A Few Ideas on a Python Rebalance

Let me get this out of the way right now: these are not solutions. They are ideas, and nothing more. I do not expect people to agree, I do not expect people to disagree, and I certainly don't expect any of these ideas to be considered by the devs, much less fully implemented.

It's not really a secret that the Python is a little unfair as a Medium ship. It's a multipurpose ship, sure, but it's just a little bit too good, to the point where an alarming number of my squadron members herald it as "the only ship you really need" for combat and trade. I wholeheartedly disagree, but that's a discussion for another day.

What I'm getting at is that for ~55 million credits (which is actually less than it sounds like) a Python is all yours, and it can do just about everything except jump far. Worse still is the fact that it eclipses other ships for similar fields, like the Clipper, T7, Mamba, and probably some other ships that I forgot to mention.

It bothers me how much people endorse the Python as a godsend, when it really isn't supposed to be (from a design standpoint.) Multipurpose ships are supposed to be a jack of all trades, and a master of none, and in that regard, the Python is unbalanced.

But anybody can just say "we need to fix the python," and I'm sure I'm not the only person to think this. So rather than just go on a rant about hating the Python (which I have considered in the past), I instead want to look at just a couple of ideas that I think would at least partially balance the ship a little more.

Option 1: Reduce a single Class 6 internal to a Class 5

I actually like this idea a little bit more than the others. It's pretty straightforward: simply shrink one of the larger modules. Doing so would reduce the Python's carrying capacity by 32 tonnes – which feels like a lot, but it would still make the Python the largest cargo hold among medium ships. However, by shrinking the capacity to that degree, it opens up an interesting door: suddenly, the differences between the Python and the T7 in terms of carrying capacity are a bit more clear cut. Instead of ~10 tonnes, the T7 now carries 40-odd more tonnes than a Python. Not a perfect solution, but perhaps it would (re)inspire a little more popularity in what I find to be a criminally underrated vessel.

Option 2: Increase the Python's heat generation

Now I haven't been playing for a super long time, but it appears to me after a quick search that heat was nerfed into the ground. Heat isn't really a big issue for that many ships, but for the ships that do have bad heat management, it's a fairly big issue. So, this option, as opposed to the first one, makes the Python something that needs to be used with a bit more care. I've overheated in my Mamba more times than I'm willing to admit, and it really made me think about when – and how – I should approach firing my weapons. Heat doesn't do much at first, but if left unchecked, it can do crippling damage to critical systems – like your FSD.

TL;DR: make the Python a toaster. At least in combat, people can't just go in guns blazing anymore, and actually have to be smart about their weapons and their usage.

Option 3: Further decrease maneuverability

The simple fact of the matter is that the Python and Krait Mk II are too similar in agility (on paper), which not only doesn't make any sense, but hinders the Krait's usefulness in relation to the Python. The Python is a VERY heavy ship (compared to the Krait), and it should act like it.

We can accomplish option 3 through one of two ways:

A. Increase the mass

or

B. Decrease the thruster performance

Either way, this should be handled with care. The Python is supposed to be sluggish, but it is not a brick.

And finally, Option 4: Simply Increase the Price

Ideally, it shouldn't come to this.

Honestly, all of the ships are underpriced at the moment, but the "meta" ships are especially so. I can't give an exact number here – I'm not an expert, and I'm definitely not a mathematician, but I think something like increasing all shipyard prices by ~1.5x could be a good starting point. Don't take my word for this, I'm an idiot. Somebody else can do better math.

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I'll say it again: these are not solutions. I am only giving ideas, and honestly, I'm positive someone else can put up better ideas. That said, I hear a lot of talk about the Python being unfair, but not a lot of ideas on how to balance it all out. I am not offering fixes, solutions, or even relatively good ideas: just ideas. I'm offering a chance to start a conversation on how some things that are currently "broken" can be fixed, and I am very, very open to other ideas, or better still, how to build off of the ideas I presented. I highly doubt that any of these suggestions are popular, but I've been panned for my opinions before, and I'll do so again.

I leave the rest to anyone reading this. I read comments pretty often. 🙂