Expect an average income between 10 000 - 350 000 cr / target. (Maximized at 20 000 - 700 000 cr / target if you're hunting in Arissa Lavigny-Duval territory, at Rating 5, pledged to her.)
Bounty Hunting Checklist
- Do the combat tutorials in game.
- Successful combat techniques require a ship, that has high maneuverability, good speed, armour and at least, medium hardpoints. I advise you to take hold of one such craft. Start cheap, and work your way up. Get experience before you buy something big, to avoid big losses. I personally think, the Vulture is in the top three best bounty hunter ships out there. It's relatively cheap, it's agile, fast, and has good hardpoints. I would recommend aiming for this ship for a long term investment.
- Follow the outfitting tips below to maximize combat performance. Set up fire groups and module deactivation priorities on the right HUD panel before you leave the station.
- There are several places to bounty hunt. Ideally, all bounty hunting should be done in non-anarchy systems. You can try interdicting bad guys while in supercruise (provided you own a Frame Shift Interdictor Module), you may hunt at Navigation Beacons, or Resource Extraction Sites (RES), or you may try your luck in the lively Combat Zones (CZ). More about these below, under "Regarding Hunting Locations" subtopic.
- You can find a RES that is closest to you by using this tool. Look for one, that is in your preferred political zone, and that has a nearby station.
- Some weapons require you to purchase ammunition, so do this before heading out. Repair and refuel as needed. Leave the station when ready.
- Target the RES and travel to it.
- I would recommend fleeing interdictions on the way. In these situations, the attacker has the upper hand, and they rarely have a very valuable bounty on them.
- Once you exit supercruise, set your power distribution to 3,5 pips for Weapons, 2 to Systems, and 0,5 to Engines by using the arrow keys.
- Maximize scan range by pressing the Page Up key.
- To locate a good fight, look for weapon discharges in the distance and fly towards them, or just head to the local RES marker.
- Press G to cycle between targets. Turn to face them, and an automatic scan will commence. If they are wanted, deploy hardpoints by pressing U, and scan them with the Kill Warrant Scanner once you get within range (keep the button held, until the scanner gives the "complete" message).
- Meanwhile, you can select the power plant subsystem of your target by pressing Z repeatedly. If you successfully disable their power plant, you will incapacitate your target. Only engage wanted vessels, lest you may get a bounty on your own head.
- It is safer to attack if either of these statements are true: target is engaged in combat with someone, has significant hull damage, has shields down, or is closer than 500 meters and is facing away from you.
- If target shields are down, attack the top or the bottom of the hull, as close as possible to deliver the most accurate shots to the power plant.
- Once the ship is destroyed, dispose of any hostiles attacking you. Cycle between them, by pressing H, unless you're overwhelmed by them. If you are, move to line 18.
- When the coast is clear, and you are not being attacked anymore, move to line 11, unless your shield is collapsed. If it is, move away from combat and recharge by assigning 4 pips to Systems, return to combat if recharged and you wish to.
- If you suffered damage to your hull, assign 3 pips to Systems and 3 to Engines, retract hardpoints by pressing U, and fly out of the mass lock zone. Charge supercruise when ready, and head straight for the closest station to repair damages and turn in bounty bonds.
- If you are unharmed, I would advise you turn in profits at 2-3 million to avert an unexpected loss.
- Repeat from line 1, until bored.
Outfitting Tips (Internal Modules)
- When you're going hunting, you should keep module relationships in mind that affect your performance, and upgrade systems that affect combat performance. The most important are: the power plant, power distributor, thruster, weapons, and the shield generator. The secondary additions are hull reinforcement packages, auto-field repair units, shield cell banks, shield boosters, a chaff launcher and a point defence unit. You should also improve these if you have the chance.
- A good power plant, will allow your ship to be less prone to overheating, as well as enabling the installation of more powerful weapons.
- A strong thruster will let you fly faster, but will not affect maneuverability.
- A decent power distributor will provide more power to the systems (like shields), weapons, and engines, so it boosts performance visibly in every aspect of your craft's offence and defence properties.
- The shield generator will protect you from hull and subsystem damage as long as it's not collapsed.
- A hull reinforcement package will directly increase your ship's armour.
- An auto-field repair unit is able to repair damage done to some modules, and it can also fix the cracked (not broken) canopy.
- Shield cell banks can be used to rapidly stabilize a damaged shield, by recharging it from pre-charged cells. Use them before the shield collapses. Warning: shield cell banks will immensely increase heat load on your ship. Use a heat sink launcher with it, if you can.
