On-Foot Component Farming - my favorite methods

Northpin

Northpin
Felix DiCestria said:
75? The last project I did was my L6 and Maverick taking both from G3 to G5 when the Revenants turned up. I don't think it required 75 MI but I did have quite a few in my inventory and Carrier.
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You need 10 MI to get from G3 to G4 and 15 to get from G4 to G5 - and i was nice enough to assume people went through the random Thursday shuffle to find their G3 pre-upgraded stuff. So only 25 MI for a single G3>G5 upgrade
1 suit and 2 weapons - there is goes. 75 MI.

So while i may have a number of mats stashed away - they may get burned really fast

My preferred source of MI is still running missions for allied factions and negotiating 10 MI for a mission (that hopefully i wont fail 😂 ) but i will take any kiosk mission that gives (only) 3 to 5 MI as well, plus the random satellite if it gets in my way.
Rest of my materials mostly come from power restore missions, using an increased backpack mav, taking everything that is not bolted on, then trading at the bar for the expensive stuff... but data still kills me.
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
I've come to the conclusion that the best way to get data for engineering is to simply take missions that give 5 of the data that you need. Personally I'm proactively collecting 20 of each data which doesn't burst my backpack and is more than enough to make any modifications that I might need.
 

Schmack

Schmack
Jack Winter said:
I've come to the conclusion that the best way to get data for engineering is to simply take missions that give 5 of the data that you need. Personally I'm proactively collecting 20 of each data which doesn't burst my backpack and is more than enough to make any modifications that I might need.
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How are you doing with the Weapon Test Data? I have only found one mission that offered 1 or 2.
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
Schmack said:
How are you doing with the Weapon Test Data? I have only found one mission that offered 1 or 2.
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I'm not sure to be honest. It seems like most of them can be gotten in lots of 5, even some that I thought might not. Though with some mats it can be really hard. I'll keep an eye out as I'm doing my alt right now. Found two missions for 5 medical records and two for 5 weapon inventory today. But basically I just take the best rewards, and every once in a while I move on. Different BGS and different systems seem to give different rewards. And if someone offers me 4 MIs for a quick assassination, I'm not likely to say no.. :D

If I won't find something in a 5 pack, I guess I'll have to take the lower reward ones, or hope to get lucky negotiating with one of the mission givers. But IME you can really find most of them in 5 packs, settlement assault plans is another that I'm not sure I've ever seen in a 5 pack.
 

Admiraldkong

Admiraldkong
WreckRoot said:
o7 cmdrs!

Over the years I've learned some methods to acquire the most annoying on-foot engineering components quickly. Some of them are copy-pastes from online guides, some are my own inventions.
Perhaps you'll find them useful.

I prefer efficient and dependable methods, by which I mean that they have a high chance of being available at any time, should allow for unlimited repeatability (within reason) and should not have any lingering, negative consequences on your reputation or criminal status. As such, I prefer methods that do not require killing NPCs, seeking specific settlement types in anarchy systems or abandoning missions. Instead I opt for quick repeatable routines, utilizing supercruise entry/exit or relogging to reset the source of the component.

All that is to say - I know you can abandon missions to get Power Regulators or force some Data components to spawn in settlements, and I know you can murder NPCs freely in anarchy systems. I just prefer not to use these methods :)

The methods:

If you're after Opinion Polls, here's how I farmed the last 5 I needed.

Details:
  • Location: HIP 69518 - Zeng Entertainment District
  • Farming type: planned and timed settlement run. No NPC interaction if done right. Reset through supercruise enter/drop.
  • Expected turnover: One run takes around 5 minutes and amounts to 5 HAB Data Ports scanned and a backpack full of assets of mixed variety. I farmed 5 Opinion Polls within an hour, although I think it could take somewhat longer if you're unlucky.
Every settlement has a unique, predetermined combination of layout (buildings, positioning of data ports, control panels and containers, access levels on doors etc.) and assortment of NPCs (types and access levels; names are random), their spawning positions and their routes. As soon as you approach a settlement during landing, NPCs will get spawned in their predetermined positions and start moving towards their regular routes (unless one becomes a mission provider that is). However, their starting positions are sometimes not on their route, meaning that their initial movement from their spawn position to their standard route may be "unique" and the situation in the first moments after landing may not repeat itself later, allowing for a unique window of opportunity.

Important:
  • This run makes use of the unique setup of this particular settlement, allowing you to freely loot buildings between NPC visits. Doing the run as is on video (including the amount of time you take to land and get out of your ship!) guarantees carefree looting; deviating from the plan incurs risk of getting caught by an NPC.
  • Landing minimally closer to the settlement buildings will place you in "Trespass Zone" and NPCs in the settlement can start acting erratically.
  • In the second visited building (the one next to the bar building), make sure to crouch while approaching the Data Port, as you can be seen through the window.
  • Supercruise drop tip: If you drop out of supercruise at >10km altitude, you will appear in normal space at that altitude. If you drop out of supercruise at <10km altitude, you will appear in normal space at 20km altitude, making the return to surface that much longer.
Link to video of me performing the run:
Source: https://youtu.be/gc_2qw5yOYQ

Manufacturing Instructions can be farmed in ridiculous amounts very quickly with the method below.

