Elite Dangerous throws you into a 1:1 copy of the Milky Way with a Sidewinder, a few thousand credits and almost no explanation. That’s part of the appeal, but it also means a lot of new commanders quit in the first week. This guide covers what I’d tell any new player before their first undock: what to learn first, how to make your first proper money, which ships to aim for and which mistakes to avoid.
Before You Undock: The Controls Matter More Than You Think
Elite is a flight sim first. Whether you’re on mouse and keyboard, a controller or a HOTAS, spend time in the control settings before you fly anywhere. The things worth binding properly from day one are:
- Flight assist toggle. You won’t use it much early on, but you will in combat later.
- Boost, landing gear, cargo scoop and hardpoints. These come up constantly.
- The left and right panels. The left panel is navigation, the right panel is your ship’s systems and modules.
- Power distributor (pips). Systems, engines and weapons. Learning to move pips without thinking will save your ship more than any upgrade.
Do the in-game training missions. They’re dry, but docking, supercruise and the frame shift drive are all covered, and docking is where most new players lose their first ship to a station’s no-fire zone or a speeding ticket.
Supercruise and Jumping: How You Actually Get Around
There are two kinds of travel. Hyperspace jumps take you between star systems. Supercruise moves you within a system, from the arrival star to a planet or station.
The one rule that catches everyone: in supercruise, aim to reach your destination at around 7 seconds out and throttle into the blue zone (roughly 75 percent) so you drop out cleanly. Come in too fast and you overshoot, loop round and waste minutes. Once you get the feel for it you’ll never think about it again.
Plot routes with the galaxy map. Set the route filter to fastest or most economical, and keep an eye on fuel. Running out of fuel in an empty system is a rite of passage, and the Fuel Rats exist for exactly that reason. Fit a fuel scoop as soon as you can afford one and you’ll never need rescuing.
Your First Credits: What Actually Works
The Sidewinder is weak, so your first goal is a better ship. The quickest honest routes for a brand new commander are:
- Mission boards. Delivery and courier missions pay well early on and build reputation with local factions, which unlocks better missions. Stack several missions going to the same system.
- Exploration. Use the Full Spectrum Scanner on bodies in systems along your route and sell the data at Universal Cartographics. Low risk and a great way to learn supercruise. My exploration guide goes into more detail.
- Mining. Laser mining with a Cobra or Type-6 is a solid step up once you’ve got a few million. See the laser mining guide.
- Trading. Buy low, sell high. Simple, and it scales hard as your cargo space grows. The trading and economy guide covers routes and ships.
Avoid combat for money until you have a ship that can take a hit. Bounty hunting at a Resource Extraction Site in a Sidewinder will mostly teach you what a rebuy screen looks like.
The Rebuy: Never Fly Without It
When your ship is destroyed you pay a rebuy, roughly 5 percent of the ship’s total value including modules. If you can’t afford it you lose the ship and its outfitting. Always keep at least one rebuy in the bank before you take on anything risky. This is the single biggest mistake new players make, and it costs people hours of progress.
Unsold exploration and exobiology data is also lost when you die, so cash in regularly on long trips.
Choosing Your First Upgrade Ships
You don’t need to follow a strict path, but most commanders go through something like this:
- Eagle or Hauler. Cheap and useful for learning combat or hauling.
- Cobra Mk III. The classic all-rounder. Good at trading, exploring and light combat. The newer Cobra Mk V does a similar job with a more modern layout. I’ve reviewed it here.
- Diamondback Explorer or Asp Explorer. Excellent early explorers with good jump range.
- Type-6 Transporter. A cheap cargo hauler that turns into a decent miner.
- Python, Python Mk II or Krait Mk II. Medium-pad multi-role ships that most players keep for a long time.
Use the ship guide when you’re deciding what to save for next.
Engineering and Upgrades
Buying better modules (A-rated is usually best, D-rated is lightest) makes a big difference. Engineers come later. They let you modify modules beyond their stock stats using materials you collect. Don’t rush them. Get comfortable with the game first, then unlock Felicity Farseer, who handles frame shift drive upgrades. A jump range boost early on changes how the whole galaxy feels.
Joining Others: Wings and Squadrons
Elite is a better game with other people. Wings let you share missions and bounties with up to three other commanders. Squadrons are larger player groups with their own chat and identity. Joining an active squadron gets you advice, help with engineering and someone to call when things go wrong. You can also play in Solo or a Private Group if you’d rather learn without other players around.
Mistakes I See New Players Make
- Flying without enough money for the rebuy.
- Boosting into a station’s mail slot at speed and getting fined or destroyed.
- Ignoring the fuel gauge on long routes.
- Buying a big ship before they can afford to outfit it. An empty Anaconda is a very expensive taxi.
- Trying to engineer everything in week one.
Where to Go Next
Once you’ve got a decent ship and a few million in the bank, the galaxy opens up. Pick what you enjoyed most and go deeper: combat, Powerplay, exploration or mining. Everything else is on the Elite Dangerous hub.
See you in the black, Commander. o7
