Would you use an exploit in Elite Dangerous?

Would you use an exploit?
Are there any things that you consider ok that others consider an exploit?
What is “too much”?
Does it make a difference that it’s a multiplayer game?
What about exploits in other games?

As we did last time, here's some of the Lave Radio Crew's initial thoughts...


Ben
  • I'd not use an exploit in multiplayer games
  • My take on an exploit in Elite, is probably far stronger than most peoples... I wont even do some acts that are potentially against the intent of the Developers... For example, back when the game was 1st released, Rare Trading allowed you to make ridiculous credits and so many of the early community made bank with it. I considered it an exploit and deliberately didn't do it. Frontier obviously nerfed Rare Trading to what we have today and no actions were taken against cmdrs who partook. Similarly I've not joined in on the Long Distance Passenger Mission Rush and so on!
  • I am not however whiter than white!!! I will use cheat codes etc to my hearts content in Single Player Games, for example in the Mass Effect games and Cyber Punk 2077 I've added materials to my games because I just can't be bothered with that side of what they call game play!!! Also I was banned for a month from playing GTA because I got sick of modders in the PC port putting flaming toilets on people all the time, so I used a mod menu to remove them. Rock Star banned me and zero'd my game...
 
My background is motorsport where it's a pretty safe bet everyone is cheating & it's more about who gets caught ;)

I don't cheat in ED, I try to avoid spoilers & some things (like opening the Thargoid door & the Ram Tah mission for example) I never figured out. I could just google it & follow some helpful guide but I'd only be cheating myself.

I'm not religious about it, sometime I'll just google something (usually after I've tried to do it myself), and I don't live in an information vacuum but I try to only use information available to my Cmdr.

As far as competing against other players is concerned ED is pretty relaxed, there are lots of variables that already make most competitive encounters unbalanced so what's important to me is the story behind the achievement. First time I visited Beagle Point (a system whose location I learned outside the game) I did it in a 19ly Corvette, without knowing how to get there only that it could be done with a 36ly ship and with synth my ship could jump 38ly. took me about 3 months to cover the last 2,000ly, it was a maze of dead ends. I enjoyed the challenge :)
 
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Why on earth would I want to ruin my game by actively cheating?

If anything, I'd like to bump the difficulty up a notch or two, by returning the economic sim and Supercruise to their glorious Alpha levels, reduce mission rewards so they actually make sense, ensure that Superpowers don't like it when you curry favor with their enemies, and give the NPCs a bit more teeth.

There's nothing more boring in my opinion than a game that awards nothing but "I participated" trophies.
 
This depends very much on your definition of the word "Exploit".
  • For me, absolutely NO if its against the terms of service. You're just cheating yourself, as well as others.
  • I don't see a problem with exploiting in game mechanics (unless it was an absolute blunder as we had once) - and here I may differ with Ben a little. It might not be what FDev intended, but they set the rules and if they make a mistake then I guess it's fair game (until they fix it, hopefully). I remember focusing on passengers one christmas as that was in vogue, for instance. Whilst I didn't benefit from it myself, skimmers were a thing at one time. There have been various other scenarios that have been beneficial to the observant.
  • What I really can't tollerate though is players exploiting obvious glitches/bugs (in the UI or whatever) for benefit, or using third party tools/cheats/mods. They know what they are doing, and not only should any benefits they have gained be reversed, some form of penalty must be imposed to send the message that this is not acceptable.
  • Yes, of course it matters when it's a multiplayer game. Not just these explicit exploitations, but for instance I'm conscious that the community team have their special accounts with their millions of funds, and all of their actions impact on the BGS too. I don't have an issue with this at all (hey, how much damage can Bruce do?), but it's an example of why we need to be cognisant of the implications of everything that people do, or can do at a result of "exploits", in the game.
I hope this adds to your survey, Lave Radio.
 
Define "exploit".

If it is an exploit to relog on a Guardian site when collecting artifacts - is it also an exploit to log out for the day on that site, then log in the next day on the same site instead of flying off to the next one? If yes, then I'm guilty of using exploits.
Is it an exploit to have bought ³H cheap in one system and sell it high in another system? Is it if you're filling up and respectively empty a FC? Guilty.
Restart in the base game if your SRV is irretrievably stuck on a planet? Guilty.
Combat log on a station after I got locked in the toast rack by an NPC? Guilty.
Relog on Dav's Hope? Done it, wouldn't do it again - too boring.
Colonia Prison Taxi? Guilty.
 
Like others, it really depends on what is defined as an exploit.

Things like get rich quick schemes which were likely not intended by the devs, i might partake in, but generally have never gone overboard with them.

Something clearly providing an in-game advantage when the devs clearly would not be happy with people doing it i would not do. eg: Engineer 5 to 1 exploit.
 
I guess you could say I'm against exploits. Not so much that I will get sniffy about others using them, more that I don't use them myself. For example: I have done precisely 1 lap of Dav's Hope, never mined the egg, don't relog HGEs, don't reboot/repair to get shields back to 50% and I'm sure there are more.

In saying all that, there may well be things that I do, do which others would call exploits. If they're not patched they're available. From that point onwards it's personal choice I think.
 
Only to circumvent poor gameplay design. Would I relog Guardian sites again? So much yes. Thankfully, that nightmare is a thing of the past for both my CMDRs.

That being said, I can't think of any other exploit I'd use. Mat collecting isn't enough of a problem for me to relog. Unless I discovered a PI/IC HGE . . . I would relog the ever-loving-hell out of that unicorn.
 
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I used some relogging exploits in Elite, like f.ex when gathering meta alloys or Guardian obelisk data. I did that, because I was in too impatient to fly somewhere else, when I knew relogging will do the exactly the same thing - ignoring that knowledge felt completely irrational and I couldn't resist. I'm not really proud of that, but I don't consider that a problem. Person using that kind of exploit can only ruin the game for themselves if not carefull.
 
I also use relogging exploits for mats.
What is too much is using trainers and bots.

That's why I love combat and PvP so much, the skills required, although hard fought won, are impossible to imitate by any current AI. The process is what is so engaging. If the process of getting g5 manufactured materials were fun, I would certainly prefer that to HGE relogs.

I truly feel sorry for those who feel the need to cheat. Their lives become a means to an end instead of experience itself.
 
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