Newcomer / Intro old questions from a *new* player ( sorta late to the pilot party here ) ...

[Neestar]

Greetings all , my name is NEE and i'm neither "elite" nor "dangerous"....YET !

crickets

So, first i'd like to apologize for any questions i'm about to ask that have possibly been asked/answered already 93845734957 times. Yes i did a quick forum search for most of these , and even tried to google some of them , but frankly it's just easier/better to hear directly from pilots in posts. ( especially since i've heard such good things about this community as a whole ) . So yeah, THANKS in advance to anyone willing to indulge yet another newbie!

Sadly, i only just started this game a couple days ago and haven't even ventured off the starter space-station yet after finishing the ground Odyssey training mission. Long story short, as an avid pilot vet of SWG's JTL , SWTOR's GSF , SW:Squadrons, and yes, dare i admit, even Starfield ( don't flame me lol ) i've recently become very intrigued by your Elite Dangerous and tbqh can't believe i never tried out this game years ago.

But whatever i'm here now, so yeah of course i have a ton of questions, most of which i'm too afraid to ask because i'm trying to avoid spoilers in the hopes i'll be able to really enjoy as much discovery & mystery as possible. Annnnywayyys, here are a few questions ( well, more than "a few" lol sorry! ) that i actually would like to ask and maybe someone won't mind answering....

1. Is there any option to increase font-size on these forums? And how can i delete my own posts/threads? ( i don't see an option yet in the edit ui ... Unless maybe i'm too newbie still to be granted delete privilages? )
2. A couple of ED players keep telling me how mouse&keyboard is "way more accurate" to use with this game. Is this true? ( i personally despise "flying" with m&k , because it just simply doesn't feel immersive nor responsive enough to me , so i always prefer using my patented Wingman Flightstick )
3. i've been reading a lot on the interwebs about ED vets being "upset" with this whole new pre-built ship + Python readymade prepurchase ( plus Engineering changes ) but i still don't fully understand what the detrimental situation is since i never played ED before. Is this like similar to what the dreaded NGE did to SWG back in the day? As in, altering the very fabric/spirit of the game too much? Or is it not quite that drastic?
4. Are the massive Carrier ships only for groups/guilds ? And does ED even have guilds in the traditional sense or is it something entirely different?
5. How often are the 'arx' store sales? i'm guessing what like twice per year maybe? ( summertime and holiday season? )
6. Is customization of ships/suits only available from 'arx' store? or also from in-game selling market? ( and also from player crafting? )
7. Does the recent Odyssey update mean that i can basically land into on-foot 1st person shooter ground mode on any & every planet/moon/asteroid? Or is it more dependent and restrictive, based on missions or systems?
8. Other than basic griefing , what's the purpose of PVP "gankers" ? Can they loot resources or items from your ship after they destroy?
9. Will ED ever implement player-built settlements or bases? Have the developers ever discussed it at all? ( expansion-wise i mean )
10. Is everything in game solo-able ( grind time + effort + knowledge, etc. ) or do some things require a group to complete/achieve/discover?
11. Lots of YouTube videos & tutorials keep saying something about "stay in the bubble!" --What exactly is "the bubble" ? Is that like stay close to home station so as to avoid PVP gankers? If so, how does anyone ever explore & discover new worlds or resources, etc. ?
12. From what i've read so far, it doesn't seem like ALTs are absolutely necessary. ( which i like, since i have enough characters in other games as it is lol ) -- Is this true? Or do most people multibox with ALTs a ton here in ED too like most other MMOs ?
13. ( RESERVED for later follow-up post )

.... Much appreciated and sorry again for some retread/redundant type questions. -- /tip-hat fellow pilots!

 

[Factabulous]

Is there any option to increase font-size on these forums? And how can i delete my own posts/threads? ( i don't see an option yet in the edit ui ... Unless maybe i'm too newbie still to be granted delete privilages? )

Not that I know. You can 'report' your own posts and kindly ask the mod to close / delete posts - though you'll need a good reason for them to delete one.

