Notice ARX and Frontier Points Conversion

Being in-game but inactive will not reward you with ARX. It isn’t based on time spent in-game, but on the actions you take.

What happens when I just travel somewhere, and jump from system to system? Most of that time is spent in hyperspace (a.k.a. loading screen). Will that count and generate ARX, or only the time I spend in supercruise, or time spent in FSS?
 
And still no answer how this will work....

How do I get ARX?
ARX can be earned by simply playing the game! We won't ask commanders to change how they play, simply being an active player and engaging with the game is all that's required.
More detail required as above...
 
i'd argue that the structure of 'packs' isn't aimed at minimizing transaction fees. for that you can simply pass them on to customers
The structure of the packs is not that unreasonable and has a precedent set by other MMOs (GW2 and ESO both have fixed store credit bundle sizes), and as for transaction fees - I would agree it is not actually about minimising transaction fees but it is a natural consequence that they are to a degree minimised. It is quite normal for larger store credit packs to be better VFM for the purchaser - whether they use the credits there and than or keep them for use later is moot, that is a personal choice.
 
So how much will a Sidewinder paint be and how much for an Anaconda?
The cash price depends on how many Arx you buy, but the two ships cost the same.
142956
 
There can be no doubt that bundles bearing no relation to the actual value of items in the store is frustrating (literally anything besides ship kits can be bought using one of the two lowest valued packs. The higher value packs are there mainly to entice greater spending via the new ability to make impulse purchases without leaving the game).

Regardless, one suggestion that appears to have been overlooked is that perhaps tiered weekly earning limits would've been better received than the 400 universal limit. These could've been temporary or permanent increases related to elite ranking or other achievements. Equally logical to me would've been increases for alpha/beta/LEP level CMDRs. But hey ho, it is what it is. Let's see it in action first.
 
Last edited:
What counts as "engaged in an activity" and what doesn't? Travelling in supercruise will not count as it's "inactive"? Going to Hutton Orbital or remote planets will not generate Arx? How does that work?

The forum will be full of threads like "I played X hours but I got only Y Arx, why?" What counts as exploration? Simply jumping between systems or only FSS? If we stop on a planetary surface, the timer stops as well? Combat is only when shooting or when flying around looking for targets as well?

We need these details because otherwise players will not know what to do to earn Arx and it will definitely change how people play. There will be a notion that if you do specific things it will be "worthless". And players won't travel, won't go far, won't look for asteroids too long, whatever. YouTube will be flooded with "guide" videos what counts and what doesn't. It would be great if, for a change, Frontier would be forthcoming and shared the minor details with us this time.
 
We need these details because otherwise players will not know what to do to earn Arx and it will definitely change how people play. There will be a notion that if you do specific things it will be "worthless". And players won't travel, won't go far, won't look for asteroids too long, whatever. YouTube will be flooded with "guide" videos what counts and what doesn't. It would be great if, for a change, Frontier would be forthcoming and shared the minor details with us this time.

I think Frontier don't want us to know. They want us to play them game, ignoring Arx, and they will slowly accrue in some semi-mystical process. They don't want us to know because it will lead to exactly what you describe.

I don't think it will, in the vast majority of cases. Sure the videos will be there and there will be gear heads who have to have every paint job and earn them in game. You might have fewer players getting to triple elite or earning a billion credits. But it is inevitable, whether it is Frontier who post the details or someone else who laboriously investigates it. There will probably be threads on here swapping information on which activities generate Arx in which circumstances.

The real test will be if there is a way to game the system. Can you repeatedly dock and undock from the same station? Can you repeatedly map every planet in the same system? Does the Hutton Orbital run pay big Arx? Do you get Arx for every asteroid you scan? Do you earn for scanning the same one repeatedly?

But the vast majority of players will not be that interested in Arx. We will want maybe a paint job for each of our main ships, but £4.99 probably buys as much as we will ever want or purchases will be spread out over a few months and we will earn enough Arx to pay for them naturally. Maybe at Christmas we might find ourselves a few short to get the new shiny, so we'll spend an hour or two following the "Road To Arx" pathway.

You may think that is artificial, and certainly it could be, but it is also a new way to find value in the game. There will be players passionate about investigating every source of Arx and then putting together the perfect game-plan to earn them as fast as possible. That's adding player engagement, and that's a good thing. If Frontier has done their job, it won't change the game unbearably.
 
The details of what action give ARX will be found within days. Since you get an update on logout someone will go though the

log in
do action
log out

loop for everything. Even if they do this will just end with a few people logging in each week for their 10 minute ARX session, then resuming what they would do otherwise. This is one reason they capped ARX/week - otherwise those with poor impulse control would grind ARX - with a cap there is less point.
 
The real test will be if there is a way to game the system. Can you repeatedly dock and undock from the same station? Can you repeatedly map every planet in the same system? Does the Hutton Orbital run pay big Arx? Do you get Arx for every asteroid you scan? Do you earn for scanning the same one repeatedly?
My guess would be a single unit of ARX earned per non-cyclable activity:-
  1. Sell goods at a profit (inc. Black Market and Community Goal participation)
  2. Sell exploration data
  3. Sell salvage/scanned-data
  4. Hand-in a bounty/bond
  5. Successfully complete a mission
  6. Engage in a CQC match? - possibly not
Not sure if the ARX earned would scale with the level of the activity but it is clear FD did not wish people to change their behaviours in order to earn ARX thus I suspect they will try to select earning triggers that are not easily cyclable.
 
Hopefully we'll see one of the community run resource sites keep an updated list of the real-money cost of each purchase on the store, to help people keep track.
 
I'm honestly not bothered by this change (in fact it's nice CMDRs get to earn stuff in game now finally) SO LONG as prices don't creep up above what they are / were in the Frontier Store.

I never like hiding purchases behind a second, in game currency that is bought in bundles. It becomes a smokescreen for the actual cost of an item for many who don't do the math, and it's normal for the price of something to be just above the cost of a single bundle - although this is balanced with being able to earn the excess in game.

I think so long as we all keep very astute as to the cost of skins etc vs Arx cost we will be ok, and I do very much like the in game earning element.
 
Are the ARX free to play? because complaining, it's free while you play ... nobody is obliged to buy arx

It's like saying nobody was obliged to purchase Darth Vader in Batlefront 2, you can earn him....after 40 hours of gameplay.

For the record, I never had ANY problem buying skins with real money - I saw it as a way of continuing to support Frontier, and I've spent more than a fair share. And I LIKE that players can now earn these skins effectively over time.

But it will be a designed grind to do so, hence the 400 limit.
 
Hopefully we'll see one of the community run resource sites keep an updated list of the real-money cost of each purchase on the store, to help people keep track.
The money traders are going to have a field day trading $/€ through the medium of modern ARX.:ROFLMAO:
 
Top Bottom