Elite Dangerous

[Bubbleawsome]

I used an eagle with two pulse lasers on the bottom hardpoints and one multicannon on top for hunting until I could get to a viper. Worked well and very maneuverable

 

[ThinClient]

Bubble, if you had access to a well fit Viper and a well fit Eagle, which one would you prefer as your primary combat fighter?

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Considering I can ram shielded eagles with my viper and kill them without dropping shields I think I prefer the viper. It's got much better weapons and can take a beating. But when the eagle is only ~50k and the viper is more like 150k I'd rather start with the eagle to make money for the viper.

 

[ZGR]

The AI are made to make the same mistakes that players make. Some AI smuggle items in and get caught. Some AI loiter over pads. Some AI loiter in the station when they're supposed to be leaving. Some AI have some sort of bounty or are hated by the faction.

Just don't get caught in the crossfire, it hurts :awe:

If you want to use a controller but don't want to have to reach for the keyboard, consider paying $8 or $9 for a program called Voice Attack. If you have a mic, you can speak phrases that the program will translate into specific key presses. You can create your own commands and even create your own feedback.

With a little customization, mine is configured to have R2D2 parrot back a unique confirmation for each voice command I issue. :awe:

Ah, that makes sense! Voice commands would actually work really well here. The keyboard keys I still use are L for landing gear, Enter for chat, and H for highest threat target. I'll check out the free trial.

Is there a way to expand the Viper's fuel tank? I would switch back to it if I could get a tank larger than 4. I love the Cobra's 16 tank.

 

[ThinClient]

Ah, that makes sense! Voice commands would actually work really well here. The keyboard keys I still use are L for landing gear, Enter for chat, and H for highest threat target. I'll check out the free trial.

Is there a way to expand the Viper's fuel tank? I would switch back to it if I could get a tank larger than 4. I love the Cobra's 16 tank.

No. Fighter role ships are intentionally limited in jump range and fuel capacity.

It's not until you get to the ASP where you have a relatively maneuverable ship that packs a serious punch AND has the jump range and fuel capacity (and cargo capacity).

 

[tedrodai]

Looks like 4 is max for the viper :/

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Looks like 4 is max for the viper :/

It is, and it kinda sucks, but I've made 180ly trips in it without running out of fuel.

 

[ThinClient]

Remember, the shorter the jump, the less fuel per distance used. You can jump 20 times at 1LY per jump or one 20LY jump. The former will use up practically no fuel. The latter will use up a bunch of fuel.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Oh yeah we have a good time playing. He's showing me things like better trading routes and how to work the commodities. He even tweaked my galaxy map for me so it's a lot easier to use now. We don't play very often though. Once every couple weeks is about it.

Hey I was going to ask you since you seem more up to speed with the game. Did the laser cannons on the entry level Sidewinder get nerfed in the latest patch? It seems like we were able to fend off pirates better before the patch.

Heat was changed. If you want I'll drop off a cargo hold of stuff to help you out. I got lucky enough to make an extra 200k from the community goal and wouldn't mind sharing the wealth. I'm not super rich after 3 weeks of playing 2-4 hours a day, I can't imagine grinding over a couple weeks. I guess it opens gameplay opportunities like exploring.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Post Commander Fathaggard of the Federation reporting that Sol has entered a lockdown state. Military Checkpoints are active by the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
All factions in the system are experiencing Economic Boom, however signs of Civil Unrest have been reported regarding among Sol Nationalists communities. President Halsey has yet to issue a statement on the matter

I will fight for the federation in Sol. Ain't nobody who takes my home world.

 

[ThinClient]

Post Commander Fathaggard

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

BREATHE! BREATHE!!

HAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Expert in combat now. That took a while.

 

[ThinClient]

Woot! Congrats!

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I've been using the combat zones to try different weapons. I think I can graduate to fixed lasers now, but missiles and fragment cannons aren't my thing. I'm going to fit some torpedoes now. They obviously aren't for conflict zones, but I'll target an anaconda's power plant and if I can take it out without much of a problem that'll open up the assassination missions. My loadout (if it works) would be two fixed class 1 beams (as lasers do not seem to be effected by class on shields for small/medium/large ships) and two class 2 torpedoes (so 4 in total) and then a chaff launcher attached to a different key, and possibly cells on another. I didn't know they didn't have to be in a firegroup to work. :$

If it works well that will make hunting that much easier.

 

[tedrodai]

Nice, grats.

I'm about 2mil away from swapping to a type 7. The clipper is just barely more expensive though. How long does it take to take to reach Baron rank from Squire? I might stop trading for a while so I can do missions in my Asp before I get rid of it.

edit: saw a reddit post saying a guy went from squire to baron in a day. Guess I'll work on that next. Just try to get friendly with empire factions at a bunch of different stations.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

You have to pray to the RNG gods. You might make it in a day or two weeks, even working hard. Good luck.
I myself am avoiding ranks in the empire for reasons but will go there eventually. I want a clipper so bad.

