Friendly reminder that warbond CCUs are a thing

[vahadar]

The C2 warbond CCU we have right now is not "that" interesting compared to the C2 warbond available last December. It makes you save 10$ less than the one offered a few month ago. As I already have those C2 CCUs from the best in show IAE2021, this one is a pass for me.

CIG is getting greedier and is slowly reducing the saving you can do thanks to those warbond CCUs. Taurus was also less interesting.

 

[Safun]

(...)There was a spektrum post about all the Warbond CCU's going back up for sale on the finale day, and that's when I plan to put my CCU Chains together. I usually try to finish all my CCU Chains within one sale, which is why I wait until the last day to put them all together.

Do you mean this one?

Invictus Launch Week 2952 FAQ - Star Citizen Spectrum

Invictus Launch Week is almost upon us, and to help everyone get the most from the event, we want to answer a few common questions. Read on for everything you need to know about Invictus, including...

robertsspaceindustries.com

Will there be Warbond CCUs available?
Yes! Check back each day throughout the event to see what's available. Each Warbond CCU will only be available for a 24-hour period.

Spoiler: Stock-limited ships

Will there be quantity stock-limited ships?
Yes! Each stock-limited ship is limited to 1 per account and will be available in three waves to cover as many global time zones as possible. Please note that depending on your time zone, Wave 2 and 3 may occur the next calendar day.

• Wave 1: 4 pm UTC (9 am Pacific)
• Wave 2: 12 am UTC (5 pm Pacific)
• Wave 3: 8am UTC (1am Pacific)

• ILW Day 3 - May 22: Aegis Idris-P, Aegis Javelin
• ILW Day 5 - May 24: RSI Constellation Phoenix
• ILW Day 9 - May 28: Drake Kraken, Drake Kraken Privateer

 

[vahadar]

Do you mean this one?

Invictus Launch Week 2952 FAQ - Star Citizen Spectrum

Invictus Launch Week is almost upon us, and to help everyone get the most from the event, we want to answer a few common questions. Read on for everything you need to know about Invictus, including...

robertsspaceindustries.com

It was not in the FAQ but in a reply JakeAcappella-CIG made :

Spectrum - v7.4.5

RSI’s Spectrum is our integrated community and player interaction service, including chat, forums, game integration, and Player Organization facilities. Player Organizations (“Org”...

robertsspaceindustries.com

 

[Safun]

Ahhhh, great!
I wish I knew this earlier... :)

 

[FZD]

Is it wrong to say that I wish this was a $20 savings CCU rather than a $30 savings one?

With the $30 savings offer we have, the cheapest options are $20 from difficult to get\CCU to ships (Phoenix or Glaive), or "concept" ships whose price may increase before CCU is applied, decreasing value of CCU (Hull C, Endeavour, Crucible), which leaves you with paying $30 (making a 50% saving) through CCUing from Starfarer Gemini if you want relatively stable\fixed value from it.

If it was a $20 saving instead, you could buy a $5 CCU from the Valkyrie, giving an 80% discount, and being able to stack with the Valkyrie CCU from the event as well.

Of course, if the next offer is the Starfarer Gemini, I may have to revise this opinion...

Well, I've noticed that CIG appears to prefer selecting such discounts that they just barely miss the $5 option and you'll have to grab like $10-30 CCU instead. And of course, it's never wrong to be disappointed that the CCU didn't fit your chain.

Anyhow... Speaking of Starfarer Gemini...

UPDATE: Starfarer Gemini

 

[Brictoria]

Well, I've noticed that CIG appears to prefer selecting such discounts that they just barely miss the $5 option and you'll have to grab like $10-30 CCU instead. And of course, it's never wrong to be disappointed that the CCU didn't fit your chain.

Anyhow... Speaking of Starfarer Gemini...

UPDATE: Starfarer Gemini

I had a feeling that would be the case...

Now I need to decide whether to pick up some C2 CCU's when they return at the end of Invictus. I had a few $10 gemini-Valkyrie that I picked up earlier in the event, and while the C2 CCU offers better value ($5) over the Valkyrie CCU, it has a higher initial outlay\outlay per chain and only assists in chains to ships above $400 (C2 price), so wouldn't help with ships priced from $380 - $400 (reclaimer, Gemesis Starliner).

