Powerplay: Is it just me or is it ridiculously over-difficult to get to rank 5 with your faction?

[Torrix]

(NOTE** I'm only a little over a week in on Powerplay, so I'm sure there is much I don't know)

Greetings All,

I'm putting this out there because I'm resting now. The sheer horror of trying to grind to 10,000 merits 15 merits at a time has laid waste to my desire to fly, at least for the moment. I thought it was difficult enough getting to 1500 in half a week, but for me I just don't see it being possible to get to 10,000 in a whole week. I have a wife, a job, etc., and the best way I've seen thus far to make points "for me" is undermining an enemy and killing their supply ships in an enemy control system. 15 merits at a time (or whatever they're called). I had high hopes for that 50m credit bonus and I'm not adverse to putting in a good amount of work, but I don't see it happening now.

1. Taking out enemies in a combat zone 1 pt at a time? Nope, completely worthless as far as I can see.
2. Hauling supplies...I have 64 tons of space on my Asp (could change things around for a bit more) but can't afford the 100k at a time to "expedite" getting 25 more tons of supply to fill my hold.
3. This is my current ticket - hunting enemy supply ships in their controlled systems. I actually made it to rank 4, 15 merits per kill and two huge bounties against me. Took me 4 days to do it. That includes being exhausted while working and my wife thinking exceedingly unpleasant things about this game.

Admittedly, I'm pretty new to the game, not quite 6 weeks yet I think. I have a vulture for bh hunting (and supply ship hunting) and asp for everything else. I would dearly love advice as to how to be more efficient on getting these merits, because right now I'm too new to make any real money trading and don't have the ship for it but heck, a week or two at rank 5 and it's a whole new ball game.

As it is, I'm getting burnt out, feeling like I'm spinning my wheels and getting nowhere in a game I love, and that's not fun. Any advice from veterans would be dearly appreciated.

 

[Katkon]

Many will jump into agree with you, but the truth of the matter is that it's a lot faster for a new player to make money quickly via PP than it is to earn 50M as a brand new player. 5000 merits with each kill being 15 (if you undermine) is just 333 kills. That's minimal effort for a grand prize of 50M credits weekly. The downside, of course, is that if you're killed in the system where you're undermine and don't have the money to pay off the bounty you've incurred, then I believe you'll likely be 'forced' to start all over again - I think you may be able to loan the money, but who wants to start out in debt. So it's a high risk, high reward strategy for new players. Considering you can make it there in virtually no time as a new player, it's actually a more efficient credit-earning opportunity than playing the game the 'traditional' way.

But let me suggest the following: amassing credits and big ships quickly in this game does not make it more fun. Trust me. Take it slow; focus on deriving maximizing enjoyment by doing the activities you enjoy, and you'll have a much more rewarding experience. There's no medal or prize for getting credits/big ships quickly - it tends to drive people to repetitive/grind-oriented gameplay and will likely result in premature burnout. Making money in this game gets easier and easier, and isn't hard to begin with. In fact, many resort to trading using 3rd party tools or published trade routes, which removes all skill/challenge from the game. Boring! Focus on having fun; that's my best advice.

 

[fergal]

I made it to rating 4 in the first week of powerplay. I'm still rating 4 after 5 weeks.
All I would say is don't grind. The effort isn't worth the 50 million cr reward.

If you want 50 million cr go spend your time trading or bounty hunting. Its a much faster way to earn money.

 

[Cosmos]

I made it to rating 4 in the first week of powerplay. I'm still rating 4 after 5 weeks.
All I would say is don't grind. The effort isn't worth the 50 million cr reward.

If you want 50 million cr go spend your time trading or bounty hunting. Its a much faster way to earn money.

Depends really. I've had rank five for weeks now, this will likely be my last, but you can go hunt as a squad for merits and you also come across enemy players too. Either way killing ships and RES or those at controlled systems still becomes repetitive after a while. Rank 4 is pretty easy to keep though, easy 5 mil a week

 

[Jmanis]

IMO rank 5 is just there to satiate the people who play *ungodly* amounts of Elite.

Proportionally, there's not a huge difference between Rank 4 and Rank 5. People see the 50m credit reward of rank 5 and go "OMG need that!" then realise how much work it is to get.

