RANK AND REPUTATION RAISING IN ELITE DANGEROUS

A guide about raising all the ranks and reputation in the game: Pilots Federation Ranks, Superpowers Fleet Ranks, PowerPlay Rank, Superpowers Reputation, Minor Factions (Parties) Reputation.

RANK AND REPUTATION RAISING IN ELITE DANGEROUS

Guide is relevant for 07.12.18
Last changes 07.22.18

Pay attention that relevance and last changes are not the same thing. I could change only one guide section, not checking relevance of the others. However, such changes consider only design, text or minor information, not touching the basics. If guide is extensively updated all of its sections are checked to be relevant.

Nevertheless, information «oldness» does not mean its invalidity because it can stay the same for a long period of time and author just have nothing to update. To make sure that guide is not forsaken you just need to look at the dates of last comments from author or write yours and wait for the answer. If it comes – the guide is not forgotten, and information is still relevant.

If you are searching for easy money farming – pass by, because ranks raising is much more often an expense rather than a profit.

First sections are designed for the players who are only starting to play the game, so if you know everything about the ranks and only interested in the relevant raising methods – scroll down and look for the rank that you need.

WHAT THE RANKS ARE, WHAT TYPES OF THEM EXIST AND WHAT THEY NEEDED FOR

Ranks are your statuses in various game factions. There are 3 main types of ranks and there is a reputations which is also important: Pilots Federation Ranks, Superpowers Naval Ranks, PowerPlay Ranks, Superpowers Reputation and Minor Factions Reputations or as they are also called – parties. You can see all your ranks (PowerPlay ranks will appear after pledging alliance to one of the Powers) and a Superpowers Reputation in the ship`s right panel (default key 4).

Pilots Federation Ranks

Every new player automatically joins Pilots Federations and you cannot leave it. Pilots Federation has 4 rank types in particular aspects: Combat Rank, Trade Rank, Explorer Rank, CQC Rank. Combat Rank has the priority because it is shown on the station main menu and after your ship is scanned. Every rank has 9 stages: from Harmless (and its analogs) to Elite. At least one Elite rank in any aspect gives you access to Shinrarta Dezhra system. There, at Jameson Memorial station, all ships (except Cobra Mk.IV if you did not preorder Horizons or buy a Kickstarter lifepass) and modules are sold with a 10% discount. Moreover CQC mode has its own rank system and bonuses, which are described in more details in «CQC Rank» section.



Pilots Federation Ranks display

Superpowers Naval Ranks

There are 3 superpowers in game: Federation, Empire, Alliance. Federation and Empire have their own 14 naval ranks, that gives you access to different ships and systems (see the tables). Last two ranks do not give you any bonuses and you do not have to raise them. However if you are a perfectionist or afraid of the raising difficulty increase in the future – nobody stops you. Alliance does not have any ranks at the moment and it is unknown whether they will be added at all.

Federation Naval Ranks



Empire Naval Ranks



Superpowers Naval Ranks Display

PowerPlay Ranks

Actually, PowerPlay is a quite complicated thing, and I would recommend you to see full wiki article.

Currently there are 11 Powers in game, each of which has 5 ranks. A total novice will not be able to pledge alliance to a Power, at least one Pilots Federation second rank in any aspect is required. Every rank in every Power gives a certain (and the same, regardless of it) number of Power Nominations (PN), Power Commodity (PC) and weekly credit reward (see the table). Every Power also has their individual bonuses for the ranks and your presence in them. You can see the full list clicking this link[elite-dangerous.wikia.com], starting from «Table of Rating Rewards» headline.



PowerPlay Rank display

Superpowers And Parties Reputation

This is a relation of a superpower or a party personally to you. There are 6 reputation stages: Hostile – Unfriendly – Neutral – Cordial – Friendly – Allied. It affects your presence in the system controlled by this party or superpower: having negative reputation will possibly lead to assaults on you by its members.

Superpower Reputation display



Parties Reputation display at a station



Parties Reputation display being in the system



General Reputation in the system



I also want to clarify things about engineers: yes, you need to have certain ranks of all types except PowerPlay and CQC to unlock them, but they are usually low (maybe excluding only last engineers in the branches) and players often have them already raised. However, if you came here because you have to get a certain rank for engineer unlock the guide can still help you. If you somehow do not know who the engineers are, there is a link for you.

HOW TO RAISE RANKS

Because the guide came out very complicated, even for the every single rank, I am expecting you to, firstly, read all about the wanted rank and only then take any actions.

Pilots Federation Ranks

If you just want to get fast access to Shinrarta Dezhra I would recommend you to raise Explorer Rank. Moreover, process of the raising all the ranks except CQC can increase or decrease parties and superpowers reputation.

Combat Rank

Actually, Combat Rank is the hardest for the raising (apart from CQC due to the circumstances) so personally I would recommend you not to bother about it and just fight time to time, enjoying the process, and the rank will raise itself sooner or later.

What exactly given for

Only for direct destruction of ships and fighters. The crime status (wanted or not) and ship type do not matter – only enemy`s rank.

How exactly raised

After every ship destruction you are given several conventional raise points which go into percent. The higher rank of the killed in comparison to yours – the more points you will get and conversely. Destruction of the ship that is 3 ranks lower than you will not give any points. See full proportion table below.



At the moment there is no precise data on how many points are needed for each rank, though it was empirically found out that for the raising from Deadly to Elite you will have to destroy about 2000-2500 ships of these two ranks.

Relevant raising method

Actually, there is no some relevant and universal way to raise this rank, so I will describe three most popular and you will decide which fits you better.

I. Hazardous Resource Extraction Site (RES)



We do not consider other RES types because high-ranked ships rarely appear there, though there are the police in them, which will assist us.

1) Go to RES Distances Calculator[edtools.ddns.net], type your current system, put a tick in [Haz] parameter and press «Search». The site will give you a list with systems with hazardous RES. Remember that the more system population is – the more ships will be in RES.

2) Go to one of the systems look for hazardous RES in the gas giants` rings. It is desirable a station with the repair, restock and refuel facilities to be nearby.

3) Jump there and start to destroy wanted ships with needed rank.

Good points:

- You will profit from ship destruction.

