Passenger missions and faction...

[AgingGamer]

How the heck do you earn faction with the passenger 'travel agents'?

I can't earn any money with normal missions currently, so I decided to look at passenger missions. But the vast majority of them seem to be 'you require friendly faction' to take. Fine, but since every passenger mission for five out of six travel agents requires friendly faction, and not a single mission with any of those five requires a lesser faction... how do you ever get any missions from these guys?

I assume I have to complete missions that pay basically no money at the moment with their 'related' mission board guys... gee, double grind for virtually no payment! I'm so glad to be alive!

Am I right? Or is there some other way to make the travel agents happy to work with me... eg.: pay some bribes to someone

 

[Svetlo41]

Your rep with the travel agent is tied to your rep with the faction they are with. The same faction name is listed for both the missions and the passengers. You need to gain rep with the faction who is offering the passenger mission, by completinng normal missions for them.

 

[AgingGamer]

Your rep with the travel agent is tied to your rep with the faction they are with. The same faction name is listed for both the missions and the passengers. You need to gain rep with the faction who is offering the passenger mission, by completinng normal missions for them.

Thanks, Svetlo, for confirming my guess!

So for me at least, it is best to stick to taking passenger missions in systems where I'm already friendly with several of the local factions. At least until (hopefully) the mission payouts are fixed so that I make a bit more than the cost of my fuel and pilot's minibar supplies from them

 

[Sapyx]

If the faction you're trying to impress controls a space station or planetary base, then doing anything else profitable at that station will earn you positive influence with them: selling cargo, selling exploration data, cashing in combat bonds or bounty vouchers... it all counts.

For the factions that own nothing, then yes, unless you happen to find some bounty vouchers they've issued (and if they're a truly "minor" minor faction then they won't issue many) your only hope is running the unprofitable regular missions.

If it helps, think of it as short-term pain (unprofitable/loss-making missions) for long-term gain.

Failing that, fly somewhere else where you've already made friends with everybody, and take passengers from there instead.

 

[Svetlo41]

Thanks, Svetlo, for confirming my guess!

So for me at least, it is best to stick to taking passenger missions in systems where I'm already friendly with several of the local factions. At least until (hopefully) the mission payouts are fixed so that I make a bit more than the cost of my fuel and pilot's minibar supplies from them

Yes, that is what I have found to be the case. It's nice to get a little extra for all the time spent playing the game....