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[Widge]

Conflict Zones. I've basically hovered in RES (low) since starting as I find planning trade routes a bit confusing, but sometimes they can be a bit light on action. I'm wondering if a low conflict zone is a decent place to go get some kicks for cash?

EDIT:

This got me thinking, they should do dogfight conflict zones on planets.

 

[B-Genius]

Conflict Zones. I've basically hovered in RES (low) since starting as I find planning trade routes a bit confusing, but sometimes they can be a bit light on action. I'm wondering if a low conflict zone is a decent place to go get some kicks for cash?

EDIT:

This got me thinking, they should do dogfight conflict zones on planets.

CZs are definitely a good place to go if you're looking for action.
What are you flying? If you're diligent you can scrape by in a Cobra or Viper, mostly by sticking near large friendly ships and targeting weak opponents. If you want to control the action you'll probably need at least a Vulture.

When you first arrive, boost towards the "edge" and put some distance between you and the fray. Then go to your right-hand panel, Functions tab and pic a faction to fight for.
Who you want to side with depends on which massacre mission you've signed up for, or which faction you want to take control of the system's largest port (if you're interested in Powerplay stuff).

Once you do this, you'll see the radar turn Christmas. Stick with the green blips and shoot the reds!

As for your edit, I 100% agree. Having dogfights in huge cities on planet surfaces, with giant skyscrapers and such would be amazing. Super risky but with huge payoffs and the opportunity to display superior control/skill.

I really hope this is something Frontier can do. They don't have to populate whole planets; just have some with megacities that offer a new variety of missions, including such surface wars

 

[Burny]

I just stumbled across the "2.4 and beyond" post from Frontier again:

So with the Horizon season of expansions coming to a close, what is beyond 2.4 I hear you ask? Well, it certainly isn't the end of this amazing journey... we're only just getting started!

Our awesome dev team are dedicated to continuing to build and improve the Elite Dangerous experience with an exciting long term vision in mind. We're happy to be able to confirm that the next major updates following 2.4 will focus on core gameplay, existing features, quality of life and other improvements! We're delighted to be investing a considerable amount of development and effort into making the core gameplay experience even better for our fantastic community or players.

We'll be sharing more news on that content and our roadmap at a very special event coming later in the year - more details on this event will be released in the weeks after E3.

On behalf of the entire Elite Dangerous team, thank you for your continued support. We are very excited to embark on the next part of the journey together as we continue to make Elite Dangerous an even more fantastic game and experience for our incredible community of players.

I suspect that "very special event" is the Frontier expo:

On Saturday, October 7, 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, we are hosting our biggest community event yet! If you want to find out more about the future of Elite Dangerous, our other games, the Frontier studio, and other exciting announcements, this will be the place to be this year!

My cynical expectations of only getting more 2.4 tidbits might be a bit too pessimistic. We may even get to hear what season 3 is about or in fact, how it's supposed to manifest in the first place, as it'll probably not be a "season" like Horizons.

Maybe Frontier will spill some 2.4 teasers at Gamescom, seeing as the 2.4 beta is less than two weeks away, even though it apparently won't contain the main Thargoid content.

 

[SmartBase]

I just stumbled across the "2.4 and beyond" post from Frontier again:



I suspect that "very special event" is the Frontier expo:



My cynical expectations of only getting more 2.4 tidbits might be a bit too pessimistic. We may even get to hear what season 3 is about or in fact, how it's supposed to manifest in the first place, as it'll probably not be a "season" like Horizons.

Maybe Frontier will spill some 2.4 teasers at Gamescom, seeing as the 2.4 beta is less than two weeks away, even though it apparently won't contain the main Thargoid content.

Don't be ridiculous, you can never be too pessimistic.

 

[DrBo42]

So glad that if I want to start grinding for some lightweight sensors I have to sit at a station to get commodities for the engineer. And I can only buy 4 at a time. The immersion here is astounding. I'm fully immersed as a pilot praying for a handgun to blow his fucking brains out.

 

[Moose Biscuits]

Oh man, going from a Keelback to an

Spoiler

Imperial

Eagle is like night and day handling wise, this thing swoops. It swoops.

