Thinking of buying the game

[Joe Cool]

What games is it most similar to?

It's a pretty unique sandbox space 'sim' on a galactic (only the Milky Way) scale.
Not much really compares

The base game is pretty cheap right now on Fanatical

Pick up Odyssey too while it's cheap. You'll see mixed reviews, don't have your head turned, buy it while it's cheap!

Does it run well with a 9070 XT?

Proudly running a GTX1080 here, not ultra detail but plenty good enough for the 55" big screen.
Can only dream of a 9070!

Is a PS5 controller acceptable or do you really need a flight stick?

Using an Xbox controller plus a bit of mouse & keyboard with no issue - excellent for that all important sofa work.

Is it true they're killing support for VR? I have a Quest 3 and that kind of sucks!

Not killing exactly, just not actively developing.
VR support is limited in Odyssey, like it's not really VR.
That said, the VR experience in space will knock your freakin' socks off.

Be well warned, this is not a quick fix, pew, pew, pick up and drop game.
It has a learning curve to scare Thelma and Louise and a scale beyond the seemingly possible.

It also has a strong and generally helpful community - you're already meeting us

Up for the challenge?

 

[vanFace]

Pick up the game next time it's on sale just the base game. There's loads of cool things to see around the galaxy. I would suggest you do not get the Odyssey expansion. What it adds to the game as far as gameplay isn't much of value.

On that note, please keep in mind that playing with others depends on which variant of the game they play. If people run the base game, they will only see others playing the base game, not the Odyssey DLC. This could lead to the impression that you are all alone in the universe, if you are into the multiplayer aspect of it, because most players certainly are running Odyssey these days.

 

[SteveWW57]

'ware open space fore there be dragons gankers!

You can always play solo to avoid those pesky varmints, unless you are up for a bit of aggro. If you are, there a a few well known places where they tend to haunt.

 

[Dillon Fallon]

All I say to add to this is I simply can't play NMS after playing this game because the flight model of the ships is comparatively horrendous.

 

[rootsrat]

Just a warning though, others have told you already the good and cool sides of the game.

This game will also make you grind, like a lot.
Grind to the point where watching paint dry is more interesting than doing something to get things done.

With a small detail you conveniently forgot to add, that the grind is mostly optional, as there are multiple ways to achieve almost all goals.
Some are less effective than others. But you don't HAVE to grind, if you don't want to. It is purely a player's choice in most cases, apart from maybe a few edge ones.

 

[Joe Cool]

This game will also make you grind, like a lot.

I'd be genuinely interested to hear examples of unavoidable grind required for game progression.

 

[Mr Lindsay]

I'll not go into too much of it, as there are plenty of good posts already. It's my most played game of the last 10 years, so it's very easy for me to recommend, and if it doesn't break your bank then I would get the Odyssey DLC too. The Odyssey content isn't the heart of the game, but it does help flesh things out a bit, and you won't be able to engage with all of the new content such as the new ships without it.

My main purpose in commenting was about the controls. I have a full HOTAS set-up for flight-simming, but I still prefer to play ED with an Xbox controller as most of the gameplay is more 'chill' and relaxed so I prefer to sit back and enjoy it. I'm sure a PS5 controller will be more than fine. What you have to be prepared for though is that the default controls are functional on a gamepad, but are quite restrictive. Thankfully the game has great options for re-binding controls in many ways, particularly allowing button combinations that allow you to squeeze more functionality into the limited buttons on the pad. If you aren't a fan of the controls to begin with, don't despair, just get stuck into the menus (or watch a Youtube guide on re-binding controls, I'm sure there are loads of those.)

 

[dcsignal]

I'd be genuinely interested to hear examples of unavoidable grind required for game progression.

The only Grind I've ever experienced was with Engineering, but that was resolved quite a while ago.

 

[Knuttin Atoll]

A PS5 controller is perfectly fine, and you do not need a flight stick. In fact, some actually prefer a game controller over a HOTAS.

I myself use an Xbox Series X controller, and the game is perfectly fine and comfortable to play with it. I very much prefer it over mouse&keyboard.

(The advantage of an Xbox controller is that Windows supports it directly and natively so you don't need any third-party software or Steam for that.)

Yes, also play with XBox controller, since the game released. I did buy a T16000 HOTAS (primarily for MSFS2020) and tried Elite with it, but muscle memory developed over 10 years can't be beaten in the heat of the moment. Although it does add to the immersion of flying a spaceship.

The other benefit of using a controller is you don't need to switch input methods in case you buy the Odyssey DLC which includes FPS gameplay, and standard key mappings for the controller don't require a ton of tweaking either.

 

[Knuttin Atoll]

I'd be genuinely interested to hear examples of unavoidable grind required for game progression.

Having reset my CMDR several times (and therefore having to unlock everything again each time), the worst grinds would still be the Cutter/Corvette (to the extent that I no longer try to reach required rank), and getting the credits together for an FC (similar story, although I still have one in Legacy, and then realise I don't really need one).

Some of the engineer unlock requirements can still be a chore also, which however is partially balanced out by the (still present, for years now) hilarious bug that unlocks a bunch early on without having fulfilled any of the requirements. Especially if you don't yet know what you're doing.

 

[Rat Catcher]

I'd be genuinely interested to hear examples of unavoidable grind required for game progression.

I have always assumed that 'grind' is just playing any game... It is the most common comment made by gamers, perhaps they should consider other recreation?
There is no unavoidable grind in the game - or, more accurately, I have not found such. But then, I've been content to take a long time to progress ranks as I prefer to just have fun playing, which makes me very odd, I understand!

