It is clear, the 'Goids are comming to the core systems!
With this news, Core systems may be on fire as early as next week!
You want superpower reputation? You want a Corvette or Cutter? Now is the time to prepare!
Already got reputation? Rescue missions tend to have pretty good material rewards, too, if you need help with engineering mats.
Go for a python like this one: Or this one:
But if you like to fly big, go for an Anaconda or whatever suits you. But remember, large ships often barely fit through the mail slot. Be sure you can fly it well!
All you need is a ship you can manually land and take off, and as many passenger cabins and heat sinks you can pack.
I would avoid small ships for this reason, but if all you have is a Cobra or Dolphin, that's fine! (Dolphins are actually spectacular for rescues as a small ship with their super cooling, although even our cool running Dolphin will overheat in a burning station! They don't hold a lot, but if you can't afford a Python, the Dolphin is a good buy)
Important ship build points:
* Pack on as many passenger cabins as you can. Economy only No rescues will require anything better, so don't limit yourself for no reason.
* Bring as many heat sinks as your utility mounts can fit. You may not need them all on a trip, but that's no reason to pack light!
* Get a class A power plant. Size doesn't matter, but grade does! Class A always handles heat the best. (My python examples have a downsized Power Plant for Robigo Runs, NOT because rescues need them)
* Keep some shields! It won't protect you from the heat, but it will protect you if an explosion throws you into a wall or you slam into the station trying to land or take off. The smallest shield you can fit is good enough.
Optional ship build points:
* You can get lots of extra rep turning in items! So bring collector limpets and a cargo rack.
* You do not need to bring more than 32 cargo units. I have never seen a station with more than 32 items floating around in a visit, and it's usually around 24.
Passenger and general strategies:
- Bind a key to releasing heat sinks This is probably the most important step and this is good to have no matter where you are playing in the game.
- Auto docking will be disabled! You need to know how to land and take off manually. If this sounds impossible: it's not! Use the game flight tutorials to practice ahead of time without any risk to your ship.
- You have plenty of heat sinks. Fly as slow as you need to to land at the right pad. Pop a heat sink whenever you hit 100% heat. Don't worry about running out. You won't. A skilled pilot will only need two (one to land, one to take off). A Dolphin should have 9, Python 12, Anaconda, just… so many.
- When you land, the station will cool you. Don't worry if you're at 95% when you touch down, only pop a heat sink when you hit 100%.
- This is the easy part. You've landed, you're safe. Pick the passengers with the biggest Rep+ from any faction aligned with your chosen superpower. Remember: More plusses is more better!
- When the Rep plusses tie, pick the passenger groups with the smallest numbers to more easily max things out.
- When you run out of big Rep+ rewards, fill out the rest of your cabins. All passengers will give some rep. Pick smaller groups for an easier time filling up. (you may be good at adding up the totals and knowing what you have left — if so, use that magic brain baby)
- Ignore passenger messages. They're mostly flavor. Bonus credits are nice, but they are not Rep+. Just get back to the rescue ship as fast as you can and turn your passengers before doing anything else (like repair, refuel, or if you have any cargo). Then head back out when you are ready!
Cargo strategies:
- If you are newer and not comfortable with fine manual flying, you may want to skip this. Doing passengers only is plenty good! This takes more flying skill and paying attention to multiple things, and its much more risky than just grabbing passengers.
- Do not pick the collection missions first! Instead, pick them after you drop off passengers. Pick the ones based on the items you already collected going for Rep+. You can turn in the remainder, OR keep them with you to get the magic number a mission is likely to need. Most missions want 3-4 of a given item. However, we're going for easy bonus points here. Don't keep too much and risk not having space to collect much on your next trip.
- That said, if you do see an unusually huge Rep+++++++ cargo mission, grab it! Prioritize getting those items on your next trip, and before you log so the mission doesn't expire.
- Fill up with limpets and waste them when you need space (an easy way to waste a limpet: target cargo or better yet, a material, and launch a limpet, it will die after collecting that one item). However do not dump limpets or any cargo in the station, the station will fine you for littering and prevent you from landing until you go back to the rescue ship and clear your fines.
- I say fill up, but after a trip or two, you'll know how many to bring. While you're unsure, too much is better than not enough.
- Collect cargo before you land at the station! There's tons of time on the docking timer. The take off timer is much too short to get much done.
- You will want to park yourself roughly in the middle of the station, away from walls and landing pads. Walls are the sources of explosions (usually harmless but turbulent and may throw you into a wall which is not harmless) and blocking pads can incur a fine which will block you from landing until you go back to the rescue ship to clear it.
- If you get the landing pad warning: MOVE FAST. It's not easy to tell where the pad is, but it's probably on whichever wall you are closest to. So move straight away from the nearest wall. Get clear before worrying about being in the best position. Better to hit a wall moving too fast away (this is what shields are for!) than getting a fine that forces you to go back to the rescue ship!
- Heat sinks are very important while collecting cargo. You will be sitting and burning while waiting on limpets until your docking timer is running out.
- While collecting you have three jobs: stay away from walls, pop heat sinks when you hit 100%, send out more limpets.
- Hit your heat sink right when you hit 100% heat. Do not wait! Damage will easily hit your cargo scoop first, and you will start spilling the cargo you just collected very quickly after passing 100% heat.
- As long as you release heat sinks when you hit 100%, a Python full of heat sinks will be enough. When time is about up, you'll probably have at least two sinks left. * However, if you are running out, always save two: on for landing and one for take off. When you take off, you will be almost be overheating by the time you get ship control (unless you are in a Dolphin, that is, you might be able to get out before hitting 100%)
- Speaking of time: do not cut time too close! Give yourself a good two minutes (or more!) to land. The station might throw you off course when landing, so do not try to cut this close until you know what you are doing. It is easy to get turned around. If you can't land in time you'll have to go back to the rescue ship (although at least you'll have some cargo to turn in).
- Pro tip: you can use the contact panel to ignore commodities you don't want.
Fun note:
* The explosions and announcements are very atmospheric. Turn up the volume and/or put on those headphones.
Now that you are prepped, just watch this page (and GalNet of course):
When it fills up after attacks, check the Systems (not stations) for Federal or Imperial aligned factions. You will want a system with multiple factions for your chosen super power. A great system will have 4+ factions from your chosen superpower. A good system will have 3. Less than that, keep looking. A system with both Fed and Imperial are rare, but do exist. It will be slower for each, but not a bad way to get rep for both if you don't have a strong preference.
If you don't have a preference, though, I suggest going for Federation reputation. The Fed grind suuuuucks without rescue missions.
With all of this in hand, you can go from no rep to Rear Admiral or Duke in about 8-10 hours with a Python, probably less for an Anaconda (if you can fly that beast manually) or a few hours more for a Dolphin.