 

[Megasoum]

Finally traded my Type-9 for the Anaconda!

So sexy!

Actually... This is the first ship I want to buy stuff with real money for it...

Looking at the paintjobs on the store... Some are all right but nothing jumps at me

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Oh man, going from a Keelback to an

Spoiler

Imperial

Eagle is like night and day handling wise, this thing swoops. It swoops.

That eagle caw when you hit the boost lol

 

[Stargypsy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciDRVW8EPa8&t

 

[MrFrankFontaine]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciDRVW8EPa8&t

That's pretty crazy. I really need to jump back into this game soon.

 

[Megasoum]

How's the Cutter compared to the Anaconda?

The only things I know is that it's really pretty and has a shit ton of cargo.

 

[DrBo42]

How's the Cutter compared to the Anaconda?

The only things I know is that it's really pretty and has a shit ton of cargo.

Not a great combat ship IMO. Far worse jump range but great cargo space.

 

[Kyoufu]

Not a great combat ship IMO. Far worse jump range but great cargo space.

Cutter is definitely a great combat ship when fully engineered.

 

[Megasoum]

I just got a message called "Tip Off" with coordinated for a place and warns me that there might be a warm reception...

I'm not geared for combat at all... Is it worth going?

 

[MarionCB]

I just got a message called "Tip Off" with coordinated for a place and warns me that there might be a warm reception...

I'm not geared for combat at all... Is it worth going?

I've only done a couple of these but the only combat was in a base with the SRV against skimmers which could have been avoided fairly easily. The annoying part of these missions is having to navigate the planetary coordinates since Frontier made that as annoying as possible. Reward from scanning a data node was about 1 and a half million. Interesting enough to do once for me.

 

[mojo2]

I'm lovin the Dolphin but I don't know what to get next, what follows Dolphin? I'm doing mostly passenger missions and love the ~24ly jump range. Some exploring and SRV missions. No guns mounted at all.
Would be grateful for suggestions, I tried to explore ships in-game but keep seeing cargo vessels only.

 

[Megasoum]

Do money donation missions give you military rank if the mission giver's Rep is already maxed out?


Also I wish there was an upgrade to the on board computer to have a bigger mission log. Sucks to leave missions on the table while doing rank grind because I'm always full.

 

[Moose Biscuits]

Do money donation missions give you military rank if the mission giver's Rep is already maxed out?


Also I wish there was an upgrade to the on board computer to have a bigger mission log. Sucks to leave missions on the table while doing rank grind because I'm always full.

I believe so, rep gains are for the overall faction and not just the local one.

 

[OgTheClever]

I'm lovin the Dolphin but I don't know what to get next, what follows Dolphin? I'm doing mostly passenger missions and love the ~24ly jump range. Some exploring and SRV missions. No guns mounted at all.
Would be grateful for suggestions, I tried to explore ships in-game but keep seeing cargo vessels only.

Asp Explorer would probably be a good step up for passenger missions. You can fit more cabin space and have a longer jump range. The main downside, compared to the Dolphin, is that it can't fit luxury cabins, but those missions are few and far between.

I'd also highly recommend that you unlock the engineer Felicity Farseer to upgrade your FSD for a better jump range.

 

[Camp Freddie]

I'm lovin the Dolphin but I don't know what to get next, what follows Dolphin? I'm doing mostly passenger missions and love the ~24ly jump range. Some exploring and SRV missions. No guns mounted at all.
Would be grateful for suggestions, I tried to explore ships in-game but keep seeing cargo vessels only.

Use the map filters to find a high tech system (economy type). They tend to have a better selection of ships and modules.

I agree with the post above that the Asp Explorer sounds like an ideal upgrade choice.

 

[Megasoum]

Haha holy shit... I just played around a bit in Coriolis to find a good Cutter build.

427 millions with 21 millions insurance.... Yikes!

 

[mojo2]

Asp Explorer would probably be a good step up for passenger missions. You can fit more cabin space and have a longer jump range. The main downside, compared to the Dolphin, is that it can't fit luxury cabins, but those missions are few and far between.

