fast money making

[itsBano]

i've been playing for a while but finding it hard to progress and i'm always low on cash. what's the fastest way to make money? (ie trade, pirate, etc)

[itsBano]

this is the first X game i've played

[Wolfsun]

Welcome to the CLUB!

I've always been amazed at how some players earn millions and build vast trading empires. They're not cheating either; they're really doing it.

Me - I've got hundreds of hours in the game and can't get much beyond the itinerant traveling sales guy stage.

[itsBano]

tbh i just really want to reach the stage where i don't have to turn down missions all the time because they're too difficult for my adorably awful ship

[CTHOMP]

one way to make money early on in the game is to find a pirate sector... use a ship with some speed and a freight scanner and scan all ships in the pirate sectors. You can get a lot of money doing that and it is fairly easy to do. Even better, if you can get ship scan missions from mulitiple pirate ships/factories/bases at once each ship you scan counts towards all pirate ship scan missions you have.

[itsBano]

ooooooh i like that idea, thanks

[CTHOMP]

I was able to quickly complete the tormented teladi start doing that. Well, I was doing other stuff then realized I could do that to aquire the needed funds.

[glock30owner]

Some things to know to keep or make money.

Repair your ship using your space suit repair laser. This will save you alot of money in the beginning of the game.

Get a jumpdrive. The faster you can get missions or trades finished, the more money you will make.

Claim abandoned ships and repair them. You can sell these ships or use them later to set up automated traders.

[Vuyek]

Wut?

But making money is relatively easy.

Humble merchant - sell Discoverer.

First you grind the energy and ore runs in Argon sector ore mines into Argon Prime and Home of Light.

Then you buy 2nd ship and continue grinding both ships.

Then you make enough money to buy a fighter, because otherwise game becomes boring.

Then assassinate missions while grinding both traders.

Then get the passenger module or TP ship and pasenger transport missions.

Then make the traders into Mark 3 sector traders in Empire's Edge - at this point your relations with everyone are good due to running missions for them.

Then keep making sector traders in Empire's Edge, and when they reach 15-20 level make them into Universal Traders.

Don't forget to get them jump drives, and in orders menu to put their automatic jump ON - and also, crucial, to have energy cell reserves to make at least 4 jumps (that way they can always have e-cells stock to escape attacks).

Once you have 10 (and then more and more) uni traders, money is not an issue... until you want to make complexes and buy destroyers.

Put some wheat farms in wheat starved sectors in Argon space but especially Boron space - they need wheat and have none.

Put a 3 connected complex of Microchip factories in a certain sector.

If you want to know what sectors are best for microchip, wheat, I can tell you where I put them.

Then the sky is the limit at this point - buy a Tiger, buy a destroyer, a Thresher, do plot missions at this point, fly around in your souped up Nova or Discoverer exploring the universe for fun and profit (to open up the sectors for your automatic traders).

[The Sentient Spoon]

Nice tips, thanks for that.

[Vuyek]

Put a complex of microchip factories in Barren Shores - my 3 factory complex is sold out, so that there is nothing on hand. AI buys it the moment it becomes available.

My wheat farms need CAGs to supply with e-cells and to sell but they make a tidy profit also.

Don't forget to give each factory money and then to order them to autogive money to you over a certain amount.

[Vuyek]

Also, I don't think peeps here on this forum are really getting this game.

Let me tell you about the scale of this game.

Fer example, fer the Hub Plot, y'all need:

http://www.justicexcom.com/captainsblog/?p=564

69 stations or so....

[Mulchy]

I make my first couple million pirating haulers in border systems. Take their shield to 0, then slowly lower their hull and they'll eject. Repair laser the ship to improve sell value.

Make sure to apologize to the police after you're done.

[Wolfsun]

timorekusa:

what the hell is "grinding"?

[Vuyek]

A term from computer games (usually MMO) where you do the same repetitive action for a long time to gain levels.

[Act (Sena)]

Made most of my money selling claimed pirate ships. Pretty much get any M4 and attack a Pirate Nova Raider til he bails on his ship. Use that ship to do the same thing but eventually you'll face M8's which are easy as ♥♥♥♥ to kill and sell for like 6 million.

For reference I haven't even seen a jump drive yet, 50 hours in, with 20 million in the bank.