- Other NPC will sometimes help you.

Drawbacks:

- Clean ship attack will lead to a bounty.

- You will have to fly away several kilometers from the rings to be able to engage supercruise.

Relevant systems for raising:

Actually, there are lots of systems like this but if someone needs: BD-15 447, Yz Ceti, V886 Centauri.

II. Conflict Zones (СZ)



1) Find the system on the galaxy map with more than a 5 million population and in the state of a war or a civil war.

2) Go there and find high intensity CZ. It is desirable a station with the repair, restock and refuel facilities to be nearby.

3) In case of their lack, repeat first 2 steps.

4) Jump there, scan ships and analyze, which side of the conflict has more odds.

5) Choose it in the ship`s right panel in «Functions» tab «Faction» line and start destroy enemy ships (they are red with the default HUD colour).

Good points:
- Your allies will assist you.
- You will get profit from ship destruction.
- You can attack ships that are already attacked by your allies and do not bother with the battle.
- You can engage FSD and go into supercruise in any time. The only problem can be slow charge because of big size ships nearby but you can fly from them quickly with a fast vessel. The exception is a capital class ship arrival: in this case you will get a mass lock and will have to fly away several kilometers from it to start FSD charging.

Drawbacks:

- You can be attacked by enemy ship or even by several of them.

- The money amount is fixed for every ship type, regardless of its rank or modules.

- Allied ship attacking will lead to all ships in CZ being hostile.

- You can decrease a party/superpower reputation to hostile if you fight against it for a long time.

Relevant raising systems:

Systems change their state pretty quickly and war usually lasts for 3-4 days, so there is no point in writing something here.

III. Anarchy systems



1) Go to RES Distances Calculator[edtools.ddns.net], type your current system, put a tick in [CBN] parameter and press «Search». The site will give you a list with systems with Compromised Navigation Beacons (CNB). Look for an anarchy system in the list. Remember that the more system population is – the more ships will be in CNB.

2) Go there and look for CNB. It is desirable a station with the repair, restock and refuel facilities to be there.

3) Jump there and start to destroy ships with needed rank.

Good points:

- You can destroy any ships and it will not lead to a bounty in the system.

Drawbacks:

- You will not get any help from NPC.

- You will not get any profit from ship destruction.

- Some NPC can attack you if you attack miners and traders.

- You will have to fly away several kilometers from the rings to be able to engage supercruise.

Relevant raising systems:

Anarchy is extremely unstable and can last either for 3-4 days or for several weeks, so there is no point in writing something here.

What to fly for the raising



In fact there are only two perfect variants: engineer upgraded Vulture with a Bi-Weave Shield Generator or engineer upgraded Federal Corvette with a Prismatic Shield Generator. To build the first you will need about 25 millions and access to most engineers, to build the second you will need 12 rank in the Federal Navy – Rear Admiral, about 1,5 billion, access to most engineers, third rank in Aisling Duval Power and being in it for 4 weeks. Vulture is quite maneuverable, can easily stay in ship blind spots and do a lot of damage meanwhile. Federal Corvette is pretty shielded, able to do lots of damage and destroy large ships easily.

Combat Rank (Continuation)

Personal tips

1) I would choose the second raising variant because, in my opinion, it is the easiest and most profitable. There is also my Vulture fit[www.edsm.net] if someone needs.

2) Always, regardless of the ship type, choose Powerplant as a sub-target and try to get under the ship: this technique can greatly reduce fight time because when you destroy ship`s Powerplant it completely stops and cannot shoot or move before it reboots which usually takes about 1-2 minutes. And during this time you will be able to fully destroy the ship. Also if you are shooting in 0% Powerplant module the ship will automatically blow after some time, regardless of how much hull integrity left.

3) Check if enemy has Shield Cell Banks: if he does, I recommend you to firstly think about engaging him because battle can just become a simple completion in who has more of them.

4) If your ship uses some kind of ammo (bullets, rockets, mines, etc.) and you have Horizons Expansion, I would recommend you to gather some materials on the planets surface at least for the first grade synthesis for this ammo, so you will not have to get back to the station after all of them used.

5) If enemy started to regenerate his shields and recharging goes regardless of your damage – stop to shoot and wait until this effect stops (it looks like lines flowing on a shields) and only then start shooting again. The thing is that after full shield recharge Shield Cell Bank will be working idly, so if shield still regenerates under fire, you will be just wasting your ammo and energy.

6) You can try to ram enemy after he used Shield Cell Bank and he has less than a 1 full shield circle, that you will not have time to deplete with your weapons. Though I highly do not recommend this tactic if your own ship has less than 1.5 shield circles because you can deplete your shield too.

7) Do not engage wings with more than two strong ships even if all of them are elite. Except you have fully upgraded Corvette because it is a real problem to survive in such circumstances flying other ships.

8) Always compare time you will spend for ship destruction and points gotten for it: sometimes it is better to destroy some lower ranked ships than a one high ranked.

9) If you are flying small ship in CZ stay away from enemy bunches to avoid the situations when you are attacked by several ships at the same time. Try to «catch» them attacking from a distance. If you still were attacked fly through allies groups several kilometers away from CZ but do not go into supercruise: in 90% enemies will leave you and start attacking your allies.

10) If you do not want to get critical reputation decrease with one of the factions fighting in CZ, I recommend to fight one party and then another – alternate them. Yes, you will raise reputation with no one but you will not decrease reputation with anyone.

Trade Rank

What exactly given for

For net profit from selling commodities (the rank does not decrease in case sell losses) and reward from missions that require trade rank (passenger transport in populated systems, cargo delivery)

How exactly raised

You buy goods in one system and then sell in another, getting profit (similar with missions and passengers). To reach each rank you must earn certain amount of money from selling (completing trade missions, transporting passengers in populated systems). See full tables below.



Notice that list shows how much profit is needed for raising the certain rank from the bottom. So, simply put, you will need 1 billion to get from Penniless to Elite, and to get from Tycoon to Elite you will have to subtract the value for Tycoon from value for Elite.

Relevant raising method

After patch 3.0 release new ways of fast money making are found nearly every week, and sometimes they are connected to the trading, so I would recommend you to check whether some new ways of earning with a trade were found.

