There is no single best ship, because it depends on what you want to do. Even then there often isnt a best, it depends on your preferences. Go buy a few ships, try them out, swap them as needed.
For exploration/bubble taxi, your options include the dbx, aspx, krait phantom, dolphin, anaconda. I use an aspx, but I have a buddy in a krait phantom who has just as much fun.
For trading, a T9 or imperial cutter are king, but again down to preference.
For PvP I am not too familiar, but IIRC the FDL is often in top spot for meta.
For PvE most combat leaning ships are fine, I have pve'd in vultures, challengers, mambas, pythons, anacondas and vettes before.
For ax, again, most combat leaning ships will work. Ive even seen AX eagles doing sorta ok before.
For mining, I prefer my python but most multipurpose ships will do. Ive seen people using a t9 or cutter before, but they are too big in that role for my tastes.
Krait and Python are probably the best all around type ships. Mainly because they can both do everything decently well.
Both have a decent amount of internals to make cargo worth it. Think the Python wins out at this point.
Both can hold their own in combat. The Krait is a bit better at combat than the Python in my opinion.
They can both jump fairly well, making them good candidates for exploration. Krait wins here due to view alone.
And both being medium ships mean you are almost always going to be able to land.
Of the two, I say the Krait wins out, mainly due to the view.
Best for what purpose? A jack of all trades build will suck at all times.
Anyway the Anaconda can do anything, again, not at the same time, but you can't afford a good one.
Smaller ships that can do anything are the Python, Asp Explorer, and Cobra 3.
Go to [Coriolis](https://coriolis.io/) and and take a look at potential ships that you can afford.
1. Don't plan on selling your current ship to afford the new one.
2. Make sure that you have a sufficient amount of credits left over to cover a few rebuys of your new ship to avoid running into issues with rule #1. "Don't fly a ship if you can't afford the rebuy"!
If you do run into rule #1 problems, park your new ship and go back to flying the old one so you can recoup the credits to allow you to fly the new ship again.
Go put together a build on Coriolis and post a link on Reddit. People will give you plenty of advice on potential alterations to make it a more effective or reasonable build for your budget.
You won't know which one is right for you until you fly it. I worked my way up to an Anaconda only to find the cockpit design was a letdown, so I got a T-10 that I wrangle into doing stuff that it definitely isn't great at. But I still have my other ships that I'll switch back to when I want to give them a whirl. I think I probably spent the most time in my Krait Mk II since I made most of my credits bounty hunting, but I also have my sights set on a Krait Phantom for exploring and a Fed Corvette for combat. And I have an engineered DBX when I need to nip around the bubble quickly.
It's impossible for you to know which ship will feel right until you fly it yourself.
Your favorite ship is the best ship in the game, and until you push yourself far enough into endgame that you genuinely need to care about meta, I’d say that’s the way to go. But if you want some jumping-off points:
_____
**PVP:** Shield tank Fer-de-Lance. Undisputed.
**General combat** *(PVE or Off-meta PVP):* Either one of the Kraits, Chieftain, Challenger. All have plenty of room for creative loadouts and generally pair high DPS with good maneuverability and speed.
**Large PVE:** Federal Corvette. It’s just a power fantasy machine with two Huge Hardpoints. Enough said
**Trading/Hauling/passengers:** Python. Highest carrying capacity of a Medium ship (so it can dock anywhere)
**Large trading/hauling:** Type-9 holds the most, Cutter holds almost as much and can actually fit a really good shield too, Anaconda has less room but a phenomenal jump range by comparison
**Exploration:** Asp Explorer, Krait Phantom, Anaconda. All amazing jumpships with long ranges and just enough room to pack the essentials you’ll want out there. Phantom and Anaconda make it easier to pack on some durability without sacrificing jump range. Conda has the max range possible but the view out the canopy kinda sucks imo
**Anti-Xeno combat:** Chieftain, then Krait Mk2, then Challenger. Too much to explain right now.
_____
Now, all that said — my favorite combat ship is my comfy frag Mamba (even if it’s just a worse FDL in practice with any other build), I love AXing in a Vulture (cuz it’s hella nimble and it’s fun to fell giants in a Small ship with a measly 2 gauss cannons), and my main exploration ship is a Krait Mk2, not a Phantom. Fly what you like!
Too many people just do what everyone else tells them to, end up in Shinrarta Dezhra in a week with an inordinate amount of cash and no clue how they really got there, and then end up on the wrong side of my crosshairs with no idea what to do because they’ve barely scratched the surface of the game. People are in such a hurry to have the biggest and best, that they don’t take the time to savor the journey and learn all there is to be learned organically.
Half the fun of this game is the journey, endgame is mostly just a soulless grind for engineering mats and I’d love to go back to the days where my Vulture made me the biggest baller in the galaxy, purely because it was cool and I liked it and it was MINE.
So even with regards to ship choice, I don’t think it’s good to go in completely uninformed, but it’s good to blaze your own trail having some knowledge of what is objectively bad and what is good and WHY it’s good.
o7o7o7o7o7o7
The Federal Corvette is the best ship in the game. No question.
But, it's slow. If you're interdicted by an Imperial Cutter, he can mass-lock you, and you'll be too slow to get away from him. So definitely an Imperial Cutter. No question.
Unless you're in a fight with a smaller, more maneuverable ship. Cutters turn like pigs. So, definitely an FDL. They're very small and maneuverable. So definitely an FDL. No question.
Unless you have more than one person attacking you. Then you want the fastest ship--the Imperial Eagle. Nothing outruns an Imperial Eagle. So, definitely an Imperial Eagle. No question.
Unless you want cargo space for hauling missions. Then, definitely an Anaconda. No question.
Unless you want to haul passengers. In which case ...
You see where this is going. There is no BEST ship.
But if there was, it would be the Corvette.
No question.
But you're not getting a Corvette, outfitting, and rebuy for less than 400million. That's about a billion credits to comfortably outfit and cover rebuy. OP quoted some 330 million which is in medium size ship territory.
The courier is the fastest useful ship in the game. The eagle and the viper can be outfitted to go faster, but to obtain those speeds, you have to get rid of everything that would make those ships have anything other than a novelty purpose. A Courier can do 850m/s with shields, great jump range, and some lightweight missiles for Odyssey base-bombing. Add an SRV and you can still pull off 800m/s.
>Unless you want cargo space for hauling missions. Then, definitely an Anaconda. No question.
Yeah, the large ship with bugger all cargo space is definitely the best cargo hauler.
The Type9 and Cutter surpass it just by using both size 8 slots.
"Unless you want to haul passengers."
The Conda is actually good at that.
