A Lazy Commander's Guide to Powerplay 2.0:
Opening thought: Politics is a game for those with too much time, and or money on their hands...
I. Preramble/WIIFM
The first and most important question to ask yourself when considering Power Play is "Whats in it for me?" (WIIFM) Lets talk for a moment about what Power Play is Not:
A. Powerplay IS NOT a quick way to increase your finances. You will do much better to devote your time to Trade, Bounty Hunting, and/or Mining if You are looking to quickly advance yourself fiscally.
B. Power Play is not a mechanic to get You awesome OP equipment: None of the faction-specific gear is "Raid Gear". It's cool, and different, but You can (currently at least) buy more effective gear off the regular market.
C. Power Play is not even a good long-range investment because Your PP rank, and even the Xbox version of the map, will go away when the game is finished and synched with the PC version.
D. OK, that being said You might ask, "Why the heck do you do this thing then Kaze!?" Fair enough! Lets talk about what Power Play IS, and the WIIFM:
1. Power PLay IS a great way to find purpose within a sandbox Universe. Your actions affect not just yourself, but other players, and even the environment that You play in. Each Power does specific things to the systems under their control and exploitation. It can change the levels of different kinds of NPCs, commodities, payouts for bounty hunting or trade, and even provide discounts on ships and outfitting depending on WHO IS IN POWER!!! Some ships are specifically offered in the Control Systems of Specific Powers.
Check the STATS tab of each power to see who does what effect their rule has on the systems under their control. I will add future guides on why You might choose each power as I get time.
2. These factors should go into considering who to work for, where to base yourself, and who to make your enemy; even as you consider which Power's benefits package suits You best!
3. Each Power also (under the PLEDGE tab) show you what benefits that You get for being a member of that Power. For our purposes, only pay attention to what You get up through rank 4, Because rank 5 will take some serious effort to reach - Ranks 2 through 4... not so much! (See Below)
5. Like any good politician, I play the long game and look to put as little effort into making a living in my profession as possible:
At RANK 5, Politics becomes self sustaining and profitable, but only if You are patient...
II. READ THIS FIRST!
A. Now before You dive headlong into joining a power, I suggest that You read the Aisling's Angels' excellent article 'The Popular Guide to Powerplay',
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=155114
...and Cypher871's insightful 'Power Play Decay - The definitive answer',
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=169381
...and here is a link to The Official Manual:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=152185
...and Walt Kerman;s excellent Guide to Minor Factions
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=193064&page=2
B. Why should I bother to work for:
1. Zachary Hudson? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177171&p=2728735#post2728735
2. Prenav Antal? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177317&p=2730809#post2730809
3. Arissa Lavigny-Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178329&p=2748907#post2748907
4. Edmund Mahon - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178360&p=2749564#post2749564
5. Felicia Winters - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178759&p=2755939#post2755939
6. Aisling Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180630&p=2782266#post2782266
7. Li Yong-Rui - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180847&p=2785091#post2785091
8. Zemina Torval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=181383&p=2792353#post2792353
9. Archon Delaine - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182211&p=2805958#post2805958
10. Denton Patraeus - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182217&p=2806064#post2806064
III. Rank 1/0 merits:
Weekly Bonus: 1000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 0
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 10
Special: You now have enemies...
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 0
A. REQUIREMENTS: You will need to have progressed at least one rank in one of the paths to Elite (i.e. hold mostly aimless, mostly penniless or mostly harmless) to be able to pledge to a Power.
B. Getting to Rank 1 is as easy as hitting the Pledge button for your Power of choice...
1. being Rank 1 in a power is worse than having no rank at all.
a. You have no political agency (Preparation Nominations),
b. it takes for ever to build up a meaningful level of PCAs, and You get enough credits to cover lunch, gas, and tolls. (barely)
c. Worse, You now have enemys. CMDRs now have a reason to hunt You - You are worth merits; and NPC enemies dedicated to the other Powers will begin to harass You.
C. Fortunately Rank 2 is just 100 merits away! There are 2 basic methods of getting there:
2. TRANSPORT: You get 10 PCAs every half-hour. Look at your Power's Preperation, Expansion, and Control Tabs and find out where to drop off the PCAs. A good Vehicle for this in the long run is the 'Political Bandwagon', this Type-6 is afffordable, and can comfortably maintain Political Tranport through Rank 4.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_6_tr....Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=The Political Bandwagon
a. Yes: It has Shields and Countermeasures; and YES, 100 cargo is more than enough; so keep the Shields and Countermeasures - There are Pirates, Griefers, and even NPC jerks in Plasma Accelerator using Vultures (Dont ask!) that will try to liquify you. Having a few cheap countermeasures, and a modest Shield Generator are insurance on your investment.
Yes: It has a auto-dock: What part of LAZY didn't you understand?
I currently use a Python for TRANSPORT, my build is:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/python/07...4b03025901.Iw18eQ==.Aw18eQ==?bn=Blue Hope III
This transports almost 250 PCAs/run, can defend itself, and land at outposts (unlike a T-7 or T-9) as well as stations. At just shy of 68 Million, She's pricy, but well worth it.
EXAMPLES:
a. Zachary Hudson will have You pick up the PCAs in the form of Intellegence from systems that your Power is Preparing, and bringing them back to a Control System to turn the PCAs in for Merits.
b. Aisling Duval will have You take PCAs in the form of Propaganda from control systems, and drop them off in systems She is Expanding into, to turn the PCAs in for Merits.
c. Prenav Antal will have You pick up PCAs in the form of political Dissidents from Control Systems, and transport them to His HQ in order to Fortify the system, and to turn the PCAs in for Merits.