A couple of ED players keep telling me how mouse&keyboard is "way more accurate" to use with this game. Is this true? ( i personally despise "flying" with m&k , because it just simply doesn't feel immersive nor responsive enough to me , so i always prefer using my patented Wingman Flightstick )

Use what you like - lots of opinions here

i've been reading a lot on the interwebs about ED vets being "upset" with this whole new pre-built ship + Python readymade prepurchase ( plus Engineering changes ) but i still don't fully understand what the detrimental situation is since i never played ED before. Is this like similar to what the dreaded NGE did to SWG back in the day? As in, altering the very fabric/spirit of the game too much? Or is it not quite that drastic?

People here get upset about literally everything. They seem to have a lot of spare time (though the SCO drives might reduce that )

Are the massive Carrier ships only for groups/guilds ? And does ED even have guilds in the traditional sense or is it something entirely different?

Nope - many are solo (hence why there are so many). ED has Squadrons for in-game cooperation (right panel in the HUD), and also Player Minor Factions (PMF). There are also many groups run on discord etc - there is a section of the forums for that.

How often are the 'arx' store sales? i'm guessing what like twice per year maybe? ( summertime and holiday season? )

Several times a year. They aren't regular (i.e. every X weeks), but normally have repeated at the same times of year (Black Friday / Christmas etc), and they don't usually offer the same things, or the same discounts. Might have changed in this new world though

Is customization of ships/suits only available from 'arx' store? or also from in-game selling market? ( and also from player crafting? )

cosmetics are mainly though ARX - there are occasional freebies (the next will be a few weeks when the next Titan goes down)

Does the recent Odyssey update mean that i can basically land into on-foot 1st person shooter ground mode on any & every planet/moon/asteroid? Or is it more dependent and restrictive, based on missions or systems?

Only on planets with no / thin atmosphere - others are still not landable.

Other than basic griefing , what's the purpose of PVP "gankers" ? Can they loot resources or items from your ship after they destroy?

The usual purpose - to have fun.

Will ED ever implement player-built settlements or bases? Have the developers ever discussed it at all? ( expansion-wise i mean )

The devs haven't discussed it. people live in hope. Seems a reach to me.

Is everything in game solo-able ( grind time + effort + knowledge, etc. ) or do some things require a group to complete/achieve/discover?

Everything is possible in all modes.

Lots of YouTube videos & tutorials keep saying something about "stay in the bubble!" --What exactly is "the bubble" ? Is that like stay close to home station so as to avoid PVP gankers? If so, how does anyone ever explore & discover new worlds or resources, etc. ?

Bubble is the populated systems around Sol - a few 100 ly. The Powerplay Map Mode is (somewhat bizarrely) probably the easiest way to see it in-game. All the PvP happens inside the bubble - away from the bubble is just about 100% safe (apart from lithobraking incidents) - which is probably why PvP players say it is dangerous to leave

From what i've read so far, it doesn't seem like ALTs are absolutely necessary. ( which i like, since i have enough characters in other games as it is lol ) -- Is this true? Or do most people multibox with ALTs a ton here in ED too like most other MMOs ?

Alts come in handy if you want to do multiple things - being out on a long exploration leaves not much else to do so it is nice to have an option to log in and do something else. ED makes running multiple alts more painful than most games, which probably puts some off.

Anyway - welcome to the game!

 

[metatheurgist]

Should probably clarify what you mean by "customization", are you talking about cosmetics?

 

[Neestar]

cosmetics are mainly though ARX - there are occasional freebies (the next will be a few weeks when the next Titan goes down)

Sorry but what exactly do you mean by "when next Titan goes down" ?

Is that like related to the "Thargoid" aliens EVENT thing i've been hearing mentioned? ( again, i'm trying my best to avoid spoilers but it's not that easy lol sometimes i just accidentally read/hear a spoiler without knowing exactly in what context )

So the collective community might event-trigger an ARX sale , sort of like an extra endgame motivation for players/groups to have as a goal ?

Should probably clarify what you mean by "customization", are you talking about cosmetics?

Yep sorry i probably should've said cosmetics, since "customization" i'm guessing also means like adding weapons & cargo & reactors & such to personal ships?

i haven't even launched into ANY ship yet ( not even the shuttle lol ) , so i'm still a bit clueless on everything until i finish reading/watching a couple more starter tutorials.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

.....

I'll read the thread more in case I can help with anything else but your initial question:


1. Font size

If you press "CTRL" + "+" your browser window zooms in - "CTRL" + "-" zooms out - "CTRL" + "0" resets to normal. You can also zoom in and out by holding the control key and rotating your mouse wheel - again control plus 0 resets to normal zoom.


also ...

