Powerplay Faction: Archon Delaine How to: Getting to rank 5 and maintain it (also, a bit Archon oriented)

[geoffrey.hdt]

Remark: Please do not merge this thread with an existing one. Thank you!


Hi Commanders,


A lot of people are still confused about how Power Play works.
Or they complain about merit decay and/or rank 5 which seems out of reach...mostly because they actually do not entirely understand how it works.
Here are a few things I wish I knew when I started, and that I wanted to share.

But first, to illustrate what I am typing, we must choose a Power. Since I like challenge and never go for the easy win, I chose Archon, who is depicted either as the only bad guy, or the most badass character of the galaxy. Your call.


I would summarize the progression in three phases: you begin as an Archling (rank1), then progress to Archon Knight (rank 4) to Archon Lord (rank 5).

Archling (rank 1-3):
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Goals:

- You must try, at least once, fortifying, expanding and preparing until you get a clear understanding of the mechanics. Unless you are very rich, you should not fast-track at that point.
- Then go undermining.
- Your goal is either to get 1500 merits by the end of the cycle, or 1000 merits per cycle for two consecutive cycles.
- You would then reach rank 4, and get your 5 million salary a week after that.

Suggested/Minimum requirement: a Cobra

- This can haul 60T and run away from anything (4 pips to ENG, boost, chaff, enable silent running, boosts...).
- This can earn, on its own, 400-600 merits per hour doing undermining. Also, it has a very good jump range.


Archon Knight (rank 4):
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Goals:

- Maintain your rank 4 and enjoy 5 millions per week. For this, all you need is maximum 750 merits per week.
- For this, I recommend to go undermining, or if decided by the Kumo Crew, go help at the expansion pockets.
- Collect regularly your allotment (25T every 30 minutes) to help fortifying our systems.
- While you wait for your next allotment, get familiar with the area and make a profit of imperial slaves smuggled to our exploited systems where they are illegal...
- ...or cheap narcotics bought from our controlled systems (Matucanth, LTT 16548, Halbangaay) and smuggled to the touristic systems nearby.
- When you are tired of fortifying and smuggling, go undermining and get as many merits as possible. In a few weeks you should be able to reach 10000 merits, AKA, rank 5!
- Get a Python (47 millions if bought at a Ly Yong Rui controlled system) or anything with over 200T cargo.


Archon Lord (rank 5):
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Goals:

- Remember, you get your 50 millions salary one week after you graduate, so your first goal is to maintain your rank 5.
- Go undermining to score as close as possible as 5000 merits.
- Also, collect your allotment (50T every 30 minutes) and deliver full load of marked slaves to Harma (you may need to fast-track a bit)
- If decided by the Kumo Crew, go help at the expansion pockets.
- If by the end of the cycle you have not scored the 5000 merits, fast-track some full loads and deliver to Harma. With a ship over 200T cargo, it is done pretty fast.
- You will get 50 millions by the end of the cycle, and even if you had to fast-track, you should have plenty of money left!
- Get an Anaconda (120 millions if bought at a Ly Yong Rui controlled system) or anything with over 400T cargo.
- Oh by the way, you are now immune to fines and bounties (after the scan, cops run away from you! And if you get an insta fine/bounty, they disappear as soon as you jump to another system) so you can enjoy smuggling at no risk/cost.


Best ways to maintain rank 5:
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If you don't have time to play this week:

- Collect some allotments, fast-track to top of the load and deliver to Harma.
- With an Anaconda, you need about 12 quick deliveries to reach 5000 merits.
- Your salary would cover up to 5000T fast-track, so you would loose nothing that cycle anyway...
- ...but every allotment you collected would save you 500k credits.
=> Very fast, little to no effort. 12 deliveries can be done in less than 2 hours with an Anaconda, and you should still end up with a few millions in the pocket!


If all you want is money, as soon as possible:

- Go for some heavy sessions of undermining and score 5000 merits.
- If you reached 5000 merits by undermining, you can then keep the 50 millions for you without any need to fast track or collect allotments
- Remark: a Hauler is then equivalent to saving 300k, and every wing of Eagles, worth 900k. Beat that.
=>Heavy undermining may feel like a turkey shoot, fun at first, you may get tired of it pretty fast. I'd recommend to wing up with some other players.

The clever way to proceed:

- Collect regularly your allotments while you do something else (CQC, watch a movie, play another game...) and deliver full loads to Harma.
- Go undermining, or help expanding.
- Around the end of the cycle, if you feel like you are not going to make it to 5000 merits, you can fast-track.
=> By doing a bit of everything, you don't get bored and you will have plenty of money left in your pocket...


