Hi. First thing to say is that I am really loving playing ED, and having so much fun. The only problem with it is that I just don't have anything like enough time to play as I would like!
I am just thinking about the next stage of my 'journey' in the game, what sort of approach to take and what I want to do next. One thing I would say is that from the beginning, I have not been in any kind of hurry to get into the next ship or whatever. I've been very happy taking my time and having fun, but I am starting to think about getting a Cobra a bit earlier than I had anticipated.
My current situation is that I have my Sidewinder with a few upgrades (fixed burst lasers, B rated power distributer, slightly better FS which I think might be a D) and a Hauler, which has no weapon and a B rated power distributer, and 250,000 or so credits. I enjoy trading in the Hauler, but I am very poor at combat, though I would like to get into bounty hunting for a bit of higher paced action. I have shied away from combat really (though I was good at it in original Elite, Frontier and FFE), but I decided last night that it was time to get some practice. I went to the local RES and scored my first three bounties, the proceeds of which funded the upgrade to Burst lasers and with plenty left over. TBH, I had a lot of help from the local security services and I ran away from my final encounter (with an expert Sidewinder - no security vessels got involved in this fight) which left me with 33% hull, so that I could claim my bounties. But claiming those bounties really did feel good.
My original intention when I started the game was to spend a long time in the Sidey and not worry about any other ships for a while, honing my skills, taking advantage of the cheap rebuy cost, and gradually upgrading the ship. I quickly realised that a Hauler would be a very worthwhile investment, allowing me to keep a significant buffer of credits and build up the Sidey. I then swore I'd stick with that combo for a long time.
But of course now, with 250K credits in the bank, the Cobra is starting to tempt me. What I'm thinking is that perhaps I should alternate bounty hunting trips in the Sidey to hone my skills with earning money in the Hauler, until I reach about 600k credits, and then get a Cobra and some Cargo. I would probably get rid of the Hauler, use the Cobra as a trading vessel to bring in the cash at a faster rate, and keep upgrading the Sidey as far as it can go and using it for my bounty hunting for some time to come. I figure that sticking with the Sidewinder and trying to stick with fixed weapons should build my combat skills, and while the insurance cost of an highly upgraded Sidey is not nothing, it should still not be too off putting to taking risks in combat when you've got a decent cash buffer and a Cobra to do trading with.
Eventually, when I really feel I've outgrown the Sidewinder, I could pump some cash into the Cobra and outfit that for combat.
Does this seem like a sensible plan, or am I likely to be holding myself back by not getting into a Viper or combat equipped Cobra earlier? I ask the question from the perspective of someone who pretty much still sucks at combat and really needs to build some skills up.
I'd be very interested to hear other people's stories of their progress and adventures early in the game.
I am just thinking about the next stage of my 'journey' in the game, what sort of approach to take and what I want to do next. One thing I would say is that from the beginning, I have not been in any kind of hurry to get into the next ship or whatever. I've been very happy taking my time and having fun, but I am starting to think about getting a Cobra a bit earlier than I had anticipated.
My current situation is that I have my Sidewinder with a few upgrades (fixed burst lasers, B rated power distributer, slightly better FS which I think might be a D) and a Hauler, which has no weapon and a B rated power distributer, and 250,000 or so credits. I enjoy trading in the Hauler, but I am very poor at combat, though I would like to get into bounty hunting for a bit of higher paced action. I have shied away from combat really (though I was good at it in original Elite, Frontier and FFE), but I decided last night that it was time to get some practice. I went to the local RES and scored my first three bounties, the proceeds of which funded the upgrade to Burst lasers and with plenty left over. TBH, I had a lot of help from the local security services and I ran away from my final encounter (with an expert Sidewinder - no security vessels got involved in this fight) which left me with 33% hull, so that I could claim my bounties. But claiming those bounties really did feel good.
My original intention when I started the game was to spend a long time in the Sidey and not worry about any other ships for a while, honing my skills, taking advantage of the cheap rebuy cost, and gradually upgrading the ship. I quickly realised that a Hauler would be a very worthwhile investment, allowing me to keep a significant buffer of credits and build up the Sidey. I then swore I'd stick with that combo for a long time.
But of course now, with 250K credits in the bank, the Cobra is starting to tempt me. What I'm thinking is that perhaps I should alternate bounty hunting trips in the Sidey to hone my skills with earning money in the Hauler, until I reach about 600k credits, and then get a Cobra and some Cargo. I would probably get rid of the Hauler, use the Cobra as a trading vessel to bring in the cash at a faster rate, and keep upgrading the Sidey as far as it can go and using it for my bounty hunting for some time to come. I figure that sticking with the Sidewinder and trying to stick with fixed weapons should build my combat skills, and while the insurance cost of an highly upgraded Sidey is not nothing, it should still not be too off putting to taking risks in combat when you've got a decent cash buffer and a Cobra to do trading with.
Eventually, when I really feel I've outgrown the Sidewinder, I could pump some cash into the Cobra and outfit that for combat.
Does this seem like a sensible plan, or am I likely to be holding myself back by not getting into a Viper or combat equipped Cobra earlier? I ask the question from the perspective of someone who pretty much still sucks at combat and really needs to build some skills up.
I'd be very interested to hear other people's stories of their progress and adventures early in the game.
