Trying the Tormented Teladi start...

[grumman]

I thought I'd have a go at the Poisoned Paranid, but to do that, I need to finish Tormented Teladi. After a few false starts, I think I've got the hang of it. An hour in, I've already got a better ship in the form of a Fujin Raider from a station defense mission, and a Discoverer from a failed abandoned ship mission.

One useful tip:
- Whenever you see a transport with escorts, if he's offering a Fight mission, take it! Even if you're flying in the opposite direction, he and his escorts are more than capable of killing any M5s that get in their way, which makes these missions free money. They also mean free dropped missiles next time you're passing through.

[Sirin111]

One useful tip:
- Whenever you see a transport with escorts, if he's offering a Fight mission, take it! Even if you're flying in the opposite direction, he and his escorts are more than capable of killing any M5s that get in their way, which makes these missions free money.

No ಠ_ಠ

When I get a similar mission, any party of attacking ships destroys a cargo ship in seconds, if it does not stoped on the approach.

[NeverSnake]

When I get a similar mission, any party of attacking ships destroys a cargo ship in seconds, if it does not stoped on the approach.

Yeah, at higher combat levels those missions are virtually impossible as you've got to get everything before it gets close because a TS and a few M3 escorts don't last long when an enemy destroyer comes into range.

[Ebonyfly]

It depends on your Combat Ranking. At the start of the game those missions will generate trivial opponents which the escorts can handle with ease.

Later on, with a higher the Combat Ranking, you will get opponents that can chew through the convoy in a matter of seconds and those missions become rather difficult.

[Catra]

im kinda happy they changed it from a large convoy of just TS ships to a somewhat decently escorted TS ship.

makes it somewhat more doable at the fighter stage of the game.

[grumman]

Yeah, the "Always take the missions" bit only applies when you start off as Harmless, for a bit of extra pocket money.

I've restarted my Tormented Teladi game, and this time, I'm attempting a "Speed run".

Here's my progress so far:

1. 0:00 Started in Acquisition Repository (start-scummed until I got the starting sector I wanted - neither Tears of Greed or Sanctity's Corruption are close to the places I wanted to be)
2. 0:07 Docked at Homily of Perpetuity Trading Station, bought 2*speed upgrades.
3. 0:15 Took "Defend station" mission in Homily of Perpetuity. Captured Pirate Discoverer w/Triplex Scanner, Mk 2 Drone.
4. 0:28 Sold Harrier Hauler in Ianimus Zura. Discoverer now has max speed, 4*IREs, 3*1MJs, Mk 1 Fight Software, Trading System Extension.
5. 0:35 Took "Defend station" mission in Ianimus Zura. Captured Yaki Fujin Sentinel w/missiles, more Mk 2 Drones.
What I plan to do next: Sell Discoverer. Upgrade Fujin Sentinel with 5 MJ shields, PACs. Capture Pirate M4. Capture Pirate M3+. Sell Pirate M3+, get my ship.

[Bill Huntington]

grumman, I'm glad your enjoying the TT start. It has become my favorite start. The first time I rushed through it and just found an abandoned ship, and that was it. Now I enjoy clawing up from nothing, one shield and one piece of software at a time.

I'll try convoys in the future. Thanks for that.

The Yaki ships are a 50 - 50 deal to me. They have a smaller weapons generator than the Disco, so they just run out of E during some caps. They can carry a Jump Drive and Cargo Life Support.

Even though the cargo bay of some Discos are smaller than the Fujian, I prefer the Disco because the Laser reload rate allows it to cap bigger ships. I like to cap Duke's ships, and then any Paranid ship. The Teladi will usually let you cap one in a sector, but will nail you if you try another one. So I just go to the next sector.

I've tried TT perhaps 15 - 18 times, and made the time limit each time. One was close, when I found Nothing (!) for 4 hours, and had to get my start up $ by capping a few civilian ships. Most games there is something in the sector right away, whether a trading opportunity, a pirate to follow for loot, or a ship I just might cap, with a few reloads.

Good Luck, grumman !!

[grumman]

The Yaki ships are a 50 - 50 deal to me. They have a smaller weapons generator than the Disco, so they just run out of E during some caps. They can carry a Jump Drive and Cargo Life Support.

Even though the cargo bay of some Discos are smaller than the Fujian, I prefer the Disco because the Laser reload rate allows it to cap bigger ships.

I wasn't actually aware of this. Do you think I'd be better off sticking to the Discoverer's IREs rather than the Fujin's PACs and 5MJ shield?

[Bill Huntington]

Yes, since you want to cap an M4 as soon as you can. You can avoid enemy fire by strafing, but nothing adds more power to the Reload rate. I had several caps where the Fujian was firing away, and the TS shield generator was running even with it !!