Also, if you are dedicated to your Power:
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- The money left in your pocket may be used to fast-track at the end of the cycle and help your Power even further.
- The question you should ask yourself at this point is: do you really need this money? A bigger ship does not necessarily bring more fun...

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Here I explain how to perform the Power Play tasks:
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I. Fortifying our controlled systems

1) Check our fortification priority list and go to one of our controlled systems that needs to be fortified.
2) Collect your allotment of marked slaves every 30 minutes or/and fast-track at the cost of 10k credits per ton.
3) Deliver them to Harma.

Short story, there is no need to go above 100% of fortification trigger. Once the trigger has been reached, the system is secured.

What are marked slaves? A second chance given to the family of those, who tried to oppose Archon but failed.
Unlike imperial slaves, the reward is not about repaying their debts, but earning their scars by serving our systems (hey, everybody needs labor, the Imperials have legal slavery, the Feds exploits their workers...we are not worse than the others), show what they are made of, climb the ladder and eventually become part of the Kumo Crew.

You will need: a ship with some cargo capacity.


II. Expanding systems to a controlled state

1) Check the cycle priorities to know whether or not an expansion is worth for the current cycle. If it has been decided it is not, stick to the order and do not bother with the expansion.
2) Go to the system on which we want to focus, there will be some expansion pockets around planets. Drop to one of the pockets and take down as many enemy ships.
3) Go to one of our Controlled systems and cash-in your Power Play vouchers.

Short story, you should target the smallest ships, since you get 10 merits per kill, no matter what kind of ship you take down.

Who are these enemy ships? Archon improves the economy of a system using creative ways, but some people don't like change and decide to oppose using violent manners instead (Don't believe me? Go there, keep hardpoints retracted and tell me who shoots first). Nobody messes with Archon.

You will need: a ship with some firepower and though shield.


III. Undermining the other Powers

1) Check the latest updates of the Kumo Crew and participate in the current undermining operation. Get the list of target systems and fly to one of them.
2) Patrol the system, interdict and destroy any ships belonging to a Power (example: in Patreus space, you should target the imperial Supply ships, as well as the Patreus Sentinels, but also the Federal Agents, Alliance Enforcers, Aisling Angels...etc...aside of the Kumo Crew ships of course!)
3) You will cumulate some bounties while doing this, but these are active only for the system you are at, so no worry and it makes things more challenging anyway!
4) Go to one of our Controlled systems and cash-in your Power Play vouchers.

You get 30 merits per kill, no matter what kind of ship you take down. For this reason you should target wings of small ships (mind these wings of 3 deadly Eagles, their railguns sting!).
Also, if other commanders from the Kumo Crew are around, wing up with them! Everybody would get 30 merits for each kill and it increases the amount of kills per hours!

You will need: a ship with some firepower and a FrameShift Drive interdictor.


IV. Preparing systems for expansion

1) This is the least important of our activities. You should instead focus on fortifying.
2) But, you start every cycle with some nominations, which you can spend on one of the systems which is being prepared. Refer to the latest updates of the Kumo Crew to know on what systems you should spend your nominations.
3) If you want to participate, you must collect some contraband packages (allotment or fast-tracking) from one of our controlled systems, and bring them to the system you want to prepare.

You will need: Nothing if you just want to spend your nominations, otherwise a ship with some cargo capacity.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

More info:
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Cycle

A cycle ends and a new one starts every Thursday at 6:00am GMT.
Any merits non cashed-in, or Power play commodities not delivered, by that time, is lost.


Merit decay

Short story, at the beginning of each cycle, you get the total amount of merits you have by the end of previous cycle, divided by 2.

Example:
Cycle 1, you score 1000 merits.
Cycle 2, you have left 1000/2=500 merits. You score then an extra 1000 merits and end up with 500+1000=1500 merits.
Cycle 3, you have (1000/4)+(1000/2)=750 merits. You score then an extra 750 merits and end up with 750+750=1500 merits.
Cycle 4, you have (1000/8)+(1000/4)+(750/2)=750 merits...

 

[Sir.Tj]

Moved as req.

 

[bigity]

Do we need to update the OP to reflect that control systems no longer give the 10% black market bonus and imperial slaves should be sold at exploited systems instead?

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Do we need to update the OP to reflect that control systems no longer give the 10% black market bonus and imperial slaves should be sold at exploited systems instead?

Thanks. Corrected.