Released: 9th June 2020 | Patch Notes
Fleet Carriers was the fourth and final addition to the Elite: Dangerous ‘Post Beyond’ series of releases. It also marked the final release before Elite: Dangerous – Odyssey in the first quarter of 2021. You can read the full low down below including an FAQ at the bottom of the page.
> Overview
The official Fleet Carriers reveal trailer can be seen below.
Deep Space Exploration
Exploring the far reaches of our galaxy can be a long and daunting journey. With Fleet Carriers running on newly discovered element Tritium, you can now make staggering jumps of up to 500 light-years, enabling you to establish a forward operating base and explore surrounding systems. Top up fuel reserves by mining ice asteroids to prepare for the long journey home.
A new source of income
You have to spend money to make money, and there are plenty of ways to do both on your Fleet Carrier. Owners can impose stiff tariffs for visitors who wish to use their ship’s services, letting you earn extra when Commanders sell bonds, buy modules, and more. Any funds you accrue will deposit directly into your Fleet Carrier’s bank, and you can withdraw them at any time. Whether you’re feeling relaxed or ruthless, the finances are up to you.
Your own personal shipyard
Fleet Carriers let you bring the whole crew along for the ride. With ample room for a range of craft both above and below deck, it’s never been easier to organise your squadron. Each Fleet Carrier has 16 landing pads, allowing for eight large ships, four medium ships, and four small ships in total. Touch down and browse potential upgrades, or take the party to a new system. Your Fleet Carrier’s capacity, services, and local Superpower reputation is visible to everyone at a glance.
Control Landing Clearance
Who comes aboard your Fleet Carrier is entirely your call. Choose whether only friends have docking permission, extend the invitation to squadron members, or throw open the gates to anyone with a pulse. An additional setting lets you control if Commanders with notoriety can dock, letting you give refuge to criminals or protect your good name. Visitors can see what your Fleet Carrier’s focus is via the interface, whether that’s mining, bounty hunting, pirating, and more.
Upgrade with a range of services
Fleet Carriers are powerful, versatile, and purpose-built to work for you. Optimise your experience by adding extra features, from Universal Cartographics and Outfitting, to your own personal Redemption Officer. Keep it quiet and you might even decide to invite along a fence, who’ll facilitate the trade of illegal cargo on-board. Your Fleet Carrier, your rules.
Keep your carrier jump ready
Like any good Commander, you’ll need to employ a trusty crew to run all of the operations. Your Deck Officer, for example, is responsible for day-to-day maintenance, navigation, weaponry, and other duties. In addition, each service you introduce corresponds to a Head Crew Member. Provided you’ve got the credits to cover upkeep costs, you can turn your Fleet Carrier into its own micro economy.
Ownership
- Purchasable at a cost of 5 billion credits
- Fleet Carriers are built by Brewer Corporation who build stations. There are roughly 12 manufacturing locations, which can be found in game, around large industrial hubs.
- One Fleet Carrier per Commander and available for both base game and Horizons players.
Capacity
- Fleet Carriers have a total of 16 Landing Pads, composed of:
- 8 Large
- 4 Medium
- 4 Small
- Players can permissions to allow others to dock (or not) at their Fleet Carrier.
Operations
- Frontier have added “more loadout options to make your carrier unique, and allow for player-to-player interaction”.
- You can manage your carrier’s finances by setting tariffs and adjusting the buying and selling prices for commodities traded in it’s market.
- Fleet Carriers that are not looked after can fall into disrepair and be decommissioned.
- All Fleet Carriers feature rearm, refuel and repair services.
- Commanders can choose a number of loadouts for their Fleet Carrier, governing services/module and ship availability to support a number of different activities, such as:
- Bounty Hunter
- Mercenary
- Pirate
- Trader
- Smuggler
- Miner
- Explorer
- Search and Rescue
- Carrier owners have access to module and ship ship storage by default.
Travel
- Carriers have a 500 LY jump range by collection of Tritium which is the new in-game fuel and this can be found in certain in-game systems, or by surface and sub-surface deposits on icy asteroids.
- Jumps can be scheduled from the Galaxy Map when you want and from wherever you are in the galaxy.
- There will be a build up and cool down period of 15 minutes for jump preparation and 5 minutes to cool-down
> Fleet Carrier Features
Fleet Carrier Services Menu
Once a Fleet Carrier has been bought the player will be greeted by the Fleet Carrier Service menu which is a unique menu for the owner of the Fleet Carrier.
