ABOUT COMMUNITY GOALS
A Community Goal (CG) is a way for players join forces as a group to have an effect on the galaxy and the stories that unfold. Each CG has a set of requirements that needs to be filled, the further the community progresses the greater the rewards. However you will have to maintain your position on the leader board to determine how much your personal cut of the credits will be. Taking part in Community Goals is a great way for new players to learn about the game, a way to meet and team up with others and can earn some decent credits along the way.
A CG can run for a week or more and can have multiple goals running simultaneously, sometimes in competition of each other. You can expect new CGs to appear around 15:00 game time on Thursdays. There will be various roles involved in different CGs, from combat through to exploration.
Community Goals are open to players in Open, Solo and Private Groups; likewise XBox, PS4 and PC players. Even though you might not always see each other, your contributions are counted towards the same targets.
FINDING COMMUNITY GOALS
CONTRIBUTING AND TAKING PART
REWARDS
DURATION
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THE BGS AND PLAYER ACTIONS.
OPPOSING COMMUNITY GOALS ENDING EARLY
QUICK ANSWERS.
*SIGN UP AT ANY BULLETIN BOARDS IN STATIONS WITH A MISSION BOARD BEFORE CONTRIBUTING.
*COMMUNITY GOALS ARE PLAYABLE FROM OPEN, SOLO AND PRIVATE GROUPS ON BOTH PC/MAC AND XBOX.
*ALL PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF ABOVE ALWAYS CONTRIBUTE TO THE SAME GOAL.
*THE AMOUNT YOU CONTRIBUTE DETERMINES YOUR OWN REWARD AND THE OVERALL PROGRESS.
*CREDIT REWARDS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE COMMUNITY GOAL OR VERY SHORTLY AFTER.
*IF NOT COLLECTED, COMMUNITY GOAL REWARDS WILL AUTOMATICALLY PAYOUT AFTER 2 WEEKS AFTER THE PLANNED END DATE, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE GALAXY.
*REWARDS ARE NOT ALWAYS STATED AND USUALLY ONLY REVEALED ON MEETING TIER TARGETS.
*GLOBAL REWARDS WILL SOMETIMES NOT BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE AND CAN TAKE HOURS, DAYS OR IN SOME CASES WEEKS TO APPEAR.
*GLOBAL REWARDS ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL PLAYERS WHETHER THEY TOOK PART OR NOT.
*THE END TIMES STATED IS A TIME LIMIT AND DOES NOT MEAN THE COMMUNITY GOAL IS NECESSARILY STILL ON GOING.
Feedback or update suggestions? Since this thread is locked, please PM either fennster or any of the mod team for this forum and we will review & update as appropriate
A Community Goal (CG) is a way for players join forces as a group to have an effect on the galaxy and the stories that unfold. Each CG has a set of requirements that needs to be filled, the further the community progresses the greater the rewards. However you will have to maintain your position on the leader board to determine how much your personal cut of the credits will be. Taking part in Community Goals is a great way for new players to learn about the game, a way to meet and team up with others and can earn some decent credits along the way.
A CG can run for a week or more and can have multiple goals running simultaneously, sometimes in competition of each other. You can expect new CGs to appear around 15:00 game time on Thursdays. There will be various roles involved in different CGs, from combat through to exploration.
Community Goals are open to players in Open, Solo and Private Groups; likewise XBox, PS4 and PC players. Even though you might not always see each other, your contributions are counted towards the same targets.
FINDING COMMUNITY GOALS
Soon after a Community Goal goes live in game a new dedicated thread will be started in the Community Goal Discussion section on this forum. The first post will contain all the necessary information needed to get you started such as the location system the CG is being held and what requirements there are. It will also have the progress statistics of the goal, so you can keep track whilst out of the game. Keep in mind this data has to be manually updated and might not be 100% accurate. Many CMDRs will share tips and give information on good locations to take part in the CGs, so it's a good resource to be part of.