Rank 4 is quite easy to maintain and just as profitable as Rank 5. I was earning 750-1000 merits a week, which was just three crgo runs in a clipper (or six in a T6), padded out with the occasional jaunt out to enemy turf in a vulture to pop enemy ships at 15 merits a kill. This got me up to around 4000 merits. Because <reasons> I've now had to tap out until mid september, but I'm still enjoying the benefits. First payout of 5m credits, I followed up with a mere 350 merits. Then got my next 5m payout and haven't done any work. I'm still going to get 5m at the end of this cycle, and the next, without earning a single merit because of the decay mechanics (currently on around 2000 merits).

So,, that's roughly 20m credits after hitting 4000 from 4 weeks fairly casual play, without much effort.

 

[Torrix]

Many will jump into agree with you, but the truth of the matter is that it's a lot faster for a new player to make money quickly via PP than it is to earn 50M as a brand new player. 5000 merits with each kill being 15 (if you undermine) is just 333 kills. That's minimal effort for a grand prize of 50M credits weekly. The downside, of course, is that if you're killed in the system where you're undermine and don't have the money to pay off the bounty you've incurred, then I believe you'll likely be 'forced' to start all over again - I think you may be able to loan the money, but who wants to start out in debt. So it's a high risk, high reward strategy for new players. Considering you can make it there in virtually no time as a new player, it's actually a more efficient credit-earning opportunity than playing the game the 'traditional' way.

But let me suggest the following: amassing credits and big ships quickly in this game does not make it more fun. Trust me. Take it slow; focus on deriving maximizing enjoyment by doing the activities you enjoy, and you'll have a much more rewarding experience. There's no medal or prize for getting credits/big ships quickly - it tends to drive people to repetitive/grind-oriented gameplay and will likely result in premature burnout. Making money in this game gets easier and easier, and isn't hard to begin with. In fact, many resort to trading using 3rd party tools or published trade routes, which removes all skill/challenge from the game. Boring! Focus on having fun; that's my best advice.

Unfortunately it's 10,000 merits, not 5,000, and that's a very big deal. 5,000 I would have struggled through to get, but 10,000 is brutal.

IMO rank 5 is just there to satiate the people who play *ungodly* amounts of Elite.

Proportionally, there's not a huge difference between Rank 4 and Rank 5. People see the 50m credit reward of rank 5 and go "OMG need that!" then realise how much work it is to get.

Rank 4 is quite easy to maintain and just as profitable as Rank 5. I was earning 750-1000 merits a week, which was just three crgo runs in a clipper (or six in a T6), padded out with the occasional jaunt out to enemy turf in a vulture to pop enemy ships at 15 merits a kill. This got me up to around 4000 merits. Because <reasons> I've now had to tap out until mid september, but I'm still enjoying the benefits. First payout of 5m credits, I followed up with a mere 350 merits. Then got my next 5m payout and haven't done any work. I'm still going to get 5m at the end of this cycle, and the next, without earning a single merit because of the decay mechanics (currently on around 2000 merits).

So,, that's roughly 20m credits after hitting 4000 from 4 weeks fairly casual play, without much effort.

Rank 4 is literally 10% as profitable as Rank 5, as 5m credits does not equal 50m credits 5m credits doesn't buy you a tail light on a Python Also, my Rank 4 is 1500 merits, not 1000, so let me know if yours is still 1000 because I'll defect Finally, we have to do it every week in order to continue to get the benefits, as they are *not* cumulative. Maybe they were when PP came out but I have a little statement right on my pledge page that says I have to earn the amount every week in order to keep the rank. Now if you're saying that you having made over 4000 merits and that equals almost 3 weeks worth of merits earned, well, that I don't know because I've only been doing it for a week, ie into my second week now.

I absolutely agree though on your first statement, that Rank 5 is there for people who literally live in the Elite galaxy. I'd have to go on vacation in order to put that much time in, (wife would do highly illegal and painful things to me if I told her I was spending vacation flying in Elite) and unfortunately I can't afford a Clipper (not and have it be worth much anyway). I won't even go into the Ascension missions being broken, as that's another scream-fest altogether. /sigh

Thanks for the replies gents, very appreciated

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I'm trying to stay away from Power Play. I only play in Solo, but the effects on trading, etc, take effect just the same. I'm going to have to pay a "tax", just to trade with my favorite ag worlds. I remain unpledged, as of yet.