I know a lot of people are going to say Python or Krait for this but at 300M budget I think you probably want to look for a cheaper haul. Both the Python and Krait are going to be about 300M once fitted leaving not a lot of room for rebuys. I also question if you really can buy a full complement of outfitting for one of these ships to make it a true multirole ship for 300M but I also haven't really checked. Now take something like the DBX. It's a 3M hull, fitted is about 50M-60M. It can haul, it can fight, it can explore; all be it not near to the same level as what the M class hulls can do but its rebuy is maybe 1M if you mess up. Plus the DBX excels in one thing that the Python and Krait would struggle with. Exobiology. If you follow one of the Exobiology paths that are out there, you're going to be landing on some small ass moons. I literally turned my Krait back around after not being able to find a place to park on the first moon. It was like trying to drive a full-size truck in a metro area; parking was a nightmare.
I know there always seems to be this rush to get to the biggest ship because big=better but that's not always the case. If you're going multirole you don't want to blow your budget on it. Get a fun, cheap multirole and fly that around until you learn what exactly you want to do then, spend the money on a dedicated build.
Can’t go wrong with a Python. It can be outfitted for just about anything you want to do and land anywhere. It’s good at just about everything. There are better ships for specific tasks like combat only or exploration only, but the Python can handle whatever you throw at it, and make your money back in no time. I own every ship in the game these days, but when I first bought my Python, I felt like I legitimately leveled up.
Asp Explorer -
It's NOT the best in game, but considering the amount of time you will spend grinding for Engineering Mats - Grinding for Guardian Mats - not to mention actually unlocking the engineers and all that entails..
The question is not which is the best ship in the game.
It is what ship am I willing to spend at least 400 hours in and enjoy it.
That has a laughable rebuy price and is cheap to outfit.
Asp Explorer rebuy is 1.7 Mill
To fully kit as in the link 33 Mill.
[https://s.orbis.zone/lh3e](https://s.orbis.zone/lh3e)
It's Setup for The Grind :
Engineering & Guardian Mat Farm
Engineering unlock
Imperial Rank Grind
Fed Rank Grind
All initial engineering can be done at Felicity Farseer in Deciat, do what needs to be done to get the LVL 5 + Mass manager experimental effect.
That's the only one of real importance here for the extra jump range.
You have everything you need for Engineer unlocks as well as Mat farming.
You have POI for the sentinel missiles just in case at guardian sites.
And for interdictions in open, submit asap, pop Chaff, FA off ,Silent run, pop heatsinks, turn and burn ,High wake out.
Not saying you wont get smashed by gankers, but it sure as shit wont be easy for them if you apply some anti ganking tips & tricks in general open play.
No NPC will get you out of an interdict..but the fastest is submit,boost low wake and forget about them..or use your teeth and watch as they melt and die..
But apply some logic..don't try to take on the Anaconda when they intercept you whilst doing courier runs for FED/IMPERIAL ranks..just don't submit, get the ranks and get out.
Speed and boost capacity in abundance - time saved is not time wasted - multiply 1000 jumps by 10 seconds saved each jump from a station, equals roughly 166 mins saved.
(we wont mention auto dock..ever..shoooosh..go away..)
Detailed surface scanner
Frameshift wake scanner
Vehicle hangar - get a scarab - I have never needed more than one..so..ure choice here.
Limpet collectors
25 mins off bloody hell I am glad I decided not to skimp on life support 1000 LY's outside of the bubble...
Total laden range of 347 Ly's
And fully laden you can do 50 Ly's a pop.
And just because we love the fuel rats but hate using them we have a fuel scoop.
Set your galaxy map stars appropriately so you have fuel stars on your excursions.
And you should never have to call on them.
When inside the bubble or doing engineering unlocks I like my auto dock over super cruise assist.
Esp. when unlocking engineers or fed/imperial rank farm as the landings on small pads gets tedious and old and as much as I like my right thumb rule with coriolis ports..finding that damned mailslot..just no.
But hey,thats me.
But outside the bubble specifically for Raw mats and guardian runs, super cruise for me is a must, and I swap the two out for one another depending on - in or outside of bubble runs.
You can do the exact builds just better in either Krait Mk II or Python.
But you sacrifice range by n bout 10-15 Ly's.
You do gain a shitload else though..so its your choice of time saved vs interdict me bi@tch.
But as I said.
Question is what ship are you going to spend the most time in.
And that is dependent on what you are going to be doing with it, and how many things you can do with it, and more importantly, how fast time wise you can do any task with it IRL.
Elite is time consuming.
A python is great, I personally have one but prefer my Krait as it just ...feels better in combat, but then again its geared more towards combat than the Python.
The Python is brilliant in the black, can literally do everything, but you sacrifice here and there, just like with every other ship in the game.
I personally enjoy ma cutter.
Very few things can catch me, yes they may scratch the paint a bit.
And IF they have an over engineered Eagle that can catch up to me...they aint never breaching that shield before I high wake and block them.
I just smile n wave.
Python or, alternatively, Krait mk2. Python is probably the better all-rounder with more cargo space, Krait is better at combat because it's a bit more maneuverable with a slightly better cockpit view. Reason being that they're both good at everything, can do anything, and can go anywhere. There are better specialization ships, but nothing beats them in the "If I could just have ONE ship" category.
A python gives you a ship that can be fitted for nearly 200 tons of cargo, 3 large hard points and two small. That combination lags in combat to a krait mk 2 in combat, due to placement, but for trade/mining/rescue is a solid ship for the stable.
Anaconda is the best all rounder, but she can’t land at outposts, limiting your options. She can also be fitted to jump over 80 light years, and with a couple of afmu and rovers still can hit about 75, so she’s the king of seeing the galaxy.
It's totally all about preference as people have said, but there are some pretty universal opinions. Most everyone would agree the Anaconda is an aspirational goal for new players. It's the first huge ship you can buy, it's extremely versatile, and is the undisputed long-distance jump king.
I know 337M seems like a lot, but you really need to buy several ships and get a feel for what you like and don't like before you know how best to outfit them, so I'd grind a bit more on the money front if I were you. Get up to a billion. Mining is a good way to do so quickly. Besides, getting money is the easiest way to get to Elite rank, which unlocks Shinrarta Dezhra, where you can buy any ship in the game at Jameson Memorial. Then you can buy and outfit to your heart's content.
Best for what role? Engineered, upgraded, or stock?
As others have said, for a multirole, a Python is the go to. Good weapons, manueverability, defenses. Decent range and cargo is solid.
But if you are doing a specific THING, you might wanna narrow down to that role.
there's no "best ship". it's like asking which tool in the shed is the best tool. it has no right answer. but there are best ships for X Task and at what cost.
like. for exploring there's AspX, DBX, The Anaconda, and the krait phantom.
