Questions for people who do not "grind"

[CMDR Memphis]

I have to preface this by saying - I often do not enjoy doing repetitive things. And now you might say - why did he purchase E: D? Good question, I was on the fence for a while, but never regretted buying it.

But I am a bit stuck at the moment. I have a hard time sticking to any profession at the moment. Bounty hunting is the most fun, actually combat zones are. In my ideal world, bounties would go up together with the much improved AI. Does anyone know if that is the case?

Trading is a bit more difficult. I guess in the early game, the reward cycle is shorter, so no grind necessary. Tried the T7, tried the Asp rares run, but after an hour, I just quit the game cause I get bored.


So, for all the power players out there:
1. Can you earn a decent buck with missions now? I think I would like to do missions. Problem - I have no rank yet, but typically earn 1M in 20-30 minutes, so I have a hard time getting back in...
2. What mining profits are possible now? In an ASP? in a T7? In a Python? (Although I would have to grind to get to that one)
3. Is PowerPlay worth it for the casual player or not? Are you really hostile in all the other areas? Do you get back to normal if you "defect"?

 

[Troa Barton]

A lot of the dynamics of powerplay are still in flux so it might not be the time to answer specifics. But something I think you might enjoy from my observations is a combination of missions, mining, and bounty hunting simultaneously once powerplay is released.

 

[matemaster]

I am exploring the vastness of the galaxy now
Tried also supporting minor factions to have them gain control of a system trough election, civil war or expand to other system... the background simulation
I can see myself playing mostly background sim. but the problem is nobody know exactly how it works, if it works properly, its infested with bugs. You cant predict the consequences of your actions
Once background sim is fixed, sorted it will be nice activity for non-grinders

 

[SteveLaw]

So, for all the power players out there:

I'm confused. You titled the thread for people who do not "grind" and then address the OP to "power players". If you are only concerned with getting as much profit as possible in the shortest amount of time, then you will have to grind. You can't have one without the other. However, if you want to avoid grind then stop thinking about the amount of profit. Do a variety of things. Focus on different aspects; rank, reputation, finding the best space photograph. Most activities make money, let it happen as a by-product of doing other things.

 

[Yomamas Fett]

What Stevelaw said.

Just play the game how you enjoy it, money flows in anyways.

 

[jou84]

I tried stopped grinding a while ago. I moved on to twerking but i was in the wrong ship, the vulture just doesn't cut it. Back to the Asp.

 

[willowfan]

SteveLaw nailed it. Do what you enjoy doing, money will accumulate.

Remember, it's not a race.

 

[Nagual]

To me there is no such thing as 'grind' it's a mentality thing rather than game thing. If you focus on getting more money etc it will feel repetitive. It's been like that in every single game since the beginning of games. Every game has repetition, it can't be avoided. What you can do it set yourself non money oriented goals. Get all the permits, goto system xyz, make a name for yourself pirating or bounty hunting. Become top ranked in the Auxiliary Navies. Aiming at getting cash or ships is a very short way to lose interest in any game.

To address your points:

1 Missions. Yes you can make a decent profit, as long as you hold the right reputation and or Pilot Federation rank. These often go hand in hand with normal day to day activities like mining, bounty hunting, smuggling etc. Nothing for the Explorer yet, or rather I've not saw any explorer missions yet.

2 Mining. It has improved, but IMHO not enough. It's still dull as dishwater with no skill required.

3. Powerplay. Short answer is yes. Longer answer is it really depends if it floats your boat or not. The ratings do give you some very interesting 'perks' in certain factions (not talking about power specfic modules) Acheron at rank 5, for example gives you 100% reduction in fines and bounties. This may sound like pirate heaven, and it is. However consider a bounty hunter also working in Acherons domain, KWS and rating 5 means anyone is fair game if they have a bounty, even if not in Acherons domain, and it lets you get their cargo. Not unlike Letters of Marque. The Powerplay domains also change the way markets work, doesn't matter if you pledge to a power or not. The potential for good fun and profits are there.

By getting involved with Powerplay you have the chance to influence what systems are to be taken over. Thats the totality of it. Other powers will attempt to stop yours from doing it. Why do it? To get THAT system in your powers domain, where you can do what it is you do + your powers benefits whether or not that bonus payments in bountys, reduced fines, better black markets or cheaper goods.

You can sit back and let other do it, if you find the gameplay element isn't to your liking however.

 

[p.opus]

^^^^^^ 150% this. For me, when Elite Dangerous becomes a grind, it means I'm not using my imagination enough.

 

[Katkon]

My gut tells me you had no fun trading as you simply ran a rares run that others had discovered, and mindless followed in their foot steps. If you're following others' routes, stop it. If you're using 3rd party tools, stop it. 90pct of th fun in trading - IMHO - is finding a lucrative trade route. That requires some research with the galaxy map and some visits to good high potential starports to check on commodity values. Yokai's trading guide in the guide sub-forum is an excellent place to start.

 

[CobraDriver]

Let's see how PowerPlay will work out for the casual players like me - I assume that many people (out of school...) don't like to or can spend hours "grinding", but rather like to have a 2 to 3 hours stint twice a week, if at all.
Also my aging brain is too busy focusing on stuff I earn (real) Credits with. no capacity left for following "powers".

That's why I have a Cobra for nostalgia and multi-role and I don't like losing 10% cash reconfiguring in the future.

With my humble ambitions, I may even afford to just keeping one Vulture, one ASP and a Cobra. So I don't feel required to "grind".

 

[Steve50]

I can answer one:-

Mining in 1.3 (beta 7) I was using a Python with 3 beam laser turrets and 100t cargo space. In the space of an hour and half I collected enough ore to fill my cargo bay and it sold for 900,000cr on top of that my turrets killed several pirates without me having to lift a finger and those bounties earned another 210,000cr.

