Newcomer / Intro Mawson Dock - No Missions Available

[CMDRQuainMarln]

1. I haven't done any mining missions and have seen recommendations elsewhere to NOT get involved in mining this early in the game. Is this accurate?

You need a few hours to get the hang of mining and it's better with a larger ship. I'd suggest laser mining platinum first as it's easier and more profitable per hour than core mining which is fun when you can find a core asteroid. If you want to engineer ship armour you need to have mined 500t before that engineer will do business with you and you laser mine 10t of Painite to give them. The Python is the best medium laser mining ship. Think of the Python as a much bigger Cobra MKIII. ASP Explorer smaller cheaper and good too. Probably the best ship to start mining in.

2. I have not updated any modules on my shiny new Cobra Mrk III. What do you recommend?

I posted a link to a Coriolis website suggested build to aim for on the Cobra earlier

3. When do you recommend I abandon Solo mode and expose my fortunes to Open Play?

Anytime you are not on your own quest to achieve something you don't want interrupted. You won't often meet other players outside of certain busy systems anyway.

4. When do you recommend I abandon the Pilot's Federation training area for the "real galaxy?"

Anytime you like in Solo mode. I suggest starting to do missions with Imperial or Federation factions to get reputation with them. If you ever want to buy their ships you need to climb Federation and Imperial Navy ranks. Not something to be too concerned with now as there are plenty of great ships available to you just for credits.

5. When and how do you recommend I get involved with multiplayer stuff, like squadrons, etc.?

When you get to the point you have most ships you want and have engineered them. Then you will be looking for a reason to use them more than just acquiring resources for the next ship and engineering it.

Not right now, but in the medium term research how to get the Engineered FSD V1 and Guardian FSD booster. Put them in an ASP Explorer or Krait Phantom and head 5000ly+ away from inhabited space. Try the Jelly Fish Nebula - it's just over 5000ly away and there are some useful places on route to collect raw materials. This also qualifies you for access to Professor Palin who can tune your ship thrusters for more speed and agility. Single most important upgrade for combat ships. Consider this a medium term goal.

@CMDRQuainMarln, I really enjoyed the Cobra video!
[/QUOTE]
Make sure you check out other ship reviews from the pilot

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Thank you all for these insights ...

By the way, when you are looking for a space station that sells the modules and ships you want to buy, this website will help:

INARA

The community site for Elite: Dangerous, Starfield, Kingdom Come: Deliverance with the game databases, information, gaming news and other handy content...

inara.cz

Lots of other features on this site including tools to help you work out what materials you need for ship modules you want to engineer. There is a way to import your commander data to this website. Not an essential thing to do at this early stage.

 

[aRJay]

Thank you all for these insights you are providing. I finally had a successful session bounty hunting at the low RES in Dromi. It is indeed a faster way of earning CR than missions but I've learned a great deal from the missions I have done. So this leads me to still more questions:

1. I haven't done any mining missions and have seen recommendations elsewhere to NOT get involved in mining this early in the game. Is this accurate?

2. I have not updated any modules on my shiny new Cobra Mrk III. What do you recommend? (I reread @CMDRQuainMarln recent post and realized he already gave advice on this matter.)

The main thing to do is replace the E rated Core modules with better ones as soon as you can. But don’t fit smaller modules than the slot size.
A - Generally best but most expensive
B - Toughest but have the most mass so bad for jump range
C - Same mass as A but cheaper and less good at what they do.
D - Least mass so great for jump range better performance than E
E - Cheapest should only be added to a ship when preparing to sell it.

3. When do you recommend I abandon Solo mode and expose my fortunes to Open Play?

When you feel like it, another alternative is to join a Private Group which have the chance to meet like minded players without the chance of encountering gankers. As far as the game is concerned the only difference is the number of other players you could meet.

4. When do you recommend I abandon the Pilot's Federation training area for the "real galaxy?"

No idea it wasn’t around when I started and as I haven’t done a restart or set up an alternate commander I haven’t been there and am barred from entering.

