"Faster than F***" 820 m/s Imperial Courier vs Fed Corvette -PvE Combat -Elite Dangerous (Legacy)

[@phaeronmd2416]

I will not lie, the methodical dissection of that Corvette to the dulcet tunes of classical music was ephemeral

[@HotSocket]

that ship was indeed ephemeral

[@noahprice371]

VERY well said, my good lad...

[@Vinterspirit]

The classical music definitely feels like something an experienced imperial fighter would play in-universe

[@ReddFrank]

Quite the opposite my friend ;)

[@zubz2514]

I've been playing this game for like half a month, and just got to 100 hours mark. This video is so beautiful, i can't really explain how did it make me feel. The music, the cleanliness, i've had shivers from the start, all the way up to the end. Good job!

[@ReddFrank]

@@zubz2514 This game creates a feeling like no other, even the combat is beautiful. I'm happy to have created something to create such a feeling, I hope you enjoy my other videos as well. o7 CMDR

[@edmunds4635]

I am lucky to have been your first sub 100 subscriber. Well faught CMDR, enjoyed every frame, ship choice (from fellow imerial cmdr) and even the music.

[@ReddFrank]

@@edmunds4635 Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I'm happy to provide a few minutes of entertainment to the discerning folk

[@lanceobe6801]

VR only player here, the courier has the best canopy in my opinion

[@ReddFrank]

Pleb Xbox player but I still love the canopy, easily top 3 for me.

[@CmdrEsteban]

Thumbs up for the backing track. Nice! Gives new meaning to the term “Space Opera”, and it sure beats the obnoxious earbashing we normally get with ED gameplay vids on KZbin.

[@ReddFrank]

Thanks, I appreciate the compliment. I'm glad I stuck with classical and opera for the soundtrack in my videos, it seems to blend well with the game atmosphere and I don't see many people use it.

[@ivoxx_]

I had a similar build, same spd, but I used Plasmas and multicanons. Fun AF! The best thing is that u can't be ganked, one boost and you are far out of range.

[@ReddFrank]

I love it. Can't gank what you can't catch!

[@pugwashdave3894]

Me also. 813m/s and full phasing pulse. You are right about the gank proof aspect. It's the ideal thing for getting to Jameson in open, when Shin is like gonk soup.

[@joetuktyyuktuk8635]

​@@pugwashdave3894I have one too, about Jamieson... it's also great for squeezing through the jumbled mailslot...

[@filipbitala2624]

Same, but with reverb torpedoes and multicannons

[@kruasWRX]

@@filipbitala2624 there are not enough 1 or 2 torp slots to break shields of big slow ship, the fast one run easely. Only full load out of torp, blind opponent , but even then there would be nothing to finihed him

[@kessilrun6754]

Inside something like this in 2018, using an IMP eagle with racing drives lol. It ran circles around large ships without ever being caught in their forward facing guns. Turrets will still get you though.

[@Drvo3]

Hah, thx for the video. Great learning experience

[@ChadFromSpace]

I love the Courier so much. This looks like a fun build for sure, but I feel like it's gotta get bullied pretty easily by 3 or more enemies at a time. I tried to build the fastest courier I could that was capable of dropping into a group of like 5, threat 8 NPCs, and live long enough to start picking them apart, and it gets pretty hard. 600 m/s boost is about the fastest I could get one that was reasonably strong enough to just not die in 10 seconds after dropping in on a larger group.

[@ReddFrank]

@@ChadFromSpace 100 percent this ship could not handle that scenario with the current weapon and shield setup, but it's built for assassination and sabotage missions specifically. Honestly, a shield tanked Courier or Vulture are going to be the only small ships you could hope to survive a group of 5 threat level 8 NPCs. A Viper 4 with a skilled pilot could maybe pull it off too. And only then if you play the long range game. Small ships just really aren't built for soloing big groups of enemies in close quarters. You can still have some good fun in CZs with them if you're careful though.