Move 100 of these PCAs in a week and Boom, You have 100 Merits. Rank 2 here You come!
3. COMBAT: Find a Political Combat Zone (Zacharay Hudson has 'Military Strikes' , and A Lavigny-Duval has 'Crime Sweeps' for examples, as part of their Expansion) Fighting in these Political Combaz Zones (P-CZs) will net You 10 merits for each enemy ship that You Kill. 10 Kills = 100 Merits. Bring on Rank 2!
a. If You are feeling really frosty, there is no reason to stop at Rank 2. 75 Kills/week = 750 Merits (Rank 3), and 150 kills/week = 1500 Merits (Rank 4); Easy!
b. If You have the firepower (I recommend at least a fully kitted Vulture), and the time, You could try to do 1000 kills in your first week and speed right to 10,000 Merits and Rank 5!!! :O
c. A good vehicle for the entry level politician is 'The Political Snake'; this medium fighter (Viper) will easily carry You to rank 4.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/viper/23A...542j.AwRj4yyA.CwBhEYy7vI==?bn=Political Snake
d. To help with this please see The 'Lazy Commander's Guide to Surviving a Combat Zone in a Starfighter'.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=176767&p=2721708#post2721708
IV. Rank 2/100 merits
Weekly Bonus: 50,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 25
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 15
Special: The Power's Rank 2 Special Bonus
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 54
A. There is every reason to stay at Rank 2, and many CMDRs do.
1. You get a small stipend, some political agency in the form of Preperation Nominations, and your PCAs/30 min. increases to 15.
2. Most Importantly though, You get your Power's special bonus perk. This may manifest as bonus pay for actions such as bounty hunting, influence bonuses with minor factions, or even discounts on specific ships, weapons, or outfitting.
B. Maintaining Rank 2 only takes 54 Merits/Week; thats 6 kills in a P-CZ, or 4 PCAs over the course of a week.
1. This ease of maitenance allows You to pick the perk that supports your play-style with minimum effort.
2. You still get to have these modest efforts move towards shaping the galaxy, particularly if You work with other like-minded people.
V. Rank 3/750 Merits
Weekly Bonus: 500,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 50
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 20
Special: Access to your Power's special Equipment*
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 400
*Also requires having been Pledged to the Power for 4 weeks.
A. Rank 3 is the weird middle-child of Powerplay... You make half a million/week, not bad, but not great. You make 50 Preparation nominations/week, not bad, but You still have to add another 50 units of Preparation via Transport for a system to get nominated. Your PCAs/30 Min go up to 20, but it still takes 2.5 hours to fill up a hold with 100 Cargo. You also get a piece of Faction Specific Gear if You have been pledged to your power for at least 4 weeks; this gear is rarely a game-changer though so much as it is a change of pace.
EXAMPLE: The Enforcer Cannons from Prenav Antal are great weapons, and better than a normal Class 1 Fixed Multi-cannon; but it ONLY comes in Class 1 and Fixed, limiting it's usefulness. Now if they came in class 2 Gimballed...
B. Maintaining Rank 3 takes a bit more effort: 400 Merits/Week; that's 40 kills in a P-CZ, or 400 PCAs over the course of a week; (4 x 100 ton loads) so it's still not hard. That being said, if You are going to spend the time and the energy to do this You may as well advance to, and maintain, Rank 4...
VI. Rank 4/1500 Merits
Weekly Bonus: 5,000,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 100
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 25
Special: Easy maintenance for great rewards!
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 800
A. OK, now We're talking! Being Rank 4 gives You 5 MILLION credits/week, good. You get 100 Preperation Nominations, which is enough to put a System on the board without You having to travel there, excellent. You also get 25 PCAs/30 Min, allowing easy maintenance.
B. Maintaining Rank 4 costs 800 Merits/week.
1. Using TRANSPORT and 'The Political Bandwagon', You can do this the Lazy way: You can fill a 100 ton transport load every two hours; meaning that You can get your Rank 4 maitenance done while You go mow the lawn, go to work, wash the laundry, do the dishes, write a Guide, feed the baby, do a Weekly in Destiny, etc. in between 100 ton loads. You probably have something to do around the house... I have gotten so much more done at home since I started this... *lol*
2. Combat is still an attractive option, as You only need to get 80 Kills in a P-CZ over the course of a week; You can do this in 2 - 4 hours easy, and You can spread those hours out if it pleases You.
VII. Rank 5/10,000 merits
Weekly Bonus: 50,000,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 250
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 50
Special: Your Power's Rank 5 Special Ability.
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 5334
A. Rank 5 is the Elite rank of Politics, and like THE DARK SIDE of the FORCE, if You start down this path: FOREVER WILL IT DOMINATE YOUR DESTINY! (Seriously, I haven't had time to play 'Destiny' since I started the road to Rank 5!) With 50 Million Credits/week, You can both maintain yourself and make money fairly easily (See below); with 250 Preparation Nominations You can designate 2 worlds for expansion, and give 50% of the designation to a third one without leaving port. 50 PCAs/30min will make Maintenance and profit sooo much easier. You also get a sweet Rank 5 perk that is Specific to your Power.
