Elite Dangerous Wiki
Register
Advertisement

There are a number of distinct roles that players can take on in Elite Dangerous. Roles do not require prior experience or skills to take part in - by obtaining the necessary equipment anyone can perform any role. The six main ship-based roles are trading, smuggling, exploring, mining, bounty hunting, and pirating. The two main On Foot-based roles are mercenary work and exobiology. Frontier Developments have stated that they want all roles to be equally profitable.[1] Roleplaying denotes acting with unscripted situations.

Ship Roles[]

Most roles require the use of a ship. As a commander licensed by the Pilots Federation, the player is an independent pilot and freelancer who can pursue whichever activities they deem to be the most rewarding. Their ability to pilot a ship allows commmanders to roam the galaxy with almost no restrictions and side with or against any faction.

Courier[]

Courier-Role 2

Courier role

Main article: Courier

Starport bulletin boards will often offer missions that require little or no cargo space and can be an easy (albeit low) source of income. Missions that require no cargo space will be marked with one horizontal arrow pointing right whereas courier missions that require some cargo space are marked with a cargo container and an arrow pointing to the right. Missions that have two horizontal arrows going left and right require you to buy the stated cargo and return to the port with it. Accepted missions can be turned in (completed) by travelling to the mission's destination and using the starport bulletin board there.

Trader[]

Type-9-Heavy-Coriolis-Station

Trader with a Type-9 Heavy

Main article: Trader

Trading is the act of buying commodities at a low price and selling them for a higher price. In Elite: Dangerous the Galaxy Map can help traders determine profitable trade routes by providing purchasable market data as well as displaying NPC trade routes and economy types. As profitable as it can be to haul cargo around the galaxy, pirates are a hazard and can differ depending on the system.

Explorer[]

Beyond Exploration improvements

Explorer

Main article: Explorer

Exploring is a (mostly) lonely and time consuming job, involving finding and scanning planetary bodies. The profitability depends on how much undiscovered data the player has to sell and, when the system is all but unknown, the profit can be quite substantial. Bodies that have already been discovered and mapped display a tag with the commander's name to indicate which person first discovered and sold the exploration data. These bodies can still be mapped, albeit for a lower reward.

Miner[]

Type 9 mining

Miner Type-9 Heavy

Main article: Miner

Mining involves using various specialised tools to locate resource-rich asteroids, extracting and refining various raw minerals and metals from those asteroids, and then selling the collected commodities for the highest possible profit. Although more time-consuming and manual than simple trading, the number of tools available to miners allow for a more custom approach to the task, and massive profits can be earned depending on what mineral is collected and where it is sold.

Smuggler[]

Orbis-Station-Planet-Type-6

Smuggler Type-6

Main article: Smuggler

Smugglers are similar to traders except that they sell goods where it is illegal, on the black market. Smugglers have to use stealth, cunning and special equipment to outwit the Police and sometimes military authorities, especially around stations, to sell their goods at a profit while escaping fines and a criminal record. Smugglers can also be a special class of couriers, where the player is asked to transport forbidden items.

Pirate[]

Pirates in rings

Pirates in planetary rings

Main article: Pirate

Pirates naturally earn combat ranking by attacking and destroying other ships. The primary motivation for pirates is the cargo carried by their prey. Pirates use powerful weaponry and their fearsome reputations to encourage traders to hand over their goods.

Mercenary[]

Mercenary Cobra

Mercenary Cobra

Main article: Mercenary

Mercenary work can be found at starport bulletin boards, and send the player to fight at Conflict Zones and warzones. In zones with active fighting a mercenary can find near constant work.

Assassin[]

Assassin-Asp

Assassin Asp

Main article: Assassin

An assassin requires flight experience and solid equipment as their targets are highly dangerous. The payout for taking down targets can be extremely rewarding, but make sure to never underestimate the enemy - their bounties are large for a reason.

Bounty Hunter[]

Bounty Hunter FDL

Bounty Hunter Fer-de-Lance

Main article: Bounty Hunter

Space is a rough place and there are plenty of pirates in the anarchy systems who need to be retired. The bounty hunter takes advantage of the in-game bounty system, earning credits and combat rank for destroying wanted ships. Bounty hunters specialise in lethal, offensively-focused ships which are capable of reliably destroying their prey.