- Service Tariff & Fuel Levels
- Set Route (if any)
- Crew Lounge
- Redemption Office
- Tritium Depot
- Shipyard
- Black Market
- Commodity Services
- Carrier Management
- Outfitting
- Universal Cartographics (Added following Beta 1 feedback)
Carrier Management Service Menu
This menu allows players to directly control many aspects of the fleet carrier which are listed as icons down the left side of the screen.
Navigation
- This shows the current location, the amount of fuel and the current jump range of the carrier.
- If certain planets are already discovered in a system, players will be able to jump to them individually.
- Importantly it allows players to issues orders to crew to jump to your chosen destination.
- Even when you are off line your carrier will still function
Budget
- There’s a high cost to running a Fleet Carrier, but these numbers should be very manageable to high end players
- Budget Screen shows you your current balance as well as your carrier bank balance. Funds can be transerred between the two.
- The weekly upkeep is shown via:
- Core Costs
- Optional Costs and number of jumps
- The debt threshold has been updated meaning all services installed, a carrier can go 10 weeks (up from 4) without paying upkeep before being issued a final warning.
- The Fleet Carrier owner can set a tariff and earn a profit for providing specific services in the system their are located.
- If you run out of money then ultimately some transactions will work and some will not. Ultimately if you can’t maintain your weekly cost then you will run into debt which can be paid off. It is described as ‘fair’.
Commodity Trading
- This allows players to request to buy, or sell specific commodities e.g. 2 gold, at a certain price, which can be fulfilled by other players, not NPCs. This is Player to Player Trading.
- Carriers will not support a ‘dumping price’, unlike stations where commodities can be sold en masse for very little financial gain.
- The amount sold or bought is fully in control of the carrier owner.
- The storage capacity and the balance required to purchase the items will automatically be reserved.
- This will allow players to store their commodities, up to 25k capacity.
The fleet carrier owner can set a purchase order or sell items in the same way as a normal commodities market
Advanced Maintenence
- Works in the same way as the normal set of services but has a newly updated GUI.
Crew Services
- This screen is used to hire new crew and fit new services. Other non-standard services come at different costs and include many things you can do at a normal star port:
- Refuel Station: No current information
- Repair Crews: No current information
- Armoury: No current information
- Redemption Office: This allows players to hand in vouchers and bonds to the contact on the carrier for a cut, which goes to the owner of the fleet carrier. The player gets the rest of the money. This means players dont have to travle back to the jurisdiction of the faction that issued the said item.
- Shipyard: This allows players to buy the same version of shipyards across the galaxy, but allows the carrier owner to buy and sell ships for prices they deem fit. There is a finite number available for the stock price, plus the tariff set by the owner. Players will still be able to store sell, part exchange and transfer ships.
- Outfitting Stock: Players can fit an outfitting service. Players dont get to choose individual modules, but do get to choose specific themes of modules. This works in the same way as you would in space station services
- Secure Trading: The secure warehouse is near a 1 to 1 copy of the Commodity Market, but with one important difference. Stolen goods can be either taken to a star port taking it do a black market – or you could give it to someone who owns a fleet carrier and give you the credits for it.
- Livery: There are lots of different options as there are with standard ships.
- Settings: The owner can set individual access to other players via the settings menu including:
- Docking Access
- Squadron
- Friends
- Squadron and Friends
- None
- Notorious Commander Access (PvE or PvP access)
- Choose your Fleet Carrier player activity types: Anti-Xeno, Mercenary, Bounty Hunter, Explorer, Piracy, Search & Rescue, Salvage, Mining, Trader, Smuggler.
- Decommission Fleet Carrier: This will refund the full cost of a Carrier, with the only reductions either being unpaid debt when automated or a static fee for voluntary decommissioning.
- Voluntary decommissioning will incur a fee equivalent to 50% of the Debt Threshold.
- Services can also be sold back to starports, or if you dont want to get rid of a service entirely you can suspend the service. So for a long range journey a player might want to suspend some of them. These will then be taken off the ship for a much reduced cost.
Remote Carrier Management
- Players with a carrier can remotely manage their carrier from the ship they are currently flying via the ‘Carrier Management’ button in the right-hand cock-pit panel. This will take you to the same screen as you’d get on board the carrier itself. You can also issue navigation orders to catch you up.
Carrier Jumping
There is 15 minute build up and 5 minute cool down for a carrier jumping. Audio notifications are given locally to let players know when and where the carrier will be jumping to.
> Questions
Q. Why are Fleet Carriers such a large investment?
A. Fleet Carriers are massive vessels, which have crew and services with the ability to impact the owner’s experience, but also the experience of other commanders from across the galaxy. It’s a huge responsibility aimed at experienced commanders with the time and credits to maintain and manage these mammoth vessels, offering potential services to many different players.
