So maybe I'm doing something wrong and I don't have hundreds of hours gameplay but I seem to be stuck with a freighter with 8 capacity and no way to make any proper money. It only has one weapon hard point and has the turning circle of an 18 wheeler so I can't fight. Where do I go from here
Slow progress
- Thread starter liam1412
- Start date
We've all been there mate. Look up "rares trading". It's a slow start but you'll be making millions in no time. In the meantime, rares trading will get you going 
I started out just picking a faction (Federation for me) and just grinding missions for awhile to get some starter cash and leveling up my navy rank. Upgraded to a viper and continued, didn't put too much money into that ship. Just mainly bought 4 pulse lasers which is more then good enough for the usual trash. I then saved to get a Type 6 and tried out trading. I tried some rare trading runs I found on google, making 600-800k per run on a stock Type 6. At this level opens up to a whole new world of possibilities. One thing I noticed is that the rare trade good runs are covered by player pirates so I have been trading in Solo mode to get some starter cash but just my opinion.
I need to...
I need to look into this. Millions in no time sounds good to me.
We've all been there mate. Look up "rares trading". It's a slow start but you'll be making millions in no time. In the meantime, rares trading will get you going
I need to look into this. Millions in no time sounds good to me.
The millions will come once you get going trading in a Lakon Type 6 or 7 etc., the rares will get you the means to obtain a Lakon and fill her up with cargo. This was my experience anyway.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, even in a Type 7 you can make very good coin with a decent trade route
Rares trading is a good way to move up to the bigger ships.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, even in a Type 7 you can make very good coin with a decent trade route
Rares trading is a good way to move up to the bigger ships.
Keep your speed in the blue zone for best manoeuvrability.
Do some delivery missions from the bulletin board. It'll only be a couple of thousand credits at first but you'll be making some money. Keep going until you have 20 or 30 thousand credits then think about upgrading the cargo capacity of your ship. Or, if you're still in the stock Sidewinder (don't think you are with 8 tons), you could think about swapping it for another ship. A Hauler for example.
Don't bother with kill missions or the fetch missions. Later when you know the locations of commodities they want in advance you can do fetch missions. But unless you have that info they can be quite frustrating if you're still trying to get a foothold. Unless you have a good combat ship or are some sort of combat prodigy the kill missions will be pointless for you at this stage. Later on maybe when you're better equipped and have some practice.
You can make some good money trading tea and coffee to high tech places. But honestly, with an 8 ton capacity your trading will be limited at first.
You could try some rare commodity trading if you have the hang of hyperspacing long distances. You could pick up a few tons of Lavian Brandy at Lave Station in the Lave system, and then take that to the George Pantazis system and sell it at Zamka Platform. You'll make a tidy profit that way. Then when you're there you can buy some Pantaa Prayer Sticks and take them back to Lave for another splendid profit. If you're going to do this I strongly advise you get a fuel scoop. Getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with no fuel is a one way trip to Frustration City followed by the Self Destruction Dance. Not cool.
The galaxy map will let you plot a route out to 100ly and those two stations are 140ly apart so it's best to plot a route to a mid-point and then when you're there plot the rest of the route to your actual destination.
Get yourself some money together and then you can start upgrading your ship or buy another. When you have some cash in the bank you can start having a think about what it is that you'd like to be doing in-game. You can then equip yourself accordingly.
Small steps first.
Do some delivery missions from the bulletin board. It'll only be a couple of thousand credits at first but you'll be making some money. Keep going until you have 20 or 30 thousand credits then think about upgrading the cargo capacity of your ship. Or, if you're still in the stock Sidewinder (don't think you are with 8 tons), you could think about swapping it for another ship. A Hauler for example.
Don't bother with kill missions or the fetch missions. Later when you know the locations of commodities they want in advance you can do fetch missions. But unless you have that info they can be quite frustrating if you're still trying to get a foothold. Unless you have a good combat ship or are some sort of combat prodigy the kill missions will be pointless for you at this stage. Later on maybe when you're better equipped and have some practice.
You can make some good money trading tea and coffee to high tech places. But honestly, with an 8 ton capacity your trading will be limited at first.
You could try some rare commodity trading if you have the hang of hyperspacing long distances. You could pick up a few tons of Lavian Brandy at Lave Station in the Lave system, and then take that to the George Pantazis system and sell it at Zamka Platform. You'll make a tidy profit that way. Then when you're there you can buy some Pantaa Prayer Sticks and take them back to Lave for another splendid profit. If you're going to do this I strongly advise you get a fuel scoop. Getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with no fuel is a one way trip to Frustration City followed by the Self Destruction Dance. Not cool.
The galaxy map will let you plot a route out to 100ly and those two stations are 140ly apart so it's best to plot a route to a mid-point and then when you're there plot the rest of the route to your actual destination.
Get yourself some money together and then you can start upgrading your ship or buy another. When you have some cash in the bank you can start having a think about what it is that you'd like to be doing in-game. You can then equip yourself accordingly.
Small steps first.
You can find a decent trade run of normal commodities for over 1k per tonne quite easily. In your case thats 8k per trip.
Check this out
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102179
Check this out
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=102179
Op... That sounds like the hauler. Most of us have spent many happy hours in it making progress in the game, the galactic equivalent of a transit van. I assume you realise that those 4t cargo slots can be upgraded quite cheaply to 8t? Take the discovery scanner out which you wont need unless you are exploring, and you have 20t. And you are starting to make some serious money. A few rares and/or a reasonable trade route...
Lave, Leesti. Disco, Orrere, - those are all a few LYs apart and you can pick up maybe 50 tons stopping a few times at the same station before heading out to sell them at a station far, far away. I go out to 39 Tauri, sell - pick up more rares there and at Bast, altair, maybe Any Na, and a few other places. Its a Million Credit run. Seriously. A million+ within one hour.
One thing I would do in your case though: Do a couple runs in Solo Mode to start. There are tons of Player Pirates as another poster mentioned- ESPECIALLY in the Orrere System! You'll NEVER
make it to the station. Then when you've built up a little cash, improve the defense of your ship and try it Open Mode. You still won't make it, but you'll have some cash to jump right back in your ship.
One thing I would do in your case though: Do a couple runs in Solo Mode to start. There are tons of Player Pirates as another poster mentioned- ESPECIALLY in the Orrere System! You'll NEVER
make it to the station. Then when you've built up a little cash, improve the defense of your ship and try it Open Mode. You still won't make it, but you'll have some cash to jump right back in your ship.