unless you've got a better one.

Being a fan of using Trade Routes to earn awesome early cash in EVN, I thought I'd try it in EVC as well.

I was crunching some numbers on the trade route I was working because it didnt seem to be earning me that many credits.

I was using Capella -> Nemesis Industrial/Luxury.

Average prices were as follows:

Stock Capella Nemesis Profit (per ton)
Luxury 525 336 189
Industrial 192 300 108

For a total round trip net profit of 297 credits per ton carried.

My modified Argosy (more decked for weapons admittedly) plus 5 light freighters were carrying 775tons making for a net profit of 230275 credits round trip

My escort price was 14000 per day. It was taking 1 day to launch from planet and 3 days per jump. 2 jumps each way.
For the total of 14 days (1 round trip) it was costing me 196000 credits. Leaving me a profit of only 34275 credits per round trip.

34k profit for 2 jumps each way through pirates?! BAH! BAH I SAY!

Obviously being in an Argosy I'm not going to be able to go on very efficient killing sprees, although I'm finding if I lead them round long enough I can go toe-to-toe against a Corvette with purely my turrets and guns.

I am currently listed as "Competant" for a combat rating.

So, who's got a great idea for me to earn my initial 3M credits (2M for a 'Vette and 1M for decking it out)

I remember purchasing a Lightning, decking it out with proton guns and space bombs, and taking on kestrels with it using hit and run tactics. Pirate Kestrels can fetch you a pretty penny. Sure, it takes a while, but it's fun, and the rewards are much greater.

There are a few decent trade routes, but they don't compare to Nova's:
Capella to Dk Star - Equipment / Lux Goods
New Istanbul to Turin V - Med Supplies
Rupert to Alkadion - Food / Ind Goods
Levo to Spica - Med Supplies
Pollux to Lethe - Med Supplies

I agree with Jaca, looting pirates is the way to go in EV. I like to get a Torpedo Launcher, at least 12 Torpedos, and an Afterburner (shielding and turrets aren't really necessary). Then head to Altair and wait for a Pirate to enter the system and let fly the torpedos while flying away from the pirate. I think Argosys take 4 to disable, Corvettes take 6, and Kestrels around 10.

Also, have you done the Diphidia/Astex side string yet? That's a pretty easy $1 Million credits.

Good luck.

Capella - Darkstar = Nemesis - Capella

Rupert to Alkaidon however seems to yield a final profit of 74300 credits per round trip - not bad

@callide, on Dec 7 2008, 12:16 PM, said in Down with trade routes!:

I think Argosies take 4 to disable, Corvettes take 6, and Kestrels around 10.

Also, have you done the Diphidia/Astex side string yet? That's a pretty easy $1 Million credits.

Good luck.

I believe these numbers are accurate; the Kestrel I know for certain takes 10, but I'm a little hazy on the other two.

Also, fix'd spelling.

Diphidia/Astex is what I use when I'm ready to transfer to a Corvette. The cool mil you get at the end is quite certainly worth it.

@red-lightning, on Dec 8 2008, 06:14 AM, said in Down with trade routes!:

Capella - Darkstar = Nemesis - Capella

Yes, I know.

@red-lightning, on Dec 8 2008, 06:14 AM, said in Down with trade routes!:

Rupert to Alkaidon however seems to yield a final profit of 74300 credits per round trip - not bad

Also, have you joined the UGE? Their cargo missions are like 75-100,000 on average. To pick up the string, just head to a pirate world and go into the bar. A guy will sit down at your table and eventually need a ride in a very fast ship. Chances of picking up the string is probably 15-20%, but so very worth the effort. Try to pick it up from New Antigua of Pirate Haven (the one in the south) that way you're closer to habited systems and you don't have to go through a bunch of empty systems full of pirates.

@warlord-mike, on Dec 8 2008, 10:36 AM, said in Down with trade routes!:

Also, fix'd spelling.

I thought you keep the "y" on proper names.

