Cargo Missions for Large Ships: Are you happy with the current payouts?

[ZeroAi]

I'll start by saying I'm a huge Elite and FDev fan.

That said, I believe some thought needs to be put into cargo mission payouts for those of us with large ships.

For example, why is it so hard to find missions that pay 100 times more than the beginner missions, when I have worked my way up to a ship with 100 times more cargo space?

New players in Sidewinders with 4T cargo space are often offered 100,000 credit missions to jump to a station ~500ls from a star only 20ly away.

So, why is it so hard/rare for those with large ships with 400T of cargo space to find a 10 million credit mission going the same distance? Or conversely, why can't they take on 100 4T missions at 100,000 each?

This is the problem I'm having, and I'd like to hear from other players who do a lot of Cargo Missions in Large Ships to see what you think.

Should FDev ramp the value and size of cargo missions so those of us flying Large Ships can make good use & good money running cargo missions (without having to travel to the edges of inhabited space?)

Or is the current balance to your liking?

Please chime in below - all tuckers, haulers, and trader opinions welcome!


PS: I should add that for me spending 45 or more minutes in supercruise doing nothing, or working the latest glitch is not an option. That's why I'd like to see common cargo transport missions re-balanced for those of us with large ships.

 

[Mxpower76]

I've not tried the 2,000t of cargo wing missions yet but I've not had too much trouble filling up my 760t Cutter. I have 7 factions at my home station that ship stuff out to the neighboring systems. I load up and make a bit of a loop around dropping stuff off. Pay outs are usually from 1.5-6mil range for each mission. I'm high ranked or allied with the neighbors too so I might pick up an extra mission while I'm out. But I'm not saying every time I look at the board it's full of cargo runs. Usually if I see only one or two and depending on the pay out I'll just go do something else and check later.

 

[Eloy]

Yes, I am happy with the payouts.

Background data:
Shinrarta Dezra
Allied with all local factions (most important thing about the payouts here)
Cutter with 768t cargoo space, even ripped the shields out (I know, I know, I can handle it )

Last few days:
Accepting 3 Discrete Supply Operations (or so) to one destination (mostly Bunda/Faraday Ring, few ls from main star) , filling up my cargo space >700t
1 mission average 2 mils
3 rounds per hour = 20 mils
(or up to 5 grade4 and 5 materials per mission)

I tried 2000t wing transport missions, but find it a bit boring ... though it doesn´t really differ from what I am doing right know (ping-ponging)

 

[nathanc213]

Tbh normal trade mission payouts were utter garbage, most of them were paying way too little for what it wanted (350+t of cargo going 30ly for 500k).

The wing trade missions (specifically the gather commodities ones) pay decently for the amount of work they require and the risks involved (21m for over 1500t of cargo, cargo costs about 8m for a full T9 and there is high risk of interdiction).

 

[GoldenSilver484]

Tbh normal trade mission payouts were utter garbage, most of them were paying way too little for what it wanted (350+t of cargo going 30ly for 500k)

Something’s telling me you’re not allied to the minor faction that’s offering those missions.

At a certain planetary station I can regularly fill my 760 ton Cutter (grandfathered prismatics FTW ) with missions that pay between 1-4 million, if I don’t pick the G4-5 material option, for 60-300+ tons each. The two destination stations are within 15ly of the system and are less than 1kls from the central star, easily a 30 million per hour loop.

 

[nathanc213]

Something’s telling me you’re not allied to the minor faction that’s offering those missions.

At a certain planetary station I can regularly fill my 760 ton Cutter (grandfathered prismatics FTW ) with missions that pay between 1-4 million, if I don’t pick the G4-5 material option, for 60-300+ tons each. The two destination stations are within 15ly of the system and are less than 1kls from the central star, easily a 30 million per hour loop.

Im allied with the faction, i get lots of decent paying combat missions from them but low paying trade ones (except from mining ones but cant do them anymore).

 

[S~P]

The cheap stuff isn't worth the trouble, so I usually do these missions in a extraction economy, Palladium or gold usually fetches a good price.

