History YMMV / EliteDangerous

** As time went on the rivalries inverted -- ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' received frequent free updates that eventually [[WinBackTheCrowd overcame its initial reputation]] to bring it on par with ''Elite'', while ''VideoGame/StarCitizen'''s frequent [[ScheduleSlip delays and missed deadlines]] eventually eclipsed the game itself in the public consciousness.

** As time went on the rivalries inverted - ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' received frequent free updates that eventually [[WinBackTheCrowd overcame it's initial reputation]] to bring it on par with Elite while ''VideoGame/StarCitizen'''s frequent [[ScheduleSlip delays and missed deadlines]] eventually eclipsed the game itself in the public consciousness.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** The Cobra Mk IV -- the reward for players who preordered Horizons before 2016 -- is highly unpopular among most members of the community, in large part because it does not excel at any particular niche and is arguably worse than its highly popular predecessor in most functions. Most complaints centre on the fact that it is a much slower, more cumbersome evolution of the classic Cobra Mk III for nearly twice the price, which puts it in an awkward price bracket. In exchange for these sacrifices, it features slightly better shields than its predecessor and an extra Small Hardpoint, which are just not worth it. It does have the highest cargo capacity of any small ship currently in-game which on paper, could make it a good cargo runner and miner, and all whilst still being capable of landing on small landing pads; in practice, most ships will do either function just as well or better at a slightly higher price point. The Type-6 Transporter for instance, will transport half again as much cargo and features generally better performance, with its only downsides being its somewhat higher cost, weaker armament, and its medium size.[[note]]That said, the cost difference is less than the gap between the Cobra Mk III and Cobra Mk IV, and the larger dimensions do not prevent it from landing at outposts.[[/note]]
** The Asp Scout is eschewed by many players for its rather lackluster qualities. While it has a fairly long jump range, it is thoroughly lacking in all other respects. It is poorly armed and rather slow, with a large glass canopy that offers a great view but is easily shattered by damage. This stands in contrast its larger sibling, the Asp Explorer, which is regarded as a true JackOfAllTrades: similar in appearance (with the same glass canopy) but much faster, more heavily armed and armored, and one of the longest jump ranges of any ship in the game, all the while being able to land on the same landing pads as its little brother. It is also thoroughly outclassed in most respects by the Keelback, which is ''cheaper'' but has generally similar performance specs with much greater durability and cargo capacity; additionally, it can also carry a fighter to make up for its relatively modest firepower. Even the Asp Scout's one possible counterpart, the Diamondback Scout, has immense utility as a smuggler, stealth fighter, railgun sniper, or plasma artillery platform due to its great heat management.
** The Type-7 Transport suffers from this rather badly, as its dimensions mean it can't fit into Medium hangars and has to use Large size pads as a result. It has the dubious benefit of being the ''cheapest'' large-size ship (by a wide margin, in fact), but by the time you want to be upgrading to that size category you've probably got access to either a more expensive Medium that does it better (for instance, a Python, which can haul almost as much cargo whilst still having good defenses and being quite capable of fighting if need be), or you just stick it out to get a better Large ship like the Type-9. The Imperial Clipper has the same issue, though due to being too ''wide'' for medium hangars rather than too ''tall''; in its case it's fast in a straight line but not especially agile, and its hardpoints are both awkwardly placed and outclassed by Medium ships like the Python or Krait [=MkII=], which are both medium-size vessels.

** "Fdev" or "[=FDev=]" are sometimes used, and are shorthand for '''F'''rontier '''Dev'''elopments (the game's developers).

*** And Frontier has jumped on board with it. [[https://www.frontierstore.net/usd/merchandise/elite-dangerous-logo-socks-black.html These socks are good enough to eat!]]

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Due to low risk and high reward, many players opt for mining as their main source of income. Borann used to be a system preferred by many players for mining thanks to the high rate of finding valuable minerals such as void opals and low temperature diamonds in that system, but the addition of Tritium to mining loot caused a galaxy-wide reroll of all ring systems that altered Borann's hotspots. (Plus some are convinced Fdev used the update to [[ObviousRulePatch intentionally target Borann]].)

** "[[Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome Space Whale]]" for the Type-9 Heavy.[[note]]because it's big, heavy, and slow, managing to have the worst maneuverability of any ship in the game.[[/note]]
*** The Type-10, naturally, inherits this and is even called a "superwhale" or "blue whale" sometimes.[[note]]The 10 is a modified 9, being ''twice'' as wide and even heavier to accommodate the veritable armory you can strap to the thing.[[/note]]
** "The Beefy Chiefy" for the Alliance Chieftain.[[note]]because, being intended as a front-line combat ship, it's quite durable and has a lot of weapon hardpoints[[/note]]

** "iCourier" and "iEagle" for the Imperial Courier and Imperial Eagle respectively, no doubt due to the Empire's EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture aesthetic.
** "The bubble" is a term used to refer to human-settled space.
** "Space legs", a term for the idea of the player character being able to move about on foot and not simply pilot a ship or SRV. This mode of play was long speculated upon by the player base and was finally introduced in the ''Odyssey'' expansion.
** The "Loop of Shame": what a player has to do when they overshoot their destination in supercruise (turn their ship around and approach again, because they didn't decelerate and drop out of supercruise at the correct moment).

