All these mining updates and patches. So combat updates when?

[Schmack]

As an answer to the OP, I would say about 3 years ago when engineering and all that stuff came around. There were plenty of updates to combat. Maybe it didn't improve your skills any but it did improve the effectiveness of your ship and your load out.

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

I know this doesn’t matter when your combat rank is already Elite but what is the point of taking Dangerous ranked massacre missions if 70% of the targets are ranked at Master or Deadly? I’d like that tweaked please.

 

[hackerman69]

Bring back Robigo shadow deliveries.

Ahhh, still to date my most favourite missions in elite. (played since 2015 both pc/Xbox)

The possibility of getting all the way back to bubble and get a random scan off sys security. And it fail all of your missions. Or getting interdicted repeatedly in SC for like 8 times on the trot. As they pursued you like a pack of wolves.

Only to be removed because people found out they could take the missions then just sell them on black market. Sigh

 

[Sir Ganksalot]

Sigh, the introduction of fleet carriers coupled with the hijinks involving these LTD triple hot spots has really skewed people's perceptions of what is normal in this game. I do not think that the average player was meant to hop into an Anaconda or purchase a fleet carrier within a single month of game play. At least, I don't think the devs had intended for that to happen. Progression through ships is supposed to be the predominant form of "leveling up" in this game and it should take a while (maybe a few months before you get one of the "big ships"). As much as I love mining, I have to agree that the payouts for mining have been atrociously huge. They should probably be toned down while combat should be moved up a notch. However......people expecting payouts of over a hundred million per hour, whether it be by mining or from combat, just seems wildly too exorbitant to me. Up til this point there was simply no good reason why such payouts should occur. There was no way to spend that much money on things (unless you were one of the "gotta have them all crowd"). The carriers have given those kind of payouts justification and that is perhaps the one and only reason why I am still a bit leary about them.

So someone with 3000 hours into the game and a fleet of 28 ships should be expected to earn the same amount as someone starting the game for the first time?
I agree with you, new players shouldn't be able to buy a fully A rated Conda within a few weeks but someone who has 3000 hours into the game should be able to earn enough to buy a Conda in a couple of hours.

I personally think the amount of money that mining earns you is how much every activity should earn you once you reach the end game. Kinda like how every other MMO works.

 

[EUS]

Just in case you're curious

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

God I hate engineering.
For me, that was the beginning of the end of this game.

 

[Sir Ganksalot]

God I hate engineering.
For me, that was the beginning of the end of this game.

Admittedly, if you know all the material exploits, it's so easy. I used to hate it too until I learned about the exploits.

 

[askavir]

Reaching the bubble with a dozen different pirates in pursuit was entertaining if nothing else.

Trying to dock at an outpost patrolled by 4 police ships without being scanned and losing all my missions was the best piece of smuggling gameplay I ever had in this game. The only comparable thing was trying to land at a planetary port with police ships, with a large ship with wanted passengers onboard, back when passenger transport was a thing.

 

[SciTrekker]

I wonder how hard would it be for FDevs to implement a % bonus to each kill based on one's combat rank. Just a thought.

 

[FlyingBrickyard]

I do not think that the average player was meant to hop into an Anaconda ... within a single month of game play.

In fairness, I did this two years ago, without mining (which didn't pay) or carriers. I started out brand new to the game, and a week or so in worked the rank grind in my Cobra Mk. III (for both factions) because I eventually wanted access to the Corvette/Cutter, and the money from the missions was the best I'd seen to that point.

I used those profits to pick up an Asp Explorer, then shortly after, a Python. Then I happened across passenger missions in Robigo and went from about 109 million in assets to 3.6 billion in assets in roughly a month. Enough to buy the Cutter, and the Corvette, and the Anaconda, and mostly A-rate them for at least PvE use in under 250 hrs, IIRC. I could have kept going at that point, but I was happy enough to stop there. My personal record during that period was just over a billion credits in a 24hr period (roughly 12 of which were playtime).

So original intent or not, it's been a fast track for at least the last couple of years.

