Ranks and Money... o what a newbie. =D

[slither666]

This is for X3TC. =D

Hey guys.

First off i'd like to say that finally after several reinstalls (lol) i'm actually learning to play this game. Definitely good news and a great game if you can get past the learning curve (still trying but getting better). But seeing as i'm definitely still a newbie, i need to ask....

1) Do ranks (particularly combat and trade) actually have an effect on anything or is it just something fun to progress in?

2) I enjoy playing combat pilots (with my NPC traders in the background) but combat missions seem to make insanely little money (when a ship is like 2 million+, missions that give 15, 000 to 40, 000 credits seem... i don't know... certainly a step in the right direction but wow... very, very slow). So i guess my question is, can you actually make money as a combat pilot through missions or are you forced to go watch a movie or something and hope your trader can pick up cash. =D

[StoneLegionYT]

I think one of the things you can do is disable ships and actually board them and capture them if I recall. This is only by what I remember seeing or hearing about it. But hopefully this will help trigger some chatter.

Quick Google Search:
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=103054

Also:

As for tips'n'tricks, here's my guide to capturing in X³:

• Target.
• Shoot. Lots. Try and kill it.
• If it turns blue, stop shooting!
• If it doesn't turn blue, just keep firing until it does - or it dies.
• Move onto the next target.

[Gazz]

Combat / trade rank define the missions that NPC offer.
When there's an attack involving several carriers and destroyers, they won't be looking for some newbie schmuck to defeat it. =P

Kill more stuff and you get "bigger" missions.

[Berlioz]

This is for X3TC. =D

Hey guys.

First off i'd like to say that finally after several reinstalls (lol) i'm actually learning to play this game. Definitely good news and a great game if you can get past the learning curve (still trying but getting better). But seeing as i'm definitely still a newbie, i need to ask....

1) Do ranks (particularly combat and trade) actually have an effect on anything or is it just something fun to progress in?

2) I enjoy playing combat pilots (with my NPC traders in the background) but combat missions seem to make insanely little money (when a ship is like 2 million+, missions that give 15, 000 to 40, 000 credits seem... i don't know... certainly a step in the right direction but wow... very, very slow). So i guess my question is, can you actually make money as a combat pilot through missions or are you forced to go watch a movie or something and hope your trader can pick up cash. =D

Ranks affect a lot! The enemies you'll encounter, the economy, missions, bail rates, etc.
If you have a decent rank, the missions will pay handsomely, even with a relatively low rank like Instructor you'll get a million or more easily.
Plus enemies bail faster and you can claim their ships. An M3 or M7 can make you several millions, if you repair it yourself. Bigger ships need a boarding party, but are worth up to 100 million.

[zazie]

Suggestion for a newbie: go for the Super Freighters and try to cap them. They bail quite easily, if you sell them at Shipyards you earn several 100'000 cr. each. Plus: they usually drop cargo when attacked - pick it up and sell it.

Plus: as the Super Freighters belong to the main races, you only need to to one or two missions for that race and your reputation is up again.

[Aragosnat]

Suggestion for a newbie: go for the Super Freighters and try to cap them. They bail quite easily, if you sell them at Shipyards you earn several 100'000 cr. each. Plus: they usually drop cargo when attacked - pick it up and sell it.

Plus: as the Super Freighters belong to the main races, you only need to to one or two missions for that race and your reputation is up again.

Depends on how low down you are on their pooh list and how high your trade / combat rank is. At the start it is not as easy to go up as it sounds.

[slither666]

Thanks a ton guys. You're help is appreciated.

It's good to know that ranks will eventually boost up the mission rewards since i imagine that the small rewards would be less then useless in later game (when trying to buy those bigger and very pricey ships... lol). Thankfully the game recently threw me a bone and a ship worth 7 million (incidentally that's worth more then my entire in-game company at the moment... lol) was handed over to me after the pilot bailed. I was getting my butt kicked so it was really 100% luck (lol), but i'll take it. =D

[Snafu_X3]

1) Do ranks (particularly combat and trade) actually have an effect on anything or is it just something fun to progress in?

As people have said: yes, very much so!