I'd also highly recommend that you unlock the engineer Felicity Farseer to upgrade your FSD for a better jump range.

Use the map filters to find a high tech system (economy type). They tend to have a better selection of ships and modules.

I agree with the post above that the Asp Explorer sounds like an ideal upgrade choice.

Thanks, it really seems like a good all arounder. I played with eddb.io last night so finding ships and modules ain't no thing anymore.

 

[Kyoufu]

Haha holy shit... I just played around a bit in Coriolis to find a good Cutter build.

427 millions with 21 millions insurance.... Yikes!

Expensive but well worth the credits. I wouldn't want to fly anything else.

 

[Megasoum]

I really wish they would let us pay an extra to transfer ships more quickly between stations.

 

[swimbuff]

I bought this game on PS4 when it was finally released there but only started playing it this week. I didn't have too high expectations since I paid zero attention to the game save for when it was first kickstarted. Could a game really recapture the sense of magic and wonder of playing Elite and Frontier on the Amiga all those years ago? Imagine my delight when I discovered that boy oh boy does this game do that and more.

My first few hours were pretty aimless doing some minor trading and combat but eventually I scrounged up enough money to get the classic Cobra Mk III, which reminded me of Lave station so I immediately made my way there. Once I neared Lave, I requested docking permissions and a pop up tells me to throttle down to activate auto-dock -- I had forgotten that I got this new toy when I bought the Cobra. So I turn off the throttle, the docking computer kicks in, and of-fucking-course Blue Danube starts playing. That brought a huge grin to my face and a fucking tear formed in my eye.

I know I'm super LTTP on all this but man this game.. it's beautiful. The wonder of seeing trinary star systems. That slight feeling of existential dread upon seeing a brown dwarf, a remnant of a once mighty star now lifeless and cold. I was immediately in awe when I saw my first white dwarf and I drifted in space, staring at its majesty until the alarms jolted me out of my trance and I realised my ship was overheating. And there's so much left still for me to see.

I'm glad I skipped all previews and reviews up to and including the PC version because every single thing I discove in the game is something new and sometimes unexpected. I'm more than 20 hours in now (maybe a lot more, I need to check!), have a Vulture that I use for combat, an ASP X for exploration, and I stayed up all night last night running trade routes in my Type 9 and getting very close to finally having enough credits for an Anaconda. I may have finally found the game of the forever for me. I know many commanders especially on PC have burnt out on the game, but I haven't even touched the SRV stuff, the engineers, mining, the community goals and quite simply exploring the galaxy in my trusty Asp X and taking in the sites is good enough for me.

I'll never have to touch Rebel Galaxy ever again.

 

[mojo2]

I bought this game on PS4 when it was finally released there but only started playing it this week. I didn't have too high expectations since I paid zero attention to the game save for when it was first kickstarted. Could a game really recapture the sense of magic and wonder of playing Elite and Frontier on the Amiga all those years ago? Imagine my delight when I discovered that boy oh boy does this game do that and more.

My first few hours were pretty aimless doing some minor trading and combat but eventually I scrounged up enough money to get the classic Cobra Mk III, which reminded me of Lave station so I immediately made my way there. Once I neared Lave, I requested docking permissions and a pop up tells me to throttle down to activate auto-dock -- I had forgotten that I got this new toy when I bought the Cobra. So I turn off the throttle, the docking computer kicks in, and of-fucking-course Blue Danube starts playing. That brought a huge grin to my face and a fucking tear formed in my eye.

I know I'm super LTTP on all this but man this game.. it's beautiful. The wonder of seeing trinary star systems. That slight feeling of existential dread upon seeing a brown dwarf, a remnant of a once mighty star now lifeless and cold. I was immediately in awe when I saw my first white dwarf and I drifted in space, staring at its majesty until the alarms jolted me out of my trance and I realised my ship was overheating. And there's so much left still for me to see.

