Rescuing people from Titans - the payout is... ugh.

[Jmanis]

Although I’m not so convinced it’s so much the act of stealing the pods as drilling into the Titans and showering their insides in explosives that causes the effect. Which, I would guess, makes them put more attention toward (trying to) keep the Titan guarded better or something?

i dunno... although it does affect their ability to project control, Thargoids seem relatively unfettered by that sort of thing beyond a cursory "oi, what you doing?"

Our activities with Guardian technologies seems to have a much more severe effect, given interceptor reactions to guardian cargo, the reaction to them in Thargoid structures, and the whole instigation of this war.

 

[Kira Goto]

Thargoids seem relatively unfettered by that sort of thing beyond a cursory "oi, what you doing?"

Considering that Scythes actively attempt to pick up pods floating around after getting ejected - either as a direct response by the Titan, or because there happened to be some around as they were deployed - and that they will breach your cargo hold for them if there are none to pick up… I’d say they take a certain offense to their presence. More than just cursory to me, or that’s the impression I get, at least.

And whatever the Guardians did probably ticked the Thargoids off even more than we did so far. Maybe they just really didn’t take the defeat very well. Or the reaction is so extreme due to the possibility of the Constructs being out there, somewhere, and nobody really wants them to come back around and have a look.

But we might be getting to that point…

 

[Jmanis]

Considering that Scythes actively attempt to pick up pods floating around after getting ejected - either as a direct response by the Titan, or because there happened to be some around as they were deployed - and that they will breach your cargo hold for them if there are none to pick up… I’d say they take a certain offense to their presence. More than just cursory to me, or that’s the impression I get, at least.

Not saying they're not angry... just saying it doesn't seem to be simply because we're exploding or nibbling them we've been doing that for years before we got to this point. Something else happened (imo)

 

[OmegaPaladin]

I understand the concept of non-tangible rewards. But we aren't getting emails from thankful people or having pilots volunteer to work on our ships. As far as the Elite Galaxy is concerned, we are no different after having rescued people from the most dangerous area. We aren't getting any of the social signals you would expect from such a humanitarian gesture - not even reputation! I honestly don't think more credits are the answer, but it is worth looking into alternative rewards. Maybe an Anti-Xeno rank system? A reputation ladder with access to a permit-locked system? Vouchers that can be turned in for materials or reputation?

 

[Schmack]

What was your expectation? Or in other words: what should have happened when you delivered that single pod in order to make you excited for the next run? More money? A warm message? A free module? Some titan-is-falling bar moving?

What happens when you win an AX CZ? Not a warm fuzzy, lots of money. If killing a goid can pay 34million or so, it's about the money. Let's not pretend it's about the imaginary affect on the goid war.

 

[vanFace]

What happens when you win an AX CZ? Not a warm fuzzy, lots of money. If killing a goid can pay 34million or so, it's about the money. Let's not pretend it's about the imaginary affect on the goid war.

That's what it is for you, and this is fine. However, my question was what was the OP's expectation. I'm really curious what he expected the outcome to be, or better yet: what he wants it to be so he is encouraged to continue the game loop. After all, roots is one of the more... erm... "balanced" mods here, so I'd really like to know his thoughts in this regards.

 

[Hellrider]

What happens when you win an AX CZ? Not a warm fuzzy, lots of money.

*lots of zimbabwe dollars, which are nothing more than poorly balanced "scoreboard"

 

[Darrack]

So I went to the Titan today armed with the new Extraction Missiles. Trying to get the pods out was great fun, I'm pretty sure FDEV turned a few knobs to 11. It was dangerous, intense and exciting. On my first try I was destroyed. The second run I did manage to grab 1 pod and then decided to leg it, as I was getting decimated again.

Barely made it with 21% hull, but the pod remained in my cargo hold.

Extremely proud and satisfied, I went to deliver it to the Search and Rescue contact at the nearest Rescue Megaship. And I was met with a massive disappointment, having been offered a mere 143 k Credits for the one pod.