@callide, on Dec 9 2008, 05:47 AM, said in Down with trade routes!:

Yes, I know.
Also, have you joined the UGE? Their cargo missions are like 75-100,000 on average. To pick up the string, just head to a pirate world and go into the bar. A guy will sit down at your table and eventually need a ride in a very fast ship. Chances of picking up the string is probably 15-20%, but so very worth the effort. Try to pick it up from New Antigua of Pirate Haven (the one in the south) that way you're closer to habited systems and you don't have to go through a bunch of empty systems full of pirates.
I thought you keep the "y" on proper names.

of course - the UGE, nope I forgot about them. I havent been able to pickup the Diphidia Mission either :(.

BTW, thanks for the suggestions

This post has been edited by Red Lightning : 08 December 2008 - 05:04 PM

I always get the UGE string from New Antigua, if that helps.

@red-lightning, on Dec 8 2008, 02:01 PM, said in Down with trade routes!:

of course - the UGE, nope I forgot about them. I havent been able to pickup the Diphidia Mission either :(.

BTW, thanks for the suggestions

Don't forget that most missions are only available 15-20% of the time, so you need to keep checking back on Diphidia. Also, you might try to boost your pilot rating to Dangerous, or even Deadly.

Any time.

Cheers for all the help guys (and gals!)
In the end I ran only a few more trade runs, got attacked by a Corvette and managed to capture it as my own

I've spend a bit over 1M credits decking it out nicely now, and running rampant all over the galaxy.

Since getting it I've gone to Excellent combat rating, picked up Rebel Missions, UGE, Drug Running, Diphidia and Lethe Missions.

Money's coming a lot faster and its a lot more fun

Next up - Kestrel

Erm how do I get the Starbound missions while we're here? I got couple, then they sort of petered out...

They seemed to me to be very sporatic - although I could almost link them to the combat rating.

@martin, on Dec 11 2008, 11:02 AM, said in Down with trade routes!:

Erm how do I get the Starbound missions while we're here? I got couple, then they sort of petered out...

IIRC they don't have a thread like UGE, they're random, as Red Lightening mentioned.

Buy a Clipper. Pirate Couriers down in rebel space. Has to be non-rebel. Rebels don't get mad and you get combat exp as well. Steal med goods. I remember this good system for selling them. I'd just hang around there capturing ships and getting goods and selling them. Eventually, work up to a better ship, fight stronger ones, and eventually capture yourself a fleet of Argosies. Then, as you earn money, buy then capture a bunch of Kestrels. Upgrade your own. Capture a rebel cruiser. Capture more. Use those to capture a Confederate cruiser. Capture more. Eventually you have a powerful fleet of Confederate ships at your disposal.

Dominate everything. I didn't get far before I downloaded Nova, but I had around 200M credits within a very small amount of time. However, it's tough to get that clipper. If you can find that minor string that gets you one million credits you could possibly buy a rapier.

This post has been edited by G-Spark : 08 January 2009 - 06:45 PM

@g-spark, on Jan 8 2009, 11:44 PM, said in Down with trade routes!:

Buy a Clipper. Pirate Couriers down in rebel space. Has to be non-rebel. Rebels don't get mad and you get combat exp as well. Steal med goods. I remember this good system for selling them. I'd just hang around there capturing ships and getting goods and selling them. Eventually, work up to a better ship, fight stronger ones, and eventually capture yourself a fleet of Argosies. Then, as you earn money, buy then capture a bunch of Kestrels. Upgrade your own. Capture a rebel cruiser. Capture more. Use those to capture a Confederate cruiser. Capture more. Eventually you have a powerful fleet of Confederate ships at your disposal.

I remember my first clipper (might have been my last)... took me ages to get (normal missions are slow!). I upgraded it and literally the first time i left the planet to hunt I got mauled by a nasty corvette... (this was back before I learnt how to reload your file).

Now whenever I play it either buy a (forgotten the name) basically the cheapest largest cargoed ship and either trade or go to a Mission BBS and accept everything (then just plan the root accordingly and each time you land repeat it).