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Elite Dangerous

Elite Dangerous
Hunter's avatar
Hunter

Gameplay for basic bounty hunting in elite dangerous from ship build to redeem bounty vouchers with no commentary with epic music follow to have a good start in this part of Elite Dangerous !

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vwcU_VbRp0M?feature=oembed

JHenckes's avatar
JHenckes

Bounty hunting in Elite Dangerous can be really interesting and rewarding if you're thrilled with tracking down the bad guys and making a name for yourself. It's best for beginners to start in high-security systems where you will have some sort of support from local security forces. Go to Resource Extraction Sites or Nav Beacons; these places are often passed by wanted ships. These are great places to learn the ropes without diving into overly dangerous situations. Use your basic ship, scan ships for bounties, and when you find a wanted target, take them out. Since system security often engages these targets too, you'll often be able to chip away at them with backup on hand.

Invest smartly in the Kill Warrant Scanner, or KWS, as you progress. It allows you to scan a ship for any other bounties placed on it by other factions outside of the current system, inflating your payout with each target. Just make sure to scan before engaging, and you will be raking it in in no time. It's these kind of small upgrades that will begin increasing your earnings for bounty hunting.

As you spend more time taking down wanted criminals, your reputation with local factions will rise accordingly, which is significant because better standing unlocks higher-paying missions and additional rewards. You'll soon be trusted to take on assassination contracts or multi-target missions where the real money is. When you feel comfortable, consider heading into low-security or anarchy systems; these have higher bounties and more targets, but they also come with greater risk. You won't have system security backing you up here, so you'll want to make sure of your combat before diving into these areas.

After destroying a target, you will need to collect your bounty at a station in the system where the bounty was issued. Be prepared for a possibly hairy return trip. Working in lawless systems, pirates and other players may try to intercept your ship on the way back in. Always have a route of escape planned and be prepared to jump out if the situation gets too heated.

Check the mission boards at stations for bounty hunting missions when you are confident. These give you specific targets to track down, often for larger rewards, which then fuel further boosts in both income and experience. Without giving in to the urge to jump into combat zones too early-while they offer nonstop action, they can be chaotic and it's so easy to shoot the wrong target, inadvertently likely turning an entire faction against you.

Bounty hunting in Elite Dangerous is a tightrope balance between risk and reward, strategy, and combat. You start small, building reputation, then push into progressively more dangerous territory. Patience, smart selection of targets, and understanding of the environment are as important here as firepower is.

Slamscape's avatar
Slamscape

I definitely wasn't editing this up until a few minutes ago...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9xuT9YtQNM4?feature=oembed

M
MrT

My favourite place to obtain bounties has always been at Compromised Nav Beacons. The reason being, the bounties there tend to be larger and there are bigger and more experienced ships there than regular Nav Beacons. My personal go-to option would be to take an engineered agile ship like a Krait Mk2 and recruit a fighter pilot to help. Of course, all of this can depend on your combat rank and experience as the higher the rank you are, the more difficult the enemies will be that spawn in. If I was starting out, I'd try a regular Nav Beacon or Low Res site. The important thing is to jump in have fun doing it. You'll soon know if you're able to do well or not with what you have.

CJ
CMDR James Lauer

I always have been more of a trader and transporter than a fighter pilot. But sometimes, the eagerness of being an ace and protect the galaxy from pirates and terrorists alike comes within an urge, that is just irresistible.

So, for you who is still a beginner in the arts of bounty hunting (like myself even after years of Elite Dangerous):

  • 1- Gimballed weapons. It is hard to aim, even with proper sticks. So let the computer do the job.

  • 2- Be aware of the level threat. Never try missions with level threat over "2". Only do that if you know how to defend yourself. Sometimes, threat level 0 or 1 even do not counter attack.

  • 3- if you are still in a sidewinder, or eagle. Always keep a type of laser and a type of ballistic, like a cannon. Then you can do more damage after the shields are down. If you have a medium size for weapons, go for seeker missels.

  • 4- And if you can't find your targets, always scan the nav beacon, instead of manually using the FSS. Easier and faster.

And as a lot of other commanders said, rings are good to find pirates attacking officers, so you if you give a little help, there's some credits waiting for you at the nearest station ;)

Fly Safe commanders, I'll be chilling with the trades (and sometimes cleaning the skies from pirates) o7

"CMDR Lauer, out!"

B
Beetlejude

The Place
Diaguandri is your friend I think - if you're a new player you'll not have made any Elite ranks and so you can spend a lot of time hopping around equipping a ship. Diaguandri is a star system in the powerplay space of Li Yong Rui, who is a wise business man as he offers 15% off ships and modules in starports under his control. Ray Gateway in Diaguandri is a high tech station and has nearly all the modules you'll need to equip your ship in the specification you're looking for.

Your Ship
Choose a starter fighting ship like a Viper, Vulture or better a Federal Assault Ship if you have any federal rank and ideally - best - a Fer de lance if you have the money. If you buy your ship in Li Yong Rui space that will mean a cheaper ship - and thus lower Rebuy when you die... When you die

Modules
The modules you need should ideally be specification A but some folk like B grade modules for fighting as they're heavyweight. C is a bit like A but cheaper. D is lightweight. If I'm planning to do a lot of bounty hunting I'll carry a collector limpet module and a cargo bay, it takes a little watching as you'll be a target for criminals if you carry cargo but materials are very useful and drop from destroyed ships- they don't go in your cargo but are collected by limpets.

The Weapons
For ease I prefer to fit Gimbled weapons on my hardpoints. Turretted weapons spin to face their target and continue firing until you lose the target, they do less damage but may be what you need to get the hits if you struggle to target at first. Gimbled weapons will track whilst you face your foe. They don't swivel very far but they do more damage than turrets. Fixed Weapons will do most damage but are more challenging to use

I like to have both an energy weapon and a bullet weapon option. Lasers - Beam and Pulse particularly are reliable choices and won't run out of bullets - you just need the power in your ship to run them. Beam lasers are particularly helpful on a ships shield. Multi Cannons are my favourite bounty hunting weapon for hitting hull metal.

