Tips or advice for a fresh explorer?

[DocShady]

I'm relatively new to the game but not a complete noob. I've been playing this game for a few weeks now and have learned a lot, though there is so much to learn yet. Shortly after I started, the life of an explorer caught my eye. It really appealed to me. Today, a few friends took me on my first excursion. It was relatively short. About 3000-4000 LY round trip but I visited the largest and second largest stars in the galaxy, got some amazing screen shots, and it only served to push me more to explore.

Hence the purpose of this thread. I was hoping some of the more seasoned explorers might be able to offer me some advice that might keep me alive and chugging along out there. My plan is Sag A and if I feel comfortable about it (and my ship is still in relatively good shape by that time), I will move onto Beagle Point. This is likely to be a solo trip as none of my Wing is ready to go out at the moment.

http://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/...===.IwBhrSumQJjrIA==?bn=Exploraconda-DocShady

This is my ship, feel free to offer up any advice about outfitting. Im personally concerned by a few things here:

1) The fuel seems high when compared to some builds I've seen. 128T obviously hits the bottom end of the jump distance but its unlikely that I'd run out of fuel out there. I'm sacrificing jump distance for endurance. 16 jumps per tank would serve me well out there is I run into a string of brown dwarfs.

2) The AFMU is the top end version, but is the top end needed here? What exactly can the AFMU repair and not repair? I may be wrong but I thought it can't repair the power plant or hull. Correct me here if thats inaccurate The AFMU also uses ammo to repair systems. Do I need a cargo hold for said ammo? As you can see by the above build, I have 0 Cargo space. Will this be a problem?

3) Is 2 Heat Sinks enough?

4) I only have a single SRV equipped. Should I run with a double bay so that I can take 2? Is one or 2 going to be enough.

Anything you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[osser]

no extra fuel tanks needed. put on 1 cargo and you are good to go.
take 2 AMFU's they can heal each other. But no they will not heal PP or hull. they weigh 0 so it's a no brainer if you have the spots.
2 heat sinks is ok IMO. (I've been out for 5 months and I went with 2 -- used 2 shots so far; so 4 shots left) maybe just take 1
SRV's I have no opinion on. (I've been out before SRV's were in the game)

 

[Satsuma]

Heya, DocShady!

Sounds like you're setting yourself up for a nice trip! I'll warn you that Beagle Point is a long journey, so if you've not used this loadout before, you might want to take another short trip as a shakedown.

In general your loadout looks decent. There are a couple of things I'd change, personally:

http://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/...JA=.IwBhrSumQJjrIA==?bn=Exploraconda-DocShady

Part of this is just a rearrangement, to get the small components down in the small slots. Mostly just my OCD, but it sets you up to more easily refit with cargo racks, etc.

• I've consolidated the hangar bays into 1 larger one. You can carry the same number of SRVs, but you save 3 tons. If you can get by with fewer (I took 2 to Beagle point, and didn't lose either of them), you'll save even more mass.
• I've dropped most of the extra fuel. The built-in tanks are plenty, but some Anaconda explorers like a little extra, so I've added an 8 ton extra tank. You won't need more than that, if you take any care at all with your travel.
• I played some games with power management. You don't need to power your AFMU - when you want to repair, you can simply offline your thrusters to make enough power to activate your AFMU. Likewise, you don't need to power your hangar bay. This gives you enough of a power savings to go from a 5A to a 4A power plant, saving another 2.5 tons.
• Your power distributer is big enough to let you boost. I think this is smart, especially with small thrusters. I changed it out to a smaller A-rated one. It still lets you boost, and save 12 tons.

All together, these changes give your ship a lot more legs (36.13 ly vs 30.79 ly on a full tank) without any real cost difference.

Lastly: You mentioned wanting to go with your wing, but that they weren't ready. You might want to sign up with the FGE's Sagittarius-Carina mission. There are a couple of routes you could take, and they all go to Beagle Point. You'd get a little companionship, and possibly end up meeting other explorers out in the dark. I used to explore by myself, and I have to say I really love having a group of explorers to talk to, and the occasional deep space meetup is really nice.

In any case, welcome to the fun part of the game!

 

[gooddoc]

Each Explorer has their own views of what & what not to include in the loadout of their ships for Exploration.

Do you buckyball across the galaxy or are you a scan everything Explorer.

Im on my way back from Beagle Point, about 30k LYs from the bubble, in my 29.16LY jump range Asp.

Having the longest jump range only matters, in my opinion, if you are going to the outer edges of the galaxy. Beagle point can be done in ships with sub 30LYs range. The shorter the range the more jumps you have to make, but as you're out exploring, the more systems you visit. You just need plenty of jump mats.

I don't worry about my loadouts but generally

I don't carry heatsinks
I do carry weapons.....& shields - just in case.
I prefer 2 AMFU's - but managed to get by on 1 for the BP trip
I prefer 2 SRVs - because of the exploding bug - but again managed with 1
Best Fuel Scoop I can afford - for quick scoop times.

