How viable is playing solo, especially for someone who wants to play combat focus?

[MrFluffyWolf]

So, I want to get into this game with combat as a focus (Also, accepting advice on early game combat since I'm having a bit of a problem biting off more than I can chew and not knowing how to pick appropriate missions for my ship loadout and skill level.) but I also moooostly want to take it as a single player experience. I'm not adverse to playing online, and certainly will as time goes on, but this is a big complex game, and I feel a lot "safer" learning the ropes in a solo environment.
So
Is this viable? IS space combat and/or ground combat soloable at any level?
Also is stealth even a thing? I got busted trying to sneak into a settlement and I don't recall being seen, though I will say I wasn't as subtle as I could have been, I still don't know what caught me. So is like, stealth a thing?

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

It's totally viable. The game is basically a single player game with a multiplayer "bolted on". Even shared missions are pretty much doable in Solo.

It you are talking about Odyssey and the on foot stuff, then stealth is mostly a thing. You will have more chances of survival if you go the stealth way instead of trying to brute force your way in.

Just mind your own strength and experience. Don't try to "chew" more than you can handle. :) Take something easy first, learn how it works, then go for bigger fish.

[Agony_Aunt]

Yeah, many people play solo. I'd say 99% of my playtime i've played solo.

There is a lot to learn though, so feel free to ask questions on how to do certain missions or join a Discord group for more immediate answers.

[MrFluffyWolf]

Thanks for the responses!
I was getting a little concerned that I was basically screwing myself in solo since a lot of space combat, enemies have allies and 1v2 or more at the start is pretty hard. I guess my issue is just not really knowing a lot about what I'm getting into when picking missions and getting into way bigger messes than I'm ready for. I've been assuming that lower paying missions are probably better for a new player, but even then I'm having difficulty.
Maybe I should come back to combat when I can afford a more powerful ship and just make money doing mining and such?

[MrHappy]

I'm fairly new to the game, probably installed a month ago and so far only used Solo mode.

That's only because I want to be a more fluent with the controls, know where everything is so it can be clicked quickly when it needs to be and know how to 'stay safe'...... Even though I like the idea of going down the smuggler route eventually. Got to get rich somehow.

Anyway, yeah, enjoying Solo mode but will soon move on I think.

[Agony_Aunt]

Originally posted by MrFluffyWolf:

Thanks for the responses!
I was getting a little concerned that I was basically screwing myself in solo since a lot of space combat, enemies have allies and 1v2 or more at the start is pretty hard. I guess my issue is just not really knowing a lot about what I'm getting into when picking missions and getting into way bigger messes than I'm ready for. I've been assuming that lower paying missions are probably better for a new player, but even then I'm having difficulty.
Maybe I should come back to combat when I can afford a more powerful ship and just make money doing mining and such?

Take it easy to start with. Pay attention to things like mission threat levels.

[malorob]

just beware , when starting in newbie zone you are in open, dont forget to switch over to solo

[The Waffle that Lurks]

Everything in the game is solo-able for the most part as long as you are geared appropriately. Initially combat will be quite difficult as you won't have the firepower or modules to allow you to duke it out with an enemy. After you get a nice ship like the Cobra Mk3 and A Rate it, slap on some Hull and Module Reinforcements, nab a good size Bi-Weave Shield, and get a Pulse laser / Multicannon build going you can chew through some pirate riff raff with ease!

Also don't be too scared of open as unless you specifically go looking for trouble or go to areas where gankers frequent you will rarely see another player unless they are docked, star hopping, or just randomly encounter them where you both fly in your respective directions.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by BoneSage:

Initially combat will be quite difficult as you won't have the firepower or modules to allow you to duke it out with an enemy.

But your enemies wouldn't be tough or sharp-eyed at the beginning, either. The game balances your enemies to your combat rank and a ship that you are flying. Unless you take a higher ranked mission (a mission's rank overrides your own rank balance).

