Horizons Middle Game Melancholy

[Diamond llama]

Greetings fellow Commanders.

I find myself squarely in what I'd consider 'middle game territory'. I've advanced to trading in a Type-7, chasing bounties in the Vulture and doing some light exploration in an Asp X. Now I find myself stuck in a rut. I would love a Type 9 for my trading, but that's a very big jump! The same problem exists with my combat ships, from Vulture where do I go? Fer-de-Lance? Cutter? Exploration doesn't really blow my hair back, so I guess I need to find an enjoyable way to earn the cash I need for that Type 9. What do you do for credits and fun in this phase of the game?

 

[StiTch]

Conflict zones.

1) Get a wing big as you can
2) Stack massacre missions to the brim for a faction
3)

Spoiler

4) Profit

 

[goemon]

if you plan for a t9, that means you like to do trading?

here is a thread full of fresh tips: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/317758-Hey-Traders-what-are-your-tips

as for combat next ships... really depends whether you like to fly tanks or nimbe ships, and really depends whether you like to fly small or large ships.... FDL/FAS are medium ships close to small ships handling, all other/bigger ships have a very different style of piloting. i personally fly a DBS, courier, and a FDL - my python is for mission running, my corvette for mining, and my cutter for trading.

found this in another thread to give some numbers to your middle game melancholy:

Some quick calculations, I posted this some time ago.

	Cost	Cost + Upgrade	Cargo Size	Trip Profit	Trips to Upgrade	Hours to Upgrade	Days to Upgrade (2h/day)
Sidewinder	Free	Free	8	8000	10	2	1
Hauler	52720	79080	18	18000	27	5	2
Cobra	379718	569577	44	44000	23	4	2
Type-6	1045945	1568917	104	104000	237	39	20
Type-7	17472252	26208378	216	216000	274	46	23
Python	56978179	85467268	284	284000	103	17	9
Type-9	76555842	114833763	500	500000	211	35	18
Anaconda	146969451	220454176	500	500000	186	31	16
Imperial Cutter	208969451	313454176	800	800000	n/a	n/a	n/a
						Total: 179	Total: 89

Based on a trade route of Cr2000 for the loop and being able to do 6 loops an hour (each loop takes 10-12 minutes) it takes roughly 180 hours to progress to a well specified Imperial Cutter just using trading.

... i personally don't think ship progression is a good reason to play the game after having a cobra mkIII - with your AspE/t7/vulture you own a fleet, where you could flip whole systems by yourself ... how about choosing a place to call home, backing a minor faction, and making a difference? CR will come that way.

 

[Diamond llama]

Conflict zones.

1) Get a wing big as you can
2) Stack massacre missions to the brim for a faction
3)

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/hajoFkZ.gif

4) Profit

Lol! I hadn't considered that, as I'm very much a lone wolf type of player. Despite many hours in the game, I've never flown in a wing. I'll visit a busy system sometime and try that out for a change of scenery, thanks!

if you plan for a t9, that means you like to do trading?

here is a thread full of fresh tips: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/317758-Hey-Traders-what-are-your-tips

as for combat next ships... really depends whether you like to fly tanks or nimbe ships, and really depends whether you like to fly small or large ships.... FDL/FAS are medium ships close to small ships handling, all other/bigger ships have a very different style of piloting. i personally fly a DBS, courier, and a FDL - my python is for mission running, my corvette for mining, and my cutter for trading.

found this in another thread to give some numbers to your middle game melancholy:



... i personally don't think ship progression is a good reason to play the game after having a cobra mkIII - with your AspE/t7/vulture you own a fleet, where you could flip whole systems by yourself ... how about choosing a place to call home, backing a minor faction, and making a difference? CR will come that way.

I agree, I love playing Elite, so whether I'm progressing through ships or carrying out missions or community goals, I'm happy.
I currently back an Empire aligned minor faction that controls the system. I have been considering hopping into an independent system and trying to bring an Empire faction into prominence. I understand that I will have to run missions for the Empire aligned faction, but I can also attack the controlling factions ships to weaken their influence? Do I have that right?

 

[StiTch]

Lol! I hadn't considered that, as I'm very much a lone wolf type of player. Despite many hours in the game, I've never flown in a wing. I'll visit a busy system sometime and try that out for a change of scenery, thanks!

Wing only matters here because income is effectively mission based, which is not split among the wing - so having a wing can only really speed up the process if you all head out at generally the same time.

If you're on PC and need a compadre, welcome to pop me a PM.

 

[goemon]

I understand that I will have to run missions for the Empire aligned faction, but I can also attack the controlling factions ships to weaken their influence? Do I have that right?

running missions, cashing in their bounties and bonds, and trading and exploration data if they own a station will help a faction.

illegal trade and killing a faction ships (wanted or not) will reduce a factions influence.

there is whole thread dedicated to things like this:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/193064-A-Guide-to-Minor-Factions-and-the-Background-Sim

 

[Shorn]

... i personally don't think ship progression is a good reason to play the game after having a cobra mkIII - with your AspE/t7/vulture you own a fleet, where you could flip whole systems by yourself ... how about choosing a place to call home, backing a minor faction, and making a difference? CR will come that way.

