Welcome to the Privateer section of CIC Game Guides.

• When you first start the game, you have a very basic ship which you should upgrade before attempting plot missions.
• A lot of what can be called "the perfect ship" depends on your preference. The essential items are: Afterburners, Tungsten armor, an ECM package, engine upgrades, shield generators (ideally one level lower than your engine upgrade level), jump drive, repair droid, a color scanner (the B&S Omni preferably), missile launcher (two if you ship can handle them) and Friend or Foe missiles. If you have room for a turret on your ship, it is the perfect place to install a tractor beam.
• With such a large variety of weapons, it can be difficult to choose between them since you need to balance the energy usage and the energy of your ship. Plus there's the varying speed, refire delay, and damage of the projectile. The Tachyon Cannon is usually a good all-rounder though.
• You have the choice of running cargo or flying missions to make money. You'll need to be able to fly all kinds of missions to complete the game's plot though, so as soon as you feel safe enough in your ship get in some practice.
• It is generally a good idea to join a guild (Merchants or Mercenaries depending on which type of mission you prefer). It gives you a larger choice of missions instead of just the terminal, and the missions pay more (but with a greater risk). You'll soon get back the joining fee.
• You are allowed to take up to three missions at once. If there are three patrol missions in the same system, you can fly all three at once and gain the reward for all three.
• Missions are marked as a failure if you use the cheats in the options menu. So don't.
• The number of ships in scripted encounters may vary depending on the current level of your ship.
• When you are ready to start the plot, head for New Detroit... and Sandoval.