Long distance smuggling missions

[DustyArne]

OK, guess I'm late to the party, and probably won't get many runs in before the nerf hits. My question is, what's the timer on most of these delivery and smuggling missions? Just curious since real life doesn't usually let me have a nice undisturbed 2 hour sessions to be flying from place to place. i was wondering if I can space this out, like do a partial delivery one night and do the rest the next night.

Thanks.

9 hours was the longest I saw, quite a lot in the 5 - 7 hour timer. A good spec Asp will do these missions quickly, 400 Ly in around 14 jumps.

Also, i learned the hard way, but slap an extra 32 tons fueltank on it, instead of that extra 32 cargo, with 80 tons of cargo you can get around 20-23 million each run. If your cargo hold is about 80 tons full, you really need that extra fuel tank other wise you will loose a lot of time fuel scooping.


And, i dont think this is gonna get nerfed, it are regular BB missions. You need a lot of time to complete it since i never had a missions with a timer more then 9 hours, so you need to complete it in one gaming sessions.. The 10 million jobs are gone already, already nerfed. But those regualr 800k - 1.4 million BB missions are here to stay i think.

 

[Shanaeri]

In 1.5/2.0 these long range missions have been changed substantially. Smuggling missions now have a failure state where if you are scanned, the whole mission is failed. So loading up with smuggled goods is one scan away from losing millions.

The long distance haul missions have been changed so that instead of 5 or 10 ton loads they are 50,100,150 ton ones.

 

[DustyArne]

In 1.5/2.0 these long range missions have been changed substantially. Smuggling missions now have a failure state where if you are scanned, the whole mission is failed. So loading up with smuggled goods is one scan away from losing millions.

The long distance haul missions have been changed so that instead of 5 or 10 ton loads they are 50,100,150 ton ones.

Oof.. dangerous.. lol.


But the most money i make is with Toxic waste form that area.. lol. The real smuggling mission that pay like 5 million credits, are not that common. Only got 1 of them last 2 days.. I mostly haul legal Bullitin Board cargo missions.. they arn't gonna get nerfed right?... RIGHT?!

 

[Wasp0]

I haven't yet tried Robigo for smuggling so I can't be sure on this, but it would appear to me the game generates the missions based on what ship you are flying. It may be the case that if you docked at Robigo in the clipper you would be offered the same amount of missions, but only be required to visit stations. As i'm writing this I just got back to the bubble from Almagest and am about to hand in 8 missions to one station! Compare that to going to 3-4 different outposts and you'll see why I suggest the clipper.

You can't dock at Robigo Mines in a Clipper, it is itself an outpost. Not true that the system generates missions based on your ship, next time you are in a clipper taking these missions have a look in the un-available missions, and you will see some of the reason why they are in this section is that you can't land at Out Post, therefore the clipper is not best suited to this sort of LDSM.

Fly Safe

 

[B33 ENN]

In 1.5/2.0 these long range missions have been changed substantially. Smuggling missions now have a failure state where if you are scanned, the whole mission is failed. So loading up with smuggled goods is one scan away from losing millions.

That's not too bad...

The long distance haul missions have been changed so that instead of 5 or 10 ton loads they are 50,100,150 ton ones.

That, on the other hand, is a deal breaker if the reward isn't scaled up as well. Essentially, a nerf by other means.

But the most money i make is with Toxic waste form that area.. lol. The real smuggling mission that pay like 5 million credits, are not that common. Only got 1 of them last 2 days.. I mostly haul legal Bullitin Board cargo missions.. they arn't gonna get nerfed right?... RIGHT?!

Same here, only seen one smuggle mission for narcotics each time, first for 1.2mil, second for 2.5mil. I do the not-so-illegal stuff, but if they've changed the tonnage in those too, then it's a non starter: no stacking for small ships and the big'uns will take only two or three.

I'm glad they haven't updated to 1.5 yet, and hope 2.0 remains in beta for as long as possible so I can make use of this to get my Clipper money.

 

[Crash Landing]

As a weekend warrior only I got late into the LR stuff just before the nerf hit. Never made it to Sothis but fell on a planet on the way by accident Takurua and have been running from there ever since. I run a bit of a mongrel Python which suites my play style. I also don’t want to be sitting in front of the computer for 5 hours to complete a session so I settled on the following for the reasons given, might help some but then again might not.

Cargo capacity 144T your full within an hour generally ¾. Also keeps the delivery point’s manageable average 8 to 12. Time from exit to return is about 2 hours on average.

No scoop run two extra fuel tanks top off at Cao Junga on the way out and Hip 8396 on the return. This also gives me the option to do a bit of HasRes combat at Hip 8396 for a bit of R&R

Returns are very dependent on Rank I started off at entrepreneur and am now Elite in trading. What that means is when I started average mission would net 450M, now it’s about 900M. But the big saving is delivery points which are down by at least a third thus saving time.

