1 . Yes , specifically look for systems offering Kill x Pirates missions . They stack , so it can add up really quickly as you rank up with that faction and get better rewards . After you do that and get a good ship outfitted , then you can head over to combat zones for the same thing , where the difficulty is higher , but missions pay out much betterand frankly they are more fun , being in a huge space battle . 2 . The vulture . Bar none the best small BH ship . It ' s two large Hardpoints strapped to massive thrusters . Basically the A 10 of space . Git gud , and you ' ll see yourself taking on Dangerous Anacondas easily . You pay for that maneuverability and firepower in heat and inflexibility . Having to manage it ' s power requirements and few short coming does a lot to teach you more about how the ships work , and how you can tweak them the Vulture was the first ship I learned that I could purposefully overdraw my power by a small amount , if I just put uselessfor combatmodules in priority 5 , so they would just turn off during the fight and reboot when I stowed my guns . 3 . Off the top of my head ? Routes have gotten an overhaul . The game remembers your routes , so you don ' t have to keep plotting a new route everytime you log off or go off course . You can also put filters on your route to only hit certain types , governments , states , etc . Super useful . You can transfer modules and even ships to the station you are at there is a cost and time component depending on the distance and cost of the ship or module . Also , the engineers are worth a visit for some very helpful modifications to your ships modules . But really , there ' s just a ton of stuff that ' s changed , it might be helpful to look up the change logs and give them a once over . 4 . Absolutely . Besides the usefulness of materials you can gather from POIs and prospecting which you use for the engineers or crafting some refillable boosts to some ship items Sometimes your destination on a mission my be at a planet , or sometimes a particularly good opportunity is only found at that one planetary base . It ' s also just fun to fool around in the SRV every once in a while . The subtle variety of terrains and different gravity fields is entertaining and challenging to master , and some of the views you get are pretty stunning .