 

[ThinClient]

For the Empire, my brothers!

 

[QuantumPion]

Nice, grats.

I'm about 2mil away from swapping to a type 7. The clipper is just barely more expensive though. How long does it take to take to reach Baron rank from Squire? I might stop trading for a while so I can do missions in my Asp before I get rid of it.

edit: saw a reddit post saying a guy went from squire to baron in a day. Guess I'll work on that next. Just try to get friendly with empire factions at a bunch of different stations.

It seems to be random and can be frustrating because you might waste time doing missions without any apparent benefit. It probably took me 8-12 hours at least. The trick seems to be doing missions with empire-aligned minor factions in various systems.

The clipper is definitely worth it, I wouldn't even bother with the Type-7 as it is a slow pig. The Clipper is basically a Cobra with 240 cargo and large weapon hardpoints. It is definately not for PVP though since it has weak shields, a large cross section which is easy to hit, and is shockingly expensive to repair. You can spend an hour bounty hunting earning 100-200k and then lose it all in one lucky hit. The repair costs are like 10k per 1% hull.

 

[bbhaag]

Heat was changed. If you want I'll drop off a cargo hold of stuff to help you out. I got lucky enough to make an extra 200k from the community goal and wouldn't mind sharing the wealth. I'm not super rich after 3 weeks of playing 2-4 hours a day, I can't imagine grinding over a couple weeks. I guess it opens gameplay opportunities like exploring.

Thank you for the answer on the lasers. I was going through the links that TC posted but I must have missed it.

That is a very generous offer I'll have to ask my son what he wants to do. I think we are in the Negidals System. We're thinking about heading to Paletes with a load of gold though. I'm pretty sure we are in Federation space.
Were are you at?

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Thank you for the answer on the lasers. I was going through the links that TC posted but I must have missed it.

That is a very generous offer I'll have to ask my son what he wants to do. I think we are in the Negidals System. We're thinking about heading to Paletes with a load of gold though. I'm pretty sure we are in Federation space.
Were are you at?

The aphra/lazdones area. I should be able to make it to Paletes or Negidals in two jumps. If there is a station out there that sells gold/palladium it would make it a lot easier. Eventually there will be a way to just email credits basically, but who knows when fdev will put that in.
Also, if you guys decide you don't want to that's cool. I'm not sure I would have done it myself

 

[bbhaag]

We were at BD+07 4267 not too long ago and they were selling gold at a decent price.
It amazes me that you can make it to our location in just two jumps. I plotted a course to Lazdones and it would take us 15 or so jumps to get there.

I asked my son about your offer he even read your post. He asked me why someone would do that. He thinks it is a trap. That you would blow us up and take our cargo. He's a lot better at gaming than I am so I'm gonna have to take his advice.
FWIW I think you're being honest. You make more money in one run than we do taking 10 so why risk it for such a little gain?

Anyway, thanks again for the offer. It was much appreciated. Maybe we can get together some time and hunt down some baddies or just do some trading.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Fair enough, I might have space madness! :twisted:
I'd enjoy hunting with you guys, but the viper is even more armed so it's a bit more dangerous. :awe:

As is, I'd recommend upgrading to a hauler once you get about 70-90k credits in the bank. It's enough to cover insurance and a fair bit of cargo. It's default cargo racks can be upgraded, I lost out on 16 cargo that way. I'd also use Slopey's BPC, but it is an outside tool.

But what am I saying? You have the entire universe to explore! It's your game after all. Enjoy it, don't listen to the miserly grinder over here.

 

[tedrodai]

I spent about 90 mins doing empire faction missions last night before I saw the next advancement opportunity, which isn't too bad. It was for hunting down pirates though which I didn't have time for, so I spent another 30 mins turning in the missions I had active then flew off to find a place to purchase a viper.

Bubble, why you be playing mind games with them?

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Bubble, why you be playing mind games with them?

I'm not trying to. D:

 

[tedrodai]

Kidding.

I wouldn't mind assisting a bit either. Once you have a big enough ship, like you suggested bbhaag, a hundred thousand or 2 is pocket change. I'm sure some people consider a couple million to be pocket change already. It's simply a product of time spent making money, so you guys will get there once you've put in enough time. But a couple hundred K makes a huge difference when you're still in the starting stages.

In my asp, I average over 150k profit for each half of my bidirectional trade run. That's approx 10 mins for 150k. That's why we wouldn't mind helping. A few other ppl on this thread have offered in the past as well.