CGs can also be found whilst in game, the easiest way is to dock at any station and check the mission board. At the top is a section which will list all active CGs ongoing at that time and again all the information is on hand to get you started. Another way is to open the galaxy map and look for a yellow marker with a star in the middle (Make sure the marker is turned on in map settings), this signifies the location of a goal, but will give you no further information.
Keeping track of Galnet News, which can be found on the bulletin board whilst docked, on your left hand panel in your ship under Galactic Powers or on the Galnet Website can help find a goal also. The article will be titled as a Community Goal and contain information on it's location and the story behind it. If you are viewing it within your ship or a station's Galnet, clicking on the button at the bottom of the text will open the galaxy map at the system the CG is in.
Finally, the launcher for Elite will also list some of the new CGs on the news feed, clicking on the image will take open a webpage on your browser with more info.,
CGs can also be found whilst in game, the easiest way is to dock at any station and check the mission board. At the top is a section which will list all active CGs ongoing at that time and again all the information is on hand to get you started. Another way is to open the galaxy map and look for a yellow marker with a star in the middle (Make sure the marker is turned on in map settings), this signifies the location of a goal, but will give you no further information.
Keeping track of Galnet News, which can be found on the bulletin board whilst docked, on your left hand panel in your ship under Galactic Powers or on the Galnet Website can help find a goal also. The article will be titled as a Community Goal and contain information on it's location and the story behind it. If you are viewing it within your ship or a station's Galnet, clicking on the button at the bottom of the text will open the galaxy map at the system the CG is in.
Finally, the launcher for Elite will also list some of the new CGs on the news feed, clicking on the image will take open a webpage on your browser with more info.,
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE FIRST THING YOU DO BEFORE CONTRIBUTING ANY COMMODITIES, BOUNTIES, EXPLORATION DATA, ETC IS TO SIGN UP. ANYTHING HANDED IN BEFOREHAND WILL NOT COUNT.
Once you have chosen your CG and signed up, fly to the system and dock at the station issuing the goal, this means if you happen to be destroyed you will respawn at this station. You can now start contributing towards the goal.
Contributing is always a case of collecting the necessary assets and delivering them to the initial station through a variety of methods. Obviously ship type and layout will affect your performance in the CG so think about that before you set out to sign up, for instance bulk trading CGs will always favour the high end ships like the Anaconda or Cutters, but don't let that put you off as even the smallest contribution can earn large rewards. A rare goods CG might be better in smaller ships such as the Asp or Cobra due to the low quota of rares given out to CMDRs. Some CGs might involve mining or exploring and will require certain modules to be fitted to take part. The community goals so far can all be broken down into the following...
TRADE (Includes Smuggling, Mining and Rares)
Probably the simplest of CGs and will just require you to source the right commodity and sell it back to the station at the market, your level of contribution is based on the quantity of tonnes delivered and not overall profit. The commodities required will depend on the task, so for instance building a station will ask for a metals or computer components. A CG can ask for one specific item or multiple items. In a multiple item CG one commodity might give a higher profit when sold, but the others will be easier to find and a closer source, this can be useful when the higher profit goods are running low in close by systems.
If the goods are illegal in the system you will need to sell them on the black market, under contacts. If scanned by system security whilst carrying the cargo you will be fined. Learning how to effectively smuggle the goods undetected is essential.
Mining CGs will require items that can not be purchased (Osmium, Painite, Platinum, etc.) Ores handed in for the goal must be mined by you and can not be shared between ships. Likewise stolen goods will not count. Asking in the active thread will help you get good information on tips for mining and locations to mine. Alternatively there are many guides to be found on this forum.
In the case of rare goods these will only be available from one specific station, usually some distance from the start. Rare goods have a maximum allocation amount to the CMDR and the number available on arrival can be any random from 1-X. Generation of the rares is on a 10 minute cycle, refreshing the market page after that time will allow you to fill your ship up to the maximum allocation of the good.
COMBAT
There are two types of combat CGs, bounty hunting and combat zones (CZ) and in both your contributions are based on credits earned and not ships killed.
In the case of bounty hunting you will be required to hand in bounties collected from wanted targets that have been issued by certain factions or powers, not all bounties will count towards the progress and the only way to determine which have been placed on the target is to destroy their ship, so this can be a bit hit or miss.