This CCU game is certainly "interesting".

As a side note, is it possible for the entries on the initial post to show the CCU and normal price of the ships, to help people see which options fit together ("normal" price of one below the lower price on another), and which have prices that conflict ("normal" price on one equal to\above lower price on another - Terrapin-> Scorpius, for example) to assist in building\filling out their chains?

Something like (whether sorted by date, ship name, or CCU price, although CCU price may be the most useful for people planning their event end buy-up):

Date	Ship	CCU Price	Normal (non-WB) price
20th	Valkyrie	350	375
21st	Terrapin	210	220
22nd	Vanguard Sentinel	260	275
23rd	Retaliator Bomber	260	275
24th	Constellation Taurus	180	190
24th	Scorpius (Release)	220	240
25th	325a	65	70
26th	C2 Hercules	370	400
27th	Starfarer Gemini	320	340
28th	Mule (Release)	(No warbond CCU, Standalone LTI WB $40)	45
28th	Vulture	130	140
29th	Herald	80	85

 

[FZD]

I had a feeling that would be the case...

Now I need to decide whether to pick up some C2 CCU's when they return at the end of Invictus. I had a few $10 gemini-Valkyrie that I picked up earlier in the event, and while the C2 CCU offers better value ($5) over the Valkyrie CCU, it has a higher initial outlay\outlay per chain and only assists in chains to ships above $400 (C2 price), so wouldn't help with ships priced from $380 - $400 (reclaimer, Gemesis Starliner).

This CCU game is certainly "interesting".

As a side note, is it possible for the entries on the initial post to show the CCU and normal price of the ships, to help people see which options fit together ("normal" price of one below the lower price on another), and which have prices that conflict ("normal" price on one equal to\above lower price on another - Terrapin-> Scorpius, for example) to assist in building\filling out their chains?

Something like (whether sorted by date, ship name, or CCU price, although CCU price may be the most useful for people planning their event end buy-up):

Date	Ship	CCU Price	Normal (non-WB) price
20th	Valkyrie	350	375
21st	Terrapin	210	220
22nd	Vanguard Sentinel		275
23rd	Retaliator Bomber		275
24th	Constellation Taurus	180	190
24th	Scorpius (Release)	220	240
25th	325a	65	70
26th	C2 Hercules	370	400
27th	Starfarer Gemini	320	340
28th	Mule (Release)
28th	Drake
29th	Drake

Oh, certainly. That's a great idea. I just didn't write down the prices though, so I can't remember what the Sentinel / Retaliator warbond price was for sure, though the discount should be around $20 at that price point.

 

[Brictoria]

Oh, certainly. That's a great idea. I just didn't write down the prices though, so I can't remember what the Sentinel / Retaliator warbond price was for sure, though the discount should be around $20 at that price point.

No worries - I got a little bored and came up with this table which may be a better option for planning (concept options not included if the same price or higher than "limited" ships, concept and limited are not included if same price or higher than permanent ones) - "concept" comes with greater risk of reduced savings if you plan to hold CCU for some time, "concept" and "limited" ships are also only available at certain times each year, "release" ships CCU may continue past the end of the event, but that is not confirmed:

