550 replies to this topic

[t Khrist]

ExoForce, on 04 January 2016 - 12:45 PM, said:

Thank you for your support CMDR. I'm sure it will come in handy . If you're interested in joining the expedition, and haven't looked much in to it yet, the commitments are few and far between. Unless the issue is keeping interest doing one thing for several months, which is understandable, you should give the thread a go.

Despite meeting up every few weeks at designated systems (way-points), there isn't much beyond that, aside from what you make of it.

Event coordinators will be present the whole time organizing smaller expeditions and whatnot.

Certain pilots have offered their time to be fuel boats in the event that someone runs out, others have volunteered to always be on the lookout for materials in case someone needs an FSD boost, etc.

All of which is voluntary, including participation. You can do what I plan on doing, just tagging along for the ride.

I'll buddy up and go out and do stuff, when I feel like it, but I'm going for me; to say 'I've been there', and be listed in the top 100 to have done such.

You can always drop out when you want to, turn around and head back home. I thought about just going along until Sag. A*, then heading back for a big haul on exploration data, but I've since decided to try and go it all the way.

The expected distance needed to travel per week in order to keep up with the fleet and make the meeting times at the way-points is ~9000 Ly's. That's 272-ish jumps in my ASP, figure two minutes per jump with scooping, that's roughly nine hours. 1000/hr isn't too bad, but that is without exploring, scanning, scavenging, events, etc.

So, yea.. the commitment is pretty real, but it's also very lenient.

I forgot to mention that there is a secondary 'slower' fleet that will move at I think 5000 Ly/week after the first way-point. Whatever the speed it's intended for those who cannot commit as much time, or end up lagging behind the main fleet.

[DAYLEET]

Did you guys try PowerPlay? Im looking at it, the cash rewards are super low unless rank 4 and i wonder how much grinding it is. Ive been playing for 5 days with a friend who just got into the game and so far we only do conflict zone because at his level it's the most cash he can make in the least amount of time.

[t Khrist]

DAYLEET, on 26 January 2016 - 11:18 AM, said:

Did you guys try PowerPlay? Im looking at it, the cash rewards are super low unless rank 4 and i wonder how much grinding it is. Ive been playing for 5 days with a friend who just got into the game and so far we only do conflict zone because at his level it's the most cash he can make in the least amount of time.

I never pay attention to anything PP related.

I looked in to PP when it came out and got far enough to realize it's not worth the effort unless you really care about the socioeconomics, politics, bigger groups, and/or PP story-line of the game. A few people hammered out the numbers around its release and I think it was somewhere in the ballpark of ~10 hours/week to achieve/maintain tier/class/level/whatever they call it five. That's more than I play in a week, and I don't want to be hauling vouchers until my eyes bleed, or fight in CZ's for far less Credits than I would be making how I usually play.

I suggest bounty hunting NPC's in a HIRES, Comp. Nav. Beacon, or HazRES areas in systems with pristine resources. Preferably also in a system on the edge of inhabited space, that offers Shadow Run and smuggling missions at a station close to one of the above mentioned places. That way as you turn in bounties, your rep. with the systems minor factions will go up, and you'll get better paying missions for when you want to change it up. This method can on average net me 3-4 million Credits/hour.

Good systems for this are Socho, Maia, and Sothis. Though Maia I only know to be good for the missions.. not sure if it has any HIRES, etc.

TL;DR

• Unless you have some non-Credit reason to play PP, it's not worth the hassle.
  
• Bounty hunting/smuggling missions are the quickest way to make Credits I've found.

Edited by t Khrist, 26 January 2016 - 01:34 PM.

[DAYLEET]

t Khrist, on 26 January 2016 - 01:29 PM, said:

• Unless you have some non-Credit reason to play PP, it's not worth the hassle.
  
• Bounty hunting/smuggling missions are the quickest way to make Credits I've found.