Returns well reasonable but not spectacular, is how I would categorise it. Post Elite I am getting on average 33M a trip at entrepreneur it was more like 25M. At each fill up I average two smuggling missions’ best pay out for the two was 11M. Best stack I had was 11 missions to one station.

So what’s the end game you might be thinking well for me it’s the cutter. 700T I believe on the good trading routes I use will make this long range stuff redundant or at least play a draw.

 

[Wasp0]

That's not too bad...



That, on the other hand, is a deal breaker if the reward isn't scaled up as well. Essentially, a nerf by other means.



Same here, only seen one smuggle mission for narcotics each time, first for 1.2mil, second for 2.5mil. I do the not-so-illegal stuff, but if they've changed the tonnage in those too, then it's a non starter: no stacking for small ships and the big'uns will take only two or three.

I'm glad they haven't updated to 1.5 yet, and hope 2.0 remains in beta for as long as possible so I can make use of this to get my Clipper money.

if you want just to do Smuggling illict Cargo, go to Robigo Mines, a fair few come up there for 3 to 8 million. Remember Robigo is an Outpost so beware if you are flying a 'Large Ship'

 

[B33 ENN]

if you want just to do Smuggling illict Cargo, go to Robigo Mines, a fair few come up there for 3 to 8 million. Remember Robigo is an Outpost so beware if you are flying a 'Large Ship'

Cheers! Robigo is close to the Takurua area I was just in so I might give that a shot after dropping my current load.

 

[Wasp0]

Cheers! Robigo is close to the Takurua area I was just in so I might give that a shot after dropping my current load.

Yes Robigo is tween Takurua and Sothis. Do be prepared to do the logon shuffle, and watch down in the bottom left corner as you lo on. The last 3 numbers of the long string tells you what server you are logging onto, (Actually is the whole number that indicates the server, but you just need to look at the last 3), make sure when you log back on that you have a different server as this tends to spawn different missions. If you continually get the same server and it is not productive in the Missions, log right out to desktop, and wait a min or 2 then log back in!

A good run for me is 30 mins at Robigo to get the Illicit stuff, hop on down to Takurua to get the 'Lots of missions to same station' ones, then start the run. Depending on how much time i have to play is whether i take the ASP (Quick) or Python (Slow, but HUGE PAYOUT).

Good hunting Cmdr

 

[DustyArne]

Cheers! Robigo is close to the Takurua area I was just in so I might give that a shot after dropping my current load.

Yes Robigo is tween Takurua and Sothis. Do be prepared to do the logon shuffle, and watch down in the bottom left corner as you lo on. The last 3 numbers of the long string tells you what server you are logging onto, (Actually is the whole number that indicates the server, but you just need to look at the last 3), make sure when you log back on that you have a different server as this tends to spawn different missions. If you continually get the same server and it is not productive in the Missions, log right out to desktop, and wait a min or 2 then log back in!

A good run for me is 30 mins at Robigo to get the Illicit stuff, hop on down to Takurua to get the 'Lots of missions to same station' ones, then start the run. Depending on how much time i have to play is whether i take the ASP (Quick) or Python (Slow, but HUGE PAYOUT).

Good hunting Cmdr

Jumping between solo and open mode also tend to work.

If im docked, i grap all the interresting missions, then go to solo, check the BB again, and a lot of times the BB is refreshed. Grap missions again, jump back to open (since i like open play) do a quick check again, and then i repeat this at another system. till my hold is full.

 

[CMDR JP76]

Hey guys, just dropping in to say thanks to all the CMDRS on this forum and thread.

The last few weeks I've been running missions out of Fehu on the advice of many good folk
I easily hit my target of at least 400 million credits before Horizons drops, and my Duke rank also popped last night!

How does Quince compare to Fehu regarding Credits? A little more for missions due to the extra distance?

Thankyou CMDR's! o7

J

 

[BigFW]

But doesn't the whole log off and back in make you feel a little bit.... dirty?

I've just resigned myself to some long haul missions out of Robigo if there aren't any smuggling runs. Can net approx 2mil in half hour or so. But still hope to find a smuggle when I get there. All gold rushes come to an end right?

 

[_neuron_]

In 1.5/2.0 these long range missions have been changed substantially. Smuggling missions now have a failure state where if you are scanned, the whole mission is failed. So loading up with smuggled goods is one scan away from losing millions.

The long distance haul missions have been changed so that instead of 5 or 10 ton loads they are 50,100,150 ton ones.

Thanks for the info. I had seen these changes mentioned in passing by folks in the beta forums but had hoped they were inaccurate/exaggerated.