We might see a collection of clean-save Sidewinder commanders, who have nothing to lose, join Power Play.

 

[Jmanis]

Also, my Rank 4 is 1500 merits, not 1000, so let me know if yours is still 1000 because I'll defect

You misread

I was earning 750-1000 merits a week,

That's how many I was earning a week, not how many you need to earn Rank 4. I did this for a couple weeks (In fairness, one of those weeks early on was 2000 merits to give me an early boost), and got myself up to 4000 merits before I "pulled the plug" so to speak.

Also...

Rank 4 is literally 10% as profitable as Rank 5, as 5m credits does not equal 50m credits

...completely misses the mark in terms of what I meant by my statement of "just as profitable". If you look at it purely in terms of "Oh hey, this is the reward for my rank" then sure, 10% of the reward (Emphasis on reward here, not profit). Sustaining Rank 4 at 1500 merits "for free" (by doing 750-1000 merits per cycle) is trivially easy. Earning 10,000 merits "for free" is basically a full-time job, but if you want it faster, you'll have to pay. Add to that the "opportunity cost" wasted doing PP to maintain rank 5 when you could be doing more profitable activities, I completely stick by the claim that Rank 4 is just as profitable (and frankly, way more enjoyable).

 

[The_Tenderizer01]

I earned 600 in 3 hours undermiming. If I can dedicate a week, which I can soon, I'll easily reach rating 5. But it isn't there for everyone to have; originally the benefits of rating 5 went to the top 10 players in each power; only 100 people a week got it. Or so I've heard.

 

[Krait_79]

(NOTE** I'm only a little over a week in on Powerplay, so I'm sure there is much I don't know)

Greetings All,

I'm putting this out there because I'm resting now. The sheer horror of trying to grind to 10,000 merits 15 merits at a time has laid waste to my desire to fly, at least for the moment. I thought it was difficult enough getting to 1500 in half a week, but for me I just don't see it being possible to get to 10,000 in a whole week. I have a wife, a job, etc., and the best way I've seen thus far to make points "for me" is undermining an enemy and killing their supply ships in an enemy control system. 15 merits at a time (or whatever they're called). I had high hopes for that 50m credit bonus and I'm not adverse to putting in a good amount of work, but I don't see it happening now.

1. Taking out enemies in a combat zone 1 pt at a time? Nope, completely worthless as far as I can see.
2. Hauling supplies...I have 64 tons of space on my Asp (could change things around for a bit more) but can't afford the 100k at a time to "expedite" getting 25 more tons of supply to fill my hold.
3. This is my current ticket - hunting enemy supply ships in their controlled systems. I actually made it to rank 4, 15 merits per kill and two huge bounties against me. Took me 4 days to do it. That includes being exhausted while working and my wife thinking exceedingly unpleasant things about this game.

Admittedly, I'm pretty new to the game, not quite 6 weeks yet I think. I have a vulture for bh hunting (and supply ship hunting) and asp for everything else. I would dearly love advice as to how to be more efficient on getting these merits, because right now I'm too new to make any real money trading and don't have the ship for it but heck, a week or two at rank 5 and it's a whole new ball game.

As it is, I'm getting burnt out, feeling like I'm spinning my wheels and getting nowhere in a game I love, and that's not fun. Any advice from veterans would be dearly appreciated.

The activity returns are so unbalanced. It's another nonsensical flaw in power play. The actions should be driven by strategy and cause not by merit pay out.

I quit being involved in the powerplay side of the game and am now having fun doing other stuff.

Power play as I've stated many times was a great concept, just terribly implemented.

 

[Jediben]

People in the know don't bother with pledging or this grind mechanic; the perpetual fear of being killed for an abstract 15 merit points and the inevitable drive toward a single ruling faction which will collapse the system are not worth the stress.

 

[EddyRockSteady]

Rank 5 is for the rich.

At the very start I invested approx 75 million into purchasing merits. The rest I got through undermining. As a consequence I have maintained rating 5 ever since. Having personally done this, I can say with certainty that anything under a Type-9 will be absolute torture. As it is it takes approx 3 hours a week merit grind to maintain rating 5. In as Asp it will most likely be 24 hours gameplay a week just to maintain.

