How To Become an Elite Commander

• Focus on One Role: Concentrate on a single role to streamline progress.
  
• Ship Choice: Use role-specific ships with proper outfitting for efficiency.
  
• Community Support: Join groups like the Elite Dangerous Discord or Reddit for tips and mission stacking.
  
• Engineers: Unlock engineers to boost ship performance allowing you to increase your jump range, damage, maneuverability and hull/shield integrity.
  
• Rebuy Funds: Always have credits for your ship’s insurance to avoid setbacks.

Combat rank progresses by earning XP from destroying ships. Higher-ranked NPCs (Dangerous, Elite) give more XP. Deadly to Elite requires ~3,000 kills.

• Massacre Missions:
  
  • Stack missions from multiple factions in systems like LHS 20 or Ngalinn targeting pirates.
    
  • Use a Fer-de-Lance, Vulture, or Federal Corvette with engineered weapons (e.g., Grade 5 multi-cannons).
• Compromised Navigation Beacons (CNBs):
  
  • Fight at CNBs in HIP 20277 for high-rank NPC spawns.
    
  • Equip strong shields and weapons (e.g., beam lasers, multi-cannons).
• Thargoid Scout Hunting:
  
  • Kill Scouts in Thargoid systems (e.g., Pleiades) with AX weapons.
    
  • Riskier but requires fewer kills for rank XP.

• Target high-rank NPCs for better XP.
  
• Use power management (4 pips SYS, 2 WEP) for combat efficiency.
  
• Avoid low-rank kills at Deadly rank.
  
• Estimated Time: ~100–150 hours.

Trade rank progresses via profits from commodities, mining, or passenger missions. You need ~1 billion credits in profit to reach Elite.

• Robigo Passenger Missions***:
  
  • Run missions from Robigo Mines to Sirius Atmospherics (1 jump, ~5 min/trip).
    
  • Use a Python or Anaconda with 128–160t passenger cabins for 10–20M cr/hr.
• Trade Loops:
  
  • Find routes via EDDB.io or Inara.cz (e.g., Platinum buy at 300k cr/t, sell at 400k cr/t).
    
  • Use Type-9 Heavy or Imperial Cutter for ~12M cr per 10-min trip.
    
  • Capitalize on Community Events, which require moving commodities, because oftentimes there's a multiplier on the payout, allowing you to benefit from it both in terms of extra credits and points to level your rank.
• Mining:
  
  • Mine Platinum or Painite in hotspots (e.g., HIP 20277).
    
  • Slower but viable with a Type-9 or Anaconda.

• Ensure funds for cargo and rebuy.
  
• Avoid piracy-heavy systems or equip defenses (shields, chaff).
  
• Estimated Time: ~50–70 hours (Robigo or trade loops).

Due to the ability to colonize systems, passenger missions have changed in the sense that you can now find profitable missions more easily, especially near known PoIs (Point of Interests), allowing you to pick up passengers closer to the destination and still get the same amount of rewards.

Exploration rank progresses by selling scan data from stars and planets. You need ~280–300M credits in data for Elite.

• Road to Riches:
  
  • Use spansh.co.uk to scan high-value planets (Earth-likes, water worlds).
    
  • Equip a Detailed Surface Scanner on an Asp Explorer or Anaconda (40–60 ly range).
• VIP Passenger Missions***:
  
  • Take long-range sightseeing missions from Robigo or Ceos.
    
  • Use a long-range ship with luxury cabins.
• Ram Tah Missions:
  
  • Complete Guardian missions in Meene for ~100M credits in one go.

• Equip a Fuel Scoop (KGB-FOAM stars) for long trips.
  
• Use lightweight builds for max jump range.
  
• Submit data often to avoid losses.
  
• Always check the destination, don't mistakenly accept a mission that requires you to travel 20'000LY when you don't even want to travel 100LY.
  
• Estimated Time: ~20–40 hours.

Due to the ability to colonize systems, passenger missions have changed in the sense that you can now find profitable missions more easily, especially near known PoIs (Point of Interests), allowing you to pick up passengers closer to the destination and still get the same amount of rewards.

Mercenary rank (Odyssey required) progresses via on-foot combat missions or conflict zones.

• On-Foot Conflict Zones:
  
  • Fight in high-intensity zones in war systems.
    
  • Use a Dominator Suit with engineered weapons.
• Settlement Combat Missions:
  
  • Take “Assassination” or “Massacre” missions from mission boards.
    
  • Use stealth or high-damage tactics.
• Community Goals:
  
  • Join combat CGs for rank and credits.

• Engineer gear via Hero Ferrari for better performance.
  
• Team up for faster conflict zone clears.
  
• Estimated Time: ~80–120 hours.

Exobiologist rank (Odyssey required) progresses by scanning biologicals on planets.

• Exobiology Scanning:
  
  • Use Artemis Suit to scan species on bio-rich planets (e.g., Colonia, HIP 83043).
    
