Horizons Passenger missions

[Diwrnach]

Hi all,

I upgraded to Horizons and started playing the game again after a hiatus of over a year. I'm quite interested in doing passenger missions but my initial attempts at building a purpose-built ship for the job were not ideal. Can anyone recommend what ship would be best for this type of work taking into account that I have a maximum budget of around 90 million but would prefer to spend less than 30 million and keep my Asp and Vulture intact.

Also, I notice that these passenger missions sometimes rely on reputation to get the contract. I'm assuming this is faction reputation so I'm guessing I'd be better off in an area where I have good reputation. Confirmation of this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

 

[Perditrix]

Hi all,

I upgraded to Horizons and started playing the game again after a hiatus of over a year. I'm quite interested in doing passenger missions but my initial attempts at building a purpose-built ship for the job were not ideal. Can anyone recommend what ship would be best for this type of work taking into account that I have a maximum budget of around 90 million but would prefer to spend less than 30 million and keep my Asp and Vulture intact.

Also, I notice that these passenger missions sometimes rely on reputation to get the contract. I'm assuming this is faction reputation so I'm guessing I'd be better off in an area where I have good reputation. Confirmation of this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Yes good rep is needed Cordial + to get the good paying missions. Transporting Criminals seems to be the most lucrative. I bought a number of Economy, Business and 1st class cabins which I swap out as needed. Also returned after a year so i'm using my Cobra, tried the Type 6 but I feel I do just as well if not better in my Cobra, lots of interdictions occurring. Don't forget u can easily build rep with other factions by doing other missions from the "Mission Board".

 

[Skyfire]

Hi all,

I upgraded to Horizons and started playing the game again after a hiatus of over a year. I'm quite interested in doing passenger missions but my initial attempts at building a purpose-built ship for the job were not ideal. Can anyone recommend what ship would be best for this type of work taking into account that I have a maximum budget of around 90 million but would prefer to spend less than 30 million and keep my Asp and Vulture intact.

Also, I notice that these passenger missions sometimes rely on reputation to get the contract. I'm assuming this is faction reputation so I'm guessing I'd be better off in an area where I have good reputation. Confirmation of this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Interesting request. With your budget you are not going to achieve a sensibly equipped Python - which I find excellent for several functions. However, I still keep 2 separate Asp Explorers for different tasks, plus a Vulture for pure bounty hunting fun when I fancy a change.

I have an Asp set up purely for mining (about 100 tonnes capacity) and the other is now really for exploring whenever I fancy leaving the bubble for a while.

Having tried it already, I think a well kitted out second Asp is your answer. It worked for me as a passenger carrier, you just have to swap relevant cabins around as necessary in outfitting. Just make sure you have everything well tricked out and have good shields, and make use of ALL the hard-points! Don't forget your SCB's and heat sink launcher! Some missions 'attract' certain 'interest'!

The benefit of the Asp for passenger carrying is the range when fitted with the A rated FSD. You can often make waypoints and destinations in 1, 2, or maybe 3 jumps. In my Python most legs are often 5 or 6 jumps for the 'sightseeing' tours!

 

[Makya]

All good advice so far. Local faction rep is definitely the key to getting the best paying jobs. You're pretty close to affording a Python. (My standard Python kit is around 100mil in Li Yong-Rui's space (15% discount) with basic weapons. Not a combat fit but up for most any other task.) Still I would agree that an Asp would be a good choice to start with. The passenger missions that I find most lucrative and fun are the 'adventure' ones. I'm allied with a number of factions at my home base and they often give adventure jobs for 5-9mil credits. They don't typically involve more than 5-8 passengers so if you've kitted your Asp with a size 6 first class cabin or maybe a couple of smaller ones, you can take on these missions (not all require first class accommodations). A ship with a good jump range makes these nice plus you can take in some Elite history.

