Done the grind, got the "T-shirt" (FSD Booster)

[Grinnygog]

Finally, after much grinding I've unlocked the Guardian FSD Booster! The first time I tried I ended up running out of ammunition and (more embarrassingly) power in my scarab. Second attempt I went with two hangars, each with a scarab. This enabled me to getting everything I needed... almost, just had to do a third run to get enough Guardian Technology Components. What a royal pain in the butt it was trying to find a landing spot on HD 63154, then the same pain when recalling the ship and trying to board it. Found a relatively close station for outfitting and repairs at "The Prospect" in Synuefe EN-H D11-96, about 10 or so jumps away from HD 63154. Managed to get a second Guardian Module Blueprint Fragment, so if I want to unlock some other Guardian technology it won't be so much of a grind next time. All worth it in the end, as you can see and exploration should be a bit easier/faster:-

 

[Speedcuffs]

Finally, after much grinding I've unlocked the Guardian FSD Booster! The first time I tried I ended up running out of ammunition and (more embarrassingly) power in my scarab. Second attempt I went with two hangars, each with a scarab. This enabled me to getting everything I needed... almost, just had to do a third run to get enough Guardian Technology Components. What a royal pain in the butt it was trying to find a landing spot on HD 63154, then the same pain when recalling the ship and trying to board it. Found a relatively close station for outfitting and repairs at "The Prospect" in Synuefe EN-H D11-96, about 10 or so jumps away from HD 63154. Managed to get a second Guardian Module Blueprint Fragment, so if I want to unlock some other Guardian technology it won't be so much of a grind next time. All worth it in the end, as you can see and exploration should be a bit easier/faster:-

Nice ship!

 

[GeoJase]

I find it easier to leave your ship parked right next to the ruins so the point defence system can shoot down the sentinel missiles

 

[Zieman]

Lol, what grind? Nice, simple mission to get a useful module.

 

[GeoJase]

Lol, what grind? Nice, simple mission to get a useful module.

Yeah I think the booster is one of the less grindy things you can get in game. At least it's not a 4 week wait like power play modules..

 

[Grinnygog]

Lol, what grind? Nice, simple mission to get a useful module.

I suppose, when you think about it it's not that much of a grind. I think it was more to do with getting frustrated with trying to find a landing site close enough to the ruins and then to get back in my ship after recalling it. Running out of ammunition and power too in the SRV.

Yeah I think the booster is one of the less grindy things you can get in game. At least it's not a 4 week wait like power play modules..

That is a grind.

Nice! Still something that lies ahead of me. I just wonder why your ship can't jump further. The only difference I can see from this screen is your 3A shield, I'm using a weaker 3C. Your shield strength of 128.2 against mine of 83.2 looks like a big difference, but at such low levels it's more of an academic value. We both won't survive a fight either, that's more to prevent scratches from rough landings. My shield is g5 thermal resistant with stripped down experimental and sufficient to get me down on high g planets with FA Off. Compare the values, both speed and jump range. And that's without guardian boosters! You should be able to get far above 60Ly with these boosters...

I'm still experimenting with the build. I don't have any weapons and haven't missed them. I don't have any hangar bay either. I used my Asp to do the stuff to get the FSD booster, then switched back to the Diamondback to get the booster. Don't have any cargo racks either. I'll have to play around with the build and report back, but thanks for sharing your build. It's given me a few pointers.

 

[Grinnygog]

Nice! Still something that lies ahead of me. I just wonder why your ship can't jump further. The only difference I can see from this screen is your 3A shield, I'm using a weaker 3C. Your shield strength of 128.2 against mine of 83.2 looks like a big difference, but at such low levels it's more of an academic value. We both won't survive a fight either, that's more to prevent scratches from rough landings. My shield is g5 thermal resistant with stripped down experimental and sufficient to get me down on high g planets with FA Off. Compare the values, both speed and jump range. And that's without guardian boosters! You should be able to get far above 60Ly with these boosters...

I got rid of the shield altogether initially to see what difference it made, but there was hardly any difference at all to the jump range. Here's a shot of my core internals. I only have lightweight armour and a 5C fuel tank. No weapons at all and just two heat sink launchers. Can you tell from this shot where my problem might be? I switched to unmodified 3C Bi-Weave Shield Generator too in this shot.

 

[marx]

Here's a shot of my core internals. I only have lightweight armour and a 5C fuel tank. No weapons at all and just two heat sink launchers. Can you tell from this shot where my problem might be? I switched to unmodified 3C Bi-Weave Shield Generator too in this shot.

Nope, we can't tell exactly: we'd need the optional modules as well. However, judging by your FSD's stats, it's not engineered to G5, is it? If not, then you should get it done at Farseer's (or elsewhere), that will help your jump range the mos.
Oh, and if you want to share builds, do theorycrafting and so on, Coriolis.io is a great help there.

Also, EDAstro has a helpful collection of exploration ship templates, here.

The only difference I can see from this screen is your 3A shield, I'm using a weaker 3C.

From the screenshot, it looks like you're using a bi-weave shield, not a regular 3C. Engineered for thermal resistant too: did you use it on a small combat ship before? Because for exploration, it's subpar, and you could get more out of a D-rated shield or an A-rated shield. Faster shield regen won't help, nor will thermal resistance: raw shield strength is what matters in exploration (can't engineer for collision damage), and there's mass and power draw of course.
So, mix and match the following: A-rated shield, D-rated shield, Enhanced Low Power mod (used most of the time), Reinforced mod (useful sometimes).