That Paranid M4 Pericles has a Small cargo bay, so it can't mount a JD. But it can cap your first M3. I got one in a Return Ship mission, and used it to cap an M3, and then returned it before its time was up. I'd call that a quick rental.

Let us know when you get the M4 !!

[VincentTH]

The Yaki ships are a 50 - 50 deal to me. They have a smaller weapons generator than the Disco, so they just run out of E during some caps. They can carry a Jump Drive and Cargo Life Support.

Even though the cargo bay of some Discos are smaller than the Fujian, I prefer the Disco because the Laser reload rate allows it to cap bigger ships.

I wasn't actually aware of this. Do you think I'd be better off sticking to the Discoverer's IREs rather than the Fujin's PACs and 5MJ shield?

The Fujin has larger cargo bay, and as such is more suitable for Passenger/Cargo Taxi missions than the Discos.

When you are bored with the TT start, try the DiD start. You start in an Octopus with 1MJ shield a few contraband and no guns.
If you don't like the dead-is-dead mode, you can disable it in the Game Play option, so you can play the DiD without worrying about losing the reload-from-save when dead.

[grumman]

6. 0:57 Attacked a small Pirate convoy in Moo-Kye's Revenge. Killed an M5 and two M4s, no bails. Then spotted a Pirate Elite, and managed to capture it!

Next up: send the Elite down to Cardinal's Domain, try to get in the Paranid's good books so I can buy it some 25 MJ shields. Otherwise, see if I can capture another M4 on my way down.

[Nanook]

Personally, I'd keep the Fujin Sentinnel. While it's laser energy is pathetic, that's it's only drawback compared to any of the Disco's. It has a larger cargo bay, flies faster, and can fire a very nice mix of missiles. In fact, the latter is the main reason to keep it. Silkworms, Wasps, Hurricanes, Wildfires and Remote Guided Warheads give a punch much, much greater than a Discoverer, and those missiles are all fairly common battlefield loot. I'd say, keep that Fujin.

[grumman]

It's a little late for that, I've already sold it. But that's okay, I've got a better ship now, one that might be able to capture the M3+ I need to pay the Profit Guild. There are definitely plenty of Blastclaws around, I just needed a ship that could take one on.

[Bill Huntington]

Well done, grumman ! Congrats on the Elite !

There is a good chance to get 25 MJ shields when you cap a TS that has them. I also did well with the Med. Shields stations in Interworlds, PCA, and Menelaus Oasis. If you have bad Paranid rep, they won't sell you anything, and it takes a while to rebuild it. Usually you have to take Paranid missions outside of Paranid space, at least Paranid core sectors. I usually wait until after I have the $2.5 Mil, and as many Paranid TS as I want for the rest of the game. I do like their ships, and they are actually too good to leave in Paranid hands. ... Then I begin to repair Paranid rep.

To me, speed is life, so the Mamba Vangard is my favorite M3 that you can buy, with speed 231. I have never even picked up the reward Kea. Once I had the Advanced Mamba Proto, with speed 270 or so, but I had to cap that one.

Keep on, grumman !!

[grumman]

Well, I haven't captured any M3s yet, but I do have a PSA to give you all:

If you ever have the opportunity to fly a Pirate Elite, don't. It's the worst fighter I have ever flown. I wasted an hour equipping the thing, and it's worse in combat than the Discoverer I'd been using previously.

[Threesixtyci]

I thought I'd have a go at the Poisoned Paranid, but to do that, I need to finish Tormented Teladi. After a few false starts, I think I've got the hang of it. An hour in, I've already got a better ship in the form of a Fujin Raider from a station defense mission, and a Discoverer from a failed abandoned ship mission.

One useful tip:
- Whenever you see a transport with escorts, if he's offering a Fight mission, take it! Even if you're flying in the opposite direction, he and his escorts are more than capable of killing any M5s that get in their way, which makes these missions free money. They also mean free dropped missiles next time you're passing through.

Actually, those missions are glitched.... as long as you don't follow them, enemies won't spawn in the sectors they go to. Same goes for the first mission of the Terran Plot, that's in TC (unless you choose the Terran starts, in that the Terran starts bypass that first escort mission.) What doesn't apply to that rule are the corporate escort missions that you receive from HQ's. Because the ships don't move until you enter their sector, and the enemies start spawning around them, soon after.

So basically, doing that is considered an exploit....

Anyway... go find a pirate base and equip a Cargo Life support system, then you can earn money doing taxi missions until you can afford a mineral scanner for Asteroid scan missions. Then you can earn money towards a TP ship for those TP taxi missions. You'll make the money requirements in about 1-2 realtime hours, soon after. Maybe even less....

Same pretty much applys for the other money earning start.... The easier way is to collect the free ships in the game and just sell them off, though.