& that's it really. My Asp is nearly all A rated & has served me well.

What I did last year was to head to Sag A* & back. This gives you an indication of how you handle weeks on end in deep space, jump, honk, scan, jump, honk, scan.....
Although now with Horizon's you can break this up with some landings.
Always give yourself a good start by getting topped up with mats b4 you go...just in case.

Don't worry about the unscoopable zones. My method is to keep topped up with fuel every time I can. Then if I hit a few unscoopables I'm not panicking, but b4 my tank goes below 50%, I'm looking at the Galaxy Map to make sure I'm not going to empty my tanks & if I need to re-route to a scoopable, then it's done b4 my tank runs dry.

Just go out & enjoy what's out there! Exploration is what YOU want to make from it.

 

[Kitty]

If you take a peek at my Explorers Diary, the first few posts to be specific, it may give you an insight as to how I have gone about preparing for my current trip. The link to my blog is in my signature.

Kitty

 

[JaySity]

advice... spend to much money on your fuel scoop you def want a A class fuel scoop it will save you so much time on your travels.. you dont want to get bored or feel like your sun tanning your ship. trust me it will be your savior.

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be sure to be very careful while fuel scooping.... ive had way to many trips cut short because ive gotten to close to stars and my fds gave out on me.

 

[[VR] optimal_909]

Playing since weeks only, and already building an Anaconda? That is impressive!

You won't have any trouble with exploration - unless you don't enjoy it.

 

[Pilot Mark]

Hi
1) Fuel: Depending on the ship I even contemplated fitting a smaller tank, but it is nice to have backup. I find that having enough for 4 jumps is fine. Brown dwarfs can be found in high concentrations at certain 'altitudes' on the galactic plane, if you find yourself running into them just increase/decrease 'height'.
2) AFMU, a wise choice of hardware, particularily as they weigh nothing. I have four, but 2 is sufficient (one can repair the other). Your limitation will be hull and power plant as neither can be repaired, but modules can play up and become unreliable before they reach 0% so these will keep this in check. I don't necessarily fit the biggest ones, because they are also power hungry. You can refill them if you have an SRV and collect materials.
3) I did start a poll some time ago, can't find the link but the consensus seemed to be 2x SRV. Actually I went all the way to Beagle Point and back only using one, and it was still ok, so I subsequently dropped the 2nd SRV and now just carry one. It's fine, but just don't take unnecessary risks. If on the other hand you like rally driving around a planet to blow off steam while out exploring, a 2nd SRV would be wise.
Things you didn't mention:
Heatsinks, I (like you) contemplated this on several trips, my first I took 4 and didn't use any of them. Nowadays I don't bother. There are only a few circumstances in which they may be useful, it really goes down to your personal preference. I guess taking one is ok but any more you would really have to be unlucky.
Shields - essential if you want to land on planets (yes I know you can do without, but even perfect landings impact your hull - for a long trip you would be wise to take them)
Boost - some people say that having the ability to boost is useful, it depends what you are flying but for exploration this is unnecessary. It is possible to land on very high gravity planets without having to beef up boosters & power plant, so personally I go for lightness and skip such extravagances.
Weapons - I don't carry any, personal choice
Fuel Scoop - take the biggest you can afford, you will use this the most. It is definitely worth spending the extra for an A rated.
Most of all, enjoy - take it at your own pace to avoid burnout.
And finally... when you get back, look out for my 'automatic selling of data' mouse macro which eases the burden of sitting through hours of selling your exploration data.

 

[goemon]

hey,

- much to much extra fuel; i run 36T on my explonda (standard 32 + 4) for 4,5 jumps - that is very comfortable.
- if you plan on landing, think about a bigger shield - or at least test your build at some high-g planets in the bubble. i have a 5D shield on mine - because i'm not very good at landing. other will take a 4D or 3D like you
- if you plan to have 4 srv, take a class 6 planetary hangar = less weight. but i personally think 2 are enough.
- put a docking computer. it doesn't have weight and after weeks out docking an anaconda with weak thrusters is really hard.
- i have a 1D collector limpet fitted, in case i find something out there. more for RP.
- for the same reason: cargo racks.
- and, if you have some spare money, a 7B or 7A fuelscoop IS worth it. after your trip you can sell it without loss; in the black you don't need that money for anything else.

enjoy and fly safe! for reference my comfy build: http://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/...BjIZgRnWwJmlCFjBmFazCA?bn=Ms Bloom Horizons 3

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

There's no such thing as a fresh explorer.

 

[Whiterose]

Ask an explorer for the best ship build and we will still be arguing a century later. Take what you want, you will soon learn what you need and don't need according to your flying style and exploration style.
Don't take any soap, because in space no-one can smell you.
When you get back, acclimatise yourself by only speaking to one person for 5 minutes every other day, and remember to put some clothes on.

