I've been playing this game for months and I can't figure out where people are making so much money. I fly a 3500 cargo unit Firefly and the most I can make per run is about 5 mil for a 15 min run. So in a solid hour I make 20 IF I don't get raped by "3mil r die" pirates or fly something I had no idea was contraband untill someone demands I drop it. Most often I trade for an hour and maybe end up 10 mil from where I started. I even tried the diamond niobium run and that only paid me a little over 5. I know players who are hardly ever here and have 10 chars all with capships and billions to spend. All I want are a few solid routes , not to get instantly rich. The one good route I've found has no return trip so it wastes 10+ min flying to where I can get profitable goods. I have searched the forums finding nothing helpful. I asked other players and got runarounds and wild goose chases so now I'm asking here.
I get the feeling I'll be told to spend more hours and hours reading old forum topics but this hasn't been helping. Yesterday I tried to fly diamonds to Tokyo the long way and got nailed by Dragons 1 jump from Tokyo. I didn't realize diamonds were contraband anywhere. and I'm having the hardest time figuring where I fit in here. To be perfectly clear I'm not looking for orp runs, I know pirates and lawfuls are part of the game but I really can not catch a break I get pirated or hassled by lawfuls on nearly every run and it's making this game less fun all the time. I can't usually afford to build or play my other chars because I spend most of my game time in a seemingly futile attempt to trade.
Ps. the trade routes on the wiki are all wrong, must be old info.
It sounds like you though Dragons are lawful by the way you worded it
Quote:I tried to fly diamonds to Tokyo the long way and got nailed by Dragons 1 jump from Tokyo. I didn't realize diamonds were contraband anywhere.
They (Dragons) aren't lawful and Diamonds are not contraband.
Pirates can ask for Cargo or money. If they are asking for example all your Diamonds in your hold. It doesn't mean its contraband it means your getting robbed/pirated.
Best run i know is 510 --> 3440, but dont offer a return trip. I think its the hour problem. I have >350 hours on my trader, in nearly 2 years. It takes weeks to become rich. Be patient and trade.:cool:
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I worked out one this week that I found interesting :
Slaves from Planet Houston (Texas) to Casablanca Base (Omega 47)
Diamonds from Casablanca to Planet Kyushu (Kyushu)
Cardamine from Ainu Depot (Hokkaido) to Planet Houston
Since that requires unlawful access and carries contraband on two of the three legs it may be challenging if you are already having problems.
One of my favorites for a while was :
Gate Lane Parts from Pueblo Station (Colorado) to Tau 31 Gate Site (Tau 23)
Niobium from Java Station (Tau 23) to Leipzig Station (Dresden)
Copper from Leipzig to Bonn Station (New Berlin)
Military Vehicles from Bonn Station to Battleship Rio Grande (Colorado)
and then back to Pueblo Station
The Military Vehicles could pose a problem if the Liberty lawdogs catch you running the blockade. I'll give you a tip for the niobium leg : use the trade lane to reach Frankfurt instead of the Sigma 13 to New Berlin jump hole. I have only been pirated once while doing that.
I did this one for a long time :
Counterfeit Software from Manhattan to Arranmore Base
Synth Marijuana from Arranmore to Gran Canaria
Gold from Gran Canaria to Tripoli
[Yes, this extra step is actually more profitable than Gold from Arranmore to Tripoli]
Artifacts from Crete to Manhattan
You could also take the Synth to Gateshead Station in Newcastle, and then take Prisoners to Baden Baden, which is a variant of the next route.
Another one I did for a long time was :
Prisoners from Luxury Liner Shetland (Edinburgh) to Planet Baden Baden (Stuttgart)
Luxury Food from Planet Stuttgart to Luxury Liner Hawaii (Sigma 19)
Artifacts from Luxury Liner Hawaii to Planet Manhattan
Luxury Consumer Goods from Manhattan to Luxury Liner Shetland
The profit on the Luxury Consumer Goods is not very high, but the other 3 legs of the route are top tier.
Unfortunately, there are not many multiple-stop, repeating routes that don't involve either contraband or unlawful stations while possessing high profits. Fortunately, that will soon change. Especially in the Omegas, the key is knowing which are the fastest jump holes to use.
There are several two-stop routes, but since I despise them I won't reveal any except for this one, which is moderately profitable : Optronics from Planet Honshu to Planet Cambridge, VIPS from Planet Cambridge to Planet Honshu. Just make sure you don't get blown up carrying VIPS, because that will cost you a lot of credits.
These are all changing soon anyway, so enjoy them while they last, or rather, endure them until there is something much better.
Check out my Trade Development Blog
for all the latest news on Nerfs and Final Nails, or to request trade changes.
I get around 15 mil for this one. And i have a kasari transport.
Buy all the plutoneum you can carry at sigma 13, go to a molly owned base in the bottom of Newcastle system, (sorry i forgot name of base, ask around) Sell your PLUTO! there and buy gold, go to New Tokyo! and sell gold!
Then do it all over again!
Hope that helped......if it didnt....i wish someone stopped me before i waisted 3 minutes of my life.
' Wrote:Best run i know is 510 --> 3440, but dont offer a return trip. I think its the hour problem. I have >350 hours on my trader, in nearly 2 years. It takes weeks to become rich. Be patient and trade.:cool:
Its a great trade run once you learn it. But you gotta fly through Newcastle:(in open space. Their isn't a return trip but you can loop it with another trade run fairly easily to get back. And your gonna have to deal with the Military and pirates. But its well worth it though.
If there was a route which let me fly halfway around Sirius without hauling contraband and end up making as much money-per-minute as I would with a two-stop run (such as diamonds/niobium, which my Whale makes 11 mil in 20 minutes, no Chokogu JH), I would be very happy. If that run included hauling supplies to/from Zoner bases, I'd be even happier.
Ah, i forgot, there is a quick short run in tau 31:
Prisoners from Planet to nearby Battleship. over 300 profit...
or? ;)
@Xoria: I read in another old post, that u spent over 400 hours on writing new routes for 4.85...maybe now more; I read it weeks ago. I dont know what to say, my mouth is still open and...
Wow, thank you.:ylove:
APM pilots routinely crank out, staying in RP, hundreds of millions of credits of profits on our runs, NONE of which require smuggling or hauling anything illegal. (I know, it's SO boring to actually haul legal cargo...)
I'm looking forward to setting up our new trade routes in 4.85 - that's going to be fun.
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
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