MC1CSMO don't worry about faction too much, liberty rogues, xenos and outcasts are red to everyone at the start of the game, they are hostile to alll of us, whether you do kill missions or not....just ignore them and run for the tradelane/docking bay.

So you dont think I should waste time attacking Xeno's (who hate everyone) to build up my faction with those others?

I cant get to buffalo or rochester bases and I simply get ghacked everytime I do a run. these guys have it in for me, heh. They are right to, I did a ton of side missions, just trying to carve my own path away from the main plot, and I've returned back only when a level required me to do so (as leveling was halted).

So what you think?

When I start trading in New York System. I found that trading Boron between Pittsburgh and Planet Manhattan and water or oxygen vise versa. Only two trade landes distance and you can quickly build up some cash for a better ship.

Now, I bought a Bounty Hunter Heavy Fighter mining in Tau 23. I collect Beryllium near the Mining Machine and fly back to Gate Construction Site. Because in that area all fighters are not hostle towards me, therefore, I just watch them fight each other while collecting Beryllium. (Just make sure BMM is friendly towards you). The distance between the gate construction site and the mining machine just around 35K...

Well now I am in Leeds and I tried to go to New London and BAM I get pounced by Junkers and Outcast and Mollys...sigh

Ok, ANY idea how I can improve my standing with those guys? I avoided pounding the Xeno's in Liberty cause I was told not to bother worrying bout factions, but now all Liberty hates me AND this red negative faction has followed me.

Any Xenos in the Bret system? I cant get back to Liberty as of now...

Thanks

Easy enough. I've actually done it twice. The second attempt little a little smoother. For both, I started out by doing two (difficulty one) kill missions, then traded in my light fighter for a Rhino.

In my first attempt, my next goal was a Mule. It's hard to tell you how I did that without resorting to spoilers, but I'll try. Basically, I pissed off the Bounty Hunters, and in the process made a ship-load of money. I ended up selling it for a heavy fighter, until I could clear up my rep with the bounty hunters. After that, I switched to a Clydesdale, then a Drone, a Humpback, and finally the Dromedary. My trade routes have made me wealthy enough that every so often I indulge in a VHF for a bit of exploring before returning to the Dromedary.

For my second attempt, in order to avoid spoilers, I won't tell you where I traded. Suffice to say it was a simple route in the New York system. Each haul netted me about 2000 credits profit. From there, I reversed course by buying a Legionaire light fighter. Believe it or not, this was my new freighter. I loaded it's cargo hold, and used it as a "blockade runner." Where big freighters have to rely on their shields, armor, and turrets to hold off attackers during a lane disruption, the light fighter runs circles around it's ambushers until the trade gate is ready. My light fighter ran the trade routes in good time, without ever losing a cargo. I just upgraded to a Valkyrie, and I hope to continue the work. It's like FedEx in space, "for when you absolutely, positively, have to get it there overnight."

I made my living as a miner and a dealer in (slightly used) weapons. I just head out over to a nice place, such as that one base out in Hudson(?). Very nice mining area. Weapons, shield batteries, all yours for the taking. Then haul them off and sell them. Plus, everyone loves a good arms merchant.

but how do you do that online? the npc crimils cant aim, but a human has every shot hit against a freighter. Not to mention the the torpedoes the launched on me at 100m.

@MC1csmo:

I did exactly the same. tried to avoid the main plot and after I was thrown out of liberty all factions were mixed up and everyone was hostile to me. Played until lvl 11 and then decided to restart. I could have bribed some pirates, but after killing 500 of them ...

