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Support - Produce and supply shortage equipment to your friends or faction.
When they get killed they'll be up and flying again in no time, which will give
them an edge over their enemies. Alternatively run small consignments of
equipment for individual pilots. If you anticipate a large battle, consider being
ready to re-equip pilots as their pods (inevitably) return to the station.
Smuggle - Supply one set of pilots without their enemies realising. You can
supply their enemies too, so long as the first set of pilots do not know. And all
the time you maintain an air of respectability among those who both groups are
busy killing.
Strip - Hinder the production of equipment or Faction Mission progress by
removing certain commodities from stations. Remove carefully stockpiled
equipment whilst your enemies are out getting killed, so when they return home
it will take them longer than they expected to re-equip.
Those suggestions become progressively more dangerous (and also fun), the
further you go down the list.
It helps if you have a character, with friends and enemies; if you can work with
other pilots; and if, every so often, you are prepared to forget about making
money and experience.
A1. Appendix: Newbie Tips
Taking a cargo mission that requires an hour of flight to find the commodity, or
trying to trade expensive cargo with an appalling tax rate are some of the things
that all new pilots do at some stage. They are part of a standard list that
includes crashing into stations and asteroids, being killed by Mantas, and
selling their engines without enough cash to buy new ones.
Many pilots go through a second stage of newbie-dom when they first load up
500 units of Uranium or Iridium and try and fly it to another station.
New pilots need to address some issues before they can begin serious trading:
- Rank - Primarily to allow ships with larger cargo capacity. Partly to allow the
purchase of equipment.
- Political Rating with all factions - Primarily to lower tax. Partly to allow the
purchase of equipment.
- Knowledge - Ability to fly main routes safely with reference to navigational
hazards such as asteroids and Conflux. Knowledge of station docking
approaches. Basic understanding of the markets and trading.
- Cash - Primarily to allow the purchase of ship loads of most items. Partly to
allow the purchase of larger cargo ships.

A good way to do all that is to aim to level by collecting (Super)Nova medals.
Muffy's guide to political rating powerlevelling strategy (