Confused Elite: Dangerous - Profitable trading routes

[TdC]

Hey chums,

I'm currently doing a fairly profitable run in a Hauler and thought I'd share it with you here. The route is 4 jumps in total, and there is trading on each station. Average profit per jump is about 4K with 16T cargo capacity, so a full run nets you avg 16K credits.

Additionally, make sure to check your bulletin board on each station to look for cargo or courier trips that could fit the route/leg. Free cash is nothing to sneer at eh

Post your own runs and things if you like, I'll update this post to reflect it.

Routes

Spoiler: Teedlecash 1

• Route : Teedlecash 1
• Profit: ~16K
• Systems: Asellus Prime, Dahan, Morgor
• Jumps: 4
• Published: 23-8-14
• Checked: 25-8-14

• Jump 1: Asellus P. -> Dahan
  • Cargo: Resonating Separators ~ 4K profit -or- Advanced Catalysers ~ 5K profit

• Jump 2: Dahan -> Morgor
  • Cargo: Explosives ~ 2K profit

• Jump 3: Morgor -> Dahan
  • Cargo: Bertrandite ~7.8K profit -or- Gallite ~7.3K profit

• Jump 4: Dahan -> Asellus P.
  • Cargo: Cobalt ~3K profit

Spoiler: Teedlecash 2

• Route : Teedlecash 2
• Profit: ~6K
• Systems: I Bootis, Aulin
• Jumps: 2
• Published: 24-8-14
• Checked: 24-8-14

• Jump 1: I Bootis -> Aulin
  • Cargo: Fish ~ 2K profit -or- Clothing ~ 1K profit

• Jump 2: Aulin -> I Bootis
  • Cargo: Agri-Medicine ~4K profit

Spoiler: Teedlecash 3

• Route : Teedlecash 3
• Profit: ~15K
• Systems: Asellus Prime, Eranin, I Bootis
• Jumps: 4
• Published: 24-8-14
• Checked: 24-8-14

• Jump 1: I Bootis -> Eranin
  • Cargo: Crop Harvesters ~ 4K profit

• Jump 2: Eranin -> Asellus Prime
  • Cargo: Animal Meat ~ 2K profit

• Jump 3+4: Asellus Prime -> I Bootis (via Eranin)
  • Cargo: Auto Fabricators ~ 9K profit

Unverified

Spoiler

Asellus Primus -> I Bootis (via Eranin), cargo: Auto Fabricators
I Bootis -> Assellus Primus (via Eranin), cargo: fish

Changelog

• Teedlecash 1 - initial post, cleaned up text, added alternate cargo where possible, added profit per cargo per jump.
• Teedlecash 2 - initial post, added spoiler tags
• Teedlecash 3 - initial post

 

[Hawkwind]

have to be careful as when the route becomes popular the demand goes down along with the sell price.

 

[TdC]

tbh if you're looking for uber profits you wont be in the starting systems anyway. me, I don't give a rat's arse if I take 20 or 40 jumps to earn back an L9
what fun there would be if you could take out loans against ships or future profits, and repo-men would come to hassle you if you didnt make your payments looool

 

[Athan]

Well, loans will be available in the game, but possibly only for when you can't afford the insurance excess. You will end up with a fine, which can turn into a bounty with time, if you don't keep up the payments.

I'm thinking they won't offer them simply for getting a more expensive ship as that then short-circuits one mode of progression (not that credits count and what ship you have is ALL of the progression ED will have, there's at least all of the reputation and ratings stuff as well).

 

[Urgat]

I admire the dedication fella.

But by far the fastest way to make cash in a hauler is to salvage gold in lp98 USS's

 

[Pihls PW Guildmaster]

Correct me if Im wrong but this game isnt a mmorpg right ?

I been reading and what I get is its like freelancer ( with multiplayer mode)

I would be more into it if it was like eve online or daoc ?

 

[Athan]

It's MMO in the sense that all the players will be affecting the same galactic economy and events. Also any given player will have about the same chance of coming across a given other PC if they're in the same region of space (modulo things like friends lists being taken into account for instance limits), i.e. it's not like you choose to play with just this 1000 players and never anyone else (ignoring private groups for now), a la WoW-like server/realm splits.

It's not MMO in the sense that you're not going to see masses of other ships (PC or NPC) in one place at a time. Including NPCs it might be 100 in one place. PCs, well, they're still working on the netcode to see how many they can reliably place in the same 'island' without issues.

