Getting Started

Welcome Commanders!

Today I'm gonna write a brief guide to getting started in Elite Dangerous for newer players in order to expedite your progression from beginner ship and boost you on your journey. Here at the Red Hand we are looking for talent and don't wish to put a barrier in the way of able and skilled gamers joining us just because they haven't been playing long.. So this is for you guys, it also saves me explaining this over and over to new recruits.

When you first begin you'll find yourself in a Sidewinder.. Its a basic ship but is surprisingly able and once kitted out correctly you'll see it can make you some good credits quickly. I'm making a few assumptions here: You'll be able to dock and understand the basics of the game and how to move your ship, use supercruise, jump to different systems, and you'll be familiar with the ships systems, the panels, and have read the game manual.

An easy thing to do when people are starting is for a richer player to drop you some cannisters of gold to pick up and sell. Doing so is fair enough for friends but I think its much more a rewarding and valuable experience to learn to fend for yourself from the start.

We're going to be putting you at work in some combat situations, yes you are about to become a bounty hunter, but first off we need to change the stock weapons that come with the ship. They are fixed and are very hard to use for the beginner but don't worry, things are about to get a whole load easier, even if you do only have a 100 credits to your name.

Not to worry, your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to take as many courier missions (taking documents or some goods from A-B) as you can. These allow you to earn credits whilst not investing any of your own wealth in trading - so no risk to you. With a handful of trips under your belt you'll soon find yourself with 10-20k.

We're now going to replace the stock fixed pulse lasers with gimballed versions (G). These auto track your selected target a little, moving around and helping you hit the target. You are aiming for two G-pulse lasers OR a (G) pulse laser x1 and a (G) multicannon x1. You can even try a burst laser if you wish.

The latter is more effective damage wise overall because the mix of thermal and physical damage (lasers and projectile) is a powerful combination, but if you do use multicannons it results in more trips back to the station to re-arm. Whereas with two pulse you can shoot all day long - no bullets to run out of.

You'll now be much more effective in early combat situations and you can concentrate on piloting the ship and dogfighting rather than focusing on aiming with fixed weapons. Its a world of difference.

So all tooled up, 'where do I go'? Before we unleash you upon the galaxy, on your journey to fame and fortune and perhaps infamy, a word of advice: always make sure you have enough credits in the bank to cover the rebuy cost of your ship - accidents happen ;) and we don't want you crying on the forums coz you lost your new ship.. There are no excuses.

So you are raring to go, and have an itchy trigger finger.. You'll now head to a resource extraction site (RES) - usually found in the asteroid rings of planets. There you'll find a bunch of ships, the good, the bad and the ugly. We are looking for ships that are WANTED..

Given you are a noob, unless you are feeling bold, it might be a good idea not to take on the larger ships just for now, unless you are in a Wing with friends. So steer away from the Anacondas, Dropships, Clippers and so on. Instead concentrate on the Eagles Adders, Cobras,and Vipers.. Killing these guys is gonna net you some nice bounties - its not uncommon to get 20-40k for these ships, especially if we use a kill warrant scanner (more on that shortly). Take your time and kill a few sidewinders first whilst you hone your virgin combat skills. ;)

System defence forces usually operate in these areas and you'll often see them attacking wanted ships, they can in effect be your wingmen and provided you have shot a ship within about ten seconds before an NPC kills it, you'll get the credit. You can also cruise around with them and pretend they are your new best friends- er, just be careful you don't accidentally shoot them in the crossfire, they can turn on you very quickly if you do. If that happens its time to run for the hills.

When you've racked up a fair few kills you'll need to go to a nearby station and cash in your bounty vouchers, if you die before doing so you lose those credits so bear this in mind as you start cleaning up the galaxy of scum and villainy. When you have a few more credits you should consider equipping your ship with a Kill Warrant Scanner (KWS), because until now you've only been collecting bounties for the system you've been bounty hunting in. A KWS allows you to scan wanted ships to see if they have bounties elsewhere and they usually do. When you kill a wanted ship you've scanned you'll get extra bounty vouchers to cash in, and this can really improve your earning potential.

In short time you can easily amass several hundred thousand credits, allowing you to upgrade your ship and buy a new one. You've now got more credits than you know what to do with and you've had your eye on a better ship - which one do you go for?

The Eagle is the first obvious choice since its great in terms of agility and improved fire-power but it's very quickly superseded by others. I'd recommend you aim for the Viper, and then a Cobra. The latter being one of the most versitile and useful ships in the game. As you upgrade you'll be better placed to take on the larger ships, with bigger bounties, and thus your earnings will increase even further. With a Cobra and a million credits you are well on your way.

From here you can be effective as a bounty hunter, pirate, a rare goods trader, a miner, or explorer if thats your thing, but having gone through this route you should have learned one of the core aspect of the game, which is combat, and whatever situation you find yourself in you will be confident of getting stuck in and not being shy of defending yourself wherever you go. Although do remember that omelettes aren't made without breaking a few eggs. ;)

You've just touched the surface of many of the subtler aspects of the game but you should hopefully be equipped with a decent ship, combat experience, and some cash in the bank. Now the real fun begins.

Right on Commander!

#EliteDangerous #GettingStarted #BountyHunting #RES #ResourceExtractionSite #Sidewinder