"Don't rush into an Anaconda, do Engineering first...."

[Stigbob]

You know what's even less grindy? Not bothering at all, tossing it into the bin and playing something more fun instead.

Hanging around the forum of a game you quit playing years back because of engineering moaning endlessly about the mechanic you never actually tried in multiple subsequent updates is probably one of the single most grindy things anyone ever did in the history of gaming.

Keep at it though, I'm looking forward to reading what you think odyssey must be like based entirely on other peoples posts.

 

[Brrokk]

Hanging around the forum of a game you quit playing years back because of engineering moaning endlessly about the mechanic you never actually tried in multiple subsequent updates is probably one of the single most grindy things anyone ever did in the history of gaming.

Keep at it though, I'm looking forward to reading what you think odyssey must be like based entirely on other peoples posts.

The responses to OP are interesting. The one who doesn't play is the most emphatic about grind. All the people who do play are offering ways round it.

 

[Starshot_Jigawatts]

I really wish I could do more than just "like" this. That's fantastically detailed and I really hope OP will find it helpful. You've put a lot more effort into compiling this than any of the rest of us in this thread. It's really what the forum should be like!

It was helpful if not a bit condescending and insulting in tone, but I very much appreciate it.

So trading down for materials seems essential in the process and yet that entire strategy is virtually invisible to the player. Unless I just blundered into that from browsing one of the relatively few stations (per capita) offering that service, I'm not sure how I was to be expected to just intuitively know that after just starting on my engineer grind. Did I miss a game-tip from Felicity or something? I very much don't think so. Was that introduced to me in regular gameplay beforehand as a useful strategy? Nope.

So yes, I just learned that an invisible technique not explained anywhere in the game EVER, could have saved me hours and hours of grueling and unfun gameplay.

 

[DoctorDanny]

I feel your pain. Engineering is what made me quit the game back in the day.
If it's sucking the fun out of the game for you, maybe just don't do it.
Just fly your anaconda stock.

 

[Vedmo]

It was helpful if not a bit condescending and insulting in tone, but I very much appreciate it.

So trading down for materials seems essential in the process and yet that entire strategy is virtually invisible to the player. Unless I just blundered into that from browsing one of the relatively few stations (per capita) offering that service, I'm not sure how I was to be expected to just intuitively know that after just starting on my engineer grind. Did I miss a game-tip from Felicity or something? I very much don't think so. Was that introduced to me in regular gameplay beforehand as a useful strategy? Nope.

So yes, I just learned that an invisible technique not explained anywhere in the game EVER, could have saved me hours and hours of grueling and unfun gameplay.

Like it or not (I like it), there is an ethos of discovery integrated into this game. The intent is often not to grab you by the nose and pull you through a checklist, but rather let you stumble upon things on your own while rewarding curiosity. It isn't an invisible technique, as you will inevitably find one in a large station, assuming you check the contacts to explore the stations offerings, and you can filter your Galaxy map to find them (only after you've discovered them).

Believe it or not, it is a lot more user friendly now too! I don't know for sure without checking, but maybe material traders are covered in the pilot guide you can access in game?

 

[Felix DiCestria]

Personally I just take a full inventory of Core Dynamics & Propietry Composites from a Fed Zero Zero and trade for whatever I happen to need.

 

[CMDR Harada]

A couple of things :

First : As mentioned, you don't NEED to engineer. PVE works just fine with A-rated ships. Claiming you NEED engineering is a fallacy. Is it nice to have ? Sure, but not required. It's the last 10% of the game that requires 90% of the work on a decidedly diminishing returns graph.