- Get the best quality shield generator you can buy, so you can minimize hull damage. Either a bi-weave (50% faster recovery, one rating lower strength than indicated) or a normal (strong, but slow to regenerate) one. Strengthen with shield boosters if you have utility hardpoints free, or have spare power to allocate.
- Don't carry cargo racks. If you get scanned by pirates, you'll get the upper hand by not hauling anything they want. They'll turn away, and you can start kicking their ass.
- You can buy as many hull reinforcement packages as you want, they are a relatively cheap way to extend your lifespan if your shields fail.
Outfitting Tips (Hardpoints)
- Shield boosters increase the base strength of the shield generator by 20% each. They are mounted on the utility slots of the vessel.
- A Chaff launcher -- once used -- will hinder the enemy's targeting system to get a lock on your ship. It can be extremely useful in a heated situation.
- A point defence unit will use micro-projectiles to destroy incoming missiles. It will be a very useful defence companion once the 2.1 update rolls out with the improved combat A.I. that aims to make Elite NPCs a bit more of a challenge.
- One other thing you might also want to obtain is a Kill Warrant Scanner (D0 will suffice). Using a Kill Warrant Scanner will allow you to check if the target has any bounties on their head in another faction's space. Once you dispose of these targets, you will also be able to claim the other factions' bounties.
- A small info about weapons: target assist (gimballed) weapons deal less damage than fixed, and auto-target (turret) weapons deal less than target assist. The less manual targeting required, the more you have to pay. If you learn to target, and move in close, you can do more damage for less money.
- Since pulse lasers are slower to heat up than beam lasers, are considerably cheaper and still deliver high damage per second, it's the ideal choice of weapon in my books. If you only had two hard points, I would fill it with two pulse lasers of the best quality available if I were you.
Combat Tips
- The upcoming 2.1 update will change NPC A.I. significantly. Elite ranked fighters will deal with reverse thrust attacks better, they will use missiles only when your shield has collapsed, use their chaffs more intelligently, and attack more efficiently. Do not fret though, the lower ranks will also prove to be easier to defeat. Read more about the upcoming changes here.
- Protect your hull at all cost. Once your shield is disabled, your modules can be targeted, and you can be incapacitated in mere seconds.
- Go bounty hunting with friends in your wing if you can, for greater profit and lower risk.
- You can achieve the highest manoeuvrability in the blue zone of your speed bar. When you're turning, you should adjust your velocity to be in this zone.
- If your shield is off, leave combat immediately. Assign 4 pips to engines, deploy chaff, retract hardpoints, and boost out of Mass Lock as fast as you can. Once you're out, jump to supercruise and head to a station for repairs.
- Possible RES Spawns: Small Ships (Sidewinder, Adder, Eagle, Viper, Cobra, Hauler, Imperial Eagle, ASP and Diamondback variations), Large Ships (Anaconda, Clipper, Python, Federation Dropship, Fer-De-Lance), Both. If you wish to change the spawn types, log out to main menu, and log back in.
- Always stay behind and above or below, facing your target when attacking your enemy. You will generally want to raise the nose of your vessel when intercepting, not lower it, so rotate and pitch accordingly.
- Use thermic weapons to lower target shields, kinetic weapons to disintegrate their hull, combined kinetic-thermic and explosive projectiles can do both.
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Avoid jousting. Get close to your enemy, collide if you must. And don't let them face you with their hardpoints.
- If an enemy is circling very close to you, reverse thrust so you can face them with your hardpoints.
- Some people would recommend, that you carry a thermic and a kinetic weapon set. You may wish to use beam lasers to strip away shields, and cannons, frag-cannons or multi-cannons to destroy the hull.
- An array of powerfull rail gun discharges to the aft of your enemy can be devastating as well.
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Attack power distribution priorities: Weapons 3,5 pips. System 2 pips, Engines 0,5 pips.
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Defence power distribution priorities: System 3 pips, Engines 3 pips, Weapons 0 pips.
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Target the power plant subsystem on your target (cycle by pressing “Z”). Once you disable that, you'll incapacitate (or destroy) your target instantly.
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Always scan your prey with a Kill Warrant Scanner before you attack. This ensures you get all factions' bounties once the enemy is destroyed.
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If there are several friendly and hostile ships at your hunt location, wait for your target to attack someone else, or be attacked. Then, dive into combat for an easier bounty claim.
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You can join in on a combat at the very last couple of seconds before your target is destroyed, throw in a few shots and you'll still get the bounty.
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If you're inexperienced, only attack Pythons, Fer-De-Lances, or Anacondas if they are damaged, are in combat with several targets, or if you're sure about odds being in your favor (you have upgraded most of your modules). Vultures are especially dangerous, since they are very agile and fast. Keep on their six, and don't attack either of them if they're in wing.