I tend to carry a heat sink and some folk like chaff. have a go and see if you like them. Heat sinks cool and so can mask your ship and make it less visible on radar, Chaff throws off gimbled and turret weapon targeting. I carry a Kill Warrant Scanner and use it on my targets before firing. it finds out if they're wanted elsewhere and then I get that money added to their bounty too.

Where to fight
A first bounty hunting destination might be the Nav Beacon by a star or a Low Intensity Resource Extraction Site (RES) in a planetry ring. The police are helpful in these places and will often render the criminal down to 20% hull before you choose to lift a finger. It's great if you can find a fighting place near a friendly station with restock and repair. A "High RES" will have bigger ships and better bounties following the hapless NPC miners, a "Hazardous RES" or Compromised Nav Beacon will not have police to watch over you.

Last tips
Don't shoot the police and don't shoot before your scan is compete and you know your target is wanted.
Watch out for pirates who are in wings and select ones who aren't until you're confident.
Wing with a friend if you can.
Don't worry about dying.
Only do it if it's fun - the game is a mile wide

Evoflash's avatar
Evoflash

Elite: Dangerous. It's ... dangerous. Indeed not just for you, but for the pirates, villains and ne'er-do-wells. That danger can be lucrative, for the right commander at the right time in the right place, and most importantly in the right ship. If you're reading this then you're thinking about bounty hunting. Maybe you've done some trading, a bit of mining and a few missions but you keep seeing HAZRES sites or bounty missions on the board and you're thinking "this is for me". Good. Let's talk about how to make that a reality, and how to open up a fun and engaging segment of Elite: Dangerous gameplay - bounty hunting. I'll not discuss ships here, rather I'll discuss where you should go. For now we'll assume you have a ship that has some weapons that work, and some shields/hull that will keep you alive.

You can find bounties on mission boards in stations and settlements, and while they can be a good source of targets you will need to be careful about timing. Failing missions isn't great, you lose reputation with the faction and you can end up chasing something you'd rather give up. At this early point my recommendation would be to avoid mission bounties. You need to be free to cut from the battle and head home to patch up.

So where else to go? The quickest and easiest answer is to go to an inhabited system with high security that also has at least one planet with a ring. Let's outline why.

  • A system having a High Security rating means the police will be able and ready to assist when you encounter a villain.

  • Planetary rings are mined at locations called RESOURCE EXTRACTION SITEs for valuable ores and these laden-miners attract pirates. Pirates tend to have bounties. BINGO.

  • Inhabited systems means there will be police that can help.

  • RESOURCE EXTRACTION SITEs come in three flavours. They are Low, High and Hazardous. Low and High are policed. Hazardous sites have no police so for now we will avoid these.

Let's use the Naren system as an example. This is a high security system and planet 4 has a ring, as does planet 6, 7, 9 and 11. If we head to planet 7 amongst other sites, there is a RESOURCE EXTRACTION SITE [LOW]. Let's drop in.

Upon dropping in, we come across Paul Roche, and looking at the bottom left we see in red that he's WANTED. Perfect. Let's go get his bounty.

Time to open fire with my beam lasers. Since he has become an enemy he is now lit up in red writing.

Keep going until his hull drops to zero and BLAM! We made Cr136,971

Thanks Paul, you've bought me a couch. Stick around until you feel you've ridden your luck and head back to a station to cash in your bounties and repair your paintwork, then just like the shampoo always says ----> rinse and repeat!

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
Evoflash

Great entry, thanks Evoflash!

S
Solaris104

making bounties is not easy, whoever decides to make bounties must have

  • a ship fit for combat

  • equip it with appropriate weapons and modules ( There are different builds for ships to suit combat, Multicannon and a weapon that I'm finding convenient )

and it is possible to go to systems with high threat or with res and have the possibility of catching pirates.

in some systems it is possible to scan the Nav Beacon that allows you to discover all the things present in that system and discover whether or not there are pirates or other threats.

unfortunately however you also have to be careful, because if you are not well equipped the ship is destroyed in a few seconds.

There are many ways to make bounties, for example it is possible to accept RES missions ( Resources Extraction Site)

where we will go to areas where there are many pirate ships (these missions have different levels from Low to High

the higher the difficulty, the more difficult the ships to face will be, furthermore in these areas there is also the police, so you also have to be careful not to hit the police ships.

once you have obtained the bounty you can exchange them for money and reputation.

XCezor's avatar
XCezor

There's few places to start bounty hunting if you are a new Elite player. What's good in them, is that each of these activities offer different rewards.
So let's start with the most popular method:

  1. Resource Extraction Site (RES)

  • RES are located in the planet rings, you can see their signals in the left panel (sometimes you need to scan the nav beacon to get them).

  • It's important to note their difficulty levels. Low RES has the lowest amount of pirates and the lowest reward. While Hazardous RES contain the highest amount of wanted pilots, which can flight in larger groups and better ships, but also have higher bounty on them.

  1. Bounty missions

  • One of the most common starport mission is to kill a pirate. Those missions clarify difficulty level by Threat. The lower Threat level, the easier mission. With this activity, you kill less pirates, but you gain mission rewards, which includes credits, faction reputation, faction influence and very important materials.

  • After you pick a mission, you will be guided to the exact location of the pirate, unless it's a Terrorist mission, in that case you'll have to scan a requested data link to get his location. But remember that Terrorists can be more difficult to defeat than casual pirates.

  1. Differences between RES and missions:

  • RES has larger amount of pirates in the same location, which makes your combat rank increase faster

  • Bounty missions may include materials required by the engineers to upgrade your ship modules

  • The credits gain vary on your luck. Sometimes bounty missions are more profitable, but I'd suggest to spend more time in High or Hazardous Resource Extraction Sites.