That definitely resonates with me - I think that is an important aspect that often is overlooked. You do seem to get far more drawn in if you have a "Home" faction that you are helping, somewhere to come back to and try to support. I don't do it exclusively, like many other aspects of this game I find it better to "do a bit of this and do a bit of that" to keep interested, but I find myself much more involved if I have a system to return to and a faction to help out.

I've just brought a new member into the Elite family so we're winging up, starting on the Engineers upgrades and trying to find a decent area to make home. He's an Alliance fan, so we're just cruising around completying missions for the Engineer rewards and keeping an eye out for an Alliance minor faction in a system that suits us. Going to have to convince him to go Imperial at some point, I'd like to try out some of those Imperial ships, but there's plenty of time for that when we have some money.

It has made me realise how much there is to learn when a new player starts. It hasn't taken long to get him a Cobra Mk3 - mainly bounty hunting in RES - and now we're on the module upgrade path, but we haven't even touched mining, passengers, exploration, smuggling, CG and we're yet to do any faction flipping. Fun times ahead

Shorn

 

[Diamond llama]

Very chuffed with myself! Successfully completed my first sentry kill mission and made a cool 1 mil for it too. Fitted out an DBE to take on more ground missions, they aren't easy, but they are fun.

Thanks for helping my out of my rut, CMDRS!

 

[d8veh]

Very chuffed with myself! Successfully completed my first sentry kill mission and made a cool 1 mil for it too. Fitted out an DBE to take on more ground missions, they aren't easy, but they are fun.

Thanks for helping my out of my rut, CMDRS!

If you stack those missions (say 20 missions), you only need to kill 12 skimmers to complete all the missions, which can get you 300 million every hour.

Instead of killing them at the base, you can land somewhere nearby and go prospecting in the SRV. You can find about 12 "wanted" skimmers per hour, which are easy to kill because they don't shoot back if you shoot them from outside the trespass zone, and you don't get any bounties on you.

 

[Roasted1982]

Get a python. When upgraded it can trade as good as a type 7, fight as good as a vulture and explore.....ok maybe not explore as good as an ASP but it's possible. Make money till your python is fully upgraded and than get started with engineers.

 

[Diamond llama]

Get a python. When upgraded it can trade as good as a type 7, fight as good as a vulture and explore.....ok maybe not explore as good as an ASP but it's possible. Make money till your python is fully upgraded and than get started with engineers.

Ok, lets say I trade in my existing fleet and get a Python (I'm keen on this idea)- what then? I'm trying to earn credits in this Vulture, but it's slow in the High level Conflict Zones. Do I go haunt HiRes or HazRES? Do I run missions (I'd prefer that I think). Where do I go to find decent combat missions? Is there a particular economy or system state that hands out more combat missions?

 

[StiTch]

Ok, lets say I trade in my existing fleet and get a Python (I'm keen on this idea)- what then? I'm trying to earn credits in this Vulture, but it's slow in the High level Conflict Zones. Do I go haunt HiRes or HazRES? Do I run missions (I'd prefer that I think). Where do I go to find decent combat missions? Is there a particular economy or system state that hands out more combat missions?

Did you get the CZ missions?

If you're at high rep with a controlling faction you can pick up multiple missions for several mill each to kill enemies.

 

[Diamond llama]

Did you get the CZ missions?

If you're at high rep with a controlling faction you can pick up multiple missions for several mill each to kill enemies.

I didn't pick up any missions related to CZ's on my mission boards, they just keep trying to rip me off to deliver socks. Shall I just potter about Civil War and War zones and see if I can pick up missions from the station boards?

 

[Roasted1982]

If you just want money the fastest would be to take your ASP to a system of your choice, and rank up with 1 or more factions at a station. I would suggest doing the Wu Guinagi loop so you're increasing your Empire rank at the same time. I'm pretty much allied with everyone at this point. Once you're Allied fit a Size 6 1st class Passenger cabin in your ASP (you only need one), and start running tourist missions. Don't take just any mission, look for missions that pay the most for the least work. 8-12 million for 3-4 tourist beacons in the 200 LY range is not bad......Can probably do this in 40 minutes. I've done missions that pay more than double that too. DO NOT stack these, it can get messy, just do one at a time. DO NOT do the long distance ones (2000 LY +), they never pay enough to justify the time it takes IMHO.

Massacre missions pay better but you have to sit at a station for hours and board flip, that's not gameplay.

- - - Updated - - -

I didn't pick up any missions related to CZ's on my mission boards, they just keep trying to rip me off to deliver socks. Shall I just potter about Civil War and War zones and see if I can pick up missions from the station boards?

Without missions Bounty Hunting, especially with a KWS pays better than CZ. CZ are only worth it if you do massacre missions. 20 times so if you stack them. Also, CZ are quite a bit better for combat rank as you're constantly killing high ranked ships.

 

[goemon]

Ok, lets say I trade in my existing fleet and get a Python (I'm keen on this idea)- what then? I'm trying to earn credits in this Vulture, but it's slow in the High level Conflict Zones. Do I go haunt HiRes or HazRES? Do I run missions (I'd prefer that I think). Where do I go to find decent combat missions? Is there a particular economy or system state that hands out more combat missions?

the question is, what you like to do - generally.