One of the easiest ranks for the raising, along with explorer.
You only have to find two systems: where from and where to carry the cargo and you can use this route. Nevertheless, the process is pretty boring and takes quite a lot of time. There are two relevant methods at the moment:

I. Wing trade missions



Approximately, you will get about 15 millions from your missions and about 50 from every other wingmate`s missions. So: alone – 15, with one member – 65, with 2 members – 115, with 3 members – 165.

1) Find friends that have trade ships for a wing, preferably three.

2) Find station that gives «Source And Return» wing missions. Their mark is two arrows going in opposite directions, in the lower left corner there must be a wing mark – three dots connected with the arcs. As experience shows, these missions are usually given in systems with a lack of a certain commodity.

3) Every wingmate goes there and takes 2-3 missions. It is recommended to get those that give more than 3 millions and require not more than 2500 commodity units.

4) After taking missions, everyone goes to the EDDB[eddb.io] site to a «Find Commodity» tab. In «Commodity» section choose the needed commodity and in «Include Planetary» choose «Yes», because some commodities are produced mostly on planets, in «Current System» type system where you are, in «Buy Or Sell» choose «Buy», and click «Find Stations».

5) You will see the list of stations. The price, in fact, does not matter, because it will give only 2-3 millions of profit. What is matter are only «Supply», «Distance» and «Information Relevancy». The first should be not less than 5 000, second – not more than 100 light years, third – not older than 3 days. After finding the station, check its distance from main star: it is not recommended to go to stations that are more than 20 000 light seconds from it.

6) Everyone starts to carry cargo on his own route and hand it over on the station. Before finishing the mission the player must share it with other wingmates and only then take the reward. Others will be able to get from mission board after docking with the station.

7) Repeat 3-6 steps as much as you need.

Good points:

- Large money amount.

- Cargo transporting simplicity.

Drawbacks:

- Necessity for engaging other people.

- Lack of process autonomy.

Relevant systems for the raising:

HR 1064.

II. Transporting VIP passengers to distant stations



You will approximately get about 50 millions per run.

1) Go to EDDB [eddb.io]site.

2) Open «Stations» tab, in «Including Planetary» section choose «No» and scroll down to the station table.

3) Click twice on the «Arrival Distance» filter to filter the table from the farthest stations from their systems` stars.

4) Find stations that are 1 000 000 – 2 000 000 light seconds away from their main star and look at the systems where these stations are.

5) Find one of these systems on the galaxy map and look for nearby systems with more than a 5 million population.

6) Go to one of them, stack 20 missions (max amount – if you try to take 21 game will show the message about a limit) that require VIP passengers (it is a crown near the suitcase) transporting for a lot of money to the distant station in a nearby system. If there is no more missions go to a different game mode (Open Play, Private Group, Solo) and search them there. If there are several distant nearby stations in the system you can take missions to all of them but take in account the stations types (Orbital Station or Outpost) and your ship`s size.

7) Jump to system and direct your ship to the station. The flight takes from 30 to 50 minutes so you can do your business during this time. But watch out for interdictions.

8) Arrive at the station and finish your missions.

9) Repeat steps 6-8 as much as you need.

Good points:

- You can do it alone.

- Process is partly automatic.

Drawbacks:

- Headache with the passengers.

- Relatively small amount of money for spent time.

Relevant systems for the raising:

From Parutis to Medb, from 45 C Bootis to Dea Motrona.

If you are interested in Eddb, and want to help it with information updating – you can write me, and I will explain how to do it.

What to fly for the raising



What jumps well and has a decent cargo capacity. Perfectly – Python if you are going to land on Outposts. If not – Anaconda or Imperial Cutter if your imperial rank gives you access to it. Be sure to set Chaff Launchers, Point Defences, and Electronic Countermeasures to fight back pirates in case you are interdicted.

Trade Rank (Continuation)

Personal Tips

1) Do not remove Shield Generator to gain additional cargo or cabin capacity. Yes you it can give you a lot of it but will highly increase your chances to die at the same time. Plus, if you are landing with braking your ship will get hull damage and you will have to repair it. Moreover VIP passengers usually cancel missions if hull damage is taken.

2) Nearly all VIP passengers are very whimsical and can send you messages like: «Please find me some units of this thing. I wish to make this journey more comfortable ». Do not cancel or accept them – just ignore them and continue flying to the station.

3) Because VIP passengers completely occupy the cabin, and it is impossible to place others there, send VIPs to cabins where the least empty seats left. Also always think if the mission is really worth the reward.

4) I recommend to do raising in Solo mode to evade piracy and unnecessary scans (see more about them below) from other players.

5) Nearly all VIP passengers are afraid of scanning and can cancel mission even when you have been scanned during docking with the destination station when you are almost ready to disembark them. So I recommend, firstly, to disable all unnecessary modules to avoid extra ship heating and set one Heatsink. Quickly fly out of station with taken passengers but be careful and not crash into a wall or other ships. Target the needed system beforehand and jump there as fast as you can. Approaching the destination target the station`s entrance already in supercruise, after dropping from it and gaining 7,5 kilometers from the station require docking and use heatsink about 1-2 kilometers from it. Fly in quickly but again – carefully and calculate your braking. After entering the station look for your landing pad and land on it as fast as you can.

6) Initially, because of low reputation, you can be not able to accept a big amount of missions, especially high paid ones, so I recommend to choosing reputation as a reward when you have only stated raising.

Explorer Rank

What exactly given for

For selling exploring data at stations.

Also can be raised for finding resources on planets and completing missions that require explorer rank but the increase is so low that we do not consider these methods.

How exactly raised

You are scanning a system with a Discovery Scanner, planets and stars with a Detailed Surface Scanner. Then you need to take gotten data to a station and sell it there. The rank increase will be only after that. See certain values for the raising below.



Notice that list shows how much profit is needed for raising the certain rank from the bottom. So, simply put, you will need 300 millions to get from Aimless to Elite, and to get from Pioneer to Elite you will have to subtract value for Pioneer from value for Elite.

Table with profit for scanning different planets and stars.



After discovering system first you will get a 50% of system`s value bonus but in our case we will be using already discovered systems.