 

[Joe Cool]

This thread may be of interest to the OP

 

[dcsignal]

the worst grinds would still be the Cutter/Corvette (to the extent that I no longer try to reach required rank)

You may have a point, I did a reset a few years ago and that was still a bit of a time sink. Some may argue that it's not Game Progression, but I need my Corvette

 

[PilotB]

ED is at it's heart designed like a MMO. It has very little respect for your time. Some people like that and see it as realistic and will defend it. Other people don't. There basically aren't any complete mechanics in game. You can avoid grind by not playing otherwise you will end up doing things you don't like to progress what you do like. There's a lot of grind it just depends how much you find fun.

 

[DjVortex]

The other benefit of using a controller is you don't need to switch input methods in case you buy the Odyssey DLC which includes FPS gameplay, and standard key mappings for the controller don't require a ton of tweaking either.

Yeah, a game controller really is a "universal" controller for the game, just like in consoles: Menus, dialogs, lists, flying the ship, toggling and settings all kinds of ship controls, controlling the external camera, the galaxy map, the system map, the FSS view, the DSS view, and even the first-person-perspective on-foot content can be perfectly and comfortably done with a modern game controller. And ED has very reasonable default bindings for it too (I assume mostly inherited from its console ports.) Although a bit of tweaking is useful, the defaults will do for a while.

Of course mouse&keyboard also fulfills that role, but it just can't reach the same immersion level. A HOTAS setup may struggle with some parts of the game (and many players often switch to keyboard and mouse bindings for many things. Particularly the on-foot content is, as far as I understand, pretty much unplayable with HOTAS. Or at least very awkward.)

 

[Knuttin Atoll]

You may have a point, I did a reset a few years ago and that was still a bit of a time sink. Some may argue that it's not Game Progression, but I need my Corvette

I spent a lot of time filling up progress bars in this game and I'm done with it now at this stage. Any progress bars being filled as part of me playing it are purely coincidental now. I still have a well stocked account on Legacy, with all ships and a FC. So if I ever feel like experiencing one of them, I boot that up and get my fix. Besides that, large ships in Elite don't do it for me anymore ever since Odyssey released. The idea of piloting such huge ships on our own without any (visible at least) crew kills it for me, particularly after experiencing how large ships work in X4.

But wait.

I completely forgot about Colonisation. Perhaps not an issue to be concerned about for brand new players, but that grind was bad enough that I no longer engage with it at all (pulled the plug after completing an outpost and two installations).

 

[Rhialto]

What games is it most similar to?

I've played No Man's Sky, Helldivers 2, and Everspace 2. Played a little of Space Citizen too but it kept crashing. I'm really enjoying Helldivers 2, though I don't know if Elite Dangerous 2 has much first person shooter combat.

The base game is pretty cheap right now on Fanatical (it's $4) though I guess I'd still need to install some of the 10 years of DLC?

Some other questions:

Does it run well with a 9070 XT?

Is a PS5 controller acceptable or do you really need a flight stick?

Is it true they're killing support for VR? I have a Quest 3 and that kind of sucks!

Any other tips before I get started?

I recently upgraded to a RX9070 XT, and it runs great.
I disabled antialiasing and enabled supersampling, which looks better then antialiasing, (imho).
I use a Logitech, (Saitek) X52 Pro with a small half keyboard between the two units, that works fine for me.

 

[Knuttin Atoll]

Yeah, a game controller really is a "universal" controller for the game, just like in consoles: Menus, dialogs, lists, flying the ship, toggling and settings all kinds of ship controls, controlling the external camera, the galaxy map, the system map, the FSS view, the DSS view, and even the first-person-perspective on-foot content can be perfectly and comfortably done with a modern game controller. And ED has very reasonable default bindings for it too (I assume mostly inherited from its console ports.) Although a bit of tweaking is useful, the defaults will do for a while.

Of course mouse&keyboard also fulfills that role, but it just can't reach the same immersion level. A HOTAS setup may struggle with some parts of the game (and many players often switch to keyboard and mouse bindings for many things. Particularly the on-foot content is, as far as I understand, pretty much unplayable with HOTAS. Or at least very awkward.)

Yeah, I never have to reach for the keyboard and mouse* when playing with my controller.

*except for the occasional incidents when the game UI softlocks or wasn't properly programmed with a controller imput in mind.

Interestingly, M&K is my preferred option for X4. Perhaps because you spend a lot of time in complex UI screens, with lots of right clicking, dragging etc. I tried a controller and it works but it just feels more natural with M&K.

 

[DjVortex]

I completely forgot about Colonisation. Perhaps not an issue to be concerned about for brand new players, but that grind was bad enough that I no longer engage with it at all (pulled the plug after completing an outpost and two installations).

Well, the two things that define Elite Dangerous are "combat" and "grinding", pretty much. Perhaps also "exploration", although that might veer a bit towards the "grinding" part (particularly if you are traveling very long distances, or being extremely meticulous about your exploring.)

But that doesn't make it bad. Not all "grinding" is inherently a negative gaming experience. For some players it might be, but others like it. Or perhaps not the grinding itself, but the sense of reward and accomplishment at the end of it (something that they wouldn't experience if they didn't have to put any work into it.)

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Just a warning though, others have told you already the good and cool sides of the game.

This game will also make you grind, like a lot.
Grind to the point where watching paint dry is more interesting than doing something to get things done.

Meeting with friends can sometimes be a hassle where you'd need at least 15 mins (one carrier jump) to meet a buddy somewhere and do some activities. This is the best case scenario.

Get it in sale or lookup some key seller website for some cheap deals if you want to try.

Otherwise stick to No Man's Sky, much more content and creativity if you like space genre.

I'll say this for the grind, its led me to watch a ton of films and TV series that i probably never would have watched otherwise over the years!

Not saying that's a good thing in general, but a positive side effect overall

Hell, i've honed my skills to the point i can do CZs with one eye while watching a film with the other.