Updated on October 3, 2024: We applied some small changes to the list based on the data gathered from Alpha 3.24.1.
Star Citizen Alpha 3.24 is now available on PTU servers and it will soon launch on live servers as well. This new patch comes with Cargo Hauling missions, which does pay quite well for those who own massive cargo ships.
With this new mission type, players can expect more visits to distribution centers than before, but still, mercenary missions stay on top of the list in Star Citizen 3.24 in terms of rewards. That being said, cargo hauling offers a new way of earning a good amount of in-game currency without risking your life or gaining a CrimeStat.
Boss Elimination At Distribution Centers
FPS Combat With High-Risk
- Type: Illegal
- Reward: 41K (not scaling with progression)
This mission type was added in Alpha 3.23 and requires a lot of combat. This mission is quite difficult to finish on your own as there are so many enemies to deal with.
Also, with the current state of Distribution Centers some Security elevators are lacking floor collision, so it’s a bit risky to accept this new mission type yet.
Based on the data we extracted from Star Citizen folders, the boss elimination missions are not scaling with the reputation gain, which is somehow disappointing, as completing these missions is riskier than any other FPS quest in the verse.
ECN Alert: Ship Hijack
Retake A Stolen 890 Jump
- Type: Legal
- Reward: 45K (not scaling with progression)
This mission has been around for a while now, and still offers the same amount of reward as before. You can only receive this quest around MicroTech.
It will require you to infiltrate into a stolen Origin 890 Jump into space and kill all of its hostile residents. While the mission is really fun and rewarding, it does not scale up by doing more.
Keep in mind that upon closing the stolen ship, you might face some hostile ships as well, though you can just leave your ship and EVA into the 890. Hopefully, you will be able to leave the luxury ship with a 300i once you complete the mission.
Breach And Steal
FPS And Delivery
- Type: Illegal
- Reward: 73K (not scaling with progression)
Another fun FPS mission with added multi-stage objectives to complete! Breach And Steal is the first unlawful delivery mission that was added several patches earlier, and still remains fun and rewarding, though not scaling with progression.
This mission can only be received around Crusader, tasking you to infiltrate a Reclaimer in space, kill all the Nine Tails gang inside it, and extract a small high-priority package. Upon delivering the package to GrimHex, you will rewarded with a good amount of aUEC.
Group Bounties
Ship Combat With 3 Targets Per Contract
- Type: Legal
- Reward Progression (Northrock):
- Intro: 26K
- Medium: 26K
- Hard: 39K
- Very Hard: 61K
- Extreme: 87K
- Reward Progression (Eckhart):
- Intro: 14K
- Very Easy: 14K
- Easy: 17K
- Medium: 26K
- Hard: 39K
- Very Hard: 61K
- Extreme: 87K
If you prefer ship combat to FPS combat, then you better start working your way toward the top ranks of either Northrock Group or Eckhart. These are the only quest-givers in the verse that offer multi-target bounty hunting.
While it does pay better than single-target bounty hunting, it is also riskier to complete on your own, especially when you reach the higher levels where your targets are all flying with full-crew gunships.
It’s best to rank in this mission type with friends, as you sometimes come across ships with valuable cargo, which can be sold for a decent price. Also, note that Eckhart is only available around Hurston, with Northrock operating in both Hurston and Crusader.
Defend Site Or Guard Facility
Typical FPS Bunker Missions
- Type: Legal
- Reward Progression:
- Intro: 15K
- Easy: 20K
- Medium: 35K
- Hard: 60K
- Very Hard: 90K
- Extreme: 120K
The typical bunker missions are still one of the easiest ways to get started in the PU, and usually, they are not too hard to need a crew.
However, the grind for reaching the highest-paying variant of bunker missions is usually too much, and it takes a lot of mission completions to reach from the Hard version to Very Hard and then Extreme.
Although in higher-tier variants of the mission you face multiple waves of enemies, they are still easy to deal with if you know the spawn points and are prepared with the right weapons.
