It's been a decade since we were first graced with Elite. Have you been playing the whole time or have you only recently converted? What made you pick it up and what helped you stick with it?
Created at . Page last updated at .
Elite Dangerous
F
I've been playing Elite Dangerous since the KS alpha in Jan 2014. I've played the 3 previous incarnations of Elite, from the original on the BBC B onwards. So picking up ED was the next step. Whilst I've taken the odd break here or there, I have been playing it for over 10 years, and I am still playing it today. Currently, I am on a jaunt around the galaxy exploring and doing exobiology, and have been out in the void for approx 2 years and 5 months. My next waypoint being Ishum's Reach (Oevasy SG-Y d0) and I stream my adventures on https://www.twitch.tv/fireytoad
Elite Dangerous lets you travel the Milky Way, be it as an explorer, trader, bounty hunter and more, as they say, you can "Blaze your own trail!"
Excellent, it sounds like you're a veteran explorer! That's the role I think I'd enjoy the most so I might have a few questions 😁
Also there's a poll you might be interested in right here!
R
3 years by nnoww
Roleplae in elite so cool that why i get into it
Welcome to the community! Is there a specific job you like to roleplay?
Some members from our other communities are thinking about trying Elite, so is there anything you would recommend? What do you spend most of your time doing?
Been playing Elite for 4 years now, I was invited by my friend to Nova Navy squadron and always was since the first day there. I love exploring space in games and it was intuitive thing for me to do in Elite, the realistic flight model and visuals (sadly limiting landable objects) kept me going with my squadron in elite universe . I have tourist beacon in the galaxy and currently ongoing expedition around teh beacon to map the bubble as much as possible and create interest later on around Eoch Pruae JS-R d5-2055!
As a child of the 1980's I first experienced the universe of Elite in about 1985 on a Sinclair Spectrum, with its wire frame graphics and book-based manual and accompanying story that set the scene and the lore. I was hooked. Then, of course, life intervened, leaving school, going to work, moving house, moving to the other side of the planet... that kind of thing.
A couple of decades pass, still with the fond memories of that first interactive space encounter and being reinforced by popular culture of sci-fi movies like Alien/Aliens, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and real world advances in understanding of the universe and building of the ISS space station... then in about 2016 discovered that the original makers of Elite had released a new iteration for the modern age, Elite Dangerous. Been hooked all over again ever since.
Long may it continue!
I love this, and I'm very glad to hear we've got some true Elite veterans in our ranks
C
from 1.1 so almost 10 years . i have more the 12 000 hours of gameplay . i begin when it was difficult to have credits and menage to have fun . later i join the ALLIANCE and tick with this really good RP groups . i continu to play because politics things in the game , war and sabotage thats my jam
i started just before horizons was released, i made triple elite and basically finished all content, engineers, colonia, thargiods, exploration, there wasn't much left to achieve, so while the devs were promising oddy on xbox i reset my account, and did it again, execpt for exp. elite, not my thing really, over 13 months actual gametime, i nearly stopped playing until the change in engineering and the new ships, it has revived the game for me, i might resume suit grind that i had abandoned due to the circus monkey impossible grind with no mats for engineers. :)
That's some serious dedication! 😊 Which career do you prefer and are there any you'd recommend for a first-timer to try?
i spend most of my time bounty hunting, for new players i would suggest trade, unless you've got a friend with a carrier who would take you out of the bubble to go mining, i posted a screenshot on this forum of a planet, if you can get to the site, you'll make $$$$$ from the complete double platinum overlap there, bounty hunting is best attempted after a high level of engineering, as i found the rebuy way when i started ;)
Thanks this is really helpful! I'm drawn to exploration because every screenshot looks stunning, but I know I'll just end up in all sorts of trouble! Maybe I'll take your advice and stick to trade for a while😆
engineering is key to any activity in elite, i have a dbx jumpship that on average will jump 74ly, good for getting places fast, of course it has no weapons, but it does have a vehicle bay, good for exploring planets, and a decent fuel scoop, look me up on inara, i think my builds are public, if not, let me know, sharing is caring, i don't use inara much these days, but it an essential tool for beginner's
https://www.youtube.com/embed/TpUxFHVKYPc?feature=oembed
a complete medium cz solo, i bit of a long watch, but entertaining, probably be 1 or 2 elites in there ;)
T
I've been playing for probably 2 years now, still consider myself a new CMDR though. I first learned about the game from a YouTube video by OperatorDrewski of him doing some bounty hunting in an SLF and thought it looked sick af. Now, I do mostly PvE bounty hunting and some exploration. The furthest I've gone is out to Sag A* but I'm working on a new ship build to hopefully build up the courage (and commitment) to head out to Beagle Point.
