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Elite Dangerous: Horizons |OT| Just scratching the surface

Hylian7

Member
what's a good ship after the Sidewinder?

When I started out, I bought an Eagle, didn't find it much different (other than appreciated speed and stuff), but I stayed in the Viper for a while after that. The Viper served me well, and I eventually bought a Vulture after than, then a Fer-De-Lance, which still remains my favorite ship.
 
Played the training missions to the advanced fight training part so far and I can't beat the second half of that.

Whatever I do, no matter what, I can't get this 2 ships in front of me, they are always behind me no matter if I boost, stop, turn, whatever.
I think I will skip that part, what kind of magic do I need to beat them? :D

Three options if you can't get sight of an enemy:

1) Put throttle in blue zone and divert 4 power pips to engines with 2 to shields. This should be enough, but your shields will go down quickly if they have few power-pips assigned. Probably the best option when your ship is quite fast and manoeuvrable. When pulling up to outcircle an enemy you can hit the down thrusters to make a 'bigger' circle (gets the enemy in your sight quicker, but you'll also be putting yourself in their sights quicker).

2) Go blue zone in reverse, 4 pips on shield and 2 on engines. This will make it much easier to get the enemy in sight, but it'll come down to a straight contest of who has the most firepower and shields. Once they're in sight divert engine power to guns. The enemy AI has been improved so it's not as vulnerable as it was to this tactic, but it still works. It's the best option if you have a much stronger ship and don't want to waste time "swatting a fly" and also if you're heavily outnumbered. When outnumbered, the top priority is to kill some enemies quick.

3) FA-off. This is usually more like option 2, but you're drifting backwards or circle-strafing. Boosting into an FA-off turn can help get you in position for option 2 quickly. Avoid using much roll with FA-off since you'll go into a spin. Put FA back on when you need more accurate control. I tend to use FA-off for a quick "powerslide". I could never use it full-time during combat.

Oh, and use gimballed weapons unless you're a crazy person. Fixed mount weapons are not much use unless you're hunting 'big game'. If the enemy uses chaff, you can deselect your target and "use the force" to fire the gimbals are a 'fixed' weapon.

Pulse lasers and multicannon are probably the best all-round weapons despite being the cheapest. Other weapons can be useful, but they aren't as versatile and have big drawbacks (either low ammo, fixed mounts or energy drain). Given the length of most fights, burst and beam lasers are usually too inefficient, especially on starter ships with shitty power distributors.

Rockets can be great, but remember they do practically nothing to shields. Chaff does not affect rockets!

Oh, and for people worried about being "forced" online:
Solo mode only is only "online" to ensure it knows the state of the shared world (e.g. trading prices and what systems are in war or famine). You can even contribute to 'Community Goals" while offline. It basically just tells the game to create a unique instance for you and not let anyone join it. Many players are exclusively in solo mode.
You can switch between online and offline at any point and use the same 'save' for both.

In online mode, the game looks for an existing instance in your current system and adds you to it if there is space (I don't know the max players per instance). I generally only go online if I'm flying something I can afford to lose. Make sure you understand how to survive interdictions and always obey station speed limits if other players are around (if you accidentally kill a player or if some idiot rams you while you are speeding, you're wanted for manslaughter and the station defences will slaughter you).

There are also private groups for friends and various communities like the Mobius PvE group (where I usually fly). Again, it uses the same world.
 
what's the rule on buying ships? like if it cost 50,000 you need to have like 100,000 for insurance?

Insurance is free and automatic but you have to pay a 5% excess/deductible to get your ship and any modules back when you die.
You get to pick from an itemised list of what you lost. If you can't afford the ship rebuy cost, you get forced back into the starter sidewinder.
This screenshot should explain it.

What you do want is lots of spare cash to upgrade your new ship since they have very little equipment and E-grade internals when you buy them.
If you go from a highly upgraded Sidewinder to a 'stock' Viper, it will be a downgrade.
 
Most people really play solo? But where's the fun there without meeting other people? ^^

Sounds like the pvp system is not very good or balanced if too many people attack others so that the most people are playing solo instead.


Thanks for all the tips so far. :)
 

Kyoufu

Member
Most people really play solo? But where's the fun there without meeting other people? ^^

Sounds like the pvp system is not very good or balanced if too many people attack others so that the most people are playing solo instead.


Thanks for all the tips so far. :)

The reason I play solo is because E:D's progression is tied to layers and layers of grinding so other players potentially ruining your day and slowing you down just makes it bothersome.

If I didn't feel so compelled to grind grind grind then I'd use open play more.
 

