Elite Dangerous September update to make things easier for new players, Fleet Carriers coming in December
Elite Dangerous will soon receive two big, long-awaited new features.
Elite Dangerous developer Frontier has revealed at gamescom that the new player experience will be enhanced with the game's September patch. Frontier has been making changes to the early hours of Elite to make things more accessible to players unfamiliar with space sims.
A major part of that is due September 17: a fully-voiced tutorial. This is intended to cover the basics of flight, combat, travelling and scanning - the game's core, and most common actions.
The September update will also replace Frontier Points with Arx, the new paid currency players can use to buy cosmetics. Arx can also be earned by playing the game.
Looking ahead, the often teased massive Fleet Carries will finally arrive in December. All players will be able to buy their own Fleet Carrier, which they can pilot alongside 15 other teammates for a single, 16-player ship.
Fleet Carriers are capable of supporting smaller ships thanks to 16 landing pads (eight large, and four small and medium). This also means other ships can use them to repair, refuel and rearm.
Fleet Carries can be used for different gameplay styles, from exploration and trading to mining, combat and even piracy and smuggling. Owners will be able to pick from a few pre-set loadouts, each tailored for a particular experience.