I hopped on last night for a while. I am still hunting for a goal. And since that is basically a new ship, spent a long time comparing the various features of all of them. I found this site well done, and easy to use to compare the particulars.

https://www.alpha-orbital.com/elite/ship-list/

But I could draw no real conclusion. Most everything has a drawback that puts me off. I'm not inspired, you know where you can feel that a certain ship is one you just have to have. In the mean time I was running courier missions in Federation space. With the new rewards system I made good progress on the rank. In a few hours I was able to go from 50% Cadet to 50% Midshipman. And now I could buy a Dropship. By choosing the Rep-heavy reward option, the rank was increasing by about 10 or 11 % per trip. I was stacking a few here and there as well, and it all paid off quite well. A fast-grind if you will. But then I realized that I don't really want any of the Federation ships. Sort of ugly. I mean, I'd take a Corvette, but that's way off down the line.So all of this work was basically for nought, in the short term. The Imperial ships appeal to me more, even if they do basically the same things as the Fed counterpart.

But now that I see how to get the rank trending up a bit more quickly, I can move to Empire space for a while and get that going.

The cool thing was these courier missions gave me a good reason to break out the old Cobra again. I had forgotten how fast that ship is. Made a perfect ship for these missions.

So I will probably look to go Imperial for a while. with the goal of getting a Clipper. But that's a long way off.

I spent a lot of time looking at the ships as mentioned, and felt like I should pick a target not rank gated. I thought about the Chieftain. It would be a big firepower improvement over the Vulture, but I keep reading people saying that it has a weak canopy, and I don't want to have that getting shot out everytime I enter a RES site. Maybe it isn't a real issue, just people looking for something to complain about. What about the Fer de Lance? Yes, that looks good. And then I thought, my next ship, as I move from my current level, should be something that will make big money, to keep the ship grind going, perhaps best to wait to upgrade the combat ship.. Not a sideways move in to a Courier or a Dropship. Get something that can run missions, and more proftitably than the Asp X. So I think I have settled on the Python as my target. But it''s slow. Pretty awesome otherwise, but I do like some speed.

There are quite a few ships to choose from in this game, but it's like I wish there were three times as many.

Python? Or something else?

It's a nice website with nice graphics but I don't see how it's more useful than https://coriolis.edcd.io/

There's a few questions you must first answer so as to guide you:
1. Do you like doing missions or do you want credits? Missions can be interesting for some and they don't care about the credit or rep rewards, others will do anything, even mind-numbing trading for the credits.
2. Say you want credits, you want an established way to make money. AFAIK, trading still beats everything else in terms of cr/hr output. That means a trading ship. Do you think you can do trading?
3. Say you want missions, but will pick those that pay well. This usually involves a multi-purpose ship, a Cobra or Asp if missions require cargo space, but you'll have to find a station that gives good missions and sometimes the better ones are locked out until you gain more rep. Is this something that sounds like fun?


Depending on your current credit situation, you can have smaller goals you'll want to hit to keep you distracted. For instance, when my goal was the Python and I was trading, my smaller goals would be the next trader ship, then the next A-rated module fitting for that ship, and when that's done, go for the next trader ship again. So while my goal was the Python, my smaller goals were the Type-6, then Type-7, then Type-9.

Not interested in a freighter, the ship I get next will be either multi-role (most likely) or a fighter (less likely),

If we consider the Cobra and the Asp X as multi-role, then to move up from that it will need to be Python, Anaconda, Clipper, Cutter, or Dropship. Most of those are way too expensive for me at the mo, or rank-gated, hence the idea to go with a more profitable multi-role ship to eventually move in to the top-tier ships. Gotta spend money to make money and all that. I have 43m in the bank. I'll need 100m to get a half-decent Python I reckon. I can't be arsed to swap components around between ships, so I'll need the money to build from scratch.

I think a Fer de Lance is in my future too. And I'll probably look to at least test out the Chieftain. It has some really nice specs. But all of this costs hundreds of millions of credits.

And the Fed rank grind wasn't completely for nought, as one of my long standing goals was to gain entry to Sol. As a Midshipman, I can now do that. Think I will!

That's what Ice has jingling around in his pockets.

Damn, it's Petty Officer for Sol! Too much imbibing while flying 'round the galaxy I think. Must not have been seeing too straight lol.

Just messed around with a few Python builds, and I'll need 150m, plus the insurance twice over to get this ship near anything I'd want to be using. So I think I have a goal now. Thanks for the help.

Money can come fairly quickly, or sometimes not. A few CGs are in order I think. Looks like it's too late to make much of a dent in the current one. But for someone new who sees these massive figures and wonders how they'll ever have 50 million when they are running hauler missions for 40k, I advise to get involved in the Community Goals, if you want to run up your bank balance. I've done more of the combat side than the trader side, but I have participated in each, and there is lots of money to be made.

