How to (semi) AFK Bounties for Merits in Elite Dangerous the fast, quick and easy way tutorial

[@schelsullivan]

These builds a fun to fly too. My hands hurt from playing to many games for too long. This style saves on further hand injury.

[@alcoholiday6954]

I like to take a cargo delivery mission and use that cargo as bait. The pirates can't steal it so I don't have to bother with point defence turrets.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@alcoholiday6954 ya someone mentioned that on stream. Probably a good idea but also too much hastle for me:) I always have bait on carrier I can use without going to station. And I’ve not had anything stolen from this ship in years by breakers.

[@B33rdedB3lly]

What cargo missions should I be looking for? Trying to keep the smallest cargo hold that I can so I can run all boosters.

[@CMDR_Shokwave]

I just get my first kill manually and collect the life pods. Those are bait.

[@9erunionjack]

yes your right my build doesn't need point defence at all i use delivery missions where it states unique to mission this cargo CAN NOT be stolen hatch breaker limpets are unable to steel this cargo this cargo can be kept even after the mission has failed and stay with you for about a week yes you will get fined 5 mil but after the billions you make 5 mil is pocket change

[@Xerosins]

I had the thought of doing this with my afk cutter build the day of but i got so side tracked with everything else, good to know it does work

[@jackparkinson2810]

t10 is the best hardpoint wise but yeaa cutter may end up never losing shields. xD

[@Predilus]

If you worry about shield recharge use the bi-weave instead of the prismatic and resist it like there is no tomorrow. This way you get a way better recharge rate.

[@shawnp6653]

Thanks fro sharing - I want to do something like this, but I need to get back to unlocking engineers. Fly safe o7

[@MeganRose420]

Congrats on 1k subs! o7

[@oriwan3786]

I have a t10 afk defender long already but using pulse lasers build and can run full pips to shield this way.

[@StMargorach]

I always place my t10 with my ass against a big asteroid so they can't attack the back

[@jasperlit1345]

Nice build! I do think the Weapon Focused PD would help a lot, and since the escape pods dont de-spawn could they be collected at the end of the run with 8 collectors from a 7A multi? Could then replace the class 3 repair limpet with like a 3A hull with some thermal resistance maybe? I was tinkering with the build and a Bi-weave may work? Not as strong but the build time is like 1 minute less and the regen time is like 11 minutes less, not sure it is worth it though. Oh - I don't think thermal shock stacks, so maybe a pulse laser long range/emissive to let the turrets find the target easier lol I couldn't get discord link to work so I'm gonna E-mail you modified build so you can compare 😅 o7

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@jasperlit1345 ya discord link is for 2 weeks apparently. I’ll update it shortly. Ya if you don’t mind. Flying around you can even have a size 3 multi in there. But in about 6hr you have more than 64 escape pods without 2.3km from you anyway so way more ship kills than pods. Bierce does not work. When a 3 ship group comes and it’s rare but they do happen then this prismatic that is 2x the power of Bi weave drops down to 20-30%. And the biweave would be at 0 and you’d be loosing hull in that case. Even with the prismatic I was at under 20% hull so even that shield dropped to 0.

[@kuhluhOG]

@@AtlasRandGaming maybe using a normal shield generator since they still recharge considerably faster than a prismatic one with not that much capacity downside

[@kuhluhOG]

@@AtlasRandGaming so, I experimented a bit in coriolis (with Guardian Shield booster since they are flat) and a Cutter instead of a Type-10: Bi-Weave: explosive: 70,2% kinetic: 57,1% thermal: 65,9% absolute: 2312MJ from 0% to 50%: 6:14 from 50% to 100%: 5:58 Prismatic: explosive: 73,9% kinetic: 62,5% thermal: 69,9% absolute: 2389MJ from 0% to 50%: 6:26 from 50% to 100%: 12:22 normal class A: explosive: 73,9% kinetic: 62,5% thermal: 69,9% absolute: 2006MJ from 0% to 50%: 5:24 from 50% to 100%: 6:03 engineering: shield generators: always thermal resistant with fast charge shield boosters (always 6): for prismatic and normal it's always resistance augmented with thermo block for bi-weave it's 4 always resistance augmented with thermo block and 2 heavy duty with thermo block so I guess by the numbers the normal shield generator does sound the best (at least for the cutter) also, don't forget that there's a softcap for resistances (otherwise one could reach 100% in at least some damage types)

[@xSoulhunterDKx]

Note: for those not being strong enough or dont have so much stuff ready to go: you can always do this with other ships too, just not as long maybe. I did that back on my xbox with my 'Conda as well^^

[@Yougosha1]

In my experience, the best ratio for a resistance setup on shields is "roughly" 1/4 OA thermal res, 1/4 OA heavy duty/ 1/2 OA resistance augmented with thermal res on a bi-weave shield generator. Keep in mind resistances won't help against anything that does absolute damage like plasma accelerators, collisions, and I think maybe the thargoid interceptor lightning attack.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

