Fastest route to riches

[SteveKing]

Not totally sure if the other suggestions make this redundant, but to easily find Rock Hermits, you can get a piece of kit called "Rock Hermit Locator". Costs a pretty credit, but the knowing where all Rock Hermits are in any system is a credit boon!

[avder]

I got rich doing parcel couriers and doing the fur/computer swap between rich industrial and poor ag on the way.

One tip tho, make sure you have the injector add on, and also use the "shortest route" mode on the chart to help you plan route. The reason for that being that, ideally, you want at least a third a tank of fuel whenever you jump to a new system in case of an over the top ambush. If you do multiple contracts at once you will soon see what I mean.

You could also start carrying energy bombs or quirium cascade mines, just make sure you don't launch them with vipers in range or you'll end up a fugitive potentially instantly.

It's also a really good idea to get good at combat against multiple targets at once. Get the shield boosters and extra energy unit. An ECM unit is mandatory. Once you can afford it, you'll want the military shield boosters as well. When you are targeted and you either don't want to or can't run away, get close to them quickly so they furball around you. As long as you don't fly straight they have a very hard time hitting you. Only ever fly straight while you are firing your laser, and only fire when you are 100% on target.

I also recommend you get lasers on your port and starboard sides. They come in very handy against ships that show you a generous amount of profile while flying next to you like the fer-de-lance, asp, and both types of cobra. Just remember that you will be steering up and down with roll instead of pitch while looking to either side of your ship.

As far as missiles, it's up to preference. I've found that either the regular or ECM types realistically only have a chance of a kill against pirates. Against the hit squads, you can expect them to have injectors to outrun your missiles as well as an ECM. The only thing missiles are good for against them is to get them off your back for a while.

Members of hit squads also tend to inject away when they get low on energy. Get good at sniping so you can kill them while they are running away. They'll be back in a minute after they've regenerated otherwise. They're cowards who refuse to meet their end with dignity, and its entertaining to watch them beg for their lives.

[Smivs]

They're cowards who refuse to meet their end with dignity, and its entertaining to watch them beg for their lives.

<grins>

[Diziet Sma]

One tip tho, make sure you have the injector add on

Minor point to note.. the injectors are core game equipment, not an addon..

[Paladin Tux]

Injectors are outright fun. I could use them to help me ram...


I have just had an amazing OXP idea!

[Layne]

Injectors are outright fun. I could use them to help me ram...


I have just had an amazing OXP idea!

Psst. Use the DTT Kraken for this. It already looks like the Nautilus as it is.

https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16652

Might as well go with the classics!

[avder]

Injectors are outright fun. I could use them to help me ram...


I have just had an amazing OXP idea!

If you're gonna ram something, probably not a good idea to ram at injector speeds

Whenever my cargo is full and I come across a thargon warship and end up with a bunch of unpowered fighters, I've found it's fastest to just ram them at full (non-injector) speed to kill them and pick up the 50 credit bounty. Costs like a few units of shield, which are regenerated within moments. If you ram one while at full injector speed you lose your whole shield, and thats with both the shield boosters and military shield enhancement

[jamida]

Thanks for the tips so far.

I have 2 passenger slots now on my MkIII and I speculate in cargo while doing the long runs (that merchant trader OXP is pretty useful!) I've done enough runs that I'm being offered a fair number contracts (if I were to rate my contract offering rate in the same spectrum as battle rating I'd say I'm between "poor" and "average".) I also have front military laser, energy recharge unit and the first level shield upgrade. And still about $6K.

But... I think I'm "sub-optimal":
Should I add more passenger berths? Or should I consider it when I get offered MORE contracts than I am now. During each cross galaxy run I maybe run into maybe ONE 3rd passenger that's an easy add to the trip.

What should be next upgrade? Should I plan on a Python and go for massive cargo hauls?

Note, I'm play board games as a hobby and in the back of my mind I'm envisioning my choices as if I were playing Merchants of Venus. One of the options there are ships "fast but small cargo" vs "slow but lots of cargo" and ... the passenger option, while there is fairly rare to focus on it 100% (but then again, there is no passenger berth, they just happily fit in the 1/2 a cargo hold.)

I'm not looking for micro-managing advice... I just don't want to leave an obvious "big-ticket" strategy on the table because I haven't examined all my choices... having $3K+ dollars in my cash reserves is money I'm not using to grow my money (but then again, passengers don't require a deposit).

[ffutures]

It's fairly hard to get a cargo reputation with a small ship, because most of the cargoes offered are big. So a Python is a good idea if you can afford it - not the best ship around, but a good stepping stone towards something better. If you have lots of cash and a small but otherwise fairly good ship you might get lucky with contracts for jewels, gold, and platinum, but you'll need to haul some bigger cargoes before you'll be offered them.

[Day]

But... I think I'm "sub-optimal":
Should I add more passenger berths? Or should I consider it when I get offered MORE contracts than I am now. During each cross galaxy run I maybe run into maybe ONE 3rd passenger that's an easy add to the trip.

I currently do cargo runs from one side of the 2nd galaxy to the other side. I added one passenger berth each time I was proposed to carry a passenger to a destination which is on my way. I got 23 passengers berths.