How to Choose Cargo and Passengers
Dear Passengers contract selection guide — balancing illegal cargo, difficult passengers, payouts, crew size, and weather risk before takeoff.
Why Pre-Flight Selection Defines Your Run
Every Dear Passengers flight begins at the contract board, not the runway. FLEXUS frames selection as risk-reward gambling: higher payouts attract harder passengers and volatile cargo. Choose poorly and you spawn disasters you cannot physically manage; choose wisely and you still face weather and random events, but from a survivable baseline.
Selection is a co-op conversation, not a solo click. One player chasing maximum money while others want practice routes creates lobby friction that lasts the whole flight. Agree on a team risk tier — conservative, balanced, or chaos stream — before reading individual contracts.
Crew size matters. Two-player teams cannot patrol large illegal manifests the way four-player crews can. Scale payout ambition to headcount and voice discipline via proximity chat experience.
Evaluating Passenger Manifests
Passenger icons likely signal payout, patience, and special demands. High rollers pay more but drain cabin attention with frequent complaints. Nervous flyers may panic during turbulence, spreading mood debuffs to neighbors. Troublemaker profiles belong in balanced or chaos tiers only after your team masters belts, service loops, and restraint timing — see unruly passenger guide.
Count total passengers against crew availability. Each body adds service trips and emergency obstacles. A full manifest plus illegal freight on a two-player crew is a meme contract, not a progression step.
Pair passenger mood risk with pilot skill. New pilots need stable cabins so they learn instruments without simultaneous aisle fires. Veteran pilots can tolerate messier interiors if cabin players confirm they can restrain VIP chaos.
- Conservative: mostly standard travelers, few specials
- Balanced: one difficult or VIP passenger max early on
- Chaos: multiple high-demand profiles for stream runs
- Match manifest size to co-op headcount
- Skip stacked troublemakers until restraint is practiced
- Consider nervous passengers if weather routes look rough
Evaluating Cargo Manifests
Cargo tiers parallel passenger logic. Standard luggage adds modest payout with minimal events. Heavy industrial freight needs strapping maintenance whenever turbulence hits. Illegal goods — animals, chemicals, contraband — spike rewards and spawn unique disasters like escapes, leaks, or pirate interest.
Never stack multiple high-tier illegal items on flight one. Trailers highlight crocodiles for comedy; live animal freight demands a dedicated patrol player. Chemical or explosive freight punishes crews that skip fire prep.
Balance cargo weight with aisle layout mentally. Even unreleased builds show crates sliding into passenger seats. If you accept hazardous freight, assign cargo officer role before takeoff and place extinguishers en route during boarding.
Combined Risk Scoring for Crews
Think in combined score, not isolated picks. One VIP plus one illegal animal plus storm-prone route equals soft lock failure for most pre-release crews. Replace one pillar of risk until successes feel consistent.
Use the wiki flight risk calculator to sanity-check combinations when planning. It translates roster choices into rough difficulty bands — not official FLEXUS math, but useful for team arguments.
Document winning and losing combos in your group notes. Dear Passengers has no public demo yet; institutional memory separates crews that improve from crews that reroll the same impossible contract expecting different physics.
Sample Selection Paths by Experience
Flight 1–3: standard passengers, low-tier cargo, short routes. Learn securing, service, and voice relays without crocodiles.
Flight 4–6: add one difficulty pillar — either a demanding passenger or mid-tier freight, not both. Introduce mild weather routes.
Flight 7+: balanced contracts with mixed manifests if crew size supports role split. Chaos tier reserved for full teams practicing emergency triage.
Solo players: cut risk further. You alternate cabin and cockpit — treat dual high-risk picks as challenge mode, not default progression.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest first contract?
Standard passengers, stable low-tier cargo, and minimal special event icons. Prioritize learning mechanics over payout until landings are routine.
Should we always pick maximum payout?
No. Maximum stacks are for experienced full crews and stream content. Payout means little if the plane never lands.
How does crew size affect selection?
More cabin players handle more passengers and cargo patrol. Two-player crews should avoid stacked illegal freight plus large manifests.
Can we change selections after picking?
Unconfirmed pre-release. Assume contracts lock at accept unless FLEXUS adds reroll systems later.
Do passengers and cargo affect each other?
Yes physically — loose cargo injures passengers; panicked passengers block cargo work. Combined risk is multiplicative in practice.