Poisoned Paranid. How do I make 25mill. in 75 hours! (AP)

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 01:25

Any tips will be more than warmly welcome. Just pointing me in the right direction may be sufficient. I really want that Hyperion without have to go and board one in the later game. (My boarding skills absolutely suck!).
I failed to get the credits for my Kea in the Tormented Teladi start and I don't want to fail on this one.

So please...

help...

poor old...

little me.

If that doesn't work then I'm going back to Freelancer.

werewolves? · Post by **werewolves?** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 01:39

Do you want to do it legit or use an exploit?

Legit: depending on where I start I go to Boron or Teladi space, do some trading then run the stock market in Queens Retribution while doing some simple missions.

If you want to cheese it out as quick as possible you could use the freight drone cloning exploit with some missiles and sell them to a EQ dock.

The biggest pain is actually getting a decent tuned Hype-V out of the RNG, I lucked out and got a 230ms on the third roll, but if you want the 250ms you might want to complete the mini plot then download one of the saves people have provided to save a lot of reloading (it can take 100s to get the 250ms hype-v).

I just hold on to my 230 save and use it as a new gamestart.

Jawms · Post by **Jawms** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 01:46

Not as hard as you would think.. Not too sure about the specifics of the ship you get, but if you don't already have a jumpdrive, get one. Now this is the way I have been playing, and I have checked, I did make more than 25 mil in the 72 hours I have been playing.

Start by flying, then start jumping, from sector to sector. Your looking for the FIGHT missions. (red crosshairs) I would make very liberal use of salvage insurance right after accepting that 1m reward mission.Nothing sucks more than knowing you could have made all that money, and now you have to start looking again.

Station defence makes for quick easy money in the first part of the game, but as soon as you start seeing the Assassination missions for >1million, those are the ones you want to be looking for. At later fight ranks, you can be making >10m/mission..

Just keep shooting, get all the Police Licences that you can, and have fun

Danubian · Post by **Danubian** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 01:47

Save game.

Fly around and find a pirate base somewhere close to you. I know there is at least 2-3 of them in Argon space when you start as Humble Merchant (from Antigone Memorial to Atreus Cloud there will be at least 1 pirate base always) so i assume its similar to other places. Bottom line is, find it. Its the only place that i know of that sells cargo bay life support, or whatever its called. Its possible one of the HQs sells it as well, so check the net.

Once you have a confirmed location that sells cargo bay thingy, load game and get a small fast ship, with as much cargo as possible (i dont know which one to suggest, i used Discoverer with Argon start, but go for whichever one flies at 300+ m/s and has close to 100ish cargo space). These are the smallest ships in game, M6 i believe, they are not expensive.

Pick one race, fly to one of its sectors (you will want a group of sectors). Save game.

Start going between 2 neighboring sectors, each time you enter a sector there is a chance new mission will appear. Under "C" class of missions, there is one in particular, where you have to transport military personal from one station (one where you get mission) to another in a certain amount of time. With a small fast M6 ship i described above, these missions are peace of cake, AND they pay rather well. In the beginning however, youll be lucky to get 50.000 per mission, however, once you rise in ranks, and once you get reputation with race (not 100% sure on this one) these missions will start giving you 500.000, 1.000.000, 2.500.000 and so on. It will take about 5 hours to get the first million, and then about as much to get the remaining 20.

Draekros · Post by **Draekros** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 01:50

I almost exclusively capped Paranid ships and sold them to the shipyard. Along with buying used ships, repairing them with repair laser and selling them back to the shipyard. Made over 50Mil in about 70 hours, probably could have made more, but I got distracted a couple of times.

Since your rep with the Paranid is reset at the end of the "mission", you can nuke them with impunity and take their ships.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 02:37

Thanks everybody. All useful tips. Now let me get started! Money, Money, Money. Here I come!

PS
I just spent the last twenty minutes answering you all individually. But I accidentally missed a key and hit the F5 (refresh) key instead and every single word vanished!

I'm now going to put plasters on my fingers to stop them bleeding after all that typing I did!

Thanks once again all!

Coreblimey.

T.S.Zatoichi · Post by **T.S.Zatoichi** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 03:01

Don't forget that your relations with the Paranid get reset on completion of the plot. What I've always done is grab an abandoned ship, buy a M3, fully kit it out, then fly around in Argon/Pirate sectors capping every Paranid ship I come across. If you don't want to cheat by using the abandoned ship, then sell the starter ship and buy a fast M5 with M cargo capacity, then do scan freight missions in pirate space or collect missiles till you can afford the M3.

