Trading

We all need to trade at some point, whether its to set up on-line or make money in open singleplayer, Trading itself isn't hard, but you really need to know what you are doing in order to get the best possible price for your cargo, In this guide we show you how! ...

Choosing Your Ship

If your going to trade, then first of all you need a decent freighter to do it in. The easiest and cheapest one to obtain is the "Rhino" which can be found on planet Manhattan. Great if you have only just started the game, but this is the smallest and weakest freighter. If you have money you are better off going in search of the Dromedary (Mactan Base - Magellan) or the Humpback (Planet New Berlin - New Berlin) Our preferance is the slightly stronger Humpback which can carry more weapons but is slightly smaller that the Dromedary.

The Essentials Of Trading

Now that you have your ship, you need to kit it out as best you can with your credits. Freighters tend to have 2 Gun ports and several Turret hard ports. The Humpback for example has 6 Turrets & 2 Guns. Get the best weapons you can afford as you will need them to defend your cargo. Getting a good thruster is very important, as you need as much power as you can get, to help your ship out of awkward situations when surrounded by more able fighters.

Flying Your Cargo To Safety

When you have valuable loads of commodities, all kinds of people will be willing to destroy you to get to it. There are two things that you need to remember when fighting in a freighter,

• Use your thruster to help you move away quicky and to stop you being a still target
• Make sure that you use turret view "H" when shooting at rouges as otherwise you wont be able to get a clear shot at them, if you wait for your freighter to turn and face your enemies.

Starting To Trade - Where To Go

The hardest thing about trading is knowing where to take each commodity to get the best price. This can be especially hard if you are new to the game, and don't have the data stored in your nav-map. There are several easy to find routes around New York, but these wont earn you very much. The highest paid routes tend to go through 3 or 4 solar systems. The best route is: Buy Diamonds at New Berlin >>>> Sell At New Tokyo & Buy Niobium >>>>> Sell At The Ring. no doubt you will find your own preferred trade routes but this one will make you just under 1 Million credits per journey.

Making Many Credits As Possible

Trade is all about making money and as much of it as possible, so you need to go as fast as you can, especially when carrying perishable commodities. Here is a few tips to start you on your way:

• Use your thruster to get from one trade lane to the next quickly.
• Enter formation with people using jump gates to avoid waiting in line.
• Get out of a fight when ever you can, if other ships are involved, try and get away quickly.
• Know who is around - watch your scanner and be ready with countermeasures.