Multicrew lets players serve as crewmembers on ships and SRVs. It instantly transfers them to a secondary bridge position via telepresence (drop-in matchmaking). It is accessed via a Social tab option in the Comms panel of the HUD and activates voice-chat.
Only ships and SRVs with 2 or more pilot seats are Multicrew-compatible. Players can control the Helm (piloting), Gunner (turreted weapons), or Fighter Con (up to two SLVs). NPC Pilots can be hired to fly SLFs. If the host is in a Team then multicrew is disabled.
Fundamentals
Former Lead Designer Sandro Sammarco explained: "Fundamentally, Multicrew is about having fun with friends, so we want to make sure there are as few barriers to enjoying this feature as possible, starting with the crew formation process. We want to make it as easy as possible to start having fun on a multicrew ship."[1]
As long as the ship has enough seats (different ships have different multicrew capabilities) a Commander can directly invite players or can set their vessel to allow multicrew access. Commanders who want to play as crew members can either accept direct invites or activate a new “looking for ship” feature which automatically places them as crew on a suitable vessel with multicrew access allowed.
When joining a crew, the Commander exits their current vessel and transfers to the multicrew vessel. The distance is irrelevant, because it uses Telepresence. They can leave at any time (or be evicted by the ship’s owner) at which point they'll return to their previous ship and location.
Roles
Multicrew menu
The Multicrew roles are Helm, Gunner, and Fighter Con.
Helm
The ship's owner is always the Helm to pilot the vessel and operate fixed and gimballed weaponry. They also control NPC Fighter pilots. There can be up to two additional crewmembers, depending on the vessel's seats. They perform roles to enhance the ship's abilities. Alternatively, players can join for fun or to learn from experienced players. The Helm retains control over the distribution of power, navigation, and synthesis.
Gunner
The Gunner allows a crewmember to take control of all turreted weapons on the ship. They do not need to switch between turret views. The third person interface has a reticule that is automatically followed by all turrets within their arc. This gives the Gunner improved spatial awareness and easy control of all turreted weapons. They also have access to two “quick slot” fire buttons, in addition to normal fire groups. These are customizable with modules for more options to activate weapons and scanners.
Furthermore, the Gunner has access to advanced sensor systems, allowing them three hundred and sixty degree tracking arcs. This lets them activate advanced scanners (such as the kill warrant scanner) and missile launchers in any direction.
Fighter Con
The Fighter Con lets a crewmember launch and control an SLF, even if the Helm already launched a fighter with an NPC crew. This allows multicrew ships to simultaneously have two active fighters. In addition, if the ship has enough fighters, both crew members can do the fighter con role. Thus three human-controlled ships can fly at the same time.
Crew members can switch roles dynamically as they see fit. The ship owner is always the Helm.
Exploration
In Multicrew, any crewmember has access to the Full System Scanner and the Detailed Surface Scanner. However, only the Gunner can use this module. Whilst exploring in a Team, as long as you are in the same system as the Team, you will share the data that you discovered.[2]
Additional benefits
Multicrew artwork
A big benefit is bundling the roles results in a higher success rate to complete tasks. An intangible benefit is the comradery of playing with crewmembers.
Every crewmember has access to a power distributor pip which they can assign dynamically. This is in addition to the standard pips that the Helm controls. This extra power distribution allows the ship to operate more effectively, increasing its capabilities in combat.
Ship rebuy premiums are reduced for each crewmember. The purpose is to lower the access bar and ease of use, especially when dealing with vessels that cost much credits.
All bounties and vouchers that the Helm (ship owner) receives are duplicated for each crewmember. This makes multicrew fun with friends without missing out on money-making opportunities.
However, sharing benefits includes shared punishment. Any crime that the ship suffers is equally applied to all crewmembers. When a Commander leaves or ends a session, the crew will have the option of avoiding taking the crimes with them, but in doing so, will lose all earned credits.
Technology
Pilots use telepresence to appear in other people's ships as Holo-Me holograms.[3]
Ship Seats and SLF
These are the available seats per ship. Multicrew requires 2 or more seats. The larger ships are SLF capable.
SRV Cockpit Seats
These are the available seats per SRV. The Scorpion is the only SRV with 2 seats for multicrew.
| SRV | Seats | Multicrew | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarab | 1 | No | Vodel |
| Scorpion | 2 | Yes | Vodel |
Development
Multicrew was introduced in the Elite Dangerous: Horizons The Commanders v2.3 update.[4]
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Update 8 increased the Multicrew limit from 3 to 4, and added a fourth pilot seat to all existing 3-seat ships except the Krait MkII.[5][6][7]
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Update 9 added the first Multicrew-capable SRV, the Scorpion in 2021.[8]
Videos
Gallery
References
- ↑ Frontier Forums: 2.3 Dev Update
- ↑ Frontier Forums: Content Recap: Beyond - Chapter Four Livestream - Exploration and the Codex
- ↑ Frontier Forums: Feedback from CMDR creator tool (The i am hologram, lore explanation and its placement on UI), post #6
- ↑ Frontier Forums: 2.3 The Commanders - Changelog
- ↑ Frontier Forums: Development Update 2 - July
- ↑ Frontier Forums: Development Update 4 - September
- ↑ Frontier Forums: Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Update 8 Notes
- ↑ Frontier Forums: Elite Dangerous: Odyssey | Update 9 Notes
| Combat | |
| Covert |
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| Exploration |
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| Mining |
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| Multiplayer |
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| Trading |
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| Transportation |
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| Utility |
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| Careers marked with O are only available if Odyssey is installed. | |