I think I've figured out how to slow down my progress on my next save so I actually enjoy the game again.

[-VR- Max Factor]

To put it simply, credit rewards are too big.

I miss the time it took weeks just to earn enough for a Cobra Mk III with A-rated gear across the board.

And honestly the maintenance costs in this game are far too low.

Here's a suggestion I'd ask Frontier to consider. Make a new start option with rebalanced credit earnings and increased maintenance costs. Make it optional.

A lot of gamers love massive grinds that means it takes weeks just to get out of their first ship, or whatever equivalent in other games.

This grind used to exist in Elite Dangerous and it was really fun. That's been eliminated by the huge increase in credit rewards and reductions in maintenance costs and honestly? It makes this game really boring for a fair few people.

I'm not suggesting this save should be given separate instances. It would offer no advantage. Actually it means players who opt for it are choosing to play at a massive disadvantage.

And yes, that's exactly what would reignite my love for this game again.

I'm simply asking for the option to be given less rewards alongside higher costs for my equipment.

I completely agree. Credit rewards are bonkers at the moment. What I would like to see is a hardcore mode where insurance is half of substantially worse then what it is now, much higher repair costs and the credit rewards are cut in half.

I never saw it as a grind in the early days, yes it was tough, but it was enjoyable tough and didn't get boring (which is what grind is, boring).

There needs to be a better solution to they way things are.

Exploration is madness, you get the same amount of credits is you have just started out exploring compared to someone that is elite, mainly because we have all the tools built in, when before you had to purchase them and the ADS cost a million which was a long way away.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

Thanks for the feedback - I think a mode like you're describing could be a lot of fun for players who are already loaded with credits.

What I'm suggesting is you set additional goals for yourself (beyond earning the needed credits) to each ship, that way unlocking them might feel more substantial. For example, reaching a given rank in trade before buying the next mining ship or killing x number of pirates for the next combat ship.

I see your point and what you're going for here with this suggestion. The problem is that doesn't solve the issue with inflated earnings.

It's not just ships. I actually liked agonising over which part of my ship was getting upgraded. I enjoyed having no choice but to only buy one new module every few hours over the course of weeks, because there wasn't enough credits to get more.

The game had a lot more character for it.

And the thing that brings that feeling of decision making is the fact that even if I met "targets", I simply couldn't afford to get everything without more gameplay beyond it.

It felt a lot more natural and definitely a lot more more fun.

 

[Sbirch123]

If you want to slow down your progress then restart your save but don't use any farming method to earn easy money or % towards your ranks.

I've been playing since 2015 and I'm not triple elite or have a fleet carrier or billions in the account

 

[Jethro49]

+1 for the account selection directly in the launcher.

My "alt" account (which is far more active than my main these days) runs with few rules from the beginning :

• only 4 ships (T9, iClipper, Krait Phantom, ASP X, but I can sell one and buy another one if needed) + the starwinder
• combat needs to stay below harmless (CQC is in game for a reason !)
• avoid rebuys : fly safe (I had only one rebuy on the Krait when I changed my HOTAS and hit "boost" instead of "toggle reverse" in front of a cliff in the galactic center. I have learned to build real shields since)

Suprisingly, I feel no urge to grind credits or material or engineer unlocks... The game is really enjoyable !
Currently I'm wondering if I would buy a FC, but have no intention to mine for it (well, I did 1 LTD run and 2 VO runs with the Clipper, netted 800 M within a few hours, but didn't enjoy it).

 

[Deleted member 182079]

I completely agree. Credit rewards are bonkers at the moment. What I would like to see is a hardcore mode where insurance is half of substantially worse then what it is now, much higher repair costs and the credit rewards are cut in half.

I never saw it as a grind in the early days, yes it was tough, but it was enjoyable tough and didn't get boring (which is what grind is, boring).

There needs to be a better solution to they way things are.

Exploration is madness, you get the same amount of credits is you have just started out exploring compared to someone that is elite, mainly because we have all the tools built in, when before you had to purchase them and the ADS cost a million which was a long way away.

Not just insurance, but repairs also - if my ship costs a billion credits and I drop it off at the garage with 10% hull I expect to pay a lot more than we do currently.

 

[Old Duck]

Not just insurance, but repairs also - if my ship costs a billion credits and I drop it off at the garage with 10% hull I expect to pay a lot more than we do currently.