Date	Ship	CCU Price	Cheapest option	Minimum Cost	Maximum Discount	Saving	Final price
25th	325a	65	$60 (Permanent) 125A, 300i, Avenger Stalker	$5	50%	$5	70
29th	Herald	80	$75 (Permanent) Arrow, ROC-DS	$5	50%	$5	85
28th	Vulture (Concept)	130	$125 (Permanent) F7C-S Hornet Ghost	$5	67%	$10	140
24th	Constellation Taurus	180	$175 (Limited) Cutlass Blue, F7C Hornet Wildfire, Freelancer MIS $155 (Permanent) Prospector	$5 Limited $25 Permanent	67% Limited 29% Permanent	$10	190
21st	Terrapin	210	$200 (Concept) Vulcan $195 (Limited) Hurricane $190 (Permanent) Constellation Taurus	$10 Concept $15 Limited $20 Permanent	50% Concept 40% Limited 33% Permanent	$10	220
24th	Scorpius (release)	220	$215 (Concept) Corsair $195 (Limited) Hurricane $190 (Permanent) Constellation Taurus	$5 Concept $25 Limited $30 Permanent	80% Concept 45% Limited 40% Permanent	$20	240
22nd	Vanguard Sentinel	260	$250 (Limited) 400i, Ares Inferno, Area Ion $240 (Permanent) Constellation Andromeda	$10 Limited $20 Permanent	60% Limited 43% Permanent	$15	275
23rd	Retaliator Bomber	260	$250 (Limited) 400i, Ares Inferno, Area Ion $240 (Permanent) Constellation Andromeda	$10 Limited $20 Permanent	60% Limited 43% Permanent	$15	275
27th	Starfarer Gemini	320	$315 (Permanent) MOLE	5$ Permanent	80% Permanent	$20	340
20th	Valkyrie	350	$340 (Limited) Starfarer Gemini $315 (Permanent) MOLE	$10 Limited $35 Permanent	71% Limited 42% Permanent	$25	375
26th	C2 Hercules	370	$340 (Limited) Starfarer Gemini $350 (Special) Glaive, Constellation Phoenix $315 (Permanent) MOLE	$30 Limited $20 Special $55 Permanent	50% Limited 60% Special 35% Permanent	$30	400

Feel free to correct any mistakes in my prices and\or calculations.

 

[FZD]

No worries - I got a little bored and came up with this table which may be a better option for planning (concept options not included if the same price or higher than "limited" ships, concept and limited are not included if same price or higher than permanent ones) - "concept" comes with greater risk of reduced savings if you plan to hold CCU for some time, "concept" and "limited" ships are also only available at certain times each year, "release" ships CCU may continue past the end of the event, but that is not confirmed:

Date	Ship	CCU Price	Cheapest option	Minimum Cost	Maximum Discount	Saving	Final price
25th	325a	65	$60 (Permanent) 125A, 300i, Avenger Stalker	$5	50%	$5	70
28th	Vulture (Concept)	130	$125 (Permanent) F7C-S Hornet Ghost	$5	67%	$10	140
24th	Constellation Taurus	180	$175 (Limited) Cutlass Blue, F7C Hornet Wildfire, Freelancer MIS $155 (Permanent) Prospector	$5 Limited $25 Permanent	67% Limited 29% Permanent	$10	190
21st	Terrapin	210	$200 (Concept) Vulcan $195 (Limited) Hurricane $190 (Permanent) Constellation Taurus	$10 Concept $15 Limited $20 Permanent	50% Concept 40% Limited 33% Permanent	$10	220
24th	Scorpius (release)	220	$215 (Concept) Corsair $195 (Limited) Hurricane $190 (Permanent) Constellation Taurus	$5 Concept $25 Limited $30 Permanent	80% Concept 45% Limited 40% permanent	$20	240
22nd	Vanguard Sentinel						275
23rd	Retaliator Bomber						275
27th	Starfarer Gemini	320	$315 (Permanent) MOLE	5$ Permanent	80% permanent	$20	340
20th	Valkyrie	350	$340 (Limited) Starfarer Gemini $315 (Permanent) MOLE	$10 Limited $35 Permanent	71% Limited 42% permanent	$25	375
26th	C2 Hercules	370	$340 (Limited) Starfarer Gemini $350 (Special) Glaive, Constellation Phoenix $315 (Permanent) MOLE	$30 Limited $20 Special $55 Permanent	50% Limited 60% Special 35% permanent	$30	400

Feel free to correct any mistakes in my prices and\or calculations - I'll try to update as CCU's are released for Drake.

This is good, but it's a bit cluttered. Hmm... I'll post it as a link in the OP. So people can get more in-depth as needed, but I'll keep the more streamlined version in the OP.

 

[FZD]

UPDATE: Drake Vulture.

Tbh, I really like this one. First of all, it's in the sub-$150 range, which fits most CCU chains. Secondly, Drake Vulture is an unreleased ship, so I even had a regular priced CCU TO it, as I am fully expecting it to go up in value. And unlike most ships, this one will go up in value real soon, before IAE or during it, as it's getting flight ready in 3.18. So this means you're basically getting at least a $20 discount for $5 and a bit of patience. Not to mention it's just $5 from RAFT, a ship you already might have some warbond CCUs TO as it was on offer last time. Not to mention RAFT is an already released ship with basically full functionality in game, so that $125 price on it is among the most solid prices out there (though the chance of you getting killed by a cow is low, but never zero.)
What I'm saying is, this is just pure gold.

