I wholeheartedly agree.
If it were single-player, though, it would never come close to its sales numbers…
Catering to opposite playstyles and expectations, yadda yadda
Combat really not paying enough (???), after I tried doing other things...
I wholeheartedly agree.
If it were single-player, though, it would never come close to its sales numbers…
Catering to opposite playstyles and expectations, yadda yadda
Yeah, exactly. But it would be so much more fun. Military laser being OP? Who cares, it's fun to pop ships in one go. Some mission exploit somewhere? So what? Someone won't do it, someone could, if they need money.
But with everything being MMO, balanced, tweaked, "fair", a huge deal of fun was diluted in... balance. That is why I hate that word, and hence my kneejerk reaction.
I believe they buffed it and combat pays amazing, not only do I get the bounty for the ship but I also end up with another claim that's superpower related so in 30 minutes of being in a haz res I earned 1.5 million I feel it's paying pretty good. Of course it's nothing compared to the 100m plus in the same amount of time from bulk passenger hauling but combat isn't as boring
The difference is that the variety in ships capabilities is balanced, and actually adds variety to the game. Having different payouts for different jobs doesn't add any variety to them. Gameplay does.
Oh please. Just because you enjoy it doesn't means this is the way it should be. People aren't demanding change in payout based on what they enjoy, they demand change in payout based on common sense. There's no reason to make a career less lucrative than the others. Also, if you enjoy doing something that's not lucrative, I really don't think that it would make the game worse for you if it suddenly started to pay.
Recently I started finding some NPCs with crazy bounties. 450k with no KW scanner. Made some nice money from them whilst doing a massacre pirate mission. Still, nothing compared to thr OP's numbers. I do feel that combat payout has improved somewhat, but the 80+ ship kill missions are a wee bit out there.
That's generally when the system is in a specific state… Civil unrest, I believe
Lately I've been hanging out in conflict zones and resource sites because I want to get allied with some specific minor faction, have some interest in a system, or just want to shoot at things for fun, before moving on. Taking a mission to destroy 56 ships feels like a grind. Also I prefer to fly different ships and try various weapon builds.
This results in spending all credits earned from combat to ship transfers and new modules. I'll likely reach triple elite next month, and still haven't tried any of the big three, I suppose thats weird.
This results in spending all credits earned from combat to ship transfers and new modules. I'll likely reach triple elite next month, and still haven't tried any of the big three, I suppose thats weird.
I seriously don't even try to make credits in this game, and haven't really for the past two years. I still can afford more than what I want. Granted, I don't prefer piloting large ships in the game, so YMMV, but I don't think making credits should be much of an issue for anyone in the game's present state.
This is a long-term play game for me, poking and mucking about here and there. I certainly didn't and don't need access to everything right away. Earning things within the game has its own merit, and if you're grinding for it, I'd say you're doing it wrong, but either way, that's your own choice. Some people seem too addicted the stereotypical PRG MMO mentality of grinding to the end game.
This is a long-term play game for me, poking and mucking about here and there. I certainly didn't and don't need access to everything right away. Earning things within the game has its own merit, and if you're grinding for it, I'd say you're doing it wrong, but either way, that's your own choice. Some people seem too addicted the stereotypical PRG MMO mentality of grinding to the end game.
There is no end game other than that which you make for yourself. Enjoy the ride, or don't at your own loss. It's up to you.
Last edited:
Oh I didn't know it scaled with rank. I'm currently expert in combat, maybe that's why only seeing 2 mil for massacre missions at most in systems at war.
I guess even though combat pays less then the other activities, it is still probably the best way of getting rep. Went to CZ two times and I was suddenly allied with the Fed aligned minor fac.
Quick question: Does anyone know what sort of systems to find federal navy ranking missions? I had expected war with military systems to contain those missions, but it doesn't seem to be the case. I'm also allied with the controllling Federation faction, so I don't understand why I'm not seeing any of these. Been stuck at 100% for a while now.
Last edited:
I think when you can make 100million+ an hour-ish spending 15/20 minutes board flipping and 45 minutes in SC between two systems, you should probably be able to earn 10 mill per Elite/Alied with local faction Assassination mission.