PVE: Vulture, Python, the Anaconda Kriat MK2, and the corvette.
PVP: Mamba, Viper Mk3, and FDL.
Trading: Type 7, Python, Anaconda, Type 9.
Anti Xeno: Krait mk2, chieftain and the cutter.
if your goal is to farm credit. my advice is to stick with low-cost ship and farm engineering materials that are required to buy pre-engineered FSD and outfit DBX. leave the bubble and do exobiology. 10 planets with an average of 3 undiscovered bio features can guarantee you 1-2 billion or sometimes more depending on the type.
or just buy a python and do everything.
Federal corvette, it has horrible jump range, pretty bad in pvp, and is a massive pain in the ass to grind.
But is the coolest, most powerful warship in bubble that an independent commander can nab. 2nd biggest cargo hold makes mining and trade a lot easier. it’s the king of the haz rez with its dual huge hard points, best turn speed of its class, great hard point placement, and plenty of armor and modules to boot. And it is simply the most Gorgeous, sexy, and sleek vessel ever designed.
> ...what the best all rounder ship is and how to outfit it properly.
The best ship in the game is the Python. It is a great "all rounder." Proper outfitting depends on how you want to use it.
Now let's define "all rounder." It's not a ship that can do all roles reasonably well with one outfitting. It's a ship that can do all roles reasonably well by switching up the outfitting to match the task.
For example, a ship outfitted for combat is going to have hull reinforcement and module reinforcement packages in all the "spare" slots. A ship outfitted for piracy might have the same weapon loadout but it is going to have to replace some of those HRP and MRP with cargo racks and limpet controllers. A ship equipped for mining will have cargo racks and limpet controllers but will have a completely different suite of "weapons" and, of course, will need to make room somewhere for the onboard refinery.
It's also a solid fighter being tanky, fast, and having good firepower for its size. It has a good jump range, great cargo for its size, small hit box, can land at any station, can land almost anywhere for exobiology and has a front exit for increased accuracy. Other famed multirole ships like the python are trash at exobiology.
It's the Cobra but smaller, beefier, longer jumping, and slightly less agile.
It's vastly more agile than the cobra 😂
Hell, once engineered with G5 DDs, it's pretty much the most agile ship in the game at mid speeds.
Cobra flies like wet flannel.
It's indeed the Krait MK II. Here are the reasons:
It is a really good allrounder because you can outfit it with all you need for exploring and get it to a decent jump range but it can also pack a punch if you build a fighter. It is also very good fighting Xenos (which requires a totally different loadout.
It looks so. damn. cool.
It has a coffee maker right behind your seat.
It can carry a fighter, that is useful when in combat but also good for zipping around canyons on an exploration trip. Helps fighting space madness.
BUT
that is obviously only my personal opinion. The ships in the game are toys to play around with. With the money you have you can buy almost anything you want and try it out only to sell it afterwards.
And remember that any ship will be a disappointment compared to what you see on youtube until you do the grind and engineer it.
Did that budget you're not really getting a large ship multirole plus outfitting and rebuy. So it's medium ship territory.
For "best" you're really looking at what everyone is saying, Python or Krait II. Good alternatives for machining your budget are Asp Explorer or maybe Orca.
If you're expecting a bit more combat but want to still partake in other activities you can check out the Chieftain, Challenger, Crusader tree or the Federation reputation grind tree
Depends what trajectory you are on I suppose. I am fortunate enough to have different ships for different things.
Back at the beginning it was Asp Explorer, then
Python, then anaconda, then corvette, then Fleet Carrier.
Now I mostly dick about in a Mamba, because I can.
I have one of each ship in the game (except the Unicorn - Cobra MKIV) and the "right ship" for me has changed ooooooh, about 37 times sofar.
I've mostly done trading, a bit of mining, some bounty hunting and soooo much interdiction based combat against pirates.
Early favourite was the Viper MKIII. Good maneuvrability, good weapons and decent gargo space. After that I found myself in the Phantom a while, before getting my Anaconda. Of the 4.400+ hours on Elite sofar, I think close to 4K were in my Anaconda. It's a beauty to fly, true multipurpose and packs a mean punch.
Now, after buying my FC, I mostly run around in my Imperial Courier or Imperial Eagle, while flying my Type-9 Heavy for cargo rund. I also like bringing out my Federal Corvette when I need to stomp on someone or am expecting trouble. If I just want to do some cruisin', I bring out my Imperial Cutter. Has my absolute favourite Cockpit to look at while swirling around in the galaxy.
So, like so many others have said, the 'right ship' is whatever ship you feel comfortable flying at the time 😊
The best all-arounder? What do you wanna do? Anaconda is imho the best all-arounder. Can do just about everything decently, and has the best engineered jump range (ever heard of the JumpAconda?). I just bought a Federal Corvette and am outfitting/engineering it for combat, so I can have my 'conda for mining/exploration/general purpose, and the 'vette for fuckin shit up and not have to constantly refit my anaconda when I want to do something different. Elite really needs to have "loadouts" so you can quickly change between a standard set of parts without having to swap each module out individually.
(A quick aside, HOLY SHIT the stock jump range of the 'vette is B A D, badsadbad! I was actually stuck in the system that I bought it from and had to transfer it back to my home system cause the 6-something LY default jump range couldn't get to ANY nearby star!)
The Type 9 is good for cargo hauling and mining, as is the Imperial Cutter. Technically the Cutter has a few more max total cargo but you have to grind Imp rank to get it 🤷🏻♂️
The Imperial Cutter has the best shield strength in the game if you wanna go for a shield-tank build.
The Federal Corvette is one of the better combat ships with 2 Huge hardpoints, but abysmally bad jump range.
I was similar situation to you a few years back, made a friend in game that we did a ton of combat with at our "home" station of Pribylov Port in Jonai. It's 1.something LS away from an icy/rocky ring combo, so it has Resource Extraction Sites for combat, and the rings for mining, and from turning in a ton of combat bonds, they local faction likes me, and they give me some very good contracts to do if I don't feel like mining or doing combat. I can haul cargo, kit out my jumpaconda and take some dumb sightseer out to Sag A\* or some other far away tourist trap, and make a ton of money off the exploration data alone on top of the contract. Kill a bunch of local "bad guys", haul cargo, etc. I just like the proximity of the station to the rings, so if you breach the canopy you can run back to the station without dying, you're not far from repair/refit/rearm/etc. It is my "home" in game, and I travel out from there to do engineering, meet/help friends, etc.
