These are long time goals for me. Getting a hold of ships in that price range would take ages with my equipment and playing style.
I am looking for a step up from a Keelback, right now.
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Newcomer / Intro What are you up to?
- Thread starter Tyres O'Flaherty
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I am looking for a step up from a Keelback, right now.
So, what do you have (in terms of money) and what is your playstyle?
Edit: the problem here is that there's a large gap between the Keelback (or the Asp Explorer) and the Kraits/Python in terms of money. The Keelback comes in at 4 MCr. naked, the Kraits/Python at ten times that amount (and that gap doesn't get better if you include outfitting them...). Anything inbetween is either superpower rank locked (Federal shoeboxes, Clipper) or strictly designed as short-range combat ship (Alliance).
The one exception is the Type-7, which makes a worse miner than the Keelback - sure, more cargo space, but she needs a large pad and can only carry 4 small guns.
Easiest way to get a couple of hundred MCr. would be either "Road to Riches", or maybe @CMDRQuainMarln 's proposal of a heavy metal mining weekend on his carrier.
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At the moment, the amount of money I have is nowhere near being able to quickly bridge that gap (somewhere close to 20 MCr).
I had been wondering about this gap, as I always stumbled upon it when checking shipyards for ships. Thus the question.
From what I have seen (found INARA's shipyard), the Krait Mk II seems to be the most reasonable option.
Regarding my playstyle...
Well, it is all over the place, depending on my mood. I do not enjoy doing something over and over, rinse and repeat (a.k.a. grinding). Which means that I might go hunting some pirates in this session, hauling some data in the next, collecting some materials after that - I think you get the drift.
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I'll admit, that makes it difficult to get rich fast - or unlock the engineers.
What could help would be to focus your activities on a small region. Getting allied with a faction will get you access to better paying missions (some of them, especially the easy and lucrative ones, admittedly of dubious legality). My favourites if I need a few millions on the quick are planetary scan/take out generator missions. Easy >1 MCr. each, low risk (yes, those ground defenses... you'll need a fast ship). Just haven't done any of those since I started Odyssey, so I don't know if it's still possible to scan the settlement data points from your (small!) ship.
Edit: if you want to keep on this side of the law, passenger sightseeing missions can also net a few million per run. But be aware - also in this case, you might find yourself in trouble if a station/local cops scan you while you're carrying people that are wanted in the respective jurisdiction (and that includes the base where you got that mission). Again, a fast ship helps (as do a low heat signature and heatsinks).
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The Python, Krait MKII or Phantom are the next decent steps from a Type 6, Keelback or Asp Explorer for laser mining.
The Python is one of the best mining ships in the game for any amount of credits.
The Keelback or Asp Explorer are the first reasonably good ships for core mining where you get more credits for the fewer tons you can carry. Core mining can be frustrating until you get the knack of finding cores. Knowing they are often 20km+ apart and going fast while using pulse wave analyser to find them helps. Note abandoning excess limpets to make room for more mined minerals is usual practice when mining.
Given that my method of escaping pirates - dirty drag drives and speed - is probably not an option for you yet, arriving in the metallic ring platinum hotspot and patiently waiting for the pirates to leave is your best bet.
To make the best of a trip out on a carrier, you could do with having the bigger Python/Krait first.
You are at the point in the game with a large gap between ship prices unless you are willing to gain Federation or Imperial navy rank for access to those ships. A Federal Dropship or Imperial Clipper are reasonable/good mining ships.
The shortcut to more credits for you now is Robigo Mines passenger runs - a Type 6 or Asp Explorer is good for 30 to 40 million per hour, but it's repetitive and maybe not compatible with your play style. It's also a quick way to get engineering materials.
Road to riches "exploration" is probably good for 20 million an hour, but again, may not be compatible with you play style as it's "cheating" at exploration.
Planet scan missions pay quite well and all you needs is a small fast ship with some shields. Cobra is great for it.
I would suggest an Asp Explorer as an affordable step up, I used one to go to Python and Fer de Lance doing a mix of Community Goals plus shooting stuff in Resource Extraction Sites and some hauling and mining, you lose the Ship Launched Fighter but niggles aside it is a great ship.
I start mining trips with about 90% of the hold capacity filled with limpets which usually leaves enough space for the mined cargo to start filling until attrition of the limpets frees up more room, the attrition is usually enough to keep ahead of the collectors but if you have to dump limpets be sure to set them to ignore otherwise they will be returned.
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Well, that is what I did, unintentionally.