I'm glad I skipped all previews and reviews up to and including the PC version because every single thing I discove in the game is something new and sometimes unexpected. I'm more than 20 hours in now (maybe a lot more, I need to check!), have a Vulture that I use for combat, an ASP X for exploration, and I stayed up all night last night running trade routes in my Type 9 and getting very close to finally having enough credits for an Anaconda. I may have finally found the game of the forever for me. I know many commanders especially on PC have burnt out on the game, but I haven't even touched the SRV stuff, the engineers, mining, the community goals and quite simply exploring the galaxy in my trusty Asp X and taking in the sites is good enough for me.

I'll never have to touch Rebel Galaxy ever again.

Damn youve made mad money. Im like 40 hours in and just got ASP X, just a Dolphin before that.

Loved your story, Im in ave too but sadly I dont have any nostalgy towards it.

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Me: I've got enough from Quince, let me go and buy that FDL

Also me: An extra 200 million isn't a bad thing....I'll stay a bit longer

 

[Volimar]

You Quince kids got it easy I tell you. Back in my day if you wanted ridiculously easy money you had to haul space poop from Sothis back to the bubble.


Edit: I think I've made that exact post before.

 

[swimbuff]

Damn youve made mad money. Im like 40 hours in and just got ASP X, just a Dolphin before that.

Loved your story, Im in ave too but sadly I dont have any nostalgy towards it.

That slow build up can also be cool though. I do feel like I'm fast-tracking things a little bit by making money so fast (oh you mean you're not supposed to get an Anaconda your first week in the game?) because I think there is some value to the experience of that slow grind to your first big ship. It's a bigger sense of achievement when you finally get to sit in the cockpit of an Anaconda and say "this is mine." I'll be doing the same when I grind rank towards an Imperial/Fed ship.

I sort of stumbled into making money. My first 5+ hours were very aimless as I didn't understand any of the systems so I looked up some "min-max explore/trade guides" as these kind of guides usually exploit the game systems in a way that also forces you to understand how the systems work. The rare trading guide helped me get my Asp X, then I followed Road to Riches to do some exploring, and now I'm back to bulk trades after I got enough credits for a Type 9.

I wish there was a way for PS4 players like me to contribute back to eddb.io. I found a bulk trading route that's making me a bit of dosh and it's not on eddb because the data is out of date.

 

[mojo2]

That slow build up can also be cool though. I do feel like I'm fast-tracking things a little bit by making money so fast (oh you mean you're not supposed to get an Anaconda your first week in the game?) because I think there is some value to the experience of that slow grind to your first big ship. It's a bigger sense of achievement when you finally get to sit in the cockpit of an Anaconda and say "this is mine." I'll be doing the same when I grind rank towards an Imperial/Fed ship.

I sort of stumbled into making money. My first 5+ hours were very aimless as I didn't understand any of the systems so I looked up some "min-max explore/trade guides" as these kind of guides usually exploit the game systems in a way that also forces you to understand how the systems work. The rare trading guide helped me get my Asp X, then I followed Road to Riches to do some exploring, and now I'm back to bulk trades after I got enough credits for a Type 9.

I wish there was a way for PS4 players like me to contribute back to eddb.io. I found a bulk trading route that's making me a bit of dosh and it's not on eddb because the data is out of date.

The beauty is that my slow approach does not feel like I'm missing out like it could in other games. I just do what I feel like and if get bored, take a day off and figure out what to run for next. Lately I've been grinding federal rank to get to Sol. It's surprisingly okay, although I have been playing less so it doesn't get boring. It doesn't pay, that's for sure.

It just seems natural to do something a bit stupid in space, like the race to the moon.

 

[Red Comet]

What would your guys recommendation be for a decent combat ship if I want to start getting into bounty hunting and the combat CG's? Currently I have a Cobra Mark III which I use for trading, cargo missions, and light combat and a Dolphin which I'm using to rack up credits with passenger missions and exploration. I know the Mark III is not a bad combat ship but I seem to get wrecked in conflict zones and want something a bit more heavy duty.

 

[lordxar]

What would your guys recommendation be for a decent combat ship if I want to start getting into bounty hunting and the combat CG's? Currently I have a Cobra Mark III which I use for trading, cargo missions, and light combat and a Dolphin which I'm using to rack up credits with passenger missions and exploration. I know the Mark III is not a bad combat ship but I seem to get wrecked in conflict zones and want something a bit more heavy duty.

