Star Citizen Cargo Boxes: A Deep Dive into Delivering Your Goods
"Where there's a will, there's a way," – that's our motto, isn't it? Especially when it comes to making money in the vast, wondrous universe of Star Citizen. And often, making a few credits requires getting the goods, and putting them in cargo boxes! This is how to make those credits flow, this guide aims to give you a clearer picture of everything about buying boxes in Star Citizen. We will dive in and look at several helpful options.
Understanding the Fundamentals of Cargo Boxes
What Are Cargo Boxes?
Cargo boxes are the boxes in Star Citizen that contain your shipments, essential for transportation of anything (goods and loot included). Imagine them as a sort of delivery van, ready to take the load wherever you want to send it. It’s pretty handy!
Why Use Them?
Source: pinimg.com
Simple; to send or receive goods (a better and safer alternative for courier operations), keeping goods from damage, better organized movement in Space, even useful when traveling a distance. It saves time too and prevents hassle.
Different Types of Boxes
Star Citizen offers various box types, with different purposes (or you could say, different “skills”):
- Small Boxes: Ideal for transporting small items like rare loot from adventures and quick delivery between small shops and locations in various sectors and regions.
- Medium Boxes: Often preferred for mid-level items or for a bit of delivery run. This would carry a bigger profit compared to smaller options, this offers an efficient trade/delivery method, especially if you’re transporting a decent haul!
- Large Boxes: Used to send more considerable amount of things – for larger profit opportunities. (think massive amounts of space debris you’ve picked up!)
What Factors Matter When Choosing Boxes?
- Size: Does it hold what I want? Does it fill the required space? (Very Important to look for your intended items.)
- Capacity: Can I transport what I need or not? This depends on the items. This factor greatly varies from one shipment to the next.
- Price: (very much depends on where you’re buying/getting them) This varies enormously, consider if you're trying to save.
- Location: Where can you buy boxes from/in what location are boxes readily available (local shops) – this can significantly impact on trade decisions and route planning to/from trade locations.
Where to Buy Your Boxes
Buying Directly from Ship Stores:
There are numerous ship stores throughout the star system that may have your preferred type, size and type of boxes ready to be acquired. Prices will change accordingly to supply and demand.
- Pro: Convenient location; easy purchase of cargo.
- Con: Potentially higher prices (if they're scarce). Check current local conditions (you never know the market will change quickly.)
Utilizing NPC Trades and Local Market Exchanges (or how they work in other games!)
Source: redd.it
NPC Traders (non-player characters) or their special boxes act as a conduit for supply chains – a network for goods moving across a place (like an area of space). These trades or exchanges will likely exist near many trading hubs that many use (that are well established routes). There may be some trading and negotiating needed, just like most in-game businesses; you can negotiate better deals if you have something of high demand. Just like how different shops and markets cater to specific types of businesses.
- Pro: Can get decent boxes quickly; potential lower price compared to shop options.
- Con: Need to find reliable NPCs or exchanges; and find those routes and exchanges if not found quickly
Source: star-citizen.wiki
Finding boxes from Abandoned Space stations/Ships
This can become quite an adventure to scout around and search for items or find areas/zones that you might know or find to have this kind of loot and material and or item availability (depending on circumstances). Sometimes you can find great hidden and hidden pockets, or "gems" of unique loot or objects to discover. There might even be a “deal” of some good boxes!
- Pro: Possible good opportunities, perhaps finding rare ones.
- Con: This can require some planning and luck (some boxes might be difficult to get).
Tips for finding Cargo Boxes (pro gamer tip!)
- Research the sector’s availability: Get details from other players! Find out who knows best what locations or spaces, this helps find the best sectors. If possible.
- Always assess supply & demand: Research (with reliable information): you will have a clear picture of demand, pricing trends, even the availability of such goods or supplies you need in advance of your transaction. (You don't want a buyer's remorse and buyer's repentance on some terrible trade if things don't match with their goals.)
- Examine other's posts (online/forums/social media) Look up different threads or posts by people discussing things about these sorts of details. Be aware some areas are extremely contested, and prices may rise in such spaces, with the risk of competition being too high if you’re doing some kind of massive-scale operations or routes. (it may vary)
- Communicate: Talk to the vendors. Check market boards (you can get inside information, sometimes very accurate prices, even some great locations on where or what time to acquire or transport some items, sometimes.)
Source: ytimg.com
Example Scenario and Reviews
Scenario: A newbie wants to trade rare crystals found from asteroid mines, let's call it "Quantum Crystals," near the Proxima Centauri System in space (not Earth!). This needs Medium size boxes (and larger boxes for further delivery). Where could these newbies look?
Review 1 (from "SpaceCaptain"): "I found a great trade route between NPC-run shops close to mining sites (within 5 jumps of each other!) Medium-sized boxes are readily available from certain established ship stations; and they worked out very cheaply!" (good deal!)
Review 2 (from "StellarVoyager"): "Don't rely solely on ship stores alone – exploring around will reward you with options with decent savings (maybe better places.) Look in and out of the open ship trading stations – look for cargo ships nearby (many traders are mobile!). There's sometimes opportunities near abandoned trading ships and trading points – they are quite great!” (lots of useful places.)
Review 3 (from "CosmicCourier"): "In some sectors or nearby abandoned trading outposts or sectors, large quantities of Cargo Boxes might show up as 'abandoned' (with possible opportunities of acquiring boxes), though I didn't find it that useful since finding safe locations nearby is usually too complicated for someone just starting to do things." (very much depends on risk level/difficulty)
Conclusion (this wraps up everything discussed, so this means summary is below!)
Buying cargo boxes in Star Citizen is a skill unto itself, requiring smart analysis and investigation, (but not all difficult, as well!). By evaluating the supply chain (the location matters!), negotiating with sellers and assessing market prices (finding great locations and timing!) will go far in leading you to a worthwhile investment of time and trade and securing good business opportunities.
Remember, every trip involves various considerations: space station or location and NPC involvement; making the right decisions is critical, and learning will lead you on your way to becoming successful! So, jump in, experiment with different methods, and make the most of your ventures in the Star Citizen universe. Happy voyages!
