Ship Builds & Load Outs Does a higher rating Prospector give a better chance of finding high value Asteroids?

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Btw is it true that higher rating prospectors give you a higher chance of finding the good stuff? And here.
As in an A rated module will find more precious metals etc vs E rated.
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Elite wiki doesn't mention it.
I know about greater range, time & number of limpets the higher spec controllers give, and that they at least double your yield from an asteroid.
 
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Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Yep I only mine at Pristine metallic rings. I'm a contributor to that thread ;), thanks for the link anyhow.
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Don't add much value?? Didn't you know (like I said above ;) ), that firing a prospector at an asteroid doubles its yield?
I would say that adds considerable value, don't you??
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
I was aware they improved the yield and detected additional ores but not to that degree, however unless you're using a high cargo capacity ship(Python or bigger) you lose a cargo slot for the prospector controller and the additional drones needed for prospecting are also taking up more space in the hold.

I'll check them out again (I was a bit underwhelmed with prospectors in their original release TBH) I think both the controllers should be fitted to slots in the refinery (like the SRV in its hangar) as the current set up rules out efficient mining for a lot of smaller ships.
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
I used a prospector in my Asp.
Yes the extra drones needed take up more space but you'll be firing them off anyway, so as long as you leave some spare space for cargo you'll be ok.
I was using figures of 80-85% to fill my hold with drones but that was with a D rated prospector, from what I've recently read (in the thread you linked actually) it seems that the higher rating prospector gives you more fragments per asteroid, so fewer drones would be needed for prospecting.
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Oh & the space lost to a controller is well worth the much faster gathering of the good stuff, although I don't have hard figures for times, I do see that if I run out of drones the number of fragments I get is approx. 1/2.
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There was a time when even if you had a ctrlr which could have more than 1 prospector active that it still could only have 1 active, they fixed that in a major update (might of been 1.4), I think they added the improved yield then too.
I tried to find the relevant patch notes but I couldn't, Prospectors were introduced in 1.3, but I did see someone else mention that they were improved in 1.4.
Oh I did find this, apparently posted by a FD Dev. And this
 
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Bazil

B
I don't think it does help find high value asteroids. Just means more fragments from the ones you do find.

Whether you have one depends on your style, I certainly prefer doing it with them now (I didn't before) but that isn't, as seen above, the case for everybody.
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
+1 rep to you Mr Assimilator1 :)

I tried out a prospector on my mining ship (an FDS, it kinda looks like a mining ship to me ;)) at the same pristine metallic ring in 38 Lyncis I've used several times for CG's, with the prospector running I was getting in excess of 30 fragments (approx 3% depletion/fragment) without I was getting around half that number.

I'd still shoot and scan the fragment from the asteroid to get an indication of its content before launching a prospector since I'm after the good stuff not Indite, Gallite and the like, what would be really useful is a shipborne version of the SRV wave scanner so you can locate worthwhile asteroids and then use the prospector drones to maximise the yield.
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Thanks :)
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What rated prospector were you using?
What would be interesting to see is to compare, say, a D rated prospector to an A rated 1, & get some solid figures with that. I would but I'm about 400 LYs out atm exploring.
Oh & I used to shoot & scan before firing a prospector, but after a while I just couldn't be bothered to do that (unless I had to! like I'm running low on drones), I just find it so much quicker to shoot off a prospector ;). And yea I only go for Painite, Platinum, Palladium, Gold & a little Osmium too. If I'm really desperate I will get Silver too ;).
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[update] You'll probably find this interesting.
 
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Ceekay

Ceekay
Update; I dropped from a 1A prospector to a 1D and in the 38 Lyncis ring I was getting approx 4 - 6% depletion/fragment (typically 4+% the 6% was from an asteroid that dropped 40+% fragments so it may have been atypical) so back with the 1A.