Relevant raising method

Despite easy actions, it is quite a complicated rank for the raising, because for effective raising you need to have a third-party tool - ED Pathfinder program and a 5-th rank in Li Yong-Rui Power, because it gives additional 200% profit for selling exploration data in systems under this Power`s control that also goes to the rank raising. So the most profitable and fast way is collecting and selling data in the systems under Li Yong-Rui`s control.

1) Pledge alliance to Li Yong-Rui Power and look what day of the week it is: to get the best efficiency you have to start to do the raising on Thursday so if it is not Thursday – wait for it.

2) On Thursday after 7:00 galaxy time fly to Li Yong-Rui and gain 10 000 merits (see PowerPlay Rank raising below).

3) You have almost two weeks for Explorer Rank raising: you will get 5-th rank next week and the week after it will drop to 4-th. You can sell data after next Thursday but not later than Wednesday of the week after because your rank will decrease.

4) Open ED Pathfinder, click Valuable Exploration Router. Choose Earth Like Wolds and Water Worlds, set max list of 250 systems and minimal value at 2000k. Set tick for skipping already scanned systems, type your current system in «Current System» and press «Create A Route».

5) Start to fly on this route, scan in reaching limit (see about it below) all stars and planets of types: Earth Like World, Water World, Ammonia World, Terraformable Water Worlds and Other Terraformable. You can additionally scan Gas Giants, Metallic worlds and Other Atmospherics. You need to scan about 50-60 systems to get from Aimless to Elite. But be sure to come back to the end of the next cycle (that means on Wednesday of the week after) for data selling. If you are late you will not be able to get +200% for selling data because your rank will drop to 4-th with 2500 merits. Of course it can be raised, having exploration data, but it is much more dangerous because of the risk of losing them after death.

6) Search a system under Li Yong-Rui`s control on the galaxy map and sell exploration data there.

7) If you have not gained rank that you want – repeat steps from 2 to 6.

What to fly for the raising



Something that jumps farther. We need only Advanced Discovery Scanner, Detailed Surface Scanner and Fuel Scoop with us. It is desirable to have an FSD engineer upgraded for the jump range and Detailed Surface Scanner for the scanner range. Moreover I recommend to set an Auto Field-Maintenance Unit (AFMU) in case of module damage. So, in fact only two variants left: Anaconda if you have 200 millions or Diamondback Explorer if you have 20.

ED Pathfinder Exploration Guide



The program has 3 functions but here I will describe only Valuable Exploration Router that is needed for an exploration. Other you can examine for yourself, if you wish.

Download ED Pathfinder and install it using this link[github.com].

Open it, in the top right corner, in Tools menu, choose Valuable Exploration Router and we get an additional window. At the very top you can choose world types: Earth Like Worlds, Water Worlds, Ammonia Worlds, Terraformable Water Worlds and Other Terraformable. Further you can select Maximum Worlds In Route (it is better to always leave 250), Minimum Estimated System Value (In 1000 credits); better to set about 1000-2000k not to loiter in cheap stuff, but do not select max value because the distances between the systems will be 200-500 light years and put a tick to skip already scanned systems (Explored System Filtering) – you will not get anything from them. Then you will need to type a Starting System and an Ending System (Leave empty for loop) if you are going to a particular place. After clicking «Create Exploration Route» you will have a systems list in a separated window. Selecting one of them automatically copy its name to the clipboard and you will only have to paste it in game on the galaxy map. The table has the following columns: systems` names (System), distance to it from the previous (Distance), summary distance (Cumulative Distance), planet types in the system (Planets), estimated value (Est Value), summary estimated value (Cumulative Value). The «Rescan Journal» button redefines the list if new data was entered.

Personal tips

1) Plot the route for scanning not with the system map but with the radar: planets can be on the different system`s edges, but follow each other on the map.

2) Do not fly to stars and planets that are farther than 500 000 light seconds from the main star because you will spend a decent amount of time for a flight, considering the fact that in other systems with the same planets this is done much faster.

3) Watch the fuel level and level and star class in systems you are jumping in, not to suddenly stay without the fuel. But in case this happens I recommend watching this guide.

4) The list of spectral star classes with possibility of fueling forms the phrase «FOMA KGB» that can be easily learnt. Though personally I recommend turning off on the galaxy map filter only L T Y Proto stars because other «unfueling» stars are met quite seldom and sometimes are unique places.

CQC Rank

Attention! At the moment CQC Rank raising is nearly impossible because players mostly (or at all) do not play this game mode. Also some information needs to be rechecked and reconfirmed!

Still I will write about its estimated raising in case someone is interested.

CQC mode has its own rank system that does not relate to Pilots Federation Rank. For convenience, I will call it «Levels». Totally, CQC has 50 levels. After obtaining them new ships and kits will be unlocked. After achieving 50 level you can reset them losing all unlocked ships and kits and get the fist «Prestige Level». «Prestige Level» increases credits reward from the matches and gives access to CD-43 11917 system in standard game, where, at Attlius Orbital station, various ships and modules are sold with different discounts. It is not a Shinrarta Dezhra and not all modules are sold there, plus, these discounts are quite random, though the most remarkable one is a 20% on a Fer-De-Lance. Also after gaining «Prestige Level» a special icon appears in front of the player`s name. Max «Prestige Level» is eight.



What exactly given for

CQC Rank is raised as Combat Rank and levels are got depending on your efficiency in a match.

How exactly raised

CQC Rank is raised similarly to Combat, except the quantity of conventional points is smaller. Points for raising CQC levels are counted from the ratio of your kills, deaths and general benefit for a team (in a team match).

Further information on CQC Rank raising is absent.

Superpowers Naval Ranks

Federal Naval Rank

What exactly given for

Only for competing missions from parties that have affiliation to Federation: on a mission board, in the left list, there is a federation icon in party`s rectangle.



How exactly raised

For every rank you need several conventional points which go into percent. After gaining 100% you will have to do a special mission to proceed to the next rank. It usually sounds like: «Do something for the Federal Navy». I will also remark that after gaining 100% on a certain rank, conventional points for mission completing do not stop to accumulate and automatically increase percent on the next rank. So, simply put, it can be that you will accomplish a bunch of missions with 100% on the current rank, complete the mission for the rank procedure, and after this you will already have 100% on the next rank. You also need to remember that rank procedure missions will be only given by parties with friendly and allied reputation.

