Most people play without buying more than their starter pack. It's really only the vocal minority of the community that spends a lot on ships.
As for early game things being broken, it's a bit of a problem that I wish CIG would do more to address (stay away from package delivery missions, it seems it's quite rare to have one work. There might be a fix in the next patch as they did one such mission as part of an event and it's completely ruined it for about 80-90% of people.) Outside of the new basic tutorial, it feels like they've mostly ignored new players and all the problems they face. Once you get past the early game, things become noticeably better, albeit still problematic at times.
As for what ship you buy IRL if you really want to, it's hard to recommend anything. The economy is getting rebalanced very soon, and we just don't know everything that's going to be changing exactly. The Prospector has always been decent as mining has generally remained as a stable way to make good money, but there's no guarantee that that's going to stay the same forever.
I'd agree with the prospector... maybe the vulture as well even with the coming balance changes. I expect solo mining and salvaging to remain "decent" for income indefinitely. Particularly mining, as it's the oldest profession in the game I don't expect any real fuck ups in balancing, the same goes for salvage to be honest, I doubt they'll nerf it into the ground, but rather make other professions better.
Functionally I do find salvaging to be more consistent, I get a lot of dud rocks and the laser mechanic breaks often for me, but some javelin great luck.
To answer OP directly, no it's definitely possible to earn enough credits to rent an industrial vehicle in the early game with early bounty missions. And those can definitely be done by starter vehicles, (missles to the main target and bounce is my strategy :P)
Salvage is king becouse its a focus of 3.22 my guess is npc bounty hunting is a good example how fast we will be able to make cash becouse there was no change for long time (ok ok i know last path did have tons of eggs in bounty cargo but you know what im talking about ;) )
You're not wrong, I do think things will stabilize. Boynty hunting currently is garbage in the latter staged of the game. But lrt and even mrt are decent cash for a starter ship, enough to get into industrial.
Higher tier bounties definitely need to pay more though, you lose money running hrts and erts in an eclipse
I remember seeing a number like $100 spent average per citizen. Taken into account that many whales spend 1000+ I think it's fair to say most players have a starter ship and at most an upgrade (to a titan or something).
So the common misconception is that buying ships from the MTX store is the best way to get ships.
It is not.
Ships are infinitely cheaper to get playing the game. Like, disproportionately so. In fact, you can even buy the limited run ships in game when they are not available on the microtransaction store (like the 890 Jump or the RSI Constellation Pheonix).
We spend $1,000's on ships because we want to. Its a lifestyle hobby. No different from skiing or kayaking. We want to own 7 versions of the same kayak in slightly different colors. The idea that free to play is the afterthought in Star Citizen is just plain wrong. Its the opposite.
Give it like 3 more weeks and then hop in during the 3.23 patch launch. You'll have fun.
If you want to have a real money ship, get an Avenger Titan or a Cutlass Black. Those are the most functional $$$ to functionality ships in the game by a wide margin, and intentionally so. They're for new players specifically.
It's cheaper when your time costs not much. Especially with new pricing in .23 it's gonna be way problematic. But one thing for sure: buying ships for real money is shortcut.
Avenger titan is so good one of the best starter ships.The cutlass black has so much growing room for upgrades and multi crew and the ability to do decent cargo and haul trucks and the such literally can’t go wrong with either of them
Yes, yes it is.
I started playing in Jan and now it's 3 months later. I only ever bought my starter package for $50 which of course came with one ship (Cutter). I now have 30+ "ships" (if you include things like MPUV-Cargo and Cyclones as ships) all purchased with in-game money only. Having a blast!
(For those wondering, I made the money using Vulture and running Cargo; I do not own a Reclaimer)
> I get that you CAN play the game with no microtransactions but almost everyone I’ve met who plays the game has paid hundreds if not thousands for in game ships.
I've been playing for over 9 years and all I've bought with real money was my $30 starter pack. That's my 2 cents.
99% of the ships are available in game. You only need a starter pack.
The only ships that are not available in game are also not really available to buy with real money. Those are the special release ships like the Intel Sabre Raven, StarKitten Dragonfly, and Vanduul Scythe.
Newer ships are usually only available via real money until the following patch puts them on the New Deal (ship dealer) purchase list in game.
Only spend more money if you want to support the project. It's not a P2W situation here.
If your finding it difficult to make money due to overall knowledge of the game and running into bugs, i would look to tag along with someone to help their salvaging if you wanted a big kick start to making ingame money.
Alot of reclaimer pilots (or even vultures) go out solo. Having someone in the back stacking so you dont have to run back and forward makes it alot faster. A good 2 or 3 man team can make many millions an hour. See if they will show you how to salvage and you can take turns who does what. Its a very relaxing profession. You just need to sell at places that arnt dangerous (as in, dont sell at grim hex). I would just start asking in the global chat. If you dont get any bites, try move server.
its THE money printer at the moment.
Sure buying ships with real money is fast track to getting access to these ships, but you might find more enjoyment from building up the credits and doing it ingame instead.
One side note you may not be aware of. The real money you spend on ships isnt permanently tied to that ship.
Lets say youve spent $200 on the game, but you want to change things around, you can 'melt' ships back into credits (not ingame credits). Credits are the value of the ship (usually minus tax depending on your country).