 

[FZD]

UPDATE: Herald

 

[Starooqi]

@FZD picking up the mule to start a chain. I am planning to pick up some CCU for future upgrades. As I mentioned earlier. My current goals based on my limited knowledge is to get a Cutlass Black as a starter ship that is multi-role as I learn the game. Eventually, I will get one mining, one cargo, and one combat ship that can be used solo. After that I will look for large ships that are in $500+ range to build towards using the CCU chaining. Should I buy mule, melt my titan and apply additional funds to get a Cutless Black. Does that make sense? or should I not melt the titan because it is also a good starter ship but I am not sure it will be useful if I have a Cutlass Black. I think it would be redundant and I should melt it and apply it to the CB.

Additionally, should I get additional mules for future CCU chains to build towards the other ships I mentioned above or is not worth it to buy them now. Can you please advise me what CCUs I should purchase now to be utilized for future potential CCU chains? I have reasonable budget available. (I have spousal support. :))

 

[Starooqi]

I use "315p to CNOU Nomad Warbond Edition " CCU's. Have my fleet planned out, so when something comes up I can CCU from a 315P to a Nomad to the "new ship", and it has LTI. If people are going to buy CCU tokens, always pick a ship that will never be removed from the pledge store.

How do you which ship will never be removed from the Pledge Store?

 

[Starooqi]

@FZD I think you can ignore my question above. :) I continued my research and discovered that are packs available. There is a warbond pack for Mule and Cutlass Black with LTI. I think I will pick that up. I may also pick up a second Mule for a new CCU chain for a miner or combat ship. There is another pack available that has CB, Mule and Caterpillar. I am thinking I will get the Caterpillar as an eventual Cargo hauler in the future through CCU changing rather than buy it now.

Additionally based on your suggestion I will pick up CCU upgrades for Endeavor and Crucible.

 

[FZD]

@FZD picking up the mule to start a chain. I am planning to pick up some CCU for future upgrades. As I mentioned earlier. My current goals based on my limited knowledge is to get a Cutlass Black as a starter ship that is multi-role as I learn the game. Eventually, I will get one mining, one cargo, and one combat ship that can be used solo. After that I will look for large ships that are in $500+ range to build towards using the CCU chaining.

Should I buy mule, melt my titan and apply additional funds to get a Cutless Black. Does that make sense?

Didn't you say that the Titan is part of your game package, and that you already got that game package at a discount? If that's the case, you shouldn't melt the game package (as you need that to play Star Citizen) and I don't think there are any starter packages with the mule atm.

or should I not melt the titan because it is also a good starter ship but I am not sure it will be useful if I have a Cutlass Black. I think it would be redundant and I should melt it and apply it to the CB.

You could upgrade your game package to Cutlass Black, just make sure to hit the 325a warbond CCU and Herald warbond CCU along the way for $5 discount each (and to upgrade the insurance on your game package to 120-months, as in, ten whole years). Cutlass Black isn't that expensive of a ship, so even if you don't get an LTI on it, it's fine. 10 years is pretty close to an LTI anyhow.

Additionally, should I get additional mules for future CCU chains to build towards the other ships I mentioned above or is not worth it to buy them now. Can you please advise me what CCUs I should purchase now to be utilized for future potential CCU chains? I have reasonable budget available. (I have spousal support. :))

It is somewhat rare to have sub-$50 LTI token. It's worth buying them now.