13. best not to add to a post as people will not see it as being "new" - just make a new post in the thread.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

Sorry but what exactly do you mean by "when next Titan goes down" ?

Is that like related to the "Thargoid" aliens EVENT thing i've been hearing mentioned? ( again, i'm trying my best to avoid spoilers but it's not that easy lol sometimes i just accidentally read/hear a spoiler without knowing exactly in what context )

So the collective community might event-trigger an ARX sale , sort of like an extra endgame motivation for players/groups to have as a goal ?

Yep sorry i probably should've said cosmetics, since "customization" i'm guessing also means like adding weapons & cargo & reactors & such to personal ships?

i haven't even launched into ANY ship yet ( not even the shuttle lol ) , so i'm still a bit clueless on everything until i finish reading/watching a couple more starter tutorials.

The Thargoids invaded human space (The Bubble) with eight large vessels which we call Titans, the Titans sit inside a huge expanse of corrosive gas clouds which we call Maelstroms - each named after various storm / thunder gods. You can see the location of these systems on your galaxy map.

Each time a Titan is destroyed (goes down) - participants in doing so receive rewards - decals and ship kits. People can earn ARXes from certain activities against the titans - I'm not sure about the details as I have taken no part in this nonsense.

ARX sale events are sporadic but often have occurred during seasonal periods - whether this will continue since the store turned into what it is now (I hesitate to use an appropriate descriptor as I might get banned - LOL ) we wait to see.


P.S. The Wiki is a decent resource to bookmark to help you with Elite Dangerous - for example:

Thargoid Maelstrom

Thargoid Maelstroms are colossal artificial formations composed of highly corrosive gas clouds, deployed by the Thargoids. Their size is over 100 kilometres in diameter and resembles a small nebula. In orbits above ammonia worlds, they act as beachheads for invading Thargoid forces in adjacent...

elite-dangerous.fandom.com

 

[Factabulous]

So the collective community might event-trigger an ARX sale , sort of like an extra endgame motivation for players/groups to have as a goal ?

things in the game can trigger cosmetic giveaways of specific items, not general sales AFAIK. Often around story events like the Titans, or around xmas.

So for instance this thread details the first set of rewards for the Titans - which you would get if you take part in the next one.

Titan Rewards Update

Greetings Commanders! After a monumentally coordinated and dedicated offensive from Commanders all across the Milky Way, the Thargoid Titan Taranis was critically damaged to the point it could no longer maintain its systems, causing it to enter meltdown and beautifully explode into a blooming...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Xmas is usually xmas jumpers and coloured flak cannons

 

[aRJay]

Greetings all , my name is NEE and i'm neither "elite" nor "dangerous"....YET !

crickets

So, first i'd like to apologize for any questions i'm about to ask that have possibly been asked/answered already 93845734957 times. Yes i did a quick forum search for most of these , and even tried to google some of them , but frankly it's just easier/better to hear directly from pilots in posts. ( especially since i've heard such good things about this community as a whole ) . So yeah, THANKS in advance to anyone willing to indulge yet another newbie!

Sadly, i only just started this game a couple days ago and haven't even ventured off the starter space-station yet after finishing the ground Odyssey training mission. Long story short, as an avid pilot vet of SWG's JTL , SWTOR's GSF , SW:Squadrons, and yes, dare i admit, even Starfield ( don't flame me lol ) i've recently become very intrigued by your Elite Dangerous and tbqh can't believe i never tried out this game years ago.

But whatever i'm here now, so yeah of course i have a ton of questions, most of which i'm too afraid to ask because i'm trying to avoid spoilers in the hopes i'll be able to really enjoy as much discovery & mystery as possible. Annnnywayyys, here are a few questions ( well, more than "a few" lol sorry! ) that i actually would like to ask and maybe someone won't mind answering....