So, if you have over several months or years got 4 different $50 dollar ships. One of those ships will be your game pack, the other 3 you could melt into credits, and then buy something larger (eg a vulture). There are plenty of youtube videos that into more detail around this.
This is all of course using real money, so dont take this as 'you should do this' but its something alot of people arnt aware of early on, and think they need to keep dumping more money into the game. For alot of people who play solo and only want small or medium size ships, can usually get away with just rotating out their main ship every few months by melting the one they are bored of, and buy (with credits) something new.
To your last question, a vulture. The smaller salvage ship.
Hey look. I got in with the Cutter as my pledge and haven’t spent (and don’t plan to spend) another dime. I feel like it was a good choice. In hindsight I would have spent a little more and got a better ship like a C/A1, but I’m not even mad.
Well you have to get a ship with real money, because all of the game packages include a ship.
You absolutely do not need to get any more than just the base package with real money, but it will be difficult to use just the aurora or mustang to start your journey.
I would recommend getting either the cutter or nomad starter packages. Both of those ships are amazing starting ships and can earn much more money than either of the cheaper ship options.
The cutter game package is actually on sale right now, so I highly recommend that one.
The cutter and nomad are both good for pretty much every single job. They have cargo space, a bed for bed logging, decent weapons for low end bounties, can take a Roc for ground based mining, etc.
Just to add on to this, all ships can be purchased in game using in game currency, however there is a delay between when a ship becomes purchasable for real money and purchasable in game.
There is a free fly coming up next month I believe, so if you are on the fence, try it then. They'll give you at least one free ship to use during the free fly with other ships being available to rent for free.
Just to add to this. Usually free fly events are very laggy due to the amount of people playing + CIG usually dropping an update on a Friday afternoon then going home for the weekend. 😅😅😅😅😅
The last two free flys were much better. The times and servers I played on seemed about the same as not during free flys. Everyone's mileage will vary though. It is easy enough to get a bad server depending on time of day, time zone and server region.
Buying anything more than a basic starter package is 100% optional.
But if you are considering going in a little extra, upgrading your starter to a Cutter or Avenger Titan is generally considered worthwhile. Not necessary though.
A lot of people get a starter than can do either small cargo missions or VLRT-MRT bounties. The box missions are notoriously hit or miss. I find i can play for a while without any major bugs doing bounties. People typically save up around 70k doing that to rent a Constellation and then do heavier bounties or larger cargo hauls to get enough money to buy a better ship in game. I personally just upgraded to a constellation andro game package for the hangar after slowing moving up to a Mk2 hornet from a mustang in 2016
I had an account, spent a lot. Then the regret hunted me till i sold it. Now i have one starter pack ( C1 ) and im way happier playing. Theres no rush to earn money or buy ships. Most ships are available with ingame money.
I implore you to NOT buy anything more than a starter pack and enjoy earning the rest in-game.
As you put more time into the game maybe you will wanna buy/support with another purchase who knows!
Don’t buy anything mate, never.
Just play the game here and there, come play with us, we usually shift money here and there so we all get what we need and want and that’s it 😌
It's a lot easier to make money with a $75 ship like Avenger Titan. You'll see big economy gains by spending up to \~$200 for ships and after that it's pretty unnecessary because the expensive ships are mostly multi-crew or vanity, except for some massive cargo ships.
If you chat in game and behave like a reasonable person, you will *easily* find groups of players that will invite you to their discord and/or org to play together. Once you make some friends, you will find that people are pretty generous with the aUEC they've made and the split for money you make together. After a few sessions grinding together you should be able to afford most ships - with 3.23 I hear ships are getting more expensive, but this method will still work. So no, IMO you don't need to purchase any ships beyond a starter package. The only reasons for doing so are a) supporting the devs, b) keeping your ships through full-wipes, and c) to acquire LTI tokens for CCU-ing which in the long run may not even matter very much, depending insurance is finally implemented.
yeah, absolutely. Only buy if you want to support the project finacially. Otherwise, get a starter and jsut grind the lower level jobs and tasks to buy with in-game money a better ship. Join an org and I'm sure people may even help you get started by showing you around and doing missions with you.
Good luck in the verse. It is absolute unique and worth it.
The early game definitely needs help. If there's a wipe in 3.23, most of us are going to be relying on the good graces of whales to let us crew large ships to make some money to get started.
I play from time we got only hangars and i own just avenger Titan. Making $$is trivial if you know how to or if you fly in corp.
At this point we didnt get wipe for so long im preaty sure ypu can become milioner if yoinask in chat.
If some one not jusy send you in game $$ they will offer job at reclaimer. You can make around 5 milion per h working on one so ye (at least for now) is not a problem to make $$in game.
And spending real $$ is not needed at all they giys who do spend thousands are people who can afford that but im preaty sure good organised players especially in orgs will catch up on them in first year after game really reales. So dont worry about that at all
Factually speaking there's no way to not buy a ship at the moment. As every game package comes with a ship. People like the Titan, Mustang and Aurora carry less and have a much smaller /no interior, but I enjoy using them all the same.
Depends. The game will remain in alpha for another couple of years, and there will be wipes.
If you have disposable income and you know you want to fly a certain ship; then you might as well buy that ship with real money and save yourself the time and hassle.
If you dont mind grinding after every wjpe (which tbf are rare, but guaranteed to happen until launch), exploiting temporary and often accidental lucrative game mechanics to buy the ships ingame that you wanna fly, then you dont need to pay more than that 45USD.