** "Friendship Drive charging."[[note]] Mondegreens of the ship's onboard AI are fairly popular among fans, this one (of "Frame-Shift Drive charging") being the most popular. Others include "Landing gear attractive" ("Landing gear retracted") and "Target shields are fine" ("Target shields offline").[[/note]]

** "I WANT TO SELL ILLEGAL GOODS."[[note]]All of the game's in-game text interfaces are written in all-caps, resulting in the interpretation that the PlayerCharacter has NoIndoorVoice when accessing the BlackMarket - which is supposed to be discreet.[[/note]]

* ScrappyMechanic: Traveling within a system in Supercruise comes with a host of annoying hangups. While the simulation of gravitational effects on your ship is impressive, the arrival timer never takes it into account. Then there's the matter of safely exiting Supercruise near your intended target; in addition to having only a tiny distance margin, you also have to decelerate, which if done too late will result in overshooting your target, and if too early will slow you to a crawl. What makes this particularly aggravating is that there is no way to upgrade the margin for a safe exit, despite every other system you can upgrade.
** While veteran players have found a way to make the arrival timer work for them as a way to check their rate of deceleration on final approach,[[note]]most recommending to reduce throttle until it gets down to the 6-8 second range.[[/note]] the window to do so is still narrow enough that getting distracted for a few seconds at the wrong time can still lead to overshooting.
** This was addressed in the April, 2019 update with the introduction of the Supercruise Assist module and the addition of at least 1 Size 1 compartment for all ships. Now players can install this module and it will regulate speed on approach to a target (and addressing another ScrappyMechanic, autostop your ship when dropping from Hyperspace). You still need to navigate around hazards however, as its not an autopilot.

** The Cobra Mk IV -- the reward for players who preordered Horizons before 2016 -- is highly unpopular among most members of the community, in large part because it does not excel at any particular niche and is arguably worse than its highly popular predecessor in most functions. Most complaints centre on the fact that it is a much slower, more cumbersome evolution of the classic Cobra Mk III for nearly twice the price, which puts it in an awkward price bracket. In exchange for these sacrifices, it features slightly better shields than its predecessor and an extra Small Hardpoint, which are just not worth it. It does have the highest cargo capacity of any small ship currently in-game which on paper, could make it a good cargo runner and miner, capable of landing on small landing pads; in practice, most ships will do either function just as well or better at a slightly higher price point. The Type-6 Transporter for instance, will transport half again as much cargo and features generally better performance, with its only downsides being its somewhat higher cost, weaker armament, and its medium size.[[note]]That said, the cost difference is less than the gap between the Cobra Mk III and Cobra Mk IV, and the larger dimensions do not prevent it from landing at outposts.[[/note]]

* ThatOneLevel: A lot of wide-orbiting binary, trinary, or multiple-star systems get this treatment, as there are often starports in orbit of planets that orbit such systems' 'B', 'C', 'D', etc. stars and thus can be anywhere from 15,000 to 500,000 Light-Seconds away from the jump-in point - a distance travelled in ''supercruise'', not ''hyperspace'', meaning you could sometimes be sitting there for ten to fifteen minutes just closing the distance; however, it's '''Hutton Orbital''' in Alpha Centauri that gets this treatment the most, thanks to being the most remote starport in all of human space - not by distance from Earth, mind you, since it orbits Proxima Centauri which is a little over 4 Light-Years from Sol, but rather by distance from the jump-in point, being .22 Light-Years from Alpha Centauri A, or about six ''million'' Light-Seconds; again, a distance that has to be traversed in ''supercruise'', rather than ''hyperspace''. However, Fleet Carriers can directly jump into a system near any celestial body. Catching a ride means you can undock and be only a few light-seconds away from your destination, but the carrier will have to pay its jump fee and spend some tritium fuel.

** This was addressed in the April, 2019 update for the gaming with the introduction of the Supercruise Assist module and the addition of at least 1 Size 1 compartment for all ships. Now players can install this module and it will regulate speed on approach to a target (and addressing another ScrappyMechanic, autostop your ship when dropping from Hyperspace). You still need to navigate around hazards however, as its not an autopilot.

* GuideDangIt: The learning curve of this game is rather...cliff-like, with the in-game tutorial not being very helpful beyond telling you what you can do in the game.