Question on current carrier decommissioning refund values

I know carrier decommissioning returns and service upkeeps have received updates/ tweaks, and I’m thinking of taking a break from the Thargoid content and spend a year or so out in Colonia. I’ve tried this in the past, but the deal-breaker were lack of G5 engineering and A-rated modules…both of which were non-existent back then. So, to get around this issue? I would buy a Sidewinder or Cobra in Colonia, crash it, not accept the rebuy and start back out on Sol and buy a ship that could facilitate the module/s I needed and jump it back to Colonia, then more than likely scrap said ship, wash and repeat. Nowadays, Colonia is a bit more settled. I want to buy a throwaway carrier, do the whole dreadful Tritium thing again, load it with fuel and jump it to Colonia with my 6 or so ships, which consist of two fully kitted Cutters (one of them AX), and two other AX ships…all of which will probably be refitted into other roles, since bugs have no reason to go to Colonia. But I didn’t want to do this if I was going to lose a billion. I tried the carrier thing a few times and didn’t enjoy the Tritium mining grind and insane Tritium prices and shortages. I believe I’ve gotten the full 5 billion back two times and the maybe 3.7 billion back the last time I decommed.
 
since bugs have no reason to go to Colonia.
For now.... The devs said going to Colonia is no safe harbor from the Thargoids. They WILL find their way there eventually.

Also what is your question? I read you paragraph and am looking for the question you are asking.
 
Like @Exeider I'm not sure your question but here are some thoughts:
  • Inara is an easy way to check which engineers offer what.
  • Inara or EDDB can tell you what you can buy in Colonia.
  • I recommend setting as many strategic engineering blueprints as you can before leaving the bubble. Switch the blueprints around based on what blueprints you can pick up in Colonia. There are 25 engineers, figure out the best combo for you. This will allow you to G5 most of what you want wherever you are.
  • I'm pretty sure you can apply all the experimental effects with the engineers available at Colonia. I'm not certain if a few are missing, you can check.
  • If you know there are certain ships or modules you are likely going to want buy just them in the bubble. It costs nothing extra to transport them via personal fleet carrier. Throw on some extra of anything you can think of.
  • You will likely end up keeping the fleet carrier. Its pretty handy once you have it.

Colonia Ship Engineers:
  • Etienne Dorn - Los
  • Marsha Hicks - Tir
  • Mel Brandon - Luchtaine
  • Petra - Asura
 
Last edited:
Just hitch a ride to Colonia, my dude. Most FCs going to Colonia will have a shipyard installed so you can bring your entire fleet there if you want to.

I believe the shipyard module will be sold right before departure to save on weight but it shouldn't affect the ships you already stored in the FC.
 
Colonia's engineers offer same level engineering with their bubble counterparts, we made sure of that a couple of years ago. For life support and shield celll banks, even better. Also, they're only 1-2 jumps away.
As long as The Nameless have Carcosa, you can get every Alliance ship except Crusader at Robardin. Also, every Federal except Corvette.

You're welcome to come, but yes, I suggest you bring mats with you.
 
Last edited:
Just hitch a ride to Colonia, my dude. Most FCs going to Colonia will have a shipyard installed so you can bring your entire fleet there if you want to.

I believe the shipyard module will be sold right before departure to save on weight but it shouldn't affect the ships you already stored in the FC.
Okay that answers that question. I wasn’t sure if I had a ship or module limit if hitching a ride.
 
…And sorry. My question was basically “what are the (current) returns for buying a throwaway carrier and decomming it? Do you get the full 5 billion back?” Last time I decommed one, I think I received little over 3 billion. I didn’t want to lose a full billion+. But as someone said, I will just hitch a ride.
 
…And sorry. My question was basically “what are the (current) returns for buying a throwaway carrier and decomming it? Do you get the full 5 billion back?” Last time I decommed one, I think I received little over 3 billion. I didn’t want to lose a full billion+. But as someone said, I will just hitch a ride.

you receive almost all the money (the decommissioning fee is 150 millions)
what you lose is the the tritium in the depot, any cargo stored onboard the carrier and the value of optional services and the associated stock values

So.. before decommissioning make sure you:
  • remove all the optional services (they'll be refunded in full)
  • sell or transfer all the cargo (apparently the cargo is refunded, but not sure the value)
  • never top up the tritium depot if you dont intend to use that fuel (wasting 1000t of tritium means losing another 50 millions on top of the 150 millions that make the decommissioning fee)
 
Ninjad by Northpin. So I just want to add that using a carrier service will save you about 15 hours of jumping and refueling the carrier yourself... So if you don't need a carrier then I'd imagine this to be the far better alternative... Otherwise if it's only one ship, there's always the neutron star highway that'll get you to colonia in just a few hours.
 
you receive almost all the money (the decommissioning fee is 150 millions)
what you lose is the the tritium in the depot, any cargo stored onboard the carrier and the value of optional services and the associated stock values

So.. before decommissioning make sure you:
  • remove all the optional services (they'll be refunded in full)
  • sell or transfer all the cargo (apparently the cargo is refunded, but not sure the value)
  • never top up the tritium depot if you dont intend to use that fuel (wasting 1000t of tritium means losing another 50 millions on top of the 150 millions that make the decommissioning fee)
Awesome! Thank you. I am a multi-billionaire at this point, but that doesn’t mean I want to part with a billion. I know Frontier once mentioned the refund amount would depend on “how used” the carrier was, or how much time had gone by and wasn’t sure if that was still the case.
 
…And sorry. My question was basically “what are the (current) returns for buying a throwaway carrier and decomming it? Do you get the full 5 billion back?” Last time I decommed one, I think I received little over 3 billion. I didn’t want to lose a full billion+. But as someone said, I will just hitch a ride.
If you need going to Colonia, you dont need FC.

Your medicine is the "Fleet Carrier Owners Club". The acronym is FCOC. Join their discord, you will see FCs that make regular flights to various places there, I think there are 2 carriers a week to the colonia and 1 carrier a week from the colonia. (The number of these carriers changes from time to time.)

This will solve your problem.
 
Top Bottom