Newcomer / Intro Hello

Terran

T
Hello everyone!

I've been playing for a few days now and I thought I'd share my startup experience and thoughts about where to go next.Is there any way to check how long you've been ingame/how old your pilot is? I would guess I'm a few hours in.

I initially did circuits around a few star systems doing missions and trading small amounts in my sidewinder and my measly 1,000cr :D I initially just wanted to practice flying my ship, landing and exiting ports. I got a few nice missions and was able to upgrade my ship, and I decided to go with a hauler. I continued doing the same thing but with a bigger cargo, so I could make more money trading while also having more missions to choose from. I then splashed out on 2 new cargo racks, doubling my cargo up to 16, and found a nice little trading run where I could make 6k one way and 16k the other, but it was 3 jumps each way. I upgraded my FSD to cut it to 2, and I'm now able to make about 22k every 10 mins if I land well don't get any incursions.

I now have just over 300k and a slightly upgraded hauler. I'm thinking about getting the cobra, but I don't want to get too far ahead with operating costs and whatnot. I will be buying new ships outright (no trade-ins) as I want to collect all of them :D

So, I'm currently making around 160k/hour trading and I'm wondering about the next step. The cobra looks good as it will increase my cargo capacity greatly, as well as maybe opening up other parts of the game, such as combat or exploring. If the cobra is a good way to go, will it offer good combat potential?

I haven't really tried combat, and I'm not sure of the best way to go about it. I was thinking about outftting a sidewinder with some better lasers and shields to get some practice. The other option was to get a better ship. I've got enough money now to buy a slightly better combat ship than the sidewinder (like a viper or eagle), but again I could just go for the cobra.

Is there much money in mining at early levels?

I just thought I'd share my thoughts :) And thanks in advance if anyone has any feedback on my musings.

See you in space!
 

mistohise

mistohise
The Cobra is a good ship. It's got enough flexibility to do most of the in-game roles. It can handle itself in a fight, though it is not a purely combat-focussed ship.
Specced up in can travel 20+ LY with cargo, so it's ideal for trading rares across the map.
 

Terran

T
mistohise said:
Specced up in can travel 20+ LY with cargo, so it's ideal for trading rares across the map.
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That's what I was thinking :) some easy trading runs with occasional combat missions. Need to practice some combat first...

That cobra is a sexy ship also...
 

willowfan

willowfan
Sounds like the Cobra would be a good next step for you, it is highly adaptable and can be outfitted in a number of different ways for trading and mining, even exploring, and can handle itself pretty well in a scrap.

Viper is a great combat ship but is pretty much useless at any other profession.

Your idea of pimping up a sidey a bit to have a go at combat is a good one. That way you can practice dogfighting with very little risk from failure, as the insurance rebuy cost of even a half decently kitted out sidey is peanuts compared to any other ship.
 

Terran

T
willowfan said:
Your idea of pimping up a sidey a bit to have a go at combat is a good one. That way you can practice dogfighting with very little risk from failure, as the insurance rebuy cost of even a half decently kitted out sidey is peanuts compared to any other ship.
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Yeah I'm trying to keep costs down while maximising learning and earning potential. What might be the best combat missions for practicing against some noob NPCs and make a few cr? Don't want to run into any big dawgs just yet :D

I think I'm going to do this trading run until I'm up to 500k. Then I'll spec out a nice little sidewinder and go hunting :) Then when I can actually shoot straight I'll get that shekshy cobra. And try not to ram it into a wall.
 

willowfan

willowfan
Best mission for combat practice is probably a kill pirates one, and camping out at a nav point or RES until done. Though you can do that anyway without having a mission - I often just keep going until I run out of MC ammo.

So long as you only attack wanted and nothing bigger than an Adder and probably sticking to Competent or less npcs for starters you should be fine.
 

Terran

T
So I've been checking out options on upgrading my sidewinder. I think it would be a bit of a waste to put a beam weapon on there. Will spending as little as 10k to upgrade my hardpoints make life too tough for a noob? Or should I have enough firepower? Or should I just blow 50k+ on some kickass firepower :D
 

Jank

Jank
Gimbaled Pulse lasers are an easy cheap and effective combat upgrade for a sidewinder. 6600 each and makes for faster kills overall IMO.
 

cmdr lowest

C
Jank said:
Gimbaled Pulse lasers are an easy cheap and effective combat upgrade for a sidewinder. 6600 each and makes for faster kills overall IMO.
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Gimbled is definitely the way to go. It was a game-changer for me when I discovered those.