In your example, the 3C bi-weave shield offers the same shield capacity as the 3D one, while it's 5T (stock) versus 2T (stock).

And yeah, you should unlock the FSD boosters: it can be done quite swiftly, and tends to give the second-highest jump range increase, after the Increased Range FSD mod of course.

 

[Old Duck]

I soon have to do this grind all over again! That's okay, I actually enjoyed it (unlike other Guardian puzzles).

Me personally, I find the FSD Booster even better for non-exploration ships. For example, my Type-9 has one, and it makes my trade runs much quicker and easier. My exploration ships already have enough jump range to satisfy me, though I still equip the booster when space isn't an issue. However, it's these other ships with very limited jump range that really benefit from that booster.

 

[GrandAdmiralThrawn]

Almost. I travelled roughly 8000Ly in 2 hours very recently. With enough materials for resupplying the grade A life support system via synthesis, you may quite easily make it back to the bubble, Colonia or Anchorage from anywhere. 30 minutes with 50-100 recharges... It can surely be done.

That's why I've been thinking about exchanging my 3D life support with a engineered/stripped-down 3A... If only I wouldn't hate the grind so much.

 

[Grinnygog]

Managed to get jump ranges up to 49.61/49.55/53.11 (min/current/max) by fiddling with different non-engineered parts. Going to have to grind some to get engineer mods, but at least this is a start.

 

[marx]

The main reason why I still don't have the boosters is because I try to avoid external sources and spoilers (I'm still of the believe it's a clear sign of bad game design if that's actually required - but then I'm utterly old-school )

It's all in-game though. The tech brokers tell you the exact things you need to unlock the boosters. The Codex has the locations of Guardian ruins, structures and beacons. (Also a nice amount of Guardian lore.) Everything you need is in-game and easy to find.

 

[LordFerret]

Finally, after much grinding I've unlocked the Guardian FSD Booster!

Congratz! I'm next.

I'm wondering though, how is it you were running out of SRV ammo and power (fuel?)? Can't you just synthesize it when needed? I do.

 

[Orvidius]

Can you tell from this shot where my problem might be?

I noticed you have a lot of A-rated core internals. Are you planning on doing combat with this ship at all? If not, there's no need for A-rated sensors, as D-rated would be a lot lighter. Same with the distributor, though of course it's nice to have capacity for multiple thruster boosts too, so it can be a bit of a judgment call there, however it would be better to engineer a D-rated distributor than simply using an A-rated one, from a weight perspective. D-rating those two and putting lightweight mods on both the sensors and the life support will help a lot, even with just low-grade mods.

D-rating the thrusters will save a lot of mass as well. I'd keep the A-rated power plant though.

 

[Chaparral]

Here's the thing. The FSD Booster, the sheild reinforcement, the small plasma chargers, the medium and small rails, etc. are useful. The guardian fighters are sexy too. Performing a task to unlock them is fine, BUT the samish task over and over and over. Ugh. Could they come up with a mission?

 

[Grinnygog]

I noticed you have a lot of A-rated core internals. Are you planning on doing combat with this ship at all? If not, there's no need for A-rated sensors, as D-rated would be a lot lighter. Same with the distributor, though of course it's nice to have capacity for multiple thruster boosts too, so it can be a bit of a judgment call there, however it would be better to engineer a D-rated distributor than simply using an A-rated one, from a weight perspective. D-rating those two and putting lightweight mods on both the sensors and the life support will help a lot, even with just low-grade mods.

D-rating the thrusters will save a lot of mass as well. I'd keep the A-rated power plant though.

Looking at this I think the main difference to mine is the 4A power plant. To make using a 3A possible try a 3D life support and sensors for lesser energy consumption, works wonders! If you are on a deep space exploration trip it doesn't matter if your life support fails after 5 or 30 minutes: the result will always be the same.

Done a bit more modifying of the FSD, courtesy of Elvira Martuuk in the Khun system and have improved jump range by a few more LYs before running out of materials. I've also become friendly with a few more engineers and just need the materials to modify other ship parts, to strip things down and lose mass. But anyway, this is where I am at the moment. Getting there slowly. What are your thoughts please?

 

[Orvidius]

Yep, looking pretty good. You could still trim another 6 tons from it by dropping the thrusters to 4D. You would only lose about 5% of your overall boost speed. But I understand the need for speed.

Edit: You might be able to get away with a 3A power plant too, depending on what you're willing to turn off. If you put an armored mod on it too, that will bring the power output back up a bit, while also running a little cooler.

 

[tolm]

4D Thrusters and the G3 Dirty Drive with Drag Drives at Felicity, gets you better than A grade for less weight. Might even get away with 3D ... been a while since I engineered a DBX.

At that point, you should also be able to drop the Powerplant to either a 4D or - even better, IMO - a 3A to further shed weight.

Oh, and slap a Mass Manager experimental effect on that FSD!!

 

[Soron Silin]

Felicity and Elvira only do Dirty up to grade 1.

The last time I needed Chemical materials I ended up going to a trader.
That's looking much more like the DBX I know and love. Nice one.
I'll have to get into the guardians arc at some point.

 

[tolm]

Felicity and Elvira only do Dirty up to grade 1.

The last time I needed Chemical materials I ended up going to a trader.
That's looking much more like the DBX I know and love. Nice one.
I'll have to get into the guardians arc at some point.

Nooo.... Ms Farseer definitely does G3 on Thrusters. Only does G1 PP, mind.