Bridging the Gap (Getting beyond the ASP) - Help!

[Bear_Grylls]

Interesting read so far, intriguing how many people grind RES once they get Python, you guys know you can earn the same for more fun by hitting strong signal sources in a wing right?

Sounds like I should compeltely dodge the grind and go straight into exploration/missions/CGs, I got an Asp in the end, no weapons but I have decent jump range (cold only afford B drive) and everything else is D class with adv scan Detail scan, repair module, and 64t cargo, pretty happy

 

[Whiterose]

Interesting read so far, intriguing how many people grind RES once they get Python, you guys know you can earn the same for more fun by hitting strong signal sources in a wing right?

Sounds like I should compeltely dodge the grind and go straight into exploration/missions/CGs, I got an Asp in the end, no weapons but I have decent jump range (cold only afford B drive) and everything else is D class with adv scan Detail scan, repair module, and 64t cargo, pretty happy

if you do go exploring and need any tips head over to the Explorer forum. 500Ly has been quoted for no NPC activity, personally I didnt see any after 100. When jumping during the countdown always set your speed to zero and learn how to fuel scoop safely. If I am teaching you to suck eggs then I apologise.

 

[Goblin King]

Interesting read so far, intriguing how many people grind RES once they get Python, you guys know you can earn the same for more fun by hitting strong signal sources in a wing right?

I really enjoy hitting strong signal sources on my own, there are a couple of varieties that can be a bit hairy and I have to run straight out of again, but with luck you'll find enough pirates vs pirates or BH's vs Pirates and be able to scoop all the available bounties.

Beyond the Asp I used the Dropship (very small fan club) to work my way up - it's a medium sized ship so can land at outposts and gives it that advantage over the clipper and I found it an awesome combat/trader variant - it's big so you can give it a whole variety of loadouts.

 

[Bear_Grylls]

if you do go exploring and need any tips head over to the Explorer forum. 500Ly has been quoted for no NPC activity, personally I didnt see any after 100. When jumping during the countdown always set your speed to zero and learn how to fuel scoop safely. If I am teaching you to suck eggs then I apologise.

I'll head over there to the explorer forum, I think I know my stuff, but tips are useful - I wont turn them down, hardly condescending since I am asking for advice!

 

[ArkSeaJumper]

I'll head over there to the explorer forum, I think I know my stuff, but tips are useful - I wont turn them down, hardly condescending since I am asking for advice!

And take a few short trips out first, you find the best load out and stuff you need and maybe don't.

Big fuel scoop for me, I like to speed burst and then stop and scan all around me, breaks up the trip.

 

[CMDR Brock Samson]

You surely meant the Asp.

 

[shadragon]

Take some good music with you. It can get a little boring out there sometimes but it is nice when you get back and you get the credit for being the first to discover a 'new' system.

I find listening to podcasts and YouTube videos are a good way to explore and learn new things at the same time. Audio books are good too.

 

[AndiBcool]

Well to the OP dont get a T7 get a Clipper. Does not cost that much more but its much better overall to the T7.
In general with your Vulture you should be able to do bounty hunting or combat comunity goals pretty good and fast with almost no costs.

As for me i kept all my previous ships. loaned Sidewinder, Adder, Cobra, T6, Asp and Vulture. Didnt even bother to strip em so they all beside the sidewinder and adder still well equipped.
Im using the Asp for Mulitroles while the Vulture is only for combat.
Due comunity goals and bounty hunting im at 75 Mil cash so soon i get me a Phyton.
While i find trading so boring i didnt even bother with the clipper, even thought its not much behind the phyton depending on builds.

Something that is really timeconsuming is exploring. It also is not really rewarding. Fully scanning 1 system might take you over 1 hour while you only get 20-50k for it if unlucky.

 

[Thasarion]

What I did was ditch my asp after about a week. I dumped it because when I decided to try out mining and see what it was like, I found a RES that was the bounty hunting motherload. My first target was a dropship, and after that was killed, a clipper showed up. I killed that and then another clipper came in. Killed it and then 2 Anacondas. That was when I decided, "Screw this ASP, I'm getting my vulture over here!" Using that and a kill scanner, I can pull in about 4,000,000 per hour. Enough to get me to my current Type-7 in a few days of occasional playing. I won't tell you what the system is, but I have had so much luck there. The immense amount of NPC police ships make it extremely easy to farm big ships because the pirates are usually focusing on the swarm of small ships instead of the vulture melting his powerplant. So overall, it is much easier to bounty hunt at a good RES until you have a Type-7 with nothing but cargo racks. Not even a docking computer. (I am a good enough pilot so that I can boost through the letterbox with plenty of clearance. I can also evade interdictions of anything less agile than a Python with ease. All with a full hold)

