Cobra Mk IIICombat

The Cobra Mk III is one of gaming's most storied spaceships, carried into Elite Dangerous as the definitive jack-of-all-trades. Four hardpoints (two medium, two small), a genuinely useful cargo hold, good speed and eight optional internals make it a ship that fights, hauls, explores and runs missions — all competently, none superbly, on a cheap and cheerful hull.

As a combat ship specifically it's a capable budget fighter: enough guns to threaten, enough speed to choose its fights, and enough room to add shields and a little reinforcement. Its shields are thin and its guns small-class, so it won't out-fight the dedicated small combat hulls — but few ships are more pleasant or flexible, and as a do-everything starter that can also brawl, the Cobra Mk III remains a perennial favourite.

Four things define the Cobra Mk III as a combat ship:

• Four hardpoints. Two medium and two small give it a respectable budget battery — enough to threaten targets and clear lower-tier RES.
• Good speed. A 403 m/s boost lets it dictate range, chase, and escape fights it can't win.
• Deep optionals and cargo. Eight internals (three class-4) mean room for shields, reinforcement and cargo — the versatility that defines it.
• Cheap and beloved. Around 200k credits, with handling that has charmed pilots for decades.

Four small-class guns and a 403 m/s boost on a cheap, no-rank-gate hull make a competent versatile fighter, but thin ~92 MJ shields and only two utilities cap its pure-combat ceiling.

The 58/100 headline is a verdict against the combat role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Both tables rate ships for the combat role specifically. The role column is the hardpoint loadout — the raw weapon mounts behind the damage.

Same class — small-pad combat ships

Among small combat ships the Cobra Mk III is the versatile budget pick. The dedicated fighters out-shoot it, but none combines competent guns, good speed and real cargo room on one cheap hull. Buy it to do everything, including a fight; buy a focused hull to win fights.

Other classes — and its own roles

The Cobra Mk III is rivalled most by its own modern successor, the Cobra Mk V, which does everything it does but more. For pure combat, step up to a Vulture or a medium. The Mk III's enduring charm is being the affordable do-everything classic — and it has dedicated exploration and multipurpose manuals of its own.

At ~208k Cr the Cobra Mk III is very cheap, with no rank gate and a negligible rebuy. Its small modules keep engineering inexpensive, so even a fully kitted Cobra stays affordable.

It's a value-and-versatility pick: cheap enough to own alongside specialist ships, and flexible enough to re-role from fighter to hauler to explorer by swapping its deep optionals.

A versatile budget combat fit. Initial is buy-only and keeps cargo room; A-rated is the combat-ready baseline; Engineered applies the house combat pattern — leaning on speed and a bi-weave since the shields are thin and the guns small-class.

Buy the hull (~208k Cr) and fit a stock 4E Shield Generator plus a 0A Shield Booster for a thin starting buffer — armour stays at the stock Lightweight Alloy bulkhead and there's no hull reinforcement on the buy-only fit.

Arm one medium with a gimballed multi-cannon and the other with a gimballed pulse laser; fit a single 1G gimballed pulse in one small and leave the second small hardpoint empty until the hull is paid off.

Fill the two spare size-4 optionals with cargo racks so the same hull can run delivery missions between fights; the smaller optionals and the second utility stay empty for now.

A-rating priority for a versatile budget fighter:

• 1Thrusters → 4A — Speed lets it dictate range and escape; A-rate early. ~400k Cr
• 2Power Distributor → 3A — Sustain four guns and boost. ~300k Cr
• 3Power Plant → 4A — Headroom for guns, shields and utilities. ~400k Cr
• 4Shield Generator → 4C bi-weave — A regenerating buffer over the thin shield. ~300k Cr
• 5FSD → 4A — Range for combat and its other roles. ~400k Cr
• 6Bulkheads → Military Grade Composite — The thin Cobra shell needs the harder hull; cheapest flat lift to effective armour before reinforcement stacks on top. ~250k Cr
• 7Weapons & defensive layer — Add the second 1G gimballed pulse and a 0I Chaff Launcher, then swap the two cargo racks for a 4A Shield Cell Bank and a 4D Hull Reinforcement, and fill the smaller optionals with stacked Hull Reinforcements (2D/1D), Shield Cell Banks (2A/1A) and a 2D Module Reinforcement.

The house combat pattern on a versatile classic. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application; visit in person for experimentals.

Recommended order

• 1Thrusters and distributor first for mobility and sustain.
• 2Power plant Overcharged to run four guns, shields and utilities.
• 3Weapons: Overcharged multi-cannons with one Corrosive, Efficient pulses.
• 4Bi-weave plus light reinforcement for the modest tank — keep cargo room if you want versatility.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

The A-rated jump in effective armour is the Military Grade Composite bulkhead plus stacked hull reinforcements; engineering Heavy Duty bulkheads and HRPs roughly doubles it again to ~750. The three Specialised Shield Cell Banks all run Thermal Spread, so the burst heals don't cook the hull. Engineered, the Cobra Mk III is a fast, flexible budget fighter — 480 m/s boost, a usable shield, four guns, and the room to carry cargo too. Its combat ceiling stays modest; its enduring value is doing everything adequately on one cheap, charming hull.

• Play to versatility — the Cobra fights adequately and re-roles brilliantly; lean on the flexibility.
• Speed and a bi-weave are its defence; it can't trade blows for long, so disengage if pressed.
• Its modern successor the Cobra Mk V does everything it does but more — consider it when budget allows.
• Keep a cargo rack fitted; the ability to haul between fights is half the point of the hull.