Hi everybody, most of the following is a somewhat "stream of consciousness" I posted a few minutes again in a Facebook group, in response to a question someone asked about the rebuy cost of their new Cobra and after I posted it, I thought to myself, "I wish I knew all this when I started playing Elite back in the day!" 
.
So here is my impromptu guide to a hopefully happy life in the Elite Dangerous Universe!
Feel free to read it, add to it and share your thoughts on the post and life in elite in general, with me! .
All ships have a rebuy cost, which is a percentage of their current value, including the value of their current modules...
So as you buy dearer ships, their standard rebuy cost will be higher as you upgrade and fit more expensive modules to them and their rebuy cost increases, however strip them back and put cheaper modules in them and their rebuy cost goes down.
It's one of the stats listed in your current ship's information in the right panel and worth noting especially when you're low on credits to know that you can afford to replace it if it gets destroyed!
If you're destroyed and can afford to pay the rebuy cost and pay it, you get the ship back as you had it outfitted, missing any cargo you were carrying, which was destroyed and is unrecoverable...
If you can't afford to pay the rebuy cost, you may have to sell other ships to fund it and may take a small loan towards paying it, but if you still can't pay the rebuy cost, you're given a free sidewinder and a limited amount of time to earn the money for the rebuy before the destroyed ship is deleted and gone completely!
But long story short, the best advice is to not take the risk and not to fly any ship that can't afford to pay the rebuy for at least once!
(And to check what its' current rebuy cost is after changing its' modules or doing significant upgrades.)
Personally when I buy a new ship, I upgrade it the best I can and save up as much money as I can before flying it full time, generally leaving it parked for a while as I'm looking for upgrades and funds to fly it safely!
Once you hopefully have "more money than sense", you can start to take more risks and thinking less about paying the rebuy cost - however even when you can afford the rebuild cost of more expensive ships, it "hurts" to pay so much to replace them, so if you're like me, you'll be very careful to stop yourself dying to not pay the rebuy, EVER if possible!
.
For example, I flew a Python as my main ship for about two years and every time I died in it, which was circa five times, I "felt" its' circa five million rebuy cost!
(I've died about 15 times in the game, but normally in smaller cheaper ships before that and while of course, it's never nice to die, it stung less...)
My current main ship is an Anaconda, which I've been flying for more than three years - its' rebuy cost is typically about 20 million and around 25 million in a full combat configuration - it would hurt a lot to pay that IF I'd ever had too!
Thankfully between always, or at least trying to, have the ship set up right for whatever situation I was in and calculated and carefully flying, I've never died in it, even I like engaging in combat and don't run from danger!
The worst damage I've taken in a regular fight was down to 80% hull, when I stayed in a combat situation too long, though normally disengage if I lose or am close to losing my shields...
While the one time I nearly died in it, when I thought I had it built "like a tank" and ready to take on the Universe was about 18 months ago, the one and only time I tried Thargoid combat - they shredded me before I knew it and I escaped with around 60% hull left!
Why people like Thargoid combat I don't know, I'm quite a combat veteran in normal circumstances, taking on wings of enemies at compromised nav beacons and in Combat Zones etc, but Thargoid combat was not for me!!
Lastly, one big piece of advice I'll give you (and maybe the most important part!) which is something I stupidly didn't do for more than three years until I was flying the Anaconda, which would surely have saved me from many a needless death, especially in the Python is - investigate and learn to use shield cell banks as soon as possible!
They can literally be the difference between life and death!
They're in game description is underwhelming and I felt that the module slot that took up was better suited to hull reinforcement, but they're great, when used right!
Indeed they have to be used carefully and at the right time, as they can be dangerous to or useless to you if used incorrectly, while like everything in the game, need engineering to get the best out of them, but even stock, you should always carry one or two small ones!...
They allow you to recharge and regenerate lost shield points, at the cost of significant heat, which can damage or destroy your ship if used incorrectly, but basically if you pretty identical ships fight each other, but one of them has even one shield cell bank and uses it at the right time, they'll normally win.
You have to use them when you shields are still up or they're useless - I normally use one when my shields are down to say 60% and at least by 40% as they take a few seconds to fire, when you're likely already taking fire...