You won't get EvE style control of space if for no other reason than the developers have made a positive decision to have both private groups and online solo play in the same galaxy as everyone else, i.e. you could just switch mode to private/solo to get past any blockade, if you were that way inclined. The developer decision on this was taken due to "well, if we don't have this possibility to play in a private group or solo then we'll have a lot less players playing at all, and maybe some of them will come join the rest in open play".

 

[Pihls PW Guildmaster]

did see this :

David Braben has big plans for Elite: Dangerous, including taking his open-world space exploration premise multiplayer. But speaking to VG247, Braben said he’s not making a rival to EVE Online.

“This isn’t an MMO. You’ll be able to load and save your position, and you’ll be able to choose who you play with. It’s a very different thing, and it’s got more common with the way people tend to play things like Call of Duty,” he said.

some how I cant paste links into post even I been here for over 10 years ?!

 

[Athan]

That appears to be from http://www.vg247.com/2012/11/23/elite-dangerous-brabens-square-peg/ which is from Friday, 23rd November 2012, i.e. when the Kickstarter campaign was still in progress. Sounds like some design intent has changed since then that whole "load and save your position" thing isn't in, unless it's intended for the offline solo play.

 

[TdC]

some how I cant paste links into post even I been here for over 10 years ?!

something to do with the amount of posts chum.

 

[junsumi741]

I like turtles. Also, TdC touches goats.

 

[Scouse]

I like turtles. Also, TdC touches goats.

@TdC does touch goats indeed.

But can he give me any more l33t routes? I've just bought into the beta. Like it

 

[Urgat]

Beta 2 has its focus on testing the missions system as far as i can see. I wouldn't bet on trading being as lucrative as it has been.

 

[TdC]

haven't played in a bit chums. perhaps over the weekend.

 

[wolfeeh]

What flight sticks are people using? I've suddenly developed a massive craving to get in on both this and star citizen and I need something as an interim before blowing big bucks on a warthog if I like them...

 

[Athan]

What flight sticks are people using? I've suddenly developed a massive craving to get in on both this and star citizen and I need something as an interim before blowing big bucks on a warthog if I like them...

I've been using my decade old Saitek X45 HOTAS, as it's what I had. It works well enough, although I hate how strong the centering spring on the stick is (and have done what I can to weaken it, i.e. tied 4 cable ties around 3 loops of the spring), but I keep finding I can't quite bind all vital functions to it. In ED I'm missing things like FSD, Landing Gear, non-firegroup heatsink/chaff/shield energy cell and toggle silent running. Plus I only have forwards/backwards strafe whilst I have gear down (I have the hat in question do that and left/right strafe only when landing gear is down), and double up another hat for menu tab left/right which is otherwise doing target selection. I have nothing bound for subsystem selection.

So, yeah, I'm eyeing the Saitek X-55. It seems issues people have had come down to the throttle unit being power hungry and not all USB ports being able to satisfy its needs - solved by using a different USB port or a powered hub. Other issues centre around lubrication, and it sounds like later production runs have improved that.

I'll miss the rudder rocker on the underside of the throttle handle that the X45 has though.

 

[Jupitus]

You can get hold of a Thrustmaster HOTAS for around 40 quid which is what I am using and I find it very good, if not reputedly as good as more expensive models.

 

[TdC]

I have a Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS which I got cheaply. It's great other than the rather heavy spring. There are vids on youtube of people taking theirs apart to swap out or mod the spring cos it's that heavy.

 

[strangely brown]

You can get hold of a Thrustmaster HOTAS for around 40 quid which is what I am using and I find it very good, if not reputedly as good as more expensive models.

Yep I got that £40 one - T-flight HOTAS X. Does the job - The Saitek ones (X52/X55) scared me both by price and by configurability (I'd be spending more time mapping buttons than playing), and that Warthog jobbie is just a ridiculous price and it doesn't even do the twisty stick axis movement all the others do!!!

 

[Tilda]

I got an MS Forcefeedback 2 (amazing) and a CH Throttle.
Well worth it imo both rock solid and pretty much unbreakable.

Saitek are too "fancy looks" but break too easily. Also massive quality control problems.

Other plus about the MS stick is that because the movement is sensed by motors, you dont have a dead zone in the middle at all, unlike the saitek sticks. Especially useful for space flight where you're doing stuff you'd never do in a flight sim.