You will get an idea of the correct faction bounty vouchers needed by reading towards the end of the CGs description. Fitting a kill warrant scanner (KWS) is not essential to doing this type of CG, unless the CG is in a Anarchy system (then you will need a KWS to see & collect the bounties on your targets in an Anarchy system), but is useful for racking up more personal profit. The wanted targets can be found in that system through interdiction, in signal sources, NAV Beacons or resource extraction sites (RES). Any bounties you have claimed are handed in under contacts at the station issuing the CG.
For CZ based CGs you will need to determine which are the warring factions and decide which one you need to be fighting for, often this type will have multiple CGs to sign up to that are in competition of each other. The combat zones will always be within the same system but sometimes other civil wars will have broken out, this will mean you might not find the correct CZ with the right factions in first. CZs will only show up in navigation once you are under 1000 ls away and will be found around planets, so explore the system until you find the right one.
The first thing to do on entering the CZ is to choose the faction to fight for from your right hand panel in the functions tab, this needs to be done to make sure any ships destroyed payout the combat bonds. Any combat bonds claimed are handed in under contacts at the station issuing the CG.
All combat bonds and bounty vouchers are subject to a percentage cut from any crew you may have before being applied to the CG contributions. (Example- 1,000,000 handed in -10% crew wages = 900,000 towards CG contribution.)
In both combat CGs player Vs. player kills will count towards contribution as long as they fill the criteria required.
EXPLORATION
Exploration data can been collected from anywhere in the galaxy further than 20 Lys from the system holding the CG and then sold to the station issuing the CG at the Universal Cartographers. Your contribution is based on number of systems scanned, this means scanning the system with a discovery scanner will count for one report, astronomical bodies scanned with a detailed surface scanner do not count. So all you will need to do is jump to a system that is unexplored by you, that is at least 20 light years distance from CG start, scan it and move on to the next. Exploration data that you hold prior to CG start can be handed in provided you have signed up first.
SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
These CGs are based around engineers materials & data that can be collected via various methods, each CG will require multiple items to be handed in meaning you are able to pick, choose and change your play method during the CG. Bear in mind every material has a different rarity and difficulty in activities.
Once you have signed up to the CG and you have collected the requisite you will find under the contacts section at the hosting station a contact called 'Science & Research', this is where you donate your materials for the CG. Note it is donate because you will receive no monetary payment for just collecting the samples, only your reward after completion of the CG.
Note When handing in multiple items of different types you must confirm each type individually, trying to hand in more than one type will mean only one is accepted.
Finding out where and how you should find these materials will need some research, a site like Inara.cz is useful because it lists all components and a brief idea of where to find the items. Keeping track on the active thread on the forum is also a good idea, because people will identify sources close to where the CG is being held.
A brief guide line of components classes is as follows..
Raw Material- The base components which include metals and chemical compounds. These items will be found via prospecting in a SRV or mining in a asteroid ring.
Manufactured- These are items that are not readily availible to be bought and have to be salvaged. Salvage points include unknown signal sources found in space and collecting materials from ships that have been destroyed.
Data- Including firmwares, data, patch, codes, analysis, exceptions, recordings, etc. These are to be found from scanning ships by targeting them and waiting for scan to complete, by scanning wakes left by other ships using a wake scanner or can be found at data points at ground bases throughout the game.
The actual accurate locations for items is subject to many variables such as composition of planet, system state, system allegiance, type of ship destroyed, etc. Some of the materials are available as mission rewards given by factions on the mission boards, but there is a very random element to this method and probably not an efficient method of gathering.
Once you have chosen your CG and signed up, fly to the system and dock at the station issuing the goal, this means if you happen to be destroyed you will respawn at this station. You can now start contributing towards the goal.