It's best to test smaller ones first, class three or four one at a time, outside combat just after leaving the no fire zone of a station to see how much heat they generate and whether you can use one without damaging yourself!
In most ships you can just about use a class five bank without damaging yourself, though you may come very close, but with the class six banks and up, you either have to use one at the same time as a heat sink or significantly engineer them to avoid them damaging you!
I hate using heat sinks myself, as I'd rather keep utility slots free for shield reinforcement modules and maybe a kill warrant scanner, though I haven't carried the latter since flying the Python...
With my engineered class six shield banks, I can now fire one safely without damaging myself, couldn't likely engineer a class seven to be safe to use, however I use a class seven shield in heavy combat, so have nowhere to fit a class seven shield bank, as I wouldn't use a class six shield, along with a class seven bank (though I do use a class six shield when trading and running normal missions).
All in, I'd say my use of shield cell banks is 80% the reason I've never died in the Anaconda! .
Anyway, sorry for the novel, but I felt that this needs to be said and that someone had said it to me when I was "only" flying a Cobra!.
(It's a great ship by the way, I flew one as my main ship for a few months, before I upgraded to an Asp Explorer, spending about six months with that as my main ship, before the Python...
Which isn't to say that they're the only ships to use, though they are some of the best ships in the game!
Also that was before we had various new ships, or after I'd "passed them by", so never players have more options than we did! - I never flew a Crusader, Challenger or the other "C" sister ship, while I side switched between my long serving Python and the at the time, new Krait mark II when I was saving for my Anaconda...
The Krait is a fine ship and a good alternative to the Python, though both ships are similar in many ways...
The Krait is a little cheaper, faster and more manoeuvrable and can carry a ship launched fighter, making it much easier to avoid incoming fire, while ship launched fighters distract a lot of attacking enemies reducing incoming fire in the first place...
However the Python has tougher shields, hull plating and can carry more cargo.
While both ships use the exact same weapons and many of the same modules classes - I like both ships, but slightly more the Python!
Anyway, happy trails, never fly without a rebuy and see you when you're triple Elite! .
P.S. - I'll probably edit this to be slightly more generic and less Cobra focused tomorrow, but I'm a little tired now and maybe it's good enough as it is, anyway .
.So here is my impromptu guide to a hopefully happy life in the Elite Dangerous Universe!
Feel free to read it, add to it and share your thoughts on the post and life in elite in general, with me!
.All ships have a rebuy cost, which is a percentage of their current value, including the value of their current modules...
So as you buy dearer ships, their standard rebuy cost will be higher as you upgrade and fit more expensive modules to them and their rebuy cost increases, however strip them back and put cheaper modules in them and their rebuy cost goes down.
It's one of the stats listed in your current ship's information in the right panel and worth noting especially when you're low on credits to know that you can afford to replace it if it gets destroyed!
If you're destroyed and can afford to pay the rebuy cost and pay it, you get the ship back as you had it outfitted, missing any cargo you were carrying, which was destroyed and is unrecoverable...
If you can't afford to pay the rebuy cost, you may have to sell other ships to fund it and may take a small loan towards paying it, but if you still can't pay the rebuy cost, you're given a free sidewinder and a limited amount of time to earn the money for the rebuy before the destroyed ship is deleted and gone completely!
But long story short, the best advice is to not take the risk and not to fly any ship that can't afford to pay the rebuy for at least once!
(And to check what its' current rebuy cost is after changing its' modules or doing significant upgrades
.)Personally when I buy a new ship, I upgrade it the best I can and save up as much money as I can before flying it full time, generally leaving it parked for a while as I'm looking for upgrades and funds to fly it safely!
Once you hopefully have "more money than sense", you can start to take more risks and thinking less about paying the rebuy cost - however even when you can afford the rebuild cost of more expensive ships, it "hurts" to pay so much to replace them, so if you're like me, you'll be very careful to stop yourself dying to not pay the rebuy, EVER if possible!
.For example, I flew a Python as my main ship for about two years and every time I died in it, which was circa five times, I "felt" its' circa five million rebuy cost!
(I've died about 15 times in the game, but normally in smaller cheaper ships before that and while of course, it's never nice to die, it stung less...)