Regarding Hunting Locations
- There are several places to bounty hunt. You can try Navigation Beacons close to the stars that usually have a few small and passive smugglers about. This is a good place to start out, if you're in a small ship.
- You can target ships in supercruise and interdict them (if you have a module to do so) and deal with them one at a time.
- You may enter Combat Zones, and chose a faction you would like to support. If you fight for a side here, you will evidently change your reputation for both parties involved quite rapidly.
- If you want to make the best of your time while you're bounty hunting, I would recommend that you hunt at a Resource Extraction Site (RES), mostly located in planetary rings of jovian planets.
- Which location to hunt at? Navigation Beacons feature smaller, more passive smuggler ships with smaller bounties. Random, player initiated interdictions take more time. Engaging (often military grade) enemies in Combat Zones is a more active and steady fight, but it pays less than RES. While Resource Extraction Sites will throw aggressive and proactive pirates at you, that require some experience to handle.
- Refer to this Elite Wiki page for good hunting locations.
- There are four "flavors" to RESs. In Low RES you'll find Harmless, and Mostly Harmless targets, High RES will however reel some Deadly and Elite rating pirates in. Hazardous Resource Extraction sites will not have local security in them. You're on your own there. Any Resource Extraction site that has no indication of it's intensity is a mixture of skilled, and amateur enemies.
- Pirates are generated differently on each visit to a RES. If you only see small ships, you can save and exit to the main menu, then return to your game for another dice roll.
- Don't hunt in the dark. Asteroids will make life very hard for you.
- Transporters (Type-6, Type-7, and Type-9) rarely -- if ever -- have any bounty on them.
Profit Maximizing Tips
- Pledge to Arissa Lavigny-Duval in Power Play for substantial bounty bonuses. You even get +20% bonus if you simply hunt in her territory, no strings attached. You get +40% if you're Rating 2 pledged to her, and cash in +100% if you're Rating 5.
- Once you're experienced enough, go for the instances where there are only medium-large ships (Pythons, Fer-De-Lances, Anacondas) spawning to maximize profit.
Weapon Comparison Chart
The offence score on the right-hand side of the table is calculated by taking damage per second, thermal load, and ammo capacity into account. Since I consider bounty hunting to be a high-level pilot role, I did not influence my ranking by prices.
Evidently, any weapon that has unlimited ammo (indicated by 10000 in the table) is far superior to a pricey, reloadable weapon. Thus, I concluded, that a fixed, class 3 pulse laser is the best attack module you can fit on your ship.
Apparently the first target assist (gimbal) weapon on the list is the class 2 beam laser that has the advantage of providing a continuous stream of ass kicking while the class 3, rating E target assist pulse laser below it has a lower thermal load, and a lower power draw, that makes it just as appealing.
So that's about it. Good Luck Commander!
The offence score on the right-hand side of the table is calculated by taking damage per second, thermal load, and ammo capacity into account. Since I consider bounty hunting to be a high-level pilot role, I did not influence my ranking by prices.
Evidently, any weapon that has unlimited ammo (indicated by 10000 in the table) is far superior to a pricey, reloadable weapon. Thus, I concluded, that a fixed, class 3 pulse laser is the best attack module you can fit on your ship.
Apparently the first target assist (gimbal) weapon on the list is the class 2 beam laser that has the advantage of providing a continuous stream of ass kicking while the class 3, rating E target assist pulse laser below it has a lower thermal load, and a lower power draw, that makes it just as appealing.
