Rank 5 not worth it for PP

[duggy]

Where did you get it from?



Of course, I assume that you already have 100M Cr to get there.

C1 = 10k Merits, 95M Cr spent;
C2 = 1/2 x C1 = 5k merits, you need to get 5k merits to maintain 10k merits; 41M Cr spent, 1000 Cr earned;
C3 = 1/2 x C2 + 1/4 x C1 = 5k + 2.5 k, 2.5k merits are required, 20M Cr spent, 50M Cr earned;
C4 = 1/2 x C3 + 1/4 x C2 + 1/8 x C1 = 8.75k merits, 1.25k additional merits are required, 10M Cr spent, 50M Cr earned;
C5 = 1/2 x C4 + 1/4 x C3 + 1/8 x C2 + 0 x C1 = 8.75k merits, 1.25k additional merits are required, 10M Cr spent, 50M Cr earned.

Where I am wrong?

at your 5th week, you're getting
1250 which is 1/8 of 10k from c1
1250 which is 1/4 of 5k from c2
2500 which is 1/2 of 5k from c3
and 1250 from your last cycle c4
so you will need 3750 to get 10k, and since the 10k you payed from c1 is why your past cycle's have been so cheap and its not going to factor into your future cycles, you're going to have to average 5.33-5.34k per cycle to maintain 10k, which would cost 50million, maybe 40 million per cycle if you spend a lot of time, and at that point you're pretty much just wasting a lot of time and haven't really made much, grinding.

 

[Dbrn47]

Ahhh for you it may be but my back story is that I am a money grabbing merc. Will kill anything for a price. Dont get me wrong I am not all about credits but I am certainly not fighting for Hudson because of his sparkling personality.

Should have chosen Arissa. Would have been able to get both the better attitude and the bounty profits.

 

[Aleksej]

at your 5th week, you're getting
1250 which is 1/8 of 10k from c1
1250 which is 1/4 of 5k from c2
2500 which is 1/2 of 5k from c3
and 1250 from your last cycle c4
so you will need 3750 to get 10k, and since the 10k you payed from c1 is why your past cycle's have been so cheap and its not going to factor into your future cycles, you're going to have to average 5.33-5.34k per cycle to maintain 10k, which would cost 50million, maybe 40 million per cycle if you spend a lot of time, and at that point you're pretty much just wasting a lot of time and haven't really made much, grinding.

And here is where you are wrong, re-read the quote again, emphasize is mine:

Your merit total from the previous cycle is halved then added to your current cycle value. After two cycles, its value is halved again before being added. After three cycles, the value is halved once more. After four cycles the value is no longer added.

It is total from the previous cycle and NOT earned last cycle.

 

[Moosegun]

Should have chosen Arissa. Would have been able to get both the better attitude and the bounty profits.

Forgot to mention I am also lazy, was sitting in the middle of his territory when the job came up. Dont worry, I count disloyal as a character trait too, so will probably not hang around.

 

[Han Brannigan]

Ahhh for you it may be but my back story is that I am a money grabbing merc.

Oh my CMDR is mostly about making money to - hence I have not yet pledged to anyone. Those that would actually help me making money are the ones I loathe...

Will kill anything for a price. Dont get me wrong I am not all about credits but I am certainly not fighting for Hudson because of his sparkling personality.

And it works for you bc you are a bounty hunter first and foremost so the boni you get offset the disadvantages. However the target of PP is clearly to give players sth to be passionate about other things then in game credits...

 

[Moosegun]

It is total from the previous cycle and NOT earned last cycle.

Really!! Think I am going to need to let my small brain dwell on that for a minute..... that is a pretty massive difference isnt it????

 

[Han Brannigan]

It would be more profitable, which is all you seem to be worried about. So what's the problem?

Yep its abit like complaining that you can make no money trading in a Viper ...

 

[Dbrn47]

Oh my CMDR is mostly about making money to - hence I have not yet pledged to anyone. Those that would actually help me making money are the ones I loathe...



And it works for you bc you are a bounty hunter first and foremost so the boni you get offset the disadvantages. However the target of PP is clearly to give players sth to be passionate about other things then in game credits...

The good news is, you don't have to pledge to reap the benefits of the exploitation bonuses. You only have to join to get the rank rewards.

 

[Aleksej]

Really!! Think I am going to need to let my small brain dwell on that for a minute..... that is a pretty massive difference isnt it????

The difference is that if I understand it the right way - Rating 5 becomes quite profitable at some point, opposing to a credit sink.

 

[Moosegun]

The difference is that if I understand it the right way - Rating 5 becomes quite profitable at some point, opposing to a credit sink.

Can someone point me in the direction of the rules?!?! There doesnt seem to be any sort of guide to merit decay in the manual I downloaded.

 

[Aleksej]

Can someone point me in the direction of the rules?!?! There doesnt seem to be any sort of guide to merit decay in the manual I downloaded.

It is there, the quote is from the PP manual PLEDGING SUPPORT, the last sentence right above RATING BENEFITS:

Your merit total from the previous cycle is halved then added to your current cycle value. After two cycles, its value is halved again before being added. After three cycles, the value is halved once more. After four cycles the value is no longer added.