Bounties should be much higher, I kind of get the reasons for not letting players get bounties over a million from other players but they never seem to go past even half a million on NPCs. Seems strange to keep them so low.
Bounties should be much higher, I kind of get the reasons for not letting players get bounties over a million from other players but they never seem to go past even half a million on NPCs. Seems strange to keep them so low.
I agree, the trouble is backtracking now would be tantamount to giving everyone a paycut, the salt would cover the surface of Earth! In light of the lack of an alternative, I do agree that bounty hunting and assassinations should have payouts increased, and since we're on the subject, combat rank gains should be skewed by level, as now, but also by loadout, for example, I should get double the combat points for taking out a Corvette in a lightweight Courier than another Corvette doing the same, not least of all because it takes more than twice as long.
To get the best bounties, you need help from a KWS and Powerplay and a fast ship that doesn't require ammo. Being able to get from one kill to the next quickly, can earn you more that you'd get by using a ship that's slower but can kill quickly.
If you want to use the engineers, all efficient pulse lasers work pretty well. With them, you're less likely to get a stray shot bounty against you, which saves a lot of time and messing about. You shouldn't use high damage weapons.
You need a high spawn of big ships, so if you don't have that when you arrive at the RES, fly out and back in again until you do.
A high RES gives you the highest payout per hour because of the help from the police. You should be able to get 7 mil/hr without a KWS, 10 mil/hr with a KWS, and both of those will be doubled with level 5 Powerplay, so 20 mil/hr is about the max that you can get consistently. You can make more in the short term in a Haz RES using a battleship when you get the right spawn, but you won't get the high average rate that you can get in a high RES.
If you want to use the engineers, all efficient pulse lasers work pretty well. With them, you're less likely to get a stray shot bounty against you, which saves a lot of time and messing about. You shouldn't use high damage weapons.
You need a high spawn of big ships, so if you don't have that when you arrive at the RES, fly out and back in again until you do.
A high RES gives you the highest payout per hour because of the help from the police. You should be able to get 7 mil/hr without a KWS, 10 mil/hr with a KWS, and both of those will be doubled with level 5 Powerplay, so 20 mil/hr is about the max that you can get consistently. You can make more in the short term in a Haz RES using a battleship when you get the right spawn, but you won't get the high average rate that you can get in a high RES.
Last edited:
i would like to see engineered enemies ships and increased bounty for them.
Why should elite NPC fly with stock ship.[noob]
Last edited:
Bounty hunting, without ALD bonuses, and a KWS, for me, seems to cap out at 8-10m credits an hour.
It almost doesn't matter what ship I'm in, or my loadout. I can keep up with the spawn rate of the pirates.
I think that's the problem here, bounty hunting (aka bounty farming), relies heavily on spawn rates of high paying ships, and can have a lot of down time too.
No pirates = no bounties.
Like I've said before, we need more levels for Res so "end game" pilots can keep the pressure on.
CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
It almost doesn't matter what ship I'm in, or my loadout. I can keep up with the spawn rate of the pirates.
I think that's the problem here, bounty hunting (aka bounty farming), relies heavily on spawn rates of high paying ships, and can have a lot of down time too.
No pirates = no bounties.
Like I've said before, we need more levels for Res so "end game" pilots can keep the pressure on.
CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
Trouble is its already unrealistic for ten times more pirates to show up at a res than miners. No miners would go where the pirates are sitting in wait for them outnumbering them 10 to 1.
Combat is not the most profitable profession but this has a reasoning. It is the most popular thing to do in Elite, which means it is the most fun for most people so they ll do it anyway, no need for extra motive. It does pay decently and the risk in the 3303 is apparently minimal since your pod will 99,999% get rescued.
The fact that passenger missions pay more than a good trade route annoys me more, even though I do not trade much. Finding a good trade route takes some effort. Passenger missions, not as much.
Then again, bus driver vs trucker vs soldier/mercenary in real life, how much do they make comparatively assuming trucker and bus driver have their own vehicles?
The fact that passenger missions pay more than a good trade route annoys me more, even though I do not trade much. Finding a good trade route takes some effort. Passenger missions, not as much.
Then again, bus driver vs trucker vs soldier/mercenary in real life, how much do they make comparatively assuming trucker and bus driver have their own vehicles?