Newbie - general advice please?

[aaronplant]

Hi there,

Really excited about this game - I played the first Elite on my BBC B+ in the '80s (ahem) and having installed the Danergous version a few days ago, I am finally now able to move around the systems and dock in the new game without any real problems. Got a bit of a slow laptop - so finding combat difficult due to poor frame rates This will soon be resolved.

However so far I have been completely unable to work out how and where to trade and build up my funds in a safe way. In Eranin system, and would appreciate any help anyone is willing to give a poor noob!

Sooo excited to be playing Elite again!

Yay.

 

[Schnittertm]

Hi there,

Really excited about this game - I played the first Elite on my BBC B+ in the '80s (ahem) and having installed the Danergous version a few days ago, I am finally now able to move around the systems and dock in the new game without any real problems. Got a bit of a slow laptop - so finding combat difficult due to poor frame rates This will soon be resolved.

However so far I have been completely unable to work out how and where to trade and build up my funds in a safe way. In Eranin system, and would appreciate any help anyone is willing to give a poor noob!

Sooo excited to be playing Elite again!

Yay.

Some things you can do at the beginning is to look for delivery missions on the Bulletin Board (no Long Haul or Mega Haul stuff) and do those. Many of those have you deliver 1 piece of cargo to a system two to three jumps away and often pay very well.

Other things to do in the Eranin area would be foodstuffs to I-Bootis (with Crop Harvesters on the return trip if you can afford them) or Aulin (with Agri-Medicines on the way back).

 

[Hooplah]

Start playing with commodities at Eranin, Asellus, Aulin and I Bootis. They are relatively safe zones and depending upon your credits to purchase commodities you will eventually start generating profits.

The bulletin boards also offer high profits to start but you will need the flying skills and hardware to complete the missions. Initially they suck you in to missions you are not prepared for but you decide.

If you have the basic combat flying skills then go for a few hits when in Super Cruise looking for unknown targets and hopefully getting abandoned cargo. I hit a 40k payoff in Gold canisters but as they were "stolen" I had to use my flying skills getting into the station as fast as possible without being scanned. But it launched me from a Sidewinder into a Hauler sooner than expected.

It is all about a vastly open player game. What works for me may not work for you.

 

[radiomean]

Use slopeys market tool to fnd the most profitable routes ... its excellent

 

[bonsek]

The way I've played the trading game is:
- Go in the commodities market in a certain station.
- Research what goods that are high or medium in supply, and see if the selling price is below the average galaxy price (for example lets say we found "fish" and "mineral extractors" to be high in supply)
- Go back to the galaxy map trade routes and toggle everything off except the "fish" and "mineral extractors".
- See which station has a demand for those and decide which one is more lucrative commodity (coloured lines going towards that station, thicker the better)
- See if you can make the jump and go back to the market to purchase those goods.

 

[Zvanya]

If you want to trying your hand at smuggling use a stock sidewinder at first so you risk nothing while learning to slip past the guards.

For trading. Look at the market for an item in High or medium supply and well under galactic average. Then go to the galactic map and look at trade routes for that commodity. If there is a trade route to a place you can reach you should make at least some profit on the trip.

EDIT: Bonsek beat me and his explanation is better

 

[Cmdr Thrudd]

If forever reason you don't want to use a tool that automatically collects market data (some don't) I've made a community driven web app for working out trades: http://elitetradingtool.co.uk/

If you've not already seen it there's also this fantastic community made manual: http://www.scribd.com/doc/236560722/Elite-Dangerous-pilots-guide-manual-tutorial

And if you're wondering where to buy equipment there are a few offerings:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tdjrcjhhzripfbg/McLaineShipOutfitting.xlsx and https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PRyPnW_91oTmgK6IKI-c12WdUJczK4SRg7KlFfylr3A/edit#gid=789674537

 

[MadDogMurdock]

The biggest tip for starting out is that your have enough fuel for multiple jumps.

You're not limited to just trading with the systems next door.

 

[The Space Pirate]

In Frontier, there was a really handy step by step guide to get you started on your first trade route (Ross 154 - Barnard's Star) - something similar for this game would be great - is there such a thing unofficial or otherwise? Right now, I feel bit lost.

 

[Commander Dave]

In Frontier, there was a really handy step by step guide to get you started on your first trade route (Ross 154 - Barnard's Star) - something similar for this game would be great - is there such a thing unofficial or otherwise? Right now, I feel bit lost.

There's the basic owner's manual but I don't know if there's anything on basic trade routes in there.
The bottom line is buy low, sell high.
Sounds trite but if you follow the implication it all slots into place.
What I mean is that if you have a mining economy then it's worth buying basic ores there. Indite for example.
Then take that ore to a refining economy. They will want to refine it into Indium. So they'll buy the ore from you and sell you refined metal.
Then there are other places that will make use of that metal. High tech economies for example that make things like computer components. They'll buy your metal, turn it into industrial or consumer goods that you can then buy there cheaply.
Then you take those shiny new consumer goods and sell them somewhere they don't get much of that stuff because their economies are not high tech.
A mining economy for example.
And thus the circle is complete.

It's also worth spending some time with the galaxy map in trade route mode to see what's happening. It's not enormously current in that you're not going to be maximising your profits using it but it does show you how it all works once you get the hang of it.
You can then make informed decisions about what to buy where and then where you're likely to get a good price for your investment.