EXAMPLE: Zachary Hudson gives You an additional 100% bounty payout for all bounties collected. (If You have time to hunt bounty after You have played politics all week that is... *lol*)
1. You are going to have to give up being Lazy for 2 - 4 weeks, and completely dedicate your available time to the cause...
2. You are going to need to grind your way to 10,000 merits in a week.
a. COMBAT: Thats 1000 kills in a week if going from 0 using COMBAT!!! Assuming 700 merits left from a previous week at Rank 4, this comes to 9300 Merits needed at 10 Merits/Kill, or 930 Kills! Factor a KPH (Kill per Hour) of 40ish, and it will take You 23.25 hours of grinding for the week to hit your goal... I Highly Recommend that You do this in a fully kitted Vulture or better ship to maintain good Kills per hour. Such as The 'AGGRESSIVE NEGOTIATIONS'; unless You are the proud Pilot of a well built combat Anaconda, Python, or FDL. and this is my recommended method because...
b. TRANSPORT: There is no way to get to Rank 5 using TRANSPORT without spending over 50 Million on buying PCAs... Even if You started at Rank 4 (with 700 merits carried over from the previous week) , and dedicated 10 hours/day for a 7 Day Week to The Lazy Method , that would only amount to (7 days x 10 Hours/Day x 25 PCAs/30min) 3500 merits... You would still need to buy and transport (10,000 Merits - 3500 free PCAs - 700 carryover) 5800 PCAs which (at 10,000 Credits/PCA) will cost 58 MILLION credits!?!? :O You CAN do this if You are an already-established Merchant Tycoon, just like buying into politics in real life... That being said, You should use the Lazy Transport method to supplement your Combat in order to help preserve your SANITY...
3. At the end of the first week You will get the payout for whatever your Rank was during the week that You started. This is important: You will get your first 50 Million credit paycheck at the END of the Week. so...
4. During your second Week, You need to grind 5400 Merits to maintain Rank 5 through your first week at Rank 5. (ayup... more Grinding.) At the beginning of the second week at Rank 5: You get that sweet 50 Million Credit Payout; which is investment capital. Unless You already own a ship that can transport 200+ Tons of cargo, use half of this to purchase a T-7 like 'The Political Platform',
http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_7_tr...4.Iw18aQ==.Aw18aQ==?bn=The Political Platform
and DO NOT SPEND THE OTHER HALF. Use the new Transport to supplement your COMBAT via the Lazy method of maintenance. Since You now makle 50 PCAs/30min, You don't want to have to make that run every hour on the hour, do You?
5. During your 2nd week, You will need to grind another 5400 merits; and You have the remaining 25 Million from the first week as a saftey net. You can use it to purchase up to 2500 Merits near the end of the week for TRANSPORT in your Transport's 200t hold if You are close. Anything that You do not spend on PCAs, You get to keep.
6. Maintenance of Rank 5 costs 5400 merits/week. The good news is that You can technically buy 5000 PCAs/week using your 50 Million credit paycheck; so You only need to earn anout 400. Those get covered by the 50 free PCAs that You get every 30min. after 8 collections. With a 200 ton hold, You can maintain Rank 5 indefinitely by making 27 Transport Runs/week in your 'Political Platform'/T7/Python whatever. You can improve this to 11 runs by upgrading to a Type 9 with a 500 ton hold, like 'The Gravy Train:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_9_he...03020224.Iw18eQ==.Aw18eQ==?bn=The Gravy Train.
The bad news is that You are not making any money... yet!
B. MAKING MONEY AT RANK 5, or Dirty Politics!
-Now this is a bit hard to wrap your head around at first... the 50 Million credits that You make per week DO NOT BELONG TO YOU. They are already earmarked to do your maitenance. Every merit that You earn is money that You get to keep at the end of the week. heres how it works:
1) At this Point: MERITS = MONEY! Each single Merit that You collect for 'free' is worth 10,000 credits to You. Each week, You can use TRANSPORT, from and Combat through most of the week to load and transport 50 free Political Cargo Allocations/hour and/or Shoot things; and continue to do this until Wed night. (Remember, PP refreshes on Thursday Morning).
2) using the reserve money, (That 50 Million from last week) purchase Political Cargo, and run the remaining balance that You need to get to 5400 merits for the week. Anything that You don't spend on PCAs is Pure...
3) PROFIT!!! (...and change the shape of the Galaxy through the preparation, and expansion, and/or fortification of your Faction!)
EXAMPLE:
-You are rank 5.
-You take 4 Political cargo allocations/day, 7 days/week, at 50 Cargo/free allocation. (Benefit of Rank 5) thats 1400 Merits worth of Political cargo.
-You needed 5400 Merits for the week to maintain rank 5 - 1400 merits earned = 4000 merits still needed.
-You then spend 10,000 credits/merit x 4000 merits, or 40 Million credits on Political cargo and haul it over 20 trips in your Type 7, or 8 trips in your T-9. (at 500 Tons of Political Cargo/trip).
-You have a profit for the week of 10 Million Credits, and all of the benefits of being a Tier 5 member of your power!
4. At this point You can continue to 'convert' merits into 10,000 credits each, up to 50 Million a week, (or as much as You can Stand) and REALLY have an impact on PP week over week.
a. Now I want You to consider what I said earlier, that at this point 1 Merit = 10,000 credits.
b. That means 1 (ONE) kill in a political combat zone, or against an interdicted political target = 10 Merits or 100,000 credits/kill!!!
c. That means the 50 free political cargo allocations that You get every half-hour is 50 Merits = 500,000 credits/half-hour or 1 MILLION CREDITS/HOUR for SITTING ON YOUR BEHIND!!!!