As for the income vs investment, rating 5 is an absolute goldmine, depending on your power. At a rate of 3 hours playtime a day, I can walk away with anything up to 250 million credits a week pure profit.

In summary, trying to do it in an Asp is punching waaay above your weight.

 

[IceFire122]

Wait one week, until they increase the decay rate and you need 5334 merits per week to maintain it instead the current 3480 or so. That will increase the work to maintain quite a bit.

 

[Daffan]

funny the best way is to kill defenseless traders for days on end. pathetic experience if your repeating it each week to keep 10k

 

[Babul]

there is one more thing to consider when "grinding" merits: play in a wing of 3 or 4, and ships will take 3 or 4x more damage > it will go quicker.
despite the time *you* need to spot 1 enemy ship in supercruise, there will be 2 or 3 more players doing so aswell.
undermining in a wing gives you these benefits:
-protection. get interdicted, and you got 2 bodyguards hopping into your wake in the instance you submit/fsd fail.
-speed-up. bigger wing = less time to find enemies, also:
-versatility. more ships = more weapons - i mean different weapons. where one likes to use cannons+rails, the other prefers beams+missiles. one *will* smack 8 shieldboosters' conda sooner or later.
MOST IMPORTANT:
-merits in a wing do *not* get split/shared across the players, they get multiplied! each player who can get a shot on each enemy, will get 15 merits for its destruction.
the goal of ganging up on 1 target first, is achievable by different actions:
--you (the wing) focus on the biggest ships first, so each player can do his own targetting, and/or:
--first player (you) selects a target, and waits for the others to jump in, then they will see your target in the panel on top (when they cycle through ships, they also will see your wing-symbol beneath the ship), and select the same (there are some keybinds for wing mechanics, one of them is "Select Wingman's Target" - which can only be triggered if you have a wingmember selected (another 3 keybinds for "Select Wingman 1, 2, and 3").
argh, that wasnt supposed to end that big.

TL;DR:

wing up, its faster, safer, and more fun. merits multiply, so let each wingmember have a shot at your target, and expect them to play that way, too.
10000 merits / 4 players in a wing = only 2500 "effort" for each.

hah, i just want to add something: yesterday i had to selfdestruct due to the "cannot jump anywhere" bug. i didnt care for the rebuy of only 2.5m or somethin, i was hesistant cause the 1150 merits i wanted to cash-in are gone now. owell, the next days will be... intensively enjoyable ^^

 

[Iskariot]

I've been rank 4 for a few weeks now.
I will never get rank 5.
Not because it is difficult, but because it is too boring to submit to the current PP grind.
It lacks variation and balance. I get one merit for every kill in PP combat zones, but I get 15 merits per kill in enemy territory. I get no merits for killing enemies in my territory.
So what will a smart commander do? Exactly. It is the only viable option if you want to earn merits.
And then there is the brutal and demotivating merit decay...

No, I'm not doing it any more. Not until PP gets more options, more variation, better integration with bulletin board missions, and more personal missions.
I like the idea of PowerPlay, but not it's current implementation.

 

[PhanttoM]

I've never bothered going past rank 2, as I've never felt the need.
I'm with Arissa Lavigny-Duval, so the bonus to bounty hunting is definately worth staying pledged.

Maybe someday I'll push it up to rank 3 just for the sake of trying the Imperial Hammer railgun.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Try this.

Play game as normal.

Make lots of credits.

Ignore power play grind.

'Buy' merits. fast track when you need them to get the rank you want.

Merits work out to be about 10000cr each. You might as well get a decent trade / combat income instead and buy the rank you want when you are wealthy.

 

[Eagle Eye]

Try this.

Play game as normal.

Make lots of credits.

Ignore power play grind.

'Buy' merits. fast track when you need them to get the rank you want.

Merits work out to be about 10000cr each. You might as well get a decent trade / combat income instead and buy the rank you want when you are wealthy.

That's what I am doing. I joined a power for the item, so I am just gonna wait 3 weeks doing nothing, then buy myself to rank 3, get item, get 1x salary, then defect if I want something else.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Rank 5 is for the rich.

<snip>

In summary, trying to do it in an Asp is punching waaay above your weight.

Indeed. I'm not going to risk *my* Asp on this...