1. Is there any option to increase font-size on these forums? And how can i delete my own posts/threads? ( i don't see an option yet in the edit ui ... Unless maybe i'm too newbie still to be granted delete privilages? )
2. A couple of ED players keep telling me how mouse&keyboard is "way more accurate" to use with this game. Is this true? ( i personally despise "flying" with m&k , because it just simply doesn't feel immersive nor responsive enough to me , so i always prefer using my patented Wingman Flightstick )
3. i've been reading a lot on the interwebs about ED vets being "upset" with this whole new pre-built ship + Python readymade prepurchase ( plus Engineering changes ) but i still don't fully understand what the detrimental situation is since i never played ED before. Is this like similar to what the dreaded NGE did to SWG back in the day? As in, altering the very fabric/spirit of the game too much? Or is it not quite that drastic?
4. Are the massive Carrier ships only for groups/guilds ? And does ED even have guilds in the traditional sense or is it something entirely different?
5. How often are the 'arx' store sales? i'm guessing what like twice per year maybe? ( summertime and holiday season? )
6. Is customization of ships/suits only available from 'arx' store? or also from in-game selling market? ( and also from player crafting? )
7. Does the recent Odyssey update mean that i can basically land into on-foot 1st person shooter ground mode on any & every planet/moon/asteroid? Or is it more dependent and restrictive, based on missions or systems?
8. Other than basic griefing , what's the purpose of PVP "gankers" ? Can they loot resources or items from your ship after they destroy?
9. Will ED ever implement player-built settlements or bases? Have the developers ever discussed it at all? ( expansion-wise i mean )
10. Is everything in game solo-able ( grind time + effort + knowledge, etc. ) or do some things require a group to complete/achieve/discover?
11. Lots of YouTube videos & tutorials keep saying something about "stay in the bubble!" --What exactly is "the bubble" ? Is that like stay close to home station so as to avoid PVP gankers? If so, how does anyone ever explore & discover new worlds or resources, etc. ?
12. From what i've read so far, it doesn't seem like ALTs are absolutely necessary. ( which i like, since i have enough characters in other games as it is lol ) -- Is this true? Or do most people multibox with ALTs a ton here in ED too like most other MMOs ?
13. ( RESERVED for later follow-up post )

.... Much appreciated and sorry again for some retread/redundant type questions. -- /tip-hat fellow pilots!

1. Answered earlier
2. It will depend on the equipment in question, it certainly isn’t true for me and I would still take the immersive feel over the accuracy.
3. For some it seems to be a moral issue, to me while I can see that it could lead to some new player getting a huge leap forward in ingame equipment I don’t see it hurting me much after all there are no permanent winning posts here.
4. No Fleet Carriers are owned by individual players some may work as if they belong to a Squadron which is the nearest thing to a guild in the game but they are not much like most games guilds.
5. They varied but there has been a big and unpopular rework of the store so we don’t know what may come.
6. Yes. Well cosmetics for suits, guns and ships are store items. Ships you can fit modules bought in game to adapt them to your taste those modules can be engineered. Suits and guns can be upgraded and engineered but you can buy them preengineered from the ingame shop depending on stock.
7. Nothing to do with missions merely down to amount of atmosphere for landing and gravity in the main for getting out once landed.
8. The rare pirate will try and take stuff, a destroyed ship yields relatively little I understand gankers do it for their own pleasure and to show off to their follower.
9. Personally I hope not, why build and run a base stuck in one location when you have a mobile one (Fleet Carrier). The fans of base building have posted about it a lot FDev have said little or nothing.
10. About the only thing you can’t do is play with another player in Solo, you can take missions designed for four players on your own.
11. The Bubble is the inhabited region of around 22,000 star systems near Earth unless you arrange to meet them somewhere or go to a high traffic system such as one of the first engineers then you are unlikely to meet anyone. There are other mini bubbles out in the 400,000,000,000 systems out there.
12. Yes it is true, some do buy alts for various reasons including giving money to FDev and so they can play in multiple places in the galaxy.
13. Have fun O7 Commander.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

.... until i finish reading/watching a couple more starter tutorials.

Forgot to say - beware the videos. The Frontier "tutorial" videos have been left to rot and there is much outdated stuff in them. So just be aware that things might not be what they say.

The non-frontier tutorial videos can be very informative but do look to see just how old they are as again there might be redundant content.

 

[metatheurgist]

And Arx never goes on sale, just the stuff you can buy with it.

 

[Neestar]

I'll read the thread more in case I can help with anything else but your initial question:

13. best not to add to a post as people will not see it as being "new" - just make a new post in the thread.

