How to love the Python?

[TorTorden]

I am not certain, but I think they added in the ability for PD's to target and take out hatch breaker limpets.
That alone could be worth putting a pd on for a non combat ship, particularily a miner, but on the belly to cover the hatch.

If not, I know for a fact that ECM modules will fry off a hatch breaker limpet, but it needs to be fired manually.

[MikelGTC]

I am not certain, but I think they added in the ability for PD's to target and take out hatch breaker limpets.
That alone could be worth putting a pd on for a non combat ship, particularily a miner, but on the belly to cover the hatch.

If not, I know for a fact that ECM modules will fry off a hatch breaker limpet, but it needs to be fired manually.

Yup, that is exactly the reason I sometimes use the PD. Pirates in RES zones tend to send limpets after you even if the only thing I have in cargo are my own limpets that I use to gather materials after dead pirates . That is at least what happened to me many times. So to protect from losing limpets I use one PD turret on the bottom of ship. Other than that I have boosters only or heat sinks especially when using SCB. ECM I do not bother to use it far too situational and needs to be operated manually. I even removed binding for ECM from my pad controls.

[Karunamon]

I personally find both asps utterly useless for any task.

I'm not even sure what the AspS is supposed to be for, and the AspX... I grew to hate that ship after being stuck in it for so long. It's got nice jump range, but that's about it. Power plant is anemic, shields suck, the hitbox is f*ckhuge, and most of your average low/midgame NPCs can shrug off the best weapons you can load with it (unless you start grinding engineers, which is about as enticing to me as watching paint dry).

[CMDR Dragonporn]

IMO both Asp's look pretty hot from exterior. But if Lakon had at least a little bit different cockpit designs for their ships, that would be nice. All their ships feel like you sit inside a space truck. While it's ok for Type's, it's definitely not for ship like Asp... And on that note gotta add that DeLacy at least tried for interiors to look different. And to overlook all shortcomings of Python cockpit design, it still gives a vibe that you're inside modern spacecraft.

[tinnitus]

Lakon not going to win any best cockpit awards - INARA list ASPX most owned ship. I use it to get around for Engineers and other grinds. Usually can get a FSD Jump Range of 50+ LY, but you can do better with a DBX and Conda. The Beluga is a very nice looking ship, great for passengers missions , others use her for exploring and Combat. The Lance, Vette and Krait Mk II for Combat. I prefer the Lance just because I did so many Quince Mass Kills with her. Still spend most of my time in the Cutter . Today trying to build a 65 LY Annie not sure why.
https://inara.cz/galaxy-statistics/

[MikelGTC]

I do not find the AspX bad, actually I think it is very good starter exploration ship with decent multirole capability. I even made a 96t cargo build for void opal mining when I was still too poor to buy a fully fledged Python. The cockpit view is absolutely awesome, good for exploration, it got nice internals and you can easily make 55-60LY build for exploration. What I disliked about AspX is the engine sound and absolutely garbage reverse thrusters, this thing has horrible "braking" (watchout on high G worlds LOL)

[tinnitus]

Yeah I bounced of HIGH G Worlds the ASPX does have a great cockpit view so does the T6 and T10, T7 which I use as a Collector the view is amazing but too high a pain in the neck. Your correct about the engine sound, and braking the T10 not good at slowing down I drop the landing gear and sometime the scoop/gear to slow me down. View that allow you to see below your feet are the best for me these views are helpful especially USS farming. scan nearby ships, wake scans .

Thanks for the feedback.

[TorTorden]

The kraits have just as good view, as the Lakons in my opinion amd much better manouverability and engines performance.

And the mk2 is even more potent in a fight than the python.

Doesn't really matter.
If you like a ship then by all means fly it.
If you don't, don't.

I don't particularly care for the Asp x, but every time I take a FDL into a fight I miss the vulture.

[rxay579]

I can't speak for your experience with the Python but when I was looking at the ships from my Sidewinder cockpit, I was enamored with the Federal Corvette and the Python looked nice too. I've been in my Python for a while now and I'm not sure I want to leave it.

Specifically, regarding your ship build...

I very much agree with the PD advice; on top for combat, on bottom for defence, especially if hatchbreakers still work through shields in 3.x.