  • It's very important, that you will get bounty only for the Wanted ships. You know that the ship is wanted after you scan it. It will show as a red Wanted text.

    No matter which type of activity you choose, it's important to equip your ship with Collector Limpet Controller, Cargo Rack (at least 16 tons) and Limpets that fill out the Cargo Rack. After you destroy a NPC ship, it will leave some manufacturing materials that you can collect.
    You can collect materials manually, by opening your cargo scoop with Home key (default option) and fly to the material, following the screen on the left side of your deck to catch it.
    But here comes the limpets. In right panel you can assign fire groups to be able to shoot your limpets. Like previously, open your cargo scoop, and instead of personally flying to the material, you can send limpet to gather it for you. The better Limpet Controller you have, the higher amount of limpets you can launch at the same time. It's a great time saver.

  1. So before I'll finish, I'll say that you can do bounty hunting in any ship, but I do not recommend to involve yourself into Hazardous RES or high Threat missions (above Threat 4) with very basic ship like Sidewinder Mk.2.

  • My absolutely favorite ship is Krait Mk.2. But for the cheaper alternatives you can get Viper Mk.4, Vulture or Cobra Mk.4.

  • If you want to spend hours in one spot, then you want to equip your ship with Beam Lasers. The most damage deal Fixed weapon but you have to manually aim at the enemies. If you're not that good pilot, you can choose Gimballed version, which will automatically track your target but also deal less damage. This is perfect weapon for long sessions, because you can fire forever, there's no ammo limit. Lasers are great at depleting ships shield.

  • The similar stuff goes with Multicannons. They deal a decent amount of damage to the ships hull instead of their shields, but require ammo to shoot. If you have Iron, Nickel and Sulphur in your inventory, you can synthesise your ammunition. You can do that process in right panel, under modules by clicking on one of your multicannons.

  • There's also 1 thing you need to know. Sometimes a pirate will try to escape and go into hyperspace. If that happen, you will loose your bounty because the pirate is still alive. So to prevent that, you can destroy his FSD. First, you need to target it. After you have scanned the enemy ship, in left panel you will see Target section. This is where you can select any module you want to focus, or just spam Y key (by default) after you scan the ship to switch between each module. Your gimballed weapons will automatically aim at this specific module, trying to destroy it. If the FSD hp reach 0%, the NPC cannot escape you anymore. One of the best weapons for that job is the missile rack, but it has very limited ammo so I don't recommend this type of weapon for the small ships.

So yeah, I guess that's it.

LiquidMorkite's avatar
LiquidMorkite

I'd put up some kind of progress route as I have taken since I first started as a fresh cmdr in my Sidewinder, bought a Cobra for various activities (though a lot of CMDRs don't recommend running a Cobra for combat), skipped the Vipers, but I recommend buying one if you are really into combat instead of using the Cobra, then got a Vulture if you want to start looking into engineering, she's a mighty small combat ship but needs some engineering to function properly. Currently flying a Fer-de-Lance right now and I'm working my way up the fed rank to get a Federal Corvette.

  1. Starting with your Sidewinder

  • Find a system with a gas giant that has ring. There should be resource extraction site, that's where the pirates spawn

  • If there's a station nearby in the system you can dock to pick up some pirate hunting mission for extra rewards, remember it has to be the missions that require the killing of pirates of the same system you are in, to avoid having to jump to another system that might have no extraction site. So this step is optional if you're not so familiar with the game yet.

  • Drop in, scan the pirates until it shows that they are "wanted". Don't start shooting first without the scan having finished, you will get a bounty on you for that.

  • Look for the wanted pirates that are already in a fight with the cops, if you can get some shots on them you will get the credits when they are destroyed. If you are being targetted always run toward the cops to get the aggro off you. The cops are showed as green triangular spots on your radar.

  • Jump out and go to the nearest station to repair/restock and turn in your vouchers, remember if you die you'll lose all your vouchers, so it's best to turn in when you reach about 200k-300k or your hull is about 50-60%.

  • Rinse and repeat.

  1. Buy your first ship

  • You can always stay in your sidewinder if you really like it. But I did get a Conda because I wanted to do various different stuff. The Vipers are really decent combat ships as well if you want to give them a try.

  • Always stock up enough credits not for only the ship you want to buy, but enough to outfit it. You can look up inara.cz for stations that are selling ships and modules at 15% discount.

  • Get your ships some decent modules. Normally I'd go with:

    • Grade A frame shift drive, if there's an SCO FSD module it's even better.

    • Grade A power plant

    • Grade A power distributor

    • Grade D life support

    • Grade D sensors

    • Grade A thrusters

  • For weapons: gimballed are auto aimed weapons, fixed weapons requires you to aim. There are some posts on reddit or videos on YouTube about different types of weapons and how they work. But to start, lasers are used to take down shield, and multi cannons are very decent to damage their hull when the shield is off, so get yourself some gimballed lasers (pulse and burst lasers are easier to use, beam laser is stronger but requires pip management), and some gimballed multi cannons.

  • For the optional modules, get a bi-weave shield, hull and module reinforcement pakages.

  • Shield booster, either grade D or A on your utility mounts.

  • Go out there and start blasting more pirates on your brand new ship!

  1. Getting into engineering, buy your next combat ship.

Feels like at this point you've already gotten a grip on the game and especially space combats, and of course, more credits, you might get yourself a Vulture, she's fast, tough and has 2 size 3 hardpoints. Or you can try the Vipers if you didn't buy them at step 2, but I'd recommend the Vulture before going to a bigger ship.