So approx 1.1m credits for 1.5 hours work. Might not seem much but I wasn't really concentrating and was playing whilst I was browsing and irc'ing on my 2nd monitor. I figure if I really worked at it, I could easily clear 1.5m an hour and even more now that we can use multiple drone modules. Maybe 2m per hour.

 

[Bazorlag]

1) Kornelius Briedis made a video that shows you what they look like now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XcGv3mkzi8 IMO, they look like supplementary income even with higher rewards and better ones require high pilots federation ranking.
3) They changed it to static merit stacks instead of flowing competition with other players. It looks like you can reach level 3 with some effort. Level 5 is 20000 merits though.

 

[CMDR Memphis]

A lot of the dynamics of powerplay are still in flux so it might not be the time to answer specifics. But something I think you might enjoy from my observations is a combination of missions, mining, and bounty hunting simultaneously once powerplay is released.

Sounds interesting. I guess i have to find a good space port with a vulture and an asp..

- - - Updated - - -

I'm confused. You titled the thread for people who do not "grind" and then address the OP to "power players".

Oops, what I meant is people in the PowerPlay Beta. Sorry for the confusion. I have tried what you suggested, but I can only at the moment find the worth of it in grinding, weird, no?

 

[Deleted member 94277]

As many here have said, you don't need to rush.

I was about two weeks in the game with a fully decked Vulture after vigorous RES farming and grinding for a Python when I got utterly bored with the game. Then I cleared my save, started anew and decided to play slowly and paying attention to every station's needs and wants, while BH in my little Sidewinder - I call him 'Pequod'. I really glad I did this, because now I'm actually enjoying the game, not just enjoying buying things.

 

[CMDR Memphis]

Thanks, Nagual. I will keep that in mind.

 

[Obsidian Ant]

To me there is no such thing as 'grind' it's a mentality thing rather than game thing. If you focus on getting more money etc it will feel repetitive. It's been like that in every single game since the beginning of games. Every game has repetition, it can't be avoided. What you can do it set yourself non money oriented goals. Get all the permits, goto system xyz, make a name for yourself pirating or bounty hunting. Become top ranked in the Auxiliary Navies. Aiming at getting cash or ships is a very short way to lose interest in any game.

To address your points:

1 Missions. Yes you can make a decent profit, as long as you hold the right reputation and or Pilot Federation rank. These often go hand in hand with normal day to day activities like mining, bounty hunting, smuggling etc. Nothing for the Explorer yet, or rather I've not saw any explorer missions yet.

2 Mining. It has improved, but IMHO not enough. It's still dull as dishwater with no skill required.

3. Powerplay. Short answer is yes. Longer answer is it really depends if it floats your boat or not. The ratings do give you some very interesting 'perks' in certain factions (not talking about power specfic modules) Acheron at rank 5, for example gives you 100% reduction in fines and bounties. This may sound like pirate heaven, and it is. However consider a bounty hunter also working in Acherons domain, KWS and rating 5 means anyone is fair game if they have a bounty, even if not in Acherons domain, and it lets you get their cargo. Not unlike Letters of Marque. The Powerplay domains also change the way markets work, doesn't matter if you pledge to a power or not. The potential for good fun and profits are there.

By getting involved with Powerplay you have the chance to influence what systems are to be taken over. Thats the totality of it. Other powers will attempt to stop yours from doing it. Why do it? To get THAT system in your powers domain, where you can do what it is you do + your powers benefits whether or not that bonus payments in bountys, reduced fines, better black markets or cheaper goods.

You can sit back and let other do it, if you find the gameplay element isn't to your liking however.

 

[B33 ENN]

I'm confused. You titled the thread for people who do not "grind" and then address the OP to "power players". If you are only concerned with getting as much profit as possible in the shortest amount of time, then you will have to grind. You can't have one without the other. However, if you want to avoid grind then stop thinking about the amount of profit. Do a variety of things. Focus on different aspects; rank, reputation, finding the best space photograph. Most activities make money, let it happen as a by-product of doing other things.

I agree with this. I play to play, not earn credits. I stick to an activity I find fun, and then swtich to something else for a change.

I mostly defend miners in RES, or do rare trade runs, or salvage flotsam to sell at outposts. I'm thinking of trying out mining when the new update is released, and I'm considering doing a dedicated exploring further out from my last run to Betelgeuse.

 

[CMDR Memphis]

My gut tells me you had no fun trading as you simply ran a rares run that others had discovered, and mindless followed in their foot steps. If you're following others' routes, stop it. If you're using 3rd party tools, stop it. 90pct of th fun in trading - IMHO - is finding a lucrative trade route. That requires some research with the galaxy map and some visits to good high potential starports to check on commodity values. Yokai's trading guide in the guide sub-forum is an excellent place to start.

I am guilty of all of these. I guess I really need to stop worrying about money. But the Python is looking so tempting.
It is true though, I mean if it means I only play for one hour instead of more, I might make more money doing something I enjoy.
I will definitely look at mining again with the new update.

 

[Navynuke99]

As a non-grinder with probably undiagnosed ADD and the attention span of a goldfish, I love this game. Have a Cobra fitted for bounty hunting and a Type 6 fitted for trading/ exploring. The modular nature of the ships mean that on the fly I can change what I'm doing, based in whatever is shiny and catches my fancy. I might be exploring a few hundred light years out, see an undiscovered system with pristine metallic fields and rings, run back and refit my T6 with mining lasers and a refinery, then after cashing that in, see pirates around the base, scoop up my Cobra, and go hunting. The nonlinear nature of the game is awesome for that kinds of play.