You can easily earn more than enough money doing it this way, and by the time you finish the plot, your Argon rep will be high enough to buy anything you want.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 03:45

By 'reset' do you mean neutral & not what I am now ( which is 'desecrator' of something or other)? There's only a couple of levels lower than this!

Please say 'yes'! (and mean it!).

EDIT:
Just got turned to spacedust in Montalaar by RRF. I guess buying one of there ships at the moment is out of the question!
The Boron have an M4 (Pike) with 208 cargohold and decent speed, but even if I sold my demeter+ 40000 cr. I still cant afford it yet.
Well back to work on station supply missions for now!

Draekros · Post by **Draekros** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 04:18

Coreblimey wrote:By 'reset' do you mean neutral & not what I am now ( which is 'desecrator' of something or other)? There's only a couple of levels lower than this!

Yes - your reputation gets set to a level (I think rank -1) which doesn't mean you'll be turned into space dust when you enter Paranid space after you complete this start's mission. So make the most of this during the 75hrs you have to complete the mission.

Also your reputation with the Argon is at rank -2 (IIRC) with that start. Sounds like you started where I did (Preacher's Refuge). Your low rep with the Argon means you cannot enter Core sectors (like Montalaar) until you improve your rep with the Argon. I had to make a dash through Xenon Sector 347 to get to the border sectors in Argon space where you can do missions to get your rank up enough so you can enter Core sectors without getting blown away. A bonus is that if you kill/cap Paranid ships in Argon space, that will make the Argon happy!

Vim Razz · Post by **Vim Razz** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 05:56

Selling your 25 MJ shields gives you plenty of starting capital to trade with until you've got a jumpdrive and can start doing fetch-and-carry missions.

After your first million or so, you've got plenty of options depending on how you want to play. I like to switch to a Boa, since you can do a huge variety of missions by adding cargo life support and picking up a 2nd hand M3 & M5 for combat and scouting.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Sat, 7. Jul 12, 16:48

@Draekros
Yep! Preachers Refuge was my start sector. I made 30000 in Shores of Infinity flitting between a plankton farm and a stotts spicery. Got toasted by a military deimos when I undocked (where he came from I've no idea). On the re-load had to wait approx. 20min. (clocks still ticking) for it to leave the sector.
No decent work in Lucky Planets so moved on to Rolk's Legacy. Got shot down by a Paranid trader in an M3. Re-load.
Waited at Lucky Planets shipyard 'til that M3 was well on it's way. (clock still ticking!).
Went to Montalaar (not realising it was a core sector). Re-load.
Here I was back at the shipyard contemplating my navel when it struck me. Ouch! Undocked, ejected, sent trader to shipyard. Followed it (oh so very slowly (clock still ticking)).
Sold trader. Bought a brand spanking new Octopus Raider. Equipped it (except for weapons, The EQ didn't have any IREs so bought 10 mosquito for defense & that left me with 900000 cr in my pocket.
And that is exactly where I am up to.
Went to bed and got up a couple of hours ago. And have yet to boot the game.
My intention is to whizz through Paranid & Split territory back to the safety of the Borons (Queens Harbour) and the neighbouring Teladi sectors to find some work, buying a new small trader (dolphin) if necessary.
Fingers Crossed!

Draekros · Post by **Draekros** » Sun, 8. Jul 12, 06:53

I picked up a second hand M4 on the cheap, repair laser'd it to full health, found some PACs & shields to arm it (sold my start freighter), then used it to cap an M3 (one without a rear turret - a Mamba piloted by a Paranid). Flew around a bit capping Paranid high tech traders in M3s, then sending the ships back to a shipyard to sell, after stripping them. Managed to fully kit out the Mamba and started filling up a capped freighter with high tech wares to kit out ships I wanted to keep for later.

I used the M4 (I think it was a Scorpion, can't remember - it was so long ago!) to fly through that Xenon sector to Scale Plate Green and then east to Nyana's Hideout so I could get some Argon rep so I could enter core sectors without dying immediately. Once the Argon liked me again, it was a simple matter. I spent most of my time capping Paranid ships in Hatikvah's Faith, made more than enough money selling those M3s - esp. if you get lucky and the high tech trader M3s still have some cargo left that you don't want to use on your own ship(s).

Enslaving the ejected pilots and selling them to a pirate base was fun too - just not much of a money maker.