5. When and how do you recommend I get involved with multiplayer stuff, like squadrons, etc.?

When you feel like it and have found a squadron doing stuff you want to do, but as with much else in the game there is probably no need to rush.

@CMDRQuainMarln, I really enjoyed the Cobra video!

 

[CMDR Jago Kain]

I think you're ready to leave the PF safe zone now. I doubt that you can find all the modules you will want to buy in there. I recommend following the Inara link from CMDRQuainMarln and locating a class A frameshift drive of the appropriate size. You often can't buy all the modules you want from the same location so an FSD upgrade first will make the subsequent hunting easier.

 

[AntiAntiCamper]

I searched the Inara link to find a 4A frameshift and headed to Barcelo Laboratory in the Duamta System. On arrival I could not find Barcelo. I scanned Duamta 1 thinking I did not yet have the intel for a surface station. But even after the Detailed Surface Scan I still cannot find Barcelo Laboratory. What am I missing?

 

[Para Handy]

I searched the Inara link to find a 4A frameshift and headed to Barcelo Laboratory in the Duamta System. On arrival I could not find Barcelo. I scanned Duamta 1 thinking I did not yet have the intel for a surface station. But even after the Detailed Surface Scan I still cannot find Barcelo Laboratory. What am I missing?

It is on a planet (Duamta 1). It requires you to be in Horizons or Odyssey - if you are running the base game you will not see it. (Not many people run the base game except in special cases to recover from being stuck on the surface somewhere.)

P.S. I use EDDB for things like this, I find it easier to use than INARA - e.g. https://eddb.io/station/160971

also: https://www.edsm.net/en_GB/system/s...ity/market/idS/87655/nameS/Barcelo+Laboratory

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I searched the Inara link to find a 4A frameshift and headed to Barcelo Laboratory in the Duamta System. On arrival I could not find Barcelo. I scanned Duamta 1 thinking I did not yet have the intel for a surface station. But even after the Detailed Surface Scan I still cannot find Barcelo Laboratory. What am I missing?

One thing you can do in an inhabited system with a Nav Beacon is fly to the Nav Beacon - you will see it as a navigation point. Exit supercruise. Target the nav beacon and wait a few seconds for system information to be downloaded to your ship. This will identify everything currently in the system including currently active signal sources. You will definitely see all stations after that. The system map sometimes makes it easier to find a station even without scanning the navigation beacon.
Also be aware the list of navigation points has a filter to include/exclude types of locations. The filter can be set to exclude stations.

 

[AntiAntiCamper]

I'm very confused. I verified I'm in Horizons. I scanned the Nav Beacon in the Duamta system. I have no filters activated in Navigation pane. Yet I still cannot find Barcelo Laboratory.

I'm currently docked in Polyakov Station. When I filter on stations I get: Polyakov Station, Nav Beacon, Herrington City, Wang City, Davis Terminal, Vesalius City.

When I select the planet Duamta 1 in the Navigation pane it says "Suitable for Landing: No."

Any insight much appreciated.

 

[metatheurgist]

You didn't start the base game by any chance?

 

[AntiAntiCamper]

The pause screen (ESC key) says "Elite Dangerous Horizons". When I first booted the game a week ago, I may have booted the base game but since then I've been starting Horizons and I've driven around on a planet with an SRV which I think is only possible in Horizons.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I'm very confused. I verified I'm in Horizons. I scanned the Nav Beacon in the Duamta system. I have no filters activated in Navigation pane. Yet I still cannot find Barcelo Laboratory.

I'm currently docked in Polyakov Station. When I filter on stations I get: Polyakov Station, Nav Beacon, Herrington City, Wang City, Davis Terminal, Vesalius City.

When I select the planet Duamta 1 in the Navigation pane it says "Suitable for Landing: N
Any insight much appreciated.

Barcelo Laboratory is Odyssey only, that's why you cannot access it. On the Inara 'nearest' search I think there is an option to exclude Odyssey only stations from the Search.