So, just pay attention to every info a mission gives you, and don't let NPCs to scare you off.

[Sighman]

You will find easier pirates to hunt in any Resource Extraction Site [Low], which can be found in the rings around planets and gas giants.

Don't shoot system defence ships or miners. (They won't have WANTED in your lower-left display)

If you're really new, wait for the cops and pirates to start fighting and land a few shots on the damaged enemies. You'll still get the bounty.



Avoid these:
Resource Extraction Site (no tag)
Resource Extraction Site [High]
Resource Extraction Site [Haz]

[Jeebs]

As stated, it's perfectly viable to play solo and do combat... unless your intention is to do PvP of course.

Originally posted by MrFluffyWolf:

Thanks for the responses!
I was getting a little concerned that I was basically screwing myself in solo since a lot of space combat, enemies have allies and 1v2 or more at the start is pretty hard. I guess my issue is just not really knowing a lot about what I'm getting into when picking missions and getting into way bigger messes than I'm ready for. I've been assuming that lower paying missions are probably better for a new player, but even then I'm having difficulty.
Maybe I should come back to combat when I can afford a more powerful ship and just make money doing mining and such?

A few things I can suggest. Make sure you aren't taking wing missions (there's a blue symbol but it should also tell you in the mission description that it's intended to be completed in a wing). From my experience, unless you take on multiple assassination missions (where they ask you to kill a specific pirate, rather than a number of pirates from a specific faction) or wing missions you normally won't have to fight more than one ship at a time. Even in massacre missions where you get into a POI and there's a dozen ships flying around, you can kill them one by one and the others will just ignore you until you shoot at them.

Though you may be better off doing a few other things to build up some money to outfit your ship a little better and get some practice flying that ship before you go back to combat. While it's not the most exciting thing, you can outfit your ship with a Detailed Surface Scanner (costs around 250k) and then just fly to systems that have an agricultural economy and use your DSS to scan Earth-Like Worlds. Do that for 30-60 minutes and you should have more than enough money to outfit a Cobra Mk. 3 or Viper Mk. 3. Both are pretty solid combat ships.

Get a bit of practice flying them after you've outfitted them so that you can get a feel for how it handles. After that, you're pretty much ready to go. Don't get discouraged if it's a bit hard at first. You'll get better after a bit of practice. Also don't worry about taking on bigger ships when they start showing up as you gain ranks. Your small combat ship is still quite effective against even large ships. At least pirate ones. Combat Zones (CZs) will have you facing off against military-grade ships so that's a whole different kind of combat experience.

Whenever possible, use your ship's manoeuvrability to get behind your enemy and stay right up against them as you fire. You will almost certainly be out of their firing-arc, and if they can shoot at you with anything, it will likely be a couple of turrets and you'll still be avoiding getting shot by the full force of all the fire-power they're packing. Once you start using medium and large ships for combat, your strategy will have to change a little but by then you should know enough that you'll be able to adapt.

Good luck and have fun. Welcome to Elite!

[MrFluffyWolf]

Originally posted by Jeebs:

As stated, it's perfectly viable to play solo and do combat... unless your intention is to do PvP of course.

Originally posted by MrFluffyWolf:

Thanks for the responses!
I was getting a little concerned that I was basically screwing myself in solo since a lot of space combat, enemies have allies and 1v2 or more at the start is pretty hard. I guess my issue is just not really knowing a lot about what I'm getting into when picking missions and getting into way bigger messes than I'm ready for. I've been assuming that lower paying missions are probably better for a new player, but even then I'm having difficulty.
Maybe I should come back to combat when I can afford a more powerful ship and just make money doing mining and such?

A few things I can suggest. Make sure you aren't taking wing missions (there's a blue symbol but it should also tell you in the mission description that it's intended to be completed in a wing). From my experience, unless you take on multiple assassination missions (where they ask you to kill a specific pirate, rather than a number of pirates from a specific faction) or wing missions you normally won't have to fight more than one ship at a time. Even in massacre missions where you get into a POI and there's a dozen ships flying around, you can kill them one by one and the others will just ignore you until you shoot at them.