Details:
  • Location: Mission Target - "Fat Probe" . It is somewhat random (I think) what exact type of junk you encounter, but you need to keep looking for a big fat probe that looks like R2D2, as this one yields most Manufacturing Instructions. I found one from a mission "Salvage Memory Chip from Wreckage" at Threat 1
  • Farming type: download & reload game until happy. Low chance of scavenger combat, be prepared with an SRV nearby or have a good gun and polished Doom skillz. Reset through exit to main menu & reload.
  • Expected turnover: literal crapton of Manufacturing Instructions per hour. In the video below I get 6 within 5 minutes, but that was one of the least lucky series I've ever had. You are likely to get more than that.

View attachment 369794
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View attachment 369796

Important:
  • If you want to remain effective, do not cut the panels. Using the cutter will prevent you from exiting the game quickly, wasting time.
  • Make sure to NOT log out when standing on anything other than flat ground; as you get spawned after relog, you might get clipped inside the terrain, messing you up.
  • Do NOT take the mission objective item, or else the probe will not appear after reload!
Link to video of me performing the run:
Source: https://youtu.be/NTEm6HZQXW0

Below is the most convenient place I found to farm Ionised Gas and Tech Assets.

Details:
  • Location: BD-10 5142 - Bakshi Extraction
  • Farming type: buffet - walk in and take all you want, reset through supercruise enter/drop.
  • Convenience Level: Obnoxious - no guards on entry, no security personnel inside, nobody watching the most valuable lockers, NPCs frequently walk through the security level 2 doors, opening them for you. Just don't try to steal stuff in the short moments when the NPCs are looking at you, which is easy to avoid.
  • Expected turnover per ~5 minute run: ~1-2 cans of Ionised Gas, ~1-2 Weapon Components, ~2 Tungsten Carbides, ~10 other Tech Assets
Important:
  • Supercruise drop tip: If you drop out of supercruise at >10km altitude, you will appear in normal space at that altitude. If you drop out of supercruise at <10km altitude, you will appear in normal space at 20km altitude, making the return to surface that much longer.
Link to video of me performing the run:
Source: https://youtu.be/SN5_pCvsLDE

This is probably the most annoying of them all, but I haven't found a better method (except abandoning restoration missions, which is a trick I don't like).

Details:
  • Location: Mission Target - "Disabled Eagle" . It is somewhat random (I think) what exact type of crashed ship or SRV you encounter, but you need to keep looking until you find a landed Eagle like on the screenshot below. I found one from a mission "Retrieval: Grab the Ship Schematic from Crash Site" at Threat 3
  • Farming type: reload game until you find a non-degraded power regulator, grab it, rinse repeat until happy. Low chance of scavenger combat, be prepared to fight, which should be easily as you're sitting in an SRV already. Reset through exit to main menu & reload.
  • Expected turnover: ~1-2 Power Regulators per 5 minutes. It seems that a non-degraded Power Regulator appears once per ~10 checks.
View attachment 369802
View attachment 369804
View attachment 369803

Important:
  • It has to be the "Landed Eagle" type of crash site because:
    • it always has two Power Regulator compartments, unlike some other crashed ship variants that can sometimes have one compartment only.
    • it usually isn't placed in rough terrain, unlike the "crashed cobra" type of crash site, which can lead to one of the panels being in the ground and unavailable or completely missing. It's annoying to find a power regulator, only to discover you can't get to it because the panel is in a rock.
  • Sitting in the SRV allows you to see if the spawned power regulators are degraded or not and check which compartment the normal power regulator is in. It can't get any more convenient than this.
  • Do NOT take the mission objective item, or else the crash site will not appear after reload!
Link to video of me performing the run:
Source: https://youtu.be/jd_IeKVVUHk

Weapon Schematics can be farmed en-masse from Larceny Mission locations.

Details:
  • Location: Mission Target - "Larceny: Seize X from a Hidden Cache".
  • Farming type: grab & reload game until happy. Medium chance of scavenger combat, be prepared with an SRV nearby or have a good gun and polished Doom skillz. Reset through exit to main menu & reload.
  • Expected turnover: literal crapton of Weapon Schematics per hour.
Important:
  • Do NOT take the mission objective item, or else the containers will not appear after reload!
Link to video of me performing the run:
Source: https://youtu.be/O5KEMiAO9SA

There's a slightly more effective method to farm the weapon schematics where you lock yourself inside one of the containers, so you don't have to cut it open after relog.
See the guide by D2EA.

