Elite Dangerous includes a vast galaxy with billions of star systems for players to explore. Explorer pilots in Elite Dangerous: Horizons are those who prefer to explore the Milky Way. Those are players who jump into unknown star systems across the galaxy and collect data to sell for planets, stars, and other points of interest to raise their exploration ranks and amass credits. Here are some Elite Dangerous: Horizons exploration tips for raising your explorer rank.
Read also: 9 Notable Places to Visit in Elite Dangerous: Horizons
1. Get a Fuel Scoop
A Fuel Scoop is an optional internal module that fuels ships with hydrogen from stars. Although you can refuel at stations, the Fuel Scoop is a very important piece of gear for explorer pilots. As explorer pilots frequently jump into unpopulated star systems, they can’t always rely on space stations for refueling purposes.
With a Fuel Scoop equipped to your ship, you can refuel the spaceship from O, B, A, F, G, K, M hydrogen stars in zero population systems. It’s more economical and faster in the long run for exploration pilots to refuel from stars for free than buying fuel at space stations all the time. So, do yourself a favor and get a Fuel Scoop if you’re aiming for the Elite exploration rank.
2. Call the Fuel Rats When You’re out of Gas
Fuel issues are less likely to arise when you’ve equipped your ship with a Fuel Scoop. Nevertheless, the considerable amount of long-distance interstellar travel required for galaxy exploration can still generate fuel issues for some explorer pilots. Some pilots abandon their ships when they run out of fuel, which costs credits for rebuy insurance. However, you don’t always have to abandon a ship when it’s out of gas.
If you ever run out of gas when exploring the Milky Way, get in touch with the Fuel Rats. The Fuel Rats is a group of Elite Dangerous pilots who aid spaceships that are out of gas. To contact the Fuel Rats, open the I Need Fuel website in a browser. Click the Yes, I Need Fuel button on that website. Then enter your pilot and star system location details, and click the Start button.
The Fuel Rats’ website
3. Get a ship with a good jump range
Explorers typically need to travel longer distances than combat and trade pilots. Therefore, it’s more important for explorer pilots to have ships with long jump ranges. A ship with a longer jump range will reduce the number of stars you need to jump between on longer trips to reach destinations. So, ships with the longest jump ranges are the best ones for explorer pilots.
The Diamondback Explorer is a relatively cheap spaceship (1,894,760 credits) that has one of the best jump ranges in the game. That ship has an unladen maximum jump range 41.61 light-years. As such, Diamondback Explorer is recommended for exploration.
The Asp Explorer is another highly regarded ship for exploration. With a maximum jump range of 38.19 light-years, Explorer can jump further than the vast majority of spaceships in Elite Dangerous: Horizons. That ship also has a unique all-glass cockpit canopy that provides the best panoramic view of space. Therefore, Asp Explorer is another great ship for exploring the Milky Way.
Asp Explorer
Remember that you’ll also need to upgrade your spaceships’ Frame Shift Drives to get the best possible jump range from them. So, make it a priority to invest in the very best FSDs you can get for your vessels.
Even when you’ve got the best Frame Shift Drive for a ship you can get at stations, you can still extend your FSD with engineers. Visit engineers that specialize in FSDs, such as Bris Dekker and Ms. Farseer, to give your ship an even greater jump range. The higher your ship’s jump range is, the quicker you can reach distant star systems.
4. Gather data for Black Holes, Neutron stars, and Earth-like planets
Data values vary for different types of stars and planets. Black hole and neutron stars are the stellar bodies with the highest data values. Data for Earth-like and water-world planets is the most valuable planetary data to collect. So, collect data for black holes, neutron stars, Earth-like worlds, and water-world planets to receive the best data payouts.
A neutron star
5. Check out the Elite Dangerous Star Map
To find notable planets, black holes, stars, and other points of interest in the Milky Way, check out the Elite Dangerous Star Map. That is a website map of the Milky Way in Elite Dangerous that highlights the approximate location of a multitude of prominent points of interest in the galaxy. You can get further details for points of interest by clicking them on the map.
For example, you can find black holes in the galaxy to visit by clicking the Black hole checkbox for that map. Then the map will show you the approximate locations of black holes as in the shot directly below. Clicking each black hole shown will open a box that provides further details for its star system.
The Elite Dangerous Star Map
6. Fly to F, G, and K class stars
To obtain more valuable planetary data, your best bet is to jump to F, G, and K class stars in the Milky Way. Those are the most Sol-like star system classes that will more likely include Earth-like planets. Thus, you’ll probably be able to collect more data for Earth-like planets at the F, G, and K class star systems.
You can click the stars on the Galaxy Map to check the classes for them. To view only F, G, and K star classes, click the Map button on the Galaxy Map. Then select Star Class on the filter’s drop-down menu. Thereafter, you can select the F, G, and K checkboxes, and uncheck the others, to display only those star classes on the map.
The star filter
7. Utilize Night Vision for Salvage Missions
Collecting data isn’t the only way you can raise your exploration rank in Elite Dangerous: Horizons. Credits amassed for completing salvage missions also count toward your explorer rank. For those missions, you need to retrieve lost cargo in space.
Night Vision mode can come in handy for salvage missions. That mode highlights objects and terrain with green outlines, which makes cargo to retrieve on salvage missions more visible in space. Press the Shift + D hotkey and click the Night Vision button on the Ship tab to turn on that mode.
The Night Vision option
8. Add cabins to your spaceship
Completing passenger transport missions for credits is another way explorer pilots can boost their exploration ranks. Sightseeing missions involve transporting passengers between multiple destinations and then returning them to the station you started at. Some VIP contracts for sightseeing passenger missions can be very lucrative. So, it’s worth completing some passenger missions for your exploration rank.
However, you can’t complete passenger missions without adding any cabins to your spaceship. The more cabins you add to a ship, the more passengers you can accommodate. You can usually find cabins to purchase at docking stations in star systems that have tourist industries. Select the tourism filter on the Galaxy Map to find star systems with tourist industries.
A passenger contract
Those Elite Dangerous: Horizons exploration tips will help you amass more credits when exploring and boost your explorer rank faster. Now it’s time to boldly go where nobody has gone before in Elite: Dangerous Horizons!
