*Warning... long and boring post heading towards you....
*For those players that are newish and wanting to explore, I hope something in here will at least help you on your way.
Short version:
Read the forums, watch videos, make a plan and go for it!
->sidewinder & missions ->eagle & bounty hunting ->viper & bounty hunting ->hauler & trade runs ->type 6 & trade runs ->Asp & trade runs ->travel to barnard's loop and back.
Long version:
Day 1: OMG this game is amazing, looks amazing and how hard could it be to land a ship at a dock?
-Lesson one, tab key is boost not landing gear
If you are really new to the game, welcome to the party and please read this first!
The Harmless' Guide to the Galaxy
Humble beginnings...
-use your sidewinder to run a few missions, this helped me learn how to pilot and land. Used the credits to upgrade my weapons.
-Nav beacons was my first cash cow, sit there and wait for a ship to arrive that has a wanted pilot, shot him down and collect bounty.
-After a day at the nav beacon, I was good at piloting, dog fighting, landing and had a feel for the game. Also earned enough credits to buy the Eagle and upgrade it... such a great little combat ship! With the Eagle I was really doing great at bounty hunting till I upgraded some more, did not have enough credits for insurance and was blown away by two wanted pilots at once.
(NEVER leave the station unless you can afford your insurance!!!)
-Finally got the viper... i was unbeatable... or at least till I found out the canopy in your cockpit can break and shutter! LoL
(nothing like hitting the docking area with 18 seconds of air left)
By this time, combat had lost its fun factor for me and I was only making roughly 50K every 30mins with bounties. After doing my research on trading, learning how to use the trade computer in navigation, I traded in my viper for a hauler with max cargo space and good jump range.
Before trading, watch this video Elite Dangerous - Trading Guide - Beginner
So my life as a trader started, before long I was doing a fairly good trade route which was fun... for the first hour.
At this point, you need to commit yourself to how badly you wish to have that Asp explorer. I was all kinds of committed and then spent days upon days and days doing mind numbing boring trade runs.
-traded the hauler in for a cobra with max cargo space and good jump range, did nothing but trade runs
-traded the cobra for a type 6 and then the money really started to pile up!
-traded the type 6 for an Asp with full cargo of 128 (wait till you have about 8million credits)
-used the asp for a trade ship and then finally set the asp up for exploration.
Before you go exploring, read this post first Nutter’s explorers guide to the Galaxy
I would say dont buy the Asp till you have around 12 million credits. The ship is only 6mill but the upgrades are super expensive and the insurance is high.
My asp
Advanced scanner, detailed surface scanner, shields, 2 beams and 2 multi cannons, fuel scoop (the one for around half a mill), D rated equipment and a B rated drive. At 5 million for a A rating drive, it had to wait as I could not do a single trade run even one more time. As for weapons... well it made me feel better having them but did not need them LoL
(D rated equipment is lightest and gives better jump range)
But where to go? I opened the galaxy map and of course seen Barnard's loop at only 1500lys away and said "I want to go there!"
For your 1st exploration journey I strongly recommend Barnard's loop!
-For explorers, its close
-it has witch head, running man, flame nebula, horsehead and many wonderful sights to see!
-will be a wonderful trip for screen shots
Before leaving....
-Practice fuel scooping as you can over heat and explode if you do it wrong
-make sure you can jump at least 26lys
-make double sure you can afford insurance on your ship
-get a good long play list of your favorite songs ready
-remember, there is no stations out there to help you
It took me over 2 weeks of playing every day to get this far, was it worth it? OMG YES!
The trip there and back took me 4 days, so far the most amazing things I have seen in the game. Did it make me money? Uhmmm... no... after I sold all that data once I was back, I netted around 250,000 credits. One decent trade run will make you around 300,000 credits but its not about the money, its about the journey.
Not sure if you want to be an explorer? Then watch these video series and find out if its for you or not...
The Best of Exploring Elite: Dangerous - Episode 1
Elite Dangerous - Distant Suns Part 1
My personal screen shot gallery
My next trip? Going to pick a random direction, travel thru the core and then pick another random direction and keep going. Once I am at least 25,000lys away, turn back and come home using a different direction and route. Before I head back out, will be doing trade runs again to get that A rated drive!
Current rankings:
Novice Combat
Merchant Trader
Trailblazer Explorer
Special thanks:
Nutter, your guide is awesome!
Granite, your videos are awesome!
Erimus, your journey is inspirational!
technophebe, your guide is awesome!
Frontier Developments, your game is amazing!
Tito vodka & Redbull, your combination is excellent!
To everyone that answered my questions, posted helpful information and uploaded those video guides!
