Bounty Hunting is one of the most fun ways to play Elite Dangerous, especially with the changes in Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. Overall, bounty hunting is a medium-risk activity with the potential for a handsome payout.
Before you get started as a Bounty Hunter, there are some things you should really know. What ships should you use? What's the most effective way to make money? What weapons should you install on your ship? Here's everything a new bounty hunter needs to know about the profession.
Updated June 15, 2021, By Harry Alston: Although Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is all about getting out of your ship and exploring on foot, bounty hunting remains one of the most profitable professions.
To offer further assistance to new players experiencing Elite Dangerous for the first time, we've upgraded this guide to include how to be efficient with the early game and enhanced the details on what sort of ships you should start with, and which ship you should ultimately aim for as a powerful Bounty Hunter.
First Steps As A Bounty Hunter In Elite Dangerous
If you've downloaded Elite Dangerous precisely to try out the bounty bunting mechanics, you will start the game with the Sidewinder. This little ship is what every new pilot begins with, and despite its size and stature, it's more than capable of dishing out the damage and gaining early bounties at one of the starting Resource Extraction Sites.
The rough beginner bounty hunting guide is as follows:
- Head to a Resource Extraction Site.
- Practice flying and tagging ships with bounties on.
- To gain the bounty you only need to get the last shot on a ship. You can follow other NPC ships chasing the bounty and help them take them down, meaning you won't need to do all the work yourself.
- You can team up with other ships at your RES by joining a wing. If you're not in a wing it means the player with the last shot gets the bounty. In a wing, all players who damaged the ship get the bounty voucher.
- Try not to get exploded since all bounty vouchers are stored within the ship. If you feel like you're getting dangerously close to an explosion, bail out and sell off your contracts.
- Watch out for Resource Extraction Sites marked with the "hazardous" tag. These do not have NPC security patrols. You're on your own.
You can make a lot of credits fairly quickly with these early steps. However, you will need to start upgrading your ship and its internal attributes if you want to tackle the more worthwhile Bounty Hunting missions.
The Best Ship For Beginner Bounty Hunters - Eagle Mark 2
The Eagle Mark 2 is the closest you'll get to an X-wing in Elite Dangerous. It's cheap, fast, and packs a punch. At only 44,000 credits it's also the ideal ship for a beginner pilot. Don't let that low cost fool you: the Eagle has everything it needs to become a formidable bounty hunter ship, especially in the hands of a decent player. Here are some of the specifics:
- The Eagle has a top speed of 240 m/s at default
- It has a maneuverability rating of 7, one of the highest of any ship in Elite Dangerous
- The Eagle has 3 x Small Hardpoints, ideal for some powerful weaponry
The Eagle Has Terrible Shields, So Don't Get Hit
By far the biggest benefit of the Eagle as a bounty hunter is its maneuverability, and you'll need it because this ship's shields are basically useless. Any sort of sustained damage and the Eagle will be utterly destroyed. That being said, with its high turning speed, it's able to stay behind enemy ship's turrets and dodge other ships trying to catch up with you.
Make use of the Eagle's advantages with this sample build:
- Lightweight Alloy, Power Plant, Thrusters (these are your basic internal options)
- Shield Generator, every bit of shield is going to help and is 100% necessary on the Eagle
- Multi-Cannon, Beam Laser, these are the sort of weapons you should experiment with
- Kill Warrant Scanner, more on the importance of this in just a second
Get A Cobra Mk 3 As Soon As You Can
If you stuck with the Sidewinder, you can usually make around a million credits within 10-15 minutes of shooting down bounties at the starter Resource Extraction Site.
The next upgrade should be the Cobra Mk3. This ship is chosen for this guide over the Viper because the Cobra is more versatile for players who want to take on a variety of roles, not just combat. If you intend to stick strictly to combat-related missions, the Viper is a fine choice.
Your new ship - the Cobra - costs just under 350,000 credits and is more than capable for both offense and defense. In a one-versus-one with a combat-dedicated ship, like the Eagle or Viper, the Cobra can feel a bit underwhelming thanks to the smaller ship's maneuverability, but its versatility in a variety of other roles, like Pirating, Exploration, and Mining, make the Cobra a great choice for a new pilot.
How Bounty Hunting Actually Works
Bounty Hunting is quite simple, especially for a beginner. You'll want to prey on NPC pirate ships or ships that have a contract put out on them by some of the minor factions in the game. One of the essential parts of any Bounty Hunter expedition is the Kill Warrant Scanner.
This ship upgrade allows you to scan passing ships and confirm whether or not there is a price on their head. It's easy to use: just bind it to a fire button and aim it at passing ships. Any highlighted ships have a bounty placed on them, an easy way to increase your end payout.
How do you get a bounty voucher? Blow the ship up, of course.
Just make sure that you have scanned a ship and confirmed its bounty before opening fire. In any Resource Extraction Site that is patrolled by NPC security, if you open fire on a random ship then you will likely be their next target. Not great for those just starting out. Those security patrols are flying in superior vessels.
Upgrade To A Frame Shift Wake Scanner
While your Kill Warrant Scanner is essential, you also want to consider installing a Frame Shift Wake Scanner onboard your bounty hunting ship. This useful tool allows you to track ships that have jumped away. Of course, this is quite a common occurrence if the NPC or player knows you're on their back.
Remember, chasing after a ship that jumps away really only makes sense if they have a very high bounty value. Otherwise, change targets.
Where To Find Ships With Bounties On Them
There are a few different strategies Bounty Hunters employ to boost their chances of finding decent ships to take down. A lot of bounty hunters will wait outside stations to scan various ships as they slow down to dock. They might even wait by orbiting Fleet Carriers. This is a good idea if you're a more experienced pilot, as quite a few of those docking ships will be players.
Check Nav Beacons
For those who want to get a fast start and might be feeling a bit more cautious about their skills, it's a good idea to head out to a Nav Beacon. These floating data points are frequented by NPC ships. Use the Kill Warrant Scanner to check for bounties and then engage when you've found one. Simple.
Head To A Resource Extraction Site
Resource Extraction Sites are often busy with players and NPCs. Pirates prey on hapless miners, and those pirates are the perfect target for bounty hunters. If you're heading out to some obscure asteroid ring you're much less likely to find anything - or anyone - of value. Stick to populated areas to maximize your profits.
General Elite Dangerous Bounty Hunting Combat Tips
Combat in Elite Dangerous is pretty technical. Managing your power, weapons, and analyzing the situation you find yourself in are all important to primarily staying alive, and that's even before you consider the fighting bit.
As a bounty hunter it's likely you are usually in pursuit of ships: you need to stay behind them, out of the angles of their turreted weapons if this is applicable. An agile ship is obviously a huge help. Keep that in mind before you purchase some monster ship.
At the start of the game, it's a great idea to practice your combat skills at a Resource Extraction Site. These areas are covered in NPC ships. You can even pick up some bounties along the way.
Time For An Upgrade
The Eagle might be cheap and cheerful, but Elite Dangerous is packed to the atmosphere with exciting ships to try. Other top ships for bounty hunting include:
- The Cobra Mark 3: An all-around beast, capable of dealing heavy damage while keeping the costs relatively low
- The Asp Explorer: typically a ship suited for exploration, with the right loadout this nimble ship makes a competent bounty hunter vessel
- Vulture: This ship is incredible when engineered for the teeth, but it takes a bit of know-how (and credits) to get it to peak performance
- The Python: An all-around powerful ship, but with a 17 Mass Lock rating it makes an excellent bounty hunter ship capable of crippling even much larger vessels before they can escape