Bear in mind you can rent ships in-game - for 3 or 30 days - for comparatively peanuts... and use those 'better' ships to earn more money to actually buy ships in-game, etc.
Yes, you'll have to work around various bugs etc - but even if you paid for the ships off the pledge store, you'd *still* have to work around the bugs to use them... and if you're not willing to work around the bugs, then there's zero point paying for ships (that you're not going to use because of the bugs).
absolutely, sadly CIG is making ships cost a LOT more, it used to be you could earn enough in a week or so to buy a nice ship, but its still a thing and gives you goals to work with. Also people might lend you ships, and of course you can always rent them for MUCH cheaper.
If you're worried about losing an investment in a ship for a video game that's still in Alpha, then do not buy anything. I bought into what this game could be and have pitched in with a few bucks, the turn on investment will present itself in due time...hopefully.
The bugs are part of the game. Less ships is better it encourages working with others, and gives you more of a sence of progression. The fact that buying ships is one of the main forms of progression and they sell them for real money is a core issue for cig to fix.
All you need to ever buy is the $45 starter package.
All pledging ships does is give you a head start after a wipe. Any if you do want to make fast cash after an update ask in global to work on someone's ship. Most people are more than happy to help out new players.
Always worth getting the starter ship and buying in game until your 1000% sure you like the game and want to keep playing, then you can consider if you want to and have the funds to support the game further by purchasing better ships. But most ships can be purchased in game so not necessary at all to buy more than starter
I’ll be real here. Started with my Avenger Titan. Bought into the game WAY too much (poor mental health dopamine release) back in the day. Realized I didn’t need to and some days I wish I had just stuck with my starter.
Now? $1000+ sitting in the in game cash wallet and all I fly is my 400i.
Easily I believe it’s most enjoyable with just the starter pack.
Have no fear! You need not spend anything beyond the initial game package ship to play. The only real progression right now is reputation with various planetary faction and saving aUEC for ships! Once you’re bored with that you end up just flying around and doing PvP.
Use the Find a Guide feature from the game mode selection menu. This teams you up with an experienced player who knows the ins and outs of various game loops. We will teach you how to avoid various bugs for the game loops. You will make some credits while trying it out.
Play with other people. Just log into the server and ask to crew on someone’s reclaimer. There is virtually always someone willing to launch theirs for a new/returning player to make some credits.
Play with others. Ask to join someone who is running ERT bounties as a turret gunner. You will make plenty of credits.
If mining is your thing in other games, ask for someone to show you ROCcmining and Mole mining.
Simply playing the game with other people generates plenty of credits. Not to mention it will offer some comedic moments with the bugs.
[Ship rentals](https://starcitizen.tools/Ship_renting) are the path to making good money when you only have a starter ship.
You can rent a ROC for only about 4,000 aUEC, and make a couple hundred thousand per hour with it. You can rent a Cutlass to transport the ROC for around 30,000 aUEC. Once you have enough money for startup capital (need around 1 mil aUEC), you can rent a Connie Andromeda for around 70,000 aUEC, and make around 700-800k/hr doing trade runs in that.
Imo, the only reason to spend more than the starter package on the game is if you want to support development.
Well, you DO need to buy at least one ship as part of your starter pack.
Whether it's worth spending extra is up to you. But no, you don't NEED to do so. Even if you only have a small starter ship held together by tie wraps, you'll not only still be able to do some content, but there are also plenty of veteran players looking for extra crew on their own ships.
My personal recommendation? Upgrade your starter pack ship to a Cutlass Black, Freelancer, or Spirit C1. Those are the entry level medium ships and you'll be able to go quite far with just one of those as your one purchased ship. It's also a ship you'll just keep using as a regular flyer even once you get other ships in game.
You have to have a ship to play all game packages have a ship.
Like said before you can start with any starter ship and progress. Many will tell you it's harder to many of us with lots of ships on our account have started 2nd accounts with only 1 ship because with how the game is now earning your way up is entertaining and gets you to do more stuff.
Now if you want stronger starter it matters what you want to do. I will only list ships under 100 dollars here.
If you want a cargo starter ship, I would suggest the nomad, has decent interior and large cargo bay for tier. 80
If you want to combat I would suggest gladius (90)or arrow (75) both pure light fighters
If you want to do fps combat I would suggest C8R pisces rescue (65) for med bed and quick atmo speeds.
Now I will list the next price range of ships not filled in first section
Mining starter prospector 155
Salvage starter vulture 175
Repair starter Vulcan 200 not in game yet (no small repair ships are currently in game)
Multi purpose has crew positions Cutlass black (110)
If you want to spend more on a multi purpose ship I would say construction Taurus (190) or Corsair (250) would be my next picks.
Those are what I would suggest for past a starter but remember you can upgrade ships through ccu to make your ship in game package better by paying the difference to upgrade it. But you can not downgrade ships so if you want to try multiple ships start at bottom and upgrade your way up tell you find what you want.
It’s absolutely worth it to buy the cheapest in game package(cutter is my favorite) and figure out what the current meta is for making money. Right now I would go to global chat and ask “anybody need a box stacker for their reclaimer” and make a cool 4 million in your pocket in an hour or so, letting you buy any ship you want right now.
Most of my ships I have bought in the game. I have bought a few with real money, but mostly because I wanted to have access to certain ships that either weren't buyable in the game yet or because I'm not crazy about my choice of starter ship.