Second : If you've learned the game, played the game, and worked your way up to an Anaconda, mastering each ship along the way, you'll have all the MATs you should need. If you blasted your way thru the game, watched You-Tubes, and rushed your way up in a weekend, then you won't. Any MATs you don't have can be acquired from a trader, plain and simple, as long as you have some to begin with ( such as from missions or checking out SS's )

This game isn't a series of missions to be blasted thru to reach the end. There is no "end". The game is the journey, and the journey is the game. It's learning to fly FA-Off, and finding that "OMG !", the game will let you do CRAZY things if you put in the time, like doing a circle strafe on a settlements power plant or the "reverski". Or learning how to set power priorities so you CAN run all those fancy modules you fitted out. How to ride the Neutron Highway. Mapping your controls to your setup, so you're efficient for your style and ship ( good solid week or two there if you're into VR ).

Engineering wasn't ( IMO ) meant to be a must have. It was supposed to be an addition to the game. Something along the lines of, "Hey, I am going to go exploring, and a 75 LY jump range would let me explore the less dense star fields", and not "Before I take this new Anaconda mining I need an 83 LY, G5, lightweight experimental FSD" . Tweaking every single system on your ship is ONLY required for serious PvP, which is a very niche part of the game that requires up to the minute meta-game knowledge and tons of training/time to master. If you don't have MATs, you didn't put in the time, and hence wouldn't be good at PvP anyway.

 

[Stealthie]

Firstly, I find myself wondering how somebody gets to be flying an Anaconda without naturally playing the game long enough to unlock engineers and collect a sizeable supply of mat's.

Beyond that, I understand how G5-engineering a big ship, with a heap of weapons and modules, can seem a bit overwhelming but it's a lot easier if you moderate your goals and it doesn't have be a grind.

For example, here's my multirole Annie build with no engineering: https://s.orbis.zone/aqu_
Here's what it looks like after I completed G5 engineering it: https://s.orbis.zone/bs8L
Now, let's dial that all back to G3 engineering: https://s.orbis.zone/bs8R

It's a bit slower, has a 5ly shorter jump-range, uses a couple of MW more power, has slightly less shields and loses a whopping 9 DPS.
All in all, the G3 engineering is a BIG improvement over non-engineered but not that much worse than G5.

So, let's take a look at what mat's it'll require...

Carbon: 12
Chromium: 12
Germanium: 5
Manganese: 25
Nickel: 18
Niobium: 9
Phosphorus: 26
Selenium: 6
Sulphur: 22

All these raw mat's can be obtained by taking a trip to the shard sites, collecting a heap of G5 mat's and scooting back to a mat' trader in the bubble to swap them for what you need.
A nice little mini-exploration trip. Hardly a "grind".

Chemical Distillery: 3
Chemical Processors: 7
Conductive Ceramics: 15
Conductive Components: 35
Electrochemical Arrays: 9
Focus Crystals: 15
Grid Resistors: 6
Heat Conduction Wiring: 5
Heat Dispersion Plate: 6
Heat Exchangers: 9
High Density Composites: 6
Hybrid Capacitors: 15
Mechanical Components: 3
Mechanical Equipment: 2
Salvaged Alloys: 25
Shield Emitters: 10

The vast majority of these Manufactured mat's can be obtained through combat which, conveniently, is currently very well paid.
Go find a system in Civil Unrest, with Pirate Activity POI's and get your pew-pew on for a couple of hours, in a ship with some collectors, and then stop off at a local station to earn a few million credits for your trouble.
Alternatiely, find a tourist beacon in an Anarchy system and explode some Belugas.
Or, take on some (very well paid) Massacre missions and hoover up the mat's.
Or go visit Dav's Hope or any of the other sites where mat's can be collected.
And then, once again, haul your swag to a mat' trader to swap some of the high-tier mat's you'll have for more low-tier mat's.
Kind of repetitive gameplay but only as repetitive as "playing the game", in general, is.

Atypical Disrupted Wake Echoes: 3
Distorted Shield Cycle Recordings: 21
Exceptional Scrambled Emission Data: 9
Modified Consumer Firmware: 13
Specialised Legacy Firmware: 9
Strange Wake Solutions: 3

If you've been scanning ships (you have been scanning ships, right?) as you play, chances are that you already have most of this Encoded material.
Failing that, go visit the Jameson crash site, collect G5 scans and then hit up a mat' trader to get what you need.
Alternatively, take some missions that pay in G5 Encoded mat's and then trade.
Or visit some of the surface installations that yield G5 Encoded mat's.
Or visit some Encoded POI's in space.
Again, not the best of gameplay but hardly a "grind" and there's plenty of different activities to choose.

