Is smuggling worth?

[Kirshak]

Hey guys,

I've heard that NMS released a patch that reduce the amount of illegal goods you can purchase in the pirate stations, and indeed there is really little to buy.

On top of that, the profit is also really little as I often get a +0.5% to a 5% margin when selling the contraband on civilised trade posts. Overhaul, I get more credits from a regular trading run.

It's easy to bypass the so call Sentinel checks, I got scanned only twice since I got the last update, and I can completely ignore those if I take a teleporter from inside the pirate space station or shove those illegal goods in my freighter.

[Aurumworks]

Go to outlaw system with big freighters.
Shoot up the freighters until your inventory is full or you get bored.
Jump into normal system.
Fly into the station, ignoring any scan that may happen.
Sell your contraband for millions of units.

It's almost too easy.

[SaD-82]

Define "worth".
If you want to reach the unit cap as fast as possible (I don't know why somewould want that but taste does vary) then it isn't worth.
If you want to rp being a smuggler than it's not just totally worth it - it's the definition of being a smuggler and therefore almost mandatory.
"Worth" is subjective.

[Lindy Bomber]

Industrial mining is so easy and powerful no other income streams matter.

[isemgrim]

you can easy make a lot of money. by swapping between stations and buy the illigal goods and sell them to regular systems. use the portal so u dont have to deal with sentinels on the way. farming ancient bones might be more profitable tho.

[Kirshak]

Originally posted by SaD-82:

Define "worth".
If you want to reach the unit cap as fast as possible (I don't know why somewould want that but taste does vary) then it isn't worth.
If you want to rp being a smuggler than it's not just totally worth it - it's the definition of being a smuggler and therefore almost mandatory.
"Worth" is subjective.

Well, as in money wise and/or immersion. Because it's not worth a lot of money, like at all.

And it is so easy to avoid detection, I barely get scanned. And it's possible to completely ignore any danger by just shoving the illegal goods in your freighter or take the teleporter.

I just feel like there is a missed opportunity of higher danger higher reward. Obviously the refiner farms will always be THE way to get money. But I prefer to explore the universe, thus why I like trading by buying and selling trade commodities among the different economies.

I just feel like, smuggling is missing something, I do not feel the sense of danger, nor the sense of reward. I'm mostly using the pirate sectors as a gas station as they sell Dyhidrogen.

[lordoftheapes79]

Worth it? yes. Will you make a fortune doing it? no.

Basically, it's good for a quick buck cause you're guarranteed to make a profit, but it's only a couple million per system.

[SaD-82]

Originally posted by Kirshak:

And it is so easy to avoid detection

...until you start sticking some rules to your gameplay.
Here are some that I use:
If I start smuggling, I don't use any teleporters (which is redundant as I never use any teleporters at all).
If I jump into a system in which I want to sell stolen goods, I don't use the space station (as in imagining that there is some sort of scanner at the front door like shops in rl are using) - therefore I have to find minor settlements at planets (no trade posts as they are too crowded and you just don't know who is watching).
To find minor settlements I don't use scanners (ship scanners don't work for minor settlements so that's a given - scanners on exocraft I don't use because I have some rules in regards to exocraft and when I'm able to use them) - I don't use maps either (I never use them - they are cheat features in my book).
Signal booster is out of the play, too, as this machine most certainly can be pinged - which would be a death sentence for any smuggler or smuggler-wannabe.
Which means: Either flying in low orbit and finding them or finding a waypoint which can reveal minor settlements.
If I'm not be able to find the location of a MS in some 15-20 minutes upon reaching a planet, then I will leave said planet and look for a new one. Same procedure. (The gist is that it could be very suspicious if a ship is circling in low orbit and doesn't want to land.)
If it happens that I will burn three planets inside a system this way (even if there are many more present), then I will leave this system and look for a new one.
Rinse and repeat.

House rules - an easy fix to accomplish the things you want to see accomplished.

[Xanthippe]

Originally posted by isemgrim:

farming ancient bones might be more profitable tho.

How does this work?

[Mr. Bufferlow]

The game has made it extremely easy to get credits and nanites, so things like smuggling, or repairing drop pods become just options for a player to try for your enjoyment.

Spoiler alert: This game is not about profit acquisition and there is a physical cap on credits that you can earn. It is primarily an exploring game with a lot of mini games added to take the edge of exploring.

[Idaho]

Originally posted by Xanthippe:

Originally posted by isemgrim:

farming ancient bones might be more profitable tho.

How does this work?

When you scan a planet from space, the first entry in the list of attributes will sometimes say 'Ancient Bones'. On these planets you run around checking your visor periodically until you see a yellow symbol that is somewhat 'chevron shaped'. Dig these up and get rich. It's the same symbol as the salvage things you dig up that is a currency in the Anomaly, but yellow instead of white.