Newcomer / Intro FSD Engineering - 101

So, when I get to Felicity or Elvira to talk about my frame shift drive over a nice cup of tea I'll need 3 things to get the ball rolling right assuming I already have the unlock requirements of either Meta Alloys or Soontill Relics right? Arsenic, Chemical Manipulators and Datamined Wake Exceptions... one unit of each. When I look at the blueprint crafting list it shows 7 rolls for grade 5 so does that mean I'll need 7 units of each material to get to grade 5? Also, if I add an experimental effect (looking at the stripped down one) a grade 5 adds 30% mass but the stripped down effect reduces 10% mass so that means I'll have an increase of 20% mass on the ship? Last thing, since I'll most likely be there in my Cobra and it has a 4A FSD and I pin the blueprint I can use that on my Sidewinder with a 2A FSD and does the experimental go with it? I know, questions and questions but like the tv commercial says: Curious minds want to know... I'll probably need to do something with the power plant as well since that power draw increase will likely push me over the limit of being operational with the modules I have installed. Thanks in advance for any help that can be offered here because if I can get this sorted out it will apply to every other engineering task I might want to tackle.
 
Yeah you need enough resources for each of the grades from 1 to 5 of the modification. So it is definitely not one of each. It takes at least 7 rolls at grade 5 but the lower grades take less. The higher your level of access with the engineer, the less is needed for each of the lower grades, it seems that way to me anyway. (Your level of access goes up with each roll of any modification.)

Use the engineering guide on INARA or similar to map out what stuff you need to get hold of then roll around Davs Hope for manufactured, Jameson's Cobra for Encoded (and trade this), similar with raw mats - use a crashed 'conda if you are short of raw stuff.

Yes once you pin a "recipe" you can use that on any other module of that type, no matter the size or grade. You can only apply "experimental effects" at an Engineer's base though. (You can do that retrospectively - say after you have maxed-out a G5 FSD, you can apply an experimental to that at Elvira or Flic - if you have unlocked that one of course. - Yes you can apply an experimental at Elvira for example even if you pinned the recipe or did the mod at Flic.)
 
Last edited:
A quick addition, your access with an engineer only increases when engineering modules at their base. It doesn't change when doing it remotely with a pinned blueprint, so try and get them to level 5 before doing any remote engineering.
 
Do the special effect on the first roll and pin the blueprint right away.
That only requires one roll itself.
You should do that for any engineering.
You may need 10-11 rolls at G5 so plan accordingly.
G1 is only 1 roll and it scales up from there.


For increased range FSD: The special should be deep charge for c4 and below, and mass manager for c5 and above.
That said, deep charge increases fuel consumption, so on some outlier builds this can mean the difference between say 2 and 3 jumps per tank.
If efficiency is your focus stick with mass manager, but it will hurt your max jump range slightly in the smaller classes.

Thrusters, use dirty drives with the drag drives special.
The only real exceptions are:
A) You are using Enhanced Performance Thrusters and your ship mass is too high for them.
B) You want to use undersized thrusters on something like an exploration build.
In those cases use dirty/dive distributors.
Heat production generally only matters if you have a really inefficient powerplant(read: G4-5 OC typically).
Clean drives, ironically, require more power so that makes using an inefficient PP more likely.

That out of the way, you can use the sheets on here to help you organize your material search:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/405498-Material-Trader-Helper

I saved the hierarchy images from that thread so I can use EDDB more effectively.

Hunting the highest level mats and trading down is the way to go.
Eg don't look for a planet with only sulphur, look for ruthenium and cadmium too, and trade those down.

Also, use resources like Dav's Hope, and the various crashed Anacondas.
The Bug Killer is one of the best.
You get high level raw mats and data, so fill your boots!
https://canonn.science/codex/bug-killer-crashed-anaconda/
 
Oh don't get me started on the arsenic thing again, please! I roamed for hours (well, 2) and ended up trading for the stuff instead of finding it on blown up rocks. Common grade? /weeps tears of frustration.

I'm probably looking in the wtong places. Don't mind me -it's just a "thing" have :D
 
Oh don't get me started on the arsenic thing again, please! I roamed for hours (well, 2) and ended up trading for the stuff instead of finding it on blown up rocks. Common grade? /weeps tears of frustration.

I'm probably looking in the wtong places. Don't mind me -it's just a "thing" have :D


Hahaha, it's not just you, for the record...

Distance/speed increases how many rocks spawn so flying the SRV helps a lot.
 
Oh don't get me started on the arsenic thing again, please! I roamed for hours (well, 2) and ended up trading for the stuff instead of finding it on blown up rocks. Common grade? /weeps tears of frustration.

I'm probably looking in the wtong places. Don't mind me -it's just a "thing" have :D

Yeah, I had a thread going about Arsenic's disparity in supposed surface preponderance on planets and what was actually found.

My conclusion was that the percentages are window-dressing for the lower figures, the element is going to turn up (or not) by RNG no matter what the figure is, as long as there is a figure. So that figure just indicates that it might appear, not the chances of it appearing.

One point - for Arsenic trade down from Polonium and you can fill up completely with that by zapping stuff around Davs Hope - I have found so much there that I leave great piles of it lying about the place.
 
Yeah, I had a thread going about Arsenic's disparity in supposed surface preponderance on planets and what was actually found.

My conclusion was that the percentages are window-dressing for the lower figures, the element is going to turn up (or not) by RNG no matter what the figure is, as long as there is a figure. So that figure just indicates that it might appear, not the chances of it appearing.

One point - for Arsenic trade down from Polonium and you can fill up completely with that by zapping stuff around Davs Hope - I have found so much there that I leave great piles of it lying about the place.



