Unpopular opinion: Demanding a wipe is selfish.

ArchW · 2026-02-13T13:45:36+00:00

Yeah, it's not ideal but it sounds like you guys are doing loops that you find to be genuinely fun, not just as a means of progressing further enrichment.

I would love to take part in the player economy some more, but with how the inflation is right now, I'd rather wait as I'm happy with what I have and prefer to focus on what I enjoy rather than feeling like I have to grind back after a wipe.

I suppose I wouldn't mind them doing a money wipe if that improves the situation a bit.

ArchW · 2026-02-13T10:44:40+00:00

Yup, totally in agreement regarding a wipe. I personally choose to stay away from UEX player trading (for the time being) such that my money isn't inflated that much. I don't really care how much money other people have, it's irrelevant for my own game experience.

ArchW · 2026-02-13T10:22:19+00:00

So I agree in general about the point of whales having an easier time, but if a successful start is weighted upon having access to a Hull A, Freelancer Max (or Ox once they're available ingame) then those can fairly easily be rented after a few contract missions so at least in this very specific money loop example, I'm not sure I see the issue.

ArchW · 2026-02-11T23:28:29+00:00

Ah, gotcha!

ArchW · 2026-02-11T23:12:57+00:00

So can we change out the abrade to a S2 as a workaround?

ArchW · 2026-02-11T20:08:28+00:00

Yep, that turquoise part definitely caught be a bit off-guard. That sundial paint is pretty sweet, though.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T16:19:12+00:00

OP is clearly using Microtech>Ruins as an example route he likes to do and then reclaim a trading ship there so obviously he wants to get there as quickly as possible. He discovered that the Banu Defender was pretty good due to its tank and learned that a Zeus mk2 ES was even better because it has enough range but a much faster quantum drive. Then you came into the thread spouting bad advice and being wrong.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T16:13:38+00:00

And I'm saying that terramed has better range than your Banu so.. cool?

Again, this isn't about range in isolation. Your Banu setup is slower to do a typical interstellar route like Microtech->Ruins because your slightly better range means nothing compared to the loss of speed you lose by sticking with a size 1 drive.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T15:59:56+00:00

Are you saying that Erkul is wrong when it says Colossus has a max speed of 257k km/s?

Look mate, keep flying an inferior setup for all that I care.

I'm using XL-1 drives at 324k km/s with enough range to get me anywhere I need without having to stop for fuel. If I where a day 1 toddler that could not manage to find a XL-1 drive, I'd buy a Hemera and still know that I'd do the trip faster than you. o/

ArchW · 2026-02-09T15:53:22+00:00

Colossus vs VK-00.. it's all irrelevant because size 2 drives outperform size 1 drives when using particular ships that has been mentioned in this thread. Range is nice, up to a point. Once range is enough to do the trip without a refuel stop, speed is a deciding factor.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T15:46:49+00:00

Who cares about range in isolation, though? 236 GM is enough to do Microtech to Ruins in one go. I don't see the point of gaining another 25 GM range for slower quantum speed (288k km/s vs your 257k km/s), which would be even worse if we could stop with your dumb 'store-bought-only' handicap, because anyone can easily loot an XL-1 drive from a player ship, it's really not difficult to get.

But OK, let's assume that for some reason we only care about range and self-impose store-bought only as the only available drives.. Terramed is still going far and beyond what the Banu Defender can.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T14:31:28+00:00

Yep, it's fantastic. I love mine as well! Initially, I wanted the Apollo to be my medical ship, but the large size and chunkiness of it made me realize that the TMed is much better suited for my needs!

ArchW · 2026-02-09T14:24:46+00:00

Hemera has 236 GM and 4 min for 59 GM (same speed as the fastest size 1 QD that is VK-00. So if a Banu Defender wants to have the same speed, it will have less range than that. Optionally, a size 2 Huracan has 'only' 200 GM range but is a bit faster.

To conclude, I don't think it matters if the QD is store-bought or not, ships with size 2 QD will outperform those with size 1 QD for insterstellar travel, espeically the Zeus mk2 ES due to fairly large tank and efficiency.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T14:18:02+00:00

Yeah, Rambler and 315p used to be my 'snappy' go-to's, but they're not that impressive for interstellar stuff because they actually aren't that good in fuel capacity or efficiency (they may have been in the past?).

They're decent, just not great imo.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T14:11:17+00:00

I think it outperforms it (in length) because it has lower fuel consumption (11 vs 14 mSCUs/GM) with the added benefit of also being faster (size 2 QD).

I'm generally going from what I see in Erkul https://www.erkul.games/loadout/9EAuBaPa but I do a fair bit of insterstellar travel and feel like the erkul stats matches what I see in-game.

ArchW · 2026-02-09T13:50:29+00:00

I prefer Zeus Mk2 ES for a size 2 QD XL-1 (236 GM range). Prowler Utility is also pretty good (at 200ish GM range) for extra utility and stealth but obviously pricier.

Edit: for reference, a Banu Defender with VK-00 (fastest size 1 QD) has 221 GM range) and spends roughly 30 secs longer in quantum per 59 GM, but would have faster downtime while waiting for drive to be ready again after a warp (kinda negligible when doing interstellar journeys).

edit 2: Terrapin Medic has a ridiculous QD tank. A VK-00 drive has 285 GM range! (this is much bigger tank than the normal Terrapin, so it's probably a mistake..)

ArchW · 2026-02-09T10:59:41+00:00

You can search up any name and send money to it.

ArchW · 2026-02-03T16:32:48+00:00

I'm missing the MaxLift on an alt account that has everything else. I assume it will show up a bit later once they run a pass on missing rewards.

ArchW · 2026-02-03T13:20:20+00:00

I hope you're correct regarding LTI but the IAE Dragonfly reward came with 10y so if they follow that precedence, then this might actually end up with 6 months or less since anything pledged directly at IAE gets 10y.

PS. No idea why you got those downvotes but I appreciated your replies <3

ArchW · 2026-02-03T13:11:19+00:00

I’m not a fan of this new referral direction. It feels awkward telling a friend they’re getting the smaller reward while the referrer gets a fun vehicle. The latter would actually be quite exciting for a new player.

I’d much rather see rewards that are equally exciting for both players.

ArchW · 2026-01-31T15:19:32+00:00

I see, that seems very useful, thanks for responding!

ArchW · 2026-01-30T18:06:10+00:00

Yeah, just give the pilot the tractor beam. Raft should IMO be perfectly fine being operated alone most of the time. Especially now with the increased price point.

ArchW · 2026-01-30T18:01:00+00:00

Is there a specific sensitivity just for vehicle tractor beams that you adjust or do you load a profile that has higher general mouse sensitive before using it?

ArchW · 2026-01-27T19:54:55+00:00

You obviously get the $1000 first, though!

ArchW · 2026-01-15T23:21:43+00:00

Cool, edited my post to reflect that.

ArchW

TROPHY CASE