How to play Elite Dangerous

[Flankhard]

I like bounty hunting mixed with some trading mixed with some cargo delivery missions and trying out different ships for these jobs. These features where there at launch and some of the best updates for me so far have been: buffs to bounties, different res zones, new ships and shadow delivery missions.

So best way to enjoy the game is to ignore new features and stick with the core that attracted you to the game in the first place. Getting to be alot of features that not get played though. And those who do play them, get aggrivated and get told not to play them by people who are already not playing them. Hmmm....

 

[CaptainKremmen]

I'm figuring out the secret to how to like this game ever so slowly. I am curious if others have arrived at the same conclusion I have.

The best way to play this game, from what I can tell, is to not care about anything.
- Don't care about money, because then you'll end up grinding for money.
- Don't care about your ship, because then you'll want to upgrade it which will cost money and you'll end up caring about money
- Don't care about other ships, because then you'll want them and you'll end up caring about money, and really frustrated that this game just isn't designed for you to hoard things.
- Don't care about ranking up, because then you'll end up grinding for rank.
- Don't care about engineers, because then you'll end up grinding for materials.
- Don't care about getting elite, because then you'll end up grinding for pilot rank.
- Don't care about the destination when you're exploring, because then you won't be exploring, you'll be grinding to a destination.
- Don't care about power play ranks because then you'll end up grinding merits.

I'm pretty sure this game is just designed for you to be an aimless, passionless, goal-less nut job flying around in space simply because you like to fly around in space. If you actually have a goal, you'll probably get frustrated quickly.

I mean, this game really is a power gamer's worse nightmare. For example, engineers had to be DESIGNED to be annoying, time consuming, and painful in every way possible. Think about it, there's no way that could've been an accident. They're likely just something to sip occasionally. Much like a fine whisky. So don't power game. Don't try to achieve everything. Don't really try to achieve anything actually.

It's also best to just not pay attention to ED Marketing. Passenger missions at this point are probably just going to be cargo transport missions that give new missions mid flight, much like how cargo transport missions now give you a new missions mid flight.

So it's best not to care what's coming either. Just enjoy the awesome flight model, which really is awesome. Especially those canyon runs.

My biggest success was to get an Oculus Rift, because that made flying in space great again.

What have you found is the best way to enjoy yourself in this game?

A middle ground, perhaps, between the two poles...

Don't care about anything whatsoever |<---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->| Obsess exclusively on one specific thing

 

[Noddie]

As I keep saying about many things. If you're grinding, you're doing it wrong.

Imagine you have a bath to empty. And somebody hands you an egg cup, a drinking straw and a towel. Some people bail the water out with the cup. Some try to syphon it out with the straw, some try to blot it out with the towel.

Smart people, on the other hand, yank out the plug.

Yes. You can mine or trade for materials. But you can also do missions, piracy, scavenge etc.

 

[Han_Zen]

I have one advice. When you log in, think about what you want to do, not what you want to have.

 

[Siranui]

I'm pretty sure this game is just designed for you to be an aimless, passionless, goal-less nut job flying around in space simply because you like to fly around in space. If you actually have a goal, you'll probably get frustrated quickly.

No, it's supposed to be a fun way to occupy my time. It is, partly because I don't treat it like an OTE-paying job and slave relentlessly at targets.

Don't confuse not having goals with not working flat-out and obsessively in the most efficient way of obtaining those goals, to the detriment of everything else - including you own enjoyment.

It is possible to have goals without relentlessly pursuing them. I don't play badminton with friends with the goal of beating them all with the maximum number of points, and then becoming world champion: I play for fun. Why would I turn a fun pass-time into some points-driven obsession?

I do what I want to do while playing, and allow myself to be distracted by whims. If something is boring, or annoying... I go and do something else.

Be a bit zen about it: Don't worry about what you want in the future; enjoy what you're doing now.