Screen shots from the journey--->
*For those players that are newish and wanting to explore, I hope something in here will at least help you on your way.
Short version:
Read the forums, watch videos, make a plan and go for it!
->sidewinder & missions ->eagle & bounty hunting ->viper & bounty hunting ->hauler & trade runs ->type 6 & trade runs ->Asp & trade runs ->travel to barnard's loop and back.
Long version:
Day 1: OMG this game is amazing, looks amazing and how hard could it be to land a ship at a dock?
-Lesson one, tab key is boost not landing gear
If you are really new to the game, welcome to the party and please read this first!
The Harmless' Guide to the Galaxy
Humble beginnings...
-use your sidewinder to run a few missions, this helped me learn how to pilot and land. Used the credits to upgrade my weapons.
-Nav beacons was my first cash cow, sit there and wait for a ship to arrive that has a wanted pilot, shot him down and collect bounty.
-After a day at the nav beacon, I was good at piloting, dog fighting, landing and had a feel for the game. Also earned enough credits to buy the Eagle and upgrade it... such a great little combat ship! With the Eagle I was really doing great at bounty hunting till I upgraded some more, did not have enough credits for insurance and was blown away by two wanted pilots at once.
(NEVER leave the station unless you can afford your insurance!!!)
-Finally got the viper... i was unbeatable... or at least till I found out the canopy in your cockpit can break and shutter! LoL
(nothing like hitting the docking area with 18 seconds of air left)
By this time, combat had lost its fun factor for me and I was only making roughly 50K every 30mins with bounties. After doing my research on trading, learning how to use the trade computer in navigation, I traded in my viper for a hauler with max cargo space and good jump range.
Before trading, watch this video Elite Dangerous - Trading Guide - Beginner
So my life as a trader started, before long I was doing a fairly good trade route which was fun... for the first hour.
At this point, you need to commit yourself to how badly you wish to have that Asp explorer. I was all kinds of committed and then spent days upon days and days doing mind numbing boring trade runs.
-traded the hauler in for a cobra with max cargo space and good jump range, did nothing but trade runs
-traded the cobra for a type 6 and then the money really started to pile up!
-traded the type 6 for an Asp with full cargo of 128 (wait till you have about 8million credits)
-used the asp for a trade ship and then finally set the asp up for exploration.
Before you go exploring, read this post first Nutter’s explorers guide to the Galaxy
I would say dont buy the Asp till you have around 12 million credits. The ship is only 6mill but the upgrades are super expensive and the insurance is high.
My asp
Advanced scanner, detailed surface scanner, shields, 2 beams and 2 multi cannons, fuel scoop (the one for around half a mill), D rated equipment and a B rated drive. At 5 million for a A rating drive, it had to wait as I could not do a single trade run even one more time. As for weapons... well it made me feel better having them but did not need them LoL
(D rated equipment is lightest and gives better jump range)
But where to go? I opened the galaxy map and of course seen Barnard's loop at only 1500lys away and said "I want to go there!"
For your 1st exploration journey I strongly recommend Barnard's loop!
-For explorers, its close
-it has witch head, running man, flame nebula, horsehead and many wonderful sights to see!
-will be a wonderful trip for screen shots
Before leaving....
-Practice fuel scooping as you can over heat and explode if you do it wrong
-make sure you can jump at least 26lys
-make double sure you can afford insurance on your ship
-get a good long play list of your favorite songs ready
-remember, there is no stations out there to help you
It took me over 2 weeks of playing every day to get this far, was it worth it? OMG YES!
The trip there and back took me 4 days, so far the most amazing things I have seen in the game. Did it make me money? Uhmmm... no... after I sold all that data once I was back, I netted around 250,000 credits. One decent trade run will make you around 300,000 credits but its not about the money, its about the journey.
Not sure if you want to be an explorer? Then watch these video series and find out if its for you or not...
The Best of Exploring Elite: Dangerous - Episode 1
Elite Dangerous - Distant Suns Part 1
My personal screen shot gallery
My next trip? Going to pick a random direction, travel thru the core and then pick another random direction and keep going. Once I am at least 25,000lys away, turn back and come home using a different direction and route. Before I head back out, will be doing trade runs again to get that A rated drive!
Current rankings:
Novice Combat
Merchant Trader
Trailblazer Explorer
Special thanks:
Nutter, your guide is awesome!
Granite, your videos are awesome!
Erimus, your journey is inspirational!
technophebe, your guide is awesome!
Frontier Developments, your game is amazing!
Tito vodka & Redbull, your combination is excellent!
To everyone that answered my questions, posted helpful information and uploaded those video guides!
Screen shots from the journey--->
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