For engineering, if you have unlocked some at this point already, you can start engineering your thrusters to fly faster in normal space. If you're still pretty short on engineering materials, you can dip in one point of each module on your weapons to get the exp effect. On your multicannon, take overcharge (take Short Range Blaster if you're flying the Vulture and are confident of being able to keep up with your opponents) with corrossive rounds as experimental effects. Note: if you have multiple multi cannons on your ship, only take one cannon with corrossive, as the effect doesn't stack. One point on your beam laser for efficient, thermal vent as experiemental effect. I'll link my build below for my vulture for reference.

  1. Getting further

At this point, you're pretty a dedicated combat pilots, congratulations and good luck out there!

  1. References

My first Cobra MkIII build for bounty hunting:

Cobra MkIII

More advanced Vulture's build as you're getting into engineering:

Vulture

My only suggestion is if you want to be a good pilot, especially a good combat pilot, don't rush to buy yourself a big ship. A well engineered ship with a pilot that knows what to do always outperforms a big ship with a bad pilot and without proper engineering. A lot of pilots who rushed a Conda always have a hard time flying it. Take your time, work your way up, try out various ships, the Vulture is an excellent small ship, but you can also try out the Vipers.

When you start growing out of the small ships, there are plenty of fast medium ship as well just in time you're getting more access to engineering. The Fer-de-Lance, Mamba, Krait Mk II, Python Mk II, Chieftain and the Federal ships (require ranks with the Federation) are pretty good example.

That's pretty much cover up the first phases of bounty hunting and pve combat in general I believe. Fly Dangerously o7

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
LiquidMorkite

Excellent entry, thanks very much!

Stormseeker's avatar
Stormseeker

Well. I think the best way to start anything in elite dangerous is, first unlock all engineers... but it's true that to unlock Tod The Blaster, you need to strike some Bounties before continuing with engineering... So:

I suggest getting a Viper MKIII or better… a Vulture. The easiest way to learn some combat is multi cannon, full multi cannon on any ship, forget about lasers to kill the shield. Maybe a little harder to kill the shields with a kinetic weapon, but the dps is a lot better than lasers and usually the armor will go down faster by far with a full Multi Cannon attack.
Equip the bigger bi-weave Shield you can, and always maintain 4 pips on Systems, so your shield will last 2.3 times more. If you can equip some A shield boosters, the better.
Last Reinforce your armor, get a military or Reactive one, A drives, A power plant, A distributor, D life support and Sensors.
On secondary, the bi-weave shield the bigger module and the rest hull reinforcements.

The next step is finding a planet with rings where there are RESOURCE EXTRACTION SITE, anything but Hazardous, because there are security ships on them all but the hazardous ones.
GO there, search for wanted ships, shoot them with your Multicannon, and wait for the security ships to help you kill them.
And this is the easiest way to get bounties as a new player, I think.

Sorry for my bad English and have fun o7

ScreamingRaven's avatar
ScreamingRaven

In Absolut Honestly, get some Weapons and dont underestimate the NPCS.

To begin i would say start with Low Resource Asteroidfields and Wait when the Police begin to shoot another target.

Then switch to the Target and WAIT UNTIL ITS FULLY SCANNED AND IT SAYS WANTED otherwise you will be wanted too.

Get some Credits with that and get some better Ships. One Ship what is always very nice to begin is the Viper MKIV or the Cobra MKIII.

Get a Feeling for the Ship and Start.

After that u can slowy targeting better Ships, but stay aware.

NPC Wings are Especially in the Beginning pretty Hard.

Even when u Fly a bigger Ship its pretty annoying to fight against them. Think like Flies what fliy around your Head all the Time.

Have Fun and always Look that u have enough Money for a Rebuy in case u explode.

C
chryco

First : when you begin ready to fight Ressource extraction zone ( ring of gaz giant ) is a easy and a good way to begin bounty hunting .

second: you can go in cluster ring wich is rock group in system can have pirate there

third : nav beacon can have pirate to take bounties

So you scan ship and wait to saw wanted . when this is the case you fight it and after the kill you receive the bound . last part is if you want to choose very well your pirate the more is small the more is easy but paid less ( you can find the bounty on someone in the left panel / section contacts / and check your target and you will see the number in the right )

after kill you go to the closes station and give your bounties to the station . ( you click the station service / contacts / administration contacts / and bounty voucher and voila you can claim your bounties .

LAST PART IF BRAVE : you can go to a intallation orbital or megaship to do bounty hunting

for start a scenario in this two things for the easy and faster way any negative or positive state of the owner of the system have the scenario of bounty will start for megaship ( for installation it need to be the owner of the installation if positive state . negative state start all installation and megaship scenario ) is recomended to wait in 5 km from the installation or megaship and wait a little bit . after that the scenario will appear on your chat box ( DONT CHOOSE SIDE IF THIS IS ONLY FOR BOUNTIES ) so you can kill the pirate there . the stolen scenario you will have anaconda and python who will try to take cargo close to the installation or megaship . them can give you up to 1.5 million and dont really attack hard . so if this is a stolen scenario you can wait the thief arrive around the megaship or installation and kill them in repeat

DarthHunter69's avatar
DarthHunter69

Now that's something I can talk about! I've been bounty hunting since my very first day in Elite, so it's time to guide the little ones in the same trail I blazed.

When you start the game, you will find yourself inside the cockpit of a sidewinder. It may not be an Anaconda, but if you use it right, you can bring down even the mightiest of pirate (edge)lords.