Ya that sounds right for active gameplay... However when you have lower damage but unpredictable numbers of NPCs and no chance to fly away, having all resists is actually better... in fact I went from using a bigger prismatic shield to a lower total damage bi-weave after this video because in this scenario what kills you is not damage from 1 or even 3 enemies, it's having your slow charging shields at 35% when the next set of 3 ships shows up. The bi-weaves (and all resists) have a very fast recharge so that between any set of ship attacks you are almost always at 100%. And all the shields have to do is last above 1% until the enemy is dead. When not AFK you will fight deadlier enemies and in that case the above described ratio is a good one and also you can warp away when shields get low. Also you can get the perfect shield setup using this tool cmdrs-toolbox.com/shield-tester

[@RolfeynatoR]

@@AtlasRandGaming I love your build, thanks for the detailed video! I am working my way around the engineers right about now to re-create it. Do you run all resistance augmented boosters (without experimental effect) on a class 8 bi-weave (reincorced+hi-cap) now? How does it perform in practice?

[@dutchesselysium7356]

I was getting so disappointed at my slow merit progression. I had forgotten about these AFK builds after such a long time out in the black. Thanks Atlas! o7

[@hughjardon3538]

Forget about all those fancy special affects, it'll work better with flow control on all the lasers. That will stop your distributor from emptying, which keeps them firing and makes your ship run cooler. Also, you should leave your ship in a slow roll, tumble or yaw, or all three, to stop the NPCs camping in your blind spots. I did extensive tests with a fighter, but came to the conclusion that the extra shield booster is better because the fighter can get popped while you're away. Finally, there's a random chance that three strong big ships are sent in to sort you out. Typically, a wing of deadly or dangerous FDL, Python and Anaconda. Your T10 is defenceless against them, so you come back to the rebuy screen. That event seems to be worse in some locations than others. I think it was introduced by the devs to confound AFK pirate farming.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@hughjardon3538 ya could do flow but wanted a few other effects. Cap draining is not a problem it never heats high enough to worry. I like the slow roll idea. I used to run with no fighter but I notice he does chase and kill more ships. Also I’m ranking him up so this is easy rank up. Yes he does die every other time. Someone suggested a biweave hi cap and that worked well for 8hr. Will test more if it hold against the 3 deadly. It may have and recovered don’t know. But with prismatic it did not hold (was probably not at full charge) and I went into hull but still survived that wing.

[@oneofdavidsmightymen]

You totally miss one of the important things about AFK that is taking kill missions and as they complete your rep raises and the get better as that way you make considerable bounty payments

[@talonfreak2003]

Bi-weaves will make the difference. Prismatics recharge too slowly between combat.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

If I had bi-weaves I would have been dead long ago (and I used to run biweaves) a 3 ship groups will take you down past biweave levels and pound your hull. Prizmatics hill keep it in shields for 3 ship groups. Yes recharge is very slow, but if you never went into hull, the shields gerenally go up 4-6% per attack... so down 3 up 9 then again down 3 up 9 between attacks... that kind of thing... If there were no elite 3 ship groups bi-weaves would work fine. But there are.

[@talonfreak2003]

@AtlasRandGaming that's not actually true. I've had numerous AFK builds, mostly for afk credit grinds. Building high resistance, hi cap biweaves was more survivable than prismatic shields just because of the recharge rate between combat. It's more about knowing how to build a good PVE biweave. Yes, the prismatic will have a superior pool of raw shield MJ, but that recharge rate means it's not going to be effective in the long run. That being said...in the end, you do you. Your build might not be efficient, but if it works for you, then no one else's opinion matters.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@ exactly 😉 If you want to have a poor build then go for it. Doesn’t affect everyone else. I will go back to a bi-weave and let you know how it goes.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

Ok ran 8hr with bi-weaves and they did get down to 8% but never dipped into hull... so you are correct... biweaves with max engineering reenforced work well.

[@JumpFrost_ITA]

There is a specific reason for having partially engineered the modules, in the EDSY build many modules are modified with a variable percentage, and some have a level of 3 or 4 etc. I was wondering if this was intended

[@AtlasRandGaming]

Depends on module. I here are negatives such as using more power or more distributer for increased positives like longer range. So in this build I had to engineer some of the weapons to less than top lever to keep it all running. But that will depend on the specific weapon used. Some people recommend actually using efficient engineering on weapons to make sure cap never runs out, but that also means less DPS. So there is always some trade off. This was my best attempt at one and it works, but there could be improvements made and after the video for example, I see that bi-weave shields actually are better even though they have less damage buffer, the fast recovery makes them better suited for AFK. Could be other improvements.

[@JumpFrost_ITA]

@@AtlasRandGaming if you allow me I would like to write to you on your server about the build, if you are willing to look at it together

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@JumpFrost_ITA sure.