In light of these missions getting massively nerfed once Horizons hits next week, I feel like it's worth quoting askavir's great post from earlier in the thread again for those who may have missed it (see below).

It's not even primarily about the money for me. I've got more credits than I know what to do with, and on a credits/hour basis, I can make more bounty hunting in a HazRES with my FAS and the Hudson Tier 2 bonus than I do from these missions. It's about what activities FD incentivizes through their choices about the relative profitability of different activities/professions, and their seemingly pathological fear of anything that isn't as grindy as possible being anywhere near as profitable as the grindy activities.

I still love the game, but I just find some of FD's decisions about the content downright exasperating and baffling.

Once upon a time, Frontier released Long Range Hauling missions, some legal, some smuggling.

The most profitable ones were mostly available on remote, far away systems, as the reward scaled not only with rank, but with distance to destination.

They were fun, you had to equip a vessel not only for distance travelling but for fighting pirates and evading cops. You would travel to a remote, far away system, pickup a handful of missions, and then you were commited for 3 or 4 hours of high speed chase from pirates and cops, always on the clock, with a lot of far away destinations waiting for you, trying to scoop while being chased by pirates, trying to jump while being chased by cops. Then you had to enter stations undetected, land on outposts undetected. After a 3 or 4 hours thrill, you could finally put your feet up and rest.

You had to use fuel scoops, heat sinks, silent running, fighting, fleeing, navigating unscoopables, looking for gaps between cops in outposts, etc.

They gave you reasons to jump back to smaller ships once again, use various game mechanics, travel again to systems once forgotten.

But they had a terrible sin: they were fun AND profitable at the same time...

The grind inquisition could not stand the heresy, they picked up the pitchforks in anger, and demanded this to be stopped. People could not be allowed to both make credits and have fun at the same time! If they wanted credits, they had to suffer in penance, and repeat trivial menial tasks a billion times over and over and over and over! And after a short while, FD capitulated, and the missions were "made rare". Rare as in "mostly gone".

Now you spend a lot of time travelling to the @ss end of space in search for one, and risk finding none and having to travel back empty-handed.

Ironically, the only way to effectively get them now, is by cheating the bulletin board by playing login-bingo until you get a bunch of them in the login lottery. A whole new, fun feature which added diversity and encouraged use of multiple game mechanics was nerfed to the ground, and playing login-bingo was once again rewarded. Great job!

 

[B33 ENN]

Yes Robigo is tween Takurua and Sothis. Do be prepared to do the logon shuffle, and watch down in the bottom left corner as you lo on. The last 3 numbers of the long string tells you what server you are logging onto, (Actually is the whole number that indicates the server, but you just need to look at the last 3), make sure when you log back on that you have a different server as this tends to spawn different missions. If you continually get the same server and it is not productive in the Missions, log right out to desktop, and wait a min or 2 then log back in!

Cheers for the tip, I never thought to look at that, but it makes sense now when I tried it a few times I'd get nothing new. THe server must have been the same.

A good run for me is 30 mins at Robigo to get the Illicit stuff, hop on down to Takurua to get the 'Lots of missions to same station' ones, then start the run...

I gave these Takurua factions enough backhanders and did the first batch of missions to land me 14 mil and Allied status with both. Upon returning, there were a couple of missions over a mil, but most are still around 6-700 for me, and the unavailable ones are all the million plus, mostly asking for a higher trade rank like Entre/Tycoon rather than my Broker.

If it doesn't shape up soon doing server bingo, then I'll head to Robigo to try my luck...

But doesn't the whole log off and back in make you feel a little bit.... dirty?

Right now, I see it as added gameplay depth.

The last few weeks I've been running missions out of Fehu on the advice of many good folk

I've written about my experiences at Fehu, but not been to Quince to compare... Hopefully someone else can chime in.

 

[Wasp0]

But doesn't the whole log off and back in make you feel a little bit.... dirty?

I've just resigned myself to some long haul missions out of Robigo if there aren't any smuggling runs. Can net approx 2mil in half hour or so. But still hope to find a smuggle when I get there. All gold rushes come to an end right?

You mean more dirty than Smuggling 'Drugs' to a Station, Or Someones 'Bio-Waste' or 'Gun' Running? Errrrrrrr NO!!

My signature says it all. I trade, i trade ANYTHING that someone will pay me to deliver. Going from Open to Solo to Group to Open to Solo..........Etc Etc, thats a "No" as well, i am not cheating, i don't employ any paid for Bots, i merely 'Play the Game'. If FD stop this, i won't complain either.

happy to run like this until it is stopped, it is open for EVERYONE to do if they wish, but if you choose not too i respect you decision and the way you play the game!

Fly Safe Cmdr

 

[CMDR JP76]

I've written about my experiences at Fehu, but not been to Quince to compare... Hopefully someone else can chime in.