Relevant raising method

At the moment there are two relevant raising methods: donate missions and data delivery missions. For the first you will need about 500 millions and 10 hours, for the second – a relatively fast ship and 20 hours. Also while completing donate missions you most likely will be able to gain only percent and will not get rank procedure missions, so you will have to do them separately. The chosen reward does not affect the rank so you can take any of them.

I. Donate missions



Everything is quite easy:

1) Find Federation system in the state of a famine or an outbreak with more than a 5 million population.

2) 2) Check on the system map that there are at least 3 federal parties in the system.

3) Go there and start do donate missions from federal parties. If there is no more missions go to other game mode (Open Play, Private Groups, Solo) and look for them there. Considering the latest information, the donate amount affects the rank increase, so there is no need to look for cheaper missions.

4) Donate about 400 millions (if you are raising from the very bottom) and after that start raising with the second method. The only difference is that you only need to do rank procedure missions, though delivering usual data for additional percent will be useful. The problem is that such missions are given only with good reputation with local factions. See personal tips about its fast raising.

5) Repeat steps from 3 to 5, if you have not reached wanted rank.

II. Data delivery missions



You will need to transport data between three systems: Gang Yun, HIP 64706 and Byggvi. There is only one outpost in every system so raising is possible only on a small or a medium ship. The algorithm of actions is quite simple:

1) Go to Gang Yun and stack 20 missions (max amount – if you try to take 21 game will show the message about a limit) from federal parties for data delivery to HIP 64706 and Byggvi. If there is no more missions go to other game mode (Open Play, Private Groups, Solo) and look for them there. From rank procedure missions accept only those that are data delivery. If they have not appeared after gaining 100 percent do not worry and keep doing regular missions – rank raising missions will appear eventually.

2) Fly out of the station and jump to HIP 64706. Station is 24 000 light seconds away, so flight takes 5-7 minutes.

3) After docking complete all missions to this station and get another missions to Gang Yun and Byggvi up to 20. Also go to other mods if missions are over. In Gang Yun it is a planetary base along with an outpost, where data delivery missions can also go. We do not need to go there, so skip such missions: it is a planetary logo in the mission rectangle.

4) Fly out of the station and jump to Byggvi. Dock to the station and complete the missions. As in the previous step, stack missions to HIP 64706 and Gang Yun, avoiding the data delivery to a planetary base in the last.

5) Go back to Gang Yun and complete the missions.

6) Repeat as much as you need.

What to fly for the raising

This section considers only the second method. With the first you can use any ships – the main thing is to dock with the station in the system.



Something that flies faster because during docking the simple ship speed can save tens minutes. But because Gang Yun, HIP 64706 and Byggvi are at the edge of the populated systems (the bubble as it called by the players), you will have to take a ship with a good jump range and a Fuel Scoop to get there. Nevertheless, you have two variants:

1) Use exploration ship. In this case take Diamondback Explorer, set Fuel Scoop, A class FSD, go to Gang Yun and start delivering data.

2) Transport fast ship from the bubble to these systems. In these case we also have two variants. If you have first imperial rank and access to the engineers buy Imperial Eagle, set Enhanced Performance Thrusters on it, upgrade them to maneuverability, maximally lightweight the ship, but watch the jump range to be not less than 15 light years. If you do not have it – buy Viper Mk.III, maximally lightweight it, set A class thrusters and also watch the jump range to be not less than 15 light years. Go on any ship to HIP 65371 system to Wagner City station, transfer your ship there, wait for it to arrive, go to Gang Yun and start delivering data.

Personal tips

1) Do not remove Shield Generator to gain additional cargo or cabin capacity. Yes you it can give you a lot of it but will highly increase your chances to die at the same time. Plus, if you are landing with braking your ship will get hull damage and you will have to repair it. Moreover VIP passengers usually cancel missions if hull damage is taken.

2) Initially, because of low reputation, you can be not able to accept a big amount of missions, especially high paid ones, so I recommend to choosing reputation as a reward when you have only stated raising, but if you want to raise allied reputation with the dominant faction – you need to take 5-6 million exploration data to the station. For its fast gathering you will need ED Pathfinder program (see «Explorer Rank» section for guide about it).

3) It is unnecessary to raise using only one way. You can combine them, raising some part of the rank with donations and other with data delivering. Moreover, sometimes donation missions appear in Gang Yun, HIP 64706 and Byggvi, so you can spend earned money on them. Just do not jump from one method to another because raising time will highly increase.

4) Sometimes systems go to lockdown and stations stop to give missions. This state usually lasts for 3-4 day and if you have faced it do not worry – just wait a few days and find other things to do.

Imperial Naval Rank

What exactly given for

Only for competing missions from parties that have affiliation to Empire: on a mission board, in the left list, there is a imperial icon in party`s rectangle.



How exactly raised

For every rank you need several conventional points which go into percent. After gaining 100% you will have to do a special mission to proceed to the next rank. It usually sounds like: «Do something for the Imperial Navy». I will also remark that after gaining 100% on a certain rank, conventional points for mission completing do not stop to accumulate and automatically increase percent on the next rank. So, simply put, it can be that you will accomplish a bunch of missions with 100% on the current rank, complete the mission for the rank procedure, and after this you will already have 100% on the next rank. You also need to remember that rank procedure missions will be only given by parties with friendly and allied reputation.

Relevant raising method

At the moment there are two relevant raising methods: donate missions and data delivery missions. For the first you will need about 500 millions and 10 hours, for the second – a relatively fast ship and 20 hours. Also while completing donate missions you most likely will be able to gain only percent and will not get rank procedure missions, so you will have to do them separately. The chosen reward does not affect the rank so you can take any of them.

I. Donate missions



Everything is quite easy:

1) Find Empire system in the state of a famine or an outbreak with more than a 5 million population.

2) Check on the system map that there are at least 3 imperial parties in the system.

3) Go there and start do donate missions from imperial parties. If there is no more missions go to other game mode (Open Play, Private Groups, Solo) and look for them there. Considering the latest information, the donate amount affects the rank increase, so there is no need to look for cheaper missions.

