In Elite Dangerous, players can easily start or join cooperative operations through a dedicated menu, selecting missions based on difficulty and rewards while forming squads of up to four members. Operations begin aboard a support vessel called the runner, which serves as a staging area for launching missions and coordinating team efforts, providing a streamlined and faction-aligned cooperative gameplay experience.
Getting started with an Elite Dangerous operation is simple and accessible. Players begin by docking at any station, mega ship, or their own fleet carrier and accessing the personal menu. Within this menu, a new tab called “operations” offers three choices: join an existing operation, create a new one, or launch an operation as part of power play. However, the power play option is restricted to systems controlled by the player’s pledged power.
Creating an operation involves selecting from a variety of missions, each clearly displaying its difficulty, rewards, and activity type. This allows players to choose missions that suit their experience level and available time. After selecting a mission, players enter a lobby where they can adjust their ship loadout and prepare while waiting for up to three other players to join, creating a cooperative squad. This lobby system is reminiscent of matchmaking lobbies in traditional cooperative games.
Joining an existing operation is similarly straightforward. Players can browse available lobbies and join a squad that fits their preferences. However, a key restriction is that power play operations are faction-specific; players cannot join lobbies belonging to powers other than the one they have pledged to. This ensures alignment with the player’s chosen faction during power play missions.
Once the squad is ready, the operation begins with a loading screen that places players aboard a new support vessel called the runner. The runner is not a combat ship but serves as a mobile staging area, deploying the team near the mission objective and extracting them once the mission is complete. This design facilitates smooth mission transitions and team coordination.
From the runner, players board their own ships, launch, and proceed to the mission area to carry out their objectives. Overall, the operation system in Elite Dangerous offers a fast, intuitive, and modern cooperative gameplay experience, allowing players to quickly organize, prepare, and engage in missions across the galaxy with their squad.