Currently the most-requested AX tutorial was how to engineer guardian weapons to resist the effects of Anti-Guardian Fields.
So, here we go!
Feedback welcome.
And, if watching isn't your thing and you'd rather read, here's the script below.
So, here we go!
Feedback welcome.
And, if watching isn't your thing and you'd rather read, here's the script below.
Greetings CMDRs, and Glory to Mankind!
In this video we will explain everything you need to know about anti-guardian field resistance engineering.
We'll take about five things:
1st: What is AGF resistance and why should you care about it?
2nd: Which modules are eligible for such engineering, and which ones aren't?
3rd: Where can you get the engineering done, and what will you need?
4th: (And this is the hardest part) How can you acquire the required materials?
5th: What ship builds benefit the most from such weapons?
Let's get rolling!
All systems hosting an operational Thargoid Titan and the system where Salvation fired the Proteus Wave (HIP 22460) maintain a powerful permanent field which actively and quickly degrades most guardian weapons and modules. Such effect is referred to in-game as "Anti Guardian Field", or AGF in short, and, sometimes, as "Anti Guardian Zone". For all intents and purposes, Guardian weapons and modules cannot be used in such systems without specialized engineering.
Furthermore, Thargoid Glaive Hunters and Thargoid Orthrus Interceptors can employ Anti Guardian Fields as temporary special attacks wherever they spawn - that is, in Anti Xeno Combat Zones, at Thargoid Spire Sites, and in certain scenarios within Thargoid Occupied and Thargoid Alert state systems. While these latter fields are temporary, they will still disable guardian weapons quickly and present a major inconvenience.
Fighting in such settings requires the use of anti-guardian field resistance engineering or the use of human, that is non-guardian, weapons, which are, for the most part, vastly inferior to their guardian counterparts.
Consequently, to enable you to use higher-performance guardian weapons in such situations, you will need anti-guardian field (or "AGF") resistance engineering.
All "original" guardian weapons and guardian modules are eligible for AGF-resistance engineering. There are two notable exceptions and a special case.
Weapons that are eligible include:
There are two notable exceptions. Guardian Nanite Torpedoes come with AGF field resistance built-in, and thus do not require said engineering. And the pre-engineered, "Azimuth", "Salvation", or however you may choose to call the special guardian weapons that you purchase in the Mbooni system, which are pre-engineered. Their pre-engineering conflicts with the AGF resistance engineering; as a result, AGF resistance cannot be applied to said weapons (which is a pity, as they are some of the best weapons in the game, and vastly superior to the non-pre-engineered variants.)
Ram Tah is the engineer which performs AGF resistance engineering. Access to Ram Tah requires Grade three-and-a-half, roughly, from Lei Chung, an Explorer rank of Surveyor, and fifty units of Classified Scan Databanks. The first two requirements can be bypassed by bringing him an Unclassified Relic, which is something that you can make yourself or you can have a friendly CMDR lend you one in case you wanna skip that step as well, which I would personally not recommend because making an unclassified relic is quite the experience. But to each their own. Ram Tah is found at Phoenix Base in the Meene system.
AGF resistance engineering is a single-roll, grade-1-only engineering, that is applied per-module and, and, for EACH module requires two Hardened Surface Fragments, one Caustic Crystal and one Tactical Core Chip.
You also will, of course, need to bring him the weapons or modules you want to engineer. How to acquire guardian weapons and modules is beyond the scope of this video. If you need that information we encourage you to view Exigeous's video linked below.
Hardened surface fragments are found on the upper side of live titans and in the alcoves around the outside edge. They look like tiny bright-green volcanoes. You will need to be very close before your sensors detect them; you should be able to visually notice them well before that. If you bring a Pulse Wave Xeno Scanner, using it can help you detect them on the Titan's surface, as it will make them glow. Fire at them with any weapon to bust them loose, then use a collector limpet or cargo scoop to collect. Using an abrasion blaster results in a higher yield, and will make the process faster, but is not required. You'll need a Thargoid Pulse Neutralizer and a Caustic Sink Launcher to access the Titan. Both can be purchased for credits at rescue megaships.
Caustic crystals can be found free-floating in the titan Maelstrom (the caustic cloud-like area around all live Titans). Collect them with collector limpets (given the tidal forces in the Maelstrom, it is extraordinarily difficult to scoop them up without limpets). Bring plenty, and we do mean plenty, of caustic sinks and ideally a fast ship (the Cutter and Clipper are great options for this; the Mamba and FDL can work quite well too.) Decontamination limpets don't work nearly as well and are best kept as an option of last resort. Caustic Sink Launchers can be purchased for credits at rescue megaships.