Weapons

The sidewinder only has 2 weapon slots, so there's few options to choose from. You could go for a double laser, which will take the shields down very quick but take longer to chew through the hull, with the advantage of not requiring ammo, so you can keep fighting until you either get tired or your hull gets too low for your liking. You could also go for a double multicannon, which will take much longer to get through the shields, but once they're down it will chew through the hull rather quickly, with the disadvantage of requiring ammo, so you'll have to abandon the fight earlier than you might expect. You could also get both a laser and a multicannon, which combines the advantages of both weapons but once the ammo runs out you will have only one laser to defend yourself with. You could also choose other weapons, like the plain cannons or the fragment cannons instead of the multicannons, for example, both of which do huge damage and I actually recommend them more than the multicannons. Or you could go fancy and try using more exotic weapons like railguns, plasma cannons, missiles, torpedoes, etc, but those will consume a TON of your ship's power, will heat up your ship super quickly and will be very expensive to reload. That and the fact that railguns, torpedoes, mines and plasma cannons are only offered in the fixed variant, which I really don't recommend to beginners. And that brings me to the variants of each weapon. Most weapons come in 3 variants: fixed, gimballed and turret. I highly recommend you use gimballed weapons as a beginner, as they can move on their own to give you an aim assist. Fixed weapons deal more damage than their gimballed counterparts, but are much harder to aim. Turreted weapons are not recommended at all for beginners since they offer the least amount of damage and are completely automatic. The only advantage of turrets is they can shoot behind you and aim at places you wouldn't be able to aim at with gimballed weapons. Besides the 3 variants of weapon mobility, there are also 3 different kinds of laser weapons; those being the pulse, burst and beam lasers. Pulse lasers drain less power from your ship but also deal less damage. As the name suggests, they fire in pulses. Burst lasers drain more power but also deal more damage and fire in bursts of 3. I think you can already anticipate what the beam lasers do. They do the most amount of damage while consuming the most amount of power from your ship, and they fire continuously in a beam.

Outfitting

You're definitely gonna need a shield, because you don't want your beautiful sidewinder to be melted in seconds. Normal shields are good, but bi-weave shields are better. They're a bit weaker than their normal counterparts, but they regenerate much faster. Prismatic shields are not only extremely slow to regenerate despite being extremely strong, but they're also locked behind powerplay, and if you're a beginner then you haven't done powerplay yet, so don't worry about prismatics. You're not even gonna need them against NPCs. Besides that, I recommend some hull and module reinforcements, and also some cargo racks because you never know when you might need them. Don't fuss about other modules and definitely don't buy different hulls (reinforced alloys, military alloys, etc), they're gonna cost you the same it cost you to buy your entire ship, sometimes even more!

Stations

You could definitely start bounty hunting where you are, but if you want certain modules and ships, you're gonna be hopping around the bubble to find them. That's why people recommend Ray Gateway at Diaguandri as a good station for bounty hunters, because they have most of the modules and ships you're gonna need for this career. I personally live in I Sola Prospect at Brestla, because it has all the modules and ships in the game, with the disadvantage that they cost more than normal.

Ships

As a beginner, once you've earned enough cash in your sidewinder, you can buy a new ship. These are a few of the ships you could buy:

  • Eagle: basically a glorified sidewinder with wings. Very fast, but packs about the same punch as a sidey. I keep one in my garage more as a decoration than an actual fighter, but, just like the sidey, it could become very deadly in the right hands.

  • Cobra MK3: the dearest of the older Elite players, the same ship CMDR Jameson piloted. It's very good at everything, not just combat, and is basically a bigger version of the sidewinder. Very good, I recommend.

  • Viper MK3: this is my dearest ship. If I could marry a spaceship it would be the Viper MK3. It looks fantastic, is very quick and packs a punch. It can even be outfitted to be the fastest ship in the game, at about 950 m/s if I remember correctly. Definitely give it a try.

  • Viper MK4: I've never actually bought a Viper MK4, so I can't tell you if it's good or not. I've seen people saying it's bad and others saying it's good, so give it a try if you can. You might be surprised. According to the in-game specifications, it has a stronger hull but is also heavier and slower than the MK3. Aesthetically it reminds me of the Rangers from Interstellar.

  • Adder: this is gonna sound weird, but the Adder was actually the first ship I bought in the game. It's surprisingly very good, and, just like the Cobra MK3, it's very good at everything, not just combat. This was my first bounty hunting ship (after the sidewinder) and I also recommend it. It's very fun and unique.

  • Diamondback Scout/Explorer: they're both very good for combat. The Explorer is better, but the Scout is also very good. The DBX (Diamondback Explorer) is my second favourite ship in the game, only behind the Viper MK3. I love it and I recommend it a lot.

  • Vulture: also very good at combat, despite being a small ship it has 2 class 3 weapon slots, so you'll be melting your enemies very quickly... while also melting your own ship in the process. It suffers from crippling power deficiency, and it will be rare for you to see your capacitors at full charge unless you're not in combat. It is awesome though, not only it looks very cool and has amazing visibility, it also sounds awesome. Mine is called Lamborghini, lol.

Actually doing the thing

Alright, no more stalling. Let's get to the meat of this. If you want to start bounty hunting, I recommend starting at navigation beacons. Yeah, the resource extraction sites are better, but the navigation beacons are much safer for beginners and you're also not at risk of smashing into a rock. Once you drop at the nav beacon, you gotta scan the ships in the area until you find one that has the red "wanted" tag. This step is basically a press "G" simulator. Once you have the perpetrator in your scanner, get closer (and I recommend being at the back of the criminal ship, so that it doesn't fire at you right away and has to turn around to hit you) and fire away. If your shields start getting low, boost away and then come back when your shields are sufficiently regenerated. Unless the guy is getting beat up by the cops, in which case you shouldn't go too far otherwise the game won't give you the bounty. I don't know why it does that but it is what it is. Anarchy systems don't have cops, so you should be extra careful when bounty hunting at those systems. The cops are your friends, they will help take down the edgelord and you should be super careful not to hit them. If you accidentally hit them while targeting the criminal, they will just send you a message telling you to "look where you're shooting" or something like that, but if you hit them while targeting them, then the whole system will turn on you and you'll become wanted yourself. The same applies if you hit them too many times even if you're not targeting them. Once you're happy with your bounties, when your hull is too damaged or when you've run out of ammo, you can just enter supercruise and go to the nearest station, where you will repair, resupply and collect your bounties. Have fun, never fly without a rebuy (unless you really have to) and make your own mistakes so you can learn from them! I intentionally left this text very vague because, ultimately, it's you who have to decide how you want to play the game, otherwise you won't be playing, you'll just be following instructions, and that's boring. Oh, and one more thing: dont die! If you die, you lose your bounty vouchers!