Replace the stock fixed pulse lasers for gimbles and head to a nav beacon. Scan the ships in the area (target them with the target ahead button, get them in view and look at the HUD in the bottom left). When you see a ship that is 'wanted' you are free to engage. Now just check what kind of ship it is and what their combat mastery is before you do...

Good luck commander. Definitely try combat in the Sidewinder first. Cheap re-buy costs if it all goes pear-shaped.
 

Terran

T
Jank said:
Gimbaled Pulse lasers are an easy cheap and effective combat upgrade for a sidewinder. 6600 each and makes for faster kills overall IMO.
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Yeah I was thinking gimballed weapons would be easier. Thanks for the tip! I was hoping that they were auto-targetting though as controlling 2-4 gimballed weapons and my ship manually would be a challenge this early on.

I tried the training missions before I started playing, but I don't like wearing nappies :) I want to be in the action taking risks! :D

Thanks for the tips Cmdr Lowest. I assume I'm open to being ganked (is that what you call it in this game?) if I'm hanging around nav points, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for any chancers who want an easy kill!

Thanks for the welcome, Tbird :)

To battle!

P.S. Do I need to worry about power supply or anything else in the little sidewinder? Assumed not, but maybe I'll need to beef up the power if I upgrade the weps. Will try without and see how it goes...
 

willowfan

willowfan
Gimballed weapons do autotrack your current target.

So long as the power supply you have got provides sufficient power to all your systems you don't need to upgrade it.
 
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Terran

T
Vampyre111 said:
There are some combat missions in the tutorials you use to get your skill up. They are free.
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Also, does the tutorial offer the chance to play around with hardpoints, shields and all the other things I don't really understand yet? I think a lot of combat is going to be how I set my ship up as much as how I pilot it.

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willowfan said:
Gimballed weapons do autotrack your current target.

So long as the power supply you have got provides sufficient power to all your systems you don't need to upgrade it.
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Ah, great. I'll keep an eye on the power and upgrade as appropriate.
 

Kuroshio

Kuroshio
As for experimenting with loadouts and configurations, and setting up your ship first (always a good idea), you can simply head for the next asteroid belt or planetary ring and try stuff out. Space is big. And you can sell everything for it's original price if you don't like it.
 

Terran

T
Yeah, these gimbaled lasers are ace :) I've nabbed a few low value bounties and stole someone's tobacco! I got caught up with some scary high-level NPCs (expert or something) and had to make a run for it. Haven't died yet, though :)

I also got caught up in a fight at a nav point and 3 CMDRs were going for the same target. In the melee I must have shot at the wrong ship as I became WANTED. I managed to get away to my dirty backwater hideout and pay my bounty off. Phew!

I've actually been spending a lot of time floating around an anarchic system, grabbing bounties and selling stuff on the black market. Even done a bit of slaving! I never thought a computer game would bring me so low...

And I've bought my cobra :) I'm not flying it much yet as I want to get it kitted out and get myself covered with insurance and stuff. And I need to learn more about the various systems and how to use them effectively.

Once I'm geared and I've got some credits behind me, I plan to explore a bit find some further, higher value trade routes.

Is there any major hurry to get into the various faction missions? Like the Federation or Empire stuff. Any nice benefits to doing those? Or is it just a status thing? I'm not sure I'm of the right moral fibre for the Federation just yet, what with my smuggling and slaving, but I will try to clean up my act soon and join the ranks!
 

Mibuchi

Mibuchi
Terran said:
...I managed to get away to my dirty backwater hideout and pay my bounty off. Phew!

I've actually been spending a lot of time floating around an anarchic system, grabbing bounties and selling stuff on the black market. Even done a bit of slaving! I never thought a computer game would bring me so low...!
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Heh! A dirty backwater hideout? - Nothing dirty about saving your own skin :p Slaving on the other hand...:eek:
 
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