Yep i hear ya and tbh i sorta just typed that #13 "reserved" part cuz of number synchronicity and also to remind myself to write down other ( or new ) questions as they come.

Tricky balance though , between enjoying mystery + discovery combined with trying to avoid "wasting" too much time going down pointless wormholes from having a 10 year late start.

things in the game can trigger cosmetic giveaways of specific items, not general sales AFAIK. Often around story events like the Titans, or around xmas.

So for instance this thread details the first set of rewards for the Titans - which you would get if you take part in the next one.

ahhh ok gotcha cool i enjoy LIVE events , even if i'm not even close to being ready to participate in them yet , because it usually makes the MMO feel more alive & dynamic.

The rare pirate will try and take stuff, a destroyed ship yields relatively little I understand gankers do it for their own pleasure and to show off to their follower.

How exactly can they take your stuff though?
Is it a like boarding-your-ship type thing like Starfield has? or is it more like just looting the ship "corpse" , so to speak ? ( or is it only certain specific items/parts ? )

why build and run a base stuck in one location when you have a mobile one (Fleet Carrier).

That's a good point yeah i guess because of coming from SWG ( plus a bit of Starfield ) i was just envisioning landing on a habitable planet ( or non-habitable so have to "terraform" it! ) as like an extra mini-game-within-the-game , for player constructed mining-outposts or grounded-houses or whatever.

Forgot to say - beware the videos. The Frontier "tutorial" videos have been left to rot and there is much outdated stuff in them. So just be aware that things might not be what they say.

The non-frontier tutorial videos can be very informative but do look to see just how old they are as again there might be redundant content.

Good to know and thanks yeah i'm def. seeing an info overload from past 10+ years of ED , but of course figuring out things on your own is also part of the fun!

And Arx never goes on sale, just the stuff you can buy with it.

ah ok, so they just rotate the ITEMS , which i guess becomes like a psuedo " subscription+ "
Interesting.

 

[Ashnak]

"way more accurate" to use with this game. Is this true?

More accurate? Probably yes. More fun? That's up to you - I prefer dual sticks + keyboard for the commands I can't map to the sticks + gamepad for the camera (and probably on-foot if I ever get around to that).

and also from player crafting?

You're going to have to ask @Tyres O'Flaherty about that (thread "What are you up to" next door). There's a difference between ARX store upgrades (cosmetics only) and player crafting (a.k.a. engineering), which is only available through in-game activities. That boundary has been somewhat muddied with the current status of the Python Mk.II, which is one of the reasons for 3.

Can they loot resources or items from your ship after they destroy?

Sort of - but there's no difference between player and NPC ships here. Destroyed ships will drop engineering materials and some of their cargo. But if you're after their cargo, you're better off simply robbing them (PvP or PvE).

how does anyone ever explore & discover new worlds

By leaving the Bubble . The currently farthest reacheable system is Semotus Beacon, 65,000 ly and change from Sol.
Ah, talking about the Bubble - there's also a second group of inhabited systems around Colonia. Roughly 22,000 ly from Sol, and a nice stop if you want to make a trip to the center of the Galaxy.

Alts - I have three. There's a little bit of a hassle every time the Launcher gets updated to set them up again. One was my first CMDR, he's currently (and been for some time, as I stopped playing ED maybe half a year ago when my VR headset decided to stop working) out on his way back to Semotus Beacon (or thereabouts, at least). My second CMDR is for fooling around in the Bubble and associated areas, the third was basically just taking advantage of one of those 5€ sales for the base game (no, that one isn't upgraded to Odyssey) so I could set up a private group with a specific name.

 

[aRJay]

Yep i hear ya and tbh i sorta just typed that #13 "reserved" part cuz of number synchronicity and also to remind myself to write down other ( or new ) questions as they come.

Tricky balance though , between enjoying mystery + discovery combined with trying to avoid "wasting" too much time going down pointless wormholes from having a 10 year late start.

ahhh ok gotcha cool i enjoy LIVE events , even if i'm not even close to being ready to participate in them yet , because it usually makes the MMO feel more alive & dynamic.