And theres a utility to adjust the tension, so if its too highly sprung, you just change a slider and the stick loosens up.

My advice to anybody contemplating the rip-off saitek setup would be pick up a 2nd hand MS stick on ebay for £40-55, then get a CH Throttle which are coming back into stock for £110 ish.
1000x more reliable, plenty of buttons and no quality control issues. And you save money towards the Occulus Rift consumer version which you KNOW you deserve!!

 

[Moriath]

I got an MS Forcefeedback 2 (amazing) and a CH Throttle.
Well worth it imo both rock solid and pretty much unbreakable.

Saitek are too "fancy looks" but break too easily. Also massive quality control problems.

Other plus about the MS stick is that because the movement is sensed by motors, you dont have a dead zone in the middle at all, unlike the saitek sticks. Especially useful for space flight where you're doing stuff you'd never do in a flight sim.

And theres a utility to adjust the tension, so if its too highly sprung, you just change a slider and the stick loosens up.

My advice to anybody contemplating the rip-off saitek setup would be pick up a 2nd hand MS stick on ebay for £40-55, then get a CH Throttle which are coming back into stock for £110 ish.
1000x more reliable, plenty of buttons and no quality control issues. And you save money towards the Occulus Rift consumer version which you KNOW you deserve!!

Whenever they decide to make a consumer version. Hehe

 

[Exioce]

MS FF2 here also, had it for years. I'm happy with the on-stick throttle...

 

[Urgat]

Currently flying a trade route in my lakon 6 (trying to raise cash for a clipper)

System 1 - buy palladium.

Make 2 jump trip to system 2 (25LY)

Sell palladium at 1020cr / ton profit.

System 2 - buy performance enhancers.

Return to system 1

Sell enhancers for 1200cr / ton profit.


Total time - 12 mins round trip.
Total profit - about 230k
About 1.1m profit per hour.

Took me about 20mins to find the route using slopeys.

Problem is. Trading is so dull i can only run it for an hour or two at a time.

 

[Tilda]

I'm using Quazil's Astroanalytics. Its really good and I'm just pottering around in a Mk3 that I just upgraded to from my trusty Adder. I was making about 30k per return flight.

I keep meaning to explore this whole Rares thing, but I dont understand it and really am still far too new at this game.
I want to save up for a Type 6 and for some sort of fighter thing to get better at combat stuff rather than just hauling.

 

[Athan]

I keep meaning to explore this whole Rares thing, but I dont understand it and really am still far too new at this game.

Some systems have a single type of rare item they sell (actually I think there was at least one exception with a single system having two stations each with a rare each for sale). They are the only source of this trade item. Then the other different thing about these items is that the price you can sell them for is determined by distance from that single source station. Nothing else matters, not economy type, nor I think population. The sweet spot is around 140-160ly from the source. The wrinkle is that they'll be, per player, in quite short supply. For some you may only see less than 10 for sale at a time, with them refreshing every 20 minutes or so. There may still be some that refresh at a higher supply though (but still that same tick rate).

As such they're a great way to start trading once you have seed cash, but as you get into ships with more and more cargo space they become less worthwhile.

I made most of my money before the restricted the supply of them as drastically as it is now. It was easy to make 1.6mil cr in a single trip (I think 12 hops either way) then, in a Type-6.

 

[~Yuckfou~]

Rares are the way to go to get together some quick money.
This route made me c3mill per round trip, tops out at about 85 tonnes so easy in a Type 6. (buy then wait 10/15 mins for rares to resupply)
I would recommend an A class FSD though to cut down on the jumps. Not sure if it's been mentioned but Thrudds Trading Tools are really useful for short hop trading and finding stuff you need for tasks.

 

[Jupitus]

Rares are the way to go to get together some quick money.
This route made me c3mill per round trip, tops out at about 85 tonnes so easy in a Type 6. (buy then wait 10/15 mins for rares to resupply)
I would recommend an A class FSD though to cut down on the jumps. Not sure if it's been mentioned but Thrudds Trading Tools are really useful for short hop trading and finding stuff you need for tasks.

Welcome back, Yuck

 

[~Yuckfou~]

Thanks for sorting out that err thing, you know...

 

[Scouse]

Thanks for sorting out that err thing, you know...

tbfh...

 

[TdC]

shhhh. let Yuck and Jup keep their sordid secrets!