 

[AntiAntiCamper]

Mystery solved. Thanks!

 

[Para Handy]

Oh yes - 0.01 atmosphere - LOL

We shall have to work out how to tell if planetary ports are Oddity-only in future - instead of just relying on EDDB etc.

 

[d8veh]

Fair go, but maybe not everyone wants to be a combat pilot. I have been playing for several very enjoyable, real time, years trading, mission running with a bit of exploring thrown in. Ain't fast, ain't fancy but I like it & trading is what I joined Elite to do, in 1984.

It's not being a combat pirate, It's money farming. Combat implies that the other ships are shooting back, but they don't if you do it like I said. In that respect running missions and mining are more like combat than this.

 

[d8veh]

Just an update on my learning progress. I purchased a Cobra Mk III, went to High Res Extraction in Dromi and got blown up in a dogfight very quickly. Maybe I'm not cut out for combat. Maybe I shot at the wrong ships. Dunno. I'm still playing Solo mode while I learn. Is that a mistake?

If you use any ship other than a Sidewinder, the other ships will shoot back at you. I think you might be OK if you only had two class 1 pulse lasers on your Cobra. It's probably the amount of damage you can do that triggers them.

As I said, there is an exception. Anacondas, Gunships Kraits and Crusaders can carry a fighter. before shooting at them, you must check the target tab in the left panel to see if they have one. If not, you're good to go. If they do have one, best strategy is to put 4 pips to shields and 2 to weapons, wait until their hull is right down (say 15% to 20%), then give them all you've got. The fighter will magically appear behind you immediately shooting, but your shields will hold until the mothership pops.

I give a lot of details about the NPC behaviour in this video. Start at 11:30.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hDzXI_SMnc&t=27s

 

[WreckRoot]

If there's one guy on the forums whom I've never found talking out of their... fantasy realm, it would be d8veh. Remember the name. He's like Jon skeet on .NET stack overflow.

However, I do recall the time when I started (about a year ago) and I remember the slow pace and carefree discovery of the game mechanics I enjoyed so much, taking it easy in the noob zone until I'd figured out how all the content works (different missions, flying, combat on a noob level etc.) before heading out of the permit zone.

d8veh gives you pro advice straight out of Hawkes Gaming's guide on how to have the best start in ED, but nobody's forcing you to have the best start. If you're enjoying the relaxing, stress-free gameplay, have at it.

I have just one piece of advice - do not expect the game to be well documented. There is a TON of stuff that the game has zero (or even contradictory/misleading) information within the game itself. The documentation for the game is on YouTube - there's a bunch of content creators who made great videos on every aspect of ED(O). Hawkes gaming, down to earth astronomy, ED tutorials with exigeous and others have good quality stuff that will fill you in on any subject.

Lastly, once you do get over the learning the ropes part and face a need to farm/grind something, keep in mind that there's is always some half-hacky way to do it more effectively - again, described on youtube. You can waste 50 hours getting what you need or go to YT and discover that you could have it done in 30 minutes by restarting the game a few times in the right place. I personally consider this a pretty cool, 4th-wall-breaking feature of ED, though I guess it's your discretion how you perceive it.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

d8veh gives you pro advice straight out of Hawkes Gaming's guide on how to have the best start in ED, but nobody's forcing you to have the best start. If you're enjoying the relaxing, stress-free gameplay, have at it.

Debatable if "best start" is right right description for an approach to the game that can raise the credits for a big complex ship before you know enough about the game play to even put the right weapons and modules on and then use them. But the most recent community goal dumped a lot of credits on players still quite new to the game and put some of them in Fleet Carriers.
Still, if you reach a point as a new player where you need a load of credits fast when ready to move onto bigger ships, the guides out there can help. I find the Hawkes Gaming video on materials gathering to be especially useful.

 

[WreckRoot]

Debatable if "best start" is right right description

Well that's literally what Hawkes called the video...

