The Python loadout thread: Big and ... strong?

[StaticRadion]

Love some of the loadouts in this post because every one that I look at seems to remind me of something I tried in the past. Loriath's post actually made me look back at a pic I posted on Inara because for a while I was testing turrets after the patch. The class 3 pulse laser turrets are actually really nice for keeping constant fire on smaller more nimbly ships and the heat and energy drain is very minimal.

[Loriath]

Love some of the loadouts in this post because every one that I look at seems to remind me of something I tried in the past. Loriath's post actually made me look back at a pic I posted on Inara because for a while I was testing turrets after the patch. The class 3 pulse laser turrets are actually really nice for keeping constant fire on smaller more nimbly ships and the heat and energy drain is very minimal.

As I said, I am lazy at times. And the Python is not exactly a manoeuvrable ship. Its not something I would serious take into a RES or CZ on a regular basis, but when I get interdicted I don't have to work too hard

[uvelius]

Thanks for the feedback! Two things:
- How about a Large fixed weapon? I had difficulties aiming it due to the lazy behaviour (though I had D or C thrusters there).
- How about Middle fixed weapon convergence? How do 2 Hammers work? And isn't the Python quite helpless when swarmed by many?
- Which leads us to the last point, turrets: Do 2 Class 2 Burst Turrets consume too much capacitor/generate too much heat?

So here is my current loadout.

[Loriath]

With that loadout I am surprised you have no Heatsinks. The PA generates a LOT of heat.

I have 3 Large Pulse Turrets and no issues with a C powerplant and A distributor. More than enough power to go around. The Bursts will not be that much more and I feel that it would work just as well with Bursts. Beams would be another story. So large turrets would be no issue. But you will really need the HeatSinks to fire that PA more than occasionally.

[Skipp]

Hmm... I know the Python is not as agile as the Vulture, but I have no issues with the ship maneuverability. I can easily flip it around with FA Off and the only ship that might cause more flips is the Vulture itself because it can just boot out of my sight. Luckaly, a single ship can rarely run through my shields (A class generator + 3 A shield boosters).

Small ships (Sidewinders, Eagles, Adders, Cobras, Vipers) usually die before I even deplete my weapons energy, and for the bigger ships - I just target the powerplant and stick to their back. I've rarely ran into a clipper/python/dropship that can easily get away or dodge me. Worst case scenario is me just flipping around and boosting onto their tail again

I'm running 6B thrusters though

[TorTorden]

I also certainly have no problems with manoeuvrability, but good thrusters are key, running 6A's myself, heck only thing not a grade on my python is the PP.

I have no qualms of running into a high res with my current fit, consider it good enough for anything.
Never tried turrets either, but might give them shot, I just don't think they would be the best for hardcore combat, and eagles die quickly enough, particularly in RES's where you pretty much always get the first shot, and most eagles doesn't take more than 3-5 shots.

[StaticRadion]

Thanks for the feedback! Two things:
- How about a Large fixed weapon? I had difficulties aiming it due to the lazy behaviour (though I had D or C thrusters there).
- How about Middle fixed weapon convergence? How do 2 Hammers work? And isn't the Python quite helpless when swarmed by many?
- Which leads us to the last point, turrets: Do 2 Class 2 Burst Turrets consume too much capacitor/generate too much heat?

Lets see if I can help with these points.

Large fixed weapons are another beast and in my opinion it depends on placement. I often have a large fixed cannon on the bow of the ship, but placing them in the rear (stern) is possible if you are good at correctional movement using horizontal thrust, yaw, and or both. The slower speed of PA and Cannon projectiles means that close combat is a necessity.

I don't really like the medium fixed weapon convergence for pve, though it does work. If I was going to do pvp I would use a couple of railguns if only because of the raw power and the fact most pirates and traders are in large ships, but then again the limited ammo drives me crazy.