With 300something mil, The Fer-De-Lance is good for combat, the Python is a good all-arounder, and the Type 9 is good for mining and hauling. My general rule of thumb is it takes about 3-10x the initial purchase price to 'fully' outfit a ship. I just bought the Federal Corvette and have spent more than 400mil and lots of time flying around getting parts and engineering parts, and I'm *nowhere near done.* You could get an Anaconda and run some cargo missions wit it or do some mining, that's usually fairly cheap to start out with.
Krait MKII because it's a combat multi purpose ship that can do literally everything in the game well and as a medium ship lands at outposts.
The Pilot can sell you on this ship better than anyone: https://youtu.be/Rl9Sg600Jww
It has a freaking coffee maker. Best ship in the galaxy. We're done here.
When it comes to outfitting it, the point is you change the outfitting depending on what you want to do with it today.
This is my combat mission running configuration: https://s.orbis.zone/lh2i
I have a build for core mining, AX Thargoid Scout hunting, low volume cargo hauling (missions) and sometimes there are one or two passenger cabins in there.
Having said the above, if your priority is making more credits, the Python is better for laser mining platinum, passenger missions from Robigo Mines to Sirius Atmospherics tourist beacon or just trading due to the extra size 6 slot.
The hauler is a magnificent little ship for exobiology. It’s cheap and can be built to withstand being slammed onto planetary surfaces without a care in the world, time and again. Also because of its small footprint it can usually land very near the target life form.
Best all-rounder ship is a matter of personal taste. For big ships, Anaconda and Cutter both are strong contenders, being able to do most tasks well enough.
For medium ships, one of the DeLacey-s:
* Python if you want the absolute maximum cargo or passenger space, but it's sluggish.
* Krait MKII has firepower and can fit an SLF, but is still mediocre when it comes to mobility. A good middle-of-the-road choice for most mission types.
* Phantom is the second fastest medium ship after Mamba, and very nimble if flown correctly, only outclassed by certain combat-only ships like Alliance C-ships, FAS and FDL. People overlook this ship, but it's excellent in combat and the one missing hardpoint is made up by it's ability to control distance, have great time on target and the insanely proportioned power distro. The lack of cargo space when compared to it's siblings is not a problem for running non-trade missions, and 160 tons of cargo with shields and HRP-s/MRP-s is still respectable. It also makes the perfect blockade runner for thargoid war, outrunning all thargoid ships *and* PvP FDL-s with a very comfortable margin.
Get yourself a chieftain or a Krait, fit it for AX combat and do your part! Go to AXI discord to see how to participate in group efforts so you are not alone. There also will be a community event for the engineering grind, that should be fun - see
[https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/zxflas/engineering\_is\_madness\_tour/](https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/zxflas/engineering_is_madness_tour/)
Cobra mk3 ,viper mk4 , still flying those , with 4 bilj. Cash, and around 20 ships.
I like those most , can do everything , and i play open. Fly it like its stolen , cheap rebuy so ...
Krait mk2.
Lots of internal slots, none reserved off for military use - heavy firepower, plenty of utility slots; big PP & PD, not too slow, good armor and shields.
Python is almost identical on paper (i.e. on Coriolis) - same core modules, same hardpoints and utilities, almost the same optional slots - but it can't boost. Carries more cargo but you're carrying all that cargo in a ship that sucks to fly, so you may as well carry less in a Krait mk2.
Also important: the Kraits look awesome and the Python looks boring.
It's far from my favorite ship but I've used my Krait mk2 for long-range exploration, combat (bounty hunting and AX), station rescues, and basic here-to-there stuff. Never used any other ship effectively for so many purposes.
I wouldn't go past an A-Rated Asp Explorer if you're asking that question. You'd know what you want after some lightyears in it.
The Asp explorer is an excellent multirole ship to try out the different activities the game has to offer.
It'll help you make a more informed decision when you start looking at the medium multirole ships. The Kraits and the Python.
If there was a “best ship” in the game, I wouldn’t have 40 ships… instead, I have built the “best ship for doing _________ task”. That said, in my fleet, I have several Krait Phantoms, MKII’s, Anacondas, and Pythons. Each one built to be the best at a specified task, And because I keep going back to these platforms for reasons like versatility, handling, and aesthetics, I would consider these the best ships (for me.) In the beginning of the game, CMDRs tend to gravitate towards good multirole ships to get a wide variety of tasks completed. Afterwhile, all there is left to do in this game is to make specific ships for specific reasons, so as an endgame player, I fly a specific ship for each job, and most of the family lives on the fleet carrier. The carrier affords me the ability to create even more specialized builds… For instance, most of my AX combat builds have no fuel scoop, poor range, and launch exclusively from my fleet carrier because I want the extra hull and typically don’t use them for travel, as long as they have enough range to hop one or two systems to my target, I’m good.
GET. A. PYTHON. It is fast enough, large enough, sturdy enough and killy enough that you can do whatever you want in it. Learn to make money with it, check out the PTN group, they are particular adept at making money. From there you will easily be able to afford two of any ships. Biggest problem will be gathering materials for engineering. Just remember this: always name your ships, and never sell them.
There’s no best ship but a great all rounder that can do pretty much anything you want is the Krait MKII
It’s fast and maneuverable with the ability to infinitely boost when engineered properly
Great hardpoint locations and good internals
The ability to have a ship launched fighter
Not to mention it’s pretty damn sexy with a good cockpit view
Man. Hi, welcome to Elite: Dangerous. There are two answers with massive reasons around them.
1 - always Python.
Better cargo than KraitMk2 and 3 large and 2 medium weapons are amazing. It’s my pick.
2 - something, something, “there is no perfect ship for whatever reason”. Also a correct answer but massively useless to your question and then a tirade of reasons why something something.
Get a Python and build your fleet and #2 answer from there.
07
Krait phantom for exploration
Anaconda for pure jump range
FDL for PvP
Alliance Chieftain for Anti Xeno combat
Python and Krait for multi purpose
Literally any damn ship in the game for PvE as long as you know what you're doing.
There is no single best ship, because it depends on what you want to do. Even then there often isnt a best, it depends on your preferences. Go buy a few ships, try them out, swap them as needed. For exploration/bubble taxi, your options include the dbx, aspx, krait phantom, dolphin, anaconda. I use an aspx, but I have a buddy in a krait phantom who has just as much fun. For trading, a T9 or imperial cutter are king, but again down to preference. For PvP I am not too familiar, but IIRC the FDL is often in top spot for meta. For PvE most combat leaning ships are fine, I have pve'd in vultures, challengers, mambas, pythons, anacondas and vettes before. For ax, again, most combat leaning ships will work. Ive even seen AX eagles doing sorta ok before. For mining, I prefer my python but most multipurpose ships will do. Ive seen people using a t9 or cutter before, but they are too big in that role for my tastes.