150k for such a dangerous and intense rescue mission at the Thargoid megaship? Even if I had 20 of the rescued pods it would be what, 3 million Credits. Nope. Definitely nope. The reward was so extremely underwhelming that I have immediately lost any and all motivation to do it again.

Why S&R pays so very little? It's always been the case, and maybe you can argue that for the regular pods, black boxes etc. it's fair, as they are very easy to obtain, but this is one of the most (if not THE most) dangerous missions in the game currently.

Come on FDEV. What's the deal with this? I am risking my ship here, the activity requires A LOT of specialist equipment (pulse breaker, Titan analyser, caustic launcher, heat sinks, decontamination limpets, the new extraction missiles and so on), it is dangerous and requires constant focus and attention, messing about with modules, silent running, avoiding the Thargoids, running away, making it out alive and in one piece, and in the end you get absolutely ridiculous amount of money.

Sorry, but nope. Not going to bother with these again if the reward is practicaly negligible, also considering that you can make hundreds times money more doing hundreds time less demanding activities.

I was really excited and it was fun for sure, but the underwhelming reward means that it's altogether a big meh from me.

Maybe this activity isn't for you, many of us have enjoyed following the narrative, getting the new modules and progressively probing deeper into the abys.
I for one am glad that credits really have no meaning in Elite, it means im not forced into doing things i don't want to do just to earn them.
If you need credits then yes there's lots you can do which is much easier, but as others have said, this part of the game is not about financial reward.

O7

 

[Jmanis]

what he wants it to be so he is encouraged to continue the game loop.

OPs explanation aside, i think regardless of who it is, encouragement to continue game loops is something FD has constantly struggled with.

Odyssey engineering is a great example of that. You need mastery of Odyssey's activities in order to get everything you need to engineer your gear.

The outcome of this is... to make those activities you can already do easier..... uh... so that's no incentive really. Maybe that works in roguelikes, but not here really.

I for one am glad that credits really have no meaning in Elite, it means im not forced into doing things i don't want to do just to earn them.

Why would credits being meaningful force to
do things you don't enjoy? That's a big leap of assumption to make.

If credits were meaningful, the earnings from the activity you enjoy would be commensurate to the requirement and associated risks to your activity.

In other words, if you like "easy" stuff where the risk is low, and costs are therefore low, then low rewards would still meet your operating costs... while difficult, high risk activities requiring significant fitting overheads and many rebuys would equally reward you the necessary amount. Either way, play the way you want and get adequate remuneration for that task

That's currently not how the game operates, and i can think of many careers where you are required to do things you otherwise might not enjoy doing, in order to progress reasonably in your chosen path.

 

[Darrack]

i can think of many careers where you are required to do things you otherwise might not enjoy doing, in order to progress reasonably in your chosen path.

Me too, i spent a lot of my life having to do unpleasant tasks in the line of duty but i didn't do it for the money

O7

 

[Jmanis]

Me too, i spent a lot of my life having to do unpleasant tasks in the line of duty but i didn't do it for the money

O7

Good thing this is a game and not life, and the absence of opportunity to do things for reasons other than credits can be fixed.

 

[rOmiLaYu]

Wait... we're shooting missiles at people to rescue them now?

 

[Factabulous]

Wait... we're shooting missiles at people to rescue them now?

I'M RESCUING!

 

[aRJay]

Wait... we're shooting missiles at people to rescue them now?

Yes.

Mind we have been doing that since around 1800 though with ropes attached.

 

[Disemboweled Ego]

Unlike other careers that have a rank associated with them does narrow it down to just being a poor (in relation to other activities) credit reward. You'll probably end up making more money killing the glaives that hyper- or interdict you on the way in.

If pod harvesting rewards were comparable to the other big moneymaking activities then the profit/hour would still vary heavily due to RNG (hyper/interdictions) and how well you can evade detection in the maelstrom which is kinda random. That could make it interesting from a moneymaking perspective, but more likely people would still be too risk-averse to heavily get into it for the money, not to mention the war might end someday.