How exactly can they take your stuff though?
Is it a like boarding-your-ship type thing like Starfield has? or is it more like just looting the ship "corpse" , so to speak ? ( or is it only certain specific items/parts ? )

I basically only play this game, I am aware of the names of some others but little more than that. In Elite a pirate NPC or Commander can be armed with a tool that causes a malfunction in your cargo system leading to cargo dropping and being stolen. They can also threaten your ship demanding a certain amount of cargo to be dropped within 10 seconds or they will attack. Note the NPCs lie or can’t tell the time or maybe start the timer when they start talking.
No boarding ships and playing Duke Nukem in the corridors.

That's a good point yeah i guess because of coming from SWG ( plus a bit of Starfield ) i was just envisioning landing on a habitable planet ( or non-habitable so have to "terraform" it! ) as like an extra mini-game-within-the-game , for player constructed mining-outposts or grounded-houses or whatever.

Good to know and thanks yeah i'm def. seeing an info overload from past 10+ years of ED , but of course figuring out things on your own is also part of the fun!

ah ok, so they just rotate the ITEMS , which i guess becomes like a psuedo " subscription+ "
Interesting.

Well they used to there has just been a major rework of the store including increasing how many Arx the items cost and what is available. The price of Arx for real money is still unchanged.

 

[SlickPBW]

This is a great thread! Lots of questions and lots of good answers, given promptly. It’s really nice to see. Great job to all the responders!

 

[Neestar]

I basically only play this game, I am aware of the names of some others but little more than that. In Elite a pirate NPC or Commander can be armed with a tool that causes a malfunction in your cargo system leading to cargo dropping and being stolen.

yipes , sounds both terrifying & fun! Nothin' like good bits of healthy gamer "paranoa" to enhance that Space travel immersion yep

This is a great thread! Lots of questions and lots of good answers, given promptly. It’s really nice to see. Great job to all the responders!

Indeed , i was just about to say a big THANKS to @ everyone who has replied so far!

And of course now that i've played a bit more , i'm already prep'ing my next post of Elite questions ...

 

[varonica]

One of the most important thing is, everything you have seen and heard on youtube videos is an opinion. Everyone has one, but if a youtuber says something is horrible and boring that means it's horrible and boring to them, it may not be to you, It maybe relaxing and calming, so try it out and make up your own mind about stuff. I can't stress this enough, decide for yourself what parts of the game you enjoy and what parts you don't, that way you will actually get to enjoy the game!

 

[Neestar]

One of the most important thing is, everything you have seen and heard on youtube videos is an opinion.

Totally yep i hear ya loud & clear. I'm def. gonna try out everything EliteD has to offer , as best i can. But i also just wanted to collect some intel too, before embarking upon my new Space grind----errr i mean----journey in earnest.

Speaking of which , sorry but i have a few more QUESTIONS please ( for anyone who has time to answer, no big rush ) ....

13. Can i only commit/become ONE profession type ( path ) per character? Not saying i want to be a jack-of-all-trades necessarily , but i just mean like if i'm an Explorer to start can i still go do 'bounty hunter' missions or 'mining' missions later too?​

​

14. If a player ( heck maybe even me! ) discovers some unknown star system or planet or resource, how does the rest of the galactic community know/hear about it? Is there like some serverwide onscreen message pop-up or news-announcement? Or is it just more like some resulting rare items/parts from that previously undiscovered mystery sector start showing up on the economy Marketplace or Map ?​

​

15. What is this "FDev" i keep seeing tons of people mentioning on these forums and also within YouTube vid comments for EliteD ? Is "FDev" like some secret player or game-mod ? Or is it like some derrogatory inside joke/slang curse-word?​

​

16. What is the supposed "starter zone" ( starter station? ) that apparently is now "broken" and cannot be accessed anymore? ( re: this forum post i read today from another thread mentions it here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...to-elite-after-some-time.625177/post-10371134 ) -- Are we as new Odyssey players not allowed to travel there anymore? And if so, how come?​

​

17. Relating to #16 ^ ... How do i know if i'm starting at the proper station? As in, i want to play EliteD in the correct order-of-sequence ( game lore events or whatever ) , for progression sake. But i'm confused as to the difference between the "Legacy" version of the game compared to "Horizons + Odyssey" . Should i not have started with Odyssey on-foot like i already did? Am i missing out on too much or will i be able to backtrack & explore the same as any new player regardless of Odyssey? Or am i perma gated from prior content or ships or rare items, etc. now?​

​

... THANKS again in advance and sorry that last #17 question was so long lol . --- regards, Nee

 

[TR]

Welcome to the ride

13. You can do anything you want. But you will need different ships for different roles (sorry if that's perfectly obvious)

14. For exploration, once you've handed in your data, your CMDR name will appear on the description for the bodies you discovered/mapped. Plus 'First Footfall' if you are the first to land and walk around on it.