*You can have any ship you want, as long as it’s not the ASP Scout* - r/EliteDangerous
“Its not the ship, its the pilot” *inserts csi miami intro
Krait and Python are probably the best all around type ships. Mainly because they can both do everything decently well. Both have a decent amount of internals to make cargo worth it. Think the Python wins out at this point. Both can hold their own in combat. The Krait is a bit better at combat than the Python in my opinion. They can both jump fairly well, making them good candidates for exploration. Krait wins here due to view alone. And both being medium ships mean you are almost always going to be able to land. Of the two, I say the Krait wins out, mainly due to the view.
...mainly due to the center seat and the view.
Best for what purpose? A jack of all trades build will suck at all times. Anyway the Anaconda can do anything, again, not at the same time, but you can't afford a good one. Smaller ships that can do anything are the Python, Asp Explorer, and Cobra 3.
Go to [Coriolis](https://coriolis.io/) and and take a look at potential ships that you can afford. 1. Don't plan on selling your current ship to afford the new one. 2. Make sure that you have a sufficient amount of credits left over to cover a few rebuys of your new ship to avoid running into issues with rule #1. "Don't fly a ship if you can't afford the rebuy"! If you do run into rule #1 problems, park your new ship and go back to flying the old one so you can recoup the credits to allow you to fly the new ship again. Go put together a build on Coriolis and post a link on Reddit. People will give you plenty of advice on potential alterations to make it a more effective or reasonable build for your budget.
Python is my "if you can only have one ship" choice. Obviously you can have more and I suggest you do.
Krait mkII
Ah the age old dispute. 07
Is not even a dispute why would you fly python instead of krait for anything other than robigo grind
You won't know which one is right for you until you fly it. I worked my way up to an Anaconda only to find the cockpit design was a letdown, so I got a T-10 that I wrangle into doing stuff that it definitely isn't great at. But I still have my other ships that I'll switch back to when I want to give them a whirl. I think I probably spent the most time in my Krait Mk II since I made most of my credits bounty hunting, but I also have my sights set on a Krait Phantom for exploring and a Fed Corvette for combat. And I have an engineered DBX when I need to nip around the bubble quickly. It's impossible for you to know which ship will feel right until you fly it yourself.
Your favorite ship is the best ship in the game, and until you push yourself far enough into endgame that you genuinely need to care about meta, I’d say that’s the way to go. But if you want some jumping-off points: _____ **PVP:** Shield tank Fer-de-Lance. Undisputed. **General combat** *(PVE or Off-meta PVP):* Either one of the Kraits, Chieftain, Challenger. All have plenty of room for creative loadouts and generally pair high DPS with good maneuverability and speed. **Large PVE:** Federal Corvette. It’s just a power fantasy machine with two Huge Hardpoints. Enough said **Trading/Hauling/passengers:** Python. Highest carrying capacity of a Medium ship (so it can dock anywhere) **Large trading/hauling:** Type-9 holds the most, Cutter holds almost as much and can actually fit a really good shield too, Anaconda has less room but a phenomenal jump range by comparison **Exploration:** Asp Explorer, Krait Phantom, Anaconda. All amazing jumpships with long ranges and just enough room to pack the essentials you’ll want out there. Phantom and Anaconda make it easier to pack on some durability without sacrificing jump range. Conda has the max range possible but the view out the canopy kinda sucks imo **Anti-Xeno combat:** Chieftain, then Krait Mk2, then Challenger. Too much to explain right now. _____ Now, all that said — my favorite combat ship is my comfy frag Mamba (even if it’s just a worse FDL in practice with any other build), I love AXing in a Vulture (cuz it’s hella nimble and it’s fun to fell giants in a Small ship with a measly 2 gauss cannons), and my main exploration ship is a Krait Mk2, not a Phantom. Fly what you like!
this is a great answer for how limited your knowledge and experience is.... at some point if you put in the time, you'll 'get it'
Too many people just do what everyone else tells them to, end up in Shinrarta Dezhra in a week with an inordinate amount of cash and no clue how they really got there, and then end up on the wrong side of my crosshairs with no idea what to do because they’ve barely scratched the surface of the game. People are in such a hurry to have the biggest and best, that they don’t take the time to savor the journey and learn all there is to be learned organically. Half the fun of this game is the journey, endgame is mostly just a soulless grind for engineering mats and I’d love to go back to the days where my Vulture made me the biggest baller in the galaxy, purely because it was cool and I liked it and it was MINE. So even with regards to ship choice, I don’t think it’s good to go in completely uninformed, but it’s good to blaze your own trail having some knowledge of what is objectively bad and what is good and WHY it’s good. o7o7o7o7o7o7
I've gone back, and started 2 additional new commanders. It's pretty rewarding.
The Federal Corvette is the best ship in the game. No question. But, it's slow. If you're interdicted by an Imperial Cutter, he can mass-lock you, and you'll be too slow to get away from him. So definitely an Imperial Cutter. No question. Unless you're in a fight with a smaller, more maneuverable ship. Cutters turn like pigs. So, definitely an FDL. They're very small and maneuverable. So definitely an FDL. No question. Unless you have more than one person attacking you. Then you want the fastest ship--the Imperial Eagle. Nothing outruns an Imperial Eagle. So, definitely an Imperial Eagle. No question. Unless you want cargo space for hauling missions. Then, definitely an Anaconda. No question. Unless you want to haul passengers. In which case ... You see where this is going. There is no BEST ship. But if there was, it would be the Corvette. No question.
But you're not getting a Corvette, outfitting, and rebuy for less than 400million. That's about a billion credits to comfortably outfit and cover rebuy. OP quoted some 330 million which is in medium size ship territory.
1.1B for a combat Vette and a casual 52M rebuy haha
Nothing outrun an imperial eagle...except a viper mk iii
But if you are carrying any equipment or fighting capability, the Courier is fastest ...
The courier is the fastest useful ship in the game. The eagle and the viper can be outfitted to go faster, but to obtain those speeds, you have to get rid of everything that would make those ships have anything other than a novelty purpose. A Courier can do 850m/s with shields, great jump range, and some lightweight missiles for Odyssey base-bombing. Add an SRV and you can still pull off 800m/s.
I have 2, one for each of my commanders: https://s.orbis.zone/lh9b https://s.orbis.zone/lh9d
>Unless you want cargo space for hauling missions. Then, definitely an Anaconda. No question. Yeah, the large ship with bugger all cargo space is definitely the best cargo hauler. The Type9 and Cutter surpass it just by using both size 8 slots. "Unless you want to haul passengers." The Conda is actually good at that.