5. If You were to leave your Type-9 at a Political Cargo Pick-up location for 5 hours, and load it every half hour, You 'make' 5 Million while You get other things done... now thats LAZY!!!
VIII. Continuing Education: I will be adding other guides and specific advice for each faction here as time permits.
A. But Kaze, what about Undermining!?!?!?
You may have noticed that I don't mention UNDERMINING anywhere in the above guide. This is because Undermining IS NOT LAZY. It takes a lot of work (Interdicting Ships for destruction or Piracy), a lot of travel time inside enemy territory, and You will get Fines and Bounties put on your head; and You should not do it alone!
If You don't get killed by another Politically inclined CMDR: You will have a Death Warrant in 12 systems in no time, and get your arm cut off by some desert dwelling Lunatic's laser-sword when You threaten to attack his Farm-Boy Companion!
1. It's Dangerous to Go Alone, Take This:
-What is comes down to is that You want to do this as part of a Wing:
-When You Kill a Political target during undermining (as long as it is from a Power that doesn't belong to your major faction: Alliance, Empire, Federation, Idependent) You get 30 Merits. Awesome!
-When 2 or more of You share a kill: Each of You gets 30 Merits from that Kill! There is no faster way to rack up Merits for your Power.
-As You continue to hunt, targets will begin to travel in groups; You will want help.
-So Wing up and Undermine for Great Justice!
-Even Better, Use the SCRAP program to do so Ehtically! https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=197850&p=3059096#post3059096
B. Why should I bother to work for:
1. Zachary Hudson? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177171&p=2728735#post2728735
2. Prenav Antal? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177317&p=2730809#post2730809
3. Arissa Lavigny-Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178329&p=2748907#post2748907
4. Edmund Mahon - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178360&p=2749564#post2749564
5. Felicia Winters - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178759&p=2755939#post2755939
6. Aisling Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180630&p=2782266#post2782266
7. Li Yong-Rui - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180847&p=2785091#post2785091
8. Zemina Torval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=181383&p=2792353#post2792353
C. Other Useful Articles:
1. ' A Lazy Commander's Guide to Surviving a Combat Zone in a Starfighter' - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...der's+Guide+Surviving+Combat+Zone+Starfighter
2. 'Guide to Bounty Hunting for Max Profit' by DesireHD - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177506
3. 'Trading 101' by Dragun2 - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=187682
4. The Lidpar Order Training Facility Guide - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=190059
5. Tips for Power Management, discovered by CentrumSilver - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=191950
6. The SCRAP Program - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=197850&p=3059096#post3059096
D. How Lazy am I???
It's a matter of effort spent vs. reward. I truly am the Lazy Commander, and politics rewards this. For example: Lets say I want to make Millions every Week, and do the least possible amount of work to earn it; and still want to make an impact on the political scale.
Example: Lets say I want to do Combat.
So I recieve 50 Million for Rank 5 at the beginning of the week...
1) I go to a Violent Protest, Military Strike, or other Political Combat Zone.
2) I get 10 merits/Kill, and make 40 Kills an hour = 400 Merits/Hour. (Effectively making 100,000 Credits/Kill; even for killing an Eagle!!!)
3) 400 merits are 4 MILLION Credits I don't have to spend on PCAs. So I have effectively made them.
4) I spend 2 Hours/Day fighting for my cause = 800 Merits/8 Million Credits.
5) I do this every day for 7 days. 800 merits x = 5600 Merits towards my Power's Expansion; or against anothers.
Having made over the 5400 needed to maintain rank 5, I get to keep all of the 50 Million for the week...
50 Million Credits/14 Hours = 3.5 Million credits/Hour...
EXAMPLE 2 - TRANSPORT: So I recieve 50 Million for Rank 5 at the beginning of the week...
1) I Set a T9 capable of carrying 500 tons of Cargo at a World that I wish to fortify.
2) I Set an alarm to go off every 1/2 hour, and use that to fill my cargo hold over 5 hours. (At Rank 5 thats 50 free PCAs/30 Minutes)
3) I spend a 20 min. turn around dropping the PCAs off at HQ, then return to base/or change worlds if the one I was at has hit it's trigger.
4) I do this every day for 7 days. (I have moved 3500 PCAs in 7 runs)
5) On four of these days I do an extra run where I pick up 50 free PCAs, and pay for 450 PCAs (at the tune of 10,000 credits each x 450 = 4.5 Million Credits) for a total expenditure of 18 Million credits.
6) At the end of the week I have made 50 Million (Original Amount) - 18 Million (PCAs paid for) for a Profit of 32 Million Credits.
-I have contributed 5500 PCAs towards fortifying my Power's Control Systems...
-I have spent 1 minute/PCA pick up (1 Minute each over 74 pickups = 74 minutes) and 20 Minutes per run over 11 runs (220 Minutes) for a total of 294 Minutes expended, or 4.9 hours; call it 5 for easy figuring.
7) I have Maintained Rank 5 and could do this every week if I wanted to...
-32 Million credits/5 hours = 6.4 Million Credits/Hour...
BEHOLD MY SLOTH!!!
Kaze
Opening thought: Politics is a game for those with too much time, and or money on their hands...