It might have been a little quicker and easier recently, but the ability to pick up enough money to "buy everything" within a month has been around for a while.

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

In fairness, I did this two years ago, without mining (which didn't pay) or carriers. I started out brand new to the game, and a week or so in worked the rank grind in my Cobra Mk. III (for both factions) because I eventually wanted access to the Corvette/Cutter, and the money from the missions was the best I'd seen to that point.

I used those profits to pick up an Asp Explorer, then shortly after, a Python. Then I happened across passenger missions in Robigo and went from about 109 million in assets to 3.6 billion in assets in roughly a month. Enough to buy the Cutter, and the Corvette, and the Anaconda, and mostly A-rate them for at least PvE use in under 250 hrs, IIRC. I could have kept going at that point, but I was happy enough to stop there. My personal record during that period was just over a billion credits in a 24hr period (roughly 12 of which were playtime).

So original intent or not, it's been a fast track for at least the last couple of years.

It might have been a little quicker and easier recently, but the ability to pick up enough money to "buy everything" within a month has been around for a while.

This is exactly how my play went. Sidey to an eagle to a cobra 3 to a vulture ( i kept the cobra) to an FAS to a python. I focused almost entirely on combat just because it was fun and didnt really start to rake in credits until i learned about eddb and started trading in the python.

 

[Kamiyoda]

Bounty payouts buffed. Risk vs reward. Actively engaging in combat for profit is risky business after all

PvE Combat hasn't been risk for years unless you fight thargoids or fight unengineered.

Still think it needs a buff to be in line with other things but it has nothing to do with how risky it is.

This is exactly how my play went. Sidey to an eagle to a cobra 3 to a vulture ( i kept the cobra) to an FAS to a python. I focused almost entirely on combat just because it was fun and didnt really start to rake in credits until i learned about eddb and started trading in the python.

I went Sidewinder> Adder > Cobra >ASP X > Anaconda in about two weeks just from exploring.

 

[Eraden]

In fairness, I did this two years ago, without mining (which didn't pay) or carriers. I started out brand new to the game, and a week or so in worked the rank grind in my Cobra Mk. III (for both factions) because I eventually wanted access to the Corvette/Cutter, and the money from the missions was the best I'd seen to that point.

I used those profits to pick up an Asp Explorer, then shortly after, a Python. Then I happened across passenger missions in Robigo and went from about 109 million in assets to 3.6 billion in assets in roughly a month. Enough to buy the Cutter, and the Corvette, and the Anaconda, and mostly A-rate them for at least PvE use in under 250 hrs, IIRC. I could have kept going at that point, but I was happy enough to stop there. My personal record during that period was just over a billion credits in a 24hr period (roughly 12 of which were playtime).

So original intent or not, it's been a fast track for at least the last couple of years.

It might have been a little quicker and easier recently, but the ability to pick up enough money to "buy everything" within a month has been around for a while.

Well, I had only just started playing again after a 2-3 year hiatus, so what I was basing my comments on was my own experiences back in the day. I started with the Sidewinder and then moved up to a Cobra. From there I moved on to an AspX. Later I went to a Python and then finally an Anaconda. All throughout this time I was using my ships for mining. With each new ship came greater capacity and greater capabilities. It still took me several months at the time. Payouts of the size we see now would have just been pipe dreams back then. I had a lot of fun back then (still having fun now as I return to this game). I guess I just don't quite understand why people are so darn anxious to get everything now now NOW, these days. Once you get a carrier, what then? Does that mean you "won" the game and it's time to quit? The only folks that I can see being able to use the carriers for new adventures are the explorers, and judging from some of the other threads that I have seen, even that is turning out to be something of a nightmare for those intrepid fellows.

 

[Chaparral]

I would like mining if the rocks shot back.

 

[efoo]

So combat updates when?

NEVER

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

PvE Combat hasn't been risk for years unless you fight thargoids or fight unengineered.

Still think it needs a buff to be in line with other things but it has nothing to do with how risky it is.
I went Sidewinder> Adder > Cobra >ASP X > Anaconda in about two weeks just from exploring.