[@ChadFromSpace]

@@ReddFrank yeah! for sure. I've built so many courier builds over the last month, ranging from the bizarre to the truly pretty remarkable. One of my favs was a triple torp pylon version lmao. The ultimate single target hunter. Except, also sometimes not, because torps are super inconsistent in the game (which is unfortunate). At any rate, I really dig the courier love. I was on the fence about the PMK2 so I bought a courier and was so glad I did. One of the absolute most fun flying ships in the game. I took it out last night into a couple threat 6 groups of 3 and 4. 2 rails with super pen and 1 with SRB and feedback cascade. It was a brawl. She survived, but not by much.

[@ReddFrank]

@ChadFromSpace Torpedos are hilarious, its especially fun to bait CMDRs into pulling you and watching them run as their shield generator is immediately reverbed. They are pretty inconsistent though. I find myself having way more fun with small or off meta ships than copy pasted builds everyone seems to be running. Strapping all railguns to a Courier is an absolute chad move, hats of to you sir. Now I know what I'm gonna be doing my next elite session

[@ChadFromSpace]

@@ReddFrank haha YES! Thats what Im talking about. Ive tried em all. Lightweight was my initial go to to try to keep as much of the top end as possible. I found I didnt love SRBs on the wings, theyre spread out too far and its pretty easy to miss one of them wide shooting at small ships in close. The one SRB with cascade under the nose is great for high dmg and collapsing banks. Overall, I think I like lightweight with plasma slug on the wings and the SRB/cascade under the nose. And about torps, the best combo I found was a seeker rack with drag munitions and then 1 reverb torp pylon and 1 of the deep pen ones (the module busters). It is hit and miss though, Ill bust a conda in a single shot from each sometimes, other times Ill land all 4 on a medium ship and they wont do much at all. And if you find something with PDCs... just about face and boost into the black cause it aint happening :D. If someone wants to just jump in a courier to see what its all about, I honestly cant recommend 3 efficient beams enough. They are the gift that keeps on giving. Next iteration, im phasing pulses.

[@InZomnia365]

One thing I don't understand is how taking a power plant down to 0% doesn't always seem to do anything. Sometimes they explode immediately, other times they keep firing at you and moving about.

[@ReddFrank]

Once it hits 0% you have to hit it additional times to cause a meltdown, really just a dice roll on whether it explodes when you hit it after that. It can be VERY frustrating at times

[@mothwingy]

Powerplant damage is a glorified "maybe you'll kill them faster than their hull", as frank said. powerplant damage is VERY problematic on players though, as damage to it will reduce its power, by about half when its about at 0%. Usually spells "y'ded" when you suddenly go dark

[@mothwingy]

Powerplant damage is a glorified "maybe you'll kill them faster than their hull", as frank said. powerplant damage is VERY problematic on players though, as damage to it will reduce its power, by about half when its about at 0%. Usually spells "y'ded" when you suddenly go dark

[@tacticalmattress]

I like trolling gankers in this ship

[@silverstyles5646]

I was just thinkin' today that I missed seeing ReddFrank videos around... musta read my mind! :D Good to see. :)

[@ReddFrank]

Thanks man, I took a little break from the game for a few months so I'm a little rusty, but I'm having fun with it again :)

[@kruasWRX]

cool pilot, top skill of throttle and rudder operating

[@ReddFrank]

Thanks bro I really appreciate it, got a few other small ship vids too with more to come

[@TerrionSadows]

Nice work commander. You let it look so easy, I suck in combat

[@ReddFrank]

It takes practice, and 99 percent of people will struggle to get good at combat. This is NOT an easy game to learn, and it took me years to get where I am. There's tons of video resources out there though, and even just watching how other people fly can help. Practice building combat ships and take notice of what builds other people use. The good thing about learning to fly small ships is your rebuys are very low, so the reward for practicing combat far outweighs the risk.

[@CMDR_CWolfxUK]

That was brilliant! I am a huge fan of the smaller ships. Have added you to my new channel's Other CMDRs playlist and subscribed!

[@ReddFrank]

I'm a huge fan of small ships too, I fly a few mediums every now and then but almost exclusively fly smalls. I got some other videos of PVP and piracy as well as PVE in smalls. I'll check out your channel as well, thanks for watching!