Contributing is always a case of collecting the necessary assets and delivering them to the initial station through a variety of methods. Obviously ship type and layout will affect your performance in the CG so think about that before you set out to sign up, for instance bulk trading CGs will always favour the high end ships like the Anaconda or Cutters, but don't let that put you off as even the smallest contribution can earn large rewards. A rare goods CG might be better in smaller ships such as the Asp or Cobra due to the low quota of rares given out to CMDRs. Some CGs might involve mining or exploring and will require certain modules to be fitted to take part. The community goals so far can all be broken down into the following...
TRADE (Includes Smuggling, Mining and Rares)
Probably the simplest of CGs and will just require you to source the right commodity and sell it back to the station at the market, your level of contribution is based on the quantity of tonnes delivered and not overall profit. The commodities required will depend on the task, so for instance building a station will ask for a metals or computer components. A CG can ask for one specific item or multiple items. In a multiple item CG one commodity might give a higher profit when sold, but the others will be easier to find and a closer source, this can be useful when the higher profit goods are running low in close by systems.
If the goods are illegal in the system you will need to sell them on the black market, under contacts. If scanned by system security whilst carrying the cargo you will be fined. Learning how to effectively smuggle the goods undetected is essential.
Mining CGs will require items that can not be purchased (Osmium, Painite, Platinum, etc.) Ores handed in for the goal must be mined by you and can not be shared between ships. Likewise stolen goods will not count. Asking in the active thread will help you get good information on tips for mining and locations to mine. Alternatively there are many guides to be found on this forum.
In the case of rare goods these will only be available from one specific station, usually some distance from the start. Rare goods have a maximum allocation amount to the CMDR and the number available on arrival can be any random from 1-X. Generation of the rares is on a 10 minute cycle, refreshing the market page after that time will allow you to fill your ship up to the maximum allocation of the good.
COMBAT
There are two types of combat CGs, bounty hunting and combat zones (CZ) and in both your contributions are based on credits earned and not ships killed.
In the case of bounty hunting you will be required to hand in bounties collected from wanted targets that have been issued by certain factions or powers, not all bounties will count towards the progress and the only way to determine which have been placed on the target is to destroy their ship, so this can be a bit hit or miss.
You will get an idea of the correct faction bounty vouchers needed by reading towards the end of the CGs description. Fitting a kill warrant scanner (KWS) is not essential to doing this type of CG, unless the CG is in a Anarchy system (then you will need a KWS to see & collect the bounties on your targets in an Anarchy system), but is useful for racking up more personal profit. The wanted targets can be found in that system through interdiction, in signal sources, NAV Beacons or resource extraction sites (RES). Any bounties you have claimed are handed in under contacts at the station issuing the CG.
For CZ based CGs you will need to determine which are the warring factions and decide which one you need to be fighting for, often this type will have multiple CGs to sign up to that are in competition of each other. The combat zones will always be within the same system but sometimes other civil wars will have broken out, this will mean you might not find the correct CZ with the right factions in first. CZs will only show up in navigation once you are under 1000 ls away and will be found around planets, so explore the system until you find the right one.
The first thing to do on entering the CZ is to choose the faction to fight for from your right hand panel in the functions tab, this needs to be done to make sure any ships destroyed payout the combat bonds. Any combat bonds claimed are handed in under contacts at the station issuing the CG.
All combat bonds and bounty vouchers are subject to a percentage cut from any crew you may have before being applied to the CG contributions. (Example- 1,000,000 handed in -10% crew wages = 900,000 towards CG contribution.)
In both combat CGs player Vs. player kills will count towards contribution as long as they fill the criteria required.
EXPLORATION
Exploration data can been collected from anywhere in the galaxy further than 20 Lys from the system holding the CG and then sold to the station issuing the CG at the Universal Cartographers. Your contribution is based on number of systems scanned, this means scanning the system with a discovery scanner will count for one report, astronomical bodies scanned with a detailed surface scanner do not count. So all you will need to do is jump to a system that is unexplored by you, that is at least 20 light years distance from CG start, scan it and move on to the next. Exploration data that you hold prior to CG start can be handed in provided you have signed up first.
SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
These CGs are based around engineers materials & data that can be collected via various methods, each CG will require multiple items to be handed in meaning you are able to pick, choose and change your play method during the CG. Bear in mind every material has a different rarity and difficulty in activities.