When all the CCUs come back tomorrow, you should get warbond CCUs TO Herald, 325A, Vulture, Taurus, Terrapin, Sentinel or Retaliator, Starfarer Gemini, Valkyrie. Yeah, nearly every ship that was discounted during the event fits in a chain between Mule and $500+ ships. As for which ships you should use as CCUs FROM, well, there's a couple you should definitely NOT use: Hull-series, Expanse, SRV, Corsair, San'tok.yai, Railen, etc. Basically, check this list. If it's not Flight ready, avoid it unless you can currently also buy a CCU TO it. Though any CCU FROM in your chain that you don't also have a CCU TO is bit of a gamble, it's doubly so with CCUs FROM ships that are in production (/or in concept). But generally, try to get the cheapest possible warbond CCUs. I mean, if you can get a $5 warbond CCU FROM non-permanently available ship, that's probably still better than a $20 warbond CCU FROM permanently available ship, as that $15 difference would be a section in the chain where no new discounts can be gained in the subsequent events.

 

[FZD]

@FZD I think you can ignore my question above. :) I continued my research and discovered that are packs available. There is a warbond pack for Mule and Cutlass Black with LTI. I think I will pick that up. I may also pick up a second Mule for a new CCU chain for a miner or combat ship. There is another pack available that has CB, Mule and Caterpillar. I am thinking I will get the Caterpillar as an eventual Cargo hauler in the future through CCU changing rather than buy it now.

Extras - Mule & Cutlass Pack - Roberts Space Industries | Follow the development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42

Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and merch, as well as all the community tools used by our fans.

robertsspaceindustries.com

If you're talking about that pack, note that it doesn't contain the game. So don't go melting your game package for that :)

Additionally based on your suggestion I will pick up CCU upgrades for Endeavor and Crucible.

Yeah, Endeavor and Crucible would be good, though you might need to wait till IAE for them to become available. EDIT: Oh, Crucible is actually available atm. Cool, grab that.

 

[Starooqi]

Extras - Mule & Cutlass Pack - Roberts Space Industries | Follow the development of Star Citizen and Squadron 42

Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and merch, as well as all the community tools used by our fans.

robertsspaceindustries.com

If you're talking about that pack, note that it doesn't contain the game. So don't go melting your game package for that :)



Yeah, Endeavor and Crucible would be good, though you might need to wait till IAE for them to become available. EDIT: Oh, Crucible is actually available atm. Cool, grab that.

I didn't realize that melting a ship that came as a package melts everything. I will not melt my Titan.

I am digesting your comments above. Tomorrow I will see what is available and plan out some future paths. If questions I will post them here. Maybe my journey will be useful to someone else.

 

[Patrick Spaceman]

How do you which ship will never be removed from the Pledge Store?

Any of the starter ships or base models of things that have been released years ago, like:

Aurora's
300 Series (except the 350)
100 Series
The Nomad

Nomad is a good example as they marketed it as a starter ship with everything, so it's something they'll never remove from the pledge store. So much work went into the 300 series, such as brochures and TV ad style videos etc. When buying a 300 series you go to a separate area to fine tune the package and details you want in the ship, such as leather seats and paints etc. The 100 series was pushed as a starter series ships, so they want to keep things affordable to new players.

 

[Safun]

Is there any chance to upgrade the game package to LTI? Are there any upgrades WITH LTI or sth like that?

Didn't you say that the Titan is part of your game package, and that you already got that game package at a discount? If that's the case, you shouldn't melt the game package (as you need that to play Star Citizen) and I don't think there are any starter packages with the mule atm.

 

[FZD]

Is there any chance to upgrade the game package to LTI? Are there any upgrades WITH LTI or sth like that?

Yes and no. There was a Nomad warbond CCU that came with an LTI upgrade (as opposed to the 120-month insurance upgrade you can get now) when Nomad first came out. There's probably heaps of these CCUs still in the gray market, but it doesn't seem like CIG are planning on making another CCU opportunity like that, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

That being said, 120-month insurance is fairly close to an LTI anyhow. I mean, it's unlikely that insurance costs would be all that big of a money sink to begin with, and even then you got coverage for 10 years post launch, which is like... a long time. And who knows, maybe somewhere 5 years after the launch, they'll cave in and offer like $10 insurance upgrade packs or something.

So, I'd suggest getting a few Mule LTI tokens for your big ships, and getting an 120-month upgrade for your game package ship (and then keeping that at a more modest value, like under $200).
Or if you really want LTI on your game package for novelty reasons (I know I got one of them warbond Nomad CCUs when they came out just for that purpose), you can search the gray market. You'll probably have to pay quite a premium though, so it might be more logical to go with the 120-month upgrade.