Yeah im not averse to find some "non-credit" reasons to play powerplay if only to try it. I don't like that they split Feds/Empires/Alliance and then give them different modules. Most seems useless, you don't have an inventory so you can join a faction, buy its gun and stash it. The way to earn merit is too strict, one is only combat the other is social? how the hell do you social anyways. I just wanted to know how much of a grind it is, 10 hours a week isnt terrible, it's certainly not going to give me more than trading and i can live with that if it's not braindead like trading.

BUT, right now we are doing combat zone for combat bonds, if powerplay can come into that and make it better and more interesting then il ltry it. It's not explained clearly if it does in any ways.

[t Khrist]

DAYLEET, on 26 January 2016 - 02:28 PM, said:

The way you get more out of it is by working with other people, or at least following along with what some in the community are working towards. If you're doing combat zones or vouchers in a system that no one else is, you're not really going to make much of an impact. I'm sorry I can't provide any links, but I imagine on the ED forums you could find information about what the major factions/powers are gunning for, and work towards those same goals.

Like I've said, I have done little to nothing with PP, but it goes something like this:

• Bring voucher things to a neutral system to raise influence for your power
  
• If a certain value is met with vouchers at the end of a cycle (week) the system is able to be acquired in the next
  
• Do something else to fortify the system
  
• Yay the system is yours

Now if you're another faction also gunning for that one, you can bring you own vouchers there to 'undermine' the oppositions' efforts, same thing applies with fortifying and taking over already controlled systems.

Every system has a threshold that must be met in order to change the standing of a system in the next cycle; be it to a controlled, undermined, fortified, etc.

So, since these efforts are meant to be that of a grand scale, it's hard to influence things on your own, and is best to work with others as to actually assist in accomplishing something, or at least as to not unknowingly mess with some groups plans for that week.

It's a rather complex system that ties in strongly with the minor factions, economies, buffs, and ailments down to the individual station.

I wish you luck in your attempt to delve in to PP, I tried and ran screaming lol. Hope any of this helps. I suggest looking in to some more viable sources of information though.

[DAYLEET]

t Khrist, on 26 January 2016 - 05:56 PM, said:

I'm sorry I can't provide any links, but I imagine on the ED forums you could find information about what the major factions/powers are gunning for, and work towards those same goals.

It's actually in game in the faction tab. All the system prepared or whatever. This is one part of the game(the only) that is actually well defined and documented in game.

[t Khrist]

DAYLEET, on 26 January 2016 - 11:07 PM, said:

It's actually in game in the faction tab. All the system prepared or whatever. This is one part of the game(the only) that is actually well defined and documented in game.

Ah.. right.. forgot about that list. Well perfect, even more simple. Makes it so you can help without the need to look through forums to see where interest is.

Edited by t Khrist, 27 January 2016 - 04:07 PM.

[xMintaka]

t Khrist, on 27 January 2016 - 04:06 PM, said:

Ah.. right.. forgot about that list. Well perfect, even more simple. Makes it so you can help without the need to look through forums to see where interest is.

It's still worth checking the reddit/forums for what the power as a whole should be gunning for. ALD dropped a lot of places purely because of an influx of players (going for the Bounty Bonus) grinding merits by preparing/fortifying any old system without really looking at whether it generates CC for the faction or will cause a deficit.

If you're in Power Play for just the bonuses you do not really need to look anything up outside of the game. If, on the other hand, you're pledged to your faction for RP reasons and want it to succeed you will definitely need to coordinate with other members of your faction. Even if it's just checking the reddit for a list of systems to prep/fortify/undermine/oppose etc.

Edited by Lunatech, 30 January 2016 - 04:57 AM.

[t Khrist]

Lunatech, on 30 January 2016 - 04:56 AM, said:

It's still worth checking the reddit/forums for what the power as a whole should be gunning for. ALD dropped a lot of places purely because of an influx of players (going for the Bounty Bonus) grinding merits by preparing/fortifying any old system without really looking at whether it generates CC for the faction or will cause a deficit. If you're in Power Play for just the bonuses you do not really need to look anything up outside of the game. If, on the other hand, you're pledged to your faction for RP reasons and want it to succeed you will definitely need to coordinate with other members of your faction. Even if it's just checking the reddit for a list of systems to prep/fortify/undermine/oppose etc.