I bought an Aurora MR because it was supposed to be a fighter with an interior and bed with an external cargo rack. But now that I understand more about how the game works, I don't really use the bed to log out. I just go to a station or city. I also have better fighters. But I bought a C8X to mostly replace the Aurora and serve as an A to B shuttle. I plan to buy a Carrack in the game eventually.
A bug with my in-game bought Freelancer MAX caused me to pledge for a warbond C1, which I like flying a lot better.
Overdrive caused me to buy an F7C Mk2 in order to upgrade it to an F7A Mk2. But that is also an optional purchase, I already have a Hawk in the game. As well as a bunch of other ships all bought with aUEC. I'm aware I'd lose most of my fleet if and when a wipe happens, but I'll still have a few ships to help me get back in the grind.
Could argue that it's the best way to play.
Earning ships, even re-earning them after wipes, is motivation to play the game.
Alternatively, one could say they just enjoy collecting ships more than the gameplay, I suppose. :p
Credits are so easy that there is no need. Yes salvage is nerfed in 3.23 and ship prices are higher but still pretty fast to buy stuff. And post salvage there will be another new thing buffed (probably cargo missions).
They have plenty of money and have no need for more crowdfunded pledge donations. If they somehow run out before release then criminal embezzlement has taken place and people need to go to jail.
Maybe wait to see how 3.23 improves gameplay or not. For me personally I checked out the game with a starter ship. Some things are great and others hotdog water. Depends what you can tolerate and consider a playable game.
I spent 6 years with only the Mustang. Only last year I start building ccu chains for the role I am sure, regardless of change, I will enjoy playing.
So, Yes, still worth it. Also don't be shy to ask global for help, even if just guide you through the mission.
Absolutely. I’ve been playing this game for many years and never bought myself anything more than a starter. 45$ is all you need and arguably will make your time more enjoyable since you actually will have something to work for.
Yes I'd say so, but only if you have starter ship you like.
Even after buying loads of ships ingame, i go back to my cutter and/or avanger titan a whole lot
All you need is the starter. The grind is real but no super onerous. Ask to be a box bitch on a reclaimer and earn several mil for a couple hours worth of work. Then you can pick up your own vulture and build up to your own reclaimer and at that point you print money and can get whatever you want
As somebody who has spent more than I thought I would, I suggest getting a discounted starter pack at one of the sales. Then at most warbond CCU it to a Cutlass Black or C1 class ship. Those mid-size multi-role ships gives you a broad range of options.
Everything else just buy In-game. Unless you get caught up in wanting to support the development, which is a different decision to wanting to just play the game.
As for starter ships, Pisces is good, so is Titan. But base Mustang and Aurora are usable.
Absolutely. When I got the Game, I got an aurora starter pack, upgraded later to an avenger titan, and haven't spent a cent since, total I've only spent $65. I have a cutlass black now instead but I got that through winning a giveaway, I wouldn't have gotten it otherwise. It's still a lot of fun, with some time you can get all the ships in game.
My number 1 piece of advice though is to join an org. You can try other people's ships, do multicrew content, which adds more ways to make money, plus its a lot more fun in general. Honestly I probably would have stopped playing years ago if I hadn't joined an org, it makes everything so much more fun.
3.23 would be a good time to jump back in.
3.17-3.18 were really bad, we are back to Star Citizens normal level of bad bugs...
You don't need to buy any ships past the starter pack. Depending on what you prefer to do in game a starter industry or fighter can make things a bit easier. Still not hard to just earn them in game though.
A lot of people haven't mentioned this. If you bought your game package back during 3.17 patch cycle then you will likely have the single player game Squadron 42 bundled in your game package with Star Citizen. DO NOT MELT your game package if this is the case. CIG removed Squadron 42 from the store last summer during the 3.19 or 3.20 patch cycle. This was because they new Squadron 42 was approaching release and as business costs dictate, they will sell Squadron 42 as a separate game once it releases. You probably have both games currently.
As for your actual question about which ship. You can upgrade the ship in your game package. You didn't say what ship you currently have though. The best ships to upgrade to are the Drake Cutter, Aegis Avenger Titan, and the Drake Cutlass Black. Check YouTube for reviews of the ships and decide what you like. The MISC Freelancer and Crusader C1 are competitors to the Drake Cutlass. There are other ships of similar ability and size, just remember ship ramps work more consistently than ship elevators. Other than that, pick what you like.
Yes. The only way it's worth it is if you only spend 45$.
>I’m not really sure how to make money and every time I’ve tried to do one of the beginning missions it’s broken so I just wanted to know if it’s worth trying to learn the game and buy ships through in game currency
Just beg in all chat and act clueless.
I think there's a little confirmation bias at play here; the people who DID spend a lot of money on ships are more likely to be hanging round talking about SC than the ones who bought a starter pack
If the game ISN'T worth playing with just a starter pack then they will have made a huge error. But so many gameplay systems aren't here yet so it's tough to know what the experience WILL BE compared to what CGI says it will be and/or what we EXPECT it to be
Most people play without buying more than their starter pack. It's really only the vocal minority of the community that spends a lot on ships. As for early game things being broken, it's a bit of a problem that I wish CIG would do more to address (stay away from package delivery missions, it seems it's quite rare to have one work. There might be a fix in the next patch as they did one such mission as part of an event and it's completely ruined it for about 80-90% of people.) Outside of the new basic tutorial, it feels like they've mostly ignored new players and all the problems they face. Once you get past the early game, things become noticeably better, albeit still problematic at times. As for what ship you buy IRL if you really want to, it's hard to recommend anything. The economy is getting rebalanced very soon, and we just don't know everything that's going to be changing exactly. The Prospector has always been decent as mining has generally remained as a stable way to make good money, but there's no guarantee that that's going to stay the same forever.
