Elite Dangerous crime overhaul arrives in December, Anaconda Mk II and Found Adrift hit Oct. 20

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Frontier has laid out more of what’s coming to Elite Dangerous in its October dev log, with the biggest piece being Law & Disorder, a free December update that reworks crime, punishment, piracy, smuggling, and bounties.

The short version: crime won’t be treated like the whole galaxy instantly saw what you did. Under the new system, crimes have to be observed and confirmed before they stick to a Commander’s permanent record. That opens the door for pirates and smugglers to get away clean if they leave before authorities can verify what happened.

  • Crimes first generate an unconfirmed bounty, which lets nearby ships legally attack the offender.
  • If an authority ship scans the Commander, the unconfirmed bounty becomes a regular bounty.
  • If the Commander escapes before confirmation, the unconfirmed bounty is wiped.
  • The kill warrant scanner is being removed, with scans instead showing a target’s known crimes and combined bounty value.
  • Notoriety, as it currently works, is being removed. A new version will apply to ships instead.
  • Anonymous access at starports is going away. If a port identifies you as a criminal, it can block landing permission.

Frontier is also changing how fines and bounties escalate. Minor infractions should be less likely to turn into a death sentence, and pad loitering will now give station ATC a chance to move a stuck ship instead of jumping straight to lethal force. Higher-tier criminals will still get harsher responses, including authorities attacking on sight.

Piracy is getting a more direct loop too. Commanders will be able to demand cargo from NPC ships, which may comply or resist based on the threat level, the pirate ship’s reputation, and the balance of power. Smuggling is also being positioned as a more viable money-maker, though Frontier says more details on that are coming later.

Before that, Elite Dangerous gets the Anaconda Mk II on Oct. 20. Frontier describes it as a large multi-role ship rather than a specialist, with a max cargo capacity of 750 and hardpoints listed as two small, four large, and one huge. Its core modules include a size 8 power plant, size 7 thrusters, size 8 FSD, and size 8 power distributor.

The same Oct. 20 update will also bring Found Adrift, a free Operation for up to four players. It sends Commanders into a reappeared megaship that’s gone silent, with the crew tasked with recovering a valuable asset while fighting off another group inside the wreck.

Frontier is also using the Anaconda Mk II update to rebalance several ships, including the Asp Scout, Federal Dropship, Imperial Clipper, Type-6, Type-7, Viper Mk IV, Sidewinder, Eagle, Caspian, and Mandalay. Full stats are due on the equipment page when the update lands.

Further reading: Official Elite Dangerous October Dev Log