After leaving the PF, I first visited Tod, as I had the requirements for unlocking him fulfilled while still in the safety of the PF permit region. I could have stayed at the Wolf 397 region for a little longer, but there was something about that region that did not really make me want to. So I looked up (ingame) what the requirements were for the engineers that give you some more FSD range and found that Elvira was the one I could fulfil the easiest. Once I arrived there, I took a look around and found it quite cozy, setting up my base at Ballard's Survey in Suhte. And then I started doing missions, mainly data hauling (with an occasional side of bounty hunting, if the goon sent after me was in the same league as me - and some exploring as dessert). Used the money earned to get better suiting equipment and some more ships. Now I am allied to Canonn and some of the other factions here.
Buy the Python. Except no substitutes. There is no ship in this game as versatile and good at pretty much everything it does (combat notwithstanding).
From laser mining, to core mining, to cargo missions, to Robigo Mine runs, the Python is THE best in the game short of the Anaconda and Imperial Cutter.
In fact, it's so good, it's the only ship I have two of. My first Python bought me my Cutter within 3 days of getting it. That's really all you need to know.
I'll actually make you an offer you can't refuse: Go mine anything. I mean literally anything. Bring it to my carrier, tell me what it is and I'll price that ore to where you can sell it to me for enough to go buy yourself a Python.
Small and medium ships and the Imperial Clipper (by all rights a medium ship) can all scan ground based data links with the data link scanner. A low heat signature is of no help - tried it on a shieldless iCourier, got blown up. Boosting away when the scan completes and having 200MJ+ shields works. An unengineered Cobra MKIII with 4A thrusters and a 4A shield giving 189MJ shields works OK and I think is the best option without engineering or Imperial rank for the Courier.
In Horizons 4.0 and Odyssey these planet scan missions are easier as the target "Artificial Structure" is at a fixed location. None of that messing about with search zones trying to find the scan target anymore.
The other thing you need, is a nearby Interstellar Factors in your galaxy navigation favourites to pay off the trespassing fines and bounties. Good to stack a few of these missions at once.
I'm doing some of these missions with my alt account now as its a good way to get Federation rank and collect some encoded materials as the scans are done. I'm currently using an engineered Krait Phantom with about 900MJ shields and a 588m/s boost speed. Well over specified for the needs of these missions.
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Last night I sold some explo data to a FC and got no notification of first discoveries or first mapped (several completely virgin systems). Is this normal?
Yes. It means you weren't the first to discover them. Somebody discovered them and beat you back to sell the data.
Yet another advantage of owning a fleet carrier. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find that the owner of the carrier you sold it to turned in that data first.
I don't especially enjoy the Python, but it's far too useful not to have two of them. One on my fleet carrier and one in Colonia for when I spend time there. The same goes for the Krait MKII (which I do enjoy - my favourite ship) as a combat mission runner. The Python is a key stepping stone ship to greater wealth. It will take longer to build the credit balance without one.
The Mk II is a great ship, but the Python having that extra 6 slot just rips the throat out of the Krait Mk II for mining, passenger and cargo missions.
Yes for sure, which is why I have the Pythons. I also use a Python a lot more on my alt account as he does not own a Krait MKII. As a rule, I'm trying to use different ships on my alt account, or where I have to use the same ship, using it in a different way. I can't really substitute a different ship for what the Python does, so the rule is broken here and also with the Imperial Courier for influence gaining 'special operations' and data courier missions. The Cobra is the nearest you can get to the Courier, but the Courier shields are hard to match and the Cobra cargo space little/no better by the time you put do put a shield and fuel scoop in it.
No that is not the case - their system maps show me as the FD and FM tag.
BTW - it WAS my carrier.
Well, you might have stated that before to eliminate the confusion.
I've never had it NOT notify me of first discoveries. Ever. Unless, of course, I wasn't the first.
For a build similar to mine, an Anaconda. But as others have said, a Python or Krait would be good in the interim.
The Python is the more useful one, if you can get one of those.
Asp Explorer is probably the best in between the Keely and the Python/Krait. For now, just wait out the pirates and then go on your merry way.
I remember those days. It took me months and months to finally get a Python. The price gap between ships is rather large right where you are.
But once I had the Python, my money-earning went through the roof. It's a great trader, and I was big into trading at the time (still am), plus it can carry a lot of passengers, etc. and land at medium pads. It's just a very versatile ship. It was my main ship for a long, long time.
But don't sweat it, it's not important to having fun. If you're not having fun in the process then there's no point in playing, right?
Take your time, there's no rush. You will amass a fortune in time, pretty much everyone does.
Cartographics has been bugged for some time. It's rare that it doesn't inform you of your "accolades" but I've had it skip some, or show the wrong ones, or show bodies from a previous system instead of the one I just sold. It appears to be just a cosmetic/display issue.
It's a pun I've never had a chance to use before, but I've always liked it