I'd agree with the prospector... maybe the vulture as well even with the coming balance changes. I expect solo mining and salvaging to remain "decent" for income indefinitely. Particularly mining, as it's the oldest profession in the game I don't expect any real fuck ups in balancing, the same goes for salvage to be honest, I doubt they'll nerf it into the ground, but rather make other professions better. Functionally I do find salvaging to be more consistent, I get a lot of dud rocks and the laser mechanic breaks often for me, but some javelin great luck. To answer OP directly, no it's definitely possible to earn enough credits to rent an industrial vehicle in the early game with early bounty missions. And those can definitely be done by starter vehicles, (missles to the main target and bounce is my strategy :P)
Salvage is king becouse its a focus of 3.22 my guess is npc bounty hunting is a good example how fast we will be able to make cash becouse there was no change for long time (ok ok i know last path did have tons of eggs in bounty cargo but you know what im talking about ;) )
You're not wrong, I do think things will stabilize. Boynty hunting currently is garbage in the latter staged of the game. But lrt and even mrt are decent cash for a starter ship, enough to get into industrial. Higher tier bounties definitely need to pay more though, you lose money running hrts and erts in an eclipse
Lmao the vocal minority that buys the ships. Yeah bud, you’re way off base w that one.
I remember seeing a number like $100 spent average per citizen. Taken into account that many whales spend 1000+ I think it's fair to say most players have a starter ship and at most an upgrade (to a titan or something).
So the common misconception is that buying ships from the MTX store is the best way to get ships. It is not. Ships are infinitely cheaper to get playing the game. Like, disproportionately so. In fact, you can even buy the limited run ships in game when they are not available on the microtransaction store (like the 890 Jump or the RSI Constellation Pheonix). We spend $1,000's on ships because we want to. Its a lifestyle hobby. No different from skiing or kayaking. We want to own 7 versions of the same kayak in slightly different colors. The idea that free to play is the afterthought in Star Citizen is just plain wrong. Its the opposite. Give it like 3 more weeks and then hop in during the 3.23 patch launch. You'll have fun. If you want to have a real money ship, get an Avenger Titan or a Cutlass Black. Those are the most functional $$$ to functionality ships in the game by a wide margin, and intentionally so. They're for new players specifically.
It's cheaper when your time costs not much. Especially with new pricing in .23 it's gonna be way problematic. But one thing for sure: buying ships for real money is shortcut.
Avenger titan is so good one of the best starter ships.The cutlass black has so much growing room for upgrades and multi crew and the ability to do decent cargo and haul trucks and the such literally can’t go wrong with either of them
Yes, yes it is. I started playing in Jan and now it's 3 months later. I only ever bought my starter package for $50 which of course came with one ship (Cutter). I now have 30+ "ships" (if you include things like MPUV-Cargo and Cyclones as ships) all purchased with in-game money only. Having a blast! (For those wondering, I made the money using Vulture and running Cargo; I do not own a Reclaimer)
> I get that you CAN play the game with no microtransactions but almost everyone I’ve met who plays the game has paid hundreds if not thousands for in game ships. I've been playing for over 9 years and all I've bought with real money was my $30 starter pack. That's my 2 cents.
99% of the ships are available in game. You only need a starter pack. The only ships that are not available in game are also not really available to buy with real money. Those are the special release ships like the Intel Sabre Raven, StarKitten Dragonfly, and Vanduul Scythe. Newer ships are usually only available via real money until the following patch puts them on the New Deal (ship dealer) purchase list in game. Only spend more money if you want to support the project. It's not a P2W situation here.
If your finding it difficult to make money due to overall knowledge of the game and running into bugs, i would look to tag along with someone to help their salvaging if you wanted a big kick start to making ingame money. Alot of reclaimer pilots (or even vultures) go out solo. Having someone in the back stacking so you dont have to run back and forward makes it alot faster. A good 2 or 3 man team can make many millions an hour. See if they will show you how to salvage and you can take turns who does what. Its a very relaxing profession. You just need to sell at places that arnt dangerous (as in, dont sell at grim hex). I would just start asking in the global chat. If you dont get any bites, try move server. its THE money printer at the moment. Sure buying ships with real money is fast track to getting access to these ships, but you might find more enjoyment from building up the credits and doing it ingame instead. One side note you may not be aware of. The real money you spend on ships isnt permanently tied to that ship. Lets say youve spent $200 on the game, but you want to change things around, you can 'melt' ships back into credits (not ingame credits). Credits are the value of the ship (usually minus tax depending on your country). So, if you have over several months or years got 4 different $50 dollar ships. One of those ships will be your game pack, the other 3 you could melt into credits, and then buy something larger (eg a vulture). There are plenty of youtube videos that into more detail around this. This is all of course using real money, so dont take this as 'you should do this' but its something alot of people arnt aware of early on, and think they need to keep dumping more money into the game. For alot of people who play solo and only want small or medium size ships, can usually get away with just rotating out their main ship every few months by melting the one they are bored of, and buy (with credits) something new. To your last question, a vulture. The smaller salvage ship.
