Newcomer / Intro Carriers questions

[Northpin]

OK, i used the calculator from your sig and got an idea (more-or-less) on how things work. So, realistically you should have at least 6.5-7 billion to spare in order to buy one, equip it with some modules (about half of what's available) and make sure it will last (financially) at least about a year.

A carrier costs 5 billions, add 1.75 more billions to fully outfit it, then add 2 more billions in the carrier bank and you have the first year of upkeep covered (my carriers have roughtly 20bn in their respective banks)
Then while playing the game you do need to think of ways of making credits - to cover the 35 millions weekly upkeep.

Depending on your play style and play-loops, it may be very easy or rather complicated. For example:

• running 1h or Robigo runs (done more or less optimally) every 3 weeks will net you 100-120 millions credits, covering the afore mentioning 3 weeks.
• Chaining some Ground High CZ can also net easy and fun credits - ofc assuming you are into FPS arena games and you are geared accordingly (G3+ Dom, 2x G3+ L6 - preferably G5 tho)
• Stacking pirate massacre missions in a system where you're allied with all the factions can net you 150-200 millions per hour
• Stacking supply/delivery missions, again in a system where you're allied with all the factions, can also net you some nice credits.

However, if all you do in ED is PVP, you'll have a hard time getting credits

The point is, getting credits is rather easy in ED.

Anyway, i'm still not sure how much time will be required to spend in the carrier's management

With the game loops i mentioned above there is 0 time spent in carrier management since you basically ar not using the carrier to make money, but just as a mobile base for your ships and modules

However, if you decide to use the carrier to sell stuff (1), of if you decide to setup (cheap) buy orders so you can sell more expensive later (2), they yes, there is a certain degree of management to keep the carrier supplied, to setup buy/sell orders (for the same commodity/material you can only have single type of order either a sell or a buy order, not both).
However, i would not advise you to go for (2) unless you are really savy with trading in ED - also it can be slow and risky.
Getting stuff and selling it at your carrier (1) is rather easy if your game loops provide you an excess of materials, specifically materials for on-foot engineering unlocks or rare materials for generic on-foot engineering (SDP, the rare and more expensive tech like Weapon Components or one of the 3 types of plating, Manufacturing Instructions, Power Regulator and some others)

 

[Northpin]

the profits are bigger than mining

Mining is not really as profitable these days as much as it was back then between January 2019 and the Summer of 2020 when it was nerfed
Basically now only laser mining Platinum using a Cutter in a Haz Res (or High Res) in a Hotspot is getting close but not quite there with other money printing activities*
What you can expect from mining is like filling 512t of cargo in 30 minutes, unloading at the carrier, then rinse and repeat. Then sell that platinum for like 250k-280k per ton - getting an average of 150-200 millions credits per hour (accounting for chasing sell systems and actually ferrying the goods to sell them at the station)



*(Organized AX combat is still the most profitable way of doing credits, by far. Exobiology out in the black - relying on first discovery bonus - is also very proffitable but also very luck/rng dependant)

 

[K Olley]

just a bit

All you need is a Artemis Suit and the right ship or ships, I use an AspX and a Sidewinder.

Values are from 1 mil to 20 mil per plant (3 samples have to be taken) with a 4x bonus for first find, so you are mainly looking for planets that have not had a previous first footfall.

Exobiology data is like exploration data, If you die before you hand it in then you loose it.

 

[K Olley]

Mining from an exploration carrier is not about cr/hr it is about self sufficiency, by keeping the carrier light (no excess services) and very little cargo you need about 70-80 ton per jump, a fully laden carrier needs about 125 ton for the same distance.

