Elite Dangerous: Value of Planet Surface Mapping
I recently started surface mapping planets to earn some credits. I found out that you can scan (and sell) surface maps even of planets that are not 'unexplored' but actually explored already... So this seemed a good idea and it pays out pretty well.
While selling mappings I have seen a vast range of value for selling seemingly identical data. I mostly focus on Earth-like Worlds and High-metal-Content Worlds, as those are (from what I heard) the most valuable scans. But even here:
I have sold surface mapping scans of Earth-like Worlds from anywhere between 250'000 to 1.5 Million credits. How comes? What makes one scan more valuable than an other? Is there a way to know in advance how valuable a certain scan will be?
Or does the data change value depending on where you sell it?
Best Answer
The data is the same price at all stations - the following table gives you the approximate scan values : https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Explorer#Scan_Values
Here FSS - Full System Scan DSS - Detailed Surface Scan FD - First Discovery Bouns - note that this bouns applies when you first Mapp a planet, even if it has been discovered already.
If you are on the PC, there is an application called Elite Dangerous Discovery (EDD) which runs in parallel with the game. Amongst other features it will give you an estmated value for every planet you come across - for example an ELW that you scan (even if already discovered) is worth 255k approximately.
These don't apply if the system is inhabited.
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Is mapping planets worth it elite dangerous?
Probing relatively common planet types like icy bodies and gas giants will earn you credits, but the real money is in mapping the rarer ones. Earth-like, water, and metal-rich planets are particularly lucrative. A handful of these, fully mapped, can earn you a few million credits.What planets are worth surface scanning?
The most valuable planets are earthlike worlds (ELWs), water worlds (WWs), and ammonia worlds (AWs). The most valuable stars are black holes (BH) and neutron stars (NS). The least valuable planets are rocky, icy, and rocky icy bodies, which are sometimes referred to as a whole as "rice".How do you map a planet elite?
In order to use this module a pilot must select the unexplored entity from their navigation panel then fly to within range (varies due to entity diameter) just as with scanning with the discovery scanner and as such does not need to be bound to a firing group.Elite Dangerous - How To Map Planets / Surface Scanner - Bonus Efficiency - 2 to 9 Probe Planets
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Answer 2
The easiest option for PC - is to install EDDisccovery Tool. It calculates the exact value of each scan and shows a summary of the system (see the top line).
Before using EDD I was using picture from this thread as a tip.
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Images: Monstera, 7inchs, Karolina Grabowska, Pixabay