I'd suggest replacing at least one of those four cargo bays with another defensive module unless you're trying to haul cargo with minimal defensive fighting. I do little trade in my Python and a single class 6 cargo bay (initially full of limpets) can get me through a stack of 10-15 missions in one outing (salvage missions and looting after fights).
Speaking of which, if you do salvage missions in space, a collector limpet controller (class 3 for two simultaneous limpets) is super helpful, especially for the encounters where it is a trap and ships jump in shortly after you do.

Regarding your PowerPlant, not sure why you went with Overcharged and Stripped Down. The weight loss from stripped down doesn't affect the Python's movement profile very noticeably and I can't see where you benefit from the overcharged. You could comfortably use a G1 Efficient with Thermal Spread and your ship would run cooler with negligible losses elsewhere.
Personally, as I trade out internals for different loadouts, I went with Armored / Thermal Spread as my common "gets the job done" configuration. I made that choice when it was easier to be killed by PP sniping.

I don't understand the general advice of "class D Life Support and Sensors, engineer as light as possible". I tried it for a bit and it made fighting harder (cockpit blowout, gotta scram) / ship 6km away, can't see them well) while having a seemingly negligible boost in speed/jump range.
Never found any advice better than "technically, it makes your speed/jump range better" but I'm still keeping my eyes open for it.

Regarding the Shield Boosters, if you go pure Resist Augment on the two, you get better resists and effective shields with only a minor bump in power usage.

Solid choice to use MRP's as getting you modules more than lightly scratched can be quite deadly.

[CMDR Dragonporn]

As I said already, I like exterior view of Python, as well as Fed Corvette for that matter. But interior and overall feel of the ship is too generic for me. This is quite sad that there's literally no alternative to that ship, it's just so good, there's no point in trying to get something else for Multipurpose. It can do almost anything, and do it very well.

Really not sure about another defensive module, like you mean HRP? Guess it comes down to playstyle. I usually don't let my shields collapse, and if I do, that means fight goes badly out of hand and I need to bail. With around 1000 shield pool, I don't think any ordinary Pirate, or three, can deal enough damage to bring those shields down, and since those are Bi-Weave, they'll be recharging relatively fast. Not a criminal, so don't think any ATR units will be chasing me around, haha.

On Limpets, I HATE them with passion, trying not to use them if not necessary, because they are extremely slow and stupid. But there's a problem with Python: for some reason, I can't scoop cargo as easy as in my other ships. Hopefully it will improve with practice.

Went with Overcharged Power Plant because I have no choice here. There are only 3 options, and only Overcharged doesn't add mass. Stripped down on any module is a blessing, because it improves my jump range, most annoying thing in this game for me, even if for a decimal, just gonna squeeze every little bit I can. And regarding heat, I have 3 Efficient Beams with Vents, so I'll be effectively at 1% of heat at all times during any fight, haha. Still gonna experiment a bit, maybe swap some of them for Oversized or something, but from initial testing, DPS was more then enough to destroy any regular target. And yeah, haven't ever seen AI who sniped my PP, not sure they are even capable of such a thing. But even if they are, my power profile will still let me disengage and wake out even with PP close to 0%.

I do agree that for fighting, D rated modules aren't best idea, but it depends. If you build shield tank, it won't be a problem in a slightest, but for hull tank or ship with low mobility it definitely will. In Python I do not intend to dive into any serious combat like high-med CZs or probably even Haz RES. Anything than that I should be able to handle. Besides, from what I know, Life Support module has no relation to Canopy strength. Higher class just gives you more oxygen time, but IMO 7:30 with D rated is more than enough, and it's just too risky to keep fighting with blown up Canopy. As for sensors, it's a bit more complicated. Overall it depends on ship build. 6D Lightweight were never hindering in combat for me. Long Range would be good for some sniper loadout, but since weapon dropoff in this game is quite crippling, there's little point to stay far from target doing chip damage. Plus any Gimbals can easily keep firing like Fixed when you untarget. So again, if by some miracle enemy bot will destroy my Sensors and I will still be able to fight back, that broken module would hardly be an obstacle.

Pure resist is pretty good idea for boosters, I'll definitely give it a shot, as it will also considerably cut down on my weight, improve recharge speed and give adequate pool against all 3 damage types.

On MRPs, I already have one. As far as I know 60% resist doesn't stack, so having more than class 2/3 is rather pointless. For better protection, I just might get Guardian one. But again, ship isn't dedicated fighter, so I guess I'll see how this works out.

Anyway, thanks for those tips, gives me some interesting perspective and ideas to think about.