Q. Other than Fleet Carriers, what else will be included in this update?
A. Fleet Carriers are of course taking the main stage for this update, but it will also include several fixes from the Issue Tracker. Keep an eye on our forums as we will be publishing the Fleet Carrier Update – Beta 1 – Patch Notes in the coming days.
Q. How will Fleet Carriers interact with Powerplay, and the BGS?
A. Fleet Carriers won’t directly affect Powerplay or the BGS and therefore won’t include a Power Contact. However, the owner can still use their Fleet Carrier to benefit players coordinating to change the state of given systems. For example, if a system needs certain commodities, Fleet Carriers can load up on supplies and transport them to the system in question. Fleet Carriers provide new opportunities to interact with existing systems and we’re excited to see what you achieve with them!
Q. How might an explorer fund their Fleet Carrier’s upkeep costs?
A. Via Universal Cartographics (changes in Beta 1) or Elite Dangerous’ top traders might want to turn their Fleet Carrier into a trading post that turns a profit, we expect most Fleet Carriers to be fitted in ways that help players do what they enjoy in the game. For example, explorers who have accrued large sums of cash, they’ll be able to take a Fleet Carrier and ferry it out to the remote regions of the galaxy and explore never-before seen locations. Equally, explorers could set their Fleet Carrier up as a trading post in a convenient location to turn a profit while they engage in other activities.
Q. Will any in-game discounts be applied when purchasing a Fleet Carrier?
A. Only Commanders with ‘Kickstarter Outfitting’ or with the Founder Tier (and higher) discount will receive a discount when they purchase a Fleet Carrier. Fleet Carriers cannot enter or be bought from permit-locked systems (including Shinrarta Dezhra).
Q. How do you obtain Tritium?
A. Tritium cannot be refined from other minerals and is instead obtained from directly mining ice asteroids, or being purchased from some starports. Be warned, Tritium is a commodity and therefore can be stolen or lost like any other commodity!
Q. What happens if your Fleet Carrier jumps into a system and runs out of fuel?
A. Fleet Carrier owners will need to plan their trips carefully as there are high risks in being stranded, especially with a vessel that can jump 500ly away. Tritium can also be stored on the Fleet Carrier. Visiting commanders may also stop by to donate fuel or sell it to the Fleet Carrier, providing more fuel for jumps!
Q. Will Fleet Carriers be persistent in the universe? Even if you are offline or play in Solo Mode?
A. Fleet Carriers themselves are persistent in the galaxy across all game modes, whether you are online or not, and player ships docked at one are subject to the usual normal game mode and matchmaking rules. If a Commander docks on a Fleet Carrier in Solo which then decides to jump to a new system, the commander who is docked will jump with the Fleet Carrier, even though they are in Solo.
Q. Can Fleet Carriers be stolen by other Players?
A. No, other players cannot steal a Commander’s Fleet Carrier.
Q. How many landing pads are there, and will it be possible to store ships on Fleet Carriers?
A. Fleet Carriers have 16 landing pads for the owner and fellow commanders to use. If the Fleet Carrier has the Shipyard Service, commanders will also be able to store their ships onboard (these ships do not use up any additional capacity, the Shipyard handles this for you). The landing and storage of ships acts in the same way as regular starports.
Q. Can Thargoids attack Fleet Carriers?
A. No, Fleet Carriers do not attack Thargoids, and Thargoids do not attack Fleet Carriers.
Q. What is the Fleet Carrier jump process?
A. Fleet Carriers and their crew need to make preparations before the vessel begins its Hyperspace Jump. The preparations will take one hour to complete, and whilst this is happening, all Commanders in the vicinity will receive several alerts throughout the countdown, warning them of the time left until the jump commences. When the Fleet Carrier arrives at its destination, there will be a one hour cooldown before it can begin preparations to jump again. We’d love to hear your feedback on these timescales during the betas!
Q. Can anyone store commodities in a Fleet Carrier?
A. Only the Fleet Carrier owner can transfer commodities into the Fleet Carrier’s personal storage and back again, similar to how cargo transfer works between SRV’s and ships.
Q. Are Fleet Carrier names unique?
A. Fleet Carrier names are not unique across the galaxy and can be changed by the owner. However, each Fleet Carrier has a unique callsign that appears on the Navigation Panel which cannot be changed.
