The Diamondback Explorer was Lakon Spaceways' response to criticism of the original Diamondback ship class. By extending the ship's frame it allowed greater cargo capacity and so greater mission variety and endurance. It also brought the ship more into line as a smaller brother to the successful Asp line although at much more modest price range. The Explorer model can fulfil the same roles as its companion ship type, but is also able to operate as a fast transport and resupply vessel useful for supporting deep space operations in a hostile environment.
— In-game description
The Diamondback Explorer is a combat exploration ship with good hardpoint placement, excellent heat efficiency, and a very long jump range, superior to the Asp Explorer and Anaconda. The larger brother of the Diamondback Scout, the Explorer boasts more internal space, better firepower, and greater mission flexibility via the extension of the ship's frame and replacement of two small hardpoints for a single large hardpoint. The Explorer is a useful stop-gap to fill the role of combat and/or exploration ship for those wanting to move beyond cheaper ships like the Cobra MkIII but more affordable than the Asp Explorer. The Diamondback Explorer is very effective in both exploration and combat roles, though limited internal space limits many multipurpose outfitting options (i.e. pirating/smuggling), in favor of a more dedicated single task. The ship is equipped with fully animated tilting-wing and engine assemblies which rotate in and out of position when the landing gear is deployed or retracted.
Overview
The Diamondback Explorer shares the same maximum powerplant class limitation as the Diamondback Scout, while having more internal compartments and a larger offensive armament. These factors lead to the Diamondback Explorer having more power management issues with some loadouts. Thanks to the ability to fit a class 5 FSD and a 32-ton Fuel Tank, this ship is excellent for exploration. Even with a full combat outfit, the ship maintains an impressive jump range. This allows the ship to undertake long distance travel while still being able to defend itself and thus ideal for long-range travel into hostile territory, for Missions, as a forward scouting ship, or as a rescue ship with fuel limpets. Power can be managed with module priority, or in some cases simply disabling the cargo hatch. Additionally, the Diamondback Explorer has excellent heat efficiency and power distribution. The low base heat output translates to better fuel scooping, longer firing cycles for thermal weapons before overheating, easier management of SCB's heat output, stealth & smuggling, or stealth combat with the ability to maintain silent running for long periods.
The weapon hardpoints are located as follows: One Class 2 Medium hardpoint is mounted on each side of the cockpit (total 2), and a single Class 3 Large hardpoint is mounted under the nose. The Large hardpoint has similar field of fire to the nose mount of the Python. Hardpoint locations are grouped together on the fore of the ship's hull, with placement allowing all weapons to be fired at the target simultaneously. If gimballed, the hardpoints provide a large vertical field of fire. Utility mounts are located on the dorsal side of both wingtips, one above the cockpit, and one on the rear tail of the ship, for a total of 4.
This ship is quite heavy for its size, and is currently the largest hull mass ship capable of utilizing small landing pads. While this has the benefit of making it harder to mass-lock than similar ships of its size, it makes the ship significantly less agile than its smaller brother, the Diamondback Scout, and even some ships larger than itself. However the Explorer isn't completely unwieldy - with gimballed weapons it can reliably keep weapons on target on all but the most agile of enemies. The Diamondback Explorer is not well suited for mining, as the lack of internal compartment space and higher price when compared to other ships make it a less than ideal mining platform.
As of build 2.0.03, the Diamondback Explorer still experiences a graphical bug with some of the large hardpoint weapons, causing clipping into docking platforms.
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf 406 | Hamilton Gateway | Nov. 06, 2018 | 20% discount |
| LHS 20 | Ohm City | Jan. 6, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Minerva | Starlace Station | Jan. 6, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Wolf 127 | Chaudhary Terminal | Jan. 6, 2018 | 15% discount |
| Kolaga | Britnev Hub | Jan. 6, 2018 | 15% discount |
| TZ Arietis | Snyder Enterprise | Oct. 7, 2018 | |
| LHS 263 | Laval Hub | Jan. 6, 2018 | Not there anymore 2018-05-20 |
| Atagat | Glashow City | Jan. 6, 2018 | |
| Aulin | Aulin Enterprise | Jan. 6, 2018 | Not there anymore 2018-05-20 |
| Wolf 906 | Herbert Dock | Jan. 6, 2018 | |
| Sol | Abraham Lincoln | Mar. 23, 2018 | |
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial | January 26, 2018 | 10% Discount, Founders Permit Needed |
| Lambog | Bryant Dock | Sep.1,2018 | |
| Ross 775 | Gamow Gateway | Dec. 25, 2018 | |
| LHS 450 | Darboux Legacy | Dec. 25, 2018 | |
| GD 216 | McKee Ring | Dec. 28, 2018 | |
| Onuros | Penzias Dock | Dec. 30, 2018 | |
| Brani | Wundt Hub | Jan. 12, 2019 |
Outfitting
- Main article: Outfitting
All ships are highly customisable through the Outfitting menu of Station Services. Listed below is the default load-out for the Diamondback Explorer.
| Category | Default System | Default Rating | Default Class | Max Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium Hardpoint | Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 |
| Pulse Laser (L) | F | 1 | 2 | |
| Large Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 3 |
| Utility Mount | Empty | -- | -- | 0 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 0 | |
| Bulkheads | Lightweight Alloys | I | 1 | 8 |
| Reactor Bay | Power Plant | E | 4 | 4 |
| Thrusters Mounting | Thrusters | E | 4 | 4 |
| Frame Shift Drive Housing | Frame Shift Drive | E | 5 | 5 |
| Environment Control | Life Support | E | 3 | 3 |
| Power Coupling | Power Distributor | E | 4 | 4 |
| Sensor Suite | Sensors | E | 3 | 3 |
| Fuel Store | Fuel Tank [x32] | C | 5 | 5 |
| Internal Compartments | Shield Generator | E | 4 | 4 |
| Cargo Rack [x8] | E | 3 | 4 | |
| Cargo Rack [x4] | E | 2 | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Empty | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Planetary Approach Suite (H) | I | 1 | 1 |
- (L) = Loaned Module
- [x#] = Capacity
- (H) = Requires Elite Dangerous: Horizons, reserved solely for Planetary Approach Suite
Notes
- The Diamondback Explorer's original default paintjob was a bright yellow-orange, contrasting sharply with the Diamondback Scout's gray paintjob with dark orange elements. At some point in early-to-mid 2016, the Explorer's default paintjob was altered, making it similar to the Scout's.
Videos
Gallery
References
| Playable |
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| NPC-only |
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| Ships marked with H can only be purchased and operated by players who pre-ordered Horizons. | |||||||||||||||||||||