- if you like bountyhunting, compromised nav beacons or haz res. find one of those next to a station with a military economy, and you'll always have plenty of kill pirates missions

- if you like trading, state depending trading it is. i have linked to similar thread above

- if you like combat zones, massacer missions it is - go be a travelling mercenary

- if it is non-combat missions, farm reputation in a tourism economy, and play passenger missions

- if it is mining, find an extraction economy or high tech in boom, use missions to buff your incoe from p&p&p mining...

- if it is driving an srv, do skimmer missions...

no matter what you do, if you enjoy it and pick from the list above, you'll always make 3-10 mio cr/h in a ~20-100 mio cr ship, when you are allied to some factions in a high population system

 

[Grandad Druce]

Personally I don't get too fixated on churning for credits, I guess I am a mid game player having a Python and a mining Cobra (for engineer commodity gathering). My home system has haz Res and high Res right on the doorstep so what I tend to do is rotate my play by picking up passenger missions then returning home via my local RES site. This keeps me 100% allied with my home and so I get offered local passenger missions that often exceed 1 mill (my biggest payout being 4.9 mill for a 26LY trip).

I quite often wing up with my two eldest grandchildren who also frequent the same base. When we res together they get an equal share of a kill provided that they have engaged it. This has artificially sped up their progress as they get quite a few credits and also improve their ranking faster than on their own which is keeping them interested (as they are only 9 and 12 some the nuances of trading and passenger missions tend to boor them). It is good fun though especially as we all have different coloured lasers.

My motto is:- whatever you do, do it for pleasure.

Cheers, GD

 

[Diamond llama]

Thanks for the input everyone. It's 1:30am on my side of the planet, but I've found myself a well populated extraction/military system and I've ordered my Vulture to be dropped off. I'll spend some time working up standing in my new home and keeping an eye out for the perfect base, but this should do me for now.

I appreciate everyone sharing their experience and knowledge with me!

 

[Deleted member 115407]

OP, I get the most enjoyment out of this game by buying and flying almost everything, and do everything as well. Here's my guidance for you... sort of in no particular order... but sort of in order...

1. Assess your fleet. What are you geared up for? What kind of mission sets can you cover?

2. Downgrade where necessary. If any of your ships have redundant or unnecessary modules, free up some cash by swapping modules between ships.

3. Find a "home". Locate a systems group that you like. Use the galmap to look for a systems group that has a good mix of stations, i.e. Agriculture, High Tech, Refinery, etc. Locate one of these stations and make it your home.

4. Ally with everyone. From your local systems group, start working the factions. Get allied with everyone. Run whatever missions they have that you can handle. The friendlier you are with all the factions, the more opportunities you will have for making good money. (I made 12M yesterday, just by doing simple stuff for everyone, because they like me). Start by focusing on all factions within 20 Ly from your new home.

5. As you build cash, build your fleet from the ground up. Start tackling missions with the least expensive ships, possible. Try combat builds in light, small ships. Set yourself up mission profile specific builds. Use those to continue making money and continue building up your fleet.

6. Work the BGS. When you are in a position to force influence swings, work the BGS for your own enjoyment. In your local systems group, find a war. No war exists? Make a war. Want to see someone expand? Make them expand.

7. Dont be afraid of bounties. One good way to ensure things happen in the Bubble is to make them happen.

8. Take all of those ships that you've amassed, and engineer them. Small fighters are frackin hoot with some G1 mods on them.

9. Mission stack. The solo game gets more fun the more you stack up missions. Between interdictors, redirects, unexpected changes... it makes everything more interesting.

10. Have fun. Just have fun. Have fun killing things, have fun delivering things, have fun making up your own story.

So, there you go. My guidance, for what it's worth

*edit*

I jumped the gun, kinda. Looks like you're well on your way. I love helping players out with their BGS goals. If you ever need to subcontract some work, let me know

*edit*

Oh, I forgot the most important piece of advice. Regardless of what you have going on, if you're ever sitting in your cockpit thinking "Man, I don't want to do this today", then just don't. Shut her down and take a break. The game will still be here when you get back.

 

[Diamond llama]

I really enjoyed this response, thank you Commander, your passion and enthusiasm for the game is clear!

Here's another quick question: Do any of you participate in Power Play? I find it a bit of a nuisance, to be honest, hasn't really made my game better.

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

Ok, lets say I trade in my existing fleet and get a Python (I'm keen on this idea)- what then? I'm trying to earn credits in this Vulture, but it's slow in the High level Conflict Zones. Do I go haunt HiRes or HazRES? Do I run missions (I'd prefer that I think). Where do I go to find decent combat missions? Is there a particular economy or system state that hands out more combat missions?

Never sell your entire fleet. Leave yourself a backup ship. I would suggest a Cobra/Python until you get your wallet back to where you feel comfortable.
Pick a area and stay there. When I finally started playing the BGS heavily I found that a "mission area" of systems pays better than wandering aimlessly.