Q. Are Fleet Carriers manually controlled from a bridge?
A. No, Fleet Carriers are not manually piloted by the player and instead, manned by a Deck Officer who helps oversee the operations and running of the Fleet Carrier crew and services.
Q. Can a Fleet Carrier go into Supercruise?
A. Fleet Carriers do not use Supercruise to travel, and instead use Hyperspace Jumps to navigate through the galaxy.
Q. Can you sell Guardian Weapons or Modules from a Fleet Carrier?
A. No, it will not be possible to sell materials, Rare Goods or modules that need unlocking from Fleet Carriers.
Q. Does the Fleet Carrier’s economy affect the surrounding system’s economy?
A. The Fleet Carrier is an independent vessel and will not affect any system’s economy.
Q. What happens if a Commander attacks a Fleet Carrier?
A. Fleet Carriers act in the same way as stations, outposts and planet ports, if they are attacked they will fire back to eliminate the threat with onboard turrets.
Q. Can you buy multiple Fleet Carriers?
A. A Commander can only own one Fleet Carrier at a time, however, if the owner decides to decommission their Fleet Carrier they can purchase another one.
Q. What happened to the support vessels?
A. We examined the concept of predefined load-outs through the use of support vessels, but they restricted the level of customisation that we wanted Fleet Carriers to have. We removed the support vessels and changed it so that Fleet Carrier owners had more control of the Fleet Carriers’ customisation.
Q. Can a Fleet Carrier and a Capital Ship jump alongside each other?
A. No, Fleet Carriers and Capital Ships will not be able to jump alongside each other.
Q. How much control does a Fleet Carrier owner have over a Fleet Carrier’s destination?
A. If a location is selected directly from the Galaxy Map, the Fleet Carrier will orbit the first available interstellar body. If a location is selected from the System Map, the Fleet Carrier owner can specify which body they want the Fleet Carrier to orbit, providing there are not too many other Fleet Carriers orbiting the same location.
Q. Can the owners remotely manage their Fleet Carrier?
A. Fleet Carrier owners can use the Remote Fleet Carrier Management option in the Internal Panel on their ship to access Fleet Carrier Management Services.
Q. Can we visually customize our Fleet Carrier?
A. Similarly to other ships in the game, you will be able to customise your Fleet Carrier through the onboard Livery.
Q. Can Fleet Carriers land on planets?
A. No, Fleet Carriers cannot land on planets.
Q. Will Carriers have the same gameplay interactions as Megaships? ie Turrets, Data Terminals, Comms Array, and Cargo Bay
A. No, most of the interactions will happen once a Commander has docked on a Fleet Carrier.
Q. Can Fleet Carriers be used in conjunction with Rescue Vessels at damaged starports?
A. Fleet Carriers can support Commanders as they go to help damaged starports, but they can not directly aid Rescue Vessels at these damaged starports.
Q. Can I manufacture commodities for trading on a Fleet Carrier?
A. Fleet Carriers only deal with trading commodities and do not have the facilities to make, grow or manufacture any goods.
Q. If the market onboard can be set by the player, what happens if the player decides to sell narcotics etc. and then jumps to a system where they are illegal?
A. It is up to the Fleet Carrier owner if they would like to sell and buy goods that are illegal in that system. Although the Fleet Carrier itself will not get into trouble for selling illegal goods, any ships caught carrying illegal goods can be caught by the System Authority surrounding the Fleet Carrier
Q. Can Fleet Carriers be ordered to jump into unexplored systems?
A. Yes! If a Fleet Carrier jumps to an unexplored system it will target the primary star as its destination.
Q. Will a log of Fleet Carrier actions be kept, similar to the CMDR journal for player actions?
A. There will not be a dedicated Fleet Carrier Journal, but a Commander’s Journal will include some of the transactions that they might have with a Fleet Carrier.
Q. Can players steal from Fleet Carriers in the same way goods can be stolen from Megaships and Installations?
A. No, Fleet Carriers do not have any external cargo bays.
Q. Can I open a Black Market on my Fleet Carrier?
A. Yes, Fleet Carriers have an additional service that allows Commanders to trade stolen goods.
Q. Can Squadrons pool money to purchase a Fleet Carrier (with the squadron creator being the owner of the carrier)?
A. It is not possible to donate credits to a specific Commander.
Q. Which aspects of Fleet Carriers are subject to feedback and suggested changes during the beta?
A. Similar to our previous beta, we appreciate every piece of feedback that you contribute to the development of the Fleet Carrier Update. We need Commanders to come together and test both the durability and functionality of Fleet Carriers as both owners and visitors to ensure a successful launch.
Elite: Odyssey 