I just started with a new commander last Wednesday. As soon as I could get a Vulture capable of defending itself, I went and and got my level 2, which takes less than an hour including getting there and back. I then saved up enough to get a Python, to go for the 10,000 merits. It was a bit of a grind to get the 10,000 merits, as it took 15 hours and 14 minutes from the time I left LTT 15574 until I arrived back. I did four long sessions of play. That works out at 649 merits an hour, which is about the same as what my Corvette did. I used the fully turreted Corvette the first time and then I got the next 5000 merits with more conventional weapons, but it still came out at the same rate of about 650 merits per hour overall. I don't think it makes much difference which ship you use as long as it can tank a bit when you get a couple nipping your backside while you dealing with one of those Vultures that can chaff and boost just at the right time. Also, you need a bit of speed otherwise it can become very tedious. FDL, FAS, Python, Corvette are definitely OK. I'm not sure about the other big ships. Vulture is good for levels 2 to 4, but is not strong enough to last 2 hours or more there.
Some people claim a higher earning rate. I had a session at nearly 1200 merits an hour, but when you include bad instances, running back for repairs, travelling to Atropos to bank the merits, etc, it knocks down the average. My 15.5 hrs includes all that plus some wasted time experimenting with different outfitting and going on a wild goose chase looking for military grade armour, which is essential for this activity whichever ship you have.
I discovered this time that you can speed things up a bit by getting the right instance. Sometimes reds outnumber greens, so you can't stay there long, sometimes it's even; however, it takes a few minutes for things to settle down. Sometimes, when you arrive, there's more reds than greens, but the reds don't replenish as fast as greens. Before long, there's about 10 greens flying round waiting for a red to spawn, and as soon as a red arrives, it's obliterated, which makes the merits increase quickly. It seems to me that the best strategy is to stay for about 10 minutes. If it's still equal numbers, leave and come back again. That's if you can last that long. In about 30% of cases, I had to leave before then because too many were shooting at me.
That 15 hours work will pay a minimum of 60 million if I don't do any more. That's 50 million salary on Thursday for Level 5 and 5 million the next two weeks for level 4. That works out at about 4 million per hour, which is about the same as bounty hunting without bonuses. Of course, if you do any bounty hunting in the meantime, you get the 100% bonus. That means that for 20 hours play (work), you'd get about 100 million, which works out at 5 million an hour. That rate increases if you play for more hours in the week.
In the second week, you only need 5000 merits to keep level 5, so the 7.5 hours required earns 8 million an hour and 20 hours play during the week increases it to 9 million an hour.
Here's the Python I used. No need for a KWS or discovery scanner. Only stuff specifically for this task. I swapped the fuel scoop for a HRP as soon as I had to visit the station, but even with all that armour, the hull started to go down pretty quickly once the shields were down, so no point in hanging about. In the end I put the fuel scoop back and kept it there for convenience.
http://coriolis.io/outfit/python/17...5f3229-24.AwRj4yoo.Aw0iMmaAsbAZhDIA?bn=Python
One final point that some might find useful: General advice is to fix a nearby system in your nav panel so that you can jump away when you get in trouble. Be careful, these strike zones are always close to a planet, which blocks out a big proportion of your potential escape routes, so, having locked a system, check that it isn't behind the planet otherwise you won't be able to jump. If it is obscured, choose a different system to jump to.