Tactical core chips will likely be the hardest material to acquire. They are dropped by Revenants, the smallest Thargoid type, found on the ground at spires and at AX reactivation mission settlements. The chips are a low drop rate from revenants. Revenants can be killed on foot, in an SRV and in a ship with missile racks. Tactical core chips cannot be collected on foot. Collect them with your SRV or using a ship with a collector limpet controller. The latter can be challenging due to the limpets snagging on architecture. The former can be risky as SRVs are very vulnerable to revenants. The best way to do this is with Enhanced AX missiles at a spire site, with a friend covering you and dealing with scouts while you hit revenants and banshess, and have your limpets scoop up the chips. You can do this solo, but it's not easy, and it will take longer.
In terms of ship builds, we've created three "reference builds" with specific settings and purposes in mind. Of course, these are not the only builds that will work, and you should feel free to adapt them and change them up as you see fit! But these are at least proven to work very well, and can serve as a good reference point.
For TitanSpace combat and thermal core damage, we recommend the shard-based "OldShardsKrait"; Note that we deliberately use the Krait Mk2 instead of the Python Mk2 here, as the former is a sturdier and more reliable platform for large shards and active combat. This ship works also extremely well in pursuing Orthrus and other interceptors during the meltdown phase of Thargoid Titans.
For Spire Site assault, we recommend the shard-based "OreoSnacker" Python Mk2; This build is quite capable of solo-ing Orthruses at spires although, like everything at spires, it will work even better in a group.
For Anti-Xeno Combat Zones with repair&rearm facilities available (such as planetary ports and space ports under invasion) the gauss-based "CytoChally" is a fantastic option; note that you can replace cytoscramblers with beam lasers if you don't have that powerplay module. You can also quickly adapt this ship with repairs and make it a very capable space anti combat zone and solo fighter.
All these reference builds are linked in the video description below. Also note, we made no reference build with the old plasma chargers. That's because the old plasma chargers really aren't very good. Their shot speed is very slow, and they are overall pretty much outclassed by guardian gauss in almost every respect.
Engineering weapons for AGF resistance is not an easy process. Some of the builds they enable are quite interesting though. Hopefully we have given you enough information to give it a go. But if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comments below!
And if you like these videos, please remember to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell below.
Glory to Mankind!
CMDR Mechan over and out.
In this video we will explain everything you need to know about anti-guardian field resistance engineering.
We'll take about five things:
1st: What is AGF resistance and why should you care about it?
2nd: Which modules are eligible for such engineering, and which ones aren't?
3rd: Where can you get the engineering done, and what will you need?
4th: (And this is the hardest part) How can you acquire the required materials?
5th: What ship builds benefit the most from such weapons?
Let's get rolling!
All systems hosting an operational Thargoid Titan and the system where Salvation fired the Proteus Wave (HIP 22460) maintain a powerful permanent field which actively and quickly degrades most guardian weapons and modules. Such effect is referred to in-game as "Anti Guardian Field", or AGF in short, and, sometimes, as "Anti Guardian Zone". For all intents and purposes, Guardian weapons and modules cannot be used in such systems without specialized engineering.
Furthermore, Thargoid Glaive Hunters and Thargoid Orthrus Interceptors can employ Anti Guardian Fields as temporary special attacks wherever they spawn - that is, in Anti Xeno Combat Zones, at Thargoid Spire Sites, and in certain scenarios within Thargoid Occupied and Thargoid Alert state systems. While these latter fields are temporary, they will still disable guardian weapons quickly and present a major inconvenience.
Fighting in such settings requires the use of anti-guardian field resistance engineering or the use of human, that is non-guardian, weapons, which are, for the most part, vastly inferior to their guardian counterparts.
Consequently, to enable you to use higher-performance guardian weapons in such situations, you will need anti-guardian field (or "AGF") resistance engineering.
All "original" guardian weapons and guardian modules are eligible for AGF-resistance engineering. There are two notable exceptions and a special case.
Weapons that are eligible include:
- Guardian gauss cannons, guardian shard cannons, guardian plasma chargers, in both their fixed and (where applicable) turreted arrangements, and for all of their applicable size classes
- All guardian modules, including the Guardian Frame Shift Drive Booster, Guardian Hybrid Power Plant, Guardian Hybrid Power Distributor, Guardian Module Reinforcement Package, Guardian Shield Reinforcement Package, Guardian Hull Reinforcement Package
There are two notable exceptions. Guardian Nanite Torpedoes come with AGF field resistance built-in, and thus do not require said engineering. And the pre-engineered, "Azimuth", "Salvation", or however you may choose to call the special guardian weapons that you purchase in the Mbooni system, which are pre-engineered. Their pre-engineering conflicts with the AGF resistance engineering; as a result, AGF resistance cannot be applied to said weapons (which is a pity, as they are some of the best weapons in the game, and vastly superior to the non-pre-engineered variants.)
