Elite: Dangerous is an absolutely massive game; one that can be difficult to make heads or tails of when you first sit down to play the game. Fortunately, the PC crowd has been playing for more than a year now, and some Xbox One users have been playing for several months. Which means the Elite: Dangerous community had plenty of time to find the most efficient ways of conducting business in Frontier Developments' space-sim.
Today, we're looking to help new Elite: Dangerous players get up and running with the game, primarily by providing information that isn't always communicated effectively in-game and/or by the community. A great deal of this will seem like common knowledge to experienced Elite: Dangerous players but there's always a chance you, too, might learn something about the game.
You Don't Need A Flight Stick
I know, I know. It feels like every Elite: Dangerous guide under the sun says that you need a flight stick to play the game. But I'm here to tell you that's simply not the case. In fact, I've already spent dozens of hours playing Elite: Dangerous with a mouse and keyboard, occasionally fly my ship using an Xbox 360 controller, and I’ve never felt like my choice of inputs were negatively impacting my flying. I imagine the same can be said for the Xbox One controller.
I put off buying Elite: Dangerous for almost six months, largely because I was convinced I'd need to get a flight stick first and I didn't want to set aside the time/money to research and buy one I'd like. Now, I'm finding myself at a loss for words to accurately describe just how wrong I was. The urge might be a bit stronger on Xbox One, just for the extra inputs, but devices like the Titan One aren’t necessary.
No matter how you learn to pilot your Sidewinder, or any ship that you purchase down the line, things are going to be a little dicey during your first few trips to/from a landing pad. And you're probably going to overshoot the first couple of space stations you visit. Being able to accept that, and adjust accordingly, might save you $100-plus in real money.
Finish The Tutorials
So you’ve purchased Elite: Dangerous, taken the time to download/install the game and are now staring at the menu screen for the first time. You’re probably tempted to jump straight into the main game, particularly if you’re aware of the fact that Elite: Dangerous includes a solo mode, but do your best to ignore that impulse. It may not sound exciting but the tutorials are where you want to begin your career as a commander. Take the time to learn the basics of Elite: Dangerous. Get the lowdown on trading, the game's warp mechanics, interdiction and the rest of the information in the Elite: Dangerous Training section. Make sure you have some idea of how to fly the Sidewinder, the small ship given to all new pilots, before trying to jump into the deep end.
If nothing else, at least find a video tutorial on YouTube or Twitch that explains the basics of taking off, landing, requesting docking clearance, etc. There's certainly no shortage of options and the extra effort will save you time and frustration.
Take Lots Of Notes
This is a message I really can't overstate. Anytime you’re planning to play Elite: Dangerous, make sure you’ve got a notebook, smartphone, etc. on-hand. Because you're going to need to take all kinds of notes while you play Elite: Dangerous. Even when using some of the third-party tools created by the Elite: Dangerous community.
Think about it like this: If you were really piloting a starship, hopping from one star system to the next in search of new adventure (and/or profits), would you really just assume you're going to memorize every key detail from the economies of each community you encounter along the way? Are you sure you’d remember each station that was/wasn’t carrying the new starship you wanted?
Keep a notebook nearby. Make a quick note if you visit a planet with rare commodities, or lackluster security, and it'll quickly become easier to finish quests that call for hard-to-find items or illicit behavior. The same goes for stations with rare ship upgrades, diverse shipyards, Powerplay contacts you need, etc.
Always Maximize Your Investments
Elite: Dangerous won't hold your hand but the game will provide players with all of the information they need to make informed investments. Sure, you could hop from one station to the next, comparing the cost of local goods to the needs of surrounding systems on the galactic map. Or you could just keep Thrudd’s Elite Trading Tool open on your cellphone/tablet/etc, like the rest of us, and use the power of modern computing to skip most of the research phase.
Punch in your current whereabouts, available cash and free cargo space, and then take your pick of the potential trade routes the tool generates. As if that weren’t easy enough, Thrudd’s trading calculator even rolls your profits into a new search, from the target destination, making it easy to put together multi-stop trade routes in a matter of minutes.
Of course, if you're having trouble finding profitable trade routes, there are plenty of sites (like reddit) where members of the Elite: Dangerous community have gathered together to share details on their most-profitable endeavors. You might have to do a bit of traveling to reach the systems you'll need. But that's better than struggling to making ends meet in whatever corner of the galaxy you spawned, right?
Use Solo Mode To Get The Hang Of Things
Elite: Dangerous isn’t exactly overflowing with players. Frontier Developments has done an admirable job of keeping concurrent player numbers consistent, in the months since Elite: Dangerous first opened its doors, but less than one million pilots have registered flight time in the studio’s digital recreation of the Milky Way. And yet, the threat of pirate attack looms large in Elite: Dangerous, leaving many players a bit uncomfortable with the prospect of wading into unfamiliar territory.