Drop by my fleet carrier, I happily charge extra for the sake of immersion.

 

[Deleted member 182079]

Drop by my fleet carrier, I happily charge extra for the sake of immersion.

I said "if"

 

[BL1P]

I tried to a do a pirate only play through on my ALT account.
Sadly you cant do only pirate things because of engineers.
They want you to trade, mine, explore and other things that are nothing to do with a pirate.
There should be multiple options with engineers so that any profession can access them using that professions game play.
Not doing engineers is just not acceptable if you want to fly in open at any point.
So no matter what profession you wish to do on an alt account the engineers will force you into the other professions

 

[MarkyH]

I miss the old days, hauling fish. Simpler times

I remember getting PVP pirated intradicted in 2015, hauling fish for a mission in my COBRA 3. He was disgusted at what i had in my hold and just left muttering upset words.

 

[CMDR xX_Phaethon_Xx]

When I started a few years back, my primary focus was the acquisition of every system permit to be had, and in doing just that, I had some very decent credits once my mission was accomplished.

 

[nafnist]

Thanks for the feedback - I think a mode like you're describing could be a lot of fun for players who are already loaded with credits.

Yes! We need a 'Hardcore' mode!

 

[Brrokk]

The massive credit earnings in ED are proving to burn me out very quickly.

So how do I work around this in such a manner that doesn't interfere with other people's credit farming?

Something I can do myself within the current ruleset that is harmless?

I think I have the answer.

When I start my new save, the only missions I will attempt are the starter missions for the sake of RP, and those that must be done to unlock content, namely engineers. Preferably donation missions so that I actually lose credits.

Aside from that? RP the heck out of it. Does the galaxy really need another diamond or void opal trader? Nope.

I shall shift fruit and vegetables. Meat if I'm feeling fancy.

Mining shall be restricted to low market-value ores that are not mined much outside long-term contracts. Industrial supplies? Leather, fabrics. Commercial products? Clothes, domestic goods.

I'm going to make 100's of credits. Rich I say! Rich!

No outside tools. All in game. If a market is bust, I choose. Sell anyway or seek elsewhere?

Planets? I'll pick up junk, sure. I'm no rescue pilot but if I see escape pods, they'll get priority. I'm no monster. And yes I will dump cargo for them.

Passenger cabins are interesting. Due to them being mission only... However restricting myself to economy cabins and only taking a-b ferry trips will limit those earnings. No requests will be accepted. The contract at pick-up is final.

Combat is not something I will actively seek for the most part. Pirate/criminal hits will be responded to on the moment. Do I fight, or run?

Exploration is a flat out no for me, unless it's to map a system inside the bubble or essential for unlocks. I'm considering just not selling the data anyway just to eliminate those potential earnings.

As you can see I'm taking extreme measures to make this game enjoyable for a hard-core RP'er like myself.

It's a shame but there we are... I can't do anything about the stupidly inexpensive repairs or fuel costs.

On a sidenote, my HOTAS Warthog has arrived.

That's too complicated for me. I don't think I'd ever reset and I just do whatever I feel like. I don't feel any compulsion to make huge profits anymore, so I don't. "Blaze your own trail".

 

[GreySix]

To put it simply, credit rewards are too big.

I miss the time it took weeks just to earn enough for a Cobra Mk III with A-rated gear across the board.

Still does, if you're not using exploits and ignoring yootoob videos.

 

[Hacker#451563]

I feel you on this, the acquisition of wealth is not fun even though it's really easy. The most fun I have in Elite is when I find some backwater system and chose to side with a certain faction and bring them onwards and upwards: running missions for them and then fighting in their wars until they are topdogs in that place, then quietly fading away like Clint Eastwood in "High Plains Drifter".

 

[Rat Catcher]

...
It's not just ships. I actually liked agonising over which part of my ship was getting upgraded. I enjoyed having no choice but to only buy one new module every few hours over the course of weeks, because there wasn't enough credits to get more.

The game had a lot more character for it.

And the thing that brings that feeling of decision making is the fact that even if I met "targets", I simply couldn't afford to get everything without more gameplay beyond it.

It felt a lot more natural and definitely a lot more more fun.