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
DarthHunter69

Fantastic entry, thanks DarthHunter69

DarthHunter69's avatar
DarthHunter69
Alex Sinclair

Thank you!

RicZA's avatar
RicZA

So, you want to be a bounty hunter! Bounty Hunting is great fun regardless of your level or experience, but you do want to know how to scale it. Bounty hunting earns you some great credits and combat rank, but you will need to consider the following:

  • SHIP

    While most ships are combat capable, some are better suited than others. So, if you are hauling cargo in your trusty Adder, consider getting yourself an Eagle or Cobra.

  • MODULES

    • SHIELDS

      You will definitely want to equip a shield, generally as higher class as your ship can handle, experiment with standard shields as well as the Bi-Weave variants. Whilst the standard version will be tankier, the Bi-Weave will recharge faster and will reboot faster if it is broken by the pesky pirates.

    • KILL WARRANT SCANNER

      Whilst not completely necessary, this handy device will allow you to scan the enemy ship and gain some extra credits once you've turned him into space dust.

    • REINFORCEMENTS

      If you have any slots free, consider adding in one or two Hull/Module Reinforcements, should your shields fail, this may buy you enough time to either escape or get your shields back online.

  • WEAPONS

    While you are still familiarizing yourself with Bounty Hunting, stick to simple combinations of Thermal and Kinetic. Thermals such as Lasers will be more effective in taking down shields, with Kinetics like Multi Cannons doing more damage to their hulls. Experiment with different types of lasers and cannons according to your power requirements and play style.

  • LOCATIONS

    There are various ways of finding opponents but none better than Resource Extraction Sites (RES Sites). These are easy to find in planetary rings but be sure to check what type they are, as this will affect the difficulty. They are classed as LOW, NORMAL, HIGH and HAZARDOUS; start off with the Low Res, at least until you are comfortable with your ship, the mechanics and your opponents. Be sure to check in at the local Station or Outpost as well, you can earn far more credits if you accept some massacre missions from the local factions, they will undoubtably reward you for your heroic efforts in dealing with the scourge that plagues their territory. Should you have some wing mates along for your sortie, share your massacre missions to increase the rate at which you complete these.

  • THE HUNT

    • MECHANICS

      Now that you've armed yourself to the hilt and found a suitable hunting ground, it's time to unleash your arsenal. Try and stave off the excitement before you let loose in a blind rage of heroic ambitions, there are some things to look out for. Some pirates travel in wings of their own, attacking one will have them all target you, which can spoil your day pretty quickly. Make sure the vessel you are targeting has a WANTED status, attacking one of the good guys will land you in hot water with the local security forces. Most Res sites will have security vessels patrolling, who will scan and attack any bad guys, feel free to lend a hand, you will share the bounty with them so long as you do some damage to the target, remember to scan with your Kill Warrant Scanner if you chose to equip one. Most of your time will be spent scanning ships in the area to see if they are wanted and then taking them down, you will at some point need to retreat for either repairs or to accept some more missions for added rewards. REMEMBER: You will lose your bounty payout if you die before handing them in. . . . disengage, repair and live to fight another day.

    • FIGHTING THE SHIP

      As a beginner its best to start building on some good habits and skills whilst in combat. Practice with managing your pips for System, Engines and weapons during the fight; more weapons pips when you are on the offensive, more engines when needing tight maneuvers or being evasive and more systems when you are trying to bulk up your shields. Experiment with Fixed and gimballed weapons, fixed offering higher damage but requires some added skill and experience, start working on this early on. Try and tuck in behind your opponents to mitigate his damage output. Check your fire - BE CAREFUL not to hit any friendlies, including the security forces.

You'll be raking in the credits in no time, if you are not finding it challenging, consider trying the next tier of Res Site. Look at buying bigger ships as your riches increase, bear in mind outfitting them can be costly and MAKE SURE you can afford any rebuy costs, the last thing you want is to be relegated back to a Sidewinder after all of your efforts. Happy Hunting!

Fly Safe o7

CmdrTravisRobicheaux's avatar
CmdrTravisRobicheaux

I go to my home system " Nanomam " I work hard at getting my status and influence maxed out so I complete a lot of hauling Contracts, I do lots of combat contracts and go for donations to up the rep. That is going to unlock some difficult bounties but at least they are high paying. That is when I will start my hunting. You also have to remember to go with Engineered weapons and shields. If you decide to jump in without engineered equipment you're going to have a bad time combating anything really above level 3 threat.

- Cmdr Travis Robicheaux

mastercesspit's avatar
mastercesspit

beginners:-

low threat resource extraction site, observe security forces, join in on their kill, you only have to get a couple of hits on the target and when the security forces kill it, you will get the bounty, collect mats, do engineering, as your ship becomes engineered you can attempt higher threat resource extraction sites,

experienced:-

build this

CMDR Mastercesspit - ship details | Elite:Dangerous | INARA

The companion site for Elite:Dangerous with the game database, market data, trade routes, outfitting, engineers, blueprints, crafting, Thargoid war, squadrons, logbooks, galleries, galaxy information and much more...

inara.cz

or this

CMDR Mastercesspit - ship details | Elite:Dangerous | INARA

The companion site for Elite:Dangerous with the game database, market data, trade routes, outfitting, engineers, blueprints, crafting, Thargoid war, squadrons, logbooks, galleries, galaxy information and much more...

inara.cz

go to hazres, go for it.

C
catmeowing

-Find a good ship to utilize (such as any of the ships in the Cobra, Viper, or Eagle series) and outfit it with a recommended outfitting selection found online.