If you fancy exploration, the longer range ones do not require a large passenger capacity so an Asp would be good for these as well. These typically give you nearly 3 weeks to complete so if you take your time to scan things along the way, you can collect a fair bit of credits to go along with the mission reward not to mention rep with the controlling faction at the station you turn the data in at. Last long trip I took was 8500ly (and back) and I made 24mil for the mission and 20mil for the exploration data but it took me over two weeks to do the mission given the time I had. Also be aware that there are some missions in this category that are very difficult to reach due to jump range or high-G planets.

Unless you're looking for trouble, I would recommend that you avoid criminal passengers, high profile passengers, and to empty your cargo hold. More than once I've been scanning the tourist beacon and a NPC shows up looking for some cargo only to go away disappoint. Also, if a passenger requests going to a conflict zone, it may sound risky but just pick a low res one, drop in, and don't pick a side. Stay out on the perimeter of the combat and you'll be fine.

 

[goemon]

i have tracked ~100 VIP non-luxury cabin passenger mission requirements.

here are the numbers:

cabin class play whch % of missions:

Class 4 First Class: 24%
Class 4 Business Class: 57%
Class 5 First Class: 83%
Class 5 Businness Class: 72%
Class 6 First Class: 100%

tl;dr: if you don't want to stack missions, get an AspE with 1 class 6 first class cabin. a cheaer variant could be a DBE with 1 class 4 businness class cabin (also great for smuggling illegal passengers).

if you want to stack missions, in your budget, outfit a t6 with 2 class 5 first class and one class 4 businness cabin.

(i personally have a dedicated orca, and an anaconda for exploration passenger missions, but both are way above your budget).

 

[Skyfire]

Hi all,

I upgraded to Horizons and started playing the game again after a hiatus of over a year. I'm quite interested in doing passenger missions but my initial attempts at building a purpose-built ship for the job were not ideal. Can anyone recommend what ship would be best for this type of work taking into account that I have a maximum budget of around 90 million but would prefer to spend less than 30 million and keep my Asp and Vulture intact.

Also, I notice that these passenger missions sometimes rely on reputation to get the contract. I'm assuming this is faction reputation so I'm guessing I'd be better off in an area where I have good reputation. Confirmation of this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Ah! One ship I completely overlooked and I think would fit into your budget is the Clipper. A really lovely ship to fly, and can be kitted out to do many things too. More room inside than the Asp. However, it does have some disadvantages:
1. You need to have progressed your Empire Military Rank to be able to purchase one. I believe there are one or two places where you don't need this, but I'm not sure if that's true, or if so, where.
2. It does require a LARGE landing pad because of those 'wings',rather than the medium one of the Asp, so can cut down some of the places you may wish to call in at.
3. Unless you have the A rated FSD your jump range is quite limited, and even then is nowhere near the Asp.

BUT, did I mention it is a REALLY LOVELY ship to fly?

On the positive side:
1. When fitted out properly, it can HIT HARD, so those pesky interdictions can just be a minor inconvenience
2. It is the fastest ship in the game (except for the Cobra) so can run away from anything else when necessary
3. It just looks so damn good!
4. Did I mention it is a really nice ship to fly? (just watch the 'skidding' side-slides when trying to line up for docking at speed to avoid the scan!)
5. Can be fitted out for all tasks, mining, trucking, passengers, or fighting (need everything A rated for this, but then HITS HARD!)

There you go, another option. Did I mention it's a lovely ship? I think everyone should at least try it!

 

[Makya]

Ah! One ship I completely overlooked and I think would fit into your budget is the Clipper. A really lovely ship to fly, and can be kitted out to do many things too. More room inside than the Asp. However, it does have some disadvantages:
1. You need to have progressed your Empire Military Rank to be able to purchase one. I believe there are one or two places where you don't need this, but I'm not sure if that's true, or if so, where.
2. It does require a LARGE landing pad because of those 'wings',rather than the medium one of the Asp, so can cut down some of the places you may wish to call in at.
3. Unless you have the A rated FSD your jump range is quite limited, and even then is nowhere near the Asp.