Once you have signed up to the CG and you have collected the requisite you will find under the contacts section at the hosting station a contact called 'Science & Research', this is where you donate your materials for the CG. Note it is donate because you will receive no monetary payment for just collecting the samples, only your reward after completion of the CG.
Note When handing in multiple items of different types you must confirm each type individually, trying to hand in more than one type will mean only one is accepted.
Finding out where and how you should find these materials will need some research, a site like Inara.cz is useful because it lists all components and a brief idea of where to find the items. Keeping track on the active thread on the forum is also a good idea, because people will identify sources close to where the CG is being held.
A brief guide line of components classes is as follows..
Raw Material- The base components which include metals and chemical compounds. These items will be found via prospecting in a SRV or mining in a asteroid ring.
Manufactured- These are items that are not readily availible to be bought and have to be salvaged. Salvage points include unknown signal sources found in space and collecting materials from ships that have been destroyed.
Data- Including firmwares, data, patch, codes, analysis, exceptions, recordings, etc. These are to be found from scanning ships by targeting them and waiting for scan to complete, by scanning wakes left by other ships using a wake scanner or can be found at data points at ground bases throughout the game.
The actual accurate locations for items is subject to many variables such as composition of planet, system state, system allegiance, type of ship destroyed, etc. Some of the materials are available as mission rewards given by factions on the mission boards, but there is a very random element to this method and probably not an efficient method of gathering.
Your contribution towards the CG will not only progress and unlock higher rewards as a whole, but also determine what level of rewards you will be eligible for at the end. If a minimum target is not met then no rewards will be given. The reward bracket you end up in based on your contribution can vary, but will roughly follow a TOP 10%/25%/50%/75%/100% structure or similar. Sometimes the largest rewards will be offered to individual CMDRs who contribute the most, this can be any number from the Top 10 CMDRs through to a single player. The rewards amounts are not always known from the beginning and will only be displayed on meeting a tier's target.
Crew members do not gain a percentage of rewards paid out.
To claim your reward after the completion of the CG go to the bulletin board of the station where the CG was being hosted and click on complete. Credit rewards are available immediately afterwards, but some players have reported a delay so wait a few minutes. If you don't collect your reward it will be automatically paid to your account in 2 weeks, no matter where you are at that point.
Any rewards claimed do not count towards progress through your Elite ranks, although activities done for the CG (I.e. Handing in exploration data, bounty vouchers, etc. count as normal.)
Some CGs will also have global rewards also and work slightly different to normal rewards. Global rewards are things that affect the game for all players regardless of contribution or if they have even signed up at all. The level of the global reward is determined by the tier met and can be anything from limited time discounts on ships/commodities, new rare goods created or can be something that develops an ongoing storyline such as cures for diseases, discovering terrorist cells or defeating enemies. Global rewards are not automatically applied and need to be done so manually and can takes hours or days to be available.
EXAMPLE of a Global Reward:
Tier 3 achieved = "A TOTAL OF 3 REFUELING STATION WILL BE CONTRUCTED BETWEEN HUMAN SPACE AND THE COLONIA NEBULA"
...
In the above example a Refueling Station was added for every Tier achieved...
Tier 1 = 1 Refueling Station,
Tier 2 = 2 Refueling Stations,
Tier 3 = 3 Refueling Stations ect...
Crew members do not gain a percentage of rewards paid out.
To claim your reward after the completion of the CG go to the bulletin board of the station where the CG was being hosted and click on complete. Credit rewards are available immediately afterwards, but some players have reported a delay so wait a few minutes. If you don't collect your reward it will be automatically paid to your account in 2 weeks, no matter where you are at that point.
Any rewards claimed do not count towards progress through your Elite ranks, although activities done for the CG (I.e. Handing in exploration data, bounty vouchers, etc. count as normal.)
Some CGs will also have global rewards also and work slightly different to normal rewards. Global rewards are things that affect the game for all players regardless of contribution or if they have even signed up at all. The level of the global reward is determined by the tier met and can be anything from limited time discounts on ships/commodities, new rare goods created or can be something that develops an ongoing storyline such as cures for diseases, discovering terrorist cells or defeating enemies. Global rewards are not automatically applied and need to be done so manually and can takes hours or days to be available.