Now I'm trying to play as a merchant. The plan is to avoid fights where possible, and shoot some hunters to make pirates friendly. Later, when the factions are mixed up by the story line, hunters will become neutral anyway, and I should have much less trouble (theoretically). Let's see if it works

I started as a trader as follows: I bought some water in manhattan, completed the first mission, than landed in pittsburgh. There I sold everything (Guns, shields, EVERYTHING ) and bought a freighter. Then I started to ship Boron and Pharma between Pittsburgh and Ft. Bush (pays 4.5k per round)


Edited by - HeymlicH on 18-03-2003 16:15:42

I've heard a lot about trading water and oxygen -- these are low yield trades! If you are confined to the New York system and are concentrating on earning money before continuing with the storyline, then these are the most profitable trade routes: (considering you have Rhino with 80 cargo units)

These routes require knowledge of the junker base Rochester:

Cardamine (1409) from Rochester to Manhattan (1500) = 91 credits per unit
Pharmaceuitcals (120) from Manhattan to Rochester (135) = 15 credits per unit
*Illegal, but yields 8480 credits for extremely short loop

Gold (798) from Rochester to Baltimore (866) = 68 credits per unit
Transfer to Bush;
HiFuel (330) from Bush to Rochester (360) = 30 credits per unit
Total yield of 7840 per short loop

This is a legal trade route and good for newbies:

HiFuel (330) from Ft. Bush to Detroit Munitions (389) = 59 credits per unit
Light Arms (140) from Detroit to Missouri (181) = 41 credits per unit
HiFuel (336) from Missouri to Baltimore (360) = 24 credits per unit
*(Baltimore to Bush and all over again)
This route yields a total of 9920 credits per loop, not including the loot you can gather from the occasional dogfight.

Ok My current situation is NOT that bad, but I would totally recommend people to NEVER EVER do the hunt/kill missions from the bars, just not worth it (unless you are in the best damn ships and don't care, heh.

I spent a bit of time trading in Leeds to Durham base and also to New London and got the best equipment I could find. I completed mission 5 and now I am 11th awaiting mission 6.

As it stands I am a Bounty Hunter Killer!! See I killed about 50 of the punks near sheffield station and off Birmingham (good base to resupply) and All cept the Hunters themselves and the Mollys and Junkers are at least Nuetral to me.

So it kinda works nice with the plot. I am outlaw in all Liberty and BH's were after me and now I just wrestle with em wherever I go. It works with the plot rather nicely.

I may try a trip to Liberty and see if killing a coupla cops there actually makes me even more likeable by the remaining outlaws.

So there you have it. took me hours of BH killing to making the Corsairs, Outcasts and Gaians nuetral, but it was worth it.

In my second attempt I did no missions at all and killed no criminals (except in the sp story). At level 5 I started to trade engine components between houston and LA. It is a long run (20 min/round) but earns 35k. When I had about 200k I bought a fighter and started to kill bounty hunters. Now I'm still in NY and neutral/friendly to all factions except BH. Works well for me and I think I will use this to explore NY before I continue with the story.

btw: where is Rochester, I didn't find it so far.

@ mc1csmo
"took me hours of BH killing to making the Corsairs, Outcasts and Gaians nuetral, but it was worth it" and you will be quite shocked when you notice that those guys will become hostile again because the story _just messes your faction up_ -dot- if you want to trade then go and play online (or host a server and play on it alone). In storymode you are meant to fight and trade a bit in between the missions. this is an action game not a rpg (at least not in singleplayer).

siad it before, but once your established with as little as a falcon and a couple grand you can make the Tokyo diamond run. Granted in SP you have to wait a while longer, but thats only to your advantage.

Full documentation on the diamond run at

www.logi-code.com/freelancer/ultimateroute.html

Its the most proffitable round trip I know of, and its worth every penny at 240% return rate.

Stop.
Before you reply just remember, the truth hurts.
Now chances are if you hated what I said I was right

Manhatten, water to Fort Bush. Fort Bush Pharmasuticals to Pittsburgh. Boron from Pittsburgh to Manhatten. Good beginning route until you have enough to start on the H-Fuel run from Missouri/Bush to West Point/Detriot.

It actaully makes more profit if you fill your hold at Fort Bush, take enough Pharmasuticals but ALWAYS fill up with water so you have 80 tons of cargo, I sat down and worked it all out (That sad) and its more profitable until you can carry 45 or so tons of H-fuel.

Problem with the Cardamine runs is the legallity, just do a "Speedy Landing" basically stay on criuse flying manually round the planet, select the gate early, make sure there aint a queue and fly right next to where you dock. Then hit space and F3 real quick, goes straight to the landing cut scene, saved my a$$ many times that has