Complete and Utter Noob Questions

[NeXuS]

Heya Guys,

I am completely new to Elite Dangerous and have never played the original 1984 version. I've only been playing for about a Month (more like a couple of weeks due to work commitments over xmas). So far I can handle combat, navigation, basic trading, docking etc. Pretty much all the basic game play mechanics. So far in the game I have been just playing and travelling as the Bulletin board takes me to different places. Literally living the life of a drifter. I've tried to pick up a couple of combat missions and failed all of them. Not through destruction, through time expiring. I've had a bit of a look through the official forums and there is just so much information to sift through. Its a little overwhelming.

My questions are is there a system/area I should be headed for? Currently I am sitting at the Baylock Enterprise station in the V1688 Aquilae system. I am starting to find a lot of the bulletin boards don't have missions available for me due to not enough cargo space or rep. I'm still in my Startwinder with a few upgrades I've equipped and extra equipment installed. I've had a read of a lot of bounty mission primers, I can't seem to either find 1 in an anarchy system OR if I do take one that's under control of a faction (Federation etc) I can never find any wanted targets (especially on the trader kill missions).

I apologize for the complete newbie questions. Normally I just try and muddle my way till I work it out, however so far I think this is an amazing game and want to get the most out of it. Put it this way I've already invested in a new HOTAS setup just for Elite.

Thanks in advance! Really looking forward to reading any tips and tricks!

[Niddi]

I guess first you have to find out what you like best (Trading, Combat, Mining, Exploring) and then stick with it for a while and make some money. Since you've already tried some combat missions, I guess you like combat. I'd suggest going to a Resource Extraction Point or a Nav Beacon and just killing everything with a "Wanted" flag. This way you will earn some bounties and get better at combat. When you've earned enough you can upgrade to a Hauler or an Adder and try something else, like a small rare goods trading route. This will earn you quite some money . You could do rare goods until you can upgrade to a Type 6. After that I'd recommend trading normal commodities, because rare goods do not scale well the more cargo space you have available.
As to where you should go: wherever you wan to. You can find wanted criminals, mining spots and decent trading routes all over colonized space. If you want to gain Rep with a certain faction (Empire, Federation, Alliance), I'd recommend going to their parts of space.

[NeXuS]

Hey Niddi!

Thanks for the reply. You're spot on. I really like the combat. I definetly think this is the way to go. Am I correct in thinking each system has 1 nav point (near the star)? I know the USS pop up randomly. I'll try the Extraction sites out. At the moment I can't seem to find upgrades for the ship. I am guessing I need to find one of the "High Tech" systems.

[Niddi]

Not every system has a Nav Beacon afaik. The USS are not really good if you want to go hunting. I only enter them when searching for mission goals. The Beacons and the RES are really good because you will constantly see new ships arriving, so chances of getting one with a bounty are high.
If you are in an Anarchy System you will also need a Kill Warrent Scanner (KWS). The wanted flag only resembles the status in your current system and Anarchy systems will not put a bounty on your head, so all ships will show as clean. But if you scan them with a KWS you can check the status in your contacts tab. This will then show you if the ship has a bounty in a different system. But be careful. If you do this in a non-Anarchy system you should only kill "Wanted" ships. If you kill someone with a bounty (after scanning him with the KWS), but without the "Wanted" flag, you will be charged with murder.
Combat really is fun, but if you're aiming for one of the bigger ships (Python = Viper on steroids, Anaconda = Beastmode), you will unfortunately have to do some trading because at this time combat / bounty hunting will not gain you enough money (at least not in a reasonable amount of time). Otherwise aim for the Viper, it's a lovely combat ship and really not that expensive.

As for the upgrades: Yes, a High-Tech station is the best place to go shopping.

[Flip]

Hey Niddi!

Thanks for the reply. You're spot on. I really like the combat. I definetly think this is the way to go. Am I correct in thinking each system has 1 nav point (near the star)?

Yes. At least, each inhabited system.

I know the USS pop up randomly. I'll try the Extraction sites out.

Always lots of pirates around extraction sites. But there's often lots of cops too, so make sure to favor pirates from different factions, otherwise the cops often turn against you. Or find an anarchy system.

At the moment I can't seem to find upgrades for the ship. I am guessing I need to find one of the "High Tech" systems.

Yes. The ideal is to find a system near a high tech or industrial system, an anarchy system, a black market, and stations or outposts of the three main factions (so you can cash all your bounties when you have a kill warrant scanner). Codorain is such a system.

[BarkingMad]

Codorain is such a system.

Codorain is great fun. The nav point there seems to be much more active than neighbours, but that could be my imagination.

[NeXuS]

I headed out tonight (for the short 1-2 hrs I had) and tried 2 anarchy systems. I had to jump about 40 LY from where I was (I think). Headed for the Sumel system first. Wasn't bad. When I jumped in first thing I noticed was that there was no Nav Point, 2nd thing was that the closed station to the jump in point was about 150,000 LS away. Anyway I was low on fuel so headed to the station to refuel. Headed out again and just did some USS. Wasn't bad got about 20K credits in bounties and grabbed some cargo as well that was worth a decent amount.

After this I decided to find another system and found a system called Frendian. Jumped in, station close to the Nav point. Farmed up about another 40K in bounties. I know it doesnt sound much but its by far the most credits I've made in a single play session. Still yet to find a system that has a resource extractor, but haven't really explored around where I am. I'm sure there will be one close by. I'm just debating is it worth upgrading the FSD or just save for another ship.

Anyway good night at the office for me anyway. Just gonna keep it up. Thanks guys.

(Feel free to keep the tips coming though! )

[Niddi]

I wouldn't upgrade the FSD in your Sidewinder as you'll probably sell it soon anyway. You could buy an Eagle. It's a nice little combat ship. Just equip a laser on top for the shields and two gimballed multicanons below for the hull. If you should sell your ship, always sell or downgrade the internal stuff first. Otherwise you will lose a percentage of the value.
It's possible that you will not see the RES on the system overview when the system is unknown to you. RES are mining sites in the asteroid belts around planets (like Saturn). So if you see a planet with a ring, you can try going there. If you're close enough, some RES should pop up in the Ring. Your best chance to find them would be in an Extraction system.

[InoiTroriak]

Super nice,, I kind of started same also never played ED before but quickly found google / youtube to be very helpfull
wandering about seem loosing more than making more what shall I do, finally deviced I love combat but also missions but need a better ship first and bounty hunting seem a good way because can have fun same time, exlusivley went for NPC pirate as plan was to join a clan so didnt want bad reputation before even got into one
(Played eve online 06 - 2012 same in Game name wich im still very proud of )
ED I simply love it got me back into the gaming again!

http://www.vmrp.tv/elite-dangerous-best ... edits.html
and can higly recommend the Eagle as beginner ship making credits goes fast, suddenly I had enough for the viper with a very decent loadout of even killing Anacondas now without a scratch.
only I never travelled that far but found LTT 184186 1 jump from LHS 3447 has plenty of Extraction sites
Planets with rocky rings is what you need look for.
http://roguey.co.uk/elite-dangerous/universe/ltt18486/
Dock at Boswell Platform and cash in your makings / also possible to do Federation missions and gain access to SOL wich I think is needed

Fit your eagle go make some credits
is a good startpoint no need do much

NB can also do some missions from Boswel