T
I've been playing before Horizons was released. So many years I enjoyed this game and what it has to offer. Seen amazing changes and bad ones but I still stuck around. What I love about this game mostly is the "learning curve" it forces onto the player base. This game is truly for the stubborn and ambitious when it comes it's content. The satisfaction of changing the narrative in-game with our own actions is truly unique. If outer space is your cup of tea and you enjoy a challenge. Pick this game up or play it again!
Hey TheDravend! Same question I asked chryco - what has been the biggest improvement for you since you started playing?
I'm so glad to hear you say that players actually have an impact on the narrative 😊It's something I believe Elite Dangerous and EVE Online do so well, even if in different ways! I've bounced off a number of MMOs in my time because it felt like player actions had no meaning!
J
I first started Elite dangerous around 2015-2016, when ps4 was at its peak, what drew me to elite dangerous was its Simulation type that wasn't around in the ps4 store at the time. I knew elite dangerous was a big game, I went in and got something bigger. it was very difficult early on because my friends did not play this game, We were COD players. I was alone. it all worked out because Elite dangerous helped me extend my desires of flight, to pursue careers such as a Drone Operator of some kind. I stuck with elite dangerous because it was my first ever Grand Simulator, I'm here until we get 100% of the milky way Discovered
I'm here until we get 100% of the milky way Discovered
I'll see you in 1,000 years 😆
Seriously though, the sense of scale and freedom is intimidating but exciting!
Have you seen Drone Racing? I wonder if Elite skills are transferrable to drones? 🤔
https://www.youtube.com/embed/GTifvVZBNWs?feature=oembedW
I was a kickstarter backer, however, my first account got deleted without any reason after I made it to triple elite, and fdev never game me an answer why. I was mad for years. I got it free with epic so I started playing again. It's still a grind, and the interdictions are so annoying (seriously, fix this!), but once you get past all that, you can still see some pretty nice views in the game. It's come a long way since the original, and websites like inara make the game easy to play. In my day, we had nothing, we flew blind from system to system to find stuff.
I've been playing for a few years now, since 2016 I believe and collected over 5000 hours since then in total. I always was a fan of the genre and my dad played the original Elite. Before I came to play Elite Dangerous the first time one of my favourite games has been Freelancer which I played countless times also with friend back then right next to each other over LAN. After I then heard about Elite Dangerous it was a must play for me and from day one I have been obsessed with the Federal Corvette and to this day it is my favourite ship and still one of my favourite games because it is still beautiful and amazing to have an entire galaxy to travel in visit unkown worlds or participate in one of the many conflicts in the bubble to help shape the face of the human space. But I think one thing over all other that kept me in the game for so long is it's community and my squadron, it's allies and countless people I talk to almost daily about what is currently happening in the game and with our minor faction.
K
I started early when my friends startex out (I was already a massive Eve online fan, so I wanted to try another space game). I left for abit cause i didnt havd the proper gear to get the most out of the game but now i have my HOTAS i jumped back in. So in real terms ive been back in Elite Dangerous for about a week
o7!
I've been playing since October 2020.