 

[marx]

To the OP: you don't need extra space for AFMU ammo, they come with the modules. Also, I'd recommend taking some cargo racks with, not just to scoop up anything you might find, but also to be able to adjust the route planning slider on the galaxy map. It might help with plotting if you're in the core.
Personally, I use 24T fuel and 1 SRV on my Anaconda. If I am a bit careful, neither are a problem - I've yet to lose an SRV or run out of fuel. In my opinion, fuel for three jumps is enough: if you encounter an unscoopable star, check the next one in your route. But then, I often go to the edges (where stars are sparse) to explore. Elsewhere, having a higher jump range is nice, but not a necessity.

 

[newman1702]

26T of fuel on an Anaconda, reached Beagle Point, crossed the abyss twice - second time punching my own corridor more to the west where the abyss is a lot wider, and am now happily slowly exploring my way home without ever having a fuel problem. For general exploration (fuel ratting excepted) you.do.not.need.additional.fuel. The main advantage of the Anaconda is her long jump range (plus more internals than you know what to do with). If you take so much fuel as to drop your jump range more into the Asp range, you may as well take the Asp then and have superior maneuverability in supercruise. An exploration 'conda below 35ly range makes no sense to me at all. Maybe one day when we'll be doing long range combat missions against Thargoids, sure, but as things are now, a 30ly conda is a less effective and a lot more expensive exploration vessel compared to the Asp Explorer. I've written a more in-depth guide on this some time ago, it's still current (engineers might change that when that update comes out) so if you want, you can check that out - link's in my sig

 

[DocShady]

Playing since weeks only, and already building an Anaconda? That is impressive!

You won't have any trouble with exploration - unless you don't enjoy it.

haha Call me lucky I guess. I stumbled onto the Robigo run early on. Between the fact that Robigo mines companies were practically throwing wads of credits at me to deliver their "goods" and that I'm stupid enough to take 12 missions worth 40 million credits at a time actually played out very for me in the end. I'm just lucky that my ASP explorer is faster then my common sense lol

I just wanted to extend a humble thank you to you guys for the tips and advice. Everything you guys have offered me has been a great help. [up]

 

[xdemetrios]

We'll talk later doc about different theories as far as deep exploration. It really comes down to what your comfortable with. Anything can reach Sag A but larger jump ranges mean less jumps and a quicker turn around to getting there, and you'll be less likely to be burned out as quickly. If you truly want to go to beagle point I recommend a ship that has at least a jump range of 35LY and more is always better, some of the jumps at the end require 34+ LY. If you're that determined I would pre-mine for FSD injection items and I can give you locations to do that later when I'm not at work. The Anaconda I brought out with me yesterday had a jump range of 38LY and is definitely a very viable option for exploring. Just don't disable flight assist on high G planets like I did or you explode lol whoops. And just to put in into perspective a 30LY vs 38LY can be a difference of over 500 jumps when going 65k LYs. Minimum jump time is roughly 45 seconds if you just use your advanced discovery scanner and not stop to scan anything additional. That's an extension of 6.25 hours of flying time to achieve the same distance.

 

[Anuranium]

Welcome to the ranks of nice and friendly explorers!

As you might have seen in this thread already: There are as many explorer builds and thoughts on what exploration is as there are explorers.

Now my 2 cents on the matter:
As long as you have scanners and a fuel scoop you are all set, beyond that it boils down to personal preference. Just remember pictures... lots and lots of pictures

 

[Scal]

Honestly, I wouldn't take an anaconda. They are really really good at certain things like buckyball racing, jumping further beyond the rim than any other, carrying fuel limpets or even weaponry. But fir general exploring, scanning, jumping, they are inferior to the asp or even the DBX. They turn so slowly in supercruise, I sometimes don't scan things because too much effort to turn round. I regret my choice of ships for DWE, and honestly can't wait to switch out for something smaller!

 

[newman1702]

Could not disagree more. Honestly, supercruise performance isn't that bad, especially if you actually throttle down to minimum blue values while turning. People exaggerate about the conda's supercruise maneuverability so much I sometimes think we're not flying the same ship, or everyone is suffering from a severe patience deficit. It's not like the planets are trying to stay on your six.. I get that some are bothered by slower turning, and they prefer an Asp X due to that, but to suggest the DBX with it's lack of internals count and size is anywhere in the same boat or even superior is *extremely* misleading. I find that when scanning a system with an Anaconda, it takes some time to learn how to plan your approach, but once you get used to being aware where your next target is in relation to the current one and planning your approach angles appropriately, the scan times for the entire system don't really have to be all that different to doing it in an Asp.

I suppose it's a matter of preference and getting used to when it comes to Asp or Anaconda, but saying the DBX is superior to either of those is just taking it way, way too far.

 

[goemon]

Honestly...

Honestly...

Honestly, the best explorer vessel is one you love and you have fun to fly for an extended period.

 

[Scal]

Goemon has it right - make a test run and decide from there

Newman, I would trade in my hotas for a chance to swap my Conda for a lightweight DBX right now, 40k from sol. Great view, fun on planets, nice turn rate.. I loved that little ship!