I. Preramble/WIIFM
The first and most important question to ask yourself when considering Power Play is "Whats in it for me?" (WIIFM) Lets talk for a moment about what Power Play is Not:
A. Powerplay IS NOT a quick way to increase your finances. You will do much better to devote your time to Trade, Bounty Hunting, and/or Mining if You are looking to quickly advance yourself fiscally.
B. Power Play is not a mechanic to get You awesome OP equipment: None of the faction-specific gear is "Raid Gear". It's cool, and different, but You can (currently at least) buy more effective gear off the regular market.
C. Power Play is not even a good long-range investment because Your PP rank, and even the Xbox version of the map, will go away when the game is finished and synched with the PC version.
D. OK, that being said You might ask, "Why the heck do you do this thing then Kaze!?" Fair enough! Lets talk about what Power Play IS, and the WIIFM:
1. Power PLay IS a great way to find purpose within a sandbox Universe. Your actions affect not just yourself, but other players, and even the environment that You play in. Each Power does specific things to the systems under their control and exploitation. It can change the levels of different kinds of NPCs, commodities, payouts for bounty hunting or trade, and even provide discounts on ships and outfitting depending on WHO IS IN POWER!!! Some ships are specifically offered in the Control Systems of Specific Powers.
Check the STATS tab of each power to see who does what effect their rule has on the systems under their control. I will add future guides on why You might choose each power as I get time.
2. These factors should go into considering who to work for, where to base yourself, and who to make your enemy; even as you consider which Power's benefits package suits You best!
3. Each Power also (under the PLEDGE tab) show you what benefits that You get for being a member of that Power. For our purposes, only pay attention to what You get up through rank 4, Because rank 5 will take some serious effort to reach - Ranks 2 through 4... not so much! (See Below)
5. Like any good politician, I play the long game and look to put as little effort into making a living in my profession as possible:
At RANK 5, Politics becomes self sustaining and profitable, but only if You are patient...
II. READ THIS FIRST!
A. Now before You dive headlong into joining a power, I suggest that You read the Aisling's Angels' excellent article 'The Popular Guide to Powerplay',
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=155114
...and Cypher871's insightful 'Power Play Decay - The definitive answer',
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=169381
...and here is a link to The Official Manual:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=152185
...and Walt Kerman;s excellent Guide to Minor Factions
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=193064&page=2
B. Why should I bother to work for:
1. Zachary Hudson? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177171&p=2728735#post2728735
2. Prenav Antal? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177317&p=2730809#post2730809
3. Arissa Lavigny-Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178329&p=2748907#post2748907
4. Edmund Mahon - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178360&p=2749564#post2749564
5. Felicia Winters - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178759&p=2755939#post2755939
6. Aisling Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180630&p=2782266#post2782266
7. Li Yong-Rui - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180847&p=2785091#post2785091
8. Zemina Torval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=181383&p=2792353#post2792353
9. Archon Delaine - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182211&p=2805958#post2805958
10. Denton Patraeus - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182217&p=2806064#post2806064
III. Rank 1/0 merits:
Weekly Bonus: 1000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 0
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 10
Special: You now have enemies...
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 0
A. REQUIREMENTS: You will need to have progressed at least one rank in one of the paths to Elite (i.e. hold mostly aimless, mostly penniless or mostly harmless) to be able to pledge to a Power.
B. Getting to Rank 1 is as easy as hitting the Pledge button for your Power of choice...
1. being Rank 1 in a power is worse than having no rank at all.
a. You have no political agency (Preparation Nominations),
b. it takes for ever to build up a meaningful level of PCAs, and You get enough credits to cover lunch, gas, and tolls. (barely)
c. Worse, You now have enemys. CMDRs now have a reason to hunt You - You are worth merits; and NPC enemies dedicated to the other Powers will begin to harass You.
C. Fortunately Rank 2 is just 100 merits away! There are 2 basic methods of getting there:
2. TRANSPORT: You get 10 PCAs every half-hour. Look at your Power's Preperation, Expansion, and Control Tabs and find out where to drop off the PCAs. A good Vehicle for this in the long run is the 'Political Bandwagon', this Type-6 is afffordable, and can comfortably maintain Political Tranport through Rank 4.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_6_tr....Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=The Political Bandwagon
a. Yes: It has Shields and Countermeasures; and YES, 100 cargo is more than enough; so keep the Shields and Countermeasures - There are Pirates, Griefers, and even NPC jerks in Plasma Accelerator using Vultures (Dont ask!) that will try to liquify you. Having a few cheap countermeasures, and a modest Shield Generator are insurance on your investment.
Yes: It has a auto-dock: What part of LAZY didn't you understand?
I currently use a Python for TRANSPORT, my build is:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/python/07...4b03025901.Iw18eQ==.Aw18eQ==?bn=Blue Hope III
This transports almost 250 PCAs/run, can defend itself, and land at outposts (unlike a T-7 or T-9) as well as stations. At just shy of 68 Million, She's pricy, but well worth it.
EXAMPLES:
a. Zachary Hudson will have You pick up the PCAs in the form of Intellegence from systems that your Power is Preparing, and bringing them back to a Control System to turn the PCAs in for Merits.
b. Aisling Duval will have You take PCAs in the form of Propaganda from control systems, and drop them off in systems She is Expanding into, to turn the PCAs in for Merits.
c. Prenav Antal will have You pick up PCAs in the form of political Dissidents from Control Systems, and transport them to His HQ in order to Fortify the system, and to turn the PCAs in for Merits.
Move 100 of these PCAs in a week and Boom, You have 100 Merits. Rank 2 here You come!
3. COMBAT: Find a Political Combat Zone (Zacharay Hudson has 'Military Strikes' , and A Lavigny-Duval has 'Crime Sweeps' for examples, as part of their Expansion) Fighting in these Political Combaz Zones (P-CZs) will net You 10 merits for each enemy ship that You Kill. 10 Kills = 100 Merits. Bring on Rank 2!
a. If You are feeling really frosty, there is no reason to stop at Rank 2. 75 Kills/week = 750 Merits (Rank 3), and 150 kills/week = 1500 Merits (Rank 4); Easy!
b. If You have the firepower (I recommend at least a fully kitted Vulture), and the time, You could try to do 1000 kills in your first week and speed right to 10,000 Merits and Rank 5!!! :O
c. A good vehicle for the entry level politician is 'The Political Snake'; this medium fighter (Viper) will easily carry You to rank 4.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/viper/23A...542j.AwRj4yyA.CwBhEYy7vI==?bn=Political Snake
d. To help with this please see The 'Lazy Commander's Guide to Surviving a Combat Zone in a Starfighter'.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=176767&p=2721708#post2721708
IV. Rank 2/100 merits
Weekly Bonus: 50,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 25
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 15
Special: The Power's Rank 2 Special Bonus
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 54
A. There is every reason to stay at Rank 2, and many CMDRs do.
1. You get a small stipend, some political agency in the form of Preperation Nominations, and your PCAs/30 min. increases to 15.
2. Most Importantly though, You get your Power's special bonus perk. This may manifest as bonus pay for actions such as bounty hunting, influence bonuses with minor factions, or even discounts on specific ships, weapons, or outfitting.
B. Maintaining Rank 2 only takes 54 Merits/Week; thats 6 kills in a P-CZ, or 4 PCAs over the course of a week.
1. This ease of maitenance allows You to pick the perk that supports your play-style with minimum effort.
2. You still get to have these modest efforts move towards shaping the galaxy, particularly if You work with other like-minded people.
V. Rank 3/750 Merits
Weekly Bonus: 500,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 50
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 20
Special: Access to your Power's special Equipment*
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 400
*Also requires having been Pledged to the Power for 4 weeks.
A. Rank 3 is the weird middle-child of Powerplay... You make half a million/week, not bad, but not great. You make 50 Preparation nominations/week, not bad, but You still have to add another 50 units of Preparation via Transport for a system to get nominated. Your PCAs/30 Min go up to 20, but it still takes 2.5 hours to fill up a hold with 100 Cargo. You also get a piece of Faction Specific Gear if You have been pledged to your power for at least 4 weeks; this gear is rarely a game-changer though so much as it is a change of pace.
EXAMPLE: The Enforcer Cannons from Prenav Antal are great weapons, and better than a normal Class 1 Fixed Multi-cannon; but it ONLY comes in Class 1 and Fixed, limiting it's usefulness. Now if they came in class 2 Gimballed...
B. Maintaining Rank 3 takes a bit more effort: 400 Merits/Week; that's 40 kills in a P-CZ, or 400 PCAs over the course of a week; (4 x 100 ton loads) so it's still not hard. That being said, if You are going to spend the time and the energy to do this You may as well advance to, and maintain, Rank 4...
VI. Rank 4/1500 Merits
Weekly Bonus: 5,000,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 100
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 25
Special: Easy maintenance for great rewards!
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 800
A. OK, now We're talking! Being Rank 4 gives You 5 MILLION credits/week, good. You get 100 Preperation Nominations, which is enough to put a System on the board without You having to travel there, excellent. You also get 25 PCAs/30 Min, allowing easy maintenance.
B. Maintaining Rank 4 costs 800 Merits/week.
1. Using TRANSPORT and 'The Political Bandwagon', You can do this the Lazy way: You can fill a 100 ton transport load every two hours; meaning that You can get your Rank 4 maitenance done while You go mow the lawn, go to work, wash the laundry, do the dishes, write a Guide, feed the baby, do a Weekly in Destiny, etc. in between 100 ton loads. You probably have something to do around the house... I have gotten so much more done at home since I started this... *lol*
2. Combat is still an attractive option, as You only need to get 80 Kills in a P-CZ over the course of a week; You can do this in 2 - 4 hours easy, and You can spread those hours out if it pleases You.
VII. Rank 5/10,000 merits
Weekly Bonus: 50,000,000 Credits
Preparation Nominations: 250
Power Commodity Allocations/Half-Hour (PCAs): 50
Special: Your Power's Rank 5 Special Ability.
Merits to Maintain Rank/Week: 5334
A. Rank 5 is the Elite rank of Politics, and like THE DARK SIDE of the FORCE, if You start down this path: FOREVER WILL IT DOMINATE YOUR DESTINY! (Seriously, I haven't had time to play 'Destiny' since I started the road to Rank 5!)
With 50 Million Credits/week, You can both maintain yourself and make money fairly easily (See below); with 250 Preparation Nominations You can designate 2 worlds for expansion, and give 50% of the designation to a third one without leaving port. 50 PCAs/30min will make Maintenance and profit sooo much easier. You also get a sweet Rank 5 perk that is Specific to your Power. EXAMPLE: Zachary Hudson gives You an additional 100% bounty payout for all bounties collected. (If You have time to hunt bounty after You have played politics all week that is... *lol*)
1. You are going to have to give up being Lazy for 2 - 4 weeks, and completely dedicate your available time to the cause...
2. You are going to need to grind your way to 10,000 merits in a week.
a. COMBAT: Thats 1000 kills in a week if going from 0 using COMBAT!!! Assuming 700 merits left from a previous week at Rank 4, this comes to 9300 Merits needed at 10 Merits/Kill, or 930 Kills! Factor a KPH (Kill per Hour) of 40ish, and it will take You 23.25 hours of grinding for the week to hit your goal... I Highly Recommend that You do this in a fully kitted Vulture or better ship to maintain good Kills per hour. Such as The 'AGGRESSIVE NEGOTIATIONS'; unless You are the proud Pilot of a well built combat Anaconda, Python, or FDL. and this is my recommended method because...
b. TRANSPORT: There is no way to get to Rank 5 using TRANSPORT without spending over 50 Million on buying PCAs...
Even if You started at Rank 4 (with 700 merits carried over from the previous week) , and dedicated 10 hours/day for a 7 Day Week to The Lazy Method , that would only amount to (7 days x 10 Hours/Day x 25 PCAs/30min) 3500 merits... You would still need to buy and transport (10,000 Merits - 3500 free PCAs - 700 carryover) 5800 PCAs which (at 10,000 Credits/PCA) will cost 58 MILLION credits!?!? :O You CAN do this if You are an already-established Merchant Tycoon, just like buying into politics in real life... That being said, You should use the Lazy Transport method to supplement your Combat in order to help preserve your SANITY... 3. At the end of the first week You will get the payout for whatever your Rank was during the week that You started. This is important: You will get your first 50 Million credit paycheck at the END of the Week. so...
4. During your second Week, You need to grind 5400 Merits to maintain Rank 5 through your first week at Rank 5. (ayup... more Grinding.) At the beginning of the second week at Rank 5: You get that sweet 50 Million Credit Payout; which is investment capital. Unless You already own a ship that can transport 200+ Tons of cargo, use half of this to purchase a T-7 like 'The Political Platform',
http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_7_tr...4.Iw18aQ==.Aw18aQ==?bn=The Political Platform
and DO NOT SPEND THE OTHER HALF. Use the new Transport to supplement your COMBAT via the Lazy method of maintenance. Since You now makle 50 PCAs/30min, You don't want to have to make that run every hour on the hour, do You?
5. During your 2nd week, You will need to grind another 5400 merits; and You have the remaining 25 Million from the first week as a saftey net. You can use it to purchase up to 2500 Merits near the end of the week for TRANSPORT in your Transport's 200t hold if You are close. Anything that You do not spend on PCAs, You get to keep.
6. Maintenance of Rank 5 costs 5400 merits/week. The good news is that You can technically buy 5000 PCAs/week using your 50 Million credit paycheck; so You only need to earn anout 400. Those get covered by the 50 free PCAs that You get every 30min. after 8 collections. With a 200 ton hold, You can maintain Rank 5 indefinitely by making 27 Transport Runs/week in your 'Political Platform'/T7/Python whatever. You can improve this to 11 runs by upgrading to a Type 9 with a 500 ton hold, like 'The Gravy Train:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/type_9_he...03020224.Iw18eQ==.Aw18eQ==?bn=The Gravy Train.
The bad news is that You are not making any money... yet!
B. MAKING MONEY AT RANK 5, or Dirty Politics!
-Now this is a bit hard to wrap your head around at first... the 50 Million credits that You make per week DO NOT BELONG TO YOU. They are already earmarked to do your maitenance. Every merit that You earn is money that You get to keep at the end of the week. heres how it works:
1) At this Point: MERITS = MONEY! Each single Merit that You collect for 'free' is worth 10,000 credits to You. Each week, You can use TRANSPORT, from and Combat through most of the week to load and transport 50 free Political Cargo Allocations/hour and/or Shoot things; and continue to do this until Wed night. (Remember, PP refreshes on Thursday Morning).
2) using the reserve money, (That 50 Million from last week) purchase Political Cargo, and run the remaining balance that You need to get to 5400 merits for the week. Anything that You don't spend on PCAs is Pure...
3) PROFIT!!! (...and change the shape of the Galaxy through the preparation, and expansion, and/or fortification of your Faction!)
EXAMPLE:
-You are rank 5.
-You take 4 Political cargo allocations/day, 7 days/week, at 50 Cargo/free allocation. (Benefit of Rank 5) thats 1400 Merits worth of Political cargo.
-You needed 5400 Merits for the week to maintain rank 5 - 1400 merits earned = 4000 merits still needed.
-You then spend 10,000 credits/merit x 4000 merits, or 40 Million credits on Political cargo and haul it over 20 trips in your Type 7, or 8 trips in your T-9. (at 500 Tons of Political Cargo/trip).
-You have a profit for the week of 10 Million Credits, and all of the benefits of being a Tier 5 member of your power!
4. At this point You can continue to 'convert' merits into 10,000 credits each, up to 50 Million a week, (or as much as You can Stand) and REALLY have an impact on PP week over week.
a. Now I want You to consider what I said earlier, that at this point 1 Merit = 10,000 credits.
b. That means 1 (ONE) kill in a political combat zone, or against an interdicted political target = 10 Merits or 100,000 credits/kill!!!
c. That means the 50 free political cargo allocations that You get every half-hour is 50 Merits = 500,000 credits/half-hour or 1 MILLION CREDITS/HOUR for SITTING ON YOUR BEHIND!!!!
5. If You were to leave your Type-9 at a Political Cargo Pick-up location for 5 hours, and load it every half hour, You 'make' 5 Million while You get other things done... now thats LAZY!!!
VIII. Continuing Education: I will be adding other guides and specific advice for each faction here as time permits.
A. But Kaze, what about Undermining!?!?!?
You may have noticed that I don't mention UNDERMINING anywhere in the above guide. This is because Undermining IS NOT LAZY. It takes a lot of work (Interdicting Ships for destruction or Piracy), a lot of travel time inside enemy territory, and You will get Fines and Bounties put on your head; and You should not do it alone!
If You don't get killed by another Politically inclined CMDR: You will have a Death Warrant in 12 systems in no time, and get your arm cut off by some desert dwelling Lunatic's laser-sword when You threaten to attack his Farm-Boy Companion!
1. It's Dangerous to Go Alone, Take This:
-What is comes down to is that You want to do this as part of a Wing:
-When You Kill a Political target during undermining (as long as it is from a Power that doesn't belong to your major faction: Alliance, Empire, Federation, Idependent) You get 30 Merits. Awesome!
-When 2 or more of You share a kill: Each of You gets 30 Merits from that Kill! There is no faster way to rack up Merits for your Power.
-As You continue to hunt, targets will begin to travel in groups; You will want help.
-So Wing up and Undermine for Great Justice!
-Even Better, Use the SCRAP program to do so Ehtically! https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=197850&p=3059096#post3059096
B. Why should I bother to work for:
1. Zachary Hudson? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177171&p=2728735#post2728735
2. Prenav Antal? - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177317&p=2730809#post2730809
3. Arissa Lavigny-Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178329&p=2748907#post2748907
4. Edmund Mahon - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178360&p=2749564#post2749564
5. Felicia Winters - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=178759&p=2755939#post2755939
6. Aisling Duval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180630&p=2782266#post2782266
7. Li Yong-Rui - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=180847&p=2785091#post2785091
8. Zemina Torval - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=181383&p=2792353#post2792353
C. Other Useful Articles:
1. ' A Lazy Commander's Guide to Surviving a Combat Zone in a Starfighter' - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...der's+Guide+Surviving+Combat+Zone+Starfighter
2. 'Guide to Bounty Hunting for Max Profit' by DesireHD - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=177506
3. 'Trading 101' by Dragun2 - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=187682
4. The Lidpar Order Training Facility Guide - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=190059
5. Tips for Power Management, discovered by CentrumSilver - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=191950
6. The SCRAP Program - https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=197850&p=3059096#post3059096
D. How Lazy am I???
It's a matter of effort spent vs. reward. I truly am the Lazy Commander, and politics rewards this. For example: Lets say I want to make Millions every Week, and do the least possible amount of work to earn it; and still want to make an impact on the political scale.
Example: Lets say I want to do Combat.
So I recieve 50 Million for Rank 5 at the beginning of the week...
1) I go to a Violent Protest, Military Strike, or other Political Combat Zone.
2) I get 10 merits/Kill, and make 40 Kills an hour = 400 Merits/Hour. (Effectively making 100,000 Credits/Kill; even for killing an Eagle!!!)
3) 400 merits are 4 MILLION Credits I don't have to spend on PCAs. So I have effectively made them.
4) I spend 2 Hours/Day fighting for my cause = 800 Merits/8 Million Credits.
5) I do this every day for 7 days. 800 merits x = 5600 Merits towards my Power's Expansion; or against anothers.
Having made over the 5400 needed to maintain rank 5, I get to keep all of the 50 Million for the week...
50 Million Credits/14 Hours = 3.5 Million credits/Hour...
EXAMPLE 2 - TRANSPORT: So I recieve 50 Million for Rank 5 at the beginning of the week...
1) I Set a T9 capable of carrying 500 tons of Cargo at a World that I wish to fortify.
2) I Set an alarm to go off every 1/2 hour, and use that to fill my cargo hold over 5 hours. (At Rank 5 thats 50 free PCAs/30 Minutes)
3) I spend a 20 min. turn around dropping the PCAs off at HQ, then return to base/or change worlds if the one I was at has hit it's trigger.
4) I do this every day for 7 days. (I have moved 3500 PCAs in 7 runs)
5) On four of these days I do an extra run where I pick up 50 free PCAs, and pay for 450 PCAs (at the tune of 10,000 credits each x 450 = 4.5 Million Credits) for a total expenditure of 18 Million credits.
6) At the end of the week I have made 50 Million (Original Amount) - 18 Million (PCAs paid for) for a Profit of 32 Million Credits.
-I have contributed 5500 PCAs towards fortifying my Power's Control Systems...
-I have spent 1 minute/PCA pick up (1 Minute each over 74 pickups = 74 minutes) and 20 Minutes per run over 11 runs (220 Minutes) for a total of 294 Minutes expended, or 4.9 hours; call it 5 for easy figuring.
7) I have Maintained Rank 5 and could do this every week if I wanted to...
-32 Million credits/5 hours = 6.4 Million Credits/Hour...
BEHOLD MY SLOTH!!!
Kaze
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