How to progress in combat rank as a new player?

[Perfice]

I just started playing and I have a mission that is essentially telling me to leave the safe zone. It says the recommended combat rank for it is "Mostly Harmless", so I assume I need some combat kills. I tried doing the only mission I saw that was listed as a "Harmless" ranked mission. However, once I get to the location it tells me to visit (Shruar, I think?) it tells me the area is two combat levels above me.

Am I suppose to just find ships to destroy out in the open outside of my first missions? If so, where do I find them?

I tried looking this up and, surprisingly, there is no posts about this anywhere that I could find.

[Laurreth]

You just pick up ranks as you go along, I wouldn't worry about it.

The rank recommendation on non-combat missions is a rough suggestion as long as you know how to evade interdictions. It won't prevent you from accepting the mission. It will, however, have a general impact on enemies that may be thrown at you, so if you pick up that Elite-ranked transport mission and do get interdicted successfully, chances are that it won't play out in your favour, and if it's for a combat-related mission like a pirate hunt or item retrieval, you should pay more attention.

[Husker_85]

As for where to find random ships to shoot at for experience and practice, look for Resource Extraction Sites around most any planet with a ring. They come in Low, Normal, High, and Hazardous. For the most part any of the first three are good practice. You can fly around and there should be a mixture of cops, miners, and pirates. If you shoot at the pirates, the cops will come and help you. Or you can follow the cops around and wait for them to pick a fight before jumping in. Hazardous zones have no cops, High zones have tougher enemies, and Low zones can involve a lot of down-time between fights.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Another place to look for some Wanted ships to hunt is a Navigation Beacon. They are always near from a main star of a star system. Just don't go to a Compromised Nav. Beacon - those are hard.

[Agony_Aunt]

As a note, combat rank is the hardest to obtain elite in. Trade is pretty easy if you spam certain types of missions or do some mining.

Exploration is inbetween. Requires a bit of effort and time, but nowhere near as long as it used to take.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by Agony_Aunt:

As a note, combat rank is the hardest to obtain elite in.

Yep. The last step, from Deadly to Elite, will take you to kill about 1800 Elite ships (even more if their rank is lower).

But don't worry, it goes easy at the beginning. :)

[Perfice]

I understand I'll pick up rank as I go along, I was just wondering how to rank up from Harmless to Mostly Harmless without jumping into a mission that suggests I have at least some experience with combat first. The only Harmless mission I could find had me pitted against three pirates at once and the area they were located was an area where everything around suggested I have a rank of at least Mostly Harmless.

I know this game is notorious for not holding your hand, which is fine with me, but I just couldn't find anything telling me how to rank up and all the combat-related missions I could find were above my rank. Looking online all I could find people saying is "kill other ships". Nothing about where to find ships your level, or that they're around Resource and Nav points, or that you can fight them in high security areas where authority ships will help you to get some easy early-level experience. Just "go kill other ships" and "you'll pick up kills as you play". (Which is kind of similar to the responses I got here. I think everyone whom plays has been playing so long now it just seems like common knowledge to them.)

As I said in my original post; the reason I was asking isn't because I'm just eager to rank up, it's because the "main mission" suggests I rank up to at least Mostly Harmless before progressing. (I understand there isn't really a main mission, but the tutorial mission or new player missions or whatever you would call them.) I understand I don't have to be that rank to progress, but I figured I would rank up to what they recommend me to.

I was able to figure out on my own today that you can just hang around some Nav points and just follow law enforcement around to get some free kills after they attack someone, as I see FallenCat suggested. I also purchased an Eagle ship to make things a little easier, so I should be able to get some decent experience and credits to upgrade my ship to something decent this way. Thanks.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

To rank up in combat you don't need to pick up missions. Any kill counts towards your combat rank. As long as the ships that you kill are not more than 3 ranks weaker than you are. Higher your opponent's rank - more combat experience points you get for killing it.

[Perfice]

Originally posted by Dolphin Bottlenose:

To rank up in combat you don't need to pick up missions. Any kill counts towards your combat rank. As long as the ships that you kill are not more than 3 ranks weaker than you are. Higher your opponent's rank - more combat experience points you get for killing it.

