Exploration - Zero to Hero in under 5 days

[mikekim]

Great tutorial (even for those already at elite that just want some easy cash without running the latest exploits).

I've scanned the first 250 on the list using a 45ly Dolphin. (estimated at 266mcr scan data value)..
and just to bump up the payout have spent 5 hours shunting fortifications to hit lvl 5 on Thursday with Li Young-Rui before cashing in the bumper 200% bonus exploration paycheck..
(already having a Cutter with 728t cargo space and 100mcr helps in this greatly. Also remember that the following week you get 50mcr back so the outlay is only 50mcr for the bonus)

will also have 7 days to continue scanning the local ELW & TF WW's.. never know.. might even hit the billion mark before Thursday Week...

 

[firmicute]

I recently reset one of my game saves and took the "Colonia Outlander Challenge" ... flying the 22,000 light-years to Jaques Station in just my starter sidewinder. I'm not at Elite yet ... but I'm getting close

I'm starting to think that the Sidewinder is the best ship for exploration, at least if you stick to the areas of the galaxy with a high population of stars. You find all the nice gems that the folks with bigger jump ranges miss.

I will start playing at the 27 for ps4 and thats my plan as well. get enough money to upgrade to best scanner, best FSD, best scoopy and a box for my cat.
With this info it should be easy to do after getting the best scanner.
If i explore I can do it in a winder and 5mil should be affordable after a short enough time

 

[TheNavvie]

Respect for the work that went into the list but where's the challenge? Where's the sense of achievement? I guess it's good if you've got a second CMDR and want some easy Cr. but it's not for me.

 

[dognosh]

deleted.......

 

[Chrystoph]

I will start playing at the 27 for ps4 and thats my plan as well. get enough money to upgrade to best scanner, best FSD, best scoopy and a box for my cat.
With this info it should be easy to do after getting the best scanner.
If i explore I can do it in a winder and 5mil should be affordable after a short enough time

You might want to go to a slightly bigger ship in terms of internal compartments if you want to do things like land on planets and have a full exploration rig.

This is a basic rig in your price range:
https://coriolis.io/outfit/adder/0p3t3F5l3d3sdf3-----2t3u2iv62f.Iw1+kA==.Aw1+kA==

 

[amenditman]

Thanks for all your effort this is great.

 

[CMDR Spadino]

Not the way that I ranked up to Elite in Exploration.

It took me 6 months & a trip to Sag A*, two years ago, for me to reach Elite - when the payouts were very poor & you only had to reach 80mil to get there.

Now, in these 'get rich quick' days, you don't REALLY have to do very much to reach Elite in any of the ranks, which in some players opinion's devalues the whole idea of becoming Elite - Shame really!

Still each to their own & nice work cmdr, laying down a route for others to follow, should they wish - but not for me!

Im with you. I'm close to reach elite ranking for the second time, after cleared my saves, and it's a real pleasure. As soon as I got my new adorable aspx engineers, I pointed to the dark. Then, I decided to visit all the Colonia support outposts (which I didn't the first time, as I went there before there's done thing to see...). I'm exploring, scanning, planning routes (also on really sparser and dangerous zones) and founding many new worlds. This is what explorations is to me: to tame the unknown.

 

[El_Gato]

I'm at peace with using the list (partially). I just got back from my first trip into the black (Colonia, Sag*A, and back) and it took me to 25% Pioneer. I really want that Founders World permit though, and I just don't have the time to spend on the game to finish it off "legitimately" (I started this trip in November last year). I've done the first 70 systems from the list and estimate another 50 or so more will take me the rest of the way to Elite.

I do understand and respect those who feel it's a bit devaluing though. Nice to see the thread has remained respectful regardless of which side people lean towards.

 

[CMDR Pugwash]

Whilst I commend the OP for the work and detail she has provided I can't but help think this isn't what Exploration is about. The fact the players can obtain Elite in this way effectively removes any meaning from it. It should be based on some sort of formula that rewards scans by how far you are from SOL or something like that. I don't mind folks making money out if it but that isn't why we do it.

Can we have another rank for proper exploring please? Just swap it for the CQC one, no one will notice.

 

[marx]

Whilst I commend the OP for the work and detail she has provided I can't but help think this isn't what Exploration is about. The fact the players can obtain Elite in this way effectively removes any meaning from it. It should be based on some sort of formula that rewards scans by how far you are from SOL or something like that. I don't mind folks making money out if it but that isn't why we do it.

Can we have another rank for proper exploring please? Just swap it for the CQC one, no one will notice.

While I posted a few times earlier in this thread already, your post inspired some new thoughts in me.
You know, your exploration rank (as well as combat, trade, and yes, CQC as well) are personal achievements. Even if you counted the rank progression as maximum distance from your start, total distance travelled, first discovery tags and so on, it would still remain the same. Personal achievements can be great because they give you a sense of progression, but for others, they shouldn't really matter.

However, actual exploration outside the game has long been a social affair. I don't mean that by people doing it in groups, but by the explorers sharing what they found, where, and how, with others. So exploring something is an achievement for the explorers who did it, but one that others also benefit from.
Whereas in Elite, there are no in-game tools that allow you to share your discoveries with others. Sure, there are lots of ways to do that outside the game, which is great. It allows people to cooperate, find far more things and find out far more about the galaxy than they could on their own, and so on. None of which is reflected by the in-game rank. Like I said, it's a personal achievement. Now, reaching Elite rank in-game does offer a few in-game advantages, so if people want to reach those quicker, who am I to judge? Bear in mind that OP wrote the guide because they wanted to power-level an alt character.