-Go to a decently populated system (preferably 1 million or above) and go to the navigation beacon.

-Target nearby ships and if the scan results show up as wanted, make sure that they are not too high of a rank for you to fight (something like a Cobra with a Harmless combat rating is perfect), or help system security take down a ship.

-If it says they are wanted on the scan results, attack until killed and the bounty will pop up in the Transactions tab

-Collect the bounty at a station within the system where the target was killed, or if you are not within that factor you can go to a Interstellar factor to claim it.

-Repeat

L
LeeeroyJenkins

Bounty hunting in Elite is a very fun job. The best part about it is the low entry point as far as ships go. You can do this in your starter sidewinder and be just fine as long as you know how to run. The first thing that you need to do is find a RES (resource extraction site). Drop into the site and start scanning ships. BE SURE TO SCAN!!! You’re a good guy so don’t shoot other good guys! The key to hunting is to let the feds/security forces do the work. Just be sure to get your shots in before the pirate ship hits 0% hull. If you use this method you can get bounties for ships many times bigger than your own. If you want to make that extra space cash for the bounties then equip a kill warrant scanner.

A good way to find pirates from a distance is to look for signs of a fight around you (laser beams in the distance) and high tail it over there (again, don’t forget to scan the target first) and join the scuffle.

Now, an important thing to remember (other than scan your target first) is that your bounties die with you. If you get space wasted then your bounties are gone! Pay very close attention to your ship’s health. Decide on a bounty total that you are comfortable with and head to a station when you hit that number.

Now go hit those RES sites, take out the trash, and don’t die!!!

Commander LEEEROY JENKINS OUT!!! O7

CMDR Henckes's avatar
CMDR Henckes

This was a nightmare for me when I started in Elite Dangerous, always getting killed and getting frustrated. , so I will try the maximum help especially who are starting in the game, there a some tips for get a good profit in bounty hunter even in the beginner of the game first of all you have to search a good building for PVE ships, and it must be not engineered since if you are starting in the game you probably won’t be able to upgrade your ship with engineers. There are some nice ships to start with, Cobra, Eagle or Viper but my favourite and the one I started with was the Vulture. It will even face some medium ships.

After you buy and equip your ship you’re able to hunt some pirates and wanted pilots, but I highly recommend not to do bounty hunting with missions. It can have some unpleasant surprises and most of those missions are really hard for beginners even to some intermediate players. I recommend you to find a system where there are planets with rings. If a planet has rings it has asteroids and if it has asteroids it has miners and if it has miners it will definitely have pirates to steal the miners, and those pirates you are searching for. 

When you get close to those rings with your ship you see some makers in your menu, you have to find Resource Extraction Sites with preference the lowest ones at maximum a medium one, so you won’t have bigger and so many ships in the site  so the risk of dying is extremely low. After you reach at there you have to scan the ships that are flying around, some are secure forces, others are just mine and a few are pirates that will have a maker of Wanted after the scan is complete, you can attack the ship without any penalty and have will win a bounty voucher after the ship is destroyed. But be aware even small ships can face you and you will lose your shields and part of the hull trying to kill them so the best approach at the beginner is wait the local security forces to attack it first and after some time when the enemy get its hull down to 40 or 30% you can start shooting, so it will be destroyed before it attacks you. You can try this approach in High and Very High Resource Extraction Sites but if you get notice the enemy won’t have to do much effort to destroy you.

After kill and help to kill some pirates you now have some accumulated bounty vouchers that you be able to retrieve in any station and the best part is that if you get killed in combat you won’t lose those vouchers and will be able to receive it, but please avoid dying and get the maximum profit possible, the rebuy cost sometimes is high. 

After some time you will be able to buy and engineer new ships, medium or big ones and will be able to destroy any ship by your own without the need of help from the security forces. So take slowly, enjoy the hunt a fly safe commanders o7

JHenckes's avatar
JHenckes
CMDR Henckes

Thanks for the tips, bro! I've had many difficulties in the same way as you, your story will help me overcome them, thanks!

B
BinaryDuck

1 - Pick up a ship;
2 - doesn't need to be very strong, just maneuvarable enough;
3 - put some ginbaled weapons on it;
4 - go to a High/medium/low res mining site in a ring;
5 - help the security forces to deal with pirates;
6 - acumulate bounties. =)

Just remember to compleet the ship scan before start shooting, security forces don't really like people shooting anyone without bounty confirmation.

AndyRice's avatar
AndyRice

In my opinion, the most suitable bounty hunting method for beginners is RES hunting (Resource Extraction Site). The core of RES hunting is letting the system security forces do most of the work. RES is a good choice for beginners to make some starting money and experience combat with minimal cost.

Resource Extraction Sites are large asteroid fields where many NPCs mine for ore, and many NPC pirates plan to rob these miners. You help the system security vessels eliminate the pirates to earn bounty vouchers.

  1. Location Selection: Resource Extraction Sites are mostly found in the rings of ringed planets in inhabited systems. You just need to head to one of these planet's rings and search for the signal of "Resource Extraction Site (High)" on the left panel. The suffix (High/Low/Medium/Hazardous) indicates the combat intensity of the zone. Typically, higher intensity means a higher chance of encountering ships with high bounties (such as Fer-de-Lance, Anaconda, Python, etc.).

It’s advisable to choose a RES site close to a spaceport, making it easier to repair and restock.

  1. Combat Routine: Enter a RES site -> Scan for ships marked as "Wanted" -> Wait for the system security forces to attack them -> Fire at them -> Collect the bounty.

You don't need to destroy the ship yourself to earn the bounty. If you deal damage to the enemy's hull within 15 seconds before it explodes, you will still get the bounty voucher.

So, the key is to let the system security forces do most of the work. Also, don't attack first, as NPC pirates tend to focus fire on the ship that attacks them first.