There we go. You said what I was trying to far more clearly and accurately lol. Sounds like you follow/play PP at least somewhat.

[DAYLEET]

It doesnt take 10 hours to reach Rank 5 in power play, it takes 5 fkin weeks. You can not rank until the cycle finish and it last 1 week. I joined yesterday and quickly hauled enough for the first rank so i could then earn merit on bounty hunting with a 50% bonus on rewards, that's when i learned i needed the cycle to end :/ Well 5 weeks to get 50mil is as good as being top contributor for a community event or doing exploration, a complete waste of time if you do it for the cash.

I enjoy exploration, i like looking at pretty things and hoping to find that special system, theres nothing to be had in community event, trading or combat/power play beside cash and it's a grind. Hazardous Resource Extraction Point wont have me interested for 5 weeks.

Edited by DAYLEET, 03 February 2016 - 07:45 PM.

[t Khrist]

DAYLEET, on 03 February 2016 - 07:45 PM, said:

It doesnt take 10 hours to reach Rank 5 in power play, it takes 5 fkin weeks. You can not rank until the cycle finish and it last 1 week. I joined yesterday and quickly hauled enough for the first rank so i could then earn merit on bounty hunting with a 50% bonus on rewards, that's when i learned i needed the cycle to end :/ Well 5 weeks to get 50mil is as good as being top contributor for a community event or doing exploration, a complete waste of time if you do it for the cash.

I enjoy exploration, i like looking at pretty things and hoping to find that special system, theres nothing to be had in community event, trading or combat/power play beside cash and it's a grind. Hazardous Resource Extraction Point wont have me interested for 5 weeks.

Yea but doesn't the amount of work you have to put in to get from four to five equal out to ~10 hours? And then that again every week to maintain? Sure rank two or whatever is quick and easy. What about working on PP merit until you reach your requirements, then do other things.

You said a 50% bounty voucher bonus? That's pretty nice. Is that just for rank two?

[DAYLEET]

t Khrist, on 03 February 2016 - 08:08 PM, said:

Yea but doesn't the amount of work you have to put in to get from four to five equal out to ~10 hours? And then that again every week to maintain? Sure rank two or whatever is quick and easy. What about working on PP merit until you reach your requirements, then do other things.

You said a 50% bounty voucher bonus? That's pretty nice. Is that just for rank two?

but but but... i want my 50million NOW! but yeah you are not wrong but i kinda plan to play in between those 10 hours and id like them to count so i can get my 2 frag canon and then go out in the back with another ship. Im not even sure bounty kills will even give merit but at least im getting half decent in my Python. I can almost stay in Anacondas sixes but mostly because in HazRez you get the drop on them and your choice of position but if they are in a wing of 3 with anything higher than 2 eagles and i cant make it. I just had to bug out of one when the Anny was at 8% after doing 2 Dback Scout first.

Yes Rank 2 Zachary Hudson gives either 20% 30% 40% 50% depending at what Rating Power he is and hes at rank 1(it's the opposite of player rank 1 is bad for players and good for powers) right now. At rank5(player rank) it's 100% increase regardless if rank power.

Must be claimed in a controled or exploited system. It seems like hazres are everywhere though.

Edited by DAYLEET, 03 February 2016 - 08:34 PM.

[xMintaka]

DAYLEET, on 03 February 2016 - 07:45 PM, said:

It doesnt take 10 hours to reach Rank 5 in power play, it takes 5 fkin weeks.

Are you only ferrying cargo back and forth for your merits?

Try undermining if you have a decent combat ship (a Viper will do). Head to an enemy power Control system (must be Control) and interdict any ships you see from that power. Kill them, rinse and repeat. Much faster than hauling cargo to fortify systems etc, especially if you're in a wing since you share the merits (everyone gets the full amount). Also worth noting is that any enemy ship will do, so go for the small ones that you can kill quickly. You'll end up with a massive bounty though.