Vulture or Python but the Python is crazy expensive to outfit. I'm still buying shit for mine...hull is like 50 mil but that's about all I have left now. Power plant was 50 mil, ship was like 42 mil. Guns were like 2 or 3 mil each times 3 for the large bank. Think it's valued at around 127 mil right now with somewhere around a 6 mil rebuy.

You can probably buy and outfit a Vulture with all A for like 15 to 20 mil. Its a juice hog so get the best power plant right off. Very effective ship though.

 

[Red Comet]

Vulture or Python but the Python is crazy expensive to outfit. I'm still buying shit for mine...hull is like 50 mil but that's about all I have left now. Power plant was 50 mil, ship was like 42 mil. Guns were like 2 or 3 mil each times 3 for the large bank. Think it's valued at around 127 mil right now with somewhere around a 6 mil rebuy.

You can probably buy and outfit a Vulture with all A for like 15 to 20 mil. Its a juice hog so get the best power plant right off. Very effective ship though.

Thanks! I had been looking at a vulture actually so I very well might go with that. Would love a Python but I don't have the credits for that just yet. Someday.

 

[Camp Freddie]

Fer de lance is another option. Better than the python and cheaper, but useless at everything except combat.

Imperial courier is between cobra/viper and Vulture. It looks cool too.

Vulture is the best choice though. I still use mine when I fancy some proper dogfighting. The rebuy and transport costs are cheap enough to not worry about.
It'll cost about 10 million for a good spec Vulture.

 

[lordxar]

Wingmate wants an FDL for the shields and cost. He's got a Python but it's expensive as fuck to outfit so he's thinking about trading up his Vulture to an FDL. Me...i just love a big damn sexy battleship type thing like the Python lol

 

[Padinn]

How is the t.16000m HOTAS for this game? Debating getting that for VR - got a gift card for my birthday for $100 to amazon. Probably can't afford pedals yet.

 

[DrBo42]

Still trying to find a good PvE build for the Corvette to get ready for post 2.4. 2 class 4 multicannons and some rapid fire pulse lasers? Can't quite find a resource for builds that include engineered values.

 

[swimbuff]

How's the Anaconda for combat? I've fitted it with some plasmas, lasers, cannons and a couple torpedoes but it's not particularly nimble and it seems like an FDL or Python would be better suited for straight up combat.

 

[StonedRider]

Still trying to find a good PvE build for the Corvette to get ready for post 2.4. 2 class 4 multicannons and some rapid fire pulse lasers? Can't quite find a resource for builds that include engineered values.

https://coriolis.edcd.io allows you enter engineer modifications, but I did not figure out how to enter additional random effects.

 

[SmartBase]

Still trying to find a good PvE build for the Corvette to get ready for post 2.4. 2 class 4 multicannons and some rapid fire pulse lasers? Can't quite find a resource for builds that include engineered values.

That's my setup, two overcharged C4 multicannons and the rest rapid fire pulses. A boring loadout but it works well.

 

[MrFrankFontaine]

How is the t.16000m HOTAS for this game? Debating getting that for VR - got a gift card for my birthday for $100 to amazon. Probably can't afford pedals yet.

Absolutely loving it. I went from a T.Flight 4 up to this and I couldn't be happier. Solid build quality and more than enough controls to never have to take your hands off of it. The only time is if you want to type in a system in the search on the Galaxy map.

 

[DrBo42]

https://coriolis.edcd.io allows you enter engineer modifications, but I did not figure out how to enter additional random effects.

That's my setup, two overcharged C4 multicannons and the rest rapid fire pulses. A boring loadout but it works well.

Thanks.

 

[Volimar]

Still trying to find a good PvE build for the Corvette to get ready for post 2.4. 2 class 4 multicannons and some rapid fire pulse lasers? Can't quite find a resource for builds that include engineered values.

One huge beam cannon and the rest gimballed multicannons. Everything is tissue paper.

How's the Anaconda for combat? I've fitted it with some plasmas, lasers, cannons and a couple torpedoes but it's not particularly nimble and it seems like an FDL or Python would be better suited for straight up combat.

