Category: Economy

The Star Citizen universe is scheduled to have a massive economy that is living and breathing. “Star Citizen is, at its heart, a vast living world that combines a remarkably detailed space combat simulation with an equally in-depth model of the economy of a star-spanning empire.” – From the Star Citizen Economy

Professions Already Testable in Early Versions (Alpha 3.0 and on)

• Salvage  – Released in Alpha 3.18
• Racing – Released in Alpha 3.18
• Medical – Released in Alpha 3.15
• Piracy – Released in Alpha 3.15
• Trading – Updated in Alpha 3.15
• Delivery
• Passenger Transport / Taxi driver
• Mining
• Bounty Hunter
• Mercenary
• Harvesting – Released in Alpha 3.7
• Prison Worker / Patsy – Released in Alpha 3.10
• Escort
• Search & Rescue
• Refueling – Released in Alpha 3.17
• Refining
• Military – Released in Alpha 3.17 (Technically militia / military support eg. Xenothreat)
• Ship Recovery / Tug (Argo SRV was released in Alpha 3.21)
• Cargo Hauling – Released in Alpha 3.24
• Hunter Gatherer – Q2 2024

Professions possibly coming in 2025

• Exploration
• Rearming
• Search & Rescue
• Repair
• Engineering
• Space Tourist

Future Professions (2025 and beyond)

• Barista
• Info Running / Hacking
• Farming
• Luxury / Diplomatic Transport
• Espionage
• Science & Research
• News Reporter
• Archaeology
• Translator
• Ship Delivery
• Sataball Player

Crafting in Star Citizen

• Crafting Tools
• Crafting Components
• Crafting Medical Supplies
• Crafting Food

Trading / Cargo Hauling

UPDATE (August 2024)
Cargo Hauling missions are scheduled to be released in Alpha 3.24. In game missions will be created to have players pick up cargo and deliver it to locations.

Will the loading of cargo onto bigger ships be automated or will specialized small cargo loading ships like the Argo be required?

• Loading and unloading of cargo ships will require storage containers and cargo to be moved and loaded. This may be carried out by players or NPCs. Expect large ships to take longer to load / unload cargo and for crews to have to be hired. Some stations will provide more loading / unloading facilities than others. For example, large space ports will have many systems in place to speed up the process. More remote locations will require more involvement from the crew.
• Cargo loading / unloading can be an independent profession.
• Loading of large ships in space harbors can be manual or automatic. In the case of automatic loading NPC crews will be used.

What type of hazards can we expect when cargo running?

• When cargo running there will be wear and tear of components that will need fixing during journeys. Additionally there will be the following potential hazards to name a few: Pirates, comets, meteors, small black holes!

How will item persistence work for spawning and despawning items?

• Small disposable items like bullet casings will despawn.
• Large and important items will stay in the area based on an “area manager” which programmatically controls the longevity of the items in a given area. Rare items, cargo, ships and such will persist.
• Broken windows on space stations will create job tasks for cleaning & maintenance crews (human and NPC).

Will ship autopilot be available or do pilots need to be in the flight seat?

• During long periods of cruise, quantum or other travel, it will be possible to set the ship into autopilot mode to be able to carry out maintenance, preparations or any number of tasks. Ships will automatically be pulled out of their flight mode to avoid obstacles or dangers.
• While away from the pilot’s seat, ships will sound alarms based on sensor data (such as collision alert or “contact”).

Delivery missions are available in Star Citizen since Alpha 3.0. Players can accept missions to visit locations to pick up a variety of things from deployable beacons to cargo for delivery.

The delivery career makes it possible for starter ships like the Aurora MR to earn more UEC with delivery missions than with pure cargo running.

Currently in-game delivery missions are generated by the system. Eventually players will have things they need delivered by other players.

Players who deliver ships have their own career category – Ship Delivery.

Mining in Star Citizen can be performed various ways:

• Hand mining – using a multi-tool and corresponding mining attachment
• Vehicle mining
• Ship mining
• Drone mining (TBC)

“The land claim system will be important beyond Pioneer construction. Land claims will prevent other players from building in your territory and will offer different options relevant to gameplay (such as giving you surface rights, for pure construction, versus mineral rights that would include mining.)

The above quote is from CNOU Pioneer Q & A about Land Claims. Prospecting for land is a viable profession in Star Citizen as the composition of the land revealed by tests and scanners will also determine the best license for the land registry. We suggest reading also our full article about Land Claims as much of that is applicable to mining and mining contracts. Read more about Star Citizen Land Claims.

