Seriously Max Factor, your argument about not leveling up is purely non-sense!! to suggest you can do everything without leveling up lol,
making the argument about:
1 elite status gives you nothing? founders world permit and an extra 2.5% added discount in every station for ships ring any bells?
2 Navy ranks are optional! but are required for empire/federation to give access to cutter/courier/clipper also the Fed assualt ship/dropship/gunship/corvette
if one wishes to remain limited in their scope ... then yes.. opt for trading and fighting in the sidewinder... im sure one can excel doing things that way lol
as far as comparison of Sidewinder to anaconda
and one cannot have a fighter bay in a sidewinder... that requires another level of ship!! *winks
1. Doesn't really mean much to me. Oh a permit with a discount. Again, it is pretty meaningless as you can get a better discount elsewhere within the game.
2. Yes navy ranks are required for certain ships, but those ships are purely optional, again not necessary to play any part of the game.
Just because getting certain ships make things really easy doesn't necessarily make it more fun.
Sorry but that is not leveling and it never will be.
As I said it is a game about options. YOU choose to fly whatever ship/s you want to. There is nothing in the game that forces you to do that. It is a choice you make for yourself.
In LOTRO or WoW for instance, leveling is forced on you whether you like it or not to be able to do the next bit of the game. That is a level based game. ED is not, it is an options game.
I have been playing for two years and my main ships are my Cobra MK4, Keelback and my Vulture. Are these better ships then my sidewinder and Eagle, sure they are, but they are not mandatory to play the game or to experience any part of the game like levels are in a traditional MMORPG.
If this was a level based game, getting the Anaconda, Cutter or Corevette with all grade 5 mods should be the pinacle of the game. It is not. That is a choice for people to make for themselves.
It's the same with Engineers. I have very few upgrades as I don't really need them. I dabble from time to time when I have the materials. Again all optional.
This is the least level based game I have ever played in my life (I have played a lot of games), and that is the reason why I like it. Nothing forces me to get the next big ship, so I can do the next big part of the game. I can play pretty much how I want to, in whatever ship I like.
You can treat it like a level based game if you want to, striving for the next big ship, the next naval rank or elite status, but again that is your choice. It is not forced upon you ever.