A properly outfitted Conda outclasses any medium ship. The only thing they tend to have on you is maneuverability but if you have any skill at all the Conda should be able to wreck most medium ships. That said, there are some really good FDL pilots out there.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

I got a t-9 heavy the other day and now I get 5-10% hull damage every other docking because I'm drunk when I fly and that ship is too big. If I flip the lowest tier storage for shields, will that counteract the occasional bump into the mail slot or should I just eat the cost?

 

[Megasoum]

I got a t-9 heavy the other day and now I get 5-10% hull damage every other docking because I'm drunk when I fly and that ship is too big. If I flip the lowest tier storage for shields, will that counteract the occasional bump into the mail slot or should I just eat the cost?

You should always have at least some shield... Take the smallest one the T9 can use (can't remember what it is)

 

[Jedi2016]

How's the Anaconda for combat? I've fitted it with some plasmas, lasers, cannons and a couple torpedoes but it's not particularly nimble and it seems like an FDL or Python would be better suited for straight up combat.

While the smaller ships are more fun in combat, my Conda can definitely hold its own. I've got all turreted pulse lasers on the top of the ship, so I can continue to peck away at whatever I'm fighting even if they do have me on maneuverability. And all of the other front-facing weapons and underside weapons (including the big one) have beam lasers. Which means that, while it may take me a while to get a target in my sights, they'll be hating life once I do.

And it has a fighter bay. And cargo racks. And passenger cabins. And a fuel scoop. And probably a few more things that I can't think of right now. The Anaconda is ridiculous when it comes to the number of equipment slots it has.

 

[swimbuff]

Thanks for the tips on the Conda, I'll mess with some NPC pilots and tweak the build a bit more to find what I like. Right now it's fitted with multi-cannons on the bottom, beam lasers on the top and pulse lasers on the side for variety. I swapped out plasma accelerators as those seem to make more sense on more nimble ships. I haven't even put anything in the internals as I'm paralyzed by all the choices.

I got a t-9 heavy the other day and now I get 5-10% hull damage every other docking because I'm drunk when I fly and that ship is too big. If I flip the lowest tier storage for shields, will that counteract the occasional bump into the mail slot or should I just eat the cost?

When I ran a T9 for pure trading I didn't have any shields on. I kept bumping the bottom of the T9 on the mail slot until I saw that the cockpit was way up on top of the ship. Had to fly near the top of the slot to avoid bumping the bottom. If you do insist on shields, the lowest tier should suffice.

 

[lordxar]

I didn't used to run shields on transports so I could haul more but I now run at least the shittiest shields I can. Bumps and scrapes end up not doing damage...you know...when you go to hold O and d pad button for landing gear but boost into the ass end of the orbital instead because a hold became a tap or some pissant ship won't give you the right of way going into the slot.

 

[DrBo42]

Trying to get some mechanical scrap via a debris field or combat aftermath and honestly I have no idea what the conditions of those are to spawn. My understanding is that a Debris Field is post-war or conflict etc in a War, Civil War or Outbreak system and NOT a USS to scan. Is that correct?

Where do Combat Aftermath points show up? Is that an actual USS? Can it show up while Conflict Zones are active?

Trying to figure out this stuff is incredibly frustrating in Elite.

 

[Camp Freddie]

Not sure about combat aftermath USS. In general, I never go USS hunting unless it's the only source.
Mech scrap is very common and only used in low level engineering, but you need to destroy transport ships to get it. You could murder NPCs in an anarchy system. I think I got mine from RES and CZ fighting, so it probably drops from the Asps, Clippers or some other multi-role ship that might qualify as a 'transport'.
I think it's quite common as a mission reward too.

And to an earlier poster, the Anaconda is very strong in combat, though it's a battleship and handles like one. I have gimballed multicannons on the large and huge mounts. Gimballed burst lasers on mediums and railguns on the smalls (they are surprisingly effective and easy to use for a silly choice).
Seeker missiles are probably the 'sensible' choice for the small mounts (gimballed small guns are bad because their position prevents them from aiming upwards). The mediums are probably ideal as turrets due to their position.