***UPDATED 05-09-15***
I posted this over in the other discussion section a few days ago, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle, so I'm reposting it here in the newcomers section in the hope it will be of more help to everyone
If you're new to the game, welcome commanders. I hope you enjoy your trips out into the black. Here are a few tips for those new to the game who are interested in trading....
First, if you do much trading and you're in one of the smaller ships (less than 200 tons cargo space) the best money to be found is usually trading in rare commodities. Rare commodities are goods that can only be bought at one station and that increase in value the farther away you trade them with the sale value topping out at around 120-140ly away from where you bought them. Below are a few threads about them If you play open, you should be aware that pirates also know where the rare commodities are to be found and sometimes target rares systems such a Lave, and Leesti. You should also be aware that it's best to have a ship with at least a 15ly jump range because you'll be traveling quite far to do your trading
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63119
http://galnetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Rares-Circuit-1.jpg
http://eliteraretrader.co.uk/?route...,77,79,55,36,13,26,29,83&name=Clipper Route 1
Second, If you don't want to do rare commodities but still want to trade, then I suggest you use one of the trading tools. Trading tools are third-party programs and websites that help you find good trade routes. Some players don't like to use such tools as they consider them a form of cheating, but personally, I look at them in the same way a stock trader in the day-to-day world would view stock analysts--- you don't always trust their advice but not reading what they have to say would be foolish. If you use a trade tool, you need to be aware that many other players are using the same tools and therefore many of the lucrative routes will suffer rushes of players that drive commodity prices down quickly, so you'll be needing to periodically search for new routes.
One of the best uses for trading tools is using them to help you find three and four stop routes. These are much, much less susceptible to player rushes. One of the better ways to find three and four stop routes is to use Slopey's Trading Tool to look for lucrative stops between stations in the same system. So, you look for routes that go between two stations in the the same system for one leg of the route and then jump to another system for the other leg of the route and return to the first station in the first system to finish up the route. Here are links to several trading tools:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=76081&highlight=SLOPEY%27S
http://www.elitetradingtool.co.uk/
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=137732
You will often find that the trading tools are a little off in the prices they display for commodities due to ongoing price fluctuations in the game and due to outdated info in the trading tools. To counter this deficiency, buy the goods you believe will yield the most profit at your destination but also buy one ton each of a selection of goods your destination station would likely be interested in. For example, extraction an refinery stations are often interested in goods such as consumer technology, progenitor cells, performance enhancers, or resonating separators and high tech stations are usually interested in a variety of metals, such as gold, palladium, silver and beryllium. So, the first time you make the trip to a new station, buy one ton each of all the commodities that station might be interested in and then when you get there, take note of the profit you make as you sell each item. In this way you can always compensate for price fluctuations between stations on your routes. Note that you won't have to do this every trip between stations, but only on your first trip or whenever you notice prices beginning to fluctuate.
Next, another option for trading is to use one of the long trade routes such as the Silk Road route. These are routes worked out by players that have many stops along the way. A lot of people consider them to be much less tedious than A-to-B routes. They also are much less susceptible to player rushes. Here are links to some info on long routes:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=136176
https://www.dropbox.com/s/peac6dxefybmmq9/SilkRoad.pdf?dl=0
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=138234&highlight=Dastardly+trading
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Vb2Wl53EuQmKfWK6mCuNe29SdI/edit#gid=885051513
If you would like to find trading routes on your own without using any of the third-party tools, then you can use the following charts to help you connect appropriate places of supply and demand:
http://imgur.com/QsxScn1
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Goods
Reddit also offers many trading tips for players looking to learn how to play Elite better. Here is the link to the traders page over on Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteTraders/
Many trading guides around the forums and web explain in some detail how to do the utmost efficient trading. Personally, although I like to make the credits as much as anyone else, I play Elite for entertainment and enjoyment and so have tailored my trading style to maximize those aspects of the game rather than going solely for maximum profits per hour. One of the things I like to do is find new routes once every few days since going back and forth to the same two stations for two weeks straight isn't my idea of great fun. I also generally prefer routes with three or more stops as it allows more variety in the flying you do. I do missions from time to time at the stations I frequent as well because that breaks up the game from becoming monotonous as well.