Bounty Hunter profession in Star Citizen covers hunting wanted Players and NPCs for rewards.

Capturing and killing outlaws and figures of interest make up some of the Bounty Hunter profession that is very popular and features dedicated vessels like the 300i “… flown by the hottest bounty hunters in the galaxy… ” – from this sale.

Captured players will have to go to prison (read below).

Source: Bounty Hunting News piece

Update January 20109: It appears that as of some point around Alpha 3.4 it is possible to receive Player Bounty missions. Bounty Hunters will progress by completing some NPC bounty missions before the Player bounties appear available.

Update: 12th August 2020 – As of Alpha 3.10 it is possible for players to trade aUEC directly with each other. This opens up more mercenary possibilities. Escort has been added as a separate profession / role as it appears to be more fleshed out.

Hiring mercenaries will be necessary to assist with mining and shipping operations. Guns for hire jobs will be readily available and the Mercenary profession is getting close to being playable.

Source: OPNET Personal Security

As of Alpha 3.10 players can trade money directly with each other. This opens up the player escort profession.

Military roles will be varied from police type work to massive battles against Vanduul fleets. Players will be able to take on defense roles from the electronic job board as well as from other players who need soldiers in their crews.

Since in Star Citizen players cannot be part of the UEE Military officially, there are mercenary and militia options that allow players to carry out military operations to help the UEE.

Having a criminal status affects player reputation and any player with criminal status does not receive contracts for legal military operations. Players wanting to receive “good guy” contracts will need to keep an immaculate criminal record.

Star Citizen Alpha 3.15 introduces looting of player bodies and ships and added levels of persistence. This means that from Alpha 3.15 there are enough piracy related activities where it can be considered a viable in game profession.

Being able to recover parts from destroyed ships can be a valuable way to earn a living in Star Citizen. Salvage is one of the most anticipated professions and promises significant gameplay.

Current Salvage Ships in Star Citizen announced are:

• Aegis Reclaimer (Large Salvage Ship)
• Drake Vulture (Small Salvage Ship)

What’s in store for salvaging? What’s it going to be like? (From 10 FTC – Professions in Alpha 3.0)

Salvage in Star Citizen is broken down into four different concepts:

Sources:

Calling All Devs – The Road to Salvage (May 2019)

Star Citizen Ship Shape – Drake Vulture (June 2018)

10 for the Chairman – Professions in Alpha 3.0 (March 2017)

The Reclaimer (September 2014)

Hunter-Gatherer missions were announced for Alpha 3.23. Traveling the far reaches of the galaxy to look for and bring back exotic animal species is the passion for those spacefarers looking to fulfill more primitive passions.

Like many MMORPGs, players will be issued missions to retrieve pelts and other animal products. Since crafting is also confirmed, this profession fits in with exploration and hunting enthusiasts who aim to earn a living in the ‘verse gathering through capture or kill.

Eventually there will be many locations added to the Public Universe that will create discovery opportunities. Vessels equipped with sensors will scan distant locations such as asteroid fields for mineable resources. From prospecting for future land claims to establishing contact with Banu Merchants the other side of Gliese, the exploration profession is going to be complex. In many cases there might not be any scripted content at all for your flavor of exploration.

Exploration could be one of the most dangerous professions but also one of the most rewarding. Especially with the promise of your name being entered into The Ark. Oh you’re doing it for cold hard credits? That works too.

This Star Citizen mini-game is an example of the gameplay we can expect from the exploration role (Hint: Won’t be easy).

Of all the Star Citizen videos this is one of our favorites inspiring exploration of the Star Citizen Universe.

The original Wanderers – a short film by Erik Wernquist

Star Citizen is, at heart, a space sim and ship to ship combat will be the center of the action. Ships will need frequent repairs and modifications making ship repair a lucrative enterprise.

Ships like the Anvil Crucible will make deep space repairing a real profession.

Sources:

Ship Repair & Maintenance
Anvil Crucible Q & A

Star Citizen ships are use components to function and include:

• Shield Generators
• Power Plants
• Gravity Generators
• Coolers
• Thrusters (Engines, VTOL, Maneuvering, etc…)
• Scanning Suites
• Computers
• Gimbal Weapon Mounts
• Rocket Pods
• Missile Racks
• Utility Items
• Quantum Enforcement Devices
• Quantum Drives (and Jump Drives)
• Fuel Pods
• Fuel Intakes
• Fuel Refineries
• Batteries
• Turrets

The resource management system in Star Citizen allows for engineering to be an important gameplay role. An engineer is responsible for the resource management of the ship, the priorities of the items and countering any dangers that might be encountered throughout the flight. Engineers face mechanical dangers that might affect the performance of the ship as opposed to pilots whose main responsibility is to fly the ship.