 

[Glenn Ross]

I got to the Asp by dint of trading, upgrading to a ship with larger cargo bay as soon as practical each time.
.
Now in the Asp, I'm out exploring in it. Great way to relax and de-stress after a day at work. I only hand in data after a week or so out of the 'bubble', but that is because I don't 'gun & run' honking a system and hitting the next. Not that interested in the money at the moment, going more for the rank and not that worried about getting it quickly. Really enjoying the Asp as an exploration vessel. Going to keep it, even after I have enough to buy the Anaconda.
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Not sure what I want to get next. Want to max out my eploration rank first, then trader. Only once I have done all that will I actively look at combat, but by then I ought to be able to afford to look at buying a small ship and starting with a couple of missions and not worry about it if I am useless and get wiped. Thinking about starting my combat career in a Sidey sometime in the distant future.

 

[Crash1099]

The thing that helped me get to a bigger ship was the discount after the community event in one of the alliance systems. If it was not for that i would still be grinding for a python.

 

[Commander Starcloak]

I didn't intend to get the Asp at all - was going to skip straight over it - but I completed that exploration CG at Tsu and the discount on an Asp was too good to turn down. So I ended up buying it... and not being able to outfit it. Used it as a trader whilst beefing my Cobra up to prime bounty hunting machine, and continued contributing to CGs. I know the Vulture is supposed to be really nice for bounty hunting... but I don't want to go for another ship that level, so I'm skipping straight up to the Clipper. Now am sat on almost 60m cr and looking forwards to purchasing the Clipper. Will get the Vulture when I have credits to spare.

 

[Galvinar]

Commodities trading in anything less than a T-7 isn't the best use of time if you're looking to maximize credits/hour
If you're looking for great ways to make cash there are two options for you at your current stage. (Until you can afford a Python)

Bounty Hunting:
In a good RES you can pull in 4-5 Mill an hour in your Vulture, Just keep resetting the RES (logging in and out, or SCing in and out) until you get Anacondas, Clippers, Dropships, Pythons ETC. There seem to be several different types of RES spawns
-Small Ships, Sideys and Eagles almost exclusively.
-Small-Med ships, Sideys, Eagles, Vipers, Haulers, Cobras.
-Small-med with an occasional Large. Same as before but you'll occasionally see an Anaconda or Clipper.
-Almost exclusively Large ships. This is where you can make some serious cash. Some of the bounties on these guys run upwards of 250k per kill. The lowest bounty I've seen in this type of res is ~45-50k.

In a Vulture, load 2 Pulse Lasers, Target the Power plant on these big ships and go to town. The lasers let you stay in the RES without needing to Re-arm. They also do the best for getting through the hull to hit the modules.

Rare Trading
Your Type 6 or a Cargo cobra are both excellent ships to do this with. Fit them with decent FSD's and ~80T of Cargo and you can pull in 2-3mill an hour, More if your lucky on the Allotments you get from the stations, and if you're FAST. The bigger the FSD the better your profit will be on this. It also helps if you're quick about docking/refueling,supplying/undocking.

There are plenty of good guides out there regarding these rares. http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDanger...w_player_guide_fast_money_rare_resource_trade Is the most comprehensive I've seen.
The most Common route involves picking up rare commodities from Lave, Diso, Leesti, and a few other systems around the old worlds. and Flying ~160 LY out to Witchhaul, and 39 Tauri to sell the batch, and pick up a new set from surrounding systems. There are plenty of others out there though The spreadsheet attached to the link I gave has a fairly comprehensive list of the known rare commodities and where to get them.


Once you get to the T-7, regular Commodity trading is comparable to the above suggestions. It doesn't take too much longer from there to get the Python. Once there you can either kit it for combat and keep doing RES farming. Or you can kit it for Trading.

Lastly, Community goals can be a HUGE bonus for you.
I did 2 runs in My Anaconda during the Wolf 406 CG (~800t of Cargo) and decided that flying 3k LS to the station for minimal profits wasn't really worth it for me - So I stopped.

When the CG finished, I was in the top 70% and got a 6 million credit bonus.
In a t6, a 6 million credit bonus for 8 trips would be STELLAR profit.

 

[Bear_Grylls]

I picked up an Asp, I can do rares very easily (2 Diso corn runs, 1600k), I did about 2 hrs of exploring bagged around 900k (only could afford B type FSD), and then hit some combat zones for some fun. The Asp is definitely the way to go I think for bridging the gap, it's just capable enough in so many areas to make doing CGs relatively easy to score highly on, which should get me the credits I need to take on larger ships.