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Sep 19, 2023

Elite Dangerous: Best Fully

The Bubble Buster is a clever ship build that can cover great distances. It’s

The Bubble Buster is a clever ship build that can cover great distances. It's enjoyable to fly, and it's ready for the unexpected.

Elite Dangerous is, at its core, a game about exploration. One of the grandest experiences Elite Dangerous has to offer is setting out to find unknown worlds, being the first to discover a hidden gem, and then proudly placing a "First Discovered By" label beside it. Commanders that focus on exploration spend their time traveling the cosmos in search of the most beautiful systems, or embarking on expeditions to faraway beacons like Sagittarius A* or Beagle Point. RELATED: Elite Dangerous: Best Ways To Make Money

Others spend months or even years "In the Black", tens of thousands of light-years away from civilization. That far out, no one but the Fuel Rats would dare attempt the long journey to get them back home in the event of a malfunction. Space is unforgiving, unpredictable, and undeniably vast. Commanders looking to specialize in exploration need a ship that can cover great distances, that's enjoyable to fly, and that can deal with the unexpected as it arises.

The following is a top-tier ship build for exploring space in Elite Dangerous. It's called The Bubble Buster.

Speed

Jump Range

Shield & Hull

Cargo

Features

16t

This build excels at getting commanders out of the bubble to visit Guardian and Thargoid sites, make truly incredible discoveries, and jet around in style and comfort. It's also excellent at traveling great distances inside the bubble. It can get across the bubble in just two jumps or to the nearest Guardian site in six. No sitting next to a star for minutes at a time to refuel either. The Bubble Buster refuels completely in less than twenty seconds. A simple fly-by is all that's needed to fill it up after each jump.

RELATED: Elite Dangerous Player Goes On 85,000 Light Year Journey Without Key Tool There's room for customization, but this build should serve most use cases as-is. It's also surprisingly fast and fun to fly. It's capable of repairing itself, it has all the tools needed for unexpected encounters, and it even has a self-defense mechanism to get away from pirates.

The following information describes the specific choices in the build and offers some customization options. Check this build out on Coriolis to examine it more closely.

The best ship for this build is the Krait Phantom. There are a handful of ships that excel at exploration for one reason or another, but the Krait fits this build perfectly. It's one of the best medium ships available owing to its versatility and impressive Jump Range. It has large internals, a competitive Boost Speed, and most importantly: fancy thrusters.

The Asp Explorer is a fair replacement for this build, but the smaller optional internals mean the ship can either have a large Fuel Scoop or a 4E Corrosion-Resistant Cargo Rack, not both. However, both are essential for this build to be at its best. The other largest slot is taken by the FSD Booster, so there's no way around it.

RELATED: The Best Sci-Fi Games That Aren't Mass Effect or Star Wars-Related Of course the Anaconda could accommodate this build as well, and it would still have room for Passenger Cabins, a full bar, and a swimming pool. However, long voyages in the Anaconda can be grating because of its glacial handling. Also, some planet surfaces make it impossible to land, and it can only dock at stations with a large landing pad.

This part is easy. There's only one hardpoint: a Mining Laser. This can be used to mine asteroid belts for precious synthesizing materials needed out in the black. The mining laser can also be used to activate Guardian Beacons.

There's a bit of room in the Power Plant to fit more armaments for commanders with a desire for some firepower. Multicannons would do well here, and the Mining Laser can be replaced by a combat laser to keep the ability to activate Guardian Beacons.

The core internals chosen for this build don't just prioritize keeping things light. Instead, there's an even spread of priorities designed to keep the ship fun to fly and versatile while maintaining a top-tier Jump Range that rivals some of the best large ships in the game.

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The Krait Phantom has a total of four Utility Mounts. While that may seem pitiful compared to the Anaconda's eight, four gets the job done well enough. Into these four slots go the following modules:

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This is where the versatility in The Bubble Buster's design really shines. The optional internals chosen here should give commanders enough tools in their toolbox to have what they need when they need it no matter the situation.

There it is: The Bubble Buster. It's versatile, fast, and can jump incredible distances. The Power Plant is likely to be the most trouble to get engineered, but this build is otherwise pretty forgiving. It doesn't need to be fully-engineered to work great, but once it is, it's a satisfying ship to own and to fly.

o7, Commanders.

Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is available on PC.

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Robert is a seasoned gamer, writer, and Dungeon Master. He's a proud father of three wild kiddos. He writes for a wide variety of mediums. He publishes on DMsGuild, freelances for card and board games, and works full-time as a UX/Technical Writer in the tech industry.