Yeah, I figured that. The game just doesn't give you many hints as to where to find combat outside of missions.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by Perfice:

The game just doesn't give you many hints as to where to find combat outside of missions.

You can find it mostly anywhere. Even right outside of stations! Just be careful not to cross the "no fire" zone in the heat of the battle. ;)

[Perfice]

Originally posted by Dolphin Bottlenose:

Originally posted by Perfice:

The game just doesn't give you many hints as to where to find combat outside of missions.

You can find it mostly anywhere. Even right outside of stations! Just be careful not to cross the "no fire" zone in the heat of the battle. ;)

Well, I mean more like where to go to farm it at the very start of the game haha.
Yeah, I had to learn that the game punishes you if the police are stupid enough to cross into your line of fire as well the hard way...

[Furry Eskimo]

tydt:

Your rank Vs the enemy's rank = Points added to your combat rank.
https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Combat

At a low level you earn more points for fighting high level enemies, but at a high rank you Need to fight high rank enemies to earn any points. Thargoids tend to be worth a lot, but I don't suggest fighting them..
Oh, and if you're in a wing or have NPC followers you'll be spitting your earnings with them.

Sometimes joining someone to fight thargoids can earn you more points faster, but i personally don't like fighting thargoids. The weapons used to fight them feel clunky, they kill you too quickly, their attacks are hard to read, and I personally don't like the story narrative that claims we're starting a war with them.

[Perfice]

Originally posted by Furry Eskimo:

tydt:

Your rank Vs the enemy's rank = Points added to your combat rank.
https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Combat

At a low level you earn more points for fighting high level enemies, but at a high rank you Need to fight high rank enemies to earn any points. Thargoids tend to be worth a lot, but I don't suggest fighting them..
Oh, and if you're in a wing or have NPC followers you'll be spitting your earnings with them.

Sometimes joining someone to fight thargoids can earn you more points faster, but i personally don't like fighting thargoids. The weapons used to fight them feel clunky, they kill you too quickly, their attacks are hard to read, and I personally don't like the story narrative that claims we're starting a war with them.

The story is actively evolving, right? Like, if we all just ignored them they would destroy us all?

[Witcher]

Originally posted by Perfice:

I understand I'll pick up rank as I go along, I was just wondering how to rank up from Harmless to Mostly Harmless without jumping into a mission that suggests I have at least some experience with combat first. The only Harmless mission I could find had me pitted against three pirates at once and the area they were located was an area where everything around suggested I have a rank of at least Mostly Harmless.

Sounds like you picked up a Salvage or Assassination mission. You can increase Combat rank without doing any mission, simply bounty hunt in High Resource Extraction Sites and follow authority ships when they shoot at Wanted ships.

However, I agree with some there is no need to rush and you will enjoy combat more after unlocking some engineers. Without engineering, you still struggle to pick up bonus rewards and combat rank for delivery missions.

[Perfice]

Originally posted by Witcher:

Originally posted by Perfice:

I understand I'll pick up rank as I go along, I was just wondering how to rank up from Harmless to Mostly Harmless without jumping into a mission that suggests I have at least some experience with combat first. The only Harmless mission I could find had me pitted against three pirates at once and the area they were located was an area where everything around suggested I have a rank of at least Mostly Harmless.

Sounds like you picked up a Salvage or Assassination mission. You can increase Combat rank without doing any mission, simply bounty hunt in High Resource Extraction Sites and follow authority ships when they shoot at Wanted ships.

However, I agree with some there is no need to rush and you will enjoy combat more after unlocking some engineers. Without engineering, you still struggle to pick up bonus rewards and combat rank for delivery missions.

Well, the main quest is telling me they recommend me to rank up to Mostly Harmless before progressing.

[Witcher]

Originally posted by Perfice:

Well, the main quest is telling me they recommend me to rank up to Mostly Harmless before progressing.

Missions always recommend a rank above which gives higher reward and rank progression. So they aren't directly recommending you rank up - merely giving you some encouragement ;)