[@KABBARANKS]

Interesting load out. I've never really used dumbfires. Might give them a whirl. My PVE Courier only boosts to around 600 - 650 ish but it's got 800mj bi-weaves, reactive hull and hull reinforcements. I run a fixed phasing pulse in the nose and 2 overcharged multis, one corrosive, one auto loader. Gets the job done pretty quickly. 👍

[@ReddFrank]

Thanks, I highly recommend giving them a go. Be sure to pick up Advanced missile racks instead of standard, they have 64 reserve ammo unengineered so they're way better. I recommend penetrator munitions experimental so you can pop an enemy's power plant once the shields go down.

[@KABBARANKS]

@@ReddFrank I'll have a look. 5,500 hours in the game and all I've really used are packhounds!

[@Clifford1under]

Thar was awesome to watch. Nice job!

[@DjVortex-w]

820 m/s is insane speed. Only very few ships can reach even close to that.

[@ReddFrank]

As far as I know, only the imperial courier, viper 3, and imperial eagle can reach these speeds with weapons and optionals. The courier handles weight the best, it's hull mass is 35t vs their 50t so there's a little more wiggle room for outfitting.

[@barneythegodd]

Stunning

[@stug77]

That was beautiful. I need to reevaluate my courier weapons loadout. Clearly I'm missing something with the dumbfire missiles.

[@ReddFrank]

Advanced dumbfire missile racks with super penetrator are crazy, especially for small ships and targeting the power plant. 64 reserve ammo with no high cap engineering, they're basically a straight upgrade to the standard fixed missile racks.

[@ivoxx_]

@@ReddFrank The only issue I had with any kind of missile is that PVE enemies tend to have more than one point defense and they usually stop the missiles in many ocations.

[@ReddFrank]

@@ivoxx_ point defence does suck, but you can get around it you just have to get close enough. In the video you can see the Corvette has point defence that sometimes gets my missiles, but I stick so close that most of the time they're negated.

[@ivoxx_]

@@ReddFrank Yeah, being close has more chances for the projectile to be faster than the PD response time, but there's a lot of wasted ammo.

[@ReddFrank]

@@ivoxx_ short range cannons are a good alternative if point defence give you alot of trouble, I've taken a Corvette power plant to 0 in just 2 direct hits from a pair of size 2s. Short range on cannons adds a buff of 75% to damage to modules through the hull as well as 75% higher flat damage.

[@vinart10]

nice build cmdr, I plan to build a 700m/s sidwinder with probebly even more manouverabilety myself

[@CMDR_EvilRaven30]

I have a combat iCourier, i use 1oc incendiary and 2 high cap corrosive frags, I can keep pips set to 4, 1, 1 as frags don't require much power. The 3a prismatic with g3 reinforced high cap has almost 1200mj. Hits 484 on boost. Yes I know the corrosive effect doesn't stack. I did that to keep the damage type on kinetic.

[@thatgregguy]

Going to keep this build you posted to make minor tweaks to my Courier. I think my Courier would cancel your ship though. o7

[@ReddFrank]

@@thatgregguy hmmm maybe this one because it's a pure pve build, but I haven't showcased my pvp build...

[@thatgregguy]

@@ReddFrank PvP builds are to be kept secret. Of course.

[@NarrativeX_75]

07 Great job cmdr!!

[@Afrothoz]

I think that when the powerplant is at 0 the cytoscrambler can trigger the meltdown as it still counts as a hit. Might go at test that...

[@ReddFrank]

@@Afrothoz as far as I know you gotta combine it with a corrosive weapon to have any hope of module damage, since the AP value is only 1. The corrosive weapon you're using to aid you would probably end up being the thing to pop the plant to be honest.

[@Afrothoz]

@@ReddFrank I think at 0 even if the module damage is nothing it's still a hit, and the blowup is every hit might make it explode. It's not overdamage to the powerplant

[@mrmalcolm]

Fantastic, it's a shame you had to destroy a Corvette though. Such a good ship.

[@semibiotic]

Ah, good old Horizons.