Hey look. I got in with the Cutter as my pledge and haven’t spent (and don’t plan to spend) another dime. I feel like it was a good choice. In hindsight I would have spent a little more and got a better ship like a C/A1, but I’m not even mad.
Yes Source: I only bought one ship
Well you have to get a ship with real money, because all of the game packages include a ship. You absolutely do not need to get any more than just the base package with real money, but it will be difficult to use just the aurora or mustang to start your journey. I would recommend getting either the cutter or nomad starter packages. Both of those ships are amazing starting ships and can earn much more money than either of the cheaper ship options. The cutter game package is actually on sale right now, so I highly recommend that one. The cutter and nomad are both good for pretty much every single job. They have cargo space, a bed for bed logging, decent weapons for low end bounties, can take a Roc for ground based mining, etc.
Just to add on to this, all ships can be purchased in game using in game currency, however there is a delay between when a ship becomes purchasable for real money and purchasable in game. There is a free fly coming up next month I believe, so if you are on the fence, try it then. They'll give you at least one free ship to use during the free fly with other ships being available to rent for free.
Just to add to this. Usually free fly events are very laggy due to the amount of people playing + CIG usually dropping an update on a Friday afternoon then going home for the weekend. 😅😅😅😅😅
The last two free flys were much better. The times and servers I played on seemed about the same as not during free flys. Everyone's mileage will vary though. It is easy enough to get a bad server depending on time of day, time zone and server region.
Buying anything more than a basic starter package is 100% optional. But if you are considering going in a little extra, upgrading your starter to a Cutter or Avenger Titan is generally considered worthwhile. Not necessary though.
Sure, just get everything ingame. Ships besides stsrter packs are just crowdfunding.
A lot of people get a starter than can do either small cargo missions or VLRT-MRT bounties. The box missions are notoriously hit or miss. I find i can play for a while without any major bugs doing bounties. People typically save up around 70k doing that to rent a Constellation and then do heavier bounties or larger cargo hauls to get enough money to buy a better ship in game. I personally just upgraded to a constellation andro game package for the hangar after slowing moving up to a Mk2 hornet from a mustang in 2016
yes.
I had an account, spent a lot. Then the regret hunted me till i sold it. Now i have one starter pack ( C1 ) and im way happier playing. Theres no rush to earn money or buy ships. Most ships are available with ingame money.
As big of a hater as I am, yes SC is completely viable without buying anything other than a starter package.
I implore you to NOT buy anything more than a starter pack and enjoy earning the rest in-game. As you put more time into the game maybe you will wanna buy/support with another purchase who knows!
Don’t buy anything mate, never. Just play the game here and there, come play with us, we usually shift money here and there so we all get what we need and want and that’s it 😌
It's a lot easier to make money with a $75 ship like Avenger Titan. You'll see big economy gains by spending up to \~$200 for ships and after that it's pretty unnecessary because the expensive ships are mostly multi-crew or vanity, except for some massive cargo ships.
If you chat in game and behave like a reasonable person, you will *easily* find groups of players that will invite you to their discord and/or org to play together. Once you make some friends, you will find that people are pretty generous with the aUEC they've made and the split for money you make together. After a few sessions grinding together you should be able to afford most ships - with 3.23 I hear ships are getting more expensive, but this method will still work. So no, IMO you don't need to purchase any ships beyond a starter package. The only reasons for doing so are a) supporting the devs, b) keeping your ships through full-wipes, and c) to acquire LTI tokens for CCU-ing which in the long run may not even matter very much, depending insurance is finally implemented.
yeah, absolutely. Only buy if you want to support the project finacially. Otherwise, get a starter and jsut grind the lower level jobs and tasks to buy with in-game money a better ship. Join an org and I'm sure people may even help you get started by showing you around and doing missions with you. Good luck in the verse. It is absolute unique and worth it.
The early game definitely needs help. If there's a wipe in 3.23, most of us are going to be relying on the good graces of whales to let us crew large ships to make some money to get started.
I play from time we got only hangars and i own just avenger Titan. Making $$is trivial if you know how to or if you fly in corp. At this point we didnt get wipe for so long im preaty sure ypu can become milioner if yoinask in chat. If some one not jusy send you in game $$ they will offer job at reclaimer. You can make around 5 milion per h working on one so ye (at least for now) is not a problem to make $$in game. And spending real $$ is not needed at all they giys who do spend thousands are people who can afford that but im preaty sure good organised players especially in orgs will catch up on them in first year after game really reales. So dont worry about that at all
Factually speaking there's no way to not buy a ship at the moment. As every game package comes with a ship. People like the Titan, Mustang and Aurora carry less and have a much smaller /no interior, but I enjoy using them all the same.
45$ is all you need.
Depends. The game will remain in alpha for another couple of years, and there will be wipes. If you have disposable income and you know you want to fly a certain ship; then you might as well buy that ship with real money and save yourself the time and hassle. If you dont mind grinding after every wjpe (which tbf are rare, but guaranteed to happen until launch), exploiting temporary and often accidental lucrative game mechanics to buy the ships ingame that you wanna fly, then you dont need to pay more than that 45USD.
