Guide for New Players
The first thing to note is that expensive ships might not be more fun to fly. Try not to be obsessed with grinding for credits for a more expensive ship, as this may take the joy out of the game for you. Expensive ships are more complicated and difficult to fly, working towards to one and finding it hard after spending your credits on it may feel really unsatisfying.With Zeta Squadron we can easily help you get the 200 million credits to buy and outfit the "best" ship in the game in a couple of days but you probably won't enjoy flying it.
As a new player you should concentrate on learning to fly in a small or medium ships. These are very agile and responsive.
Being a member of Zeta Squadron, there is no need to worry about income. Established members of the squadron will be sharing the rewards for team missions and these will pay hundreds of millions when stacked and shared. As a new player you will not have to do anything except be on a team with one of us and go to the quest giver to collect the reward. You are always encouraged to stack and share missions with other members of the squadron for both maximum profit and helping out new members to establish themselves!(Credit and Reputation wise)
With the squadron helping to finance your activities you are free to enjoy the game and explore the galaxy looking for interesting activities.
These are the activities that may interest you:
Combat Pilot (Bounty Hunter/Pirate/Mercenary)
Ground Combat/Covert Ops
Space Exploration
Exobiology
Space Trucker
Space Courier
Asteroid Mining
Surface Mining
Space Hobo
Smuggler
Slave Trader
With more experience there are more complicated activities such as
Deep Space Exploration and Exobiology - Go deep into the void and be the first to discover a system and scan the lifeforms. You will get your name attached to the system.
Anti-Xeno - Defend humanity against the Thargoid invaders. You can support them through combat, rescue missions or hauling supplies.
Xeno - Archaeology - There are some Guardian sites that we can investigate for technology
Power Play - Pledge yourself to one of great powers and become an agent in their vast conflict.
In Elite Dangerous progression is less about acquiring credits and equipment but acquiring skills and knowledge to do the things you enjoy. The game has reached a point where it's a roleplaying game where you can ignore the parts that bore you.
The most important rule is that it's a game and if you are not enjoying the activity try something else.