This post is a follow up to the ongoing series of credit making techniques using Elite: Dangerous passenger missions.
A user by the name of JesterCFC dropped by my live stream one night and suggested VIP passenger missions were capable of bringing in 160 million credits per hour. I honestly didn't believe him. After flipping boards for hundreds of hours, I was certain he was in error and asked for proof. Well, he did provide proof and offered a scenario I hadn't tried: Outpost flipping. Here is a method to make millions of Elite: Dangerous credits by hauling VIP passengers to Smeaton Orbital:
- Pickup System / Station: LP 876-26 / White Mines (Medium ships only!!!)
- Dropoff System / Station: LTT 9360 / Smeaton Orbital
- Conditions: Medium class ships only! Elite Trade rank and Allied reputation are optimal!
- Ship preference: Python stacked with Economy cabins
- Board Flip time: Approximately 30 minutes
- Takeoff to Dock time: Approximately 40 minutes
- Total Time: ~70 minutes
I'm using the above Python to transport 7 VIP passengers ranging from 5 million to 20 million per passenger. Each VIP passenger not only occupies an entire cabin, but require passenger seats. The higher the passenger seats, the bigger the payout. Please note that you shouldn't ignore all small payments. In my python build, I have one cabin with only 2 seats, but you'll find VIP passengers that will pay up to 10 million for those! Analyze each mission to see if it fits!
So far, with 4 (out of 7) factions allied with me, I've maxed at about 90 million per trip. The key to all of this is to try to get as much reputation as you can before starting, and also to use a very good medium class ship.
Now, since these are VIP passengers, you'll have to avoid scans to prevent failure (or destruction). The easiest methods to avoid detection by the authorities are:
- Come out of Supercruise with the mail slot facing you. Boost and get inside as fast as possible while avoiding scan.
- Use silent running and heat sinks to reduce your thermal signature. This helps with avoiding scans from authorities. I would also highly recommend getting into the mail slot as fast as possible using this method
If you get scanned, you will fail missions. That's the risk with smuggling anything in Elite: Dangerous: The reward may be greater, but it comes with elevated risk. That's it! I'm still in the process of testing this method, but so far, it seems like decent money with the added risk of smuggling. For some, this is more fun than plain old passenger missions!
Fly safe, commanders! o7