E-flux

Member
Most people really play solo? But where's the fun there without meeting other people? ^^

Sounds like the pvp system is not very good or balanced if too many people attack others so that the most people are playing solo instead.


Thanks for all the tips so far. :)

In the few years i have played the game, only assholes i have ran across have been around community goals, generally when i have ran into people near the bubbles edges they have been super nice, some have even been roleplaying as bountnyhunters and system protection units.
 

Burny

Member
Full crazy you say?

BntlKAtl.jpg


I play exclusively in VR and the stick and throttle are perfectly placed in relation to where they are in-game.

Oh, there are enough ways to go full crazy. :) VR is a nice one too, which I won't be spending any money on for the foreseeable future, as I'd personally get a whole lot more mileage out of a multimonitor setup including the TrackIR I already have, which only leaves depth perception as VR advantage for me that I can live without.

How did you set up the HOTAS to mirror the cockpit's though? Estimation and feel or is there a way to determine the measures of the ingame pilot seats?
 

Peroroncino

Member
Couple questions:

- Dormant bounty, is it visible when some other player subjects me to a kill-wake scan? I've really no interest in paying it off since the system is pretty far from where I'm currently at.

- How exactly FSD Boost works? I see in on the galaxy map near fastest/econimic route and I have no idea how it works.

- Can somebody explain to me like I'm 5 minimum/optimum/maximum mass and min/current/max jump stats?
 

Manzoon

Banned
- How exactly FSD Boost works? I see in on the galaxy map near fastest/econimic route and I have no idea how it works.

- Can somebody explain to me like I'm 5 minimum/optimum/maximum mass and min/current/max jump stats?

There is a slider for how fast you want your jump route to be when plotting a course. The fewer jumps, the more fuel it will gobble up. You can drastically extend your travel distance by making small jumps, but of course it takes longer. Most people use fuel scoops when traveling long distances since you can do big jumps and then park at an appropriate star for a couple of minutes to refuel, types OBAFGKM (Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me, is the common mnemonic, or KGB FOAM).

Jump distance is also tied to how big your ship is, you can only undersize a FSD so much when outfitting before it won't let you equip one. Amount of cargo will also diminish your jump range, and extra fuel tanks. Lean with a big FSD is the fastest way to get around, and some ships do that better than others.

I think you start getting diminishing returns if you put a giant FSD on ships, don't quote me on that though, I never bothered to test it. I just put in the biggest FSD my ship can take for long distance hauling and exploration

FSD boosts are one time use items you can craft to extend your jump range. You can also get a FSD boost from neutron stars if you fly through the emissions correctly, which can be dangerous.
 

Trouble

Banned
Oh, there are enough ways to go full crazy. :) VR is a nice one too, which I won't be spending any money on for the foreseeable future, as I'd personally get a whole lot more mileage out of a multimonitor setup including the TrackIR I already have, which only leaves depth perception as VR advantage for me that I can live without.

How did you set up the HOTAS to mirror the cockpit's though? Estimation and feel or is there a way to determine the measures of the ingame pilot seats?

Estimation and a lot of luck. :D

It's not quite 1:1, but it's close enough.

For me one of the biggest advantages of VR is not having to have bindings for the various panels, you just look at the one you want to use.
 
Couple questions:

- Dormant bounty, is it visible when some other player subjects me to a kill-wake scan? I've really no interest in paying it off since the system is pretty far from where I'm currently at.

- How exactly FSD Boost works? I see in on the galaxy map near fastest/econimic route and I have no idea how it works.

- Can somebody explain to me like I'm 5 minimum/optimum/maximum mass and min/current/max jump stats?

I think dormant bounties are reactivated by SC, but NPC cops won't care if you're wanted unless the bounty is from their faction.

You can pay them off when they time out and turn to 'legacy fines' in low security systems which have a special 'interstellar factors' contact. You pay a 25 % premium but it saves you travelling. Not much point though since legacy fines aren't reactivated by scans.

If you really want to remove a bounty you can use the suicidewinder exploit but that will be fixed soon.

The optimum/max mass stuff is almost impossible to understand, but it affects the shape of the mass Vs distance relationship for your FSD (thrusters have a similar mass Vs speed relationship).

Min/max/current range is laden/unladen/current range, since your range is affected by the weight of your ship (how full your cargo bays and fuel tank are).
 

Listonosh

Member
So is there a definitive answer on the HOTAS X for Elite Dangerous on PS4? I bought it since I saw someone metnion on Amazon that they use it for War Thunder on PS4, so I figured I'd take the plunge. If not, I guess I'll return it and get the HOTAS 4
 
Couple questions:

- Dormant bounty, is it visible when some other player subjects me to a kill-wake scan? I've really no interest in paying it off since the system is pretty far from where I'm currently at.

