Hey folks. I just watched an Obsidian Ant video where he discussed Risk vs Reward, and how riskier activities pay less in Elite. (I'll link it at the bottom)
I wanted to know how folks are calculating risk and reward. The example in the video was mining vs Thargoid hunting.
Where mining was called "low risk" and high reward and Thargoid hunting, high risk low reward.
Personally I think that classification is off. I would say mining is higher risk than thargoid hunting and yes I've done both.
Why?
First I want to say a new or inexperienced player is likely to get blown up doing either activity. So let's look at experienced players. I would say that an experienced player is unlikely to be killed in either activity. Both kinds of NPC antagonists are predictable and escape is just a high wake away.
To add to that anti thargoid ships are combat ships, while mining ships are not.
So why the difference in risk?
A Thargoid killing ship is insured at loss = 5% of total value. There is no valuable cargo to lose, just a ship.
The payout comes from every kill so the income is at risk only a few million at a time.
Conversely in addition to 5% of their ship value, a miner or trader has their payday in cargo. There is no insurance for cargo. Die with 256 or more diamonds in your hold and you are out the value of almost a hundred Thargoid hunting ships insurance cost.
This equation seems to hold for all combat income. Combat ships regularly return to port where bounties and mission rewards can be turned in. They are focused on the threat they face with no need for ancillary utility. Whereas miners and traders are not. They are focused on an activity other than combat.
So explain to me, why do people think Thargoid hunting is riskier than mining? There seems to be so little on the table for combat pilots.
/Edit OA video here
Source: https://youtu.be/jfgm5SI79ds
I wanted to know how folks are calculating risk and reward. The example in the video was mining vs Thargoid hunting.
Where mining was called "low risk" and high reward and Thargoid hunting, high risk low reward.
Personally I think that classification is off. I would say mining is higher risk than thargoid hunting and yes I've done both.
Why?
First I want to say a new or inexperienced player is likely to get blown up doing either activity. So let's look at experienced players. I would say that an experienced player is unlikely to be killed in either activity. Both kinds of NPC antagonists are predictable and escape is just a high wake away.
To add to that anti thargoid ships are combat ships, while mining ships are not.
So why the difference in risk?
A Thargoid killing ship is insured at loss = 5% of total value. There is no valuable cargo to lose, just a ship.
The payout comes from every kill so the income is at risk only a few million at a time.
Conversely in addition to 5% of their ship value, a miner or trader has their payday in cargo. There is no insurance for cargo. Die with 256 or more diamonds in your hold and you are out the value of almost a hundred Thargoid hunting ships insurance cost.
This equation seems to hold for all combat income. Combat ships regularly return to port where bounties and mission rewards can be turned in. They are focused on the threat they face with no need for ancillary utility. Whereas miners and traders are not. They are focused on an activity other than combat.
So explain to me, why do people think Thargoid hunting is riskier than mining? There seems to be so little on the table for combat pilots.
/Edit OA video here
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universe.