How do I progress from here?

[Middy]

I'm still in the early game, the only additional licenses I've bought so far are Shunting and Train Length 1. My plan was to get Train Length 2 in order to grab the DH4, but it seems like the copay shoots up so much that I'll end up making more money just staying where I am.

Right now, I'm paying $2000 per job in fees, which I've seen go as high as $12-14k with what I would consider minimal damage. I'm actually not sure if I'm doing something wrong, the drivetrains often reach 5-6% damage on a run with no heavy shunting, no gearing mistakes, no brakes accidentally left on... is this normal? Even if I grab the Manual Service license my fees are set to triple. Do the jobs available to the DH4 really pay that much more?

[schutt]

Yes, i would stay with de2 for a few runs to reap benefits of the low copay. Dont know if your doing anything wrong, drivetrain damage is normal since you get 2.5% damage for starting the engine. One thing you can do is let the engine run for 2-3 jobs and pay the fee after 2-3 jobs that way the 2000 get split onto eaven more jobs. And once you have manual service (which as you already figured out you should get a little later) the service costs are halved AND your engine doesnt stop running while you service.

As long as you get minimal wheel damage, no damage to any of the cars and no body damage all is good. The time is "compressed" as 2h equals a day so the engine gets more damage than what feels reasonable as 1h driving is meant to be like all the day of driving.

If you got enough money to buy the train length 2 and dh4 and manual service and then have enough for the remaining copay go for it, also you can try and save up to hazmat 1 before doing the "jump". In fact, the costs sound bad but its not really that bad if you trigger copay only when you have a lot of outstanding fees. I know, that is insurance fraud.

[ovidiurosb]

You can watch also this video for some hints.

https://youtu.be/-rebtPAlSiE

[bolero3232]

I guess it's obvious to buy all of the licenses that don't increase copay, if only to have more available jobs.

[alexkmmll]

You need to work towards Concurrent Jobs 1 and 2 and unlock Multiple Locomotives before getting the DM4, imo. Also you'll need manual servicing, as it's about half as much as the service station fee. My go-to strategy for early game is go to a location, switch the available jobs, then string together a sizeable train to head to a new station and repeat. The money is in stringing multiple jobs together to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to time on your locomotive. The bigger the train, the more DE2s!

[Middy]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I haven't actually done any Train Length 1 jobs yet because the DE2 feels too weak for any of them, so that's why I wasn't even considering Concurrent Jobs at this point. I guess the next step is to learn how to use two DE2's at once, since the only other option appears to be the DM3 and that just isn't gonna happen. Should I go and buy the remote control to save jumping back and forth?

[alexkmmll]

Originally posted by Middy:

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I haven't actually done any Train Length 1 jobs yet because the DE2 feels too weak for any of them, so that's why I wasn't even considering Concurrent Jobs at this point. I guess the next step is to learn how to use two DE2's at once, since the only other option appears to be the DM3 and that just isn't gonna happen. Should I go and buy the remote control to save jumping back and forth?

The MU license is well worth it with the DE2 early-game, and lets you use the DH4 in a greater capacity right off the bat, too (Heads up, though: I pulled 1365T out of Harbor with 2 DH4s and that was maybe more than enough tonnage). The remote is worth its weight in gold, and Machine Factory is a good early game location. MF>CSW>SM is all downhill or flat, so you can load up on tonnage and make lots of money without too much in the way of locomotives. If you're up for it, the excavator and car loads from MF to Harbor are light tonnage but pay very well and have very generous bonus times early game.

[Azige]

I recommend getting DM3 license first as it doesn't increase your copay. If operating DM3 is too complex to you, try to get MU License so you can hook up DE2s and no heavy weight can stop you anymore.

While unlocking DH4 or S282, aim to unlock Hazmat licenses. Hazmat jobs are the most profitable jobs in the game. You should get Manual Service license when you feel your copay is unable to cover your operating fee, depending on your progress. Do make plan before purchasing licenses and get multiple licenses together if possible.