Your dormant bounties come up when someone scans you with a kill warrant scanner.

I bought this game with a vague idea what it was today on PS4. Opening up for the first time:

vXBCyYz.gif

Don't worry; you'll soon be able to undock, land and you'll even make it out of the mail slot consistently.

Question: how many of you are space pirates? Is it viable? Worth the risk?

It's not especially viable yet. If shooting is your cup of tea, I'd suggest bounty hunting NPCs or roleplaying as a mercinary for hire in civil wars and war state systems.
 
what's the rule on buying ships? like if it cost 50,000 you need to have like 100,000 for insurance?
The rebuy cost is always displayed on the right info panel near your combat rank and credit balance.

The only rule is: Only fly what you can afford to rebuy.

If your ship is worth 10,000 credits (rebuy) don't fly that ship until you have at least 10,000 credits. Otherwise, you lose that ship and end up in a starter Sidewinder again.

Many have made this mistake. People have gone from $150 million credit Anacondas back to a starter Sidewinder because they flew without enough money to cover insurance/rebuy.

If you don't have enough for rebuy, don't fly it. It's not worth the risk.

When buying a ship, use this site to plan the cost of what you want + upgrades https://coriolis.edcd.io/

and don't buy that next ship you want unless have accounted for both the price AND the insurance.
 

Drazgul

Member
^ So how does changing ships work then, can you even own more than one at a time? Could you for instance buy some freighter but still switch out to the noobwinder for exploring some lawless areas etc.?
 

Manzoon

Banned
Don't worry; you'll soon be able to undock, land and you'll even make it out of the mail slot consistently.

The first time I actually upgraded my conda to be able to boost, I got sassy and went max speed into a mail slot, was slowing down just in time to do a snappy landing, pressed what I thought was my flight assist off button to do some fancy dramatic landing swooshes, but mashed my boost button instead.

Slammed into the back spire and was wallowing around all over every landing pad towards the back of the station until I managed to right myself over the screaming warning klaxons. I managed to press every button on my hotas while panicking but the flight assist on button, so I'm grinding against the station while deploying and undeploying my hard points repeatedly.

Managed to dock and was at about 50% hull damage, haha.
 
The first time I actually upgraded my conda to be able to boost, I got sassy and went max speed into a mail slot, was slowing down just in time to do a snappy landing, pressed what I thought was my flight assist off button to do some fancy dramatic landing swooshes, but mashed my boost button instead.

Slammed into the back spire and was wallowing around all over every landing pad towards the back of the station until I managed to right myself over the screaming warning klaxons. I managed to press every button on my hot while panicking but the flight assist on button, so I'm grinding against the station while deploying and undeploying my hard points repeatedly.

Managed to dock and was at about 50% hull damage, haha.
lmao. we've all been there.

I remember doing something similar running some illegal cargo into a station. Started getting scanned by the copz (for the uninitiated: getting scanned by cops when you have illegal cargo results in lost my income in fines and/or failed missions...but only if their scan completes) and was like, "fuck this...PUNCH IT!"

....I punched it right into the back wall of the station. I think I ended up landing with like 30% hull left. But that scan didn't finish and I was hype as hell.
goodjob.gif


Intense moments brehs. ED has plenty of them.
 

Peroroncino

Member
thanks for answering my questions :)

Guess I'll need to clean that bounty since soon I'll be in a pretty heavily populated area by players.
 
Oh, and maybe you'll also ask me where I'm heading next? :>

It's 1.5k or something, I was messing around in some planteray base stealing their silver and gold.

lol. I'm sure nobody will bother you. I'm pretty sure my passive bounty total is around $30,000,000.

I was a bad boy once upon a time. >:-D
 
The rebuy cost is always displayed on the right info panel near your combat rank and credit balance.

The only rule is: Only fly what you can afford to rebuy.

If your ship is worth 10,000 credits (rebuy) don't fly that ship until you have at least 10,000 credits. Otherwise, you lose that ship and end up in a starter Sidewinder again.

Many have made this mistake. People have gone from $150 million credit Anacondas back to a starter Sidewinder because they flew without enough money to cover insurance/rebuy.

If you don't have enough for rebuy, don't fly it. It's not worth the risk.

When buying a ship, use this site to plan the cost of what you want + upgrades https://coriolis.edcd.io/

and don't buy that next ship you want unless have accounted for both the price AND the insurance.

But what do you mean with "don't fly"? How can I get money then? You mean I have to earn it first before I buy a ship? But what if I did and have no money anymore?