 

[Klab]

I bought rank 5 in Li Yong-Rui (yes I spent 100m Cr) purely for the 200% exploration bonus. Firstly I only got paid 1000Cr wages (like everyone else?) when I was expecting a bumper 50mCr pay packet. Secondly & far more disappointing, I tested the exploration bonus & it is no different to normal selling. So yes I agree with the OP, no point in rank 5 right now, as far as I can see.

 

[Fixius]

Can someone point me in the direction of the rules?!?! There doesnt seem to be any sort of guide to merit decay in the manual I downloaded.

I'm with you on that one. I just read this thread top to bottom and a few seconds ago my head exploded. Hopefully someone who is math savi will get a guide together on the cyclic decay and merits thing!

 

[Aleksej]

I bought rank 5 in Li Yong-Rui (yes I spent 100m Cr) purely for the 200% exploration bonus. Firstly I only got paid 1000Cr wages (like everyone else?) when I was expecting a bumper 50mCr pay packet. Secondly & far more disappointing, I tested the exploration bonus & it is no different to normal selling. So yes I agree with the OP, no point in rank 5 right now, as far as I can see.

1. This is correct, your wedge was calculated at the end of the cycle and you had rating 1. You will get 50M Cr at the end of the current cycle even if you do nothing.

2. Probably you should report not getting 200% exploration bonus as a bug.

 

[Moosegun]

I bought rank 5 in Li Yong-Rui (yes I spent 100m Cr) purely for the 200% exploration bonus. Firstly I only got paid 1000Cr wages (like everyone else?) when I was expecting a bumper 50mCr pay packet. Secondly & far more disappointing, I tested the exploration bonus & it is no different to normal selling. So yes I agree with the OP, no point in rank 5 right now, as far as I can see.

the first point is down to you and most others not understanding when wages are paid, if you think about it is logical. Wages are paid at the end of the cycle, based on your rank in that cycle, you will get you payout next Thursday, as for the payout, did you hand into a controlled system?

 

[duggy]

And here is where you are wrong, re-read the quote again, emphasize is mine:


It is total from the previous cycle and NOT earned last cycle.

Thank you, i was blind, now I see, I actually read forums on this system and looked at other people adding it up for hours, thought someone who came to the conclusion that you would need 5300 merits each month to get it was correct, thanks again for the patience.

 

[Klab]

the first point is down to you and most others not understanding when wages are paid, if you think about it is logical. Wages are paid at the end of the cycle, based on your rank in that cycle, you will get you payout next Thursday, as for the payout, did you hand into a controlled system?

Yes Lembava, my HQ

 

[Commander Silex]

The real problem IMO is that ranks 1-4 are not worth it.

I agree. I don't see why they didn't have more interesting rewards than just shields and weapons for the various ranks, credits not withstanding. Half the time those rewards don't particularly encourage the kind of play the faction is supposed to be all about. Look at Torval for example, supposedly not only a slave trading faction but one that promotes mining, except actual miners in her systems would have to go outside her systems to make any kind of meaningful profit.

Mining lasers that are also Weapons are nice but they could have given players of that faction something like more efficient refineries, for Lavigny-Duval they could provide faster KWS or maybe even an AOE cone KWS, and these are just ideas off the top of my head. You could certainly argue the credit rewards are pretty poor for time invested at the medium ranks, after all we need to be able to pay expenses at the very least, but having a greater range of tech rewards would balance this out a fair bit.

 

[NavyBee]

And here is where you are wrong, re-read the quote again, emphasize is mine:


It is total from the previous cycle and NOT earned last cycle.

I have read the PP guide as well and see where you are coming from, but I just cannot imagine that FD will inflate the economy even more by making PP _so_ profitable. After the initial investment, 1250 merits / cycle à 10000cr would yield 50mln cr., i.e. 30000cr / merit. On the status screen in-game, "merit total" seems to be used with a different meaning.

Just imagine how piracy would change... "What are you hauling? Palladium? Arrr, keep it and move on, real money is made with merit goods!"

Would be great to get a clarification from FD before the next cycle ends.

 

[Han Brannigan]

The good news is, you don't have to pledge to reap the benefits of the exploitation bonuses. You only have to join to get the rank rewards.

For some of them you have to pledge ( for example I am currently 'trading' in the Archons systems I get the 10% on black market sales but I do not get the reduction on fines ). Don't get me wrong I am totally fine with that and even without being actively pledged to PP it makes ED more interesting for me.

- The powers now have faces
- I can see how they are doing
- Their different boni and mali make trading ( smuggling often) between certain powers more interesting and meaningfull
...

- - - Updated - - -

I agree. I don't see why they didn't have more interesting rewards than just shields and weapons for the various ranks, credits not withstanding.

because this would require 'completion players' ( and there are many of these ) to join PP even if they have no interest in it - unless you mean stuff like paint jobs or decals

You could certainly argue the credit rewards are pretty poor for time invested at the medium ranks, after all we need to be able to pay expenses at the very least, but having a greater range of tech rewards would balance this out a fair bit.

See above also if its rewards which draw you into PP you shouldn't be drawn into it in the first place....