The reason why I don't use this trick is because I don't want to end up like these guys:

View attachment 369845View attachment 369846

(and yes, I had this happen to me, not fun)

Settlement Defense Plans can be farmed effectively from a specific Minor Wreckage POI that can spawn from certain (ship-based) recovery missions.

Details:
  • Location: Minor Wreckage POI of a specific layout (wrecked SRV and two skimmers, see screenshot below). Can be spawned from missions like "Wartime Surface Recovery of N Somethings".
  • Farming type: grab & reload game from main menu until happy.
  • Expected turnover: ~20 SDPs per hour, a lot of Manufacturing Instructions, Operational Manuals, Patrol Logs, Ballistics Datas and Surveillance Logs as well.
View attachment 369935
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Important:
  • This POI doesn't seem to spawn from "Liberate Bootleg Liquor" missions as some posts and videos from a long time ago seem to suggest. I tried ~10 such missions, no dice. The first one for Nerve Agents worked tho 🤷‍♂️
  • Two data ports are not guaranteed; sometimes one is missing, sometimes one is buried. If unlucky, try another mission.
  • Make sure you have some cargo space. I've seen these missions requesting up to 4 items, I think I saw up to 6 or 8 somewhere. If you don't have enough space, you won't even be able to take the mission.
Link to video of me performing the run:
Source: https://youtu.be/cxcHpbG2NPE
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Its not fast its Slow.
Snail slow
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
Schmack said:
How are you doing with the Weapon Test Data? I have only found one mission that offered 1 or 2.
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Look what I just found:
1699582720320.png
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
It was a bit funny, I sneaked into the building following an NPC. Once inside I found a lvl 3, cloned, then turned off the alarms and went to open the sample containment unit. While I waited a guard I'd missed came to scan me so I had to drop the access level. Then shortly before the process finished he came around again to scan me, and then hung around. Once the unit opened he came running to scan me again, and then went to close it. I followed behind and grabbed the sample, and then ran for it. No immediate reaction, but there were some shots coming my way as I boarded my APEX. :)
 

metatheurgist

metatheurgist
Yeah, if you can access the thing you can just leg it with those missions. But I don't like doing the illegal missions and many of the juicy rewards seem to come from those.
 

Northpin

Northpin
Jack Winter said:
It was a bit funny, I sneaked into the building following an NPC. Once inside I found a lvl 3, cloned, then turned off the alarms and went to open the sample containment unit. While I waited a guard I'd missed came to scan me so I had to drop the access level. Then shortly before the process finished he came around again to scan me, and then hung around. Once the unit opened he came running to scan me again, and then went to close it. I followed behind and grabbed the sample, and then ran for it. No immediate reaction, but there were some shots coming my way as I boarded my APEX. :)
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metatheurgist said:
Yeah, if you can access the thing you can just leg it with those missions. But I don't like doing the illegal missions and many of the juicy rewards seem to come from those.
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I always do those the same way.
Grab it and run away - the natives may vocalize and fire some shots in my general direction, but i mind my own business of running away to either my ship or the apex that is already waiting on pad for me, and off i go.
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
metatheurgist said:
Yeah, if you can access the thing you can just leg it with those missions. But I don't like doing the illegal missions and many of the juicy rewards seem to come from those.
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Yes many of them seem to be illegal missions but I pay it no attention what so ever. Normally I always avoid being scanned just for training so it doesn't much matter if I'm wanted somewhere. If I get locked out of a mission board I just move on to another system. Playing like this and avoiding wiping out entire lawful settlements I normally have 0-2 notoriety so every once in a while I pay off past bounties. Many times I base myself in an anarchy system and can even pay off the bounties directly after I cashed in the missions.
 

Rat Catcher

Rat Catcher
metatheurgist said:
But I don't like doing the illegal missions and many of the juicy rewards seem to come from those.
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We balance each other out - I have an aversion to legal missions... and non-violent ones...

ETA: But then, most of my visits to settlements don't have a mission attached, none survive...
 

Admiraldkong

Admiraldkong
Jack Winter said:
It was a bit funny, I sneaked into the building following an NPC. Once inside I found a lvl 3, cloned, then turned off the alarms and went to open the sample containment unit. While I waited a guard I'd missed came to scan me so I had to drop the access level. Then shortly before the process finished he came around again to scan me, and then hung around. Once the unit opened he came running to scan me again, and then went to close it. I followed behind and grabbed the sample, and then ran for it. No immediate reaction, but there were some shots coming my way as I boarded my APEX. :)
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R.I.P.
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
For me it's a bit counter intuitive to kill everyone when farming the mats, it takes too much time. The vast majority of my data comes from assassination missions, often I don't even bother with turning off the alarms. If I can take the shot (with a silenced) weapon, I order the exfiltration APEX and then do the kill. As long as no one sees me do it, then it's easy to get away.
 
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