EXAMPLE of a Global Reward:
...
In the above example a Refueling Station was added for every Tier achieved...
Tier 1 = 1 Refueling Station,
Tier 2 = 2 Refueling Stations,
Tier 3 = 3 Refueling Stations ect...
This can cause quite a lot of confusion and frustration. Community Goals are usually a week long but can be longer, but quite simply the time left or end dates stated anywhere at the moment is a time limit and does not indicate the total duration of that CG. As mentioned before there is no automated update on the progress of a CG without signing up first. Depending on the level of participants or required targets a CG can easily reach the final tier in a couple of days, when that happens it finishes regardless of the end time. Equally if the time runs out and certain tiers are not met then it finishes even if no rewards are available.
The Background Simulation (BGS) can have a number of effects on the functionality of CGs.
A number of trade CGs in the past have had their market removed by a player group by putting the system into a state of Lockdown, an adverse effect of attacks on clean targets. This effectively stalls a trade CG. Handing in bounty vouchers to the station would be needed to counter the effects.
Another form of disruption to CGs is UA Bombing (Delivering large quantities of Unknown Artifacts to the Black Market of the hosting station). This will cause technical difficulties for the station, again closing some services.
Keeping an eye on the CG thread in Community Goals discussion will keep you up to date on any developments.
A number of trade CGs in the past have had their market removed by a player group by putting the system into a state of Lockdown, an adverse effect of attacks on clean targets. This effectively stalls a trade CG. Handing in bounty vouchers to the station would be needed to counter the effects.
Another form of disruption to CGs is UA Bombing (Delivering large quantities of Unknown Artifacts to the Black Market of the hosting station). This will cause technical difficulties for the station, again closing some services.
Keeping an eye on the CG thread in Community Goals discussion will keep you up to date on any developments.
As of the 2.3 update a new game mechanic has been added that allows one community goal to end prematurely once the opposing goal has reached it's final tier. This will happen automatically. The losing side will still receive their credit rewards for the achieved tier on completion.
Currently this only applies to combat CGs in conflict zones, but hints have been made to extend this mechanic to other types of CGs.
Currently this only applies to combat CGs in conflict zones, but hints have been made to extend this mechanic to other types of CGs.
QUICK ANSWERS.
*SIGN UP AT ANY BULLETIN BOARDS IN STATIONS WITH A MISSION BOARD BEFORE CONTRIBUTING.
*COMMUNITY GOALS ARE PLAYABLE FROM OPEN, SOLO AND PRIVATE GROUPS ON BOTH PC/MAC AND XBOX.
*ALL PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF ABOVE ALWAYS CONTRIBUTE TO THE SAME GOAL.
*THE AMOUNT YOU CONTRIBUTE DETERMINES YOUR OWN REWARD AND THE OVERALL PROGRESS.
*CREDIT REWARDS ARE GIVEN AT THE END OF THE COMMUNITY GOAL OR VERY SHORTLY AFTER.
*IF NOT COLLECTED, COMMUNITY GOAL REWARDS WILL AUTOMATICALLY PAYOUT AFTER 2 WEEKS AFTER THE PLANNED END DATE, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE GALAXY.
*REWARDS ARE NOT ALWAYS STATED AND USUALLY ONLY REVEALED ON MEETING TIER TARGETS.
*GLOBAL REWARDS WILL SOMETIMES NOT BE IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE AND CAN TAKE HOURS, DAYS OR IN SOME CASES WEEKS TO APPEAR.
*GLOBAL REWARDS ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL PLAYERS WHETHER THEY TOOK PART OR NOT.
*THE END TIMES STATED IS A TIME LIMIT AND DOES NOT MEAN THE COMMUNITY GOAL IS NECESSARILY STILL ON GOING.
Feedback or update suggestions? Since this thread is locked, please PM either fennster or any of the mod team for this forum and we will review & update as appropriate
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