So, all in all, the mat's required to build a G3 Annie can all be found by doing the same things you do while playing ED normally or by going on little adventures which should actually be enjoyable to somebody playing a game that offers access to an entire galaxy as a sandbox.
Course, there's unlocking the engineers too, but those are one-time events which a player should really consider as challenges and enjoyable alternatives to regular gameplay.

Honestly, it sounds like the OP is just salty cos he isn't getting immediate gratification, rather than because there's any real hardship or grind involved in obtaining the required items.

 

[Brrokk]

Firstly, I find myself wondering how somebody gets to be flying an Anaconda without naturally playing the game long enough to unlock engineers and collect a sizeable supply of mat's.

Beyond that, I understand how G5-engineering a big ship, with a heap of weapons and modules, can seem a bit overwhelming but it's a lot easier if you moderate your goals and it doesn't have be a grind.

For example, here's my multirole Annie build: https://s.orbis.zone/bs8L

Now, let's dial that all back to G3 engineering: https://s.orbis.zone/bs8R

It's a bit slower, has a 5ly shorter jump-range, uses a couple of MW more power, has slightly less shields and loses a whopping 9 DPS.

For comparison, here's the same ship without any engineering: https://s.orbis.zone/aqu_

All in all, the G3 engineering is a BIG improvement over non-engineered but not that much worse than G5.

So, let's take a look at what mat's it'll require...

Carbon: 12
Chromium: 12
Germanium: 5
Manganese: 25
Nickel: 18
Niobium: 9
Phosphorus: 26
Selenium: 6
Sulphur: 22

All these raw mat's can be obtained by taking a trip to the shard sites, collecting a heap of G5 mat's and scooting back to a mat' trader in the bubble to swap them for what you need.
A nice little mini-exploration trip. Hardly a "grind".

Chemical Distillery: 3
Chemical Processors: 7
Conductive Ceramics: 15
Conductive Components: 35
Electrochemical Arrays: 9
Focus Crystals: 15
Grid Resistors: 6
Heat Conduction Wiring: 5
Heat Dispersion Plate: 6
Heat Exchangers: 9
High Density Composites: 6
Hybrid Capacitors: 15
Mechanical Components: 3
Mechanical Equipment: 2
Salvaged Alloys: 25
Shield Emitters: 10

The vast majority of these Manufactured mat's can be obtained through combat which, conveniently, is currently very well paid.
Go find a system in Civil Unrest, with Pirate Activity POI's and get your pew-pew on for a couple of hours, in a ship with some collectors, and then stop off at a local station to earn a few million credits for your trouble.
Alternatiely, find a tourist beacon in an Anarchy system and explode some Belugas.
Or, take on some (very well paid) Massacre missions and hoover up the mat's.
Or go visit Dav's Hope or any of the other sites where mat's can be collected.
And then, once again, haul your swag to a mat' trader to swap some of the high-tier mat's you'll have for more low-tier mat's.
Kind of repetitive gameplay but only as repetitive as "playing the game", in general, is.

Atypical Disrupted Wake Echoes: 3
Distorted Shield Cycle Recordings: 21
Exceptional Scrambled Emission Data: 9
Modified Consumer Firmware: 13
Specialised Legacy Firmware: 9
Strange Wake Solutions: 3

If you've been scanning ships (you have been scanning ships, right?) as you play, chances are that you already have most of this Encoded material.
Failing that, go visit the Jameson crash site, collect G5 scans and then hit up a mat' trader to get what you need.
Alternatively, take some missions that pay in G5 Encoded mat's and then trade.
Or visit some of the surface installations that yield G5 Encoded mat's.
Or visit some Encoded POI's in space.
Again, not the best of gameplay but hardly a "grind" and there's plenty of different activities to choose.