  • Target planets with 5–8 species for max data.
• High-Value Planets:
  
  • Scan rare biologicals (e.g., Bacterium Tela) for higher XP.
    
  • Use INARA.cz to find bio-rich systems.
• Combine with Exploration:
  
  • Scan systems while searching for bio signals to dual-rank.

• Use a ship with SRV (e.g., Asp Explorer).
  
• Sell data at Vista Genomics.
  
• Estimated Time: ~50–80 hours.

• Shinrarta Dezhra Permit: Access Jameson Memorial (all ships/modules, 10% discount).
  
• Discount: 2.5% off ships/modules galaxy-wide.
  
• Elite Missions: Higher-paying missions.
  
• Prestige: “Triple Elite” (Combat, Trade, Exploration) is a community milestone.

• Combat: Viper Mk III, Vulture, Fer-de-Lance, Federal Corvette (prioritize maneuverability and damage)
  
• Trade: Hauler, Type-8, Type-9 Heavy, Imperial Cutter. (prioritize cargo capacity, and defenses in case you get attacked. Another possibility is speed, in order to flee instead of fighting)
  
• Exploration: Diamondback Explorer, Asp Explorer, Anaconda, Mandalay. (prioritize jump range)
  
• Mercenary: Any ship with SRV bay (e.g., Cobra MK V).
  
• Exobiologist: Diamondback Explorer, Asp Explorer, Mandalay (small ships are ideal for landing on rigid surfaces)

Although some ships are more suitable for certain roles, don't feel the need to always do things the way everyone else does it. Find a ship you like, modify to your liking so it suits your needs, and have fun, that's primarily the point of playing games, to have fun.

• Burnout: Mix activities to stay engaged, as grinding can be tedious.
  
• Skipping Tutorials: Master controls via in-game tutorials.
  
• Risking Open Mode: Stick to Solo/Private until confident.
  
• Refusing to Use 3rd Party Tools: Use Inara.cz, EDSM.net or Spansh.co.uk.

• Combat: 100–150 hours.
  
• Trade: 50–70 hours.
  
• Exploration: 20–40 hours.
  
• Mercenary: 80–120 hours.
  
• Exobiology: 50–80 hours.

Enjoy the journey instead of rushing to hit Elite, doing so might ruin your overall experience. It took sometime for me to get into the core parts of the game, but once you're there, it's a lot of fun.

Players that rush to hit Elite, often abandon the game and miss out many of the details the game offers. Those who take their time, not only reach Elite eventually too, but also have a far greater experience in the end.

Achieving Elite rank in any of the five roles (Combat, Trade, Exploration, Mercenary, or Exobiology) grants prestigious rewards, recognized by the Pilots Federation and the community.

• Shinrarta Dezhra System Permit (Founders World):
  
  • Grants access to the Shinrarta Dezhra system, home to Jameson Memorial station.
    
  • Jameson Memorial stocks all ships and modules in the game with a 10% discount on all purchases.
    
  • Only one Elite rank (in any role) is required to unlock this permit.
• Galaxy-Wide Discount:
  
  • A 2.5% discount on all ships and modules purchased across the galaxy.
    
  • Applies to all stations, not just Jameson Memorial.
• Access to Elite Missions:
  
  • Unlocks higher-paying missions on station mission boards.
    
  • Note: Some high-paying missions may be available before reaching Elite, but Elite rank ensures consistent access to top-tier rewards.
• Community Prestige:
  
  • Achieving Elite in any role is a significant milestone, celebrated by the community.
    
  • Reaching “Triple Elite” (Elite in Combat, Trade, and Exploration) or “Quintuple Elite” (all five roles) earns bragging rights and recognition in groups like the Elite Dangerous Discord or Reddit.

• The Shinrarta Dezhra permit is the most valuable reward, as Jameson Memorial simplifies outfitting by offering every ship and module in one place.
  
• The 2.5% discount stacks with other discounts (e.g., Li Yong-Rui systems’ 15% discount) for greater savings.
  
• No additional rewards are granted for achieving Elite in multiple roles, but the prestige and efficiency of having all ranks at Elite enhance gameplay.

• Prioritize Trade or Exploration: These roles are faster to grind (20–70 hours) compared to Combat (100–150 hours) or Mercenary (80–120 hours), unlocking the Shinrarta permit sooner.
  
• Visit Jameson Memorial: After earning the permit, use it as your primary hub for ship purchases and outfitting to save credits.
  
• Show Off: Display your Elite rank in community events or multiplayer sessions to connect with other high-ranking Commanders.

Everything in this guide is up for debate regardless of how accurate I try to be.
Things change and therefore, some of this information, by the time one of you get around to it, might not be as accurate as I have intended it to be at the time of writing.

However, through personal experience and information I've gathered from other commanders, this is what I manage to compile for all of you still aiming to reach Elite in various roles.

So by all means, take everything you read here with a grain of salt.
Talk about it with your friends, perhaps they have better ideas or tips, nevertheless, have fun playing this game we might meet each other somewhere out there in the void.