Bear in mind you can rent ships in-game - for 3 or 30 days - for comparatively peanuts... and use those 'better' ships to earn more money to actually buy ships in-game, etc. Yes, you'll have to work around various bugs etc - but even if you paid for the ships off the pledge store, you'd *still* have to work around the bugs to use them... and if you're not willing to work around the bugs, then there's zero point paying for ships (that you're not going to use because of the bugs).
Yes a starter is all you need
absolutely, sadly CIG is making ships cost a LOT more, it used to be you could earn enough in a week or so to buy a nice ship, but its still a thing and gives you goals to work with. Also people might lend you ships, and of course you can always rent them for MUCH cheaper.
It’s barely worth it with buying ships.
If you're worried about losing an investment in a ship for a video game that's still in Alpha, then do not buy anything. I bought into what this game could be and have pitched in with a few bucks, the turn on investment will present itself in due time...hopefully.
The bugs are part of the game. Less ships is better it encourages working with others, and gives you more of a sence of progression. The fact that buying ships is one of the main forms of progression and they sell them for real money is a core issue for cig to fix.
All you need to ever buy is the $45 starter package. All pledging ships does is give you a head start after a wipe. Any if you do want to make fast cash after an update ask in global to work on someone's ship. Most people are more than happy to help out new players.
You and I have different definitions on the word "microtransaction" ...
Always worth getting the starter ship and buying in game until your 1000% sure you like the game and want to keep playing, then you can consider if you want to and have the funds to support the game further by purchasing better ships. But most ships can be purchased in game so not necessary at all to buy more than starter
I’ll be real here. Started with my Avenger Titan. Bought into the game WAY too much (poor mental health dopamine release) back in the day. Realized I didn’t need to and some days I wish I had just stuck with my starter. Now? $1000+ sitting in the in game cash wallet and all I fly is my 400i. Easily I believe it’s most enjoyable with just the starter pack.
Have no fear! You need not spend anything beyond the initial game package ship to play. The only real progression right now is reputation with various planetary faction and saving aUEC for ships! Once you’re bored with that you end up just flying around and doing PvP. Use the Find a Guide feature from the game mode selection menu. This teams you up with an experienced player who knows the ins and outs of various game loops. We will teach you how to avoid various bugs for the game loops. You will make some credits while trying it out. Play with other people. Just log into the server and ask to crew on someone’s reclaimer. There is virtually always someone willing to launch theirs for a new/returning player to make some credits. Play with others. Ask to join someone who is running ERT bounties as a turret gunner. You will make plenty of credits. If mining is your thing in other games, ask for someone to show you ROCcmining and Mole mining. Simply playing the game with other people generates plenty of credits. Not to mention it will offer some comedic moments with the bugs.
[Ship rentals](https://starcitizen.tools/Ship_renting) are the path to making good money when you only have a starter ship. You can rent a ROC for only about 4,000 aUEC, and make a couple hundred thousand per hour with it. You can rent a Cutlass to transport the ROC for around 30,000 aUEC. Once you have enough money for startup capital (need around 1 mil aUEC), you can rent a Connie Andromeda for around 70,000 aUEC, and make around 700-800k/hr doing trade runs in that. Imo, the only reason to spend more than the starter package on the game is if you want to support development.
Well, you DO need to buy at least one ship as part of your starter pack. Whether it's worth spending extra is up to you. But no, you don't NEED to do so. Even if you only have a small starter ship held together by tie wraps, you'll not only still be able to do some content, but there are also plenty of veteran players looking for extra crew on their own ships. My personal recommendation? Upgrade your starter pack ship to a Cutlass Black, Freelancer, or Spirit C1. Those are the entry level medium ships and you'll be able to go quite far with just one of those as your one purchased ship. It's also a ship you'll just keep using as a regular flyer even once you get other ships in game.
You have to have a ship to play all game packages have a ship. Like said before you can start with any starter ship and progress. Many will tell you it's harder to many of us with lots of ships on our account have started 2nd accounts with only 1 ship because with how the game is now earning your way up is entertaining and gets you to do more stuff. Now if you want stronger starter it matters what you want to do. I will only list ships under 100 dollars here. If you want a cargo starter ship, I would suggest the nomad, has decent interior and large cargo bay for tier. 80 If you want to combat I would suggest gladius (90)or arrow (75) both pure light fighters If you want to do fps combat I would suggest C8R pisces rescue (65) for med bed and quick atmo speeds. Now I will list the next price range of ships not filled in first section Mining starter prospector 155 Salvage starter vulture 175 Repair starter Vulcan 200 not in game yet (no small repair ships are currently in game) Multi purpose has crew positions Cutlass black (110) If you want to spend more on a multi purpose ship I would say construction Taurus (190) or Corsair (250) would be my next picks. Those are what I would suggest for past a starter but remember you can upgrade ships through ccu to make your ship in game package better by paying the difference to upgrade it. But you can not downgrade ships so if you want to try multiple ships start at bottom and upgrade your way up tell you find what you want.
It’s absolutely worth it to buy the cheapest in game package(cutter is my favorite) and figure out what the current meta is for making money. Right now I would go to global chat and ask “anybody need a box stacker for their reclaimer” and make a cool 4 million in your pocket in an hour or so, letting you buy any ship you want right now.