My current main ship is an Anaconda, which I've been flying for more than three years - its' rebuy cost is typically about 20 million and around 25 million in a full combat configuration - it would hurt a lot to pay that IF I'd ever had too!
Thankfully between always, or at least trying to, have the ship set up right for whatever situation I was in and calculated and carefully flying, I've never died in it, even I like engaging in combat and don't run from danger!
The worst damage I've taken in a regular fight was down to 80% hull, when I stayed in a combat situation too long, though normally disengage if I lose or am close to losing my shields...
While the one time I nearly died in it, when I thought I had it built "like a tank" and ready to take on the Universe was about 18 months ago, the one and only time I tried Thargoid combat - they shredded me before I knew it and I escaped with around 60% hull left!
Why people like Thargoid combat I don't know, I'm quite a combat veteran in normal circumstances, taking on wings of enemies at compromised nav beacons and in Combat Zones etc, but Thargoid combat was not for me!!
Lastly, one big piece of advice I'll give you (and maybe the most important part!
) which is something I stupidly didn't do for more than three years until I was flying the Anaconda, which would surely have saved me from many a needless death, especially in the Python is - investigate and learn to use shield cell banks as soon as possible!They can literally be the difference between life and death!
They're in game description is underwhelming and I felt that the module slot that took up was better suited to hull reinforcement, but they're great, when used right!
Indeed they have to be used carefully and at the right time, as they can be dangerous to or useless to you if used incorrectly, while like everything in the game, need engineering to get the best out of them, but even stock, you should always carry one or two small ones!...
They allow you to recharge and regenerate lost shield points, at the cost of significant heat, which can damage or destroy your ship if used incorrectly, but basically if you pretty identical ships fight each other, but one of them has even one shield cell bank and uses it at the right time, they'll normally win.
You have to use them when you shields are still up or they're useless - I normally use one when my shields are down to say 60% and at least by 40% as they take a few seconds to fire, when you're likely already taking fire...
It's best to test smaller ones first, class three or four one at a time, outside combat just after leaving the no fire zone of a station to see how much heat they generate and whether you can use one without damaging yourself!
In most ships you can just about use a class five bank without damaging yourself, though you may come very close, but with the class six banks and up, you either have to use one at the same time as a heat sink or significantly engineer them to avoid them damaging you!
I hate using heat sinks myself, as I'd rather keep utility slots free for shield reinforcement modules and maybe a kill warrant scanner, though I haven't carried the latter since flying the Python...
With my engineered class six shield banks, I can now fire one safely without damaging myself, couldn't likely engineer a class seven to be safe to use, however I use a class seven shield in heavy combat, so have nowhere to fit a class seven shield bank, as I wouldn't use a class six shield, along with a class seven bank (though I do use a class six shield when trading and running normal missions).
All in, I'd say my use of shield cell banks is 80% the reason I've never died in the Anaconda!
.Anyway, sorry for the novel, but I felt that this needs to be said and that someone had said it to me when I was "only" flying a Cobra!
.(It's a great ship by the way, I flew one as my main ship for a few months, before I upgraded to an Asp Explorer, spending about six months with that as my main ship, before the Python...
Which isn't to say that they're the only ships to use, though they are some of the best ships in the game!
Also that was before we had various new ships, or after I'd "passed them by", so never players have more options than we did! - I never flew a Crusader, Challenger or the other "C" sister ship, while I side switched between my long serving Python and the at the time, new Krait mark II when I was saving for my Anaconda...
The Krait is a fine ship and a good alternative to the Python, though both ships are similar in many ways...
The Krait is a little cheaper, faster and more manoeuvrable and can carry a ship launched fighter, making it much easier to avoid incoming fire, while ship launched fighters distract a lot of attacking enemies reducing incoming fire in the first place...
However the Python has tougher shields, hull plating and can carry more cargo.
While both ships use the exact same weapons and many of the same modules classes - I like both ships, but slightly more the Python!
Anyway, happy trails, never fly without a rebuy and see you when you're triple Elite!
.P.S. - I'll probably edit this to be slightly more generic and less Cobra focused tomorrow, but I'm a little tired now and maybe it's good enough as it is, anyway
.
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