| Class | Rating | Mass | Power Draw | Targetting | Dam, Type | Damage | Rate of Fire | DPS | Thermal Load | Ammo | Max. Ammo | Price | Score | |
| Pulse Laser | 3 | D | 8 | 0,90 | Fixed | Thermic | 4 | 3,00 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 70400 | 106,00 |
| Burst Laser | 3 | D | 8 | 1,66 | Fixed | Thermic | 4 | 1,00 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 140400 | 106,00 |
| Beam Laser | 2 | D | 4 | 1,10 | Gimbal | Thermic | 5 | 10,00 / s | 4 | 2 | 10000 | 10000 | 299520 | 105,00 |
| Beam Laser | 2 | D | 4 | 1,12 | Fixed | Thermic | 5 | 10,00 / s | 4 | 2 | 10000 | 10000 | 500600 | 105,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 3 | E | 8 | 0,92 | Gimbal | Thermic | 3 | 3,20 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 140600 | 105,00 |
| Burst Laser | 2 | F | 4 | 1,04 | Gimbal | Thermic | 3 | 1,50 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 48500 | 105,00 |
| Burst Laser | 2 | E | 4 | 1,05 | Fixed | Thermic | 3 | 1,30 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 23000 | 105,00 |
| Burst Laser | 3 | E | 8 | 1,65 | Gimbal | Thermic | 3 | 1,20 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 800400 | 105,00 |
| Burst Laser | 3 | E | 8 | 1,57 | Turret | Thermic | 3 | 0,90 / s | 4 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 281600 | 105,00 |
| Beam Laser | 1 | F | 2 | 0,63 | Turret | Thermic | 3 | 10,00 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 500000 | 104,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 2 | F | 4 | 0,60 | Gimbal | Thermic | 3 | 3,60 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 35400 | 104,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 2 | E | 4 | 0,60 | Fixed | Thermic | 3 | 3,40 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 17600 | 104,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 3 | F | 8 | 0,89 | Turret | Thermic | 3 | 2,30 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 400400 | 104,00 |
| Beam Laser | 1 | E | 2 | 0,67 | Gimbal | Thermic | 4 | 10,00 / s | 3 | 2 | 10000 | 10000 | 37430 | 103,00 |
| Beam Laser | 1 | E | 2 | 0,69 | Fixed | Thermic | 4 | 10,00 / s | 3 | 2 | 10000 | 10000 | 74650 | 103,00 |
| Beam Laser | 2 | E | 4 | 1,03 | Turret | Thermic | 4 | 10,00 / s | 3 | 2 | 10000 | 10000 | 2099900 | 103,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 1 | G | 2 | 0,39 | Gimbal | Thermic | 2 | 4,00 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 26000 | 103,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 1 | F | 2 | 0,39 | Fixed | Thermic | 2 | 3,80 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 2200 | 103,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 2 | F | 4 | 0,58 | Turret | Thermic | 2 | 2,50 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 132800 | 103,00 |
| Burst Laser | 1 | G | 2 | 0,64 | Gimbal | Thermic | 2 | 1,70 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 8600 | 103,00 |
| Burst Laser | 1 | F | 2 | 0,65 | Fixed | Thermic | 2 | 1,60 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 4400 | 103,00 |
| Burst Laser | 2 | F | 4 | 0,98 | Turret | Thermic | 2 | 1,10 / s | 3 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 162800 | 103,00 |
| Pulse Laser | 1 | G | 2 | 0,38 | Turret | Thermic | 2 | 2,80 / s | 2 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 6600 | 102,00 |
| Beam Laser | 3 | C | 8 | 1,80 | Fixed | Thermic | 6 | 10,00 / s | 5 | 5 | 10000 | 10000 | 2396160 | 101,00 |
| Beam Laser | 3 | D | 8 | 1,68 | Turret | Thermic | 5 | 10,00 / s | 4 | 4 | 10000 | 10000 | 19399600 | 101,00 |
| Burst Laser | 1 | G | 2 | 0,60 | Turret | Thermic | 1 | 1,30 / s | 2 | 1 | 10000 | 10000 | 52800 | 101,00 |
| Beam Laser | 3 | C | 8 | 1,78 | Gimbal | Thermic | 6 | 10,00 / s | 4 | 6 | 10000 | 10000 | 1177600 | 98,00 |
| Multi-Cannon | 2 | F | 4 | 0,64 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 2 | 7,50 / s | 4 | 1 | 90 | 2100 | 57000 | 25,00 |
| Multi-Cannon | 2 | E | 4 | 0,46 | Fixed | Kinetic | 2 | 7,00 / s | 4 | 1 | 90 | 2100 | 38000 | 25,00 |
| Multi-Cannon | 1 | G | 2 | 0,37 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 2 | 8,50 / s | 3 | 1 | 90 | 2100 | 14250 | 24,00 |
| Multi-Cannon | 1 | F | 2 | 0,28 | Fixed | Kinetic | 2 | 8,00 / s | 3 | 1 | 90 | 2100 | 9500 | 24,00 |
| Multi-Cannon | 2 | F | 4 | 0,50 | Turret | Kinetic | 2 | 5,30 / s | 3 | 1 | 90 | 2100 | 1292800 | 24,00 |