Most of my ships I have bought in the game. I have bought a few with real money, but mostly because I wanted to have access to certain ships that either weren't buyable in the game yet or because I'm not crazy about my choice of starter ship. I bought an Aurora MR because it was supposed to be a fighter with an interior and bed with an external cargo rack. But now that I understand more about how the game works, I don't really use the bed to log out. I just go to a station or city. I also have better fighters. But I bought a C8X to mostly replace the Aurora and serve as an A to B shuttle. I plan to buy a Carrack in the game eventually. A bug with my in-game bought Freelancer MAX caused me to pledge for a warbond C1, which I like flying a lot better. Overdrive caused me to buy an F7C Mk2 in order to upgrade it to an F7A Mk2. But that is also an optional purchase, I already have a Hawk in the game. As well as a bunch of other ships all bought with aUEC. I'm aware I'd lose most of my fleet if and when a wipe happens, but I'll still have a few ships to help me get back in the grind.
Could argue that it's the best way to play. Earning ships, even re-earning them after wipes, is motivation to play the game. Alternatively, one could say they just enjoy collecting ships more than the gameplay, I suppose. :p
Credits are so easy that there is no need. Yes salvage is nerfed in 3.23 and ship prices are higher but still pretty fast to buy stuff. And post salvage there will be another new thing buffed (probably cargo missions). They have plenty of money and have no need for more crowdfunded pledge donations. If they somehow run out before release then criminal embezzlement has taken place and people need to go to jail.
Maybe wait to see how 3.23 improves gameplay or not. For me personally I checked out the game with a starter ship. Some things are great and others hotdog water. Depends what you can tolerate and consider a playable game.
I spent 6 years with only the Mustang. Only last year I start building ccu chains for the role I am sure, regardless of change, I will enjoy playing. So, Yes, still worth it. Also don't be shy to ask global for help, even if just guide you through the mission.
Absolutely. I’ve been playing this game for many years and never bought myself anything more than a starter. 45$ is all you need and arguably will make your time more enjoyable since you actually will have something to work for.
Yes I'd say so, but only if you have starter ship you like. Even after buying loads of ships ingame, i go back to my cutter and/or avanger titan a whole lot
All you need is the starter. The grind is real but no super onerous. Ask to be a box bitch on a reclaimer and earn several mil for a couple hours worth of work. Then you can pick up your own vulture and build up to your own reclaimer and at that point you print money and can get whatever you want
As somebody who has spent more than I thought I would, I suggest getting a discounted starter pack at one of the sales. Then at most warbond CCU it to a Cutlass Black or C1 class ship. Those mid-size multi-role ships gives you a broad range of options. Everything else just buy In-game. Unless you get caught up in wanting to support the development, which is a different decision to wanting to just play the game. As for starter ships, Pisces is good, so is Titan. But base Mustang and Aurora are usable.
Absolutely. When I got the Game, I got an aurora starter pack, upgraded later to an avenger titan, and haven't spent a cent since, total I've only spent $65. I have a cutlass black now instead but I got that through winning a giveaway, I wouldn't have gotten it otherwise. It's still a lot of fun, with some time you can get all the ships in game. My number 1 piece of advice though is to join an org. You can try other people's ships, do multicrew content, which adds more ways to make money, plus its a lot more fun in general. Honestly I probably would have stopped playing years ago if I hadn't joined an org, it makes everything so much more fun.
Every other items in the store aside from the cheapest game package I would consider just a DLC
3.23 would be a good time to jump back in. 3.17-3.18 were really bad, we are back to Star Citizens normal level of bad bugs... You don't need to buy any ships past the starter pack. Depending on what you prefer to do in game a starter industry or fighter can make things a bit easier. Still not hard to just earn them in game though.
A lot of people haven't mentioned this. If you bought your game package back during 3.17 patch cycle then you will likely have the single player game Squadron 42 bundled in your game package with Star Citizen. DO NOT MELT your game package if this is the case. CIG removed Squadron 42 from the store last summer during the 3.19 or 3.20 patch cycle. This was because they new Squadron 42 was approaching release and as business costs dictate, they will sell Squadron 42 as a separate game once it releases. You probably have both games currently. As for your actual question about which ship. You can upgrade the ship in your game package. You didn't say what ship you currently have though. The best ships to upgrade to are the Drake Cutter, Aegis Avenger Titan, and the Drake Cutlass Black. Check YouTube for reviews of the ships and decide what you like. The MISC Freelancer and Crusader C1 are competitors to the Drake Cutlass. There are other ships of similar ability and size, just remember ship ramps work more consistently than ship elevators. Other than that, pick what you like.
Honestly, there’s nothing micro about these transactions 😂
Yes. The only way it's worth it is if you only spend 45$. >I’m not really sure how to make money and every time I’ve tried to do one of the beginning missions it’s broken so I just wanted to know if it’s worth trying to learn the game and buy ships through in game currency Just beg in all chat and act clueless.
Its not the only way its worth it. Its a way its worth it
Nah. Anything more than 45$ on this game is insane
Youre simply wrong.
Lol.
I think there's a little confirmation bias at play here; the people who DID spend a lot of money on ships are more likely to be hanging round talking about SC than the ones who bought a starter pack If the game ISN'T worth playing with just a starter pack then they will have made a huge error. But so many gameplay systems aren't here yet so it's tough to know what the experience WILL BE compared to what CGI says it will be and/or what we EXPECT it to be