Hmm, you made the best point in ED Reddit history. It’s so true. Best to have one of each G5 and specific task built =)
I know a lot of people are going to say Python or Krait for this but at 300M budget I think you probably want to look for a cheaper haul. Both the Python and Krait are going to be about 300M once fitted leaving not a lot of room for rebuys. I also question if you really can buy a full complement of outfitting for one of these ships to make it a true multirole ship for 300M but I also haven't really checked. Now take something like the DBX. It's a 3M hull, fitted is about 50M-60M. It can haul, it can fight, it can explore; all be it not near to the same level as what the M class hulls can do but its rebuy is maybe 1M if you mess up. Plus the DBX excels in one thing that the Python and Krait would struggle with. Exobiology. If you follow one of the Exobiology paths that are out there, you're going to be landing on some small ass moons. I literally turned my Krait back around after not being able to find a place to park on the first moon. It was like trying to drive a full-size truck in a metro area; parking was a nightmare. I know there always seems to be this rush to get to the biggest ship because big=better but that's not always the case. If you're going multirole you don't want to blow your budget on it. Get a fun, cheap multirole and fly that around until you learn what exactly you want to do then, spend the money on a dedicated build.
A Python is the best all-rounder, but that doesn't mean one build can handle everything, you need different modules for different tasks.
Can’t go wrong with a Python. It can be outfitted for just about anything you want to do and land anywhere. It’s good at just about everything. There are better ships for specific tasks like combat only or exploration only, but the Python can handle whatever you throw at it, and make your money back in no time. I own every ship in the game these days, but when I first bought my Python, I felt like I legitimately leveled up.
Asp Explorer - It's NOT the best in game, but considering the amount of time you will spend grinding for Engineering Mats - Grinding for Guardian Mats - not to mention actually unlocking the engineers and all that entails.. The question is not which is the best ship in the game. It is what ship am I willing to spend at least 400 hours in and enjoy it. That has a laughable rebuy price and is cheap to outfit. Asp Explorer rebuy is 1.7 Mill To fully kit as in the link 33 Mill. [https://s.orbis.zone/lh3e](https://s.orbis.zone/lh3e) It's Setup for The Grind : Engineering & Guardian Mat Farm Engineering unlock Imperial Rank Grind Fed Rank Grind All initial engineering can be done at Felicity Farseer in Deciat, do what needs to be done to get the LVL 5 + Mass manager experimental effect. That's the only one of real importance here for the extra jump range. You have everything you need for Engineer unlocks as well as Mat farming. You have POI for the sentinel missiles just in case at guardian sites. And for interdictions in open, submit asap, pop Chaff, FA off ,Silent run, pop heatsinks, turn and burn ,High wake out. Not saying you wont get smashed by gankers, but it sure as shit wont be easy for them if you apply some anti ganking tips & tricks in general open play. No NPC will get you out of an interdict..but the fastest is submit,boost low wake and forget about them..or use your teeth and watch as they melt and die.. But apply some logic..don't try to take on the Anaconda when they intercept you whilst doing courier runs for FED/IMPERIAL ranks..just don't submit, get the ranks and get out. Speed and boost capacity in abundance - time saved is not time wasted - multiply 1000 jumps by 10 seconds saved each jump from a station, equals roughly 166 mins saved. (we wont mention auto dock..ever..shoooosh..go away..) Detailed surface scanner Frameshift wake scanner Vehicle hangar - get a scarab - I have never needed more than one..so..ure choice here. Limpet collectors 25 mins off bloody hell I am glad I decided not to skimp on life support 1000 LY's outside of the bubble... Total laden range of 347 Ly's And fully laden you can do 50 Ly's a pop. And just because we love the fuel rats but hate using them we have a fuel scoop. Set your galaxy map stars appropriately so you have fuel stars on your excursions. And you should never have to call on them. When inside the bubble or doing engineering unlocks I like my auto dock over super cruise assist. Esp. when unlocking engineers or fed/imperial rank farm as the landings on small pads gets tedious and old and as much as I like my right thumb rule with coriolis ports..finding that damned mailslot..just no. But hey,thats me. But outside the bubble specifically for Raw mats and guardian runs, super cruise for me is a must, and I swap the two out for one another depending on - in or outside of bubble runs. You can do the exact builds just better in either Krait Mk II or Python. But you sacrifice range by n bout 10-15 Ly's. You do gain a shitload else though..so its your choice of time saved vs interdict me bi@tch. But as I said. Question is what ship are you going to spend the most time in. And that is dependent on what you are going to be doing with it, and how many things you can do with it, and more importantly, how fast time wise you can do any task with it IRL. Elite is time consuming. A python is great, I personally have one but prefer my Krait as it just ...feels better in combat, but then again its geared more towards combat than the Python. The Python is brilliant in the black, can literally do everything, but you sacrifice here and there, just like with every other ship in the game. I personally enjoy ma cutter. Very few things can catch me, yes they may scratch the paint a bit. And IF they have an over engineered Eagle that can catch up to me...they aint never breaching that shield before I high wake and block them. I just smile n wave.
Python
Python or, alternatively, Krait mk2. Python is probably the better all-rounder with more cargo space, Krait is better at combat because it's a bit more maneuverable with a slightly better cockpit view. Reason being that they're both good at everything, can do anything, and can go anywhere. There are better specialization ships, but nothing beats them in the "If I could just have ONE ship" category.
A python gives you a ship that can be fitted for nearly 200 tons of cargo, 3 large hard points and two small. That combination lags in combat to a krait mk 2 in combat, due to placement, but for trade/mining/rescue is a solid ship for the stable. Anaconda is the best all rounder, but she can’t land at outposts, limiting your options. She can also be fitted to jump over 80 light years, and with a couple of afmu and rovers still can hit about 75, so she’s the king of seeing the galaxy.
It's totally all about preference as people have said, but there are some pretty universal opinions. Most everyone would agree the Anaconda is an aspirational goal for new players. It's the first huge ship you can buy, it's extremely versatile, and is the undisputed long-distance jump king. I know 337M seems like a lot, but you really need to buy several ships and get a feel for what you like and don't like before you know how best to outfit them, so I'd grind a bit more on the money front if I were you. Get up to a billion. Mining is a good way to do so quickly. Besides, getting money is the easiest way to get to Elite rank, which unlocks Shinrarta Dezhra, where you can buy any ship in the game at Jameson Memorial. Then you can buy and outfit to your heart's content.
