A Very Late Commander’s Year: 3304
With 3306 looming on the horizon I needed to get the events of 3304 put down in the log. 3305 did not start well for me from a health point of view. I managed to injure my back quite badly which kept me from the flight deck. Just sitting in the chair was agony so the flight surgeon relieved me of flight status for a few weeks. The injury also kept me from writing my commander year 3304 report for the log. So now that I’ve recovered it’s time to get writing. Here is that slightly late Commander’s Year: 3304 ship’s log entry.
3304 saw a number of big changes for me as a commander. Three areas were the main focus over the year. These were engineering, material gathering and getting the Guardian fighters and modules. The finances were OK. Previous years had centred around trade runs as a way of raising money. The mission board upgrades replaced all that with money coming from running deliveries for factions becoming more lucrative and stackable. I’d also managed to get a reasonably big bank balance from passenger runs at the end of 3303. During 3304 it would just be a case of maintaining a certain credit level.



The seemingly never-ending hunt for materials started the year. It's not a task I particularly like doing. The changes to the engineering systems introduced in January 3304 waste materials needlessly — especially when it comes to level five upgrades. It’s not an ideal situation when some materials can take hours or even days to gather together. Some items are incredibly hard to come across but can be squandered by an engineer in seconds! I really would like to see the engineers be a little more efficient with materials in future.
I prefer to use the smaller, more agile ships like the Cobra for material collecting. It also means a welcome break from the huge Cutter. However, I was soon back in the Cutter running mission during February. Most of this mission running took place in the imperial systems where the payouts were, for a time, very generous. Boom economies provide the best source of mission revenue with high paying missions being commonplace. It doesn’t last long though. As the economy cools, so do the numbers of mission and payouts.



The material-gathering was part of the process to re-engineer my Cutter ‘Rannoch Moor’. Although the ship had been engineered to a high level, changes in the ‘recipes’ meant going through the process again. The hunt for materials meant going out beyond the bubble, so in March I headed out to the Maia system. The visit enabled me to get the thrusters modified at the Palin Research Centre and also tops up on some of the rarer materials. The Thargoids are active in that area but I tended to leave the fighting to the experts. After a few days gathering items, a trip overnight from Maia on board ‘The Gnosis’ meant I woke up in the Evenses system back in the bubble.
Then it was back to gathering wake scans. Data scans have always been my weak spot. I never seemed to have enough of them. The whole process of gathering them does not appeal at all either. Wake scanning is probably the one task I dislike the most. Ever since I got triple Elite I’ve tried to stay as far away as possible from anything that resembles grind. Wake scanning is the worst grind of all — at least to me, it is! Worse still the engineers go through them like water. Even as I write this in late 3305, a couple of days need to be put aside to gather data scans.



The material-gathering lasted on and off for most of the first half of the year. This had its roots in legacy engineered modules being converted to the new, more efficient and effective process. I certainly had encounters with pirates where the old engineer recipes no longer provided the optimum protection or advantage. Engineering radically changed things in the galaxy but in such a subtle way. It became a sort of arms race that sadly you needed to join or get left behind. I’m not sure if it was a good thing or not. Probably not!
June would start what I would regard as the highpoint of 3304. I decided to go and unlock some of the Guardian modules for my ships. I’d heard good things about the Guardian modules -especially the FSD booster — and decided that I needed to get these items unlocked. What I didn’t realise was that the Guardians would keep me busy for a good part of the summer. It was such great fun too. The gloom of the ruins. The darkness. The atmosphere. For me, it was the highlight of the year. To celebrate how much I enjoyed this period of 3304, I later purchased a Guardian Javelin fighter bobblehead and ancient orbs cockpit lights as mementoes.