It seems a confound to "rarity" is how many mats of that rarity tier are supposed to be present.

Eg it's more difficult to find the G1 mat you want if there are many other G1 mats to dilute the "common" spawn.
Same seems to hold true for all the mats.
So if I'm looking for technetium, I don't want to see any antimony, ruthenium etc on the planet.
Especially since I can get those at the Anacondas!

That seems to make a big difference in my very biased and myopic opinion.
 
I think this is right but I maybe being too paranoid.

Don't pin a blueprint at an engineer who can't do the G5 version, as the pinned blueprint will only go to their limit.
 
I think this is right but I maybe being too paranoid.

Don't pin a blueprint at an engineer who can't do the G5 version, as the pinned blueprint will only go to their limit.


Yes but it can still help to finish it off remotely.
You can only pin one per engineer and you can even unpin from the UI panel iirc.

It won't interfere with pinning another blueprint or adding to it once you unlock a higher engineer.
 
Ok, I will use this thread to ask my question, because it is related to FSD engineering:

So I made my way to Farseer Inc. and donated that meta-alloy. Now I have 3 choices for upgrading my FSD - the most appealing to me is "shielded FSD" . cost for G1 is 1 nickel. Do I have to pin a blueprint or is it enough, if I bring the material and upgrade it with it. I mean I can easily memorize what I need, I don't need a reminder in form of a pinned blueprint.

@Tyres: Fyi and because you wanted to know: I used the direct 18 jump fastest route directly from Darnielle's Progress to Farseer Inc. - had no interference by anyone on this route and refueled with a 4C fuel scoop, otherwise I would eventually have had to take another route.
 
Ok, I will use this thread to ask my question, because it is related to FSD engineering:

So I made my way to Farseer Inc. and donated that meta-alloy. Now I have 3 choices for upgrading my FSD - the most appealing to me is "shielded FSD" . cost for G1 is 1 nickel. Do I have to pin a blueprint or is it enough, if I bring the material and upgrade it with it. I mean I can easily memorize what I need, I don't need a reminder in form of a pinned blueprint.

@Tyres: Fyi and because you wanted to know: I used the direct 18 jump fastest route directly from Darnielle's Progress to Farseer Inc. - had no interference by anyone on this route and refueled with a 4C fuel scoop, otherwise I would eventually have had to take another route.

We only pin blueprints so that they can be worked on remotely.

I wouldn't recommend the shielded or fast boot schemes mainly because I don't think their strengths outweigh the five times greater range increase that the increased range scheme provides. But if you are happy go for it.
 
We only pin blueprints so that they can be worked on remotely.

I wouldn't recommend the shielded or fast boot schemes mainly because I don't think their strengths outweigh the five times greater range increase that the increased range scheme provides. But if you are happy go for it.

Ok, with this another question comes to mind - I was of the opinion that I can use different "traits" on different FSD. Now I'm in doubt if this holds true. If I have to put the same traits on any FSD, then I would go for range - but if I have a choice with every FSD I want to upgrade, then I will vary traits. So what is it?
 
Well, let me describe what my idea with this shielded FSD is. It has 3 advantages: produces less heat, boots up faster and has a slight range increase. IMO this is good for a stealthy ship, which operates in the grey area - like transporting criminals - less heat signature is stealth basically, boost up faster is a chance to escape in case the attempt failed and a bit more range is included as well. And if a decent stealthiness could be achieved without to run in silent mode or to run in silent mode for a longer time, due to less heat produced, then this upgrade has value for me. But I would just go for it, if I can have both on different FSDs - one for stealth, another one for range and so on.
 
I agree with getting the long range one first.
It will save you so much time.
Use shielded for combat vessels.

Also, bring enough mats to go to G4 at Farseer's.
If you do the rest remotely you won't unlock Juri Ishmaak.
Use Dav's Hope and the Crashed Anacondas for mats.

For a DBX you should get increased range + mass manager.
Do the special effect after the first roll.

You can also go to G3 dirty/drag drives which are highly recommended.

If you want a stealthy ship there are a lot of other things to consider but you can just use heat sinks and not worry about it instead.
 
I agree with getting the long range one first.
It will save you so much time.
Use shielded for combat vessels.

Also, bring enough mats to go to G4 at Farseer's.
If you do the rest remotely you won't unlock Juri Ishmaak.
Use Dav's Hope and the Crashed Anacondas for mats.

For a DBX you should get increased range + mass manager.
Do the special effect after the first roll.

You can also go to G3 dirty/drag drives which are highly recommended.

If you want a stealthy ship there are a lot of other things to consider but you can just use heat sinks and not worry about it instead.

so if I understand that right, I can get a blueprint for each of those 3 choices - but I can't mix and match, like 2 parts shielded, 3 parts range on the same FSD - is that correct?
 
It's one blueprint per engineer.

Edit: to clarify you can't, for example have Felicity's FSD and scanner blueprints. It is one or the other. Likewise, long range FSD and faster boot FSD.
 
Last edited:
..............


Covering your various points - firstly SHIELDED - these mods shield your module to increase its integrity, not to shield them from view.

You can only apply one modification to a module (at various grades) and that modification can have one (and only one) experimental effect applied with it.

You "pin" a modification so as to be able to modify other modules in the "remote workshop" facility of a station - you can not have experimental effects applied remotely (you can retrospectively add them to a modified module at an applicable engineer's workshop later).

You do not need to pin a "recipe" to do that modification while you are at the engineer's workshop - pinning is only so that you can apply modifications remotely.

(I covered some of this, including my preference of what to pin in post #2 of this thread.)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom