A Lazy Commander's Guide: Why the heck should I work for Zachary Hudson?
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Zachary_Hudson
Preramble:
Now You might ask, "Hey Kaze, You work for Prenav Antal, so why write a Guide about Hudson!?" Well I will be writing guides for all of of the Powers eventually, but I started with Hudson because:
1. Every Player starts in Hudson Space.
2. His combat oriented style is easy to understand and exploit.
3. He is one of the easiest to burn your way to Rank 5 with.
Bounty hunting and Z. Hudson...
Ask Yourself the following questions:
1. Do You want to be a Bounty Hunter?
2. Do You want to be one of the BEST PAID bounty Hunter?
3. Do You want to be the BEST SUPPORTED Bounty Hunters?
4. Do You want to be on the same side as the above Bounty Hunters when it comes time to go to war against another Power?
5. Do You want to be a part of a Power that consistently gets into the top 3 to max your Rank 2 perk?
6. Are You loyal to The Federation, and want to fight for it's glory?
...If You said Yes to any/all of the above, Vote Hudson!
What Zachary Hudson does for You whether You serve Him or not:
Tab over to the STATS tab on Zachary Hudson's (ZH's) screen to see what He offers freely to everyone. In Exploited systems the effects of His patronage vary wildly depending on the allegance of the system being Exploited... Thanks to this variaty, it is hugely useful to operate inside ZH's space for almost any kind of player.
CONTROL SYSTEMS:
-Imperial Slaves are Banned, so they are fair game to smuggle to the Black Market at a nice Profit.
-Vultures, Eagles, and Federal Dropships are for sale at all Controlled shipyards, nice!
-A 10% Discount on all Weapons... Get yer Guns!!!
-Increased security levels +30%, making it safer for unarmed miners and merchants, and armed bounty hunters, to do their business!
FEDERATION (Exploited):
-A 10% Discount on all Weapons... Get yer Guns!!!
-Increased security levels +20%, making it safer for unarmed miners and merchants, and armed bounty hunters, to do their business!
EMPIRE, ALLIANCE, and INDEPENDENT (Exploited):
-40% Security Reduction, making these ideal systems for Piracy, Smuggling, and other forms of Skulduggery!
Ranks 1 through 5 with Zachary Hudson:
Get the full scoop on Powerplay Ranks 1 - 5 here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=175324&highlight=lazy+commander+powerplay
Rank 1:
I said this in the main guide - Rank I with any Power is worst than having no Rank at all because all that You have really gained is enemies. best to get to Rank 2 ASAP.
Rank 2:
Even when ZH is having a bad week, You get a 20% bonus on all bounties handed in at a ZH Controlled or Exploited system. Most Weeks though ZH is in one of the first three slots, which give a higher payout.
-1st/2nd/3rd place = 50%/40%/30% bonus to these bounties!
-Maintaining Rank 2 is very easy... 54 Merits/week will do it!
Rank 3:
This, and 4 weeks of service, grant access to the Pacifier Frag Cannon; and it only takes 400 Merits/Week to maintain.
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Pacifier_Frag-Cannon
-Frag Cannons get a bad rap to begin with, and the fact that the Pacifier is Fixed, and a Class 3 weapon makes it hard to find a place for when the humble Class 3 Gimballed Pulse Laser is so beloved. That being said, when this baby hits, it HURTS. It finds it's natural home on the DBX, and Federal Dropship, where when paired with Class 2 Gimballed Pulse Lasers and a tendency to get right into your opponent's face, it can deal stupidly ridiculous hull damage... While it's base DPS seems less on paper, it's tighter shot cone mean more sub-munitions will find the target with every volly, making it's effective DPS much higher compared to it's competitor in practice!
The Pacifier Frag Cannon in action courtesy of FacelessW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhB2iATrcV4
-Example: Here is a Bounty-Hunting DBX that uses the pacifier.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondba...A==.CwBhEYyqCZpG4g==?bn=Pacifier Frag Carrier
It's extreme jump range, large fuel tank, and blistering firepower make it hard to escape from. This is great for both Bounty Hunting, and for Undermining the Alliance and Empire factions. Consider swapping out some equipment for a fuel scoop for long range ops.
-I do not recommend the Pacifier for fighting in CZs due to limited ammo.
Rank 4:
Rank 4 with Zachary is as good as Rank 4 with anyone else. You can stay here comfortably by earning 800 merits/month and reap great benefits.
RANK 5:
It's a long, hard grind to Rank 5, but getting it and maintaining it gain You a flat 100% bonus to Bounty Payouts in controlled/exploited systems WHICH STACKS with your 20% - 50% bonus from rank 2, meaning that every bounty that You turn in is at 220% - 250% of it's listed value - WOW!!!
The Wisdom of @Dumb Xbox Name:
Undermining (Imperial, Independent, and Alliance):
As mentioned above: Undermining enemy factions gives You 30 Merits per kill, and again every CMDR that participates in the kill gets it, making this a great way to get a lot of merits for undermining, really fast.
Undermining (Federal):
If You blow the cargo hatch on Political Ships belonging to these factions, You will get 5 Merits per unit of PCA Cargo that You steal; meaning if You return to a control system with 50 units of Stolen PCAs, You get 250 merits for them! Do not destroy the political ships though, (Particularly if they belong to Z. Hudson, You will LOSE merits!) it will win You nothing, and You will get a bounty on your head.
Summary:
With a substantial bounty payouts, intriguing gear, and a huge CMDR support base in the form of sites such as http://nanomamnews.com/ - You will find Friends, and Profit in ZH's service.
Happy hunting,
Kaze Out.
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Zachary_Hudson
Preramble:
Now You might ask, "Hey Kaze, You work for Prenav Antal, so why write a Guide about Hudson!?" Well I will be writing guides for all of of the Powers eventually, but I started with Hudson because:
1. Every Player starts in Hudson Space.
2. His combat oriented style is easy to understand and exploit.
3. He is one of the easiest to burn your way to Rank 5 with.
Bounty hunting and Z. Hudson...
Ask Yourself the following questions:
1. Do You want to be a Bounty Hunter?
2. Do You want to be one of the BEST PAID bounty Hunter?
3. Do You want to be the BEST SUPPORTED Bounty Hunters?
4. Do You want to be on the same side as the above Bounty Hunters when it comes time to go to war against another Power?
5. Do You want to be a part of a Power that consistently gets into the top 3 to max your Rank 2 perk?
6. Are You loyal to The Federation, and want to fight for it's glory?
...If You said Yes to any/all of the above, Vote Hudson!
What Zachary Hudson does for You whether You serve Him or not:
Tab over to the STATS tab on Zachary Hudson's (ZH's) screen to see what He offers freely to everyone. In Exploited systems the effects of His patronage vary wildly depending on the allegance of the system being Exploited... Thanks to this variaty, it is hugely useful to operate inside ZH's space for almost any kind of player.
CONTROL SYSTEMS:
-Imperial Slaves are Banned, so they are fair game to smuggle to the Black Market at a nice Profit.
-Vultures, Eagles, and Federal Dropships are for sale at all Controlled shipyards, nice!
-A 10% Discount on all Weapons... Get yer Guns!!!
-Increased security levels +30%, making it safer for unarmed miners and merchants, and armed bounty hunters, to do their business!
FEDERATION (Exploited):
-A 10% Discount on all Weapons... Get yer Guns!!!
-Increased security levels +20%, making it safer for unarmed miners and merchants, and armed bounty hunters, to do their business!
EMPIRE, ALLIANCE, and INDEPENDENT (Exploited):
-40% Security Reduction, making these ideal systems for Piracy, Smuggling, and other forms of Skulduggery!
Ranks 1 through 5 with Zachary Hudson:
Get the full scoop on Powerplay Ranks 1 - 5 here:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=175324&highlight=lazy+commander+powerplay
Rank 1:
I said this in the main guide - Rank I with any Power is worst than having no Rank at all because all that You have really gained is enemies. best to get to Rank 2 ASAP.
Rank 2:
Even when ZH is having a bad week, You get a 20% bonus on all bounties handed in at a ZH Controlled or Exploited system. Most Weeks though ZH is in one of the first three slots, which give a higher payout.
-1st/2nd/3rd place = 50%/40%/30% bonus to these bounties!
-Maintaining Rank 2 is very easy... 54 Merits/week will do it!
Rank 3:
This, and 4 weeks of service, grant access to the Pacifier Frag Cannon; and it only takes 400 Merits/Week to maintain.
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Pacifier_Frag-Cannon
-Frag Cannons get a bad rap to begin with, and the fact that the Pacifier is Fixed, and a Class 3 weapon makes it hard to find a place for when the humble Class 3 Gimballed Pulse Laser is so beloved. That being said, when this baby hits, it HURTS. It finds it's natural home on the DBX, and Federal Dropship, where when paired with Class 2 Gimballed Pulse Lasers and a tendency to get right into your opponent's face, it can deal stupidly ridiculous hull damage... While it's base DPS seems less on paper, it's tighter shot cone mean more sub-munitions will find the target with every volly, making it's effective DPS much higher compared to it's competitor in practice!
The Pacifier Frag Cannon in action courtesy of FacelessW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhB2iATrcV4
-Example: Here is a Bounty-Hunting DBX that uses the pacifier.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/diamondba...A==.CwBhEYyqCZpG4g==?bn=Pacifier Frag Carrier
It's extreme jump range, large fuel tank, and blistering firepower make it hard to escape from. This is great for both Bounty Hunting, and for Undermining the Alliance and Empire factions. Consider swapping out some equipment for a fuel scoop for long range ops.
-I do not recommend the Pacifier for fighting in CZs due to limited ammo.
Rank 4:
Rank 4 with Zachary is as good as Rank 4 with anyone else. You can stay here comfortably by earning 800 merits/month and reap great benefits.
RANK 5:
It's a long, hard grind to Rank 5, but getting it and maintaining it gain You a flat 100% bonus to Bounty Payouts in controlled/exploited systems WHICH STACKS with your 20% - 50% bonus from rank 2, meaning that every bounty that You turn in is at 220% - 250% of it's listed value - WOW!!!
The Wisdom of @Dumb Xbox Name:
Undermining (Imperial, Independent, and Alliance):
As mentioned above: Undermining enemy factions gives You 30 Merits per kill, and again every CMDR that participates in the kill gets it, making this a great way to get a lot of merits for undermining, really fast.
Undermining (Federal):
If You blow the cargo hatch on Political Ships belonging to these factions, You will get 5 Merits per unit of PCA Cargo that You steal; meaning if You return to a control system with 50 units of Stolen PCAs, You get 250 merits for them! Do not destroy the political ships though, (Particularly if they belong to Z. Hudson, You will LOSE merits!) it will win You nothing, and You will get a bounty on your head.
Summary:
With a substantial bounty payouts, intriguing gear, and a huge CMDR support base in the form of sites such as http://nanomamnews.com/ - You will find Friends, and Profit in ZH's service.
Happy hunting,
Kaze Out.
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