I use the SRV for my raw mat gathering. My home system has over 30 landable planets with just about every type of raw mat (maybe missing one or two?). An hour in the SRV and I'm usually good to go again.

A couple of buddies and I just picked this up on a steam sale to tide us over until Wildlands 2 comes out...and now we are completely sucked in! It has a real Wing Commander Privateer feel to it (I never played the earlier Elites) Right now we are in the bumbling-around-have-no-idea-what-we-are-doing phase and wonder if it will lose it's luster after we get out in front of the grind a bit... we are doing a 3 man private group so we don't get blown from the sky by a twelve year old as we are figuring out our key binds...

I have about 600 logged hours in the game so far and I have yet to play on the open server and I have no plans to. All of my game time is in private groups.

Open's not so bad. There are two keys to enjoying your time in open in my view. Wilful PvP is another thing altogether.

The first key is to know how to split. In open you should always have a high-wake destination selected and ready to go on a single key press. Too often I see folks try to escape by low-waking, which is affected by masslock.

The second key is to avoid flying in open in the noobtrap systems, like Deciat or Shinrarta, unless of course you wish to engage is emergent social interactivity

My Courier is fun to use as it boosts 800+, and nothing is going to catch me, aside from another speed demon, but I rarely see any humans flying these ships. It's all Cutters and Corvettes. So if I see a hollow approaching I can just permaboost to gain separation. It's in supercruise where I feel vulnerable, as my insane speed is no help here. Once I submit I can get away again with the high speed. Portside operations are fraught with peril though, as there are commanders who specialize in ruining your day around starports (or inside them for that matter) Situational awareness is vital.

So open's not bad as long as you don't play in to the griefers' hands. And you need a ship that's suitable. Either one that is super fast, or one engineered to the nines that can survive PvP.

Occasionally I will take out my DBX or the Orca, both of which are unarmed and run at less than 15% heat which makes them hard to target. And in the case of the DBX it's difficult for another pilot to follow my jumps unless he can also jump 70+, and most griefboats can't do that. Very rarely I do like to take the FDL in to Compromised Nav Beacons and mix it up with other pilots. I value my low death count so don't do this often

Awww, hop into Open for a spell, why don't ya, so I can rob yer ship... err... inspect yer cARRRRRgo!

Yo ho ho.

/jerkmode engaged

500 hours in Open myself, but I stopped playing three or four years ago once the population dried up. Had an awesome time, too, while it lasted. Never had an issue with griefers or gank squads, because a good pirate is a slippery one. I could get away from basically any situation unscathed, and there was little to no chance of them findin' me after.

Must be quite boring in group mode knowing your only threat is predictable artificial intelligence. :P



One admission: Wings was probably the second worst addition to the game, because they forced social behavior if you wanted to pvp. Some of us are too tired after a day's work to partake in social excess, and prefer simpler, more antisocial endeavors. The third worst addition to the game was engineers, because that forced folks to grind away their life to have competitive ships.


However, the first worst addition to the game was solo and group mode, and combining the ships, currency and gains of these modes with Open mode, so you could move back and forth, and safely farm away in single player until you were super rich before going into Open. This wrecked the pirate/trader economy. Still, I have many hundred(or thousand?) satisfied "customers" that made my time there satisfying.

To each their own of course. I've managed to have quite a lot of fun simply mining asteroids and exploring planet surfaces in my SRV. Also, I've engaged in combat against high level AI ships and while I almost always win, it's still a good challenge. I gave up the stress and frustration of PvP in PC gaming over 10 years ago.

Well, made a ton of money... So I went shopping for the fleet.

Adder, kraits, viper, anaconda, diamondbacks... All sat in my collection after my shopping spree.

And I still keep going back to my Python.

Ah well. Next is a mamba.... Then do I go feds or empire first.....

Well, Empire obviously.

Heretic!!!

The Federation is a festering pit of corporate excess. Corruption, intolerance, greed and oppression. What man would fail to stand against such tyranny?

The Empire offers promise. It offers hope. What man would not stand for his freedom? Slip your chains and bask in the pale blue light of the stars of Achenar!

Fly sexy, luxurious Gutamaya starships!

The ladies turn up their noses at pilots who arrive in dumpy, industrial, corporate Federation brickships.

But the sleek, provocative lines of Imperial ships have a magnetism they cannot resist!

See your local Empire recruiter today!

Haha just messing around. Ya know, I've never flown any Fed ship. And the only Imperial one is the Courier. I remember when I had the goal of owning a Cutter, and now I don't even care about it. Reaching Elite trade rank put paid to that nonsense

What he said!

I joined the Aisling Duval because that queen of theirs is frigging hot!

That's Aisling Duval!

And yeah, she's a looker



One more reason to join the Empire!

Beam me up, hottie!

Yeah, I'd tract her beam, and you should see the Fed chicks. Sheesh.

Compare the lovely and fetching Aisling to this...




The choice is clear. The Empire has the babes

LMAO DBond. The contrast is indeed striking.

Haha, ignore the Imperial medallion, that's a false flag. She's a Fed chick for sure

You mention making a ton of money. Are there exploits or other rapid wealth accumulation paths in place now to make a 'conda not require endless hours of mundane repetition?