In swarms of 3 or more ships the Python takes some finesse and a kind of kill order. In pve mine personally goes something like Python, Asp, Eagle, Federal Dropship, Anaconda, Clipper, Viper, Cobra, and finally Vulture. You will have to make your own mental kill order and it is a balance of how powerful an enemy is, how quickly they come about (turn around), and how quickly they can be killed. This is why the Eagle comes before the Anaconda because an npc Eagle will make a ridiculous number of passes on you before you can kill an Anaconda but takes seconds to kill. Don't get discouraged because even when I had a C class Python I was regularly taking on strong signal sources solo and coming out on top and you will get there soon with some practice.

Turrets are a great resource, but depend heavily on play style. So before I briefly talk about them I am going to talk about power distribution or my three default power profiles I use in most ships.

Power to Weapons: 3.5 pips to weapons is my personal max because most ships get a little lethargic without 2 pips in engines.

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50/50: 2.5 pips in weapons and engines. This is not so much about weapons as it is about a little more maneuverability.

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Power to Systems: 4 pips in systems. For when you are getting hammered, need a shield cell, or are preparing to ram.

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So taking this into account my main requirement is that turrets be able to be used within all 3 profiles. So the turrets have to be able to be powered with only a single pip in weapons. With an A spec powerplant I can still power a few different turret options in the medium bays with 1 pip to weapons but you will have to do some testing with the C if you subscribe to the same mentality.

Side notes and tips:
-FAO is your friend but yaw is not. Yaw in the Python kinda sucks and you will have to learn to compensate for it.
-Running away like a pro: Move in the straight line, full power to shield, FAO, boost, roll and side thrust in the same direction. This will put you in a type of barrel roll vs the aileron roll you see most players doing. The movement fries the npc logic or something because sometimes they stop shooting at me all together.
-Have fun =)

[UnmarkedBoxcar]

Behold! The Red Herring! In all her glory!

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[Python]
L: 3C/G Beam Laser
L: 3C/G Beam Laser
L: 3C/G Cannon
M: 2F/G Multi-cannon
M: 2F/G Multi-cannon
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0A Shield Booster

BH: 1I Lightweight Alloy
RB: 7A Power Plant
TM: 6A Thrusters
FH: 5A Frame Shift Drive
EC: 4D Life Support
PC: 7A Power Distributor
SS: 6A Sensors
FS: 5C Fuel Tank (Capacity: 32)

6: 6A Shield Generator
6: 6E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 64)
6: 6E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 64)
5: 5E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 32)
5: 5E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 32)
4: 4E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 16)
3: 3A Shield Cell Bank
3: 3A Shield Cell Bank
2: 2A Fuel Scoop
---
Shield: 726.27 MJ
Power : 24.10 MW retracted (80%)
29.69 MW deployed (99%)
30.00 MW available
Cargo : 208 T
Fuel : 32 T
Mass : 670.0 T empty
910.0 T full
Range : 17.55 LY unladen
13.53 LY laden
Price : 166,222,130 CR
Re-Buy: 8,311,107 CR @ 95% insurance

She's undergone a few adaptations and iterations over the months, but for now, this is the load out I'm using. Superb combat capabilities and power/heat management, decent cargo capacity, and a whole lot of fun to fly. The large cannon used to be a plasma accelerator, and the multi-cannons used to be turreted (slower rate of fire, ammo lasts longer) but when I swapped the PA out for the Cannon I traded in my turrets as well to see how a cheaper load out would fare.

I've been toying with the idea of tossing on a few large turreted beams just for kicks, but I'm not sure the added "fun" factor is worth the decrease in efficiency

Though, to any who are wondering, turrets are quite fun (Just not as "pew pew" as gimbals or fixed.)

[TorTorden]

Yeah I noticed as well that most ships, even the vulture gets more responsive with a few pips in engine.
zero pips in engine is an absolute no go.

So in addition to have pip control on my stick ready at all time, i have a few voice attack macros bound to put three pips into engines and weapons or the same with system/engines, anything in between I can just manually correct from my stick.

[Skipp]

When i'm bountyhunting i usually have 100% weapons, 50% engines and 0% shields on my Python. Unless it's a wing of 3 where there's 1-2 vultures, no one can take down more than half of my shields, and having weapons and engines means i can pewpew longer and outmaneuver almost every ship.

Pythons are just that great ^^