I know I got to rank 3 with Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval in around an hour doing this in a Courier with two random guys I met in Kokobii.

I'll be heading up that way once I get my Courier again (reset my CMDR when Horizons dropped and haven't been able to play that much) to get the Frag Cannons, so if you're interested we could wing up and grind the merits then?

Edited by Lunatech, 05 February 2016 - 04:05 PM.

[DAYLEET]

Lunatech, on 05 February 2016 - 04:04 PM, said:

Are you only ferrying cargo back and forth for your merits?

Try undermining if you have a decent combat ship (a Viper will do). Head to an enemy power Control system (must be Control) and interdict any ships you see from that power. Kill them, rinse and repeat. Much faster than hauling cargo to fortify systems etc, especially if you're in a wing since you share the merits (everyone gets the full amount). Also worth noting is that any enemy ship will do, so go for the small ones that you can kill quickly. You'll end up with a massive bounty though.

I know I got to rank 3 with Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval in around an hour doing this in a Courier with two random guys I met in Kokobii.

I'll be heading up that way once I get my Courier again (reset my CMDR when Horizons dropped and haven't been able to play that much) to get the Frag Cannons, so if you're interested we could wing up and grind the merits then?

Until you have passed rank1 hauling is the only way to earn merit but apparently i was wrong and you can earn more than one rank every cycle if you have the merit for it.

Ive been trying all night yesterday to earn merit in combat and it failed each time(no merit given). Eventually I followed a "guide" to supposedly get 10k in 4 hours but it didnt work either as there was no enemy ship ever even though i was in a Expansion/conflict system. The only way ive not tried is going to a system under enemy control and just plain kill everyone because my past experience tells me its going to be incredibly slow to get ship to spawn and apparently you have to jump out of the system every kill to avoid system security so thats not going to help.

Now that i joined a faction the ai is much harder, they somehow have double/triple the life. The AI also now joust which makes fighting incredibly boring. Ive had to run from single conda that i had beaten almost dead because they go full joust and i can't just take that much damage for a single kill. Dogfight was already buggy since it didnt matter if they were expert or elite, some were super good some were not regardless of their rank.

I should look for someone who made a macro that buys merit cargo every half hour lol.

It's cool if you want to add me in ED as long as you are aligned with the Federation.

Edited by DAYLEET, 05 February 2016 - 05:14 PM.

[xMintaka]

DAYLEET, on 05 February 2016 - 05:03 PM, said:

Until you have passed rank1 hauling is the only way to earn merit but apparently i was wrong and you can earn more than one rank every cycle if you have the merit for it.

Ive been trying all night yesterday to earn merit in combat and it failed each time(no merit given). Eventually I followed a "guide" to supposedly get 10k in 4 hours but it didnt work either as there was no enemy ship ever even though i was in a Expansion/conflict system. The only way ive not tried is going to a system under enemy control and just plain kill everyone because my past experience tells me its going to be incredibly slow to get ship to spawn and apparently you have to jump out of the system every kill to avoid system security so thats not going to help.

Now that i joined a faction the ai is much harder, they somehow have double/triple the life. The AI also now joust which makes fighting incredibly boring. Ive had to run from single conda that i had beaten almost dead because they go full joust and i can't just take that much damage for a single kill. Dogfight was already buggy since it didnt matter if they were expert or elite, some were super good some were not regardless of their rank.

I should look for someone who made a macro that buys merit cargo every half hour lol.

It's cool if you want to add me in ED as long as you are aligned with the Federation.

Seems to have changed since I last got involved with Powerplay then. I've never moved a single tonne of merit cargo and definitely got up to rank 3 with ALD. I'll get back to you on this, will look into it.

The AI you're talking about will just be properly combat fitted ships. Even in a HazRES the ships aren't that well fitted. Notice how they die much quicker than the equivalents in a combat zone? It's because the ships in combat zones and faction ships actually have hull reinforcements/shield boosters and decent shield cell banks.