| Multi-Cannon | 1 | G | 2 | 0,26 | Turret | Kinetic | 1 | 6,00 / s | 2 | 1 | 90 | 2100 | 81600 | 22,00 |
| Frag Cannon | 3 | C | 8 | 1,55 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 3 | 4,80 / s | 10 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 1751040 | 11,90 |
| Frag Cannon | 3 | C | 8 | 1,02 | Fixed | Kinetic | 3 | 4,50 / s | 10 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 1167360 | 11,90 |
| Cannon | 4 | B | 16 | 0,92 | Fixed | Kinetic | 9 | 0,40 / s | 5 | 2 | 5 | 100 | 2700800 | 11,00 |
| Frag Cannon | 2 | A | 4 | 0,74 | Fixed | Kinetic | 3 | 5,00 / s | 9 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 291840 | 10,90 |
| Cannon | 3 | C | 8 | 0,75 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 7 | 0,40 / s | 4 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 675200 | 10,00 |
| Frag Cannon | 2 | D | 4 | 1,03 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 2 | 5,30 / s | 9 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 1459200 | 9,90 |
| Frag Cannon | 2 | D | 4 | 0,79 | Turret | Kinetic | 2 | 3,70 / s | 9 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 437760 | 9,90 |
| Missile Rack | 2 | B | 4 | 1,2 | Fixed | Explosive | 7 | 2,50 / s | 8 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 240400 | 9,24 |
| Missile Rack | 1 | B | 2 | 0,4 | Fixed | Explosive | 7 | 2,50 / s | 8 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 72600 | 9,16 |
| Cannon | 2 | D | 4 | 0,49 | Fixed | Kinetic | 6 | 0,50 / s | 4 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 337600 | 9,00 |
| Cannon | 3 | D | 8 | 0,64 | Turret | Kinetic | 6 | 0,30 / s | 4 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 16204800 | 9,00 |
| Cannon | 4 | B | 16 | 1,03 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 8 | 0,40 / s | 4 | 2 | 5 | 100 | 5401600 | 9,00 |
| Frag Cannon | 1 | E | 2 | 0,45 | Fixed | Kinetic | 2 | 5,50 / s | 8 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 36000 | 8,90 |
| Cannon | 2 | D | 4 | 0,54 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 6 | 0,50 / s | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 168430 | 8,00 |
| Cannon | 3 | C | 8 | 0,67 | Fixed | Kinetic | 7 | 0,40 / s | 4 | 2 | 5 | 100 | 1350400 | 8,00 |
| Frag Cannon | 1 | E | 2 | 0,59 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 2 | 5,80 / s | 7 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 54720 | 7,90 |
| Cannon | 1 | D | 2 | 0,34 | Fixed | Kinetic | 5 | 0,50 / s | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 21100 | 7,00 |
| Cannon | 1 | E | 2 | 0,38 | Gimbal | Kinetic | 5 | 0,50 / s | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 42200 | 7,00 |
| Cannon | 2 | E | 4 | 0,45 | Turret | Kinetic | 5 | 0,30 / s | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 4051200 | 7,00 |
| Cannon | 1 | F | 2 | 0,32 | Turret | Kinetic | 4 | 0,40 / s | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100 | 506400 | 6,00 |
| Frag Cannon | 1 | E | 2 | 0,42 | Turret | Kinetic | 1 | 4,00 / s | 6 | 1 | 3 | 90 | 182400 | 5,90 |
| Rail Gun | 1 | D | 2 | 1,15 | Fixed | Thermic Kinetic | 6 | 0,60 / s | 4 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 51600 | 4,30 |
| Missile Rack | 2 | B | 4 | 1,2 | Fixed | Explosive | 6 | 0,30 / s | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 512400 | 3,18 |
| Missile Rack | 1 | B | 2 | 0,6 | Fixed | Explosive | 6 | 0,30 / s | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 32175 | 3,12 |
| Rail Gun | 2 | B | 4 | 1,63 | Fixed | Thermic Kinetic | 7 | 0,50 / s | 4 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 412800 | 1,30 |
| Plasma Acc. | 2 | C | 4 | 1,43 | Fixed | Thermic | 7 | 0,30 / s | 4 | 6 | 5 | 100 | 834200 | 0,00 |
| Plasma Acc. | 3 | B | 8 | 1,97 | Fixed | Thermic | 9 | 0,30 / s | 4 | 8 | 5 | 100 | 3051200 | -2,00 |
| Plasma Acc. | 4 | A | 16 | 2,63 | Fixed | Thermic | 10 | 0,30 / s | 5 | 10 | 5 | 100 | 13793600 | -4,00 |
So that's about it. Good Luck Commander!
Thank you for taking the time to write a well researched and fantastic post!
ReplyDeleteI'm not new to the game but I'm new to combat.
ReplyDeleteOf all the articles I've read on the subject, yours is by far the best.
MAAD DAWG
Wow great post. You talk about bounty hunting tips and earn profit. I have read this post very carefully. I want to know more about Elite Dangerous Bounty Hunting Guide. I am waiting for your next post.
ReplyDelete