I remember the exact moment I discovered Elite. I was reading an old dog-eared New Scientist magazine at work, left in the shelves by the previous owner of my office. There was an article in it about how players were planning a massive joint voyage across the Milky Way, in a game called Elite: Dangerous (which I now know was Distant Worlds 2). It then detailed about how Elite was a huge space sandbox of a 1:1 scale of the Milky Way, and how the distances were as accurate as practicable.
I was disdainful and sceptical "a 1:1 scale model of the Milky Way - we'll never explore half of it - I could carve a place all of my own out there and no one would ever know!" I downloaded it that night...the rest is history. And yes, I went to Sol and measured in-game distances, and nearby systems....I was impressed!
And it's true. The whole player base up to now, in 9 years, haven't even explored 0.1% of the Galaxy in this game. Such an incredible, beautiful game....
Since 2018, when I saw the game and the Horizon DLC in a good price on a sale. At the moment I was playing No Man's Sky and loving it since release but I always wanted something that feel more realistic and I was seen a lot of things about Elite Dangerous e Star Citizen, but how Elite was a fully released game it interested more. Now i love so much this game, and I almost getting my first 1000h in the game.
C
from 1.1 so community goal update so 9 years but play time is insane . i continu to plya because the bgs and politic stuff
I started playing Elite Dangerous this year but it has been on my radar for quite some time. At first I was a little intimidated to play due to the overwhelming feeling of not knowing how to play after I saw the gameplay of multiple YouTubers. So I had to sleep on it for awhile.
However, the big shift changed when my curiosity for space ignited my passion for exploring the infinite galaxy when I discovered Star Citizen on YouTube. Not only was it about space combat, it opened my eyes to the experience of space life simulation and I became obsessed with the fact that you can travel to multiple space stations and be present in the moment like you are really there. The aspect of waking up in your bed, walking to the elevator, grabbing a bite to eat, drinking a beverage from a bottle, and walking into your massive ship to start your journey into space hooked me.
But not only that, you can make your character unique to fit your personality. I wanted to experience the unknown and forge my own path. I tried to be one with the Star Citizen universe, but unfortunately I didn't have all the proper tools to do so because PC gaming is way too advanced for me. I'm still learning the specs and tech of running it all and I prefer to grip a controller in my hands.
As a result, I chose to invest in Elite Dangerous on console because it was the closet thing to simulating space life to all the competitors and I must say it was a lot. I've searched and played multiple app games, enrolled in Starfleet academy on Star Trek Online to learn the basics, played EVE Online, and more but it all led me back to Elite Dangerous.
The pure immersion of Elite Dangerous where it puts me in the pilot's seat while my character fidgets with all the controls looking around and the grind of making all the decisions to shape my own future made me realize what all I have been missing.
Then I found out about the Odyssey DLC a little later on and I was crushed. I no longer have my space legs but the will to continue my journey because Elite Dangerous has so many layers to explore and I'm here for it.
In conclusion, all the characters and their stories in Elite Dangerous grounds me to that universe and the freedom to explore keeps me coming back for more.
Hey Mz.DragonGaming that passion for exploration and immersion really resonates with me. What was it about the Odyssey DLC that left you crushed?
I'm new to Elite so it's helpful to learn from someone a little further along in their journey 🙂 All of the screenshots are absolutely stunning, so I think I'll end up being an astrophotographer...but I probably won't earn anything from it! 😆
Wow! Astrophotography sounds intriguing as it would be a great marketing position in space. It would be nice if you could take pictures in the game with your ship and sell your photos to different corporations.
On the other hand, I was crushed about the Odyssey DLC because they company decided not to release it on console. Therefore making me feel like I'm missing out on the ability to disembark my ship, explore different space stations, become a botanist and sell those scans with that cool new gadget, and achieve more immersion in the game. But not all hope is lost because I can imagine these things are taking place when I hear how lively the staff are in the space stations.
Join the conversation!
Some of the best conversations on the internet are happening here - and our users are getting rewarded for having them. Don't miss out!
Related discussions
Communities
There’s more to love
Help shape the future of our platform as we build the best place to express and enjoy your passions, whatever they may be.
© Just About Community Ltd. 2025