When will I be able to use ARX to buy access to engineering?

I would've said considerably more to be honest. 100 hours including getting the basics perhaps.
But it's sooo long ago that I did stuff like unlocking that I really can't say.
I would also recommend not to start in an FdL because that one is very special to fly, and expensive if you die.
And you will die.

I think that's over-cooked. With the right knowledge, 2-3hrs per engineer is almost a leisurely pace - you can combine some of the tasks while playing. So, depending on different peoples idea of a PvP FDL. Felicity, Tod, the Dweller, Selene, Didi, and Cheung gets you access to: https://s.orbis.zone/5bce

G1 Power Plant
G3 Thrusters
G5 Shield & Shield Boosters
G5 Hull & Hull Reinforcements
G5 Power Distributor
G5 Multicannons & Rail Guns
G4 Pulse Lasers

Really, after that you're only adding G5 Thrusters, and more weapon choices.
 
I think that's over-cooked. With the right knowledge, 2-3hrs per engineer is almost a leisurely pace - you can combine some of the tasks while playing. So, depending on different peoples idea of a PvP FDL. Felicity, Tod, the Dweller, Selene, Didi, and Cheung gets you access to: https://s.orbis.zone/5bce

G1 Power Plant
G3 Thrusters
G5 Shield & Shield Boosters
G5 Hull & Hull Reinforcements
G5 Power Distributor
G5 Multicannons & Rail Guns
G4 Pulse Lasers

Really, after that you're only adding G5 Thrusters, and more weapon choices.
But that FdL will be blown out of the water by a real FdL and then you lose 9.5 million in rebuy and feel bad ;)
You need dirty 5 drives, if you want a bank, you need at least a G3 rapid charge one.
And your build has a g5 armoured plant, as it should have...
 
It must really grind your gears knowing others are playing a DL that you don't have...

I've owned Horizon for two years now and unlocked most of my guardian stuff to hunt down interceptors last season. I bet you couldnt solo a cyclop.

I'm also completely honest and admiting I paid real money for those guardian toys.
 
I've owned Horizon for two years now...
Then why bleat about it?

unlocked most of my guardian stuff to hunt down interceptors last season.

Excellent - a great achievement...

I'm also completely honest and admiting I paid real money for those guardian toys.

Really?

I bet you couldnt solo a cyclop.
Of course I couldn't... it takes special players to do that...
(does soloing a cyclops grant special in-game benefits? It didn't earlier this year...)
 
Then why bleat about it?



Excellent - a great achievement...



Really?


Of course I couldn't... it takes special players to do that...
(does soloing a cyclops grant special in-game benefits? It didn't earlier this year...)

Lol. Touched a nerve there it seems. Dont be shy. I was a thargoid virgin once too. It's dead easy with guardian stuff to solo a cyclops, I'm almost certain you can do it too.
 
But that FdL will be blown out of the water by a real FdL and then you lose 9.5 million in rebuy and feel bad ;)
You need dirty 5 drives, if you want a bank, you need at least a G3 rapid charge one.
And your build has a g5 armoured plant, as it should have...

A noob rushing into an FdL for PvP is going to die against a seasoned pilot regardless whether they have G3 or G5 drives, that's the point really. But for arguements sake, sure add two more engineers to get those G5 drives - still gonna die. The extensive gate myth is still a myth - those basic engineers will get someone into a decent PvP ship, which could compete with the bulk of mediocre pilots/builds out there, but that rushed noob is still gonna die. Unless they can master different combat techniques, fixed weapons, understand how to fight different ships/builds... all in less time than it takes to unlock 6-8 engineers.

PS that noob build is still viable with G1 PP
 
A noob rushing into an FdL for PvP is going to die against a seasoned pilot regardless whether they have G3 or G5 drives, that's the point really. But for arguements sake, sure add two more engineers to get those G5 drives - still gonna die. The extensive gate myth is still a myth - those basic engineers will get someone into a decent PvP ship, which could compete with the bulk of mediocre pilots/builds out there, but that rushed noob is still gonna die. Unless they can master different combat techniques, fixed weapons, understand how to fight different ships/builds... all in less time than it takes to unlock 6-8 engineers.

PS that noob build is still viable with G1 PP

G5 drive should at least make you faster to grind that 14h engineer unlock, so I'll put that on top of the list.

If engineers are not gating pvp and would not allow noobs to win, then I guess unlocking them with ARX wouldnt make the game pay to win. Frankly, I think it's more about vets entitled to their hard earned crutch...
 
This. Engineering is sort of the major content in ED (sad but true). Building a shortcut to it would practically mean to amputate the game...
But also in general (in my best totalitarian voice): pay to win is a total no go for games. I wholeheartedly hope this nonsense will never become more fashion than it already is the case now.

Disagree. Engineering is, to use this filthy term, a "gameplay loop" that was clear designed to be a "gameplay loop". There's content spread throughout the galaxy in Elite but there's no good map to it. I bet most players see less than 20% of the handcrafted stuff in the game.
 