To sum it up, I'd say that proper exploration is more of a social affair, one where you share information (data, stories, photos, routes et cetera) with others, and they benefit from it as well. This is not to be confused with the in-game exploration rank, or statistics, which are personal matters.
And since I've actually written "proper exploration" unironically, it's time to drink!

 

[CMDR Pugwash]

While I posted a few times earlier in this thread already, your post inspired some new thoughts in me.
You know, your exploration rank (as well as combat, trade, and yes, CQC as well) are personal achievements. Even if you counted the rank progression as maximum distance from your start, total distance travelled, first discovery tags and so on, it would still remain the same. Personal achievements can be great because they give you a sense of progression, but for others, they shouldn't really matter.

However, actual exploration outside the game has long been a social affair. I don't mean that by people doing it in groups, but by the explorers sharing what they found, where, and how, with others. So exploring something is an achievement for the explorers who did it, but one that others also benefit from.
Whereas in Elite, there are no in-game tools that allow you to share your discoveries with others. Sure, there are lots of ways to do that outside the game, which is great. It allows people to cooperate, find far more things and find out far more about the galaxy than they could on their own, and so on. None of which is reflected by the in-game rank. Like I said, it's a personal achievement. Now, reaching Elite rank in-game does offer a few in-game advantages, so if people want to reach those quicker, who am I to judge? Bear in mind that OP wrote the guide because they wanted to power-level an alt character.

To sum it up, I'd say that proper exploration is more of a social affair, one where you share information (data, stories, photos, routes et cetera) with others, and they benefit from it as well. This is not to be confused with the in-game exploration rank, or statistics, which are personal matters.
And since I've actually written "proper exploration" unironically, it's time to drink!

The only thing I think fits your description is this sub-forum, although it isn't in game.

I'll join in that drink, cheers.

 

[Saool]

Hmmm I find myself in agreeance with many others here.

I can't fault you OP on the effort that clearly went into this, or the fact that you did, legitimately do it. But it makes the achievement seem very cheap these days. I am happy I did my Elite (mostly) the hard way (I was about 85% Pioneer when things like massive rewards from passenger missions starting cheapening the achievement).

11k systems visited, 154k Level 3 scans, 442k Light-years travelled 18.5k jumps and 16.5KLy max distance from the start (probably my weakest exploration stat). Too me that feels like real exploration.

 

[marx]

The only thing I think fits your description is this sub-forum, although it isn't in game.

I'll join in that drink, cheers.

Nah, the explorer communities are much wider than this sub-forum. There are dedicated sites (like EDSM and EGO), community / social media groups, video makers, and so on. However, pretty much of what we produce ends up in-game - save for tourist beacons, once in a blue moon. So I suppose that earlier I described exploration meta-gaming then.

 

[Rankaze]

I'll just say that as someone who made it to Pioneer (just tonight!) the old-fashioned way, I absolutely will use this method to get to Elite.

Why? Because once I get to Elite, I can do my exploration MY way, and not the efficient way. I'll have the rank, and I never cared that much about the money to begin with, so if I want to waste time scanning whole systems because I find it more satisfying when I do, I will no longer have any pressure not to do it. If I want to spend time admiring the scenery, I will no longer have that voice in my head telling me I need to get moving so I can get more data to get my rank. I'll have my Founder's World access, and my nifty Elite Exploration decal, and I'll use those as my license to do it my way from there forward.

So, for me, this guide is heaven-sent. It lets me get the ranking out of the way so I can get back to really exploring.

 

[Teh Smoo]

#287 is referencing planet 8 twice? Lessee...

A7/8 are hi metal, the second bit is right.

A*9* is a terraformable water world.

 

[Becky]

#287 is referencing planet 8 twice? Lessee... A7/8 are hi metal, the second bit is right. A*9* is a terraformable water world.

Thanks Smoo! I've updated it - I got cabin fever towards the end just wanted it to be over =]

 

[Mercury7]

There should be a scalar that accounts for distance from Sol at the time of the discovery, this way if you do not venture far out, you do not get a high reward or many points.

If you find a new system at Beagle Point, then you get mega rewards because you went out there in the first place...

FD need to decide if ED is a game or a sim. Unfortunately, shareholders win, so it will inevitably be a game where it is far too easy to do anything. I wish people would stop trying to be all-inclusive and greedy, and actually make something that requires some skill. Yes, fewer people will be interested, but there are plenty of games out there already that cater to the masses.

 

[Becky]

There should be a scalar that accounts for distance from Sol at the time of the discovery, this way if you do not venture far out, you do not get a high reward or many points.

If you find a new system at Beagle Point, then you get mega rewards because you went out there in the first place...

FD need to decide if ED is a game or a sim. Unfortunately, shareholders win, so it will inevitably be a game where it is far too easy to do anything. I wish people would stop trying to be all-inclusive and greedy, and actually make something that requires some skill. Yes, fewer people will be interested, but there are plenty of games out there already that cater to the masses.

I think a lot of people forget that there are two types of exploration
1. Places no one has gone before
2. Places the commander has not gone before.

To much emphasis is placed on the former. For a lot of people #2 is just as important.
You don't have to go very far to find places you've never seen before; just because 15,000 people have been before you doesn't make it any less relevant to personal achievement.

 

[Zeeman]

Great guide OP, though it saddens me that exploration is now so trivial that you can get Elite in 5 days, it screams to me that FD have their requirements set a bit too low, compared to combat and trade.

Reaching Elite for exploration back in Season one is now a bit of a source of pride for me, personally these days.

Z...

 

[GJ51]

Meh

FD has consistently devalued anything a player might be so unfortunate as to construe as an "achievement."

In that regard, at least they are consistent.