Exploring for Thargoids

jpjeffrey · Apr 6, 2020

Since the last update I've been working my way through several areas, chalking off 'things to discover'
(y'know, turning 'em blue in the codex)

Some of the areas have Thargoid presence, so I just want to scan them without getting into a scrap
(I don't carry any weapons, but I suck at combat so I probably couldn't beat them even if I did!

)

I read somewhere that you can Scan them without getting them grouchy ; specifically, the advice was
1. Don't shoot ; and
2. Don't have any Thargoid or Guardian Cargo in your hold
(though it seems that it's OK to have Guardian modules fitted)

... is this true...?

If so - how do you scan them?
Just target them? Or do you have to get up close and personal to use the Data Link Scanner...?

Dr. Nagi · Apr 6, 2020

To scan them you need a Xeno Scanner.
These actions/situations will make them hostile:
Having any Meta Alloys or Escape Pods in your cargohold and not dropping them
Having Thargoid items in your cargohold
Having Guardian items in your cargohold
Staying too close for too long
Ramming them
Firing weapons
Scouts are present

For extra fun, pick up a thargoid sensor and do one hyperjump with it in your hold.

Orvidius · Apr 6, 2020

Dr. Nagi covered the details pretty well. Here are some basic things you can do without getting killed:

1. If you just want to scan them, sit still and let them scan you. You can scan them at the same time.

2. More advanced / complicated: If you want a tissue sample, it will make them angry, but you can still do this without shooting or being shot, if you're very careful. The best advice I saw (which worked well when I tried it), is to take a cool-running ship. A Phantom or DBX would would well. Sit still, and let the Thargoid start to scan you. After the scan starts, boost past them (don't ram them!), and as soon as you get behind them, engage Silent Running. Now fire the research limpet, and try to maintain a distance of around 1km, maybe 1.5 at the outside, until the limpet returns to your cargo hatch. The distance is critical. Too close, and the Thargoid will notice you and get angry. Too far, and the limpet will lose signal and fail. Once you have the limpet back, move away and turn off silent running. With a cool enough ship, you won't need any heatsinks, but packing a few of those is probably a good idea.(This may take a few tries, and you might die a few times, or have to escape a few times, before you get a feel for it).

jpjeffrey · Apr 7, 2020

Thanks guys
I'm WAYYY out in the black without a xeno scanner or research limpets; does this mean that I have to make the trip back to the bubble to add one of these modules before I can scan the Thargoids..?

Orvidius · Apr 7, 2020

Yes, you'll need the scanner at least. But having said that, you won't find Thargoids terribly far from the bubble anyway. Mostly they're in the Pleiades and Witch Head nebulae, and that general area.

Dr. Nagi · Apr 7, 2020

jpjeffrey said:
Thanks guys
I'm WAYYY out in the black without a xeno scanner or research limpets; does this mean that I have to make the trip back to the bubble to add one of these modules before I can scan the Thargoids..?

Doesn't matter so much then I guess since you won't find any thargoids far out in the black. The only places you can find them are the Pleiades and Witch Head Nebula.

jpjeffrey · Apr 13, 2020

Actually, there is a system in SANGUINEOUS RIM that has a Thargoid presence - go to OUTOTZ ST-I D9-6 ....

Dr. Nagi · Apr 14, 2020

jpjeffrey said:
Actually, there is a system in SANGUINEOUS RIM that has a Thargoid presence - go to OUTOTZ ST-I D9-6 ....

Can you please confirm that with screenshots?
EDIT: I've just looked it up as the name felt familliar, that is the neighborhood of where the Gnosis Incident happened, a one-time event. So that doesn't really count. You can read it up here: https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/The_Gnosis#Cone_Sector_expedition

jpjeffrey · Apr 14, 2020

You can check it yourself by looking at the Codex - Sanguineous Rim, Xenological discoveries.
As for them 'not counting' - they are listed as being 'reported' by 3 different commanders, so they certainly appear to 'count' for the purposes of the Codex (which is what I mentioned in my OP)

Dr. Nagi · Apr 14, 2020

jpjeffrey said:
You can check it yourself by looking at the Codex - Sanguineous Rim, Xenological discoveries.
As for them 'not counting' - they are listed as being 'reported' by 3 different commanders, so they certainly appear to 'count' for the purposes of the Codex (which is what I mentioned in my OP)