Lol. Touched a nerve there it seems. Dont be shy. I was a thargoid virgin once too. It's dead easy with guardian stuff to solo a cyclops, I'm almost certain you can do it too.
Not at all... try actually reading what I wrote :)
Assuming you are able to read past the obvious sarcasm...
Actually - being truthful, I don't remember Cyclops as I stopped at Medusa as I'd gone from Novice to Master so had the unlock I required.
I had a full arsenal of Guardian weapons very early this year, and I didn't pay real money for anything bar buying the game...
(you are aware that each Thargois kill, even humble scouts count as an elite opponent, I assume)
 
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Deleted member 38366

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IMHO :

Even IF all Ships and Engineering builds could be purchased (Pay-to-Win), there'd still be one >> major << set of problems :
  • one can't buy Combat skills
  • one can't buy Ship Management experience
  • one can't buy the knowledge how to optimize effectiveness of each individual Ship type and its specific build throughout its entire Performance Envelope and beyond
  • one can't buy Tactical Battlefield Management expertise
  • .... = one can't buy a "license to win"

And of all the things, Engineering Ships or creating Ship builds isn't the most "grindy" part. Far from it.
Building the required experience takes the longest time and there's no real shortcut to that. Only lots of useful hints.
All that helpful advice is merely pointing to doors. Many doors.
Walking them and making all that experience and connecting all the gained knowledge to become an effective CMDR is a journey every single CMDR has to make for him- or herself.
No shortcuts, no exceptions.

That's the "Road to Wings" every single Pilot in the Galaxy has to make and none comes without the harsh learning curve, some bruises and lessons learned from many mistakes along the way. That is something no money can buy.
 
You would have new players running around in fully engineered meta built FDLs within a couple days of picking up the game. The long time PvPers will up their kill count until they drive those new players to solo/pg crying about "haxors" and "cheaters", or they earn the skills needed and not just the ships needed to play at that level.

Outside of paying someone to grind for you, how does one "pay real money" for guardian unlocks? Unless one wants to do something silly, and count buying the Horizons DLC.
 
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Yes, I know the advise: hot spot fly Solo
But doesn't that cripple the game-play?
It seems that PvP is more a contest of level of engineering than a contest of dog-fighting-skills
Don't have to go Solo in hot spots either. I'm playing since early beta days and haven't engineered anything up until earlier this year. Didn't felt like I really needed it. I was satisfied with what could be bought at the outfitting shop. Flew to the Founders and other hot spots often enough without any engineering, practiced interdiction evasion techniques or combat and ship rebuys (depends on how lucky I was on that day). You don't need engineered ship to be a good pilot and have fun. If you found yourself up against heavily modded ship on some stock Cobra and able to save your ship and cargo, consider it a victory, you just humiliated some top dog. LOL. I remember myself running some sneaky cargo into the system heavily blockaded by some commanders on my stock T7. Got really good at smuggling. Eventually I went into the Guardian stuff and engineering just for some new kind of activities.
 
Yep, a bobblehead ;)
But the bobbleheads came out when I was already in Carcosa... Not taking a holiday in the bubble like some whose name I won't mention ;)

Next trip bubbleward I'll pick up a Thargoid Bubblehead (I've got a nice, fast Krait II there) - as I'm currently 42KLy from Sol, it might be a few weeks🤷‍♂️
 
Paint jobs for ARX. OK?
Engineers for ARX? OK why not?
ARX can be bought, so a steady extra income from desperate noobs
What's next? Loot-boxes containing special weapons/shields?
Then loot-boxes for ARX? OK why not?

Frontier have stated that they are strongly opposed to any microtransactions that confer gameplay advantages, for reasons that I hope are obvious. They've held strong to this principle for 5 years now, I see no reason to believe that will change in the future.
 
Not at all... try actually reading what I wrote :)
Assuming you are able to read past the obvious sarcasm...
Actually - being truthful, I don't remember Cyclops as I stopped at Medusa as I'd gone from Novice to Master so had the unlock I required.
I had a full arsenal of Guardian weapons very early this year, and I didn't pay real money for anything bar buying the game...
(you are aware that each Thargois kill, even humble scouts count as an elite opponent, I assume)

Of course my dude, you're special too and bought Horizon as well, with your real money. And grinded scouts. Nicely done.
 
It took me 2 weeks around 2h per day to unlock all but 1 of the bubble engineers on my alt account. Then I took a slow trip to Colonia and not only unlocked the 4 engineers there in 2 days but also had 1.5bil to spent on ships and outfitting. I'm still collecting mats to engineer all the ships I subsequently bought.
The engineer unlock introduces and teaches multiple aspects of the game. Combat, exploration, trading, rares, mining, and grinding come to mind. I see it as an in-game tutorial to the different activities.

There is already a guide for the fastest unlock path, why do you think Deciat is a hotspot for seal clubbing. My first unlock always was Elvira.
We have already enough new players who think bigger ship=better combat ship, don't really need "I have the meta-FdL but always get killed by hackers" people too.

Almost forgot: I say no to eng-unlock through arx.
 
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