N00b explorer keeps getting ganked hard

MakashiGames

MakashiGames
Hi,

So I have managed to accrue about 25 hours play time.

I am still in my initial sidewinder and feel that my natural play style is more of an explorer/miner/trader (really not sure on the balance).

I got given a free Viper MK IV, which tbh has completely thrown me off.

I think that I am keen to save up and get a Diamondback Explorer as my next ship, as it is more achievable than any other purpose built Explorer, but I am not sure if this is the best choice.

Do I sell the Viper? Is it worth getting into bounty hunting ans if so, is this ship good for that?

To give you some background, I am pretty decent at flying and have never successfully been interdicted. The only times I get ganked are when I'm like 400 LY out of the bubble, see an unidentified signal source, rock up, and then 4 conda's just blitz me.

This has happened like 3 times now and it's one of those situations where I consider not playing any more because I lose all the data. The last time it happened I didn;t have any money so now I have a loan :(.

So what would a more advanced player do? Sell the Viper, raise some cash exploring and then get the DB?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 

Eisen

Eisen
If you like exploring in a Viper there is nothing wrong with that. Allitnil has flown a Viper MKIV out to Beagle Point, which is more than 65.000 ly out and Frawd Digger even got there in a Sidewinder. The DBX will give you a better jumprange (between 30-34 ly per Jump) so you will be faster. And the Viper is a very good bounty hunting ship as long as you leave bigger ships of high experience and wings alone.
The problem is somewhere else: If you have a load of data in your storage just don't seek for trouble (like dropping into a USS and trying to fight). Most explorers return the last 1000 ly to the bubble as fast as possible, avoiding interdictions and trying to land at an outpost or station without bothering with USS or other potentially dangerous stuff.
What I'd do is: go for the DBX and the additional money for a good explorers outfitting + insurance (NEVER fly without enough money to cover at least one insurance-bill). The DBX is a great ship for the beginning and it will carry you wherever you want. You can make decent exploration-money with it.
 
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Thrawn29

Thrawn29
Hi Makahi,

If you want to leave the bubble for a nice trip, then the Viper is probably not the best choice.
But you can go and explore even with few millions only.

To me this kind of ship is perfectly fitted for a run. (Unless if you want to land on planet, then you'll have to remove AFMU and replace it by planetary vehicle hanger.)

Now... i would recommend to not drop in USS while exploring. :)
(Well since last update, we know the threat level but...)

Fly safe o7
 

newman1702

newman1702
With just 25 hours I'm going to go on a limb and assume you haven't exactly fully upgraded either of those ships - they are all by and large bad in their stock configurations and need substantial upgrades before you can really gauge whether you like them or not.
 

Traveller_GG

Traveller_GG
dognosh said:
Going to USS and combat zones with exploration data is like lathering yourself in mince meat and blood then entering a cage full of starving lions...
Click to expand...

I believe the late great TP put it perfectly:

“If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are b s!”
Click to expand...
 
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cptdavep

cptdavep
I'm guessing you're on a mega budget at the moment so here's an explorer build for £1m credits to get you started:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/hauler/02D2D2A1D1D1D2C1802-2v3u2i2g.Iw19A===.Aw19A===?bn=Cheapo Hauler

If you have more cash to spare upgrade the scanner to an advanced scanner, although don't rush to do this as it's actually fun early in the game trying to scan systems by chasing moving dots you hope are planets.

The trick to any good exploration build is to make it as light as possible, so buy D-grade everything except FSD and fuel scoop, if you're brave ditch the shields and gun for another 3ly range.
 

xondk

X
MakahiGames said:
Hi,

So I have managed to accrue about 25 hours play time.

I am still in my initial sidewinder and feel that my natural play style is more of an explorer/miner/trader (really not sure on the balance).

I got given a free Viper MK IV, which tbh has completely thrown me off.

I think that I am keen to save up and get a Diamondback Explorer as my next ship, as it is more achievable than any other purpose built Explorer, but I am not sure if this is the best choice.

Do I sell the Viper? Is it worth getting into bounty hunting ans if so, is this ship good for that?

To give you some background, I am pretty decent at flying and have never successfully been interdicted. The only times I get ganked are when I'm like 400 LY out of the bubble, see an unidentified signal source, rock up, and then 4 conda's just blitz me.

This has happened like 3 times now and it's one of those situations where I consider not playing any more because I lose all the data. The last time it happened I didn;t have any money so now I have a loan :(.

So what would a more advanced player do? Sell the Viper, raise some cash exploring and then get the DB?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Well it gives you a threat level, so yeah, don't go into USS that have high threat level and you'll be fine?
 

Chrystoph

Chrystoph
My suggestion would be to pick a close-ish destination, say one of the closer nebulae or such, and go see it.

Alternatively, you could go to Fehu and run data missions to build up cash and explore inside the bubble. That puts your FSD to use, gets you exploration of systems inside the bubble and money to give you a broader range of choices.

The Viper IV isn't a bad ship for mid range work, and will take you most places, just not as quickly as the longer legged beasties.
 
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Jackie Silver

Jackie Silver
MakahiGames said:
The only times I get ganked are when I'm like 400 LY out of the bubble, see an unidentified signal source, rock up, and then 4 conda's just blitz me.
Click to expand...

Even an elite pilot would struggle to win fights against multiple heavy ships in a Sidey. Combat in Elite is very non-linear; you can usually fly with more skill than any one NPC ship but that doesn't help when its mates have free rein to shoot at you all the while.