Though you may be better off doing a few other things to build up some money to outfit your ship a little better and get some practice flying that ship before you go back to combat. While it's not the most exciting thing, you can outfit your ship with a Detailed Surface Scanner (costs around 250k) and then just fly to systems that have an agricultural economy and use your DSS to scan Earth-Like Worlds. Do that for 30-60 minutes and you should have more than enough money to outfit a Cobra Mk. 3 or Viper Mk. 3. Both are pretty solid combat ships.

Get a bit of practice flying them after you've outfitted them so that you can get a feel for how it handles. After that, you're pretty much ready to go. Don't get discouraged if it's a bit hard at first. You'll get better after a bit of practice. Also don't worry about taking on bigger ships when they start showing up as you gain ranks. Your small combat ship is still quite effective against even large ships. At least pirate ones. Combat Zones (CZs) will have you facing off against military-grade ships so that's a whole different kind of combat experience.

Whenever possible, use your ship's manoeuvrability to get behind your enemy and stay right up against them as you fire. You will almost certainly be out of their firing-arc, and if they can shoot at you with anything, it will likely be a couple of turrets and you'll still be avoiding getting shot by the full force of all the fire-power they're packing. Once you start using medium and large ships for combat, your strategy will have to change a little but by then you should know enough that you'll be able to adapt.

Good luck and have fun. Welcome to Elite!

Appreciate all the advice so far!
But now I gotta ask a question I feel is really dumb, and the answer is probably gonna be dead simple.
Where do I buy a new ship?
Most places at most seem to allow me to outfit my ship with new parts, but is there a ship dealer I'm not seeing somewhere?
I just haven't seen anywhere to get a new ship yet, or I'm just blind and passed over one.

[Verienkeli]

Originally posted by MrFluffyWolf:

So, I want to get into this game with combat as a focus (Also, accepting advice on early game combat since I'm having a bit of a problem biting off more than I can chew and not knowing how to pick appropriate missions for my ship loadout and skill level.) but I also moooostly want to take it as a single player experience. I'm not adverse to playing online, and certainly will as time goes on, but this is a big complex game, and I feel a lot "safer" learning the ropes in a solo environment.
So
Is this viable? IS space combat and/or ground combat soloable at any level?
Also is stealth even a thing? I got busted trying to sneak into a settlement and I don't recall being seen, though I will say I wasn't as subtle as I could have been, I still don't know what caught me. So is like, stealth a thing?

I play entirely solo. I can't speak too much on the combat experience in solo mode, though, as I mainly do exploration. So far I haven't felt any need for other players to be around (well, except maybe when I was trying and failing to get thargoid tissue samples, but that's the bugs for you). All the combat against AI pilots has been just fine. If you want some easy pirates to kill, look for the Weapons Fire (threat level 1) USS. It'll usually be one pretty easy pirate.

Ody's ground combat is unknown to me. I stick to Horizons.

[Dolphin Bottlenose]

Originally posted by MrFluffyWolf:

Where do I buy a new ship?

At a shipyard. Usually shipyards are present at big stations. Outposts often don't have it.

The best variety of ships and modules can be found at High Tech economy stations. And if that station is under Li-Yong Rui power, you will automatically get a 15% discount on your ships/modules purchase, too!

[MrFluffyWolf]

Originally posted by Dolphin Bottlenose:

Originally posted by MrFluffyWolf:

Where do I buy a new ship?

At a shipyard. Usually shipyards are present at big stations. Outposts often don't have it.

The best variety of ships and modules can be found at High Tech economy stations. And if that station is under Li-Yong Rui power, you will automatically get a 15% discount on your ships/modules purchase, too!

Gotcha, I'll keep an eye out at the bigger stations. Thanks!