Passenger Carrier[]

Space Tourism Beluga Liner

Space tourism with a Beluga liner

Main article: Passenger Carrier

Passenger Carriers are similar to Traders except they transport paying passengers instead of cargo. Passenger contracts operate in a similar manner to mission board contracts. Ships that are equipped with Passenger Cabins may pick up passengers in the Passenger Lounge available at many stations. There are two main types of passenger contracts: VIP and non-VIP (bulk).

Multicrew[]

Corvette-Multicrew

Multicrew in a Corvette

Main article: Multicrew

Players can serve as crew members on each others' ships, instantly transferring to a secondary bridge position via drop-in, drop-out matchmaking, accessible via an option on the Comms panel. Some ship types can have up to 3 people in Multicrew, controlling either the Helm (Piloting), Gunner (turreted weapons), or Fighter con (two ship launched fighters).

Scavenger[]

Scavenger-Salvage-Drone

Scavenger and a drone

Main article: Salvage

A scavenger is a minor role to retrieve Cargo Canisters found in space, at salvageable wrecks or on a celestial body's surface using a Cargo Scoop. Whether retrieving an item is legal or not can be seen by the GUI text that appears when targeting it - either "Legal Salvage" or "Illegal Salvage".

Cargo that a player both jettisons and abandons becomes legal salvage, whereas cargo that is only jettisoned is considered illegal salvage for everyone but them. Cargo that is marked as stolen can only be jettisoned.

Infiltrator[]

DataPointSettlement

Data Point at a settlement

Infiltrator jobs can be found at various mission boards and require the player to attack or covertly retrieve data packages from a target settlement. Infiltrators are often tasked with attacking a certain quantity of a specific settlement's defence drones known as skimmers, destroying settlement's power grid or obtaining a data package by scanning a settlement's data points via the data link scanner.

Though infiltrator missions offer a high reward, performing these actions is usually illegal and thus often result in a hefty fine or bounty. Since settlements appear on planets, the player will likely need an SRV. It should be noted that settlements vary in size and security level.

Support[]

Cobra-Repair-Limpet

Cobra and a repair limpet

Support is an informal role in which one player aids another by refueling their ship or repairing its hull. This can be accomplished with Fuel Transfer Limpets for refuels, Repair Limpets for hull repairs and Beam Lasers engineered with Regeneration Sequence to restore shields. While this role does not guarantee any monetary reward, it can be an interesting and entertaining pursuit on its own. Many explorers often find themselves in need of fuel or repairs while wandering the far reaches of the galaxy, and combat ships can benefit from hull repairs both during and after a battle. Various player groups are dedicated to supporting other commanders, including the Fuel Rats. In AX Conflict zones you can support people with Decontamination limpets to remove caustic chemicals off a ship's hull.

Search and Rescue[]

Station Attack interior

An Anaconda inside a damaged station

Main article: Search and Rescue

The Search and Rescue role concerns providing assistance in emergency situations. Certain Legal Salvage items, such as escape pods (occupied or damaged), "black box" flight recorders, and personal effects, can be turned in to a station's Search and Rescue Agent contact for a reward. Damaged stations offer passenger missions to evacuate refugees to the nearest Rescue Vessel, and Rescue Vessels offer missions to salvage items from inside damaged stations.

On Foot Roles[]

Main article: On Foot

Commanders are also effective outside of their ships, and their services as guns-for-hire, infiltrators, scientists, and more are in high demand.

Mercenary[]

ED Odyssey Mercenary On Foot

Mercenary

Main article: Mercenary

The Mercenary role involves taking on On Foot missions involving settlements at Concourses across the galaxy. Missions involving raids, infiltration, theft, and even simple repair work are available through Concourse Terminals, but commanders looking to make more credits can also accept shadier missions from recruiters. Mercenaries can also enlist with Frontline Solutions to participate in local Conflict Zones and help a faction expand its control.

Exobiologist[]

Tussock Ignis

An exobiologist preparing to take a sample

Main article: Exobiologist

The Exobiologist role involves seeking out and cataloguing alien life forms. Exbiology work is performed On Foot using a Genetic Sampler to collect samples for sale to Vista Genomics. Commanders are not only paid for their work, but if they discover a previously unknown species, Vista Genomics will also credit them with the discovery.

Gallery[]

References[]

Advertisement