[@-hellsgate-]

I have a similar Type 10 setup and am currently in "Tharviri" - which is an Independent / Confederacy / Fortified by Aisling Duval (to whom I am pledged). However I am not getting any Merits on bounty kills or mining or trading or escape pods, etc. What's the exact state of the system you were in when getting the Merits? Is there a specific set of criterion to get this working?

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@-hellsgate- I’ve been mining in fortified and killing pirates in exploited and contested. But take a look at the chat I posted for the powers in my KZbin “posts” for your power

[@-hellsgate-]

@@AtlasRandGaming I got this sorted - when FDev released PowerPlay2, they unpledged everyone from their PowerPLay1 power. So, players will be unpledged until they re-pledge in PowerPlay2. Hence, why it wasn't working - the game showed me as unpledged!

[@Spotcats]

Do NPC ships use engineering upgrades like phase sequencing on beams?

[@Sir-Complains-a-Lot]

short and to the point ;-/ keep spreading out that knowledge 😂

[@sc0or]

Type 10 has dead zones. I’d suggest to turn FA off, start spinning slowly, and only then to turn thrusters off.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@sc0or yup someone else suggested already 👍

[@walt5741]

Incoming nerf to escape pods (will expire). Fdev will also disable the t10, lasers, pirates, and fire at will. Increase fuel drain for all ships, disable merits for all activies, and players will be required to enter a number sequence every 108 minutes or be disconnected. Great videos, but I hate when you post because they disable/nerf anything you post within 48 hours. I've been running something similar and it's sad to see it go.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

Ture Story 😂

[@Sighman]

Nah, they'll just have a couple of Glaives show up with a Scythe. Bye bye T10.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@ ya you’d crash to desktop 3 times before you got there

[@CMDRKailoren]

The only thing they'll probably do is put an expiration on escape pods. The T10 AFK farm has been in the game since Horizons and FDev have never cared. They stopped console players doing it but that was a console auto-power off that logged you out so you couldn't leave it running overnight.

[@StMargorach]

Afk defender has been part of the game for years ffs.... Stop crying

[@snakeize25]

I been doing that from the beginning of power play 2.0

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@snakeize25 total merits from it?

[@Legion82AXIN]

@@AtlasRandGaming 3-5k every 10hours... but now they will nerf this too so it matters not

[@olias2k979]

A script rather than jumping to this changing the story, WHERE DID THE PODS COME FROM.

[@AtlasRandGaming]

@@olias2k979 well if you only watch 1 min then you won’t know. The end of the video shows the beginning of it.

[@Legion82AXIN]

Waste of electricity 3-5k merits every 8-10 hours if you lucky not to die or get disconnected. 8-10hours extra of your pc uptime is tens of euros/pounds/dollars into ur electricity bill every month. The ONLY way to make this efficient is to do it on SteamDeck using fully ENG build between midnight and 7am(server dc always at 7 for some reason). Anyway videos about it will result in fdev finally nerfing AFK build altogether since that's what they good at these days. After many years they nerf combat double payouts as that would make any sense....so I`m expecting this going down next.

[@JoshuaTarvin]

They've been aware of AFK builds for years, and they've already commented that they don't have a problem with it. I seriously doubt FDEV is going to have an issue with people idling on their servers, they certainly don't have a problem with servers being overpopulated and if anything it looks better for ED player numbers. Not to mention, it's not just merits you're earning.. You are earning combat rank as well, as well as credits and experience for crew. So no, it's certainly not a "waste"; a waste of electricity would be running your AC or heat at ridiculously low/high levels for the sake of comfort, which most people do, and contributes to "wasteful energy" more than a computer ever could. We're talking about a minute amount of energy in comparison to other bad habits. And at the end of the day, this is 3-5k merits that you wouldn't have had otherwise, all while doing virtually nothing. If it's not for you, then it's not for you.. but it's certainly not a waste, and it's certainly not pointless.

[@Legion82AXIN]

@JoshuaTarvin never said it was pointless or that it's not for me? In fact I actually explained how to do it efficiently in detail. It becomes absolute Waste of energy if you leave your pc afk and go to bed only to find out following morning that you got dc after 25min and your pc was pooling 200-300W all night for absolutely no benefit 😂 look I couldn't care less what people will do, I'm just letting them now from my own experience this build is more tricky than most people think. At least with steam deck you literally running this build on 10-20w / per hour if you get dc or destroyed which happens more often than not, you won't feel to bad about it. Anyways try it for a week ppl and see for yourself. o7 CMDR's

[@CptJistuce]

The Steam Deck is very much NOT the only low-power IBM-compatible computer out there.

[@Legion82AXIN]

@CptJistuce you are VERY much welcome to share anything better than steamdeck😂

[@CptJistuce]

@@Legion82AXIN I make no statements of quality, just that it is not the only way.

[@dirty_beggar6277]

Commanders that do this wipe back to front