4) Donate about 400 millions (if you are raising from the very bottom) and after that start raising with the second method. The only difference is that you only need to do rank procedure missions, though delivering usual data for additional percent will be useful. The problem is that such missions are given only with good reputation with local factions. See personal tips about its fast raising.

5) Repeat steps from 3 to 5, if you have not reached wanted rank.

II. Data delivery missions



You will need to transport data between Ngalinn and Mainani systems. There is only one outpost in every system so raising is possible only on a small or a medium ship. The algorithm of actions is quite simple:

1) Go to Mainani and stack 20 missions (max amount – if you try to take 21 game will show the message about a limit) from imperial parties for data delivery to Ngalinn. If there is no more missions go to other game mode (Open Play, Private Groups, Solo) and look for them there. From rank procedure missions accept only those that are data delivery. If they have not appeared after gaining 100 percent do not worry and keep doing regular missions – rank raising missions will appear eventually.

2) Fly out of the station and jump to Ngalinn. Dock, complete the missions and accept new.

3) Come back and complete the missions.

4) Repeat as much as you need.

What to fly for the raising

This section considers only the second method. With the first you can use any ships – the main thing is to dock with the station in the system.



Something that flies faster because during docking the simple ship speed can save tens minutes. But because Ngalinn and Mainani are at the edge of the populated systems (the bubble as it called by the players), you will have to take a ship with a good jump range and a Fuel Scoop to get there. Nevertheless, you have two variants:

1) Use exploration ship. In this case take Diamondback Explorer, set Fuel Scoop, A class FSD, go to Gang Yun and start delivering data.

2) Transport fast ship from the bubble to these systems. In these case we also have two variants. If you have first imperial rank and access to the engineers buy Imperial Eagle, set Enhanced Performance Thrusters on it, upgrade them to maneuverability, maximally lightweight the ship, but watch the jump range to be not less than 15 light years. If you do not have it – buy Viper Mk.III, maximally lightweight it, set A class thrusters and also watch the jump range to be not less than 15 light years. Go on any ship to HIP 11241 system to Esposito City station, transfer your ship there, wait for it to arrive, go to Gang Yun and start delivering data.

Personal tips

1) Do not remove Shield Generator to gain additional cargo or cabin capacity. Yes you it can give you a lot of it but will highly increase your chances to die at the same time. Plus, if you are landing with braking your ship will get hull damage and you will have to repair it. Moreover VIP passengers usually cancel missions if hull damage is taken.

2) Initially, because of low reputation, you can be not able to accept a big amount of missions, especially high paid ones, so I recommend choosing reputation as a reward when you have only stated raising, but if you want to raise allied reputation with the dominant faction – you need to take 5-6 million exploration data to the station. For its fast gathering you will need ED Pathfinder program (see «Explorer Rank» section for guide about it).

3) It is unnecessary to raise using only one way. You can combine them, raising some part of the rank with donations and other with data delivering. Moreover, sometimes donation missions appear in Gang Yun, HIP 64706 and Byggvi, so you can spend earned money on them. Just do not jump from one method to another because raising time will highly increase.

4) Sometimes systems go to lockdown and stations stop to give missions. This state usually lasts for 3-4 day and if you have faced it do not worry – just wait a few days and find other things to do.

Alliance Naval Rank

Currently absent.

PowerPlay Rank

I would say once more: PowerPlay is quite a complicated system and I recommend fully investigating it, if you are really willing to help your power and play a role. Only rank raising will be described here.

What exactly given for

For getting merits in your Power`s systems. The merits themselves are got for helping the Power: destroying other Powers ships, delivering cargo of your Power, etc.

How exactly raised

You kill enemy Power`s ships, transport your Power`s cargo and get merits for it. Their amount can be seen in the transaction menu in ship`s left panel. Different number of merits are given for different activities. They can be redeemed in systems under your Power`s control (they redeem automatically after cargo delivery). All unredeemed merits are gone after death. Every Thursday, at 7:00 galaxy time, at the start of the new cycle, you get a rank depending on the amount of collected merits, their amount reduces for a half and unredeemed merits are gone. For getting 1 rank you need to have 0 merits, for 2 – 100, for 3 – 750, for 4 – 1500, for 5 – 10 000.

Relevant raising method



At the moment the fastest raising way is transporting cargo for system fortifying from the Power`s capital. For this you will need 100 000 000 credits and 1-3 hours depending on your cargo hall. These commodities can be named variously but all have a shield logo during collecting at the station.

Algorithm of actions:

1) Come to your Power`s capital, open «Contacts» - «Power Contacts» get free fortifying cargo and then buy the rest until full cargo capacity is loaded.

2) On the galaxy map set PowerPlay filter – control and look for nearest system that requires fortifying: it is marked with a shield (color is not important). Go there and deliver cargo (as I said, merits are redeemed automatically).

3) Come back to Power`s capital.

4) Repeat until you get 10 000 merits.

What to fly for the raising



What jumps well and has a decent cargo capacity. Perfectly – Python if you are going to land on Outposts. If not – Anaconda or Imperial Cutter if your imperial rank gives you access to it. Be sure to set Chaff Launchers, Point Defences, and Electronic Countermeasures to fight back pirates in case you are interdicted.

Personal Tips

1) Because new cycle starts on Thursday at 7:00 galaxy time I recommend starting to raise on this day.

2) Do not remove Shield Generator to gain additional cargo or cabin capacity. Yes you it can give you a lot of it but will highly increase your chances to die at the same time. Plus, if you are landing with braking your ship will get hull damage and you will have to repair it.

Reputation

Superpowers Reputation

Raised exactly in the same way for every superpower.

What exactly given for

For helping the party that has affiliation to needed superpower. The kind of help itself depends on one factor: if party is dominant at the station or not. Yes – it is displayed on the main station page. You can find out where each party dominates in the tab that appears after aiming the station with the cursor.



I. Yes

You can increase your reputation selling commodities, exploration data, redeeming bounty vouchers, combat bonds (if you have fought for this party) and just completing its missions.

II. No

Only for completing missions and redeeming combat bounds.

