First Steps in the Game

Wake up!

After the first login, you wake up in your home, your personal starting room. This is your first safe place in the game. From here, your way to the Persistent Universe begins.

Before you run away, you should be aware that you are not directly in space, but in a city or station. Between your bed and your ship there are often several steps: leaving buildings, finding paths, using elevators, understanding public transport or walking paths, and finally reaching the space port.

Star Citizen wants to feel immersive. That's exactly why the journey from waking up to the first flight takes longer than in many other games. This can be confusing at the beginning, but is a central part of the experience.

Checking equipment

Before you take on your first mission, you should check what you carry with you. For the very first start, you don't need expensive equipment. It's important that you don't accidentally lose everything because you take on a too risky mission.

For simple delivery missions, a simple basic equipment is usually enough. For combat missions, however, you need weapons, ammunition, possibly armor and medical items. If you are still completely new, you should not start fighting. The first focus should be on understanding the world, your ship and simple procedures.

If you find shops in a city or station, you can buy equipment later. However, this is not absolutely necessary for the first aUEC earnings.

• Find ASOP-Terminal.
• Remember hangar number.
• Start slowly and keep enough distance.
• Landing calmly.

Find the way to the space port

Your first practical destination is the space port. There you can call up your ship and take off into space for the first time.

Depending on where you wake up, the path can be different. In large cities, you often have to go through buildings, lifts, transit systems or longer walking paths. In space stations, the path is usually shorter and more direct. Take time and watch out for signs, maps, signposts and the names of stations or areas.

Don't worry if you run away. Many new players need a few minutes to find the space port for the first time. Star Citizen is large and deliberately not as simplified as many other games.

Retrieve your ship

At the space port you will find ASOP-Terminals, which you can use to manage your ships and vehicles. There you will select an available ship and have it assigned to a hangar.

Then go to the appropriate elevator or access and get on your way to your ship. This moment is one of the most important first impressions for many new players: you see your own ship not only as a menu item, but actually stand in front of you in the hangar.

Prepare first flight

Once you have found your ship, go inside and sit in the cockpit. Now the part that seems overwhelming for many new players begins: the ship is not just a vehicle, but its own small space with cockpit, systems, doors, interior and sometimes bed, cargo compartment or equipment.

Before you start, you should be aware of where you want to go. Star Citizen is not a game where you need to fly immediately and automatically find the right direction. You should first take a simple mission or select a clear target. For the first aUEC earnings, a simple delivery mission is usually more useful than fighting, trading or risky freight.

Choose a simple first mission

For your first aUEC earnings, simple delivery missions are usually the best choice. They are not perfect and can still get annoying by bugs or long distances, but they explain many basics at the same time:

• You learn how missions work.
• You learn how to find places.
• You learn how to start and land.
• You learn how to transport packages or items.
• You learn how big the distances can be in the game.

For starters, do not choose a mission that looks like a heavy fight, dangerous opponents or a particularly high reward. High rewards often also mean more risk, more time or more complexity. Your goal is not to become rich immediately, but to create the first complete process.

A good first mission is a simple delivery mission or a small mission where you have to pick something up and take it to another place.

Avoid risky activities at the beginning

Many activities in Star Citizen sound exciting, but are not ideal for the very first start.

Bounty Hunting can be fun, but requires you to be able to control your ship halfway in battle. FPS Combat can go wrong quickly if you don't have suitable equipment or run into the building. Trading can be risky because you put your own money in goods and can lose in a crash, error or attack. Mining and salvage are interesting, but often require more knowledge, suitable equipment or a suitable ship.

Therefore, for your first aUEC acquisition, the simple rule is: Choose an activity where you risk as little as possible of your own money and still learn the basic mechanics.

Plan your route and start only then

If you have taken a mission, you should look where you need to go. Often the mission leads you to another place on a planet, moon, station or outpost.

Star Citizen consists of large distances. The path from a city to a moon or outpost can include several steps: Start, leave atmosphere, use Quantum Travel, fly to destination, land, get out, find object and fly back or forth.

Don't start blind. If you know about where to go, the first flight seems much less chaotic.

Fly to the pick-up point

Now the actual first mission begins. You start from the space port, leave the landing zone and make your way to the pick-up point.

Make sure to stay calm. Many beginners do too much at once on the first flight. You don't have to be fast. You just have to arrive safely. Especially the first take-offs and landings are more important than the reward of the mission.

When you arrive at the pick-up point, you land as carefully as possible, get out and search for the mission destination. For delivery missions, this is usually a package or a specific item.

Take the mission item with you

During a delivery mission, you pick up the item and take it to a destination. Make sure you really take the right item with you. Some places can be confusing, especially if there are multiple boxes, rooms or markings.

Take your time and see if the mission updates your next step. If the mission continues correctly, you'll be back on your way to your ship.

The way back to the ship is a good time to get used to Star Citizen: You are not just in a menu, but physically on the move. You carry the object, move through the surroundings and have to start safely again.

Fly to destination

The second part of the mission is usually easier because you have already done the procedure before. You fly to the destination, land, get out and bring the item to the intended destination.

This is where Star Citizen shows its strengths and weaknesses at the same time. It can feel very immersive if you actually bring a package from one place to another. But it can also be frustrating if a marker is unclear, an elevator does not work or a server problem occurs. This is currently part of the Alpha experience.

If something doesn't work, don't try to force everything right away. Sometimes it's better to take another mission or start over later.

Complete the mission and get your first aUEC

If you hand over the item correctly, the mission will be completed and you will receive your reward in aUEC. This will make your first full gameplay loop: wake up, leave town, find ship, accept mission, fly, deliver and earn money.

This is an important step. From now on, you will understand much better how Star Citizen basically works. You have learned that the game is not just space combat, but many small processes that together make up a great experience.

What you can do after the first mission

After your first successful mission, you have several useful options.

If you've enjoyed the quiet process, you can try out more Delivery Missions or small cargo orders. If you want more action, you can slowly approach simple Bounty or Mercenary missions. If you prefer to play economically, you can deal with trading, mining or salvage later. If you just want to be amazed, you can visit new places and explore the verse.

The important thing is: Star Citizen will not be fully understood on one evening. It is better to set small targets. Today the first mission. After that the first safe flight to a station. After that the first landing on a moon. After that maybe the first combat mission or the first joint flight with other players.

This creates the entry step by step.

Avoid common beginner mistakes

Many new players make similar mistakes at the beginning.

• They buy expensive equipment too soon.
• They're taking on too risky missions.
• They invest their entire aUEC in freight.
• They expect everything to work stable.
• They underestimate how long paths can take in Star Citizen.
• You forget that the game is still Alpha.

If you avoid these mistakes, your entry will be much more relaxed. Star Citizen is not difficult at first because you have too little skill, but because the game does not simplify many things as much as other games.

The best first route for new players

If you just want a clear process, stick to this order:

1. Wake up and orient yourself in your starting point.
2. Find the way to the space port.
3. Call your ship.
4. Take a simple delivery mission.
5. Fly to the pick-up point.
6. Take the package or the item with you.
7. Fly to the destination.
8. Give me the item.
9. Get your first aUEC.
10. Decide whether you want to deliver, fight, act, explore or play with other players.

This is not the fastest way to get a lot of money. But it is one of the best ways to really understand Star Citizen.