In your circumstances I would ditch the Sidewinder immediately and switch to the Viper IV, which (cost aside) is a much better ship in almost all aspects. Alternatively buy a Cobra III and use speed to escape bad situations, although that may be less reliable since the Engineers patch. Absolutely don't poke your nose into SSS in a Sidewinder unless you don't mind losing your ship, cargo and data.
 

Darth Krayt

Darth Krayt
dognosh said:
Going to USS and combat zones with exploration data is like lathering yourself in mince meat and blood then entering a cage full of starving lions...
Click to expand...
There is now a threat level displayed on a USS when you point your ship at it. Threat level 0 means no bad guys inside usually, but I did get bounced on 1 occasion by 3 jokers, so be ready to high wake if it looks like you're outgunned.
[Edit] Ninjaed by Ziggy.
 
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dognosh

dognosh
Thinking of any hazardous activity, even threat 0, with data on board is utterly stupid. If you don't mind losing it all then may I suggest powerplay, to gain 200% bonus? Even that is now high threat level since we went live with 2.1
 

MakashiGames

MakashiGames
Thanks so much for the info guys.

To give some more info as there have been a few assumptions. I have watched CMDR Scott Manley for quite a few hours over the last couple of years, so I had already gotten a good idea of how to evade interdictions etc. Once ED was on sale on Steam I figured I'd pick it up and have a go (in like Feb?) - which I am happy I did.

Spent like 5 hours just pottering about and earned like 10k credits and never upgraded the sidey.

Stepped away for a while as I just didn't understand how to actually, realistically make money without just completely rejecting my entire life.. so resorted back to youtube!

Horizons dropped and I decided it was time to get back in. Spent the next 15 hours just exploring, getting back to the bubble, upgrading the sidey here and there. I am now at the point where the sidey insurance costs me 20k, so it is pretty decent.

All D grade components for max jump range. I believe I have the B grade FSD (will check later), so I can easily hit 15LY jumps - things are getting better.

The mistake I made, was I outfitted the sidey for mining, and then found I was just getting owned constantly where ever I went to mine/refine. Then Frontier emailed me saying I have this shiney new ship because I'm awesome... so I haul my ass over to the starport, give it a go, get scared because it costs more credits to respawn than I even have, get back in the sidey and continue my quest to find an earth like. (my first real goal I want to achieve)

Got frustrated because I just felt like I had no options, stopped playing for a few weeks.

Then this last weekend I booted up, I think I had like 265k credits, so I pop the detailed surface scanner into the sidey and proceed to explore. Got out of the bubble and saw an unidentified signal source and thought oohh, that's weird... it could be one of SOOO many things. Drop out and boom - insta squished!

So yea, now I'm broke lol. I think it is just going to be a case of grinding until I have enough cash to get the diamondback explorer and I guess the real question is would it be wiser to sell the viper MKIV, for 400k, do some more exploration to get the remainder and then upgrade sidey > DBE... or sell the sidey, outfit the viper MKIV for hardcore bounty hunting, get more cash quicker, then have the DBE as well.... so I have 3 ships?

Sorry fo rthe long posts - this game is so huge it puts alot on your mind

p.s. dw, I have decided to throw away my entire life now ;D!
 

MakashiGames

MakashiGames
Thrawn29 said:
Hi Makahi,

If you want to leave the bubble for a nice trip, then the Viper is probably not the best choice.
But you can go and explore even with few millions only.

To me this kind of ship is perfectly fitted for a run. (Unless if you want to land on planet, then you'll have to remove AFMU and replace it by planetary vehicle hanger.)

Now... i would recommend to not drop in USS while exploring. :)
(Well since last update, we know the threat level but...)

Fly safe o7
Click to expand...

Cheers for going to the effort of linking that build. AT the moment the concept of having > 1m credits feels so distant that it seems completely unachievable, but I will certainly keep an eye on it and consider my options once I have more bank.

Makashi
 

S~P

S
Checking out uss why out exploring is like kicking a wasp nest, a really bad idea. When I started out exploring I would just pick a random star and head out toward it, scanned planets etc on route then head back to sell my data.
 

mls

mls
since you said you'd like trading as well, i recommend smuggling. this eagle gives you a fast ship with 10t cargo space and good shields to run away. buy everything in a li yong rui system where it's 15% off. http://coriolis.io/outfit/eagle/02A3A3A1D2A2D2C---04023rf12j.Iw1-EA==.Aw1-EA==
it'll cost you about 1.5M credits and you can do 5-10 smuggling missions from robigo until you have the money for a fully upgraded dbx in no time. then go for the profession of the kings and curious (that would be exploring) and enjoy :)

o7
 

MakashiGames

MakashiGames
newman1702 said:
With just 25 hours I'm going to go on a limb and assume you haven't exactly fully upgraded either of those ships - they are all by and large bad in their stock configurations and need substantial upgrades before you can really gauge whether you like them or not.
Click to expand...

Good advice and thanks.... I had thought that the Viper base build should be better than my upgraded sidey. I'm not sure it is without me popping on some better weapons etc so cheers that answers that one!
 

MarcusVatta

MarcusVatta
If you're just starting out, I recommend the Adder as a starter exploration ship. It's got decent jump range, enough slots to fit scanners and SRV bays, and is cheap. Keep your Viper and park it to go exploring. That's how I ran until I got into my Asp.
 
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