Ram Tah is the engineer which performs AGF resistance engineering. Access to Ram Tah requires Grade three-and-a-half, roughly, from Lei Chung, an Explorer rank of Surveyor, and fifty units of Classified Scan Databanks. The first two requirements can be bypassed by bringing him an Unclassified Relic, which is something that you can make yourself or you can have a friendly CMDR lend you one in case you wanna skip that step as well, which I would personally not recommend because making an unclassified relic is quite the experience. But to each their own. Ram Tah is found at Phoenix Base in the Meene system.
AGF resistance engineering is a single-roll, grade-1-only engineering, that is applied per-module and, and, for EACH module requires two Hardened Surface Fragments, one Caustic Crystal and one Tactical Core Chip.
You also will, of course, need to bring him the weapons or modules you want to engineer. How to acquire guardian weapons and modules is beyond the scope of this video. If you need that information we encourage you to view Exigeous's video linked below.
Hardened surface fragments are found on the upper side of live titans and in the alcoves around the outside edge. They look like tiny bright-green volcanoes. You will need to be very close before your sensors detect them; you should be able to visually notice them well before that. If you bring a Pulse Wave Xeno Scanner, using it can help you detect them on the Titan's surface, as it will make them glow. Fire at them with any weapon to bust them loose, then use a collector limpet or cargo scoop to collect. Using an abrasion blaster results in a higher yield, and will make the process faster, but is not required. You'll need a Thargoid Pulse Neutralizer and a Caustic Sink Launcher to access the Titan. Both can be purchased for credits at rescue megaships.
Caustic crystals can be found free-floating in the titan Maelstrom (the caustic cloud-like area around all live Titans). Collect them with collector limpets (given the tidal forces in the Maelstrom, it is extraordinarily difficult to scoop them up without limpets). Bring plenty, and we do mean plenty, of caustic sinks and ideally a fast ship (the Cutter and Clipper are great options for this; the Mamba and FDL can work quite well too.) Decontamination limpets don't work nearly as well and are best kept as an option of last resort. Caustic Sink Launchers can be purchased for credits at rescue megaships.
Tactical core chips will likely be the hardest material to acquire. They are dropped by Revenants, the smallest Thargoid type, found on the ground at spires and at AX reactivation mission settlements. The chips are a low drop rate from revenants. Revenants can be killed on foot, in an SRV and in a ship with missile racks. Tactical core chips cannot be collected on foot. Collect them with your SRV or using a ship with a collector limpet controller. The latter can be challenging due to the limpets snagging on architecture. The former can be risky as SRVs are very vulnerable to revenants. The best way to do this is with Enhanced AX missiles at a spire site, with a friend covering you and dealing with scouts while you hit revenants and banshess, and have your limpets scoop up the chips. You can do this solo, but it's not easy, and it will take longer.
In terms of ship builds, we've created three "reference builds" with specific settings and purposes in mind. Of course, these are not the only builds that will work, and you should feel free to adapt them and change them up as you see fit! But these are at least proven to work very well, and can serve as a good reference point.
For TitanSpace combat and thermal core damage, we recommend the shard-based "OldShardsKrait"; Note that we deliberately use the Krait Mk2 instead of the Python Mk2 here, as the former is a sturdier and more reliable platform for large shards and active combat. This ship works also extremely well in pursuing Orthrus and other interceptors during the meltdown phase of Thargoid Titans.
For Spire Site assault, we recommend the shard-based "OreoSnacker" Python Mk2; This build is quite capable of solo-ing Orthruses at spires although, like everything at spires, it will work even better in a group.
For Anti-Xeno Combat Zones with repair&rearm facilities available (such as planetary ports and space ports under invasion) the gauss-based "CytoChally" is a fantastic option; note that you can replace cytoscramblers with beam lasers if you don't have that powerplay module. You can also quickly adapt this ship with repairs and make it a very capable space anti combat zone and solo fighter.
All these reference builds are linked in the video description below. Also note, we made no reference build with the old plasma chargers. That's because the old plasma chargers really aren't very good. Their shot speed is very slow, and they are overall pretty much outclassed by guardian gauss in almost every respect.
Engineering weapons for AGF resistance is not an easy process. Some of the builds they enable are quite interesting though. Hopefully we have given you enough information to give it a go. But if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comments below!
And if you like these videos, please remember to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell below.
Glory to Mankind!
CMDR Mechan over and out.