In fact I was so impressed with the results of the prospector I upgraded the FDS to a Python, it's a lot more capable but 2.5 x the price, it does mean I can mix in a little RES BH along with the mining :)
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Thanks for reporting back :), so their is quite a difference between a D rated and an A rated prospector, worth knowing! :).
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I wish I could try it out now but I've headed off out in to the black atm, I've also realised I can afford a (low spec) Python now! :)
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Let us know how much you earn/hr with the Python.
 

droscoe

droscoe
Once I finish my mining tool, which you can check out some preview screenshots here, you will be able to test different ship loadouts and calculate a module's impact on your profit performance. Simple descriptive statistics, really.
 

Drownerfood

D
With a 1A prospector I get between 28 and 42 fragments per asteroid. Without I get 10 or 12. It seems random, not related to size of the rock. I think I was earning about 2-3 M cr /h mining in my Python. It depended if I took mission contracts for Pt etc. or not. I found it much more enjoyable to fly around a bit afterwards delivering for the contracts than just going right back to mining. Having 30 T of painite to find could be stressful however. Best part about a python is you can defend yourself quite well! I'd also recommend switching to 5D shields to free up cargo space and getting 2 medium mining lasers, they chew through asteroids fast!
 

slothman320

S
I'm currently mining in an anaconda and I really gotta say, that this big ship is a bit finicky with your mining laser placement. Your ship is so long that you need to put the mining lasers in the medium hardpoints. That being said the anaconda's sheer ability to defend itself, and the absolutely enormous amount of internals makes for an excellent combat miner for lack of a better term. If you get frustrated with mining you can just turn around and swat a couple eagles or bigger.

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But for Godsake don't skip out on the thrusters.
 

droscoe

droscoe
slothman320 said:
I'm currently mining in an anaconda and I really gotta say, that this big ship is a bit finicky with your mining laser placement. Your ship is so long that you need to put the mining lasers in the medium hardpoints. That being said the anaconda's sheer ability to defend itself, and the absolutely enormous amount of internals makes for an excellent combat miner for lack of a better term. If you get frustrated with mining you can just turn around and swat a couple eagles or bigger.

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But for Godsake don't skip out on the thrusters.
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I can confirm your post with my testing. While thrusters have no direct effect on your mining stats, they do seem to have a noticeable affect on your overall tons/hr value. I believe this to be attributed to the ships ability to maneuver and fire new prospector limpets, which leads to more ore of select quality.

I haven't, unfortunately, been able to test hourly profit potential in an Anaconda. I'm very curious what it would be like, considering its speed, agility, internal options, and contrasted with its large cargo hold.
 

slothman320

S
droscoe said:
I can confirm your post with my testing. While thrusters have no direct effect on your mining stats, they do seem to have a noticeable affect on your overall tons/hr value. I believe this to be attributed to the ships ability to maneuver and fire new prospector limpets, which leads to more ore of select quality.

I haven't, unfortunately, been able to test hourly profit potential in an Anaconda. I'm very curious what it would be like, considering its speed, agility, internal options, and contrasted with its large cargo hold.
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I'm not the best at mining since this is literally my first attempt since being in a sidewinder. What I can tell you is this: the main reason you want those thrusters is because your ship is so long that you have to watch your nose. I've smacked into asteroids trying to get within beam range. When you do though do t let up on it and just keep draining the asteroid. If you have all of your collectors out you'll be able to collect the ore fast enough that you shouldn't lose anything. It's also very important that you DONT TARGET YOUR CHUNKS WHEN COLLECTING. Seriously why do limpets explode after collecting targeted rocks? Prospector limpets and hatch breaker limpets I can understand being a one use thing but you're literally ferrying cargo to your ship, why can't they just dock and recharge?
 

Assimilator1

Assimilator1
Actually you can target mining fragments (to say, look at %s), but only briefly, you've got to de-target it before the fragment is collected, otherwise, like you say the collector will explode, well expire, but yea it is really dumb that they do that, I just can't understand it either.
 
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