The Diamondback Scout is Lakon Spaceways' specialist combat explorer vessel. Unlike its bigger brother the Asp, the Diamondback isn't suited as an all rounder vessel. It is popular with elite recon and pathfinder units with navies throughout human space. Its relatively low cost also makes it a popular choice with independent pilots who appreciate its combat and exploration potential.
— In-game description
The Diamondback Scout is a long range combat and reconnaissance ship which was released in the Powerplay update.
Overview
The Diamondback scout is a cheap low level exploration vessel available quite early on. Its main purpose is to allow commanders to get into exploration at a tiny price.
As an Explorer the Scout is very effective. At 30lYs without engineering the scout has a high range for its price tag. The downside is the the Hauler and Adder can both outdo it in this aspect. Another downside is the tiny amount of compartment space and small fuel tank which can cause various issues. Overall the Scout is a very good ship to get into exploration with.
In Combat the scout is adequate. It has very good mobility and a small body letting it dodge with ease. Good heat signature and a lot of utility mounts make it capable of running stealth builds and is very effective in the role. It has good damage with 2 Medium and 2 Small hardpoints which is one of the best for its price tier letting it become a reasonably effective fighter. As a stealth build or high range fighter the Scout is perfect and makes a good bounty hunter; but its terrible compartment and cargo space make it a rather terrible Pirate.
Its uses in trading, mining and Passenger are somewhat poor. With 28t max size it does have higher capacity than the Adder, but It doesn't compare the the Cobra MkIII.
Overall the Diamondback Scout really is a good low tier exploration vessel and is equally good as a nimble fighter.
The weapon hardpoints are located as follows: 1 small hardpoint on each side of the cockpit, and 1 medium hardpoint on each side of the cockpit for a total of 2 medium and 2 small. These hardpoints have their aim points arranged in a straight horizontal line with little space between reticule dots making them very usable with fixed mounts. However their side mounting and close spacing also make good mounts for gimbaled and turreted weapons.
Lakon would later release the Diamondback Explorer, which dramatically increases the jump range and combat ability at a higher cost. Alongside it was the Asp Scout, which was intended to be a competitor to the Diamondback ships, but failed due to its price and mediocre stats.
History
The Diamondback Scout is Lakon Spaceways’ attempt to repeat the success of the Asp range at a medium price point. The result was a combat capable ship with good jump capability and was pitched as a light long range reconnaissance ship. After the ship’s maiden flight it was criticized for not having the same versatility as the Asp, but it has seen modest success in the long range reconnaissance, long range interceptor and fast picket ship roles for organisations not able or willing to invest in the heavy price tag of the Asp.[1]
— In-game history
Purchase Locations
| System | Station | Date Seen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LHS 1604 | Gernsback City | January 5, 2018 | |
| HIP 6978 | Plucker Dock | July 27, 2016 | 15% Discount |
| Frey | Garratt Station | March 29, 2016 | |
| HIP 62794 | MacArthur Terminal | 2016 Nov 22 | |
| TZ Arietis | Snyder Enterprise | 2016 Feb 8 | |
| 18 Scorpii | Swift Orbital | 2016 Feb 6 | |
| Caraceni | Kerr Enterprise | October 13, 2015 | |
| Hooriayan | Davis Port | October 11, 2015 | |
| 31 Aquilae | Killough Orbital | November 17, 2016 | |
| 44 B Ophiuchi | Feustel Gateway | June 12, 2015 | |
| 64 Arietis | Weyn Dock | September 19, 2015 | |
| Alano | Leestman Port | June 8, 2015 | |