Design Brief: Engineer | Journey to 4.0

Star Citizen Tools – Ship Components

Engineering: Ship Components Systems

The Shipyard – Other Ship Items

Sources:
Inside Star Citizen – Dealing With Healing
Calling All Devs – Core Gameplay Update (July 2021)
The Shipyard – Medical Gameplay (July 2018)
Healing Your Spaceman
Death Of A Spaceman
RSI Apollo Q & A (2018)
Medical Gameplay (2018)

Escape pods are and ejection seats have a use in Star Citizen. Sometimes players will be in need of rescue and there are dedicated S & R ships like the Drake Cutlass Red.

The Drake Interplanetary Cutlass Red is a space ambulance designed to go in and out of hot zones to bring back survivors. The ship features first responder facilities to provide emergency services while en-route to more advanced medical clinics.

Exploring in Star Citizen will sometimes result in unidentified items being discovered that will need to be scientifically processed with the right instrumentation to discover their composition and secrets. Although this mechanic is still far from being implemented, there is a little information out there hinting at potential gameplay.

Further reading: The Endeavor

Transporting information about valuable locations can yield high rewards. There will be dedicated ships for info running and hacking. The Drake Herald is suited for Hacking and Data Running while the .

From here

“Drake Herald – Knowledge is power, and one of the most valuable commodities is pure information: the 1s and 0s behind everything from UEC ledgers to Citizenship ratings. Whether it’s colonists struggling to stay in contact with the UEE’s central worlds or criminals trading in illicit data, there will always be a need to securely move data. The Drake Herald, small, armored ship, is designed to fit that need and safely get that information from Point A to Point B. Featuring a powerful central engine (for high speed transit and generating the power needed for effective data encryption/containment), advanced encryption software and an armored computer core, the Herald is unique among personal spacecraft in that it is designed to be easily ‘cleaned’ when in danger of capture. The Herald includes an array of heavy duty internal options for data protection, including redundant power subsystems and EMP shielding, and a high-powered broadcast array for data transmission.”

Electronic warfare also plays a role in the game with ships like the Avenger Warlock able to use EMP (currently playable) to knock out other ship’s systems temporarily.

 
Current Hacking Ships:

• Vanguard Sentinel
• Drake Herald

Data Running Ships:

• Drake Herald
• Mercury Star Runner

Data can be stolen from other ships and resold (source).

One of the most polished gameplay elements is racing. While players can currently compete in the Arena Commander simulator, the PU is still waiting to receive it’s racing mechanics. The Alpha 2.5 patch brought in Grimhex – an asteroid station with a racecourse.

Read more sources of racing information in Star Citizen:

Lore Builder Racing Sataball
The Murray Cup
Lore Builder Racing
Racing Ships Available

Farming and Land Claims

Obtaining land in Star Citizen will probably have several methods players can use to gain access go arable land. Being able to stake land claims is confirmed – For more information read our full article about Land Claims in Star Citizen.

The galaxy is big and getting around can be expensive. It might be cheaper to hire a ride to get from one place to another than to bring out your own potentially expensive-to-run starship.

With planetary landings possible this means that the danger of players becoming stranded is a real possibility. Being able to pick up stranded players could pay handsomely depending on urgency and danger level of the location. Space Taxi profession confirmed!

Sources:

Genesis Starliner

Genesis Starliner Q & A

Design Civilian Passenger Transport

24 Million Goal

Ships like the 600i could potentially be used to transport special envoys to and from exclusive events. It’s worth noting that those who wish to embark on a life of VIP transport will probably need to gain reputation in established networks to reach the juiciest luxury transport missions. Diplomacy could be an unconfirmed profession but transporting NPCs to and from Diplomatic meetings could potentially earn you a living with a luxury ship.

There are very large player run organizations and it will be advantageous for other orgs to know where to strike. Infiltrated players into enemy factions will be a gameplay mechanic not for the faint-hearted.