Late August was all about unlocking Guardian fighter tech. For a commander who makes money doing mission runs, a powerful and agile fighter was always going to be very appealing. I wasn’t to be disappointed. Three fighters were made available — Javelin, Trident and Lance. Of the three I’ve found the XG 7 Trident to be the best for escorting. It packs a big punch with its plasma charger and is incredibly fast and manoeuvrable. Even the most rookie crew pilot can put damage onto any enemy ship that comes into range.
The one item that sadly wasn’t available from the Guardians was their sentinels. I became quite fond of these pesky little protectors of the ruins. I rather liked the idea of having two or three on board ship that could be deployed when on the surface of a planet. The little guys could patrol around the ship and warn — or potentially eliminate — any threats they might encounter. If they ever become available I’d definitely buy a few! Parked up one night near the Guardian ruins, I really would have liked the knowledge that my sentinels were patrolling and protecting me!



It wasn’t all plain sailing though. September saw the loss* of a long-term crewmember Indiana Floyd due to a stupid mistake during a fight in a Krait MkII. The massive amount of investment put into training crew was squandered in less than a minute by a bad decision. Indiana had been part of the crew for over two years and had reached Dangerous combat rank. Writing this over a year after the event I’ve calmed down somewhat but at the time it really did annoy me. Sadly no options are available to a commander to provide protection for crew. An escape pod option would be great even if it cost extra. It does seem strange that these ships, some of which are huge, only provide escape options for the CMDR and no one else!
October was largely a rest month, influenced by the events described above. I needed a break away from the flight deck and to gather my thoughts about what to do next. The galaxy is huge and sometimes it can become an overwhelming place. Often I see CMDRs wrestling with the idea of taking a break from flying. I encourage it. I think it’s perfectly normal considering the huge amounts of time that is put into flying a spaceship. Burnout is a big risk especially for pilots logging a lot of flight time. Even a short rest can provide new perspectives and opportunities within the galaxy. I usually have two breaks or more a year just to keep things fresh.



The end of 3304 was about kitting out ships for mining and keeping the credits flowing to pay for it all. I try to put back what I spend whenever possible. Mining is a lot more lucrative than it used to be and the ability to blow up asteroids was appealing too — especially if they are packed with rare minerals! For me, the key to keeping active in the galaxy has always been doing a little bit of everything. Mining provides a calmer pace with occasionally a little action was thrown in when pirates attempt to kill you. The trick is to find a safe but lucrative mining area packed full of goodies. I’m still working on that over a year later!
The very end of the year was spent at my old home port of Oliver Enterprise in the Lwen system. It was my first home station for my first six months in the galaxy. I have fond recollections of that time. It’s starting to seem a long time ago now. I have a few old ships stored there including a Hauler called ‘Old Red’. It acts as a reminder of the old days. In fact, it doesn’t seem like five minutes that I was dodging an interdiction in the Hauler. But Elite Dangerous isn’t just about ships. It’s about CMDRs finding their own stories and adventures. Whether it's fighting Thargoids, exploring the galaxy or just trying to make some money, a CMDR with his own ship can make their mark.



3305 is nearly over. Just a few weeks and we’ll be into 3306. I’m not going to jump the gun and write about 3305 here. That can wait for the next Commander’s Year: 3305 post. Hopefully, it won’t be as late as this one! What I will say is that it has been an odd, maybe even frustrating year. As for 3306, well that looks as though it’ll be another year of waiting with a big reveal at the end. Atmospheric landing is what I hope will arrive. I prefer that to the space legs option. Whatever it is, it needs to be big, impressive and, more importantly, relevant to a huge number of commanders.
In January 3301, I decided that I’d record my adventures. I needed some way of keeping a record of what happened and when. My Twitter feed acts as a mini-blog/diary and has been immensely important for putting together this post. This logbook allows me to fill in the detail and help tell the story. I realised very early on that the sheer scale of being a CMDR required a log or diary to document everything. With each year passing, and the early memories starting to fade, I’m glad I made that decision. I love documenting my adventures and hope that I can continue for many years to come.
Fly safe CMDRs.
*Rumour has it that Indiana’s death was faked and she just retired (using her vast earnings from being crew) somewhere in the galaxy after her old dark past caught up with her. CMDR Campbell was unavailable for comment :)