 

[Rover-XX]

There is a lot of cargo missions that require you to transport 130-180 cargo for 2-4 mills each. You can't stack them to visit only one place but since delivery points are usually within 10-15ly from each other you can take a few of those and just visit those 2-4 stations (depending on you cargo hold). I run them in my cargo/mission runner Python and it's a good profit without using exploits.

 

[ZeroAi]

Thanks for all your replies!

I also get allied with everyone is the system, but never can fill up my Anaconda with good paying missions :-(

In fact, I've resorted to parking my Python 400ly away to get access to good cargo missions :-(

Sad that I can make more money hauling cargo in a Medium size ship that a Large ship...

 

[Eloy]

Thanks for all your replies!

I also get allied with everyone is the system, but never can fill up my Anaconda with good paying missions :-(
In fact, I've resorted to parking my Python 400ly away to get access to good cargo missions :-(
Sad that I can make more money hauling cargo in a Medium size ship that a Large ship...

Mh, I guess it strongly depends on the status of the system you´re in. Tbh I don´t even know the status of mine (Shinrarta Dezra).
Look out for Passenger missions too. First Class Cabins and then "Politicians transport" are well paid too when allied.
Actually I began with half Cabins and half Cargo Modules in my Cutter until I decided to stick with cargo supply missions. I still have those Cabins stored ...

 

[CMNDRMK]

I'll start by saying I'm a huge Elite and FDev fan.

That said, I believe some thought needs to be put into cargo mission payouts for those of us with large ships.

For example, why is it so hard to find missions that pay 100 times more than the beginner missions, when I have worked my way up to a ship with 100 times more cargo space?

New players in Sidewinders with 4T cargo space are often offered 100,000 credit missions to jump to a station ~500ls from a star only 20ly away.

So, why is it so hard/rare for those with large ships with 400T of cargo space to find a 10 million credit mission going the same distance? Or conversely, why can't they take on 100 4T missions at 100,000 each?

This is the problem I'm having, and I'd like to hear from other players who do a lot of Cargo Missions in Large Ships to see what you think.

Should FDev ramp the value and size of cargo missions so those of us flying Large Ships can make good use & good money running cargo missions (without having to travel to the edges of inhabited space?)

Or is the current balance to your liking?

Please chime in below - all tuckers, haulers, and trader opinions welcome!


PS: I should add that for me spending 45 or more minutes in supercruise doing nothing, or working the latest glitch is not an option. That's why I'd like to see common cargo transport missions re-balanced for those of us with large ships.

The simple observation to this is that sideys should not get 100K missions and that sidey mission should be rebalanced around the payouts for larger ships not the other way around.

 

[jasonbirder]

New players in Sidewinders with 4T cargo space are often offered 100,000 credit missions to jump to a station ~500ls from a star only 20ly away.

So, why is it so hard/rare for those with large ships with 400T of cargo space to find a 10 million credit mission going the same distance? Or conversely, why can't they take on 100 4T missions at 100,000 each?

No expert...but I'm guessing for the same reason that if i want to send a parcel to London weighing a Kilo it costs me 5 pounds...but if I want a lorry to cart ten metric tonnes 100 miles for me it DOESN't cost 50,000 Pounds...

 

[Daniel Cloudsifter]

Yes, over all, I'm happy with them. Whether solo missions or wing missions, the payout is based on what you are hauling and system state.

I can get plenty of solo hauling missions in the 180 tons for 3-5 million credits range and stack them on my Cutter. Or, if I go to the right system (Extraction in Boom works well) my group can get Wing delivery missions that pay between 12 million and 25 million. True, I could probably make money faster doing the solo missions. But this gives me a way of making money WITH friends that isn't just Res Site farming.

Tbh normal trade mission payouts were utter garbage, most of them were paying way too little for what it wanted (350+t of cargo going 30ly for 500k).

The wing trade missions (specifically the gather commodities ones) pay decently for the amount of work they require and the risks involved (21m for over 1500t of cargo, cargo costs about 8m for a full T9 and there is high risk of interdiction).