Just about to head up there now, I'll let you know......I just made Tycoon rank too!

J

 

[fyo]

Small additional general tip (while the good times roll).

I now load up on missions then simply dump or resell my cargo really quick before departing back to the bubble then rebuy the illicit cargo in the amounts I need.

This lets me use an exploration conda to go to/from the remote systems much quicker, then I dock and switch out into a Python and go shopping really quickly.

It saves a lot of time and still has the benefit of if you were accepting stacks in a cargo racked python.

If you are really hard up for cargo you can even cannibalize the "low paying" illicit cargo missions back in the bubble.

Travel time to and from the chosen outpost is almost always negligible compared to in-system travel and docking.

I've tried this method and I'm convinced it isn't even remotely worth it compared to just using an ASP and doing a few trips.

Of course, if you are abusing the BB system and modeswitching like mad, that might change the equation.

Hopefully, the BB gets sorted out with 1.5/2.0, but then the dump-cargo-and-rebuy method might be worth it anyway with the new cargo requirements.

 

[Hamakua]

Travel time to and from the chosen outpost is almost always negligible compared to in-system travel and docking.

I've tried this method and I'm convinced it isn't even remotely worth it compared to just using an ASP and doing a few trips.

Of course, if you are abusing the BB system and modeswitching like mad, that might change the equation.

Hopefully, the BB gets sorted out with 1.5/2.0, but then the dump-cargo-and-rebuy method might be worth it anyway with the new cargo requirements.

14 jumps in the anaconda vs. the ~42 in the Python (both ways) for a 216 ton load. 42 minutes (at 1.5 min jump to jump) total travel time vs. 2 hours. The question then becomes "can I buy 6 illicit item stocks in 1.2 hours?". This isn't accounting for being harassed through interdictions and fuel scooping, which adds probably at least 10 minutes or more on the back end of that. There are pros and cons. I find it faster and easier - or maybe it's just an illusion of breaking up the monotony.

 

[Wasp0]

Travel time to and from the chosen outpost is almost always negligible compared to in-system travel and docking.

I've tried this method and I'm convinced it isn't even remotely worth it compared to just using an ASP and doing a few trips.

Of course, if you are abusing the BB system and modeswitching like mad, that might change the equation.

Hopefully, the BB gets sorted out with 1.5/2.0, but then the dump-cargo-and-rebuy method might be worth it anyway with the new cargo requirements.

14 jumps in the anaconda vs. the ~42 in the Python (both ways) for a 216 ton load. 42 minutes (at 1.5 min jump to jump) total travel time vs. 2 hours. The question then becomes "can I buy 6 illicit item stocks in 1.2 hours?". This isn't accounting for being harassed through interdictions and fuel scooping, which adds probably at least 10 minutes or more on the back end of that. There are pros and cons. I find it faster and easier - or maybe it's just an illusion of breaking up the monotony.

What ever we use to do these mission, be it an ASP, Clipper, Python, Conda etc etc, these are great missions to gather in the credits, and get some Fed /Imp Ranking. Come the release of the next upgrade we may not see the likes of these missions again, so from one trader to another, lets just STOP wasting trading/smuggling time on typing on here and get down to some serious LDSM.

Long Live the LDSM group!

 

[fyo]

I agree, the travel is the real killer doing this. I'm not a fan of Elite's one-jump-at-a-time and no auto-piloting mechanic at the best of times, but when you do these very long distances it really takes the biscuit. That's why I looked for these sorts of high payout missons, because otherwise, I agree, it's not worth it for peanuts. I normally bounty hunt in RES, and at least the combat is always fun, even if the payouts aren't as good as this, and if they nerf this again to spoil the fun, I'll go back to that.

If you don't like the really long distances, try Varati. I've harped on it a bit and I'm apparently the only one doing it, but just take my last set of missions out of Thompson Dock: 5.4 million credits in 22 minutes. I was somewhat hampered by my new Asp, as I couldn't find an A-class FSD. That limited my jump range to 20 ly. I also killed a couple of the ships that interdicted me (I submitted), but forgot I hadn't set the firing groups for the first one.

The 5.4 million was to just TWO stations (in neighboring systems). The amount is padded a bit with a 2 million credit smuggling mission, which you can't exactly count on.

Yeah, the interdiction mechanic winds me up too as the trigger is too obvious and makes it too predictable: Empty, no one bothers you out-bound, but as soon as you are heavy, every Tom, and Harry for light years around suddenly knows who and where you are and wants to make you an offer you can't refuse. Some of their messages are way too repetitive too, as if they know you personally! I'd much rather they shut up and get on with it.

Sounds like the bad guys might have a source or two at the outpost loading dock who gives them a heads up when some interesting cargo is on the way