You play and see things differently, so differently than I, that you're willing to admit that my definition of balanced pay isn't something that should be added to Elite.
But because you say "credits are a bonus" this also makes me believe that Combat Pay could be whatever and you wouldn't care, higher or lower. Is this true?
So if had to start over from the beginning of Elite Dangerous and the pay for combat were to be super buffed, or super nerfed, would you still stand where you stand and not really care? Just curious as I don't know where you are exactly.
I think I can paraphrase Phisto's comment to: " For the effort involved, I get paid enough". The fact that he enjoys the effort has an impact on that calculation.
Get a smile on that slappy ham, Ash! But yeah, wing massacre missions can also be done solo and pay fairly well. I just did one in a little over an hour that paid 21m for 35 ships. Plus 5 or 6 mil in bounties because each level 3 mission target signal starts with at least one Elite Anaconda. Level 4 mission signals start with a swarm of pythons and other ships that just mill about and don't aggro all at once so you can pick them off one by one.I'm in a really bad mood today and couldn't be bothered to read your post, so I do apologise in advance for that. I did just want to say though (based on the title) that massacre missions now pay superbly well and have never been easier to complete.
9m for 16 ships is a common occurrence and quite reasonable I feel.
This all seems like scatter-shot logic. Combat ships have the lowest hull costs, and outfitting costs the same for all endeavors. An A rated Distributor cost the same for all. Running around in an under-rated explorer just ups the risks of being caught out by a threat, which brings balance to the 'risk v reward' maths. This goes for hull upgrades too. A trader or bus driver running around with base armor, only adds to their risk, by choosing jump range over hull points. This all goes to the 'risk v reward' calculations that you insist on ignoring.
My cargo carrying K-MkII, a medium pad ship costs about 40% more in re-buy than my combat aChief another medium pad ship. And, that's with the K-MkII largely filled with cargo bins. The hull cost for a K-MkII is 42 mil while the aChief's cost is 18 mil. Less than half the cost. That is on purpose.
Those hoops you mention have to be jumped through by traders, passenger haulers, and miners as well. Any activity rewarded through missions face the exact same obstacles to get the best paying offers. Exploration is a different animal in this light, but the point stands.
Once again, the risk to a combat pilot is pretty low. An inexperienced trader has the same increase in risk as an inexperienced fighter. I really don't see a material issue with the balance of pay, although getting more per sorte never hurt any one. But, the argument offered here is pretty weak.
That's an excellent way of putting it. Thank you!
I'll add I've been playing the game long enough where credits are irrelevant - if the activity is fun, I do it. If it's not fun, I don't do it.
OP. PVE combat is low risk, hence why it's a low paying activity.
You say, "An inexperienced trader has the same increase in risk as an inexperienced fighter."
If that's the case, why shouldn't combat pay as much, if not, more than the trading activites? (this includes Passenger Missions)
You say "Those hoops you mention [refering to missions boards and reputations] have to be jumped through by traders, passenger haulers, and miners as well. Any activity rewarded through missions face the exact same obstacles to get the best paying offers."
I ask, what about Void Opals [mining]? or the Road to richest explorations? or the past gold rushes [Rubigo, sothis]. When has Combat seen a "gold rush" that was non-mission related?
You say "outfitting costs the same for all endeavors. An A rated Distributor cost the same for all."
That's not true. Different ships use different sized internals making the price of internal fluctuate. And most ships are used for different roles meaning some items won't be bought or can't be bought.
But that aside, are you insinuating that since any player can buy anything, that the risk vs reward is the same across all boards, regardless of activity?
Until Frontier states this, I can't take your words to Fact.
But, you are perfectly willing to assume combat is a 'high risk' activity without FD saying so....
I have to until Frontier says otherwise. from my experience, combat was the hardest thing to get a grasp on, but that's MY OPINION and PERSONAL EXPERIENCE though, so that really doesn't matter in general.
Void opals are rare, or will be after BGS tweaking, so the effort is (will be) quite high, and the rings will deplete as well in the new system, if I understand right, so it's a diminishing return.I ask, what about Void Opals [mining]? or the Road to richest explorations? or the past gold rushes [Rubigo, sothis]. When has Combat seen a "gold rush" that was non-mission related?
Grasp and cost are not in the same column. You may find, and I do, that by example FD describes an activitie's 'risk factor' by what they pay. If your experience says it is payed as a low risk venture, maybe FD is trying to tell you something? I don't argue that combat may reap lower absolute pay, but in the 'risk v reward' continuum, I consider combat pay as relatively even with the rest of the jobs out there.
As I have said, my knowlege to grasp something means nothing. Some are good some are bad, but looking at the facts, I feel Combat is an underpaid job all around.
This statement makes me believe that if you were a new player, or a player wanting to get a new ship or module, that you WOULD care about credits and "balanced pay". Am I correct?
I’ve got over a billion space bucks in cash and 1.8 billion in assets and according to my stats, the bulk of it was made via bounties and combat missions. Over 2 years, well, it’s no Robigo run, but surely I’m not an isolated case? I’ve never focused on credits per hour or anything like that, just played the game wherever it led me at the time.