[@RedWingPixy]

That's twice speed of my engineered power drive for krait mk2

[@RedWingPixy]

I seen people do canyon run on planet without flight assistance Ig that's going to be as maverick in space lol

[@ReddFrank]

Only small ships will reach extreme speed like this, and it can be twitchy and hard to handle unless you're used to it, compared to the relatively smooth and controllable flight pattern of the Krait series. It feels very rewarding to pilot small ships though. Canyon runs are good fun, especially when you throw some music on. Some of the hoon pilots out there are crazy though, it takes thousands of hours of flying in that style to even be close to them lol

[@Dr_Tripper]

Great vibes! o7

[@darthhunter69]

awesome

[@silverstyles5646]

It's kinda criminal how much the Courier has going for it. IMO, the boost is too short and it's verts/lats are a bit weak but it certainly has a strong rear thruster. The base shields are just ridiculous for the size and the amount of internals is insane.

[@ReddFrank]

I never really flew it much because the agility and speed just wasn't on par with the eagle or viper, and I had trouble staying in the blind spot of my targets. The pitch is around 67° with this build, so stripping it down did help immensely. Still the thruster control does struggle compared to the viper and eagle. And the viper boost frequency and length is just godly, nothing can compare.

[@silverstyles5646]

@@ReddFrank Oh yeah, Viper is a category of one. When it comes to hooning, Viper is the most difficult ship to fly. Eagle dances close to targets better than Viper but they're both my favourite (Eagle just a little more :D ) I also really like Vulture but it's a medium ship in a small ship's body XD, almost seems too easy to use.

[@mike-0451]

It has the best acceleration in the game. Unfortunately, this does not translate to success because, as you said, the lateral thrusters are too weak for this to translate to easier circling.

[@mike-0451]

@@silverstyles5646the viper is annoying to the point where I simply do not ever engage them. It epitomizes everything that is wrong with combat in elite.

[@ReddFrank]

@@silverstyles5646 I love hooning in the Viper but definitely prefer the Eagle. However, overall, I'd say I prefer the viper just for the extra utility and the size 2 hardpoints. The Eagle is a very close second for me, and I do prefer it for PvE. I do like flying the Vulture but it's just too easy, I guess I just prefer a little challenge and jank builds lol.

[@marcuswalters8093]

3:15 I almost feel bad for the guy at this point.

[@kudosbudo]

Looks like a fun build.

[@ReddFrank]

Thanks, I love building ridiculously fast ships. I've got a similar Viper as well

[@jonnyjazzz]

How do you get into this game? Is it too late to start new? Is it insurmountable grinding to become competitive?

[@maginciajaz]

The grind really isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's not very fun but it's not extremely time consuming. Wait for it to go on sale and see if it's for you

[@ReddFrank]

I play on Xbox, but PC is still getting regular updates. Console is stable but they're not adding anything else. Not too late to start new, and the grind really isn't too bad. Don't try to rush everything all at once and just enjoy your time playing doing what you want to do. Theres tons of various guides on KZbin and basically any questions that could be asked is on Reddit.

[@filipbitala2624]

@@maginciajazits not even really once you get hold of the chains, i just got my corvette maxed in roughly twenty hours, its more of getting it right the first time, i remember maxing all the engineering levels because i didnt notice i could move onto the next one without maxing the previous

[@maginciajaz]

@@filipbitala2624 Mistakes happen, when I was new I wanted to go exploring, so I took an Asp Explorer 7,000ly out to the bubble nebula. I used a 2A fuel scoop because I didn't know I could get a better one. Took me 15 mins to refuel every time I was low and I didn't realize I was using an undersized fuel scoop until a month later when I returned lol

[@hannybenny7632]

JUSTICE FOR ALL !

[@robocles]

I assume that was a pve target... because turrets?

[@ReddFrank]

Yes this was a PvE assassination mission. I do PVP as well but haven't posted a Courier PvP yet.

[@82ndRebel]

Nice vid, matey! Relaxin' music :)

[@ReddFrank]

Thanks boss, glad you enjoyed the video 🏴‍☠️

[@CharliebrownCharles]

Top speed for an F-15 is 850 m/s.

[@ReddFrank]

What a cool coincidence, the top speed for the Courier is 850 m/s with dirty drive distributor enhanced thrusters, if you strip a few tons of this build. I think it'll go faster with drag drives but it's a lot more sensitive to weight.

[@mike-0451]

Did you use Coriolis to make it? You can probably get even more out of it if you did.