| Amphisatsu | Goldberg Orbital | June 8, 2015 | |
| Angurongo | Dahm Port | June 22, 2015 | |
| Ao Qin | Brunner Horizons | September 14, 2015 | |
| Arth | Midgeley Dock | June 27, 2015 | |
| Belagro | Hermaszewski Station | June 21, 2015 | |
| Beta-1 Tucanae | Adams Orbital | June 6, 2015 | |
| Carener | Butz Port | August 25, 2015 | |
| Cerno | Kanwar Enterprise | June 7, 2015 | |
| Chona | Smoot Station | June 19, 2015 | |
| Derrim | Nachtigal Hub | June 28, 2015 | |
| Diaguandri | Ray Gateway | June 9, 2015 | 15% discount |
| Ditia | Arkwright City | June 16, 2015 | |
| EQ Pegasi | Merbold Ring | August 18, 2015 | |
| EZ Aquarii | Magnus Gateway | January 28 2016 | |
| GD 219 | McKee Ring | September 29, 2015 | |
| Gliese 563.1 | Matteucci Ring | Jul 23, 2015 | |
| H Draconis | Brislington | June 10, 2015 | |
| Helgaedi | Joliot-Curie Enterprise | July 22, 2015 | |
| Khan Gubii | Alpers City | September 12, 2015 | |
| Kung Te | Bellamy Enterprise | June 24, 2015 | |
| Kured | Kuchner Vision | June 7, 2015 | |
| LFT 1448 | Dirac Enterprise | November 17, 2015 | |
| LHS 20 | Ohm City | April 8, 2017 | 15% discount |
| LHS 262 | Boodt Port | June 6, 2015 | |
| LHS 2651 | Kennan Dock | June 8, 2015 | |
| LHS 3505 | Olivas City | October 10, 2015 | |
| Momus Reach | Tartarus Point | June 6, 2015 | |
| Ngaledi | Smith Enterprises | June 5, 2015 | |
| Njikan | Smeaton Port | June 6, 2015 | |
| PLX 695 | Dover | June 16, 2015 | |
| Sekhemet | Nasmyth Station | June 12, 2015 | |
| Senocidi | Hodgkin Dock | August 29, 2015 | |
| Setana | Henson Horizons | June 10, 2015 | |
| Tellus | Ahern Enterprise | July 14, 2015 | |
| Tepehuacoc | Sauma Orbital | June 24, 2015 | |
| Uzumoku | Sevrdup Ring | June 14, 2015 | |
| Venegana | Foreman Gateway (I think) | September 19, 2015 | |
| Lalande 22701 | Hutton Ring | Oct 23, 2016 | |
| Wolf 908 | Rubin Vision | June 5, 2015 | |
| Xihe | Zhen Dock | June 6, 2015 | |
| Xi Ursae Majoris | Durrance Dock | June 9, 2015 | |
| Kaushpoos | Neville Horizons | November 16, 2015 | |
| Chona | Smoot Station | January 2, 2016 | |
| Ross 1057 | Coriolis Starport | February 3, 2016 | |
| LTT 6774 | Kotov City | January 1st, 2016 | |
| Mokosh | Lubin Orbital | January 10th, 2017 | |
| Itza | Ellison Station | September 9th, 2017 | 15% discount |
| Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial | January 26, 2018 | 10% Discount, Founders Permit Needed |
| LFT 1421 | Ehrlich Orbital | April 20, 2018 | |
| LHS 3447 | Worlidge Terminal | June 27, 2018 |
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 Scout.
| Category | Default System | Default Rating | Default Class | Max Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Hardpoint | Empty | -- | -- | 1 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 1 | |
| Medium Hardpoint | Pulse Laser | F | 1 | 2 |
| Pulse Laser | F | 1 | 2 | |
| 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 | 4 | 4 |
| Environment Control | Life Support | E | 2 | 2 |
| Power Coupling | Power Distributor | E | 3 | 3 |
| Sensor Suite | Sensors | E | 2 | 2 |
| Fuel Store | Fuel Tank [x16] | C | 4 | 4 |
| Internal Compartments | Empty | -- | -- | 3 |
| Empty | -- | -- | 3 | |
| Shield Generator | E | 3 | 3 | |
| BDS | E | 1 | 2 |
- (L) = Loaned
- [x#] = Capacity
- BDS = Basic Discovery Scanner
Trivia
- The Diamondback Scout length (39m) is similar to the Space Shuttle orbiter (37m) that was operated by NASA.[2]
- Excluding the Cobra MkIV, the Diamondback Scout is tied with the Type-7 Transporter for lowest amount of Livery options. This is particularly odd as the Diamondback Explorer has a far great amount despite being released much later.
Videos
Gallery
References
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| Ships marked with H can only be purchased and operated by players who pre-ordered Horizons. | |||||||||||||||||||||