In 2.4, they were only garbage if you didn't pay attention system state. While I haven't gone back to this place yet in 3.0, I'll give you a location that was good in 2.4 - Aisling's HQ station in Cubeo. I could routinely get missions 1 Jump away that paid 2-5 million, usually to the same station. Even with multiple stops, I could make 15-20 million in about 15 minutes and be back at her station for more.

In 3.0, I'm seeing good haulage mission where I never saw them before - really good pay in Extraction systems for hauling palladium/gold/silver a very short jump away. In contrast, Biowaste and Hydrogen fuel delivery missions are paying very low - as they should, because the commodity itself is very cheap. In short, mission payouts make sense now.

 

[GG7]

Since I switched over to my Python from the Chieftain, I have been getting offered a lot of 150-180T delivery missions that pay between 3 and 4 Million for a local run.

I have no problems with payouts like that.

 

[ZeroAi]

Mh, I guess it strongly depends on the status of the system you´re in. Tbh I don´t even know the status of mine (Shinrarta Dezra).
Look out for Passenger missions too. First Class Cabins and then "Politicians transport" are well paid too when allied.
Actually I began with half Cabins and half Cargo Modules in my Cutter until I decided to stick with cargo supply missions. I still have those Cabins stored ...

Yeah, I currently hang out 400ly away (10 jumps) with both accounts, switching between passengers and cargo to mix things up. I make between 5-10 mil every 20 minute session, which is a good bite-size break from other things

I just wish I could find good paying cargo missions closer to Sol. I'm very close to Elite and when I reach it I'll check out Shinrarta Dezra

(Extraction in Boom works well)

Thanks for the tip

The simple observation to this is that sideys should not get 100K missions and that sidey mission should be rebalanced around the payouts for larger ships not the other way around.

In my way of thinking you have it backwards - I see no reason to have large cargo ships in the game if there are no large missions. Not that small missions for small ships need to be nerfed...

No expert...but I'm guessing for the same reason that if i want to send a parcel to London weighing a Kilo it costs me 5 pounds...but if I want a lorry to cart ten metric tonnes 100 miles for me it DOESN't cost 50,000 Pounds...

Here in the States, distance doesn't add a lot to the cost of sending small packages via ground shipping. I can mail a package the size of a DVD for $3 to NY for delivery in 2 days, or $4 to CA in 5 days.

That said, paying for a dedicated truck to deliver a truckload within 24 hours DOES cost 100 times more than sending a small package via common carrier :-D

 

[jasonbirder]

hat said, paying for a dedicated truck to deliver a truckload within 24 hours DOES cost 100 times more than sending a small package via common carrier :-D

Pretty sure that a Tractor and Trailer can manage to carry ALOT more than ONE HUNDRED times the contents of a small package!

 

[evanevery]

I'll start by saying I'm a huge Elite and FDev fan.

That said, I believe some thought needs to be put into cargo mission payouts for those of us with large ships.

For example, why is it so hard to find missions that pay 100 times more than the beginner missions, when I have worked my way up to a ship with 100 times more cargo space?

New players in Sidewinders with 4T cargo space are often offered 100,000 credit missions to jump to a station ~500ls from a star only 20ly away.

So, why is it so hard/rare for those with large ships with 400T of cargo space to find a 10 million credit mission going the same distance? Or conversely, why can't they take on 100 4T missions at 100,000 each?

This is the problem I'm having, and I'd like to hear from other players who do a lot of Cargo Missions in Large Ships to see what you think.

Should FDev ramp the value and size of cargo missions so those of us flying Large Ships can make good use & good money running cargo missions (without having to travel to the edges of inhabited space?)

Or is the current balance to your liking?

Please chime in below - all tuckers, haulers, and trader opinions welcome!


PS: I should add that for me spending 45 or more minutes in supercruise doing nothing, or working the latest glitch is not an option. That's why I'd like to see common cargo transport missions re-balanced for those of us with large ships.

I make my credits SPECIFICALLY in large ships with large cargo capacities... And I can make a lot of them anytime I want with no exploits.