Some explore by filling up to max with brought Tritium and hope they make it back, most of the time all I have is 1-2k as cargo and I mine as I go, collecting on my way back to the bubble any Bromellite,

 

[James Son]

Stacking pirate massacre missions in a system where you're allied with all the factions can net you 150-200 millions per hour

*(Organized AX combat is still the most profitable way of doing credits, by far. Exobiology out in the black - relying on first discovery bonus - is also very proffitable but also very luck/rng dependant)

I have mainly played the "additional helping hand" role in HI RES mining zones, where i team up with the local law enforcement units and get rid of wanted ships. Not so much for profit, but even with that and with a little luck, you can end up with about 10M in less than half an hour. I recently faced a snafu with the available money i had, and had to do some research on more profitable ways to get money (hence the mining i'm currently into). I haven't tried pirate massacre missions so far, since the money problem i was a little reluctant to try, but now i have some good insurance cash around (about 400M) so i may try it. Thanks for suggesting it.

All you need is a Artemis Suit and the right ship or ships, I use an AspX and a Sidewinder.

So, if i understand correctly, you take the carrier with you and have those two ships docked in it, travel to a staging area and then do the "Exploration/Exobiology" thing combined in the nearby systems, or you just take the AspX and travel to an area, disembark into local planets and roam around?

Also, Sidewinder? Really??? What are you doing with that? Aspx is much much better (one of the two ships i love, the other is Python). What's the secret?

 

[Northpin]

So, if i understand correctly, you take the carrier with you and have those two ships docked in it, travel to a staging area and then do the "Exploration/Exobiology" thing combined in the nearby systems, or you just take the AspX and travel to an area, disembark into local planets and roam around?

Also, Sidewinder? Really??? What are you doing with that? Aspx is much much better (one of the two ships i love, the other is Python). What's the secret?

Taking the carrier with you means you need to make sure you stash enough tritium for the trip out and then back to the bubble.
Or you need a tritium laser mining rig and mine tritium as you go. If you have enough time to spare for ED and you are not in a hurry, mining is doable (for me is a nice and relaxing activity)

If you have a carrier with you, the sidewinder is a really feasible option - you dont need much jump range - you have the carrier nearby and the Sidewinder is the smallest ship - it can land everywhere (some salad prefer to grow in the mountains and you will have a hard time landing in the mountains with anything bigger than a DBX - and the DBX can be quite hard to land actually)

However, if you dont have a carrier, a DBX sporting the tech broker 5A FSD V1, fuel scoop, size 4 hangar and some shields (and ofc the DSS) can get you 2-3 thousands ly outside the bubble where you start to find undiscovered planets and you can do exobiology - just make sure you dont die.
IF you resist in the black long enough - reaching Elite in exobiology means 8+ billions - the right amount to fund your future carrier

 

[James Son]

If you have a carrier with you, the sidewinder is a really feasible option - you dont need much jump range - you have the carrier nearby and the Sidewinder is the smallest ship

Well, i always think of the Sidey as a starter's ship with limited amount of things you can add to it, so...

it can land everywhere (some salad prefer to grow in the mountains and you will have a hard time landing in the mountains with anything bigger than a DBX - and the DBX can be quite hard to land actually)

Well, that's something i didn't know, so this alone makes the Sidey a valid option, especially if you travel in a Carrier. Of course you will need at least one additional ship and perhaps even another for mining (yes, i had thought of taking the Carrier somewhere far away and use a mining ship for Tritium).

IF you resist in the black long enough - reaching Elite in exobiology means 8+ billions - the right amount to fund your future carrier

Well, i have traveled to Sag A* (a few years ago) and i managed to stay out there for more than 6 months (i wasn't spending much time in E: D), so...

Is it possible to store ("sell"?) the Exobiology stuff in the Carrier so that if your ship is destroyed, you won't loose them? Also if it is possible, after reaching civilization, can you sell them to a space station to get the credits/rank?

 

[Northpin]

Is it possible to store ("sell"?) the Exobiology stuff in the Carrier so that if your ship is destroyed, you won't loose them? Also if it is possible, after reaching civilization, can you sell them to a space station to get the credits/rank?