Still, I can take an Elite Anaconda in my Viper (MkIII or MkIV) the only thing that gives me trouble are Elite Vultures. Those things are pure evil.

Currently not aligned to any faction although I'm in Empire space (HIP 20277). Your CMDR name the same as on here?

[DAYLEET]

Lunatech, on 05 February 2016 - 05:22 PM, said:

Seems to have changed since I last got involved with Powerplay then. I've never moved a single tonne of merit cargo and definitely got up to rank 3 with ALD. I'll get back to you on this, will look into it.

The AI you're talking about will just be properly combat fitted ships. Even in a HazRES the ships aren't that well fitted. Notice how they die much quicker than the equivalents in a combat zone? It's because the ships in combat zones and faction ships actually have hull reinforcements/shield boosters and decent shield cell banks.

Still, I can take an Elite Anaconda in my Viper (MkIII or MkIV) the only thing that gives me trouble are Elite Vultures. Those things are pure evil.

Currently not aligned to any faction although I'm in Empire space (HIP 20277). Your CMDR name the same as on here?

yeah but combat zone ai only have the viper joust, the vulture had more hitpoint than 2 conda combined and took more time to kill but where not really a threat to me. Only the Fed Assault ship and the Conda that just go yolo with flight assist off & staring contest got me to run before my ammo was down unless im out numbered and totaly alone. Which was always my fault in a combat zone, i learned to target friendly ship first and join with them lol. im also fitted for a role that cant joust.

[ExoForce]

DAYLEET, on 05 February 2016 - 05:36 PM, said:

..in a combat zone, i learned to target friendly ship first and join with them

Greetings CMDRs, that above is a pro tip, aka AI wing.

I am hooked to CGs, good money and fun. Currently delivering water purifiers for liberated slaves and then selling those poor souls back on black market. The way I see it, they are lost if left alone...

Btw, The Expanse is a very good TV serie, sometimes I think lots of things in it was inspired by Elite...

[t Khrist]

Checked out the trailer for The Expanse, definitely going to give it a watch. Thanks for pointing it out .

ED-wise..

I'm still on the Distant Worlds Expedition, roughly 12400 Ly from Sol, and pushing 20 kLy total distance traveled (not counting my two return trips to repair after some mishaps early on). It's been a truly amazing experience so far, with most of the over 1000 pilots participating managing to keep up and keep interested. The services provided by the organizers and community members have been incredible. The sheer amount of data being generated by the efforts of the fleet is massive. We're carving a path straight across the galaxy with 10's of thousands of systems scanned so far, many of which aren't just honked, but have detailed scans for every celestial body in the system, as well as full materials reports for each landfall body.

Applications are being developed on the go to account for a lot of this, which will eventually be compiled into one monster database accessible by all CMDR's.

For the success of the trip thus far has been great, there are those who have met with tragedy far earlier than they could have hoped. Many have had their ships unfortunately rendered into millions of tiny pieces. One incident caused the disrepair of a fellow pilots' ship. This was at Waypoint 5, about 10 kLy from inhabited space. However, all have managed to keep their resolve, and none who have been unlucky enough to lose their ship have dropped out.

Frontier has been increasingly kind and involved with the DWE as well. For those who do not know, there is currently a bug in-game that causes a CMDR's SRV to spontaneously explode for no reason. Many on the expedition of experienced this along the way, to which FD has agreed to transport those effected back to inhabited space to restock their SRV, then teleport them back to where they were if a support ticket is submitted. How cool is that?

I could go on forever about everything involved with the DWE, but I'll stop for now. I'll leave you with a gif of the pilot crashing into another that I spoke of above:

Edited by t Khrist, 06 February 2016 - 01:09 PM.

[Heffay]

Gives the phrase "I'm coming in hot!" all new context!

[Mister Blastman]

He narrowly missed that SRV which appears beneath and behind where he landed...

Funny how flight sim experience translates well over to Elite. Too much descent rate? Boost and point your nose up, fast!