Edit:

Ah I can own more than one ship, now I get it.
 
But what do you mean with "don't fly"? How can I get money then? You mean I have to earn it first before I buy a ship? But what if I did and have no money anymore?
Ideally, you save up a good deal more than enough to buy your ship, so you can immediately buy some upgrades and have plenty left over for the 5% rebuy cost. This isn't really as hard as it seems. One or two simple delivery jobs is usually enough to cover the rebuy for the early ships.

Otherwise, if you don't trade in your previous ship for credit, you can always switch back to your old ship / sidewinder, and do some jobs to earn your new ship's rebuy.

If you got rid of your sidewinder... Well, just try not to die and do low risk jobs until you've got a nest egg.
 
But what do you mean with "don't fly"? How can I get money then? You mean I have to earn it first before I buy a ship? But what if I did and have no money anymore?

haha.

The common approach to fleet management is:

Have a couple of ships in your fleet. If you want to buy something new, don't sell your current ship unless you just absolutely hate it for some reason. Instead just keep saving until you can afford to buy the ship you want, with the modules you want + insurance for at least 2 rebuys. For example:

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/dol...1/kA==.Aw1/kA==..EweloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=

Let's say I wanted to buy this ship, with this configuration. My recommended way to do this is to add up the cost + at least 2 rebuys (so 12.2m + 610k + 610k) and that would be my financial goal. When I hit that much money raised, I buy the ship and all the parts I want at once and I don't have to worry about flying without enough for rebuy. The minimum I would show up to the Dolphin dealership with to buy this ship is ~$13,500,000.00.

Now, you can plan to start with a bunch of D modules to lower your entry cost:

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/dol...1/kA==.Aw1/kA==..EweloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=

And I would say that is your minimum "out the door and not about to feed if you get shot at" configuration. Then you can upgrade by piecemeal over time. The minimum I would show up to the Dolphin dealership with to buy this ship is a far more affordable ~$5,300,000.00.

Note: I *never* recommend buying a bare-minimum ship with a bunch of E parts that you can't afford to upgrade to at least D's + an A FSD and C or better shield. It will be too fragile and perform too poorly.

I have 31 ships up to and including 2 Imperial Cutters valued at 1.2 billion and 600 million, a Corvette. The only ship I ever sold on my way to the collection I have now is my first Imperial Clipper which I used to help finance my Python. I later bought it again. I never flew without enough to cover rebuy.

With this approach, even if you do fly without rebuy and lose a ship permanently, you will still have something else you're configured and upgraded that you can fly around in while you raise money. The worst thing you can do to yourself is fly without rebuy and without any other fall-back ships.

See all these horror stories:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/324391-1-5-years-to-get-Anaconda-1-day-to-lose-it

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/324278-It-happened-to-me-don-t-fly-without-a-rebuy

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...redits-for-rebuy-does-this-mean-its-game-over

https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/5bb8o8/rule_number_1_dont_fly_without_a_rebuy/
 

Manzoon

Banned
Ideally, you save up a good deal more than enough to buy your ship, so you can immediately buy some upgrades and have plenty left over for the 5% rebuy cost.

I think the general rule of thumb is don't buy a new ship until you can afford D class upgrades in every slot?

The most intense moments I've encountered in Elite were making it out alive from my own screw ups, haha. The first time I tried smuggling out near Sothis while I had a full load of legitimate trade goods for missions was almost a huge disaster.

Getting back to the bubble after going on a huge exploration trip and getting interdicted will wake you right the hell up.
 

Peroroncino

Member
Is there any tool for tracking ship discounts?

Thinking about buying a Vulture but I'd like to check if there's any that's currently on a discount.
 
I think the general rule of thumb is don't buy a new ship until you can afford D class upgrades in every slot?

IMO, the minimum entry configuration for any ED ship is:

All D modules +:

- A rated FSD
- Biweave shields

...and 2 buybacks.

Everything else can be upgraded in piecemeal over time, but if you can't afford to put D's on all the internals, an A drive on that FSD and a set of bi-weaves so that NPCs don't shot a hole in your ass, you can't afford to fly that ship yet.

Is there any tool for tracking ship discounts?

Thinking about buying a Vulture but I'd like to check if there's any that's currently on a discount.

https://eddb.io/station

Go there. Enter the module and/or ship you're looking for. Enter where you are. And finally set the "Power" to Yi-Long Rui. Hit "Find Stations". Stations in his systems offer 15% off all ships and modules sold. It's a great tool for finding the parts/ships you need at the best prices near you.