Further reading: MISC Reliant Mako News Van

1. Fuel Intakes scoop natural gases from the environment and funnel them into the ship.
   a. To get the most amount of gas into your ship, seek out areas of concentrated gas.
   b. Using your Fuel Intakes in regular space may scoop limited quantities of gas or none at all.
2. These gases are converted into plasma
   a. Fuel Intakes will do a basic conversion on a limited range of gas types.
   b. Refineries will provide more conversion options.
3. Converted plasma is stored in the Fuel Tank, previously called the Hydrogen Fuel Tank.
   a. These tanks can only store one type of plasma at a time.
4. When thrust is needed, plasma pumps through the Power Plant and is converted/agitated into energized plasma.
5. The energized plasma is funneled into thrusters.
6. Thrust is produced and the ship moves appropriately.

*Taken from The Shipyard: Fuel Mechanics linked above.

“Most of those who are willing to traverse on to the planets are xenoarchaeologists and tomb raiders. Despite the widespread devastation, thousands of structures have been identified on Hades’ graveyard worlds, and many more are believed to exist underground. Countless artifacts are taken (or stolen) from these sites each year, and it is believed that there are a number of ongoing, formal ‘outlaw’ operations running to try to locate some of the technology that the Hadesians used to destroy themselves.”

From Galacti Guide Hades System

Let’s face it, Star Citizen is a beautiful living universe that will have breathtaking vistas. There are luxurious ships in the game that are designed for space tourism. The Origin 890 Jump even has a boat hangar so that the lucky 1% can take out their speedboat for a spin… on distant planets.

For those with less UEC in their accounts, the Consolidated Outlander Mustang Beta offers the more traditional camper-van-in-space experience.

The alien species in Star Citizen have their own detailed languages. This means that translators will be required to communicate with alien NPCs who do not speak english. Additionally, since alien relics, items and artifacts will be discoverable, it will be required to have accurate translations to identify components and other valuables retrieved. Read more about CIG’s creation of alien languages.

In the Star Citizen universe, ships are real objects that persist, even when the player is logged out. When a ship is purchased or replaced through insurance, it may need to be delivered to the location of the player. For example, if a player is at the ship dealership on a planet but the replacement ship is only available in a near by system, the ship dealership may employ a single ship delivery pilot, also known as Iso Pilot (short for isolated pilot). Other ship delivery crew configurations also exist and it will be up to the player to decide which system is best for them (and most profitable). The best pilots will be able to single handedly deliver the largest of ships while others may have to settle for a smaller cut by working in a team.

It’s important to note that small ships can be delivered inside other ships but for large ships, depending on insurance level and risk locations, it may require a solo pilot to perform the delivery. This career seems to be the most profitable when performed alone.

Additional reading:
Observist Lifestyle – Iso Pilots

Players looking to make a handsome profit by resupplying combat operations need look no further than the rearming profession. This profession is ideally suited to players who enjoy the support role as well as who those who aim to turn handsome profits by buying armament cheap and then selling at a premium by venturing near or into conflict areas.

Specialised ships for rearmament include the Anvil Crucible and the Aegis Vulcan. These ships, while being repair ships, are also able to restock and refuel ships they repair.

UPDATE December 2023: Sataball has been removed as a profession in Star Citizen. It seems this was some type of early concept that became obsolete. The original content from this article remains because it seemed like a cool concept.

Sataball is a game popularised by the movie Ender’s Game and Star Citizen hosts its very own Sataball as a popular galactic playable sport.

Additional reading:
Lore Builder Sataball

In Alpha 3.10 players are able to transfer both in-game currency (aUEC) and prison Merits. This creates a possible profession for players to work in prisons and be paid by others players.

Players may seek to pay prison labor for:

• Trading prison Merits to aUEC
• Paying players to help them escape prison
• Other

Crafting in Star Citizen started with the ability for the Salvage machine on the Reclaimer and Vulture salvage ships. Players have been able to craft multi-tools and attachments by scraping and munching material from ship hulls. Many ships have dedicated facilities related to production and crafted tools can be used or sold.

Components are an important part of Star Citizen that determine a ship or vehicles ability to succeed on a mission. Components are planned to be able to be crafted. Players will find, unlock or purchase blueprints that will enable the creation of advanced components. More on this to come as things are announced.

Medical Supplies is another possible craftable item that could come into Star Citizen. Kopion horns that are gatherable are could be used for such ends.

Star Citizen should have cooking recipes like other MMORPGs before it. Already harvestables have different properties and can be eaten raw, however many ships have kitchens suggesting cooking will be included as a form of crafting.