If you have a ship that has at least a 14ly range, often you can find better routes by looking on the trading tools for routes out to a range of around 50-65ly. People who use the tools often look for shorter routes in the 25-40ly range and tend to neglect some pretty nice routes because of that.
For pure trading a reasonable ship progression is Sidewinder>>Hauler>>Adder>Cobra>>Type-6>>Asp>>Type-7>>Python or Clipper>>Type-9>>Anaconda. As a general rule, ships that have a bigger cargo area are generally more profitable. Ships that have a longer jump range are also more profitable as they allow you to travel farther in fewer jumps. Ships that are more maneuverable also help decease time between trades although ship maneuverability doesn't become a real big issue until you get to the Type-7 which is the first ship in the game that feels really big and handles poorly due to it's size. Also remember that a bigger ship doesn't always mean it's going to be less maneuverable. For example, a Python is bigger than a Type-7 but it's also much more agile.
Lots of guides recommend that you wait to buy a new ship until you have the credits to buy all A-rated modules for it. Personally, I usually buy ships as soon as I have the credits to afford the hull, an A-rated FSD (for maximum range), maximum amount of cargo modules, insurance, and enough to fill the chip with cargo. Of these things the only item I'd consider absolutely necessary is enough money to cover insurance. Upgrading ships in this manner means that you haul larger amounts of cargo sooner than if you wait until you can afford all upgraded modules. It's also adds a little more variety to the game because many of the ships behave somewhat differently as you add A-rated modules.
I hope these few pieces of advice help those new to the game and I'd like to give kudo's and many thanks the authors of the threads and websites I've posted up in the links. You've made my time and the time of many others in Elite much more enjoyable
I posted this over in the other discussion section a few days ago, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle, so I'm reposting it here in the newcomers section in the hope it will be of more help to everyone
If you're new to the game, welcome commanders. I hope you enjoy your trips out into the black. Here are a few tips for those new to the game who are interested in trading....
First, if you do much trading and you're in one of the smaller ships (less than 200 tons cargo space) the best money to be found is usually trading in rare commodities. Rare commodities are goods that can only be bought at one station and that increase in value the farther away you trade them with the sale value topping out at around 120-140ly away from where you bought them. Below are a few threads about them If you play open, you should be aware that pirates also know where the rare commodities are to be found and sometimes target rares systems such a Lave, and Leesti. You should also be aware that it's best to have a ship with at least a 15ly jump range because you'll be traveling quite far to do your trading
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63119
http://galnetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Rares-Circuit-1.jpg
http://eliteraretrader.co.uk/?route...,77,79,55,36,13,26,29,83&name=Clipper Route 1
Second, If you don't want to do rare commodities but still want to trade, then I suggest you use one of the trading tools. Trading tools are third-party programs and websites that help you find good trade routes. Some players don't like to use such tools as they consider them a form of cheating, but personally, I look at them in the same way a stock trader in the day-to-day world would view stock analysts--- you don't always trust their advice but not reading what they have to say would be foolish. If you use a trade tool, you need to be aware that many other players are using the same tools and therefore many of the lucrative routes will suffer rushes of players that drive commodity prices down quickly, so you'll be needing to periodically search for new routes.