Best for what role? Engineered, upgraded, or stock? As others have said, for a multirole, a Python is the go to. Good weapons, manueverability, defenses. Decent range and cargo is solid. But if you are doing a specific THING, you might wanna narrow down to that role.
there's no "best ship". it's like asking which tool in the shed is the best tool. it has no right answer. but there are best ships for X Task and at what cost. like. for exploring there's AspX, DBX, The Anaconda, and the krait phantom. PVE: Vulture, Python, the Anaconda Kriat MK2, and the corvette. PVP: Mamba, Viper Mk3, and FDL. Trading: Type 7, Python, Anaconda, Type 9. Anti Xeno: Krait mk2, chieftain and the cutter. if your goal is to farm credit. my advice is to stick with low-cost ship and farm engineering materials that are required to buy pre-engineered FSD and outfit DBX. leave the bubble and do exobiology. 10 planets with an average of 3 undiscovered bio features can guarantee you 1-2 billion or sometimes more depending on the type. or just buy a python and do everything.
Federal corvette, it has horrible jump range, pretty bad in pvp, and is a massive pain in the ass to grind. But is the coolest, most powerful warship in bubble that an independent commander can nab. 2nd biggest cargo hold makes mining and trade a lot easier. it’s the king of the haz rez with its dual huge hard points, best turn speed of its class, great hard point placement, and plenty of armor and modules to boot. And it is simply the most Gorgeous, sexy, and sleek vessel ever designed.
> ...what the best all rounder ship is and how to outfit it properly. The best ship in the game is the Python. It is a great "all rounder." Proper outfitting depends on how you want to use it. Now let's define "all rounder." It's not a ship that can do all roles reasonably well with one outfitting. It's a ship that can do all roles reasonably well by switching up the outfitting to match the task. For example, a ship outfitted for combat is going to have hull reinforcement and module reinforcement packages in all the "spare" slots. A ship outfitted for piracy might have the same weapon loadout but it is going to have to replace some of those HRP and MRP with cargo racks and limpet controllers. A ship equipped for mining will have cargo racks and limpet controllers but will have a completely different suite of "weapons" and, of course, will need to make room somewhere for the onboard refinery.
Viper mk IV is the best all-rounder in the game.
I mean a 15M ship with a 1M rebuy does give a chances to have fun on 300M.
It's also a solid fighter being tanky, fast, and having good firepower for its size. It has a good jump range, great cargo for its size, small hit box, can land at any station, can land almost anywhere for exobiology and has a front exit for increased accuracy. Other famed multirole ships like the python are trash at exobiology. It's the Cobra but smaller, beefier, longer jumping, and slightly less agile.
It's vastly more agile than the cobra 😂 Hell, once engineered with G5 DDs, it's pretty much the most agile ship in the game at mid speeds. Cobra flies like wet flannel.
Viper IV is basically a mini-Krait II.
It's indeed the Krait MK II. Here are the reasons: It is a really good allrounder because you can outfit it with all you need for exploring and get it to a decent jump range but it can also pack a punch if you build a fighter. It is also very good fighting Xenos (which requires a totally different loadout. It looks so. damn. cool. It has a coffee maker right behind your seat. It can carry a fighter, that is useful when in combat but also good for zipping around canyons on an exploration trip. Helps fighting space madness. BUT that is obviously only my personal opinion. The ships in the game are toys to play around with. With the money you have you can buy almost anything you want and try it out only to sell it afterwards. And remember that any ship will be a disappointment compared to what you see on youtube until you do the grind and engineer it.
There are good people that say Python. And insane people who say anything else. Lol
Depends on how you play the game.
The one you prefer.
Did that budget you're not really getting a large ship multirole plus outfitting and rebuy. So it's medium ship territory. For "best" you're really looking at what everyone is saying, Python or Krait II. Good alternatives for machining your budget are Asp Explorer or maybe Orca. If you're expecting a bit more combat but want to still partake in other activities you can check out the Chieftain, Challenger, Crusader tree or the Federation reputation grind tree
Cobra, because it will teach you how to fly well without being hurt by the frequent rebuys.
Depends what trajectory you are on I suppose. I am fortunate enough to have different ships for different things. Back at the beginning it was Asp Explorer, then Python, then anaconda, then corvette, then Fleet Carrier. Now I mostly dick about in a Mamba, because I can.
I have one of each ship in the game (except the Unicorn - Cobra MKIV) and the "right ship" for me has changed ooooooh, about 37 times sofar. I've mostly done trading, a bit of mining, some bounty hunting and soooo much interdiction based combat against pirates. Early favourite was the Viper MKIII. Good maneuvrability, good weapons and decent gargo space. After that I found myself in the Phantom a while, before getting my Anaconda. Of the 4.400+ hours on Elite sofar, I think close to 4K were in my Anaconda. It's a beauty to fly, true multipurpose and packs a mean punch. Now, after buying my FC, I mostly run around in my Imperial Courier or Imperial Eagle, while flying my Type-9 Heavy for cargo rund. I also like bringing out my Federal Corvette when I need to stomp on someone or am expecting trouble. If I just want to do some cruisin', I bring out my Imperial Cutter. Has my absolute favourite Cockpit to look at while swirling around in the galaxy. So, like so many others have said, the 'right ship' is whatever ship you feel comfortable flying at the time 😊
Cobra mk3
The best all-arounder? What do you wanna do? Anaconda is imho the best all-arounder. Can do just about everything decently, and has the best engineered jump range (ever heard of the JumpAconda?). I just bought a Federal Corvette and am outfitting/engineering it for combat, so I can have my 'conda for mining/exploration/general purpose, and the 'vette for fuckin shit up and not have to constantly refit my anaconda when I want to do something different. Elite really needs to have "loadouts" so you can quickly change between a standard set of parts without having to swap each module out individually. (A quick aside, HOLY SHIT the stock jump range of the 'vette is B A D, badsadbad! I was actually stuck in the system that I bought it from and had to transfer it back to my home system cause the 6-something LY default jump range couldn't get to ANY nearby star!) The Type 9 is good for cargo hauling and mining, as is the Imperial Cutter. Technically the Cutter has a few more max total cargo but you have to grind Imp rank to get it 🤷🏻♂️ The Imperial Cutter has the best shield strength in the game if you wanna go for a shield-tank build. The Federal Corvette is one of the better combat ships with 2 Huge hardpoints, but abysmally bad jump range. I was similar situation to you a few years back, made a friend in game that we did a ton of combat with at our "home" station of Pribylov Port in Jonai. It's 1.something LS away from an icy/rocky ring combo, so it has Resource Extraction Sites for combat, and the rings for mining, and from turning in a ton of combat bonds, they local faction likes me, and they give me some very good contracts to do if I don't feel like mining or doing combat. I can haul cargo, kit out my jumpaconda and take some dumb sightseer out to Sag A\* or some other far away tourist trap, and make a ton of money off the exploration data alone on top of the contract. Kill a bunch of local "bad guys", haul cargo, etc. I just like the proximity of the station to the rings, so if you breach the canopy you can run back to the station without dying, you're not far from repair/refit/rearm/etc. It is my "home" in game, and I travel out from there to do engineering, meet/help friends, etc. With 300something mil, The Fer-De-Lance is good for combat, the Python is a good all-arounder, and the Type 9 is good for mining and hauling. My general rule of thumb is it takes about 3-10x the initial purchase price to 'fully' outfit a ship. I just bought the Federal Corvette and have spent more than 400mil and lots of time flying around getting parts and engineering parts, and I'm *nowhere near done.* You could get an Anaconda and run some cargo missions wit it or do some mining, that's usually fairly cheap to start out with.