So, all in all, the mat's required to build a G3 Annie can all be found by doing the same things you do while playing ED normally or by going on little adventures which should actually be enjoyable to somebody playing a game that offers access to an entire galaxy as a sandbox.
Course, there's unlocking the engineers too, but those are one-time events which a player should really consider as challenges and enjoyable alternatives to regular gameplay.

Honestly, it sounds like the OP is just salty cos he isn't getting immediate gratification, rather than because there's any real hardship or grind involved in obtaining the required items.

It's worth noting that every time you find "one" of those, you actually get three.

 

[MadDogMurdock]

One of the lesser known things because people follow the Youtube guides instead of playing the game, is that Felicity actually tells you where you can get a Meta-Alloy, but only if you go and visit her.

Many but not all the Engineers do the same for their requirements.

 

[Starshot_Jigawatts]

Honestly, it sounds like the OP is just salty cos he isn't getting immediate gratification, rather than because there's any real hardship or grind involved in obtaining the required items.

No reason to be insulting. I think I laid out my chief complaints which actually have zero to do with your assumptions about me. Engineering should have been an opportunity to add some much needed depth, but it's just designed as a grind.

If it's not fun to do, then yes, people are just going to want to get through it as quickly as possible. Jump through hoops, upgrade your ship. Are you saying there's more to it than that?

And while I appreciate your suggestions. Although the way you just pretend you learned all that organically without any help or research is a bit....hard to believe.

 

[Gully Foyle]

It was helpful if not a bit condescending and insulting in tone, but I very much appreciate it.

So trading down for materials seems essential in the process and yet that entire strategy is virtually invisible to the player. Unless I just blundered into that from browsing one of the relatively few stations (per capita) offering that service, I'm not sure how I was to be expected to just intuitively know that after just starting on my engineer grind. Did I miss a game-tip from Felicity or something? I very much don't think so. Was that introduced to me in regular gameplay beforehand as a useful strategy? Nope.

So yes, I just learned that an invisible technique not explained anywhere in the game EVER, could have saved me hours and hours of grueling and unfun gameplay.

Are you playing the game so quickly that you couldn't be bothered to click on the material trader if you saw it at a station?

You don't need to Max everything to G5 and what people are trying to say is the mats will come naturally just through playing.

Engineering has killed the fun for you but what were you doing before that was fun? Grinding credits?
You'll enjoy the game better if you learn more about it. Fancy ships and weapons mean zilch if you have skipped the experience part for the illusions of wealth.

Misty wasn't condescending, she made it easy to understand.

Maybe you are letting the game play you instead of you playing the game.

I didn't get an Annie for 6 years, how long you grind for yours?

 

[Chorda]

It's not like ED has a glorious promised land of an endgame to rush towards anyway. Just find what you enjoy, be a little strategic about it, and let progress come at its own pace. I've been on the game 6 years and still haven't bothered to complete my Federation ranking, or grind out triple elite.

 

[Fenwe]

I don't grind for engineering mats. I do a little every time I play.

When ever I go into a system, I check for HGEs.

When I do missions, I get mats for the reward.

When I hunt bounties, I'm scanning ships and gathering mats.

For the raw mats, I head out to the biological sites and\or just do some laser mining for the tier 1 and 2s.

Mind you, the first time I did grind. It wasn't any fun, so I learned from my experience and made it part of my every day game play.

I suggest you G3, and worry about G4 and 5 after wards.

Or not, but life is full of choices. You don't need engineering to successfully play most of the content.

 

[Bottom Hat]

How long have you been playing OP? I'm not asking so I can poke fun or talk about the good old days, but I am curious, as I think you'll get more tailored suggestions or advice with this.

 

[Starshot_Jigawatts]

Are you playing the game so quickly that you couldn't be bothered to click on the material trader if you saw it at a station?

What kind of a question is that?

