Ok, first of all, you obviously have the option of donating money to the game. It's the fastest way to get started, it helps the game, and you can get quite far on 20 bucks, if you manage it a lot better than me and Lomaz do.
However, you may not want to pay at all, and even if you are willing to pay, there's a finite amount you're willing to spend, so you're not going to want that to be your only source of resources. This guide covers the other ways to get stuff.
Before listing off the methods, there's one important thing to point out, which is that you can always trade any resource for any other resource. If you have a surplus of something and a shortage of something else, the way to fix this is obvious.
Ok, here's some methods of earning resources:
1. Crew training - An E/E crew only goes for about 2 TB, but a fully merited crew can be quite valuable. How valuable of course depends on what merits you roll, but all but the worst combos pay at least 10 TB, and the best combos can be worth 50+. Here's some tips for getting a crew leveled up quickly:
-Level 1 crews suck at hitting, so stick to energy units with a +hit mod to compensate.
-You'll probably want to E/E your crews on a newbie planet.
-Konu gives +10% merit chance on level up, which is huge (35% vs. 25%). Definitely do your meriting there.
-To maximize your kill rate, try drag basing (drop a small base with no turrets, your leveling units, and probes to pull stuff in, making heavy use of things like thumpers).
-There are 2 mods (Combat Analysis System/Module) that raise earned exp. This will, of course, speed up the process.
-If you're going to be doing this particularly often, invest in a commander's seal. It's pricey, but most definitely pays for itself many times over.
2. Relicing - Remember, you can sell command. To capture a relic, simply stand on it, wait a turn, and issue the capture command. Esika relics have smaller payouts, but earn you command every turn. The Konu relics put the command in a pot, and the final capper takes the pot. For Esika, you can choose between probing and running and actually defending, while on Konu, you'll almost always need to defend. Of course, needing to defend may also give you access to killed enemy units.
Bottom line: Esika = easy command, Konu = high risk, high reward
Note: Your relic cannot be capped while you have a unit in sector. There are 3 ways to make use of this without actually defeating your attacker:
-You can cloak something (usually an SE) in the sector, forcing them to play whack-a-mole or bring in a detector.
-You can use LEs running around, forcing them to simply waste turns.
-You can defend with a unit that can't actually kill anything, but is nigh impossible to kill. If you can stall until horizon (or at least until reinforcements arrive), you win.
Obviously, all of these methods will eventually be defeated... the key is make sure that "eventually" doesn't mean before horizon or reinforcement. Also, if you're defending multiple relics, having your forces on one and stall tactics on another is of course an option.
3. Hadeus beaconing - We currently pay faction members 1 tb per beacon. Yes, it's really freaking boring, but someone has to do it, and you can make a LOT of TB, fast. If you don't know how to set up a net and/or need help getting the giant pile of probes to get started with this, let us know.
4. Killing NPC bases - You'll need an army for this, so this definitely won't be your initial method, but the salvage from bandit node bases and Shak Hadeus bases can be quite nice.
5. Hunting Shak units - This is *very* profitable, but it's almost impossible to solo, and requires you to have good units and be an experienced player. It's a great method once you're in the mid levels, however.
6. Mining - You won't make much from vehicle mining, but a full mining base can earn 5-10 TB per Konu cycle. It requires an initial investment to build the base, and you're occasionally going to be forced to UD it, but it can pay off pretty nicely over time. For best results, have 3 fast transporters to get your processors going ASAP. A command tower is also a huge help here.
On the flip side, there's also the mini mining base, where you use Konu's base discount to drop a 0 cmd base. You won't make much from a free base, but because it doesn't rely on processors, you don't have to do ANYTHING. It's completely passive income. You can probably even drop the thing from a cell phone if you're so inclined.
Note: The Union Treasurer ability is critical in either case. Be sure to learn it before you base mine.
7. Rare mod farming - All bandits have a chance to drop a tear (worth 9-10 TB), or a BE (worth 30ish TB). You'll want the Mod Salvage command and Scavenger ability if you decide to go for these mods. For best results, combine with #1, as you can easily be salvaging that huge pile of wrecks that's building up around your drag base.
8. Arenas - Players (and occasionally Frizz) will run an arena either with a buy in that goes into a pot, or a separate reward for winning. While you'll often be competing with some of the best players in the game, there's generally zero risk involved (or at least no risk beyond the pot), and if you manage to win, some of the pots can be quite large.
9. Crafting - The patient player can earn a good amount from crafting, but you need a LOT of strux and some abilities for this. It's definitely not a popular option, but if you manage to become one of the few highly established builders on the server, you pretty much have a neverending supply of resources.
10. PVP - By far the fastest way to earn stuff is to salvage it from other players. This is, for obvious reasons, also the hardest and riskiest method. As you get higher level, have better units, and become a better player, however, this becomes a very real option, and may eventually be your sole method of earning stuff.
