s a game.

I feel like this every time I go on a long exploration trip in a tiny little DBX.

[SniperWolfMGS]

I'd like to also point out the design when is comes to SCO as well. I've used the same Experimental SCO drive (from the Titan event) on both ships.

The Mandaly cruises so smoothly through with next to no heat and it sips away the fuel very slowly.

The Anaconda on the other hand controls like a poorly thrown football. It also overheats fast and guzzles fuel. Not so good when those last 3 plants in a system are 30,000-50,000 Ls away from the main star.