15. Fdev is Frontier Developments, the company that created and maintains Elite Dangerous.

16. The 'starter zones' are a group of systems where new players can fly around and get the hang of the game, but other players are not allowed in. Once you ranked up (in any profession) and docked outside the starter zone, you couldn't return. As to why you don't start there now, it's, uh, broke. I'm sure someone else can provide a more succinct answer.

17. Legacy uses the 'old' codebase of the game. There is a difference in graphics and other things. If you are playing Horizons/Odyssey, that is the 'new' version. The two are now completely separate, so anything you do in Legacy is not carried over to Odyssey.

 

[varonica]

But i'm confused as to the difference between the "Legacy" version of the game compared to "Horizons + Odyssey" . Should i not have started with Odyssey on-foot like i already did? Am i missing out on too much or will i be able to backtrack & explore the same as any new player regardless of Odyssey? Or am i perma gated from prior content or ships or rare items, etc. now?

Just to make it clearer if it wasn't from Triperazor's, post Legacy is "no longer supported", no updates, no new content and all Legacy content as it was at the time was carried across at the release of Odyssey so you won't miss out on content and you will get new content on Odyssey, you won't in Legacy, so if you want to follow the ongoing story line of Thargoids and the on foot stuff Odyssey and Horizons live 4.0 is the only way to go.

discovers some unknown star system or planet or resource, how does the rest of the galactic community know/hear about it?

Server wide popups for new discoveries would be...well...annoying to say the least, I have over 50,000 newly discovered system to my name and others have similar or more, having them all pop would be a nightmare, the in game Codex keeps track of first "firsts" as it were, the first dwarf star in this region, the first stratum tectonicas in this region so it's not useful for seeing what other commanders have discovered in game, for that we use external tools like EDSM (Elite Dangerous Star Map), Inara and EDASTRO, which you can contribute to using third party tools like EDDiscovery and EDMC (can all be found in the tools section of the forum).

Yes there's a lot to learn, have fun!

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Is everything in game solo-able ( grind time + effort + knowledge, etc. ) or do some things require a group to complete/achieve/discover?

I believe there is nothing designed fundamentally to be impossible for a solo Commander, nor do I know of anything which solo Commanders simply have been unable to do—although in a few cases it can become difficult or inefficient and is done because one wants the challenge or enjoys doing it. For example:

• Wing assassination missions can seem at first to be too difficult not to require a wing, but a swift and efficient Commander with a good medium combat vessel can complete several consecutively, to the extent that bringing a wing becomes a bit superfluous. Such missions can also be overpowered with a heavy vessel, albeit more slowly.
• Trade missions are among the easiest of all solo, yet it is much more efficient for a wing all to accept wing trade missions at a port, fulfill them all cooperatively with a Fleet Carrier for bulk transport, then each Commander shares each mission with the group just before completing it.
• Destroying a Thargoid Hydra can be done solo, but this is quite slow and requires synthesising ammunition, noting that synthesis materials are finite and have to be gathered separately. It makes for an interesting endurance challenge, though definitely it is more reasonable with a wing.

Conversely, there are some fundamentally solo activities such as transporting passengers—when accepting a passenger mission, all have to board your vessel at the moment the mission is accepted. The weirdest case is with bounty-hunting missions:

• Wing bounty missions make no sense unless a full wing of four Commanders is present! With three or fewer Commanders it is as well for each to take solo bounty missions individually, the wing payout being equal with three and worse with fewer.
• Wing bounty missions should not be shared until just prior to turn-in at the Mission board. Sharing can only reduce the per-pirate mission credit of the group, because one pirate destroyed by one wing counts only as one kill for that shared mission.
• Either way, a wing can hasten completion via bringing more firepower, if those Commanders fly well together, keep pace and not hinder each other. The hastened pirate kills are good in giving each Commander individual credit for their own active missions.