Advice from a newbie playing with Odyssey

So I started ED when the Odyssey update came out. I had it in my Steam queue for a while, but when Odyssey came out I thought it would be a good time to start. I played the original Elite back in 1984. Yes, I am that old.

I had heard that Frontier left a lot for the players to find out by themselves, but this also included behavior that would be known to a person who grew up in that environment, especially with regard to ground security acting like Soviet enforcers demanding to see your papers. As a consequence, I got shot a lot at the beginning before I figured out what was going on. So here are some bullet points if you are just starting in Elite Dangerous this year:

1) Frontier has a PDF of the game manual, which has not yet been updated to include Odyssey content. Still, it has instructions about how to do certain tasks that are not in the Odyssey tutorial, and there are links to Youtube videos on the Elite Dangerous channel of certain game mechanics you will want to see, especially the SRV.

2) Courier missions often have Threat 0, but what they don't tell you is to make a specific weaponless loadout. Guards you pass will order you to stop and submit to a scan. Failure to stop and they will start shooting. If you have a weapon or contraband items like chemical agents, etc., and they will start shooting. Your mission is scrap when that happens. If you go in weaponless and obey all the rules, you should just be able to get what you came for an leave in peace.

3) Repair or revitalize missions where you need a Maverick suit often have enemy ground troops to defend the area. No point in going on foot to take these guys out. Your Sidewinder starts the game with an SRV that has a turret capable of mowing them down. Fight smart, use the SRV turret, and then fix the Power Station with your mission-supplied regulator at your leisure. Even if you are not a good shot with the turret, it is often enough to run them over.

4) For the time involved, missions don't pay well. Sooner or later you need them for faction credit to get the higher end items, but don't do them for the money. I did not start taking off until I was able to buy a hauler and start doing the Road to Riches. Eventually, I added the Detailed Surface Scanner, since a scan of Earthlike or terraforming candidate worlds will pay out close to a million a pop.

I am about 182 hours in according to Steam, and I was able to upgrade the Hauler to an Asp Explorer with A-rated modules on mainly 140 Road to Riches systems, with 2 -5 systems in between each stop, so about 500 systems scanned total. I was also able to buy a Python and configure it for mining, and still have 140 million in the bank. Just for kicks, I also have a Dolphin for future passenger missions and took a side trip to the Empire to build a decent Imperial Eagle for when I start doing combat. I also just recently made Elite in Explorer. I probably could have gotten there quicker, but this week I started working Exobiology, and any ground missions take much longer than purely space-based missions.

Now I feel like the galaxy has opened up and I can do anything without worrying about losing my ship. I am finally free to roam the galaxy. I can mine if I need money. I will probably work the Empire to get the Imperial Cutter. I don't see ever getting a Fleet Carrier. (BTW… Aisling Duval's homeworld has so many Fleet Carriers they probably exert the gravitational pull of a planet by themselves. Everyone wants to be next to the pretty blue-haired princess.) In any event, I don't mind the grind anymore.

If Frontier does anything next, I hope it includes a better variety of alien flora. I am getting tired of scanning the same 7 fungi that apparently grew on nearly every planet in Independent space.