Retrieve Consignment Missions
Combination Of FPS Action And Delivery
- Type: Both Legal and Illegal
- Reward Progression (Legal):
- Intro: 15K
- Easy: 25K
- Medium: 40K
- Hard: 55K
- Reward Progression (Illegal):
- Intro: 40K
- Easy: 60K
- Medium: 80K
- Hard: 110K
Before talking about the details of this mission type, do note that Retrieve Consignment is still a buggy mission type and it rarely works. The problem is if someone completes the mission at the location you are traveling to, the next consignment boxes will not spawn correctly.
That being said, the mission is still a fun variety in the FPS bunker raids and it comes with both legal and illegal variants, with the unlawful ones offering a slightly higher rate.
You get inside a bunker, find a tablet with a code, insert it in the terminal, wait for the target cargo box to come out, then grab it, and leave the area. Not to mention that you will face waves of enemies with bosses among them while waiting for the cargo box.
Cargo Hauling
Combat-Free Missions That Require Cargo Ships
- Type: Legal
- Reward Progression:
- Small Grade: 9K to 75K
- Supply Grade: 14K to 152K
- Bulk Grade: 33K to 111K
While paying quite well in the higher reputation levels, cargo hauling missions do require players to either own a cargo ship or at least rent it. Bulk Grade missions can only be completed by giant ships like Hull-C, C2, or Caterpillar. The same goes for high-tier Supply Grade missions, where you might be required to deliver over 500 SCU of cargo to get a payment of over 100K.
Cargo hauling missions usually take longer in Supply and Bulk grades as the player will need to load and unload hundreds of SCU of cargo manually. Even the automatic loading/unloading will still require a significant amount of time.
Knowing that reaching the reputation level of 5 or 6 to unlock the highest-paying mission variants requires a lot of grinding, cargo hauling might not be every player’s cup of tea.
Eliminate Contraband
Get Rid Of Illegal Cargo In Bunkers
- Type: Both Legal and Illegal
- Reward Progression (Legal):
- Easy: 55K
- Medium: 65K
- Hard: 75K
- Reward Progression (Illegal)
- Easy: 58K
- Medium: 68K
- Hard: 78K
- Selling The Cargo:
- Over 200K
Known as an advanced version of bunker missions, destroying Contraband is more rewarding than simple “Site Defense” missions at lower levels.
That being said, completing this quest usually takes much more time, as you need to get rid of each Narcotic box individually while getting interrupted by never-ending waves of enemies spawning from elevators.
However, instead of completing the mission, you can do something else. If you take the Gasping Weevil Eggs boxes out and load them in your ship, you can sell the cargo at a salvage yard like Samson and Sons for a good profit. 1 SCU of Gasping Weevil Eggs is priced at around 110K aUEC, and you can find nearly 2 SCU of it in each bunker of this mission type.
Ghost Hollow
PvE and PvP FPS Combat
- Type: Illegal (no CrimeStat)
- Reward Progression:
- One Terminal Hack: 175K
- Dual Terminal Hack: 350K
Ghost Hollow is still one of the greatest places in the verse to earn easy money. This mission is only available at MicroTech and it works when the Comm-Array is down.
Usually, when you receive an unverified contract named “Money From Nothing”, that means the Comm Array is down. If you accept this mission for a very little fee, you can head to Ghost Hollow and start hacking the two money extraction terminals inside a derelict Reclaimer.
That being said, you will face heavy Nine-Tails guards as well as possible real players. So, it’s a bit risky to do solo.
Data Grab Missions
Hack Systems And Defend Site
- Type: Illegal
- Reward Progression:
- Intro: 30K
- Easy: 60K
- Medium: 120K
- Hard: 300K
- Very Hard: 500K
Data Grab or Data Heist mission type is still the most rewarding quest in Star Citizen. This mission is only available in unlawful variants, and tasks you with entering a bunker, hacking its mainframe server, and defending your position as long as the upload process is proceeding.
While it can be completed solo up to the Medium variants, beyond that you will need a crew as it becomes quite difficult to deal with the security forces and keep the burning servers operating simultaneously.
The highest variant of this mission type offers 500K, which is the biggest money any quest-giver will offer you in the verse, though it comes at the cost of gaining a CrimeStat of 5.
This mission can only be obtained from BitZeros, who is active on all Stanton planets, but the intro of the mission can only be obtained from MicroTech or ArcCorp.