I joined the game 32 months ago, just before 'silly' amounts were easily earned - the decision making of how to spend the meagre credits and still afford a rebuy was amazing gameplay

I tried to a do a pirate only play through on my ALT account.
Sadly you cant do only pirate things because of engineers.
They want you to trade, mine, explore and other things that are nothing to do with a pirate.
There should be multiple options with engineers so that any profession can access them using that professions game play.
Not doing engineers is just not acceptable if you want to fly in open at any point.
So no matter what profession you wish to do on an alt account the engineers will force you into the other professions

Been there too (NPC pirating) and agree entirely - although being a 'space rogue' is in the same camp as being a PvP player in the eyes of the game - a sideline against the 'main professions' - which is sad really.

 

[Crank Larson]

I see your point and what you're going for here with this suggestion. The problem is that doesn't solve the issue with inflated earnings.

It's not just ships. I actually liked agonising over which part of my ship was getting upgraded. I enjoyed having no choice but to only buy one new module every few hours over the course of weeks, because there wasn't enough credits to get more.

The game had a lot more character for it.

And the thing that brings that feeling of decision making is the fact that even if I met "targets", I simply couldn't afford to get everything without more gameplay beyond it.

It felt a lot more natural and definitely a lot more more fun.

Problem is, this comes down to personality (i.e. what you find enjoyable). To me, the game completely opened up once I didn't need to care about credits. The game to me is about flying, and credit earning was just a means to an end.

Though enough people have requested things like upkeep that it would be interesting if FD were to investigate having a game mode/option that enabled such things.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Deleted

 

[Humbo]

The massive credit earnings in ED are proving to burn me out very quickly.

So how do I work around this in such a manner that doesn't interfere with other people's credit farming?

Something I can do myself within the current ruleset that is harmless?

I think I have the answer.

When I start my new save, the only missions I will attempt are the starter missions for the sake of RP, and those that must be done to unlock content, namely engineers. Preferably donation missions so that I actually lose credits.

Aside from that? RP the heck out of it. Does the galaxy really need another diamond or void opal trader? Nope.

I shall shift fruit and vegetables. Meat if I'm feeling fancy.

Mining shall be restricted to low market-value ores that are not mined much outside long-term contracts. Industrial supplies? Leather, fabrics. Commercial products? Clothes, domestic goods.

I'm going to make 100's of credits. Rich I say! Rich!

No outside tools. All in game. If a market is bust, I choose. Sell anyway or seek elsewhere?

Planets? I'll pick up junk, sure. I'm no rescue pilot but if I see escape pods, they'll get priority. I'm no monster. And yes I will dump cargo for them.

Passenger cabins are interesting. Due to them being mission only... However restricting myself to economy cabins and only taking a-b ferry trips will limit those earnings. No requests will be accepted. The contract at pick-up is final.

Combat is not something I will actively seek for the most part. Pirate/criminal hits will be responded to on the moment. Do I fight, or run?

Exploration is a flat out no for me, unless it's to map a system inside the bubble or essential for unlocks. I'm considering just not selling the data anyway just to eliminate those potential earnings.

As you can see I'm taking extreme measures to make this game enjoyable for a hard-core RP'er like myself.

It's a shame but there we are... I can't do anything about the stupidly inexpensive repairs or fuel costs.

On a sidenote, my HOTAS Warthog has arrived.

I have two accounts on PC and three on console (which allows multiple accounts from one purchase) . At least one of them is a starter that I can clear without losing much.
Even in my main accounts I still fly missions in Sidewinders just for the sheer challenge.
I did one last night where I packed 4 hatch breakers into a sidewinder to steal consumer samples from a dangerous Diamond back.
I didn't have room for collector limpets so turned into a "grab the canister" duel - which I kept losing.
Then I noticed the police had shown up so I started a fight and escaped with the mission canisters and 34% of my hull left.
Great fun!

 

[BDelacroix]

I'd like to commend you on not requiring EVERYONE to play the game you suggest but leaving it as an option.

 

[BDelacroix]

If we're listening to feedback, I have to mention yet again that really, PC players should be able to have a second account without buying a second copy of the game. Y'know, like console players can. I'd quite like to see the changes to the new player experience in the five years since I started playing but there's no way I'm wiping my triple Elite account to do it and I'm certainly not paying for another copy of the base game, plus Horizons, plus next year's update, just to be able to do it. Multiple commander slots should have been a feature on release day.

While I am not disagreeing with you, you can do the new player tutorial at any time without wiping.