More specifically:

Spoiler

Show

Combat rank affects the number & amount of enemy ships that appear during missions. It may also affect the chance for an enemy M3,4,5,8/TS/TP pilot to bail out, leaving their ship(s) for you to claim, repair & a) sell for instant profit or b) use yourself, either as <playership> or remotely

Trade rank affects the cash rewards you get for missions & may also affect the selling prices for 2nd-hand ships/weapons at stations

Race rep(utation) affects the type of missions you get, the availability of certain goods from that race, the value of weapons & ships to/from that race, & how you are generally regarded by that race, from top dog to kill-on-sight. A couple of points here: pirate & yaki are regarded as separate races & you won't be able to see your rep with either of them in vanilla TC; & races won't even let you into some sectors without having a certain amount of positive rep with them

Hope that helps!

[haft2doit]

Like others have said yes ranks have quite an impact on mission reward and type. One thing to note is the higher your fight rank, the more dangerous the universe will get. The size of ships that you will face will go up and after a while you will find xenon Q's,J's, and K's roaming the universe trying to take a bite out of you and your assets.

Capping ships can get you a chunk of change. You need to have a weapon setup that allows you to strip the shields quickly and destroy the hull slowly. Like High energy plasma throwers on group 1 and a couple Particle accelerator cannons on group 2. Strip the shields with HEPT and then switch to PAC for the hull. This will increase the odds of the pilot bailing. If you don't mind loosing race reputation attacking a races transporters can be a good way to get credits and ships. Remember to eject from your ship and get close to cap the ship. And don't forget to pull out your repair laser and get the ship fixed up before you sell it. Note that if a race rep gets too low you won't be allowed in their core sectors and later not in their space at all. Best to pick one race you don't plan on visiting before you start going to town on them.

If you do a lot of station protect missions be prepared to get a bigger ship or load it up with some powerful missiles, as you will find quickly the ships they start sending outclass your own.

Sounds like you still have a lot of things to discover about this game. You'll see you've just scratched the surface of interesting things to do in the universe! Good luck.

[bizbag]

Ranks affect a lot! The enemies you'll encounter, the economy, missions, bail rates, etc.
If you have a decent rank, the missions will pay handsomely, even with a relatively low rank like Instructor you'll get a million or more easily.
Plus enemies bail faster and you can claim their ships. An M3 or M7 can make you several millions, if you repair it yourself. Bigger ships need a boarding party, but are worth up to 100 million.

You allude to this, but just to be explicit to avoid confusing the OP: M6s and M7s never "bail" or spontaneously abandon their ship. You must use marines to capture them, and your own Fight Rank does not affect their success (THEIR fight skill etc, does).

[CtMurphy]

This is for X3TC. =D

Hey guys.

First off i'd like to say that finally after several reinstalls (lol) i'm actually learning to play this game. Definitely good news and a great game if you can get past the learning curve (still trying but getting better). But seeing as i'm definitely still a newbie, i need to ask....

1) Do ranks (particularly combat and trade) actually have an effect on anything or is it just something fun to progress in?

2) I enjoy playing combat pilots (with my NPC traders in the background) but combat missions seem to make insanely little money (when a ship is like 2 million+, missions that give 15, 000 to 40, 000 credits seem... i don't know... certainly a step in the right direction but wow... very, very slow). So i guess my question is, can you actually make money as a combat pilot through missions or are you forced to go watch a movie or something and hope your trader can pick up cash. =D

If there's a manual to it you can try reading bits and pieces of it, or if you're like me just get in the starter ship and tinker with alll the buttons until you're able to fly straight.

#1) Ranks affect the mission in particular, but also can generally change the enemies you'll encounter. at rookie all of you're enemies will be in tin cans fit for a scrap yard. At higher ranks liiike, fighter chief or what not, enemies are generally better equipped, will fire missiles more often and are very very marginally smarter (it's noticeable at least) traders are more competative and you have to do better in order to keep up with the local economy. Also, the higher you're rank, the more money you'll get for missions. It'll vary in relation to how you rate according to individual race though too.Which also answers your second question. Alllso, it helps a lot if you do these missions in the right ship. An M3 heavy fighter can take on most opponants as needed. Wit the right loadouts they can take out nearly anything, single handed.