[@ReddFrank]

I use edsy but yeah I built it out. It'll go to 850 if I strip 3 tons off, but there's nothing else I'm willing to sacrifice weight on. My goal was 800+

[@MrSmartman23]

bravo!

[@fischy0339]

im fuckign fdrunk just watchin g htis and hacvoe no idea hwatx going on

[@ReddFrank]

@@fischy0339 Sheesh probably was a dizzy ride for ya bud

[@fischy0339]

oh my god i completely forgot about this xD i mean yeah it definitely was tho

[@evasuser]

Every one loves the 851m/sec and boosting every 5 sec but doesn't that impose sacrifices in other departments? It's excellent if you can use it as is and kill opponents. I wonder how the vessel will cope with CZ class ships. It takes top skills to take advantage of a ship like that and not losing even 1 shield ring, congrats Cmdr and fly fast.

[@ReddFrank]

I appreciate the compliment thanks :) and good question. yes you will have to make some sacrifices for weight. For my build, I opted to lightweight my missile racks and downsize to a size 2 HRP in a size 3 slot. Also I opted to use 3 Resistance Augmented E rated boosters over A for weight and power draw. Any way you build a ship going this fast, you're going to have to sacrifice durability in certain areas for speed. I'm fully confident this build could handle a CZ, however the limited ammo on missile racks would be a hindrance if you're trying to hit multiple in a row. Lightweight Size 2 cannons would probably be far more effective than missiles for CZ combat, and I always run Short Range-Internal Impact on my cytoscrambler for maximum shield dps. Spec Ops wings would certainly pose a threat as well, but you could easily out speed them.

[@YourComputerSmith]

Cool 🤓😎

[@joetuktyyuktuk8635]

I have one of these builds, except lightweighted multi's...

[@deavo74]

Good work. Now find some player Anaconda’s to tease lol

[@thecymrus3219]

What's the build on this please?

[@68Snaps]

@@ReddFrank With your flying skills, and since you took 0 hits, you could totally dump the shield boosters altogether, no?

[@ReddFrank]

@@68Snaps probably, or vice versa dump all your hrp and rely solely on your shield. you can squeeze a courier up to 851 m/s if you strip even more off. I'm putting the build link on this one in the description since there was so much interest, so feel free to tinker around with that.

[@68Snaps]

@@ReddFrank Thanks, but I already have an 850 m/s Courier. But I'm sure a lot of people would be interested :-)

[@Tooterbooter]

EDSY build link?

[@ReddFrank]

@@Tooterbooter link in description

[@CharliebrownCharles]

Is that really that fast? The ISS moves at 7823.2 m/s.

[@Provost69]

Yarr ☠️

[@ReddFrank]

🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

[@chrisfanning5842]

Good lord, how do people grind rank enough to buy a Corvette and fail to understand the basic Boost, FA-off turn to face target?! Even the "faster than f***" courier can't circle-strafe that. You don't need to be a skilled dogfighter in a big ship, your advantage is the huge shield - just turn to target and facetank rather than perpetually attempting to outmanoeuvre an overcaffeinated housefly in your heavy hippo with 1/3rd the turn speed.

[@ReddFrank]

This is PvE, in pvp you are right and that shit does NOT work lol. I always run reverb mines or torps if I'm doing pvp in a small ship, it's literally the only hard counter to shield tanks. I've got a few videos of me taking on corvettes in PvP though.

[@solaban8222]

The title was PVE not PVP so its a NPC Corvette. Not saying there are not players that would be equally challenged

[@KingArthurFleck]

Good lord, how do people not read the bloody title of the video and comprehend what they are seeing before launching into a petulant rant LOL

[@leonardomiotti3181]

@@ReddFrank i love corvette, but for pvp it doesnt work, u need medium or small ship. Maneuverability beats firepower

[@АлександрПищугин-с5й]

​​@@KingArthurFleck Because his comment serves no other purpose than stating that he is better than other players.

[@bleb9141]

Рожденный бегать звезды не получит

[@InZomnia365]

One thing I don't understand is how taking a power plant down to 0% doesn't always seem to do anything. Sometimes they explode immediately, other times they keep firing at you and moving about.