Recently decided to get back onto Elite: Dangerous after taking a break/playing other games and consoles I own (side note: way too many works have Federation and Empire as factions, either as an official label or a nickname). I made my first Elite in exploration over a year ago by running passenger missions, and I finished Trade Elite a few months ago by hauling stuff for a few CGs. Currently sitting at Combat rank Dangerous 26%. Any advice/help on how to finish the final stretch would be appreciated (things to try, stuff to make the grind less tedious/painful, etc.). For the record, I got my Combat rank through a combination of HazRES and CNB bounty hunting, assassination missions, and defending my ship from NPC pirates. I tried bug hunting (scouts), but it's not really my thing. Happy Holidays and o7 fellow Commanders/Pilots.
Finishing the Combat Rank Grind
- Thread starter Exiled Onimusha
- Start date
Its a tedious grind, your not at deadly yet which is really painful. Most effiecient way is killing guardian scouts which are all ranked Elite.
I would suggest an AX Krait build and farming Non-Human Signal Source's threat 4 and under. Celaeno outside Artemis Lodge is a great spot. Still tedious as F*ck but best way.
I would suggest an AX Krait build and farming Non-Human Signal Source's threat 4 and under. Celaeno outside Artemis Lodge is a great spot. Still tedious as F*ck but best way.
Correctly engineered Armoured Python and Krait With AX LARGE multi cannons Kills scouts easy.. just avoid the clouds after kill... or carry decon limpets...
There are multi videos online if you get stuck... every thing else slows the grind...
There are multi videos online if you get stuck... every thing else slows the grind...
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CNB and HazRES with a hold full of cargo. Also take plenty of pirate massacre missions and Pirate assassination missions.
I did do Scouts, I made sure I mixed things up a bit (I was in no rush).
I don't recommend CZs or Pirate Activity Detected POIs, the kills take far too long.
I did do Scouts, I made sure I mixed things up a bit (I was in no rush).
I don't recommend CZs or Pirate Activity Detected POIs, the kills take far too long.
To maximize the increase to your own combat RANK you must defeat more highly combat-ranked ships i.e.: Destroy combat-ELITE ranked ships. There is a table on the Elite Dangerous Wiki that explains the effect of destroying differently ranked ships when compared to your own combat RANK. Destroying ships of the same rank as you or lower has no effect on your own combat RANK. The higher (than your) combat ranked ship you destroy has an increasing effect on your own combat rank, so it is most effective to kill only Elite-ranked ships whenever possible.
One way to do this is to destroy Thargoid ships, since all Thargoid ships are ranked Elite. Since many of us are not equipped to destroy the large Tharg ships, the easiest way to accomplish this is to destroy Thargoid Scout ships, which are smaller and more vulnerable to attack but are always found in groups of anywhere from two to six ships.
It still isn't easy, it isn't meant to be easy. You will still need to destroy thousands of Scouts and they are not always easy to find. Sometimes they are accompanied by the larger Tharg ships which will attack you if you attack their little brothers. The trick is to find groups of Scout ships that are unaccompanied by the larger ships. Back when the Thargs were attacking systems it was easy to find small groups of unaccompanied Scout ships to destroy but lately, finding groups of unaccompanied Tharg ships has become much more difficult due to the Thargs not attacking entire systems like they used to.
You might want to have another look at that table on the Wiki.
Some ranks below you do count.
Why grind toward an arbitrary point. Just shoot stuff if you enjoy it and the goal will come around in its own sweet time. No grind at all.
At the higher levels of rank, Combat rank is meaningless when it comes to actual piloting skill. I may have elite status in combat, but there are many many pilots who are lower ranked who could easily beat me in a fight. Chase actual skill, not rank. 
o7
o7
I actually read your OP and you say Bug hunting isn't your thing so Ill ignore that.
Try PowerPlay bounty version if you haven't already, lot of targets and lot of targets attack you, every little helps, plus you get a Module or Weapon unlock.
Otherwise just mix it up, Nav Beacons & Res sites for pure combat, CZs & Installations for a 'battle' with a winner and a loser, Bounty hunting and maybe piracy in Anarchies (I choose the ship based on the Mat Im after so lot of trade ships get destroyed in Anarchies as rarely wanted elsewhere. Assassination & Massacre missions.
Wing up or go multi crew in a fighter, this is my current quickest way to rank up, fighter in someone elses crew, not quite as quick in my own fighter with an NPC at the helm as NPC takes half the rank.
Any target becomes a grind if that's all you do, just try and hit that target so try and mix it up, just play the game and let it happen.
Try PowerPlay bounty version if you haven't already, lot of targets and lot of targets attack you, every little helps, plus you get a Module or Weapon unlock.
Otherwise just mix it up, Nav Beacons & Res sites for pure combat, CZs & Installations for a 'battle' with a winner and a loser, Bounty hunting and maybe piracy in Anarchies (I choose the ship based on the Mat Im after so lot of trade ships get destroyed in Anarchies as rarely wanted elsewhere. Assassination & Massacre missions.
Wing up or go multi crew in a fighter, this is my current quickest way to rank up, fighter in someone elses crew, not quite as quick in my own fighter with an NPC at the helm as NPC takes half the rank.
Any target becomes a grind if that's all you do, just try and hit that target so try and mix it up, just play the game and let it happen.
Try going to anarchy systems with outbreak status and drop into checkpoints. It's all Eagles and Vipers, about 30 seconds per kill.
Looks like you've tried most of it, CMDR. The thing that almost worked for me, was not looking at my rank every two minutes while in the CNB