Mamba (2024)

Based on an unreleased racing prototype, the Mamba is one of the fastest ships in production. It can also deliver a lot of punishment, boasting one huge and two large hardpoints. This emphasis on firepower and speed means the ship can hit hard and fast, vanishing before the target has a chance to react. Comparisons to the Fer-de-Lance, also produced by Zorgon Peterson, will be inevitable, but the Mamba is in fact faster in a straight line, while being slightly less maneuverable.

— In-Game Description

The Mamba is a ship manufactured by Zorgon Peterson. It directly competes with Zorgon Peterson's other premium combat vessel, the Fer-de-Lance, featuring a similar array of advantages and drawbacks at a similar price point. The Mamba's key distinguishing characteristic is its increased speed potential over the Fer-de-Lance, reflecting its heritage as a racing ship. In a press release announcing the ship's debut, Zorgon Peterson declared, "If it's speed and firepower you want, the Mamba is for you. Based on a racing prototype, it's the fastest commercially available starship, and it sports enough hardpoints for a range of devastating weaponry. Whether you're leaving competitors in the dust or running rings around those pesky Thargoids, think Mamba!"^[1]

Overview[]

The Mamba's design draws inspiration from Zorgon Peterson's famed Fer-de-Lance and places an emphasis on bringing heavy firepower and speed to engagements. As both ships have somewhat similar costs and capabilities, deciding which one to purchase over the other comes down to personal preferences.

In Combat, the Mamba is the second medium ship after the Fer-de-Lance to be capable of mounting Class 4 weaponry, and the third ship overall after the Fer-de-Lance and Beluga Liner to feature six utility slots. In addition to its single huge hardpoint, the Mamba also possesses two large hardpoints and two small hardpoints. This arsenal places it in a narrow niche above the Fer-de-Lance and below the Federal Gunship in terms of raw damage potential for a medium ship. As a redesigned racing ship the Mamba boasts incredible speed, surpassing most other ships and letting it easily hunt down targets, escape from ambushes, or gain distance for long-range tactics. This comes at a sizeable cost to its turning radius and impacts its ability to maneuver in close quarters, but in compensation, its acceleration is better balanced with its turning rates, making it easier to avoid "getting caught in irons", which means accidentally coming to a halt and briefly being a stationary target; this is a chronic problem for pilots of the Fer-de-Lance. The Mamba also has a low heat threshold for its size, but compensates for this weakness with a higher heat dissipation rate.

Like the FDL, the Mamba is suited to Bounty Hunting and little else as all of the former's drawbacks are only exacerbated here. Featuring a maximum cargo capacity of 64t, which is on the lower side of the spectrum for medium ships, the Mamba is not an ideal choice for a dedicated Trading, Mining, or Piracy vessel. Furthermore, even if all possible measures are taken to conserve weight, the Mamba has a maximum jump range of 20.53 ly, the second lowest maximum jump range before Engineering of all available ships. As a result, when optimised for combat the Mamba can struggle to jump to nearby systems, making travel across even small distances a somewhat frustrating experience. Needless to say, the Mamba is unsuitable for Exploration, especially due to its limited internal compartments. With its higher damage output and extra utility slots, however, the ship still remains an effective anti-xeno choice; in particular, its high speed makes it very effective at dealing with Thargoid Interceptors.

All of the Mamba's hardpoints are located on the ship's dorsal surface. The two small hardpoints are forward of the co*ckpit, the two large hardpoints are on either side of the co*ckpit, and the huge hardpoint is behind the co*ckpit. Four of its utility mounts are on its ventral surface, while the remaining two are near the rear of the upper chassis.

The Mamba has two pilot seats, giving the ship Multicrew capability. Both seats are positioned on the ship's centerline in a blister-style dorsal co*ckpit, with the primary pilot seat located at the front, and the secondary pilot seat located behind and slightly elevated.

Purchase Locations[]

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 Mamba.

• (L) = Loaned Module
• [x#] = Capacity
• (PAS) = Reserved solely for the Planetary Approach Suite or Advanced Planetary Approach Suite

Notes[]

• The Mamba was released with the Chapter Four (3.3) update of Elite Dangerous: Beyond on December 11, 2018.^[2] Purchasing it requires owning Elite Dangerous: Horizons.

Trivia[]

• The Mamba first appeared in Elite. It was originally a term for a loose collection of small single-seat high-speed racing ships using the classic wedge or delta hull shape, but the design was later standardized by Raddlett and Rayburn Shipyards in Reorte in the early 3100s. The design has since been acquired by and reimagined by Zorgon Peterson.
• Engineer Bill Turner kept a vintage Mamba among the collection of ships stored at his base, Turner Metallics Inc, on Alioth 4 a.^[3]
• The Mamba was first revealed in the beta for Chapter Four (3.3) of Elite Dangerous: Beyond; while it was not initially for sale, players encountered several of the ships beings flown by NPCs.
• The Mamba features the second lowest jump range of any jump-capable ship as well the lowest maximum cargo capacity and highest base speed of any medium ship.

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