I didnt do much exploring until i learned about engineers. Tbh i played my first 4 months without any outside help like youtube or eddb. It took a while to get really good at anything. My first exploration was to orion nebula via betelgeuse then witch head. It took forever in the python without engineering. After that i went to the bubble nebula in engineered but a-rated DBX because i didnt know to use smaller/lighter parts for best results. Good times. I feel like because i learned most things the hard way, those lessons really stuck and i appreciate everything in the game much more because of it

 

[Kamiyoda]

I would like mining if the rocks shot back.

Thats called Bounty hunting, which ironically can also be done in an ring.

 

[Jmanis]

It might have been a little quicker and easier recently, but the ability to pick up enough money to "buy everything" within a month has been around for a while.

"a little bit" quicker is a major understatement. This was the original "get rich quick " when a fully fit Conda cost exactly the same as it does today.

Source: https://youtu.be/5MX1Xk9BUkg


Key part is here:

That was considered "easy money". So glad FD nerfed that when they did... who knows what impact it could have had if it was left in the game...

As a contrast, this was pre nerf, so cut the profits in half and you have a good feel for the current state of affairs.

I'd like to point out that, while enemy NPCs have gotten harder, more engineered and such, bounty payouts etc have stayed within the same order of magnitude between both these times.

The main change is Assassination missions now pay out roughly 10 times more than they used to (originally 100-200k, now 1-2m), while massacre missions pay out 100-200 times more (from around 100k, to up to 30-40m at most).

Just following on from that... that last one is the one "combat is fine" proponents love to cite; the big issue here is that those missions spawn novice/competent enemies generally, and usually smaller ships like Eagles, up to pythons.

You'll never hear about farming spec ops, capital ships, Thargoids[1] or threat 5/6 pirate activity sites being cash cows... and that's complete trash.

[1] a competent wing hunting hydras can make some decent coin, but that same effort applied to stacking the basic massacres would earn so much more

 

[Jmanis]

PvE Combat hasn't been risk for years unless you fight thargoids or fight unengineered.

Still think it needs a buff to be in line with other things but it has nothing to do with how risky it is.

I hear things like this... and maybe it's not a question of risk, but effort. Reason massacres got a payout buff was because it used to be the same payout (1-2m), for many times the effort ,( lots of targets, rather than one target).

Unfortunately, delivery missions don't even work this way, so bleh.

 

[FlyingBrickyard]

I guess I just don't quite understand why people are so darn anxious to get everything now now NOW, these days.

I can't speak for anyone else, but in my case it wasn't a "now now NOW" thing - it was more that I had goals, then discovered they were more attainable than I'd initially thought (even when grinding for the unlock, I never expected I'd ever own a Cutter). So I went for it.

And then, once I'd acquired the most difficult and expensive ships to obtain, and had a good cash reserve, I felt like I could finally start playing the game, and go around enjoying the giant sandbox I found myself in, without worry of having to take time off to deal with some arbitrary credit or equipment roadblock.

First thing I did was take my Anaconda out 5k Ly from the bubble to explore and get an engineer unlock. I learned a lot on the trip, came back, worked on some engineering stuff, ran some missions, tried some mining, dabbled in some combat - whatever I wanted. It was extremely freeing not having to worry about income or rebuys. Then I took the Anaconda out again, about 7500 Ly that time, returned home and worked on other things.

Within a few weeks I signed up for DW2 on a last minute whim, fully expecting I'd never make it, but if I was lucky, might reach the core. I did a quick refit of the Anaconda again, using what I'd learned on my 7500 Ly outing, and took off on the expedition.

I was tweaking and refitting that ship all the way to Colonia, helped with CGs on the way (including buying and fitting an Asp X just for mining in Omega - which is still there), and ultimately made it to Salome's Reach and back again. And not once did I have to worry about how I was going to pay for it. I was just able to enjoy the parts of the game I was interested in, when they interested me.

So that's why I did it. Other people may have other motivations, but it's not necessarily a bad thing for them to be able to become financially secure in short order.

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

The only thing I want now has been long overdue for many updates