Long Haul for the early game - is the Hauler a viable option?
22 Oct 2016Oliver N. Hardy
So I started wondering about long haul for the early game, if it would be faster than regular mission running. The game has changed a LOT since I first started back in the pre-release beta, and another forum I am part of has been having a discussion about the quickest way to fill your bank account at the beginning in order to get into the better ships. I have been running long hauls from Ceos in my Cutter off and on for the past week, taking time at the far end to run a couple loads of Geological Equipment for the Alliance CG. I began to wonder - would the payoff be worth it to run long haul missions in one of the very early ships like a Hauler? I decided I would try it on the beta server for myself. I wiped my game save on the beta server and started a fresh Horizons game this morning. I figured 800K would be a decent enough sized bankroll for a Hauler kitted out for long range with plenty of spare funds to cover a bad interdiction or two. I earned just shy of 800,000 credits in about 4 hours of game play doing planetside floater killing missions, only upgrading my frame shift drive and expanding the cargo cap to 4 tons in the starter Sidewinder. I headed towards Ceos this afternoon, going system by system until I came across a station where I could trade my Sidewinder in for a Hauler. I am now going back and forth between Ceos and Sothis doing data transport missions to get my reputation up. The last couple runs I made I noticed the long haul missions are beginning to appear, with payoffs in the 350K range. As soon as I can get three 4 ton long haul missions to appear I am going to make my first run. This is the ship spec for the Hauler I will be using: http://http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L...c,05U05U7OW4wE