How exactly raised

You deliver exploration data, cargo, complete missions, redeem bounty vouchers and combat bonds. It depends on party dominancy in this system. For all those actions your party reputation increases along with the superpower reputation.

Relevant raising method

At the moment the fastest way is redeeming bounty vouchers.



1) Go to RES Distances Calculator[edtools.ddns.net], type your current system, put a tick in [Haz] parameter and press «Search». The site will give you a list with systems with hazardous RES. Look for the system that is under control of the needed superpower with the station that has dominant party with affiliation to this superpower. It is desirable this station to be with the repair, restock and refuel facilities and nearby. Remember that the more system population is – the more ships will be in RES.

2) Go to one of the systems look for hazardous RES in the gas giants` rings.

3) Jump there and start to destroy wanted ships with needed rank.

4) Some time later go back to the station and redeem bounty vouchers. You need 10-12 millions to get reputation to allied.

If drove reputation to hostile

Everything is the same, as with reputation raising. The only difference is you will need vouchers for 20-25 millions to recover from the very bottom. Also not to be killed look for stations with parties connected to the needed faction in independent systems.

What to fly for the raising



In fact there are only two perfect variants: engineer upgraded Vulture with a Bi-Weave Shield Generator or engineer upgraded Federal Corvette with a Prismatic Shield Generator. To build the first you will need about 25 millions and access to most engineers, to build the second you will need 12 rank in the Federal Navy – Rear Admiral, about 1,5 billion, access to most engineers, third rank in Aisling Duval Power and being in it for 4 weeks. Vulture is quite maneuverable, can easily stay in ship blind spots and do a lot of damage meanwhile. Federal Corvette is pretty shielded, able to do lots of damage and destroy large ships easily.

Personal tips

1) I would choose the second raising variant because, in my opinion, it is the easiest and most profitable. There is also my Vulture fit[www.edsm.net] if someone needs.

2) Always, regardless of the ship type, choose Powerplant as a sub-target and try to get under the ship: this technique can greatly reduce fight time because when you destroy ship`s Powerplant it completely stops and cannot shoot or move before it reboots which usually takes about 1-2 minutes. And during this time you will be able to fully destroy the ship. Also if you are shooting in 0% Powerplant module the ship will automatically blow after some time, regardless of how much hull integrity left.

3) Check if enemy has Shield Cell Banks: if he does, I recommend you to firstly think about engaging him because battle can just become a simple completion in who has more of them.

4) If your ship uses some kind of ammo (bullets, rockets, mines, etc.) and you have Horizons Expansion, I would recommend you to gather some materials on the planets surface at least for the first grade synthesis for this ammo, so you will not have to get back to the station after all of them used.

5) If enemy started to regenerate his shields and recharging goes regardless of your damage – stop to shoot and wait until this effect stops (it looks like lines flowing on a shields) and only then start shooting again. The thing is that after full shield recharge Shield Cell Bank will be working idly, so if shield still regenerates under fire, you will be just wasting your ammo and energy.

6) You can try to ram enemy after he used Shield Cell Bank and he has less than a 1 full shield circle that you will not have time to deplete with your weapons. Though I highly do not recommend this tactic if your own ship has less than 1.5 shield circles because you can deplete your shield too.

7) Do not engage wings with more than two strong ships even if all of them are elite. Except you have fully upgraded Corvette because it is a real problem to survive in such circumstances flying other ships.

8) Always compare time you will spend for ship destruction and points gotten for it: sometimes it is better to destroy some lower ranked ships than a one high ranked.

Parties Reputation

Raised exactly in the same way for every party.

What exactly given for

For helping party. The kind of help itself depends on one factor: if party is dominant at the station or not. Yes – it is displayed on the main station page. You can find out where each party dominates in the tab that appears after aiming the station with the cursor.



I. Yes

You can increase your reputation selling commodities, exploration data, redeeming bounty vouchers, combat bonds (if you have fought for this party) and just completing its missions.

II. No

Only for completing missions and redeeming combat bounds.

How exactly raised

You deliver exploration data, cargo, complete missions, redeem bounty vouchers and combat bonds. It depends on party dominancy in this system. For all those actions your party reputation increases. If a party connected to a superpower, your reputation with the last will also increase.

Relevant raising method

The method depends on party dominancy at the station. Still «No» is not always a definitive answer: sometimes party is minor at one station and dominant at another. So check other stations in this and nearby systems and only then make a definitive conclusion: «Yes» or «No».

I. Yes

The fastest way is selling exploration data.

1) Read ED Pathfinder guide in «Exploration Rank» section.

2) Open ED Pathfinder, click Valuable Exploration Router. Choose Earth Like Wolds and Water Worlds, set max list of 250 systems and minimal value at 2000k. Set tick for skipping already scanned systems, type your current system in «Current System» and press «Create A Route».

3) Start to fly on this route, scan in reaching limit (see about it below) all stars and planets of types: Earth Like World, Water World, Ammonia World, Terraformable Water Worlds and Other Terraformable. You can additionally scan Gas Giants, Metallic worlds and Other Atmospherics. You need to scan about 6-8 millions to get allied reputation.

4) Come back and sell your data.

II. No

Only for mission completing and war in Conflict Zones (CZ). If system is not in a war state – only for mission completing. I will not describe this method, only say the try to take not very difficult missions, that has reputation reward. If system is in a war state:

1) Find high intensity CZ.
2) Jump there, and choose your party in ship`s right panel in «Functions» tab. If it is not there – investigate other CZ. It is desirable a station with the repair, restock and refuel facilities to be nearby.
3) Destroy enemy ships (they are red with the default HUD colour). You need about 6 millions to get allied reputation.
4) Come to the station and redeem combat bonds.

If drove reputation to hostile

It is quite complicated situation. If party is dominant – everything is the same as in the first method. The only difference – you will need about 10-12 millions to recover from the very bottom. If not – firstly check other stations here and in nearby systems, maybe, it will be dominant there. If it is not dominant anywhere – only destroying other factions` ships. I cannot tell certain numbers but for recovering to neutral reputation you will have to destroy not fewer than 50 ships.