One of the best uses for trading tools is using them to help you find three and four stop routes. These are much, much less susceptible to player rushes. One of the better ways to find three and four stop routes is to use Slopey's Trading Tool to look for lucrative stops between stations in the same system. So, you look for routes that go between two stations in the the same system for one leg of the route and then jump to another system for the other leg of the route and return to the first station in the first system to finish up the route. Here are links to several trading tools:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=76081&highlight=SLOPEY%27S
http://www.elitetradingtool.co.uk/
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=137732
You will often find that the trading tools are a little off in the prices they display for commodities due to ongoing price fluctuations in the game and due to outdated info in the trading tools. To counter this deficiency, buy the goods you believe will yield the most profit at your destination but also buy one ton each of a selection of goods your destination station would likely be interested in. For example, extraction an refinery stations are often interested in goods such as consumer technology, progenitor cells, performance enhancers, or resonating separators and high tech stations are usually interested in a variety of metals, such as gold, palladium, silver and beryllium. So, the first time you make the trip to a new station, buy one ton each of all the commodities that station might be interested in and then when you get there, take note of the profit you make as you sell each item. In this way you can always compensate for price fluctuations between stations on your routes. Note that you won't have to do this every trip between stations, but only on your first trip or whenever you notice prices beginning to fluctuate.
Next, another option for trading is to use one of the long trade routes such as the Silk Road route. These are routes worked out by players that have many stops along the way. A lot of people consider them to be much less tedious than A-to-B routes. They also are much less susceptible to player rushes. Here are links to some info on long routes:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=136176
https://www.dropbox.com/s/peac6dxefybmmq9/SilkRoad.pdf?dl=0
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=138234&highlight=Dastardly+trading
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Vb2Wl53EuQmKfWK6mCuNe29SdI/edit#gid=885051513
If you would like to find trading routes on your own without using any of the third-party tools, then you can use the following charts to help you connect appropriate places of supply and demand:
http://imgur.com/QsxScn1
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Goods
Reddit also offers many trading tips for players looking to learn how to play Elite better. Here is the link to the traders page over on Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/EliteTraders/
Many trading guides around the forums and web explain in some detail how to do the utmost efficient trading. Personally, although I like to make the credits as much as anyone else, I play Elite for entertainment and enjoyment and so have tailored my trading style to maximize those aspects of the game rather than going solely for maximum profits per hour. One of the things I like to do is find new routes once every few days since going back and forth to the same two stations for two weeks straight isn't my idea of great fun. I also generally prefer routes with three or more stops as it allows more variety in the flying you do. I do missions from time to time at the stations I frequent as well because that breaks up the game from becoming monotonous as well.
If you have a ship that has at least a 14ly range, often you can find better routes by looking on the trading tools for routes out to a range of around 50-65ly. People who use the tools often look for shorter routes in the 25-40ly range and tend to neglect some pretty nice routes because of that.
For pure trading a reasonable ship progression is Sidewinder>>Hauler>>Adder>Cobra>>Type-6>>Asp>>Type-7>>Python or Clipper>>Type-9>>Anaconda. As a general rule, ships that have a bigger cargo area are generally more profitable. Ships that have a longer jump range are also more profitable as they allow you to travel farther in fewer jumps. Ships that are more maneuverable also help decease time between trades although ship maneuverability doesn't become a real big issue until you get to the Type-7 which is the first ship in the game that feels really big and handles poorly due to it's size. Also remember that a bigger ship doesn't always mean it's going to be less maneuverable. For example, a Python is bigger than a Type-7 but it's also much more agile.
Lots of guides recommend that you wait to buy a new ship until you have the credits to buy all A-rated modules for it. Personally, I usually buy ships as soon as I have the credits to afford the hull, an A-rated FSD (for maximum range), maximum amount of cargo modules, insurance, and enough to fill the chip with cargo. Of these things the only item I'd consider absolutely necessary is enough money to cover insurance. Upgrading ships in this manner means that you haul larger amounts of cargo sooner than if you wait until you can afford all upgraded modules. It's also adds a little more variety to the game because many of the ships behave somewhat differently as you add A-rated modules.
I hope these few pieces of advice help those new to the game and I'd like to give kudo's and many thanks the authors of the threads and websites I've posted up in the links. You've made my time and the time of many others in Elite much more enjoyable
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