The combat part is just more fun for me. The idea is you sign up for the CG, and can sign up for combat, trade or both. You then go out and do the requirements, as often as you please. The more you contribute, the higher the rewards tier you qualify for, and you get paid when the CG expires. So you are getting paid as normal for what you're doing, selling goods or turning in bounty claims. And then at the end, you get paid again. I haven't done one in months, but I am about to do now. The last one I did netted a profit of 31 million after repairs ammo and taxes, and some of the other guys here were making way more than that. That'll get you an A-rated Asp X. Not bad for several days of dedicated playing.

On the flip side, these CGs can be very far from where you are. And the ultimate reward is based on participation. Not just yours, but the community as a whole. So if not many are in, the top rewards tiers won't be reached before it ends. But if you're looking to make fast cash, CGs are a good way to go.

Humble-bragging here guys, but Oden, I have an Imperial Cutter in my hangar bay collecting dust I'll let you look up the price of that.



Well, the Anaconda and Cutter are definitely out as they're 100M+ in credits. The Clipper seems like a good ship; I've seen it numerous times in other human CMDRs doing CGs. Not sure about the Fed Dropship but I know a lot of human CMDRs favor the Fed Assault Ship, but this is for pew-pew purposes. Credit-wise, Clipper seems to be the next step after the Asp Explorer, but I'm not sure if it's really better than the Asp X. Well, it *IS* better in terms of speed, shields, integrity, and cargo, but with 60T cargo, you're down to 17LY jumps while the Asp X at 60T can still do 24LY. Jump distance is better for Asp X too. Both ships are on a 5A jump drive. So for the extra that you pay for in the Clipper, I doubt if the net effect is better.


I really, really want to like the FDL, but I can't. Having that hardpoint on the underside is just too much of a disadvantage. While the FDL and the Python have the big hardpoint under the ship, the Python is more forward mounted and thus can track better above the waterline. Not so for the FDL since the hardpoint is further back. Then look at the shape of the ships and the location of the top hardpoints. The Python's hardpoints are all essentially on top of the hull while the FDL is at the sides, so the Python weapons can track laterally better than the FDL's.

It depends, I guess. The last CG I participated in, I would've made slightly more if I just stuck to my trade runs in terms of credits per hour. Then again, I was on a Tradeconda at the time, so maybe less cargo capacity means better to run CGs?

Yeah, this one too. Won't even hit the middle tier I don't think. So i flew out there in my Vulture. A bunch of hops with it's enviable 10 light year jump range. Had to make a refueling stop since I have no scoop on this ship. I got 1.3m in bounty claims and turned them in at the correct station, but didn't get credit for the CG. I saw no RES sites in this sytem, just conflict zones. So i found a big pink planet that was undiscovered, and jumped out in to the nav beacon where i got plenty of kills. So what happened? What is the actual requirement here if anyone else is in? I think i did everything the same as usual, aside from the type of place i got the kills. I wonder if flying to the second star in the system meant the kills there dont count? If so where are these bounties supposed to be found?

I don't know what went wrong with my CG efforts, but no sense in continuing, if I won't get the rewards.

So I decided to fly back to Eravate, Cleve Hub to be precise, which has been my home in space since the early days. It was the first station to go green for me, so I made it my base of operations. It was 51 light years from the CG, which is 7 hops in the Vulture, but would need to stop for fuel along the way. On the fourth hop I put down at a station awkwardly called Eudoxus Dock to top off the tanks. As I slowed in to port, I passed a gas giant with a few RES zones. I thought well, I'm still in the Vulture, lets pop in to that High RES and have a bash before I put it back in the garage.

And what a fantastic RES this was. It was filled with Anacondas, Clippers, Cutters, Pythons, Gunships, FDLs, Type-10s and all of the top ships. In an hour I racked up 3.7m in bounties. This isn't money making on the same scale as what Ice is showing in his trade thread. But it works for me! So if you're looking for a good hunting ground and happen to be near Eudoxus Dock in the LTT 7421 system, stop on in to the local RES site and get your fill.

I finally gained entry to Sol, and it was cool to do a supercruise circuit around the Big Blue Marble. I thought I would set up shop there, DBond's Interstellar Transportation Company. I bought a First Class cabin and began running missions. But I guess my rep in the system is low, so I was getting crap missions, the Mostly Penniless sort. I need to boost my standing there I suppose. Anyway, I'm far from there again, as I just keep chaining transport and data missions and going with the flow, wherever it takes me.

I saw that I have not ventured more than 426 LY from my start. That seems pathetic and I need to get out more

Another tip I have for new players is to be sure and consider the Arrival Distance when choosing missions, This will determine how much time you are investing in to each hop. I like to keep it under 1000 LS if I can, but for a particularly profitable mission I will ignore it sometimes. An arrival distance to 100,000 LS will take like 20 minutes in supercruise. Last night I was sifting through looking for a mission and noticed one with an arrival distance of 6,700,000 LS!! Good grief! How long would that take? So if one wasn't paying attention to this, that pilot could have a heck of a mission.