Fortunately, the game includes a solo mode. And its single-player offering is much safer than the environment Elite: Dangerous players will find waiting for them in Open Play. If you’re worried about being attacked, before getting a full grasp of the game’s flight mechanics, spend a few hours playing Elite: Dangerous in the safety of Solo Mode. It won’t be safe forever. As your bank account begins to grow, AI-driven pirates and bounty hunters will replace their human counterparts, forcing players to put their piloting skills to the test. But it’s still not as hazardous as battling a fellow Elite: Dangerous player.
Have Music/Podcasts Ready
At its best, Elite: Dangerous is a community-driven game that’s every bit as memorable for its moment-to-moment action as it for its recreation of the Milky Way. Its player-driven combat may not generate the kinds of headlines we see from similar titles, like EVE: Online, but I think it’s fair to say those who’ve fallen in love with Elite: Dangerous will remember where they first saw an Imperial capital ship for many years. But, for many players, most of your time with Elite: Dangerous will be spent pretty far removed from the rest of the community. And space can be quiet, lonely place.
Personally, I recommend filling that silence with your favorite tunes. I’ve become a big fan of cranking Awesome Mix Vol. 1, the soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy, during my extended play sessions. Sometimes I’ll substitute the FTL soundtrack, maybe music from a band like Explosions in the Sky or MTNS. Elite: Dangerous makes a pretty great podcast game, too. Whatever your preference, just make sure you’ve got something ready to go whenever sitting down to play Elite: Dangerous.
Remove Upgraded Parts Before Selling Your Ship
Regardless of your career path, there will come a time when you have enough cash to replace your Sidewinder or whatever other space-faring vessel you're currently piloting. Just remember that the shipyard is going to give you a horrible price on whatever upgrades you've purchased for your ship.
Rather than eating significant losses on your purchases, take the time to return to the nearest Outfitter and swap out your upgraded parts for less-expensive alternatives before selling your ship. Depending on how much you’ve invested, the extra few minutes it takes to retro-fit your vessel could mean the difference between tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of credits. And why would you ever leave money on the table in a game like Elite: Dangerous?
Remove Weapons From Non-Combat Vessels
Unless you’re planning to go after a few of the early bounty missions, there’s really not much reason to buy new weapons for your Sidewinder. Or even keep the ones you start with. For traders, this rule never really changes. After all, if things go south, even the best-equipped Type-6 or Type-7 probably isn’t going to put up much of a fight against a Viper or Cobra; at least not without back-up from friendly pilots.
Rather than letting those weapons add to your overall weight, thereby reducing the distance your ship can jump, sell your weapons back to the Outfitter and use the extra credits to increase the cargo space on your ship. If it’s not enough cash for the extra space, put the credits towards your next haul and/or into savings for your next upgrade. It might not seem like much at first. But the extra travel distance, not to mention the early cash infusion, will eventually make an exponential difference in your bank account.
Try New Activities
There are lots of ways ot make money in Elite: Dangerous and, once you've earned enough to buy a new ship or two, no real reason to shoehorn yourself into any one activity.
Getting tired of running goods from one system to the next? Grab some mining tools, find an extraction site and dig for interstellar gold. Need a little more action in your life? Become a pirate, stealing valuable cargo from your fellow commanders, or channel your inner Boba Fett and take up bounty hunting. Or, to keep the Star Wars analogies going, grab a few smuggling contracts and make the Elite: Dangerous smuggling community forget all about that Han Solo character they all look up to.
Find Like-Minded Commanders
A bunch of unbelievably helpful Elite: Dangerous players have formed a group called the Fuel Rats, who bring fuel to stranded pilots. Many players are already aware of the The First Great Expedition, thanks to a Kotaku story on the group, but they’re hardly the only explorers in the game. There are also pirate organizations, like The Code, and any number of other player coalitions with goals ranging from basic roleplay to running (or robbing) the galaxy. Use popular player hubs, like /r/EliteDangerous or the Elite: Dangerous forums, to find like-minded Commanders and spend your next play session(s) in a wing.
Jump Into The War
Even the most enforcement-minded pilots in the Elite: Dangerous community will reach a point when chasing down individual commanders begins to lose its luster. The bounties won’t seem high enough or become such a proficient pilot that single-target engagements no longer offer a worthwhile challenge. Whatever the reason, these are the moments when it’s important to remember there are still non-player factions fighting to control every corner of the Milky Way. So pick a side and jump into the fray.
Pilots can swear allegiance to one of eight political leaders, each of whom leads a faction that already controls portions of the Milky Way. Once a side has been chosen, players can take missions to help expand their faction's borders and improve their verall standing in the galaxy. Performing tasks on behalf of the organization will earn players a variety of rewards, including cash payouts and extra profits when engaging in certain activities.
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Be sure to check back with iDigitalTImes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more Elite: Dangerous coverage throughout the rest of 2015 and for however long Frontier Developments continues to support Elite: Dangerous in the years ahead.