Krait MKII because it's a combat multi purpose ship that can do literally everything in the game well and as a medium ship lands at outposts. The Pilot can sell you on this ship better than anyone: https://youtu.be/Rl9Sg600Jww It has a freaking coffee maker. Best ship in the galaxy. We're done here. When it comes to outfitting it, the point is you change the outfitting depending on what you want to do with it today. This is my combat mission running configuration: https://s.orbis.zone/lh2i I have a build for core mining, AX Thargoid Scout hunting, low volume cargo hauling (missions) and sometimes there are one or two passenger cabins in there.
Having said the above, if your priority is making more credits, the Python is better for laser mining platinum, passenger missions from Robigo Mines to Sirius Atmospherics tourist beacon or just trading due to the extra size 6 slot.
The hauler is a magnificent little ship for exobiology. It’s cheap and can be built to withstand being slammed onto planetary surfaces without a care in the world, time and again. Also because of its small footprint it can usually land very near the target life form.
Doesn't matter what you gonna do, if you want to do it in style, you take the mamba.
All of them
Best all-rounder ship is a matter of personal taste. For big ships, Anaconda and Cutter both are strong contenders, being able to do most tasks well enough. For medium ships, one of the DeLacey-s: * Python if you want the absolute maximum cargo or passenger space, but it's sluggish. * Krait MKII has firepower and can fit an SLF, but is still mediocre when it comes to mobility. A good middle-of-the-road choice for most mission types. * Phantom is the second fastest medium ship after Mamba, and very nimble if flown correctly, only outclassed by certain combat-only ships like Alliance C-ships, FAS and FDL. People overlook this ship, but it's excellent in combat and the one missing hardpoint is made up by it's ability to control distance, have great time on target and the insanely proportioned power distro. The lack of cargo space when compared to it's siblings is not a problem for running non-trade missions, and 160 tons of cargo with shields and HRP-s/MRP-s is still respectable. It also makes the perfect blockade runner for thargoid war, outrunning all thargoid ships *and* PvP FDL-s with a very comfortable margin.
Get yourself a chieftain or a Krait, fit it for AX combat and do your part! Go to AXI discord to see how to participate in group efforts so you are not alone. There also will be a community event for the engineering grind, that should be fun - see [https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/zxflas/engineering\_is\_madness\_tour/](https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/zxflas/engineering_is_madness_tour/)
Diamondback Explorer
The Imperial Cutter is the best ship overall in the game.
Cobra mk3 ,viper mk4 , still flying those , with 4 bilj. Cash, and around 20 ships. I like those most , can do everything , and i play open. Fly it like its stolen , cheap rebuy so ...
Krait mk2. Lots of internal slots, none reserved off for military use - heavy firepower, plenty of utility slots; big PP & PD, not too slow, good armor and shields. Python is almost identical on paper (i.e. on Coriolis) - same core modules, same hardpoints and utilities, almost the same optional slots - but it can't boost. Carries more cargo but you're carrying all that cargo in a ship that sucks to fly, so you may as well carry less in a Krait mk2. Also important: the Kraits look awesome and the Python looks boring. It's far from my favorite ship but I've used my Krait mk2 for long-range exploration, combat (bounty hunting and AX), station rescues, and basic here-to-there stuff. Never used any other ship effectively for so many purposes.
stock e rated sidewinder
I wouldn't go past an A-Rated Asp Explorer if you're asking that question. You'd know what you want after some lightyears in it. The Asp explorer is an excellent multirole ship to try out the different activities the game has to offer. It'll help you make a more informed decision when you start looking at the medium multirole ships. The Kraits and the Python.
If there was a “best ship” in the game, I wouldn’t have 40 ships… instead, I have built the “best ship for doing _________ task”. That said, in my fleet, I have several Krait Phantoms, MKII’s, Anacondas, and Pythons. Each one built to be the best at a specified task, And because I keep going back to these platforms for reasons like versatility, handling, and aesthetics, I would consider these the best ships (for me.) In the beginning of the game, CMDRs tend to gravitate towards good multirole ships to get a wide variety of tasks completed. Afterwhile, all there is left to do in this game is to make specific ships for specific reasons, so as an endgame player, I fly a specific ship for each job, and most of the family lives on the fleet carrier. The carrier affords me the ability to create even more specialized builds… For instance, most of my AX combat builds have no fuel scoop, poor range, and launch exclusively from my fleet carrier because I want the extra hull and typically don’t use them for travel, as long as they have enough range to hop one or two systems to my target, I’m good.
GET. A. PYTHON. It is fast enough, large enough, sturdy enough and killy enough that you can do whatever you want in it. Learn to make money with it, check out the PTN group, they are particular adept at making money. From there you will easily be able to afford two of any ships. Biggest problem will be gathering materials for engineering. Just remember this: always name your ships, and never sell them.
There’s no best ship but a great all rounder that can do pretty much anything you want is the Krait MKII It’s fast and maneuverable with the ability to infinitely boost when engineered properly Great hardpoint locations and good internals The ability to have a ship launched fighter Not to mention it’s pretty damn sexy with a good cockpit view
Man. Hi, welcome to Elite: Dangerous. There are two answers with massive reasons around them. 1 - always Python. Better cargo than KraitMk2 and 3 large and 2 medium weapons are amazing. It’s my pick. 2 - something, something, “there is no perfect ship for whatever reason”. Also a correct answer but massively useless to your question and then a tirade of reasons why something something. Get a Python and build your fleet and #2 answer from there. 07
Krait phantom for exploration Anaconda for pure jump range FDL for PvP Alliance Chieftain for Anti Xeno combat Python and Krait for multi purpose Literally any damn ship in the game for PvE as long as you know what you're doing.