🎉 TIER 3 CITY COMPLETED! (4 Weeks of Hellish Hauling) | Elite Dangerous

[GameWalker]

Hey there, space truckers!*

After **28 days** of grueling labor (at least 4-5 hours daily, sometimes 10-hour marathons), I’ve finally finished building a **Tier 3 city SOLO!**

**Numbers that’ll make haulers cry:**
🚛 **100,000+ materials** delivered
⏳ **200+ hours** in a Type-9 cockpit
🪐 **0 helpers** — pure solo hardcore

Special "respect" to those who:
- Know the pain of hearing *"Frame shift drive charging"* 300 times in a row
- Understand the dark art of parking a 752-ton brick on a landing pad
- Didn’t murder the NPC pirates who tried to steal my 784 tons of polymers **47 times**

**In this video:**
- The grand finale with an epic orbital flyby
- Stats that’ll make you question my sanity
- My verdict: Was it worth it?

*Spoiler:* Even if my pilot now has PTSD from cargo — this system is officially HOME.

https://youtu.be/C0TTsAIy7kM?feature=shared

[Merkenjian]

Slight correction: The type-9 weighs over 1000 tons without cargo so loaded it's closer to 2000 tons. See? It was even more fun than you thought it was!
I've been using a cutter which is a different challenge to fly. I have on occasion almost flown in one side of a station and out the other. Thankfully there's a handy wall in the way to help stop you!

[Stelar Seven]

Nice! I'm aiming for 2 of these

[wolf]

Congrats GameWalker, well played, tuff biz

[MACIORELLA]

Is it possible to make something small and faster?

[Stelar Seven]

Originally posted by MACIORELLA:

Is it possible to make something small and faster?

Yes, many things can be completed easily.

[funkynutz]

Meanwhile I still haven't even decided on a system to start yet...

I do have most of the resources required for an outpost on my carrier now though.

[Alchemy Of Seoul]

Grats!

[Rragar]

Originally posted by MACIORELLA:

Is it possible to make something small and faster?

I finished a Tier 2 Coriolis in three full carrier loads (24k tons). Smaller things like docks are a single carrier worth of cargo.

[Syphylis]

Originally posted by MACIORELLA:

Is it possible to make something small and faster?

Yes. I've put up 3 things in my system , and I ain't had to do near that much hauling

[Kopo6o4ka_2]

Congrats. Even for me, no-lifer, tier 3 stations are too insane, not gonna even try to build them. Considering tier 2coriolis provide all the same services and large shipyard im happy with it.

[frumple]

Originally posted by funkynutz:

Meanwhile I still haven't even decided on a system to start yet...

I do have most of the resources required for an outpost on my carrier now though.

Do you have a rough idea? Like the type of economy you want?

Measure twice, cut once.

Imho planets with less than 4 planetary slots are only good for auxilliary infrastructure. A planet needs 4 or more slots to fully take advantage of multiple Settlements and Hubs, plus a planetary port.

Also, i have a feeling it's just simpler and saner to build in a system with relatively few bodies.

Originally posted by Kopo6o4ka_2:

Congrats. Even for me, no-lifer, tier 3 stations are too insane, not gonna even try to build them. Considering tier 2coriolis provide all the same services and large shipyard im happy with it.

As an initial construction, TIER 3 are by far the best and have the greatest bonuses. Unfortunately, initial colonies cost three times more than normal.

If you're part of a team, and the system is going to be big and important, then go for a TIER 3 over a Coriolis or Outpost.

In fact, never build a Coriolis as the first station because it is crazy expensive and it's bonuses are pretty small.
Much faster to build a Military or Scientific Outpost, take the small pop bonus but also pay a relatively small price for the station.
Then develop the rest of the system as you see fit, paying normal construction costs.

If you want a Large pad... there are two ways to get one.
- build a Large surface Settlement
- place ANY kind of cheap installation anywhere you like. If all you need is a pad to refuel a Large ship, a construction site will do ;)

For a shipyard, you have to build a Coriolis or large planetary port, or something even larger.

[spam]

Congratulations! T3 Planetary port is a bear to complete. How much did your system population grow and what economy did it adopt?

Mine grew by 200K and adopted an Extraction economy despite having a refinery hub nearby. Though I finished it before the weekly reset it was not fully deployed (no missions), hopefully tonight will see it fully deployed.

[GameWalker]

Originally posted by spam:

Congratulations! T3 Planetary port is a bear to complete. How much did your system population grow and what economy did it adopt?

Mine grew by 200K and adopted an Extraction economy despite having a refinery hub nearby. Though I finished it before the weekly reset it was not fully deployed (no missions), hopefully tonight will see it fully deployed.

Thanks! Yeah, T3 ports are no joke. My system's population exploded from 24,100 to 204,100 – guess word got out about the new orbital shopping mall!

Weirdly, it adopted a Refinery economy despite my Extraction outposts. Maybe because I hauled enough coffee to drown a starport?

*Now fighting the Anarchy status:

Built both orbital Security post AND planetary Military settlement

3 cycles passed, but lawlessness persists

Do these need to be T2+ to trigger change?

Or is there a hidden "crime purge" phase?

Anyone cracked how to reliably boost security yet? My bounty board’s overflowing but the system still acts like the Wild West..

[Sighman]

Originally posted by GameWalker:

Anyone cracked how to reliably boost security yet? My bounty board’s overflowing but the system still acts like the Wild West..

Build military installations, military small starports, military settlements.

If shows the effect bars when you click each option. If the effect is a plus for system security, that's what it does.

[frumple]

Government also helps.

Coriolis/Orbis will knock security a little bit, so you have to compensate for that.