Exobiology is like Exploration data - it stays with you until you sell it or until you die - whichever comes first
IF you have a carrier with you - or if not, you can check the DSSA carrier network to find out where their carriers are located (they have like 3-4 carriers in each galactic sector) - you can then sell the Exploration data to Carrier's Universal Cartographics and the Exobiology Data to Vista Genomics.
Ofc, you can wait till you return to the bubble to sell the data - selling Exploration data to a carrier incurs a 25% loss (12.5% gets in the Carrier's bank and the rest in the void), but selling Exobiology Data to a carrier incurs no penalty - it's like selling to any random station.

 

[K Olley]

It depends on what I am doing, but my normal way of travel is to use my Asp for normal travel and exploration, I remotely fly my carrier behind me keeping it within 500ly, When I come across something of interest that may require something on my carrier I just jump it to my location.

Don't underestimate the Sidey mine is fully A rated with SCO drive, hanger, DSS and scoop and it will land in what seems like impossibly small spaces, I have a fleet of over 30 ships and about 180 spare ship modules also on the carrier.

Is it possible to store ("sell"?) the Exobiology stuff in the Carrier so that if your ship is destroyed, you won't loose them? Also if it is possible, after reaching civilization, can you sell them to a space station to get the credits/rank?

Yes, Vista Genomics is the service that is required, the services that I have no need for are shipyard, outfitting, secure warehouse and pioneer supplies, make sure you fit the armoury because this also sells limpets and SRV's.

Apart from the reduced risks by selling to your own carrier (exobiology and and exploration data) it will also enable you to top up the carrier bank account on the go.

 

[James Son]

selling Exploration data to a carrier incurs a 25% loss (12.5% gets in the Carrier's bank and the rest in the void)

!!!!! 12.5% in the void? Black holes in payments! Nice...
If you sell to your Carrier though, you'll loose 12.5% only but if you can also sell from you Carrier to a station, do you regain that percentage?

It depends on what I am doing, but my normal way of travel is to use my Asp for normal travel and exploration, I remotely fly my carrier behind me keeping it within 500ly, When I come across something of interest that may require something on my carrier I just jump it to my location.

Don't underestimate the Sidey mine is fully A rated with SCO drive, hanger, DSS and scoop and it will land in what seems like impossibly small spaces, I have a fleet of over 30 ships and about 180 spare ship modules also on the carrier.

Yes, Vista Genomics is the service that is required, the services that I have no need for are shipyard, outfitting, secure warehouse and pioneer supplies, make sure you fit the armoury because this also sells limpets and SRV's.

Apart from the reduced risks by selling to your own carrier (exobiology and and exploration data) it will also enable you to top up the carrier bank account on the go.

Again, thanks for all the info. Very useful and detailed.

Thanks all for all the tips. I think the plan will be to get at least 7-8bn (perhaps something like 10 might be safer) and then go for the Carrier. I'll try to follow the "pirate massacre missions" and the "exobiologist near the bubble" paths to get the money. Let's see how much time it will take...

 

[aRJay]

!!!!! 12.5% in the void? Black holes in payments! Nice...
If you sell to your Carrier though, you'll loose 12.5% only but if you can also sell from you Carrier to a station, do you regain that percentage?

No once you have sold the data you don’t have it to sell anymore, also the people you sell it to on the carrier are from the same organisation you sell to at a station and they won’t pay you twice.

Again, thanks for all the info. Very useful and detailed.

Thanks all for all the tips. I think the plan will be to get at least 7-8bn (perhaps something like 10 might be safer) and then go for the Carrier. I'll try to follow the "pirate massacre missions" and the "exobiologist near the bubble" paths to get the money. Let's see how much time it will take...

Keep an eye on the Community Goals forum some of those have been significant credit generators in the past to the level of fully funding a carrier in a week.

 

[James Son]

No once you have sold the data you don’t have it to sell anymore, also the people you sell it to on the carrier are from the same organisation you sell to at a station and they won’t pay you twice.

Ah, ok, i see...

Keep an eye on the Community Goals forum some of those have been significant credit generators in the past to the level of fully funding a carrier in a week.

Nice! Thanks for the tip, i'll keep it in mind.