Make sure the station you choose to go to has been updated in the last few days, as items in stock can change over time.
 

Peroroncino

Member
https://eddb.io/station

Go there. Enter the module and/or ship you're looking for. Enter where you are. And finally set the "Power" to Yi-Long Rui. Hit "Find Stations". Stations in his systems offer 15% off all ships and modules sold. It's a great tool for finding the parts/ships you need at the best prices near you.

Make sure the station you choose to go to has been updated in the last few days, as items in stock can change over time.

Great, thanks.

btw. It was 'Li-Long Rui' ;)
 
Great, thanks.

btw. It was 'Li-Long Rui' ;)
whoops!

That name has tripped me up for literally 2 years. Feels bad man.

Good luck bargain hunting!
highfive.gif


Thank you for the help, interesting to read. :)

Oh man, these horror stories. D:

There used to be at least 1 new thread at the official forum every week from someone dying without rebuy and threatening to quit. I think now people just hide their shame. It's very easy to get hypnotized into buying a new ship as soon as you have the minimum amount for the hull. Then when you have that E-grade ship, you just GOTTA take it for a quick spin! Especially if you've been working at it for weeks or months to earn enough money to buy it. But therein lies the risk. Flying an unfamiliar ship with unfamiliar flight characteristics and paper-thin defenses is asking for trouble. Just gotta exercise some self-control. Set your goals and don't deviate. Do so and you'll avoid the experience those people had.
tears.gif
 
Finally had my first player space pirate encounter on the ps4. Was expecting more player danger than I've encountered so far. Guess everyone is well behaved!

Was a bit puzzled though, as I was flying a Cobra with no cargo. When I got interdicted, the pirate didn't say anything, didn't fire, and had no system warrant, and after my kill warrant scan, he showed clean.

After a minute of nothing, I figured he was just testing out a new interdiction mod, and I pointed back in my original heading and started to charge the fsd. That's when he finally opened fire. Despite getting shot in the back first, I managed to turn the tide and reduce him to space dust with 20% hull integrity left.

Realized not 15 minutes earlier I was on the fence between upgrading my hull to just reinforced, or splurging for full military grade. Very glad I went with the military grade.

Playing in open may be riskier, but that's what makes it fun!
 
Finally had my first player space pirate encounter on the ps4. Was expecting more player danger than I've encountered so far. Guess everyone is well behaved!

90% of players are well-behaved.

Mostly because people tend to like other people and saying hello. Others because they're afraid of dying and having to pay for a rebuy/lost cargo.
 
Curious about this game.. Just not sure if I'd like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUbV3Zq62BA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moITRrezrUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnIeWuRBO3s


If these interesting you, buy it.

i'm in a cobra without shields. i shouldn't go bounty hunting, right?

If you're in a shieldless Cobra, the only thing you should be doing is praying nobody notices you.

Tell me you at least upgraded the armor. If not, stop what you're doing immedately and either (1) add some shields or (2) upgrade the armor to Military Grade and add a couple of Hull Reinforcement Packages.

You are food right now without one of those 2.
 

Manzoon

Banned
IMO, the minimum entry configuration for any ED ship is:

All D modules +:

- A rated FSD
- Biweave shields

...and 2 buybacks.

That's sounds about right. I've never flown without enough money for my buybacks. Although I had a very fine margin after getting my Anaconda for the first time and I was desperate to do those big money Sothis runs to outfit it properly.

I haven't played much since multicrew was put in, did Frontier nerf mission stacking yet?
 
That's sounds about right. I've never flown without enough money for my buybacks. Although I had a very fine margin after getting my Anaconda for the first time and I was desperate to do those big money Sothis runs to outfit it properly.

I haven't played much since multicrew was put in, did Frontier need mission stacking yet?

I believe mission stacking saw significant alterations. I'm not sure on the details regarding how it was changed, though. I believe there's like a lower limit on the number you can accept at once or something like that.
 

iosefe

Member
If you're in a shieldless Cobra, the only thing you should be doing is praying nobody notices you.

Tell me you at least upgraded the armor. If not, stop what you're doing immedately and either (1) add some shields or (2) upgrade the armor to Military Grade and add a couple of Hull Reinforcement Packages.

You are food right now without one of those 2.

whoops


*edit* had to fly back to Hel to get the bulkhead.


Also what are recommended rank 2 guns?
 

DrkSage

Member
I always forget to buy merchandise to sell to other places ._. Buddy of mine kept reminding yesterday to buy, for example, animal monitors to sell them to agriculture focused markets and I'm always jumping like a maniac from station to station without doing shit.
 
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