BUT, did I mention it is a REALLY LOVELY ship to fly?

On the positive side:
1. When fitted out properly, it can HIT HARD, so those pesky interdictions can just be a minor inconvenience
2. It is the fastest ship in the game (except for the Cobra) so can run away from anything else when necessary
3. It just looks so damn good!
4. Did I mention it is a really nice ship to fly? (just watch the 'skidding' side-slides when trying to line up for docking at speed to avoid the scan!)
5. Can be fitted out for all tasks, mining, trucking, passengers, or fighting (need everything A rated for this, but then HITS HARD!)

There you go, another option. Did I mention it's a lovely ship? I think everyone should at least try it!

I would agree. I not quite as enamored with the Clipper as others are but it would be good choice nonetheless. The large pad requirement is not an issue with 'adventure' missions I previously mentioned. However, just yesterday I was able to stack 4 'transport a demanding so-and-so' missions to the same outpost for 10mil. Used a Python but that's not a frequent requirement. Sadly, I'm just not interested in doing naval rank progression.

 

[Hawkpilot]

This is what I use for single passenger missions, Beluga for multi ones. Change modules as you wish. If you equip from Li Yong-Rui you can get it for about 25m.

 

[RevLogos]

i have tracked ~100 VIP non-luxury cabin passenger mission requirements.

here are the numbers:

cabin class play whch % of missions:

Class 4 First Class: 24%
Class 4 Business Class: 57%
Class 5 First Class: 83%
Class 5 Businness Class: 72%
Class 6 First Class: 100%

tl;dr: if you don't want to stack missions, get an AspE with 1 class 6 first class cabin. a cheaer variant could be a DBE with 1 class 4 businness class cabin (also great for smuggling illegal passengers).

if you want to stack missions, in your budget, outfit a t6 with 2 class 5 first class and one class 4 businness cabin.

(i personally have a dedicated orca, and an anaconda for exploration passenger missions, but both are way above your budget).

I bought a cheap T6 a while back to do a CG, figuring I'd sell it when done. Turns out its a pretty good general ship. Mine has 1 5C first class, 1 4D business class, and 1 32-Tonne cargo. I wasn't sure these rich tourists would want to be seen flying about in my Tourist Tub, but they don't seem to mind.

My Asp is for exploration. I named it the "Not-For-Hire" and it won't be getting any passenger cabins. (Reps to the first one who gets the sci-fi reference).

 

[Makya]

I bought a cheap T6 a while back to do a CG, figuring I'd sell it when done. Turns out its a pretty good general ship. Mine has 1 5C first class, 1 4D business class, and 1 32-Tonne cargo. I wasn't sure these rich tourists would want to be seen flying about in my Tourist Tub, but they don't seem to mind.

My Asp is for exploration. I named it the "Not-For-Hire" and it won't be getting any passenger cabins. (Reps to the first one who gets the sci-fi reference).

Riverworld?

 

[Cpt Shadow Wolfe]

One thing to keep in mind with passengers, some have scan phobias and some have hull damage phobias. Some are criminals and if you get scanned with them onboard, you will become wanted as well, so you need a fast ship that can out run a scan, a beluga or conda is not fast enough most times, a cobra mkiii, cutter, clipper, and aspx are. A python can if you engineer it with dirty drives. An orca can also out run a lot of other ships. Forget the T series ships or keel back, they are way too slow and weak for passenger missions. I am currently taking 2 missions to the Heart & Soul Nebula region in my 32 ly beluga, 15k ly round trip, but will make 51 mil plus the scan data, still have 1000 lys to go to get there but have 8.5 mil in scan data so far. So if I don't p off the passengers and they pay me should clear 70 mil or so by the end of the trip, that's a conservative estimate. I wanted to go exploring anyway, now the trip out is worth my time. But if you go for the long haul missions, be advised, there is a set 3 week time limit on itwhether you go 2000 or 25009 lys one way, you still have to return in the time limit or you may not get paid. 15000 lys is the max I will take for a 3 week trip.