Keep a look out for Argons in the Boron/Teladi stations offering missions at the start as you might be able to get a bit of rep out of them without having to make a dash through hostile sectors to get to an Argon border sector.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Sun, 8. Jul 12, 08:29

My latest exploit was as follows:

Tried to cap a Paranid High Tech Trader (hmm! sounds like a song title!) in Faded Dreams whilst on my way To Queens Harbour. (Thought it might save me having to buy a Dolphin).
One shot from it's rear turret loaded with Fragmentation Launcher hit me squarely. Shield gone. Hull now 57%. ( 1MJ shield doesn't go far these days!). Made good use of strafe after that. Keeping my finger firmly on the fire button (after about 10secs. all my 4 IREs could do was stutter.). Nibbling away at his shields, and all the time he was crying like a little girl, "Shields going, Paranid need help!", and steadfastly refusing to surrender any of his cargo, I didn't know at the time though whether he had any to drop as I didn't have a freight scanner. It was his ship I was really after. Anyhow, in the end he exploded and all that was dropped was 2 remote guided warheads and a silkworm missile. With my Octopus only having a grand total of 13 cargo space and of that only 3 vacant, I grabbed one of the remotes dashed to the MO, sold it, went back for the other, sold that, then finally went for the silkworm and sold that. 50+ thousand for them. I then left the MO, ejected to repair my ship and headed for Queens Harbour where I bought a docking computer. Nipped next door to the shipyard and bought a Mako Vanguard.
And that is where this part of the story ends. Next chapter to follow shortly. (Maybe!).

Draekros · Post by **Draekros** » Sun, 8. Jul 12, 11:39

Once you have several Salvage Insurance it makes ship capping much easier - you can save prior to the attempt and reload if you're not successful (if you don't mind doing that).

Snafu_X3 · Post by **Snafu_X3** » Mon, 9. Jul 12, 03:34

PP start looks hard but it's actually easier than TT (that you need to complete to get the PP start, unless you've cheated

)

As others have said, the first million or so is the slog, after that it's just grinding missions etc

My strategy centres on getting the Heaven's Assertion start sector; if you're in the other one (can't remember which sector ATM) simply restart until you get HA

Once you've made it E out of HA & into Split space, first thing you do is dock. This gives you an auto-save to come back to. You can then trade a few ecells in PC to make a little cash & Split rep, upgrade your Demeter's speed & buy a few s/w upgrades

Dock at Strong Arms HQ in Thyn's Excavation & buy a CBLS - essential for money-makling taxi missions!

Then go & pick up the Skate Prototype in Menelaus' Oasis (switch ships at this point, takiing the essential s/w including CBLS with you) & the BCP in Veils of Fortune. The Skate is an excellent fighter for where you are now (low cash & rep) & the BCP can dock at a Military Outpost & sell its FBLs for an easy ~1MCr cash injection. If you're lucky it may have a docking computer onboard!

Do missions for the Boron until you gain enough rep to buy the jumpdrive at Atreus HQ (get a DC & triplex scanner there too if you haven't got them already) & head N, hiring the Orca in QR on the way* & sending it to its shipyard. Do missions for the Teladi (don't forget to pick up police licences ASAP) on your way north, hire the Albatross in Grand Exchange & send it to its shipyard*.

Travel W to Belt of Aguilar & do missions for the Argon until Jonferco allows you to buy a Trading System Extension (this is the nearest non-Paranid station that sells one)

After you've done that you may like to head further W to PTNI & dock at the Teladi EQD to grab the s/w you'd like (Trade3 for your Demeter; Explorer s/w for your Skate), or continue in the sectors you've just passed through & keep doing missions. Obviously by this time you should be buying & deploying Asats as quickly as you can, at least 1 per sector far away from the trade lanes where they're likely to be run over/destroved by a passing hostile

Once you have access to the jumpdrive & TSE everything simply becomes a money-making mission grind until you reach a bit over 25MCr (you'll need a bit of a float once you've got the HypV for re-arming it, trading &c)

I've just finished a PP start with slightly under 2 days to go on the clock. I didn't sell any free ships (although I did flog some equipment of theirs); I've 27 mill in the bank plus a bunch of ships (damaged/repaired freighters for the most part), some of which I've just started kitting with Trade3. I've 1 factory, an ore mine in QR, but that hasn't been going particularly long, with a CAG assigned (natch). The only part I consider slightly 'cheating' is knowing the sectors & rough coordinates of the 2 derelicts; all the rest I did 'by hand' as it were.. oh, & I haven't bought any salvage insurance yet.. just station auto-saves

* The reason I say hire the TLs is to gain rep quickly. Station building when you've not much cash doesn't usually make you much, but it _does_ shoot rep up. Occasionally a Boron sector will want a Teladi or Split factory (sometimes PC will not have an Elephant; naturally if it does, hire it along with the other 2 if you can); if you've got the TLs hired (at about 1KCr each to sit in their shipyard) you can quickly buy the relevant fab & get them on their way PDQ rather than flying/jumping a long way, searching for the TL, ordering it to dock & _then_ flying/jumping back again..

