Is Guardian tech still worth it?

BinakAlgo

BinakAlgo
As the title says, it doesn't cost too much time or resources to go for the Guardian data at the ruins and then exchange things with the tech broker but, is still worth it? Engineered stuff seems to be better at everything without maddening Targoids, Experimental weapons seem to be useful against them now, and new experimental weapons do a better job to get rid of Targoids. The only thing that seems to still be useful to me is the Guardian Frame Drive Booster. But then again, I am very ignorant of a whole lot of things.

So, do new players should still bother with getting Guardian tech?

Edit: It was Experimental weapons, not Guardian weapons.
 
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Kira Goto

Kira Goto
I’d argue most of the internal Guardian tech modules are… not really worth it, if you have the materials and engineers(or time) available to get the ship’s modules engineered.

FSD booster is an exception of course. Possibly the module reinforcement if you want a small gain over the default non-engineerable, but don’t like them anymore due to their power draw for standard PvE builds, and Thargoids… well, all it takes is a Glaive to ruin your module protection.

The weapons though, different story. You want to fight a Medusa or Hydra more feasibly without backup, you’ll likely need Guardian stuff.
 

Schmack

Schmack
Never done a single Guardian thing other than visit the sites. I've done just fine. Unless you're dead set on being a bug killer, I'd say you'll probably spend more time with the Guardian tech upgrading than you spend killing the bugs.
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
I would say it depends where in your pilot's career you are and how much enjoyment you get from the guardian gameplay. Apart from the weaponry I have unlocked all of the guardian modules pretty early in my career (I think; I unlocked the booster, PD, PP, MRP, HRP and shield reinforcement - that should be all modules -, and much much later I unlocked one of the fighters because I was curious) and found some of it somewhat helpful for different reasons. The FSD booster is totally worth it, more so if you have a low base range or limited engineering capabilities. The HRPs can be a decent substitute for G3ish normal HRPs, even if you don't do AX. The PD was totally useless to me, but I've used quite a few PPs and shield reinforcements early in my career when I needed just a bit more juice temporarily or couldn't be bothered with engineering. The MRPs do have a higher integrity, which might be worth something, but the power draw of the 5D is quite substantial and might not be worth it.

Apart from the booster, all modules are rendered useless once you have full engineering access and a good stock of materials, though. So, if you're late(r) in your career, I'd say don't bother except the booster. If you're early in your career and don't have a lot of engineering available, I'd say the shield reinforcement and HRP can be worth it.
 

Brrokk

Brrokk
Kira Goto said:
I’d argue most of the internal Guardian tech modules are… not really worth it, if you have the materials and engineers(or time) available to get the ship’s modules engineered.

FSD booster is an exception of course. Possibly the module reinforcement if you want a small gain over the default non-engineerable, but don’t like them anymore due to their power draw for standard PvE builds, and Thargoids… well, all it takes is a Glaive to ruin your module protection.

The weapons though, different story. You want to fight a Medusa or Hydra more feasibly without backup, you’ll likely need Guardian stuff.
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Definitely the FSD booster.

The shield booster is also good, (not just for use against Thargoids).

A Guardian hull reinforcement is less strong than a conventional engineered one but gives caustic resistance. I use mostly engineered ones, but one or two small Guardian ones because the caustic resistance applies to the total hull strength.

Some say Guardian module reinforcements are better than standard ones against caustic damage. They consume power though and I've never really been aware of a significant difference.

For fighting Thargoids the modified shards from Bright Sentinel are better than the Guardian ones. With those, modified gimballed AX multicannons best complete a loadout. So these days I don't think you need any of the vanilla Guardian weapons.

AFAIK Guardian fighters aren't very useful, but I haven't really used them much; any experts feel free to disagree.

So I think you're right. Just pick a few of the most useful Guardian modules, then the "Guardian grind" isn't a grind at all.
 

Shurimal

Shurimal
The FSD booster, module and shield reinforcements are very useful no matter at which point in your career you are. Class 1 and 2 gauss cannons are also nice to have. I would definitely get these unlocked.

The shield reinforcements are particularily interesting. On paper the small raw strength addition isn't impressive compared to a heavy duty shield booster, but consider two scenarios:
-Imperial Clipper and other ships with weak base shield strength. HD shield booster multiplies the shield strength, guardian shield booster adds a flat bonus which works out better since 1+1>1*1.5.
-High resistance builds. That 200MJ with high resistances effectively becomes 500 MJ giving very favourable results for biweave resistance builds.
They're also a decent choice to add into the otherwise useless military slots of shielded trade ships.

