Having just started on HWS 2 weeks ago, I learned a lot over a long period of time. Hopefully this will help people save some time and have fun while dodging pitfalls.
As soon as you can build a multi-tool, deconstruct one of your two grow plots to get a fiber sprout. That way you can grow fiber for more plots.
The starter orbit has a space station that you can steal food from. Use this for spoiled food and to keep fed while beginning your farm.
shooting meteorites with a Gatling gun from a HV or SV will level you up so fast it’s stupid.
download or design a cheap HV for drilling. Spawn one on planet and one on the moon when you get there.
the HWS auto-miner is awesome. immediately buy your free level-1 auto-miner for each ore. refer to the guide for all the commands. This is how you get gold when starting out.
The Orbital Cargo Drone is your protection from complete failure. I highly recommend donating to get access to the level 5 OCD. this gives you 100 slots to keep up to 700k of each item. You can put items in and take items out as often as you want in PVE. If you don’t donate, you only have 7 slots starting out, each holding 100 items. I recommend putting items in there that will get you back on your feet in case you have to start from nothing.
Your goal should be gathering enough resources to live comfortably in a PVP zone. Stock your OCD if you bought it, and dump whatever resources you can into your blueprint factory. Don’t forget Hydrogen (lots of it, for fusion cells) and enough resources to sell on the market for cash. Your patience is your only limit, gather resources until you’re comfortable or bored.
Always keep at least 1 completed HV, SV, Base and warp-capable CV in your blueprint factory. This is your insurance policy.
Before leaving the starter world, make a plan. Some playfields are taxed, so your best bet is to warp to a PVP zone and travel at least 50k into deep space to setup your first base. Don’t forget to set the base to ‘home’ so you respawn there if you die.
Try to ally with the same members of your origin. Nobody likes getting shot down by turrets because they forgot to ask for permission to land.
Thank you. I was planning to write much the same thing, and you had several points I would have forgotten to add. A few other ideas:
There are very few critters on the starter planets. These will not be your sources of food or experience.
There is some seaweed available for food, biofuel, and poison curing in the high forests, but not much. This will not be your main source of food.
Fiber plants are also in the high forests - save at least one to make fiber plants in your farm. They are inedible and so will not be a source of food.
Mushrooms are also in the high forests - they rot quickly, so are a good source for nutrient solution. They heal all damage, but are lousy food (negative) so they will not be your main source of food.
The food on the station - accessible as soon as you get a Small Vehicle - is limited, and you should only take what you need. This should not be your main source of food.
Some kind factions open parts of their farms on starter planets for starving newbies. Take a little where offered, but this should not be your main source of food.
With no critters and few wild plants to harvest, most of your xp will come from meteorites. Chainsaw and pistol (you won’t need the bullets for anything else) are good until you get a gatling gun for your hoverdrill. You will level up very quickly indeed - these will be your main source of xp.
With that, get a base (or better yet, a CV) started with farms growing as soon as possible. This will be your main source of food.
Alien Honey grows quickly heals wounds and hp, requires no preparation, and only poisons you seldom. Samples are available on the station. 2 or 3 plots should be enough to keep one fed indefinitely. This is my main source of food - but having access to antitoxin (such as small doses of the afore-mentioned seaweed) is important.
Tomato + pumpkin + durian takes a while to grow, but the canned output has a good shelf life and no chance of poisoning you (that I’ve ever seen).
This takes you out of the opening game, and into the midgame.
Once you leave the starter system, you can only come back through death. Don’t leave anything behind that you will need.
Gaining reputation points is boosted if you have nothing in PvE systems - like the starters. Another good reason to leave nothing behind. If you’re worried about dying and having to go back, make sure your OCD is full of the beginning supplies (food, power, pentaxid) and you should have a few BPs always ready to go.
Basic ores are very plentiful on the starter planet because of meteorites - enjoy it while you can. Mine more than you need so you can keep producing later. Also, the market - a PvE sector called Elemental Market - is well-stocked by other players so you can find almost anything you need.
Once you can afford one - usually around 20k-30k - get an appropriate Epic weapon for your origin. Having this in your possession for a day and warping at least once will award you with 7 RP just after 9am Berlin time.
Once you have RP, you can use “fa:supply” to get a good load of useful gear (have plenty of inventory space ready!). You can do it again after every week.
Once those are rolling, you’re into HWS midgame, I think.
We also offer this program to other origins if we believe you to be trustworthy, and Blackvortex runs our guardian branch of the loaner program out of city auxilio in the elemental market.
Also an Aid station is maintained on Trader Starter with free food and supplies for those in need.
good to know! I’ll bet hitting up LoT tonight! I saw a couple epic miniguns on the market yesterday that I could almost afford, but they were gone before I got there ;(
Doh! I guess I read that as epic weapons. No worries, got my first faction supply anyhow. Still would be nice to find some friendlies somewhere in this universe. Life’s tough for a rookie pirate.