What to fly for the raising

If party is dominant



Something that jumps farther. We need only Advanced Discovery Scanner, Detailed Surface Scanner and Fuel Scoop with us. It is desirable to have an FSD engineer upgraded for the jump range and Detailed Surface Scanner for the scanner range. Moreover I recommend to set an Auto Field-Maintenance Unit (AFMU) in case of module damage. So, in fact only two variants left: Anaconda if you have 200 millions or Diamondback Explorer if you have 20.

If party is minor



In fact there are only two perfect variants: engineer upgraded Vulture with a Bi-Weave Shield Generator or engineer upgraded Federal Corvette with a Prismatic Shield Generator. To build the first you will need about 25 millions and access to most engineers, to build the second you will need 12 rank in the Federal Navy – Rear Admiral, about 1,5 billion, access to most engineers, third rank in Aisling Duval Power and being in it for 4 weeks. Vulture is quite maneuverable, can easily stay in ship blind spots and do a lot of damage meanwhile. Federal Corvette is pretty shielded, able to do lots of damage and destroy large ships easily.

Parties Reputation (Continuation)

Personal tips

1) Plot the route for scanning not with the system map but with the radar: planets can be on the different system`s edges, but follow each other on the map.

2) Do not fly to stars and planets that are farther than 500 000 light seconds from the main star because you will spend a decent amount of time for a flight, considering the fact that in other systems with the same planets this is done much faster.

3) Watch the fuel level and level and star class in systems you are jumping in, not to suddenly stay without the fuel. But in case this happens I recommend watching this guide.

4) The list of spectral star classes with possibility of fueling forms the phrase «FOMA KGB» that can be easily learnt. Though personally I recommend turning off on the galaxy map filter only L T Y Proto stars because other «unfueling» stars are met quite seldom and sometimes are unique places.

5) There is my Vulture fit[www.edsm.net] if someone needs.

6) Always, regardless of the ship type, choose Powerplant as a sub-target and try to get under the ship: this technique can greatly reduce fight time because when you destroy ship`s Powerplant it completely stops and cannot shoot or move before it reboots which usually takes about 1-2 minutes. And during this time you will be able to fully destroy the ship. Also if you are shooting in 0% Powerplant module the ship will automatically blow after some time, regardless of how much hull integrity left.

7) Check if enemy has Shield Cell Banks: if he does, I recommend you to firstly think about engaging him because battle can just become a simple completion in who has more of them.

8) If your ship uses some kind of ammo (bullets, rockets, mines, etc.) and you have Horizons Expansion, I would recommend you to gather some materials on the planets surface at least for the first grade synthesis for this ammo, so you will not have to get back to the station after all of them used.

9) If enemy started to regenerate his shields and recharging goes regardless of your damage – stop to shoot and wait until this effect stops (it looks like lines flowing on a shields) and only then start shooting again. The thing is that after full shield recharge Shield Cell Bank will be working idly, so if shield still regenerates under fire, you will be just wasting your ammo and energy.

10) You can try to ram enemy after he used Shield Cell Bank and he has less than a 1 full shield circle, that you will not have time to deplete with your weapons. Though I highly do not recommend this tactic if your own ship has less than 1.5 shield circles because you can deplete your shield too.

11) Always compare time you will spend for ship destruction and points gotten for it: sometimes it is better to destroy some lower ranked ships than a one high ranked.

12) If you are flying small ship in CZ stay away from enemy bunches to avoid the situations when you are attacked by several ships at the same time. Try to «catch» them attacking from a distance. If you still were attacked fly through allies groups several kilometers away from CZ but do not go into supercruise: in 90% enemies will leave you and start attacking your allies.

Conclusion

I am not an author or discoverer of the presented information! I have only systemized it and collected in one guide to help other players!

Basic information taken from Elite Dangerous Wiki[ru.elite-dangerous.wikia.com] and Frontier Forums[forums.frontier.co.uk].

Tables taken from Elite Dangerous Wiki[ru.elite-dangerous.wikia.com].

Additional information taken from:

CMDR Obsidian Ant
Down To Earth Astronomy (CMDR MP_Astro)
CMDR Exigeous
CMDR Plater
CMDR Yamiks
CMDR ChaosWulff

You will also tremendously help guide and will be able to appear in this list if you help with «Relevant systems for the raising» in some guide parts: you just need to write systems` names in the comments.

Took screenshots and wrote guide:

CMDR Vovva The Buehaired

Methods, ships and systems described in the guide are far from the only ones and you can freely use other. Also I do not recommend diving in raising something because game becomes a boring grind and interest starts to go away.

If you have any questions left, found a typos, out-of-date information or have a guide improving idea – do not hesitate to write in comments below!

Fly safe!
O7

[DawnTreader]

Very comprehensive.

[Indy Scot]

Thanks CMDR o7

[Vermithraxe]

Thanks for the info even if outdated in some respects it still helped me understand better ways to level my ranks.

[SYSTEM GLITCH]

Vulture or vette for BH only??? What? FDL is a far easier ship to BH in than the Vulture. I do not understand that logic, and I am speaking as a person that flew a vulture for about 400 hours.

That said there are a lot of other quite valid options, I'm just not sure why the scope for combat ships is so severely limited.

[Victoria The Bluehaired]

Well, the guide is really out-of-date and nearly all of the sections have to be rewritten to illustate more quick and relevant ways , but thanks anyway :)

[MiAtCh]

EXCELLENT guide, I've got 250 hours in this game and was almost clueless until I read this lol. Absolutely a must read IMHO. Every new player should go through this just to understand the scope and scale of what you're getting yourself into. Thank you very much for creating this!

[Victoria The Bluehaired]

I know that 3.3 has come out and guide needs to be updated, but currently I do not have much time and, to be honest, much desire to rewrite a lot of text and collect all the information. If you are willing to help me or maybe have already collected and analysed all the needed data, you can write here in the comments and we can try to cooperate.

[JustWhiskeyMan]

Just to let you know, trying the missions for Imperial navy rank and factions in both systems are in war state or bust atm. Finding it hard to get the data missions I need but with a lot (a lot (a lot)) of board flipping I can only just manage to get 20 of them. Thanks for the guide!

[David4354]

Just dropping by to say thanks for the guide! :)

[d[-_-]b]

ty!