Yes I did. I saw a huge list of space mats with no hint what they were for and assumed it was for crafting of some type. Since I'm rarely interested in crafting grinds in games, and since no mission had ever made those materials necessary for me to have trade or own in the first place, I went about my business.

You know a lot of people have been cool in this thread, but some of you...wow. I mean excuse me for having an opinion about a key aspect of Elite! So sorry....sheesh.

 

[Stealthie]

No reason to be insulting. I think I laid out my chief complaints which actually have zero to do with your assumptions about me. Engineering should have been an opportunity to add some much needed depth, but it's just designed as a grind.

If it's not fun to do, then yes, people are just going to want to get through it as quickly as possible. Jump through hoops, upgrade your ship. Are you saying there's more to it than that?

And while I appreciate your suggestions. Although the way you just pretend you learned all that organically without any help or research is a bit....hard to believe.

Trouble is, I offered you a variety of ways to collect all the mat's you need to complete this engineering, involving almost every aspect of ED's gameplay.

And you say "it's just designed as a grind".

Combat, exploration, visiting planets, running missions, investigating POIs and outposts IS Elite: Dangerous.
There is no more.
If you think those things are "a grind" then I can't help wondering what you do enjoy about the game.

If it's unlocking engineers that's the problem, and you're on PC, give me a shout and we can hook up and I'll help you in whatever way I can.
If you're struggling to collect the mat's, I can show you the places to find them.
Hell, if you want to board my Fleet Carrier, I'll take you out to the shard sites so you can collect your raw mat's.

It sounds like you're treating this as a hurdle when you should be treating it as an opportunity to try new things.

 

[Starshot_Jigawatts]

Mind you, the first time I did grind. It wasn't any fun, so I learned from my experience and made it part of my every day game play.

Ty, it helps to know I'm not crazy or something. I've played a LOT of games and consider myself pretty good at them, but the sheer amount of third-party research I've had to do for Elite is unlike anything I've ever encountered.

 

[TheChosen]

What are you talking about? Unlocking the engineers (60% so far) and gathering materials was the most fun I had in this game (seriously). Approach it casually .. A bioconductor here a chemical distillery there a scan here a scan there.. then some mining for few hours will fill you up with raw materials. Then visit the material traders. High Grade Emissions can give you loads of Category 5 materials which equals tens/hundreds of Cat 1,2. A single visit to the crystalline fields will set you with raw materials for life. Same with the crashed MK3 (been there just once).

Also .. you don't need a G5 Anaconda to enjoy the game. I am over 130 hours played and I still don't have the Conda ... I rather went for a G5 FDL (G3 first) and am now merrily making tens of millions from bounty hunting , still no Conda. I'll probably get the Imperial Cutter first to get to Elite trader with it... cause if you are going to space truck you might as well do it in style.
Another thing to keep in mind... Get Grade 3 first.. Grade 3 is pretty trivial.. most of the mats are readily available if you just play all the aspects of the game.

Don't spend in any aspect of the game for more than 5 hours at a time.. or you'll just hate the experience. Then you will realize you spent a month in hell, got your G5 Anaconda.. and missed the whole game and fun in the process.

And for the love of god, can someone tell me what is so good about the Anaconda? I turns like a brick and can't land on outposts... also tough to land on planets. Where is the fun in owning/upgrading and engineering that time black hole of a ship?

 

[Fenwe]

What kind of a question is that?

Yes I did. I saw a huge list of space mats with no hint what they were for and assumed it was for crafting of some type. Since I'm rarely interested in crafting grinds in games, and since no mission had ever made those materials necessary for me to have trade or own in the first place, I went about my business.

You know a lot of people have been cool in this thread, but some of you...wow. I mean excuse me for having an opinion about a key aspect of Elite! So sorry....sheesh.

Part of the issue with ED is the steep learning curve. The fact that everything is 'known', but since 'you' just started playing, 'you' don't know squat. It's like running into one wall after another.

Trust me, I feel your pain. Take the forums with a grain of salt, especially because you will be rained with it when posting on the forums.

I'd rather discord.

07 commander