where's the big money for a Cobra ship?

[iperich]

I'm a "competent" pilot, and never buyed a new ship, still with my Cobra MkIII. I'm thinking about a new ship, but they're so expensive. The Random hits missions are ok, is a lot of fun and danger, but the earnings are not what they should IMO (a ship Maintenance is about 4500 Cr, a hard mission is about 8000Cr...). I've noted that the passenger service sometimes pays well (maybe 10.000 Cr for a long trip) but, in general, I think the Taxi Galactica deals are the better. Is easy to have a trip for 10.000 Cr not as long as a normal passenger deal is. And there are some special missions that pay very well, short trips for an embassador with the risk of being attacked by some separatists dudes, stuff like that.

There are better deals for a Cobra MkIII ship? or have I reached the top? I bought the Escort License but the missions pay like 500Cr. I'm thinking of getting, I don't know, 1.000.000 Cr or so to buy another ship well equiped. (I need a Long Range Scanner, a Jump Planner, a Military Shield Enhacement, a good laser, etc, expensive stuff)

Or maybe should I start with something that, in the beginning, pays few and in the future will pay good? Can I earn, let's say, 50.000Cr a mission if I work hard for a while in some stuff?

[Cody]

Take the time to build your courier rep, and parcels can be very lucrative - at the top, a cross-chart run can net well over 100k.

[iperich]

are you talking about UPS Courier missions? I now do all of them (I feel they will get better), never did, but I can't do them whenever I want, I have to wait until they appear... I have only a rookie reputation... Can I "search" for UPS Missions?

[Norby]

A way if you like trading: first buy a cheap ship with big cargo like Python and you need less jump before you can buy your dream ship.

[Cody]

No, not UPS... core parcel deliveries found on the F4 screen (example here).

[iperich]

No, not UPS... core parcel deliveries found on the F4 screen.

But I need a bigger ship for those, the deals are about, I don't know, "96 ton of cargo" or so, a Cobra Ship is too small... I have 35 minus the passenger berth, 30 ton...

[Cody]

Core parcels require no cargo space!

[iperich]

My bad, I get it now...!!! Ok, I will do that for a time and see what's happens... thanks for the advice!!

[Cody]

I should add that some types of parcel may attract the attention of assassins - enjoy!

[iperich]

and what about a prototype that pays 32.000Cr only for carry it, and I choose not to deliver it but sell it in the black market?

[Bogatyr]

No, not UPS... core parcel deliveries found on the F4 screen (example here).

So I invested a serious amount of time in becoming the most famous parcel delivery guy in the galaxy.... in an Adder, no less (fighting off a huge pack of assassins with one pylon [usually reserved for extra fuel tank]) and one energy bank is .... pretty challenging!). And I haven't seen any contracts remotely close to what you show there (32k). The highest one I've ever seen was 10K. There are more at 5-8K, but I can't take them because the timing / destinations don't work out for the couple cross-galaxy 8K contracts I've accepted. Maybe it's just my bad luck that due to my recent deliveries I've hit a long string of really poor, low tech systems (SE of G1). I hope that when I visit some richer systems I'll get offered a bunch of those bigger contracts. I'm getting a bit weary of the limitations of the Adder and am really looking forwards to the upgrade to the Cobra MkIII, but I need to earn about 80K more before I can do that deal. So far I'm earning about 10-15K on cross-galaxy delivery runs with tons of nickel and dime contracts and that seems quite low.

[Disembodied]

I'm getting a bit weary of the limitations of the Adder and am really looking forwards to the upgrade to the Cobra MkIII, but I need to earn about 80K more before I can do that deal.

Adder to Cobra III is a pretty big leap ... if you maybe thought about Adder > Cobra I > Cobra III, that might be quicker, even with losing money on the resale. A Cobra I can carry 10TCs, and can earn credits a lot faster than an Adder.

[Cody]

I believe combat rank has a bearing on which contracts are offered - and I don't think system TL/type has any effect on contract value.

[Bogatyr]

I'm getting a bit weary of the limitations of the Adder and am really looking forwards to the upgrade to the Cobra MkIII, but I need to earn about 80K more before I can do that deal.

Adder to Cobra III is a pretty big leap ... if you maybe thought about Adder > Cobra I > Cobra III, that might be quicker, even with losing money on the resale. A Cobra I can carry 10TCs, and can earn credits a lot faster than an Adder.

I've thought about it, the extra energy bank, rear laser mount, and a bit more speed would be nice not to mention the extra TC. I'm close to able to afford that. Except I got careless with some pirates and furball action around a Space Bar and pre-spent all the profits of this cross-the-galaxy run on repairs already, .

[Bogatyr]

The next run is looking up: I've got about 30K+ contracts so far lined up for a bottom-left to upper-right run, and I'm getting better at quickly dispatching assassins without taking damage. I already make short work of ordinary pirates. And now I can in fact shoot down missiles 90%+ of the time.