That first difficulty spike [Spoilers]

[Raz]

So I get the warp drive, blew up Sandar, collected some nice bounties, got a Tennhausen with everything fully kitted out (as much as the current sector could sell me), then go to the next sector to advance the story.

The very first fight completley wrecks my ♥♥♥♥ within a few seconds.

Do I just need to grind for a bigger ship? Feels like I just slammed into a freaking brick wall.

[Rez Elwin]

It is a common strategy to earn a lot of money and go to a high level system and buy high level shields then go back. The best way to do this is joining the Merchant's Guild and buying the Barracuda (Fastest ship in game). Using the Barracuda you can accept nearly any delivery or dead drop quest; instead of fighting you run, turn on those deflectors and boost away.

Having high level shields should get you through most missions while you focus on upgrading everything else. You will want to grind to Mk6 shields, they cost a hefty 2.1 mill but you will never need to buy shields again. Mk5 could work too if you don't want to grind as much, those are only 700k.

[GunsForBucks]

The thing is with difficulty in this game is that it scales depending on the ship you have.

So when you upgraded your ship you also upgraded the enemies.

[Geek]

Not exactly ; each system has a max difficulty so there almost no scaling.

[Six Of Diamonds]

I had a similar experience, and am expecting another later when i finally do the MQ stuff again.

What I learned (with forum help):
1) Your ship doesn't matter, really.
2) What you put on your ship means everything. For example, you can take your Tennhausen clear to endgame, as long as you keep getting upgrades for your gear, you'll be fine.
3) The game doesn't really explain what the threat levels mean in practicality.

My advice is to go back to the first system, run your mission of choice and knock out Pirate Lords and Korian invaders until you have a disgusting pile of creds. Then, hop to the next system that isn't Extreme threat and make a run to the closest Station and start upgrading. Repeat, I know it isn't fun for a lot of people but it works.

I did this for a full set of Mk4 stuff (minus replacing my Viridian lasers) and can now take most missions in the second system no problem.

[lionhart]

There is an alternative to grinding the early systems for credits, if you don't mind taking some risks. As soon as you have a null grav booster and a jump drive, go to the highest level system you can reach (typically the one closest to Charon). Then, search for abandoned cargo crates in junk fields. In the highest level system, these crates will typically have tens of thousands of credits in them, and if you get really lucky you might even salvage some high level equipment. I once found MK6 Magna Mines in a cargo crate which I sold for over 5 million credits, enough to buy a Barracuda fully outfitted with MK4/MK5 level equipment.

Another thing you can do is respond to distress signals, then hang around the edges of the battle and wait for the merchant ships to be destroyed. In the highest level system they are always carrying extremely valuable goods and equipment, and if you are quick you can rush in, tractor the dropped loot, then rush back out again before the hostile ships have a chance to fire on you.

If you try this, you must realize that you absolutely cannot fight anything, at least not until you start getting your upgrades. Any ship that gets close enough to fire on you will probably kill you in two or three hits. That is why you must have null grav boosters installed, so you can use them to escape if you get hit by a leech rocket. Once you have some credits, the first major purchase you should make is the highest level shields you can afford. That will make it easier to survive while you continue searching for salvage.

A high-risk strategy like this is not for everyone, but personally I find it very exciting to see how long I can survive in the highest level system with the starting ship and MK1 equipment. It's actually not as difficult as it might sound if you are cautious and observant.