I hadn't worked out screenshots (well I guess I had but didn't realize it) so I didn't get a beautiful shot of planet Earth. All I got was this

The nice thing about the salvage missions is that most are within one or two jumps and since you return to the mission giver to drop off the cargo and get paid, your rep and influence go up with every trip so they keep giving you higher and higher pay days. You can load up on several at a time, no cash penalty for not completing it. I haven’t gotten to play much the last couple of days, so I had 4 missions time out. No fees, but my rep took a hit and dropped down from allied with my main source. I still have several high dollar missions lined up, so I still have a couple of million in missions ready that will restore my position.
No fighting though, no time. You just need shields, module reinforcement, speed, limpits and at least 4 spots in cargo space. 6-750k on the high end runs and most just take 15 minutes or so unless you have to jump out and back in. Sometimes circling the planet looking for the blue mission signal can be frustrating, but usually you find it on the first orbit.

The Asp Ex has been slow to set up, but I think it’s almost there. Not as fun as the Viper IV so far, but it’s pretty decent when I drop in looking for warrants. I just last night got to make some good upgrades, so it should be tougher and faster now.

Still eye’ing that Vulture. If the Asp doesn’t prove itself with my upgrades, I may go back to the Viper for salvage runs and either grab a Vulture or work with the feds for their low end fighter for causing trouble.

I think the Vulture/AspX combo is really good for the mid-game, and even well beyond. All bases are covered with those two ships. Your Viper is the Mark IV correct? (ooops, you just said it was) I haven't flown that, so I don't know how much of an upgrade the Vulture is. I use a Pulse Laser/Multi-Cannon combo (both hardpoints are Large) and it does a great job. I have it A-rated except for the scanner, I have no scoop or discovery scanner on it. I have probably too much hull reinforcement and could use a rethink. I'm adding all of that mass, and in my most recent foray in to a High RES, I got almost 4 million in bounties while not losing any hull. The shields were mostly shot away a few times, but never depleted. So I think I could drop some of this mass and make her a bit more nimble and get a little better JR. The Vulture is nimble enough to avoid most of the fire from bigger ships, and hits harder than anything that can out maneuver it.

That said, I am seriously considering a Chieftain. It has the two Large HPs like the Vulture, but adds 3 small and one medium. The only thing holding me back is the reported fragile canopy. Anyone here try this boat yet?

The Asp X has been my workhorse. A trader, a transporter, an opportunistic bounty hunter, explorer, a data runner. It can do it all. With the class 6 passenger cabin I get around 27 JR. If I swap for a class 5 it's 20t lighter and gets the JR a little over 30. Great ship.

I've gone from 'noticing' the Wing missions on the board, to downright resenting them. This has to be made it's own section, like the passenger lounge. Wing missions are crowding out most of the good solo missions. I hope Frontier is looking at this. Is it just me?

Just realized you're not on the list of commander names, DBond.
http://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3964002/all/first-post-your-commander-name

Ooops, I'm incognito.

My last post was shabby. I mean in particular the good boom time deliveries. This was my bread and butter. There were always good money makers on the board for my Asp with about 36t of cargo space. Missions that netted 500k to 1m per run. Now I don't see any of these. When they changed the rewards to make it three choices, did they reduced the size of the money payouts?

Yeah, it seems the "forum dads" on the Elite Dangerous forums think new people coming into the game should not be making fast credits. So they cry and complain and Fdevs nerf the gold rush. It's been especially bad since the 3.0 patch. I'm not sure how someone elses bank roll affects another persons gaming fun, but evidently they feel like they can tell people how to play the game.

Because they want to be ganking on players as they climb up the ranks? I bet the same players are complaining about the Solo and Private Group play.

Thanks for the confirmation. It's a shame. I'm not in to hauling commodities, but the boom time deliveries were a good money maker. Thankfully I've branched out in to sightseeing tours and the money is coming in again. My trade rank has stalled. I'm Broker, but all of the boom time deliveries I'm seeing are the Mostly Penniless sort. Haul 6 tons of this or that for 85k. Bah.

I hope they come back like they were. Short, single-hop hauler missions for profit scaled to trade rank and ship size.

Passenger missions are going pretty well, other than one that had a trek in system of about 90 minutes! I did it since I had other stuff to do and just left it running. I won’t do that again.
The rest have been fairly short jobs with a couple of stops, 2-3 mill a run, plus 500k-q.t mill in exploration bucks. I do scan planets along the way as l9ng as it doesn’t involve time consuming system runs.
I still have a fuel scoop, for now, but may ditch it. Too slow. There’s usually a station somewhere. Plus, I haven’t had any trouble other than some rare interdiction attempts that are easily avoided. I downgraded my shield to a 3 to open up a large slot where I dropped a 64 unit fuel tank, giving me 96 in fuel. An average run uses half a tank and saves a lot of time. Everything is in storage at the station I’m working out of, so it will all go back on when I get bored of these runs.
For now, exploring with a passenger to pay me to do it is fun and building some cash. Not in any rush to replace the Asp Ex now that it’s in good shape. Not as fun as the salvage runs, but something different.