As you can tell from my last reply, I don't really advise that kind of approach. I had fun for some 10 hours chillin' in permit zone, learning the ropes of laser mining, srv missions, conflict zones and trade. I only left when I decided to try core mining and there are no seismic charges in the noob zone. I've been doing that for money ever since (of which you're intimately aware ), slowly progressing through the engineer thing in the meantime.

 

[d8veh]

If there's one guy on the forums whom I've never found talking out of their... fantasy realm, it would be d8veh. Remember the name. He's like Jon skeet on .NET stack overflow.

However, I do recall the time when I started (about a year ago) and I remember the slow pace and carefree discovery of the game mechanics I enjoyed so much, taking it easy in the noob zone until I'd figured out how all the content works (different missions, flying, combat on a noob level etc.) before heading out of the permit zone.

d8veh gives you pro advice straight out of Hawkes Gaming's guide on how to have the best start in ED, but nobody's forcing you to have the best start. If you're enjoying the relaxing, stress-free gameplay, have at it.

The learning is the same, and the safety is the same, whether you do it in the loser zone or outside of it. How efficient anybody wants to be in making progress is their own choice, so is where they do it, but there is no logical reason to stay in the loser zone unless you're the sort of player, like me, who likes to put self-imposed restrictions on yourself, as when I did triple elite in a Sidewinder.

Slow pace of achievement means more exposure to danger. The ships that interdict you when running missions, mining or hauling are scaled to your rank, regardless of where you are. You can only have weak slow ships in the loser zone, so less chance of surviving. I accept that some people are massochists and like to get attacked and lose all their stuff frequently. I don't judge anybody, I only give advice.

I've said this before, so sorry to repeat myself. Some games, like NMS, don't take long to get to the point where you have everything and run out of things to do, so I wouldn't recommend fast ways and shortcuts to do things, but ED is a massive grind-fest that takes thousands of hours, so I highly recommend saving a bit of time by being efficient in the beginning.

Most people seem to agree that when looking back on the game, they found it most exciting and fun in the beginning, but then you could have that enjoyment all the time by constantly restarting. I have made about 50 restarts so far, but like everything, once you get used to it, it becomes boring. I've never started in ship in Odyssey yet, so that's on my agenda for after I get to no. 1 on Inara for bounty farming this week - 1000 more pirates to go.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Well that's literally what Hawkes called the video...
View attachment 310031
As you can tell from my last reply, I don't really advise that kind of approach. I had fun for some 10 hours chillin' in permit zone, learning the ropes of laser mining, srv missions, conflict zones and trade. I only left when I decided to try core mining and there are no seismic charges in the noob zone. I've been doing that for money ever since (of which you're intimately aware ), slowly progressing through the engineer thing in the meantime.

Yes for sure. I think we are both on the same page regarding this video. It's the best way to get credits fast with an early option of taking your pick between Hauler and Road to Riches, or Adder and core mining to get you up to ASP X level credits fast.
I did go down this road (Hauler and R2R), but with hindsight have some regrets because I skipped past great ships like the Cobra and DBX in my early play, but did return to them later and keep them in my fleet today for some specific roles. This is why I would question if it's really the "best" start - depends on what you want. If was doing a best start guide I would have players perform a variety of activities to meet two or more goals at once. Like, sure go mining, but make sure you sell to a different station each time to contribute to "must trade with at least 50 different markets" to speed up unlock one of the engineers. But that's me and my interest in designing and engineering ships.

Core mining is something I can do now, but I only do it rarely. Laser mining slightly more often, but I don't really need to generate a lot of credits these days and did it with pirate massacre missions, mining rush wing missions and CGs involving haulage when I did. I still think the way core mining is done in ED is fantastic, which is probably why I do still go out and do it occasionally. I did make it into a Fleet Carrier recently and find it a lot more fun and rewarding that I was expecting. I will take it 6000ly into the black and use it as a base of exploration and exobiology as a change from heading out a long distance in just one ship. Never thought I'd be interested in doing this until I actually had a carrier.