That should do you for now, OK?

Damn!! Just noticed that you're requesting info for AP.. however, most of my advice is still good, I think; simply ignore the bit about derelict ships (unless you're _very_ lucky!)

werewolves? · Post by **werewolves?** » Mon, 9. Jul 12, 03:54

There's also the method of building up Argon rep to get to the 3rd plot mission, if you sell the "gift" you're given at the start of the mission you get about 8 mill or so. Once you have 8 mill it's only 20 minutes max on the stock market to finish the PP quest and have some left overs.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Mon, 9. Jul 12, 13:04

Snafu_X3 wrote:Damn!! Just noticed that you're requesting info for AP.. however, most of my advice is still good, I think; simply ignore the bit about derelict ships (unless you're _very_ lucky!)

Some great tips. Every thing you have stated is still relevant to AP (apart from the known derelict ships).

As my start was Preachers Refuge and did my early work in Shores of Infinity I was able to buy CLSS almost straight away from the Research Station in Great Trench and TSE in Ianimuzura....Ianzura...Ianimazra... (well I think you know where I mean) before making my way to Queens Harbour for the Docking Computer & Jumpdrive.

You may be pleased to know that I have been successful in my quest and am the proud owner of a Hyper_V. The statistics were as follows: 3x200mj shields, 2x25mj shields, top speed 196m/s (fully tuned), 11 fighter drones & 7 marines (1 of which was 5 star everything including fighting) while the remainder were about 2 star in some and ziltch in others.).
I did do the re-load trick a few times (although I was quite satisfied with it's speed which was enough to keep up with most fighters when necessary) and the highest was 216m/s. As I only did this out of curiosity I reverted to earlier save and kept the 196m/s version.

I had about four and a half hours to spare when I finished. (Actually it was a bit longer but I kept doing missions so that I had a few million credits to spare, not knowing what upgrades the Hypo may need (in tjhis case it was cargo bay & rudder). The Paranid M3 was a bit of a bonus though. Wasn't expecting that!

So I would like to thank everyone who contributed their advice and tips without which I'm sure I wouldn't have succeeded.

As for me! It's onwards and upwards... downwards... left.... right.... well every which way but loose! TO THE STARS!

ajax34i · Post by **ajax34i** » Mon, 9. Jul 12, 19:37

I guess players who don't reload until they get the 250 do exist!

I stopped at 230 m/s for the Hyperion, but mostly because the Advanced Perseus had 247 m/s, which is pretty good.

The Poisoned Paranid start is mostly about having to deal with not having access to all the ship upgrades from the start, actually. For your start, it's actually easier because you get access to Argon sectors and Trade Extension right away. The southern start is a bit more difficult because you have to travel through the war zone in order to get to the Argon sectors.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Mon, 9. Jul 12, 21:10

In that case I'm glad I started at Preachers Refuge. With getting work in Shores of infinity, and trading at the shipyard next door, it ensured me enough rep to buy a jump drive once I bought my Mako from Queen's Retribution. Otherwise I may have ended up selling about 150 ecells at a time until my rep was up. Nearly all the missions at that time were the covert ones and I didn't feel up to it in a Mako Raider with just 1x5mj shield.

EDIT:
Incidentally, my Advanced Perseus was only 209m/s top speed.

I always like to play the game straight down the line on a start I have never done before. On subsequent starts I may use the games 'exploits'.
I did use the Laser Tower weapon on my last start to kit out my Cerberus. Although that start (Tormented Teladi) was the first time I'd payed it in AP, I had played it in TC so I didn't really feel I was cheating myself.

ajax34i · Post by **ajax34i** » Tue, 10. Jul 12, 14:13

Yeah 209 is the standard speed for that ship. I think it's being sold at one shipyard, so it's relatively rare. I also think Mamba.V's and Nova.R's have better weapon loadouts, but to each his own.

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Poisoned Paranid. How do I make 25mill. in 75 hours! (AP)

Poisoned Paranid. How do I make 25mill. in 75 hours! (AP)

Spoiler warning for Poisoned Paranid start!