 

[Schmack]

*lots of zimbabwe dollars, which are nothing more than poorly balanced "scoreboard"

It doesn't really matter what the credits are called or how worthless players claim they are. FDev uses them as an incentive to encourage participation in events. Powerplay benefits include double payouts for bounties, 50M a week for reaching level 5 (with incentive to maintain it). Markets are artificially inflated during CGs to give ridiculous amounts of Cr for something you wouldn't waste your time with otherwise (else people would be doing it all the time). When the mining payouts were nerfed, there was a large exodus from the activity. Even with Odyssey, once you've unlocked all the engineers you want and upgraded suits and weapons, there's a market for these materials thus at least some reason to continue farming them.

I get the lore aspect, but it really feels to me that the page will turn when it turns, nothing we do while the FDev reader is reading the current page will actually effect when the next page will turn, nor what's on the next page.

 

[Evazan]

I'll pay more than 143k for a pod. I keep checking Inara to see if any fleet carriers are selling these pods, but none show as available. I need one for my people collection that I have stored on my carrier. If I can add one of those to my collection, I bet my pal Etienne Dorn would be sooo jealous.

 

[Factabulous]

I'll pay more than 143k for a pod. I keep checking Inara to see if any fleet carriers are selling these pods, but none show as available. I need one for my people collection that I have stored on my carrier. If I can add one of those to my collection, I bet my pal Etienne Dorn would be sooo jealous.

They aren't tradeable. You'd have to arrange a meetup with someone & do it in person. Or just collect your own - it's simple enough.

 

[Alec Turner]

Source: https://youtu.be/upWny6r3S-c

 

[rootsrat]

@rootsrat
So, how much money do you have on that account?
Surely it is enough that you saved a few of your fellow humans... the little tears of gratitude welling up in their eyes...
Truly a selfless act, no?

Roughly 4.5 billion Cr in total, after over 5k hours in the game. My character is a mercenary. While I don't mind helping in the war efforts, I would prefer to be rewarded more handsomly for my work.

What was your expectation? Or in other words: what should have happened when you delivered that single pod in order to make you excited for the next run? More money? A warm message? A free module? Some titan-is-falling bar moving?

For something like this? Very risky end-game activity, that requires end-game equipment, which subsequently is not very easy to get, not to mention the time it takes? I think I'd be happy if they paid between 350k - 500k Cr.

People seem to get like 50-60 pods in one go
And then again, the activity's main purpose seem to be related to Thargoid war progression, and not a gold rush.

After getting hang of it I managed to get about 25-30 pods per run. Not sure why you hyperbole to a "gold rush" straight away though. There is potential for this to be balanced and not exaggerated.

Quick question: are there any missions attached to this new gameplay loop? 5 x Top Tier mats are always handy, (maybe even...the mythical Pharmaceutical Isolaters.../gasp!) and could go someway to making the new mechanics feel impactful. The whole "activity moves a bar from left to right" malarky is a tad old and fusty in 2023. (not knocking the whole Thargoid BGS thingy, if that's your bag then cool!)

Not seen any missions that are related.

With just how effective it is versus any Maelstrom with a significant number of counterstrike systems - Indra could easily lose a quarter of its Control systems to this, for less effort and more excitement than the conventional routes - I guess it's like taking the INF option for mission rewards.

What do you base this on? I've not seen any indicators that this helps with the war. If the game told me that I am helping war efforts immensly, then maybe I'd be less annoyed by the laughable payout.

That said: on a per-tonne basis, they're the 14th highest-value non-rare cargo in the game (with two of those above them also being sourced from the Titan). The rates people are reporting obtaining them suggest that 15-20 million credits an hour should be practical once there's been a bit more opportunity to tune up builds and technique. And sure, that'd need another zero to be competitive with the min-maxed options, but it's still a pretty substantial amount of money.

Considering how much some other, MUCH less risky and much less end-game activities pay, I would still expect much better Credits compensation. Again, considering the end-game nature of this, the skill required, the needed equipment and how much time it takes to complete the task.

(Also, sorry for the late reply, been busy with IRL stuff lately)