FSD boosters have one niche use case: getting better fuel economy while still allowing fast travel with few jumps. A class 2 booster can save you around 30% fuel per same distance jump with a class 5 frame shift drive. Very useful for doing evacs from alert systems without wasting passenger seats for fuel scoops or extra tanks or setting up pit stops. You simply turn off the FSD booster before plotting the route, then turn it back on, and that's it, now you can easily make that 250 ly trip to Bertschinger and have more than enough reserve for hyperdictions.

It works because fuel consumption per jump seems to increase exponentially with jump distance and the route plotter is quite dumb, plotting eg six 40 ly and one 10 ly jump with the total fuel needed just above 30 tons instead of seven 37.7 ly jumps with something like 20...25 tons of fuel usage (all numbers assuming class 5 FSD). Plotting the route with FSD booster off effectively evens out the jump distances.
 

Hellrider

H
fsd booster is unique
shield boosters provide flat amount of raw hp, would say, that it is niche, but definetely can be usefull
guardian module reincorcement is straight better than regular, if you have enough power, no discussion
guardian hull, as size 1 filler for some caustic resistance can be usefull too
Weapons are actually required, if you want to do more AX than cyclops and scouts
so actually only 2 modules are worthless- distributor and plant.
Far to "all", or even "most".
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
My take is that they are supposed to give nice buffs to the people that don't want to engineer. Unlock the guardian stuff, and then buy better than stock modules.

Some of the stuff is useful even if you engineer your ships.
 

Navigare Necesse Est

Navigare Necesse Est
I just can't be bothered with the equipment and farming bonanza. What I heard is that current thargoid stuff nullifies guardian tech so you're better off not wasting any time on it. If you want to fight thargoid, that is.
 

Navigare Necesse Est

Navigare Necesse Est
Shurimal said:
Only in very specific conditions—in HIP 22460, in Maelstrom systems or in the presence of a Glaive/Orthrus in non-Maelstrom systems.
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Engineering is the new normal. Vanilla equipement turns quite useless. Specific conditions can become new normal too. You can't trust the devs to not screw you over.
 

Jack Winter

Jack Winter
Navigare Necesse Est said:
Engineering is the new normal. Vanilla equipement turns quite useless. Specific conditions can become new normal too. You can't trust the devs to not screw you over.
Click to expand...
I'm delighted to hear that you haven't changed your position on playing this game. It's good to know that somethings never change.. :)

But for those that do want to play and don't want to chase all the engineering mats and unlocks, the guardian stuff does offer a relatively easy way to get better than standard nonengineered gear.
 

Shurimal

Shurimal
Navigare Necesse Est said:
Engineering is the new normal. Vanilla equipement turns quite useless. Specific conditions can become new normal too. You can't trust the devs to not screw you over.
Click to expand...
Can't engineer human AX weapons and they are not that effective against Medusas or Hydras. Guardian weapons rule for high level AX combat.

The only other guardian module one would use in AX situation is the MRP and possibly HRP-s in very special conditions (my maelstrom-diving FAS has them and they don't melt in the Guardian Tech Degradator Field™). Guardian power plant, distro have always been subpar in AX context and no-one needs the FSD booster on an AX ship.

On the other hand, for non-AX PvE guardian modules like the FSD booster, shield and module reinforcements are very useful and will probably never see the Degradator Field.
 

Navigare Necesse Est

Navigare Necesse Est
Shurimal said:
Can't engineer human AX weapons and they are not that effective against Medusas or Hydras. Guardian weapons rule for high level AX combat.

The only other guardian module one would use in AX situation is the MRP and possibly HRP-s in very special conditions (my maelstrom-diving FAS has them and they don't melt in the Guardian Tech Degradator Field™). Guardian power plant, distro have always been subpar in AX context and no-one needs the FSD booster on an AX ship.

On the other hand, for non-AX PvE guardian modules like the FSD booster, shield and module reinforcements are very useful and will probably never see the Degradator Field.
Click to expand...
For now. Tomorrow you might have degradator everywhere. You could make a point by taken ED's age into consideration and that the current status quo might survive to the end, but I wouldn't place my spare time on such a wager.
 

Dillon Fallon

Dillon Fallon
I'd say the class 2 Gauss, module reinforcement and FSD booster if you were looking for the least amount of unlocks for the most noticeable benefit.

The shield booster can be interesting, especially on smaller ships and can open up a few more build possibilities- even on some mediums (I've known people build shield tank Kraits which have near FdL levels of shield strength).
 
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