1. I have two Cutters, one with about 460T and another (stripped out) with about 740T
2. I'm running cargo missions EXCLUSIVELY between one system and two others (I only go to one or the other - not both)
3. The "source" station is an extraction economy
4. The other two "destination" systems are about 13 LY from my "source" system
5. Each system has only one Large station in it (thats where I'm running to from)
6. One destination arrival is about 500LS and the other is about 2000 LS (so no crazy long in-system transports)
7. I'm repped with everyone everywhere
8. I routinely see 120-180T Cargo Transport missions for 7-9Mil even when the system insn't in Boom
9. I can fit 4 180T missions in my stripped out Cutter
10. I'm making about 30 Mil every time I jump. (Although I come back empty)
11. The complete turn-around, board to board, is just under 10 minutes (I timed it)

* These payouts HAVE NOT changed pre/post 3.0

So, yeah, you can easily make lots of credits running cargo in big ships (without exploits). You just need to know where to look. If you are just stumbling around looking for missions, all you are gonna see is crap. You need to use your head on where to find missions running between a couple of relatively isolated systems at the edge of the bubble. You don't want to trade inside the bubble cause so much traffic goes in all/every direction and dilutes your ability to make focused runs...

 

[El_Hefe]

What about High Tech?

I was building rep with factions in a high tech all day today and was starting to see some good bulk cargo missions. System was in boom. Checked a few extraction econmies locally before i settled on the high tech as i thought commodity prices would be higher in general leading to bigger profits. So its really extraction that has bigger profits?

Was starting to see missions for 130t for 1.5mil to a station id been doing wing missions to and two of them would give similar profits profits to a wing mission that was taking twice as long.

Still getting to grips with my new Type-9 and bulk trading. Trying to get the most from it,thought that would be wing missions solo but the pay is lower than the solo missions themselves.

Just to ad im also doing wing missions when in a wing so im not complaing about them,i just thought they would be more profitable even doing them solo. Looks like i was mistaken so want to get a good earner going for when im playing solo.

 

[CMDR_Goldor]

I had not looked at the trading missions since 3.0, but the OP's (Greylock) question was interesting. To directly answer the question, the cash payouts are "meh" and there don't seem to be any "just right missions", or combination of missions, in the 400 ton range. Interesting.
The wing payouts I'm seeing are between 1-3 Mil, 1K to 4K tons across neutral, friendly, and allied factions. The individual missions are less than 100 tons and 500k credits. (In Seginus at Meyrink port as of this post)

It seems the additional benefits in the trade missions of rank, rep, influence and material rewards are to make up for the lesser amounts of cold-hard-cash and/or provide more diverse rewards towards other goals.

But if it's credits you want, and I certainly do as I'm lumbering through 60% tycoon, then the new T-9 and eddb.io trade loops are something to consider. For example, I'm hauling 744 tons (FINALLY!!!) of basic medicines to outbreak systems and clearing $3M one way and another 900k on the return trip with Gallite. This just straight-trading, no missions. Been at it for a week now and finally enjoy trade again. The routes seem to last for a few days each (The Haul Effect III loadout is here. )

I think the trade changes in 3.0 are great. For the first time I can clear more than 2mil on a legal run and *NOT* trade imperial slaves. I can make 2 or 3 percentage points towards Elite in an evening instead of 1 percentage point in 2 or three evenings. Prior to 3.0 those kinds of opportunities were far more rare, at the far edges of the bubble, or nerfable offenses in the eyes of the Trade Gods.

When I was at about 20% tycoon i gave up trading for months out of just plain frustration. Went back out into the black. I remember thinking "If i have to make one more run, I'm going to barf...this is mind-numbing...nauseating." The reward was not enough to show significant progress towards the goal of a second elite rank. After 3.0 the reward *is* enough, at least for me. The extra slot in the T-9 and the availability of lucrative trade routes to chase across the bubble make a huge difference for me. I can finally see measurable progress in honest work.

And a little PSA here...Even if you're **really glad** to be away from Imperial slave trading and still make a decent living, exercise a bit of restraint if you work with fellow Commanders in an office environment. Discussions like that make for an awkward Thursday like mine. And who ever gets the hang of Thursdays?

O7