  1. Ship Outfits: If you follow the rule of "letting the police do most of the work," your ship won't need to meet high standards. However, the following factors should be considered:

  • Decent survivability: Even though the police will help you eliminate pirates, there is still some risk. In high-intensity RES zones, enemies are sometimes equipped with powerful, modified weapons, and you don’t want to be destroyed in seconds.

  • Use laser weapons: You don’t need to deal massive damage; you just have to hit the enemy within the 15 seconds before they explode. Laser weapons don’t require ammo, which means you won’t need to restock.

  • High speed: The RES field is large, and to make sure you don't miss out on bounties, you need a fast ship to reach the pirates before the police eliminate them.

  1. Important Notes:

You’re a bounty hunter, a good guy, so don’t commit crimes!

It’s easy to commit a crime in a RES site and earn a bounty on yourself because the combat can be a bit chaotic. For example, it’s easy to accidentally hit the police during combat since there are so many ships. If you notice police vessels hovering close to the enemy, stop firing and wait until they move to a safer distance.

Moreover, "Scan First, Then Shoot"—keep this in mind. As you become more familiar with RES hunting, you’ll recognize patterns in spotting wanted ships. For instance, the ship that the police are firing on is definitely wanted, so just look for the laser beams in the RES site. Also, NPCs flying combat ships like Fer-de-Lance, Federal Drop/Assault/Gunships are most likely to be wanted. Additionally, if an imperial ship is flying in a federal-controlled system, it is often wanted, and vice versa.

However, even if you're 100% sure the ship is wanted, you must scan and wait for the "Wanted" mark to appear before firing. Otherwise, you will get a bounty on yourself since the security forces will think you're attacking an innocent ship.

Hunter's avatar
Hunter
AndyRice

for me an experienced player this is very helpful and complete guide , New players should read this.

AndyRice's avatar
AndyRice
Hunter

Thank you!

mastercesspit's avatar
mastercesspit

beginners:-

low threat resource extraction site, observe security forces, join in on their kill, you only have to get a couple of hits on the target and when the security forces kill it, you will get the bounty, collect mats, do engineering, as your ship becomes engineered you can attempt higher threat resource extraction sites,

experienced:-

build this

https://inara.cz/elite/cmdr-fleet-ship/280015/4693967/

or this

https://inara.cz/elite/cmdr-fleet-ship/280015/4901077/

go to hazres, go for it.

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
mastercesspit

Hey mastercesspit, it looks like you've entered as a reply rather than a submission. If you'd like to be considered for a prize, please hit the purple 'submit to this bounty' button and copy-paste your entry in. o7

MQC's avatar
MQC

Being a good bounty hunter in Elite Dangerous requires dedication and effort, but the process is very fun and enjoyable if you follow a few simple guidelines.

1. Choose Your Ship

Start with a beginner-friendly ship like the Eagle Mark 2 or Viper Mk III. These ships are affordable and well-suited for combat. As you progress, you can upgrade to more powerful ships like the Fer-de-Lance or Python.

2. Equip Your Ship

Equip your ship with the following essential modules:

  • Weapons: Multi-cannons and beam lasers are effective for bounty hunting.

  • Shields: A strong shield generator to protect your ship.

  • Thrusters: Upgraded thrusters for better maneuverability.

  • Kill Warrant Scanner: This is crucial for identifying bounties on ships.

  • Frame Shift Drive Interdictor: To pull targets out of supercruise.

3. Find Bounties

Head to Resource Extraction Sites (RES), Nav Beacons, or Compromised Nav Beacons. These locations are hotspots for wanted ships. You can also visit Conflict Zones if you’re looking for more intense combat.

4. Scan and Engage Targets

Use your Kill Warrant Scanner to scan ships and identify those with bounties. Engage targets that are marked as “Wanted.” It’s often helpful to let system security ships weaken the target before you join the fight.

5. Collect Bounties

Once you’ve destroyed a wanted ship, you’ll receive a bounty voucher. Return to a station with an Authority Contact to turn in your vouchers and collect your rewards.

6. Upgrade and Repeat

As you earn credits, upgrade your ship’s modules and weapons. This will allow you to take on more challenging targets and increase your earnings.

Additional tips for Success

  • Join a Wing: Teaming up with other players can make bounty hunting more efficient and safer.

  • Avoid Hazardous RES: These sites lack security patrols and can be dangerous for beginners.

  • Stay Alert: Always be aware of your surroundings and be ready to escape if things go wrong.

o7 Commanders

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
MQC

Hi MQC. Thanks for entering this bounty. You've made some great entries to Just About Elite Dangerous, but I'm just letting you know that we're rejecting your submission to this one because it shows signs of having been produced by generative AI. Our goal with Just About is to reward authentic, human content and to do so in a way that respects the effort taken to produce it. Almost all low-effort use of generative AI in bounties will therefore be rejected and may be considered a violation of our code of conduct, with appropriate penalties for repeat offenders. Please read that code of conduct and our policy on AI content. Thanks!

MQC's avatar
MQC
Alex Sinclair

Thanks for the warning, and sorry for the mistake; because my mother tongue is not English but Spanish, I often use the AI to translate and/or manage the texts I want to transmit, and avoid mistakes or miscommunication. I will avoid using it from now on to avoid this kind of situations and, again, apologies for the problem.

Alex Sinclair's avatar
Alex SinclairMod
MQC

Thanks for the positive attitude and understanding MQC. We understand, and we've had similar issues with other members for whom English isn't their native language. It's okay to use translation software (and even AI software) to help improve the language of your bounty submissions. However, it can be difficult for us to tell if a submission has been translated (acceptable) or generated by AI (not acceptable).

If you do use it again in the future, I suggest including a note to say how you've used it and also consider including the original pre-AI influence post at the bottom. That way, we can be certain that it's not completely generated by AI. At any rate, thank you again for your understanding and good luck with the rest of our bounties! o7

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