I don't care about the codex, never did. It's never been working as it was originally intended.
Also Xenobiological doesn't necessarily mean Thargoids.
and as I said in my edit, there was that one time event in that area, out in random space you will not find Thargoids. If you do, send screenshots... otherwise nobody will believe you.

marx · Apr 14, 2020

Dr. Nagi said:
I don't care about the codex, never did. It's never been working as it was originally intended.
Also Xenobiological doesn't necessarily mean Thargoids.
and as I said in my edit, there was that one time event in that area, out in random space you will not find Thargoids. If you do, send screenshots... otherwise nobody will believe you.

At least with the Codex, if somebody were to find Thargoids or Guardian sites in a region they haven't been seen before, we'd immediately know. Provided the Commander in question used their Comp. Scanner, of course.

That said, the last time new Xeno areas were found was a long time ago. (Excluding the one system with an inactive Thargoid Structure placed there for the Gnosis event.) In the absence of clues, you could still check systems around nebulae to see if perhaps something was missed, but chances are very low.

jpjeffrey · Apr 16, 2020

Well, I went to OUTOTZ ST-I D9-6 and there is indeed a Thargoid presence at Planet 2A of that system.
(see the screenshots below)

Perhaps a bit of background is in order..
I only ever play in solo, and Dr Nagi's reference to the Gnosis incident (and the Wiki reference - thank you!) was the first I ever heard of it.

As mentioned in my OP, I'm simply visiting the various regions, crossing off the various discoveries referred to in the Codex. Having consulted the Codex and discovered that there was to be a Thargoid presence in the Sanguineous Rim region, in my OP I was simply wondering how to scan them when I got there. I had no idea that I would encounter such sceptisim about the Thargoid presence (even in the face of the 'factual' material in the Codex.)

Q. In Open Play, is the Codex generally held in such poor regard...?

In any case, I visited the OUTOTZ ST-I D9-6 system and there is indeed a Thargoid presence there. I wasn't interdicted in the system and the FSS doesn't reveal any USS-type presence so I didn't encounter any Thargoid ships (there were some scavengers patrolling the base - see the screenshot).
I think it likely that this place was only created for the Gnosis incident that Dr Nagi referred to, and that ships will no longer be encountered here.
I couldn't get into the base as I didn't have the requisite entry artifact

Q. I wonder - if I HAD the artifact, mebbe I would have been interdicted in the system...?

Hope this is of interest

JJ

Dr. Nagi · Apr 16, 2020

Yes excuse my sceptisim, I have heard a lot of rubbish already as I'm part of AXI, we do get that a lot.
No, I am not playing in Open Play, I'm spending 99% of my time in the Fleetcomm Private Group, that's got nothing to do with how I view the codex. I was an explorer before the codex existed and when it came out it turned out to not quite be what we (exploration community) had hoped it would. So because of that I'm completely ignoring it, only use it to look up statistics (those existed before the codex).
To answer your question about interdiction, the "hyperdiction" as we call it is triggered by the following:
Doing one hyperspace jump with a thargoid item such as a probe or sensor in your cargohold (meta alloys don't count) will enable a 20% chance of getting hyperdicted when inside an area of thargoid presence (areas where Non-Human Signal Sources appear). These areas are:

Every system in a 100 ly radius around Merope
The Witch Head Nebula
Incursion systems (currently there are no incursions)

jpjeffrey · Apr 17, 2020

No worries!

(I'm not sure what 'AXI' is, as I say, I only ever play in solo so a lot of stuff just passes me by)
Most of my questions are 'noob' questions, so if I have one I generally post in the Newcomers forum.
I've just been grinding away since the game was released - been to Sag A, Beagle Point, Ishums Reach.
Hope you are enjoying the game as much as I (I played the original Elite!)
(What sort of 'rubbish' do you get? do you mean that you get false reports or claims...?)

Dr. Nagi · Apr 17, 2020

I did not play the original, I'm too young for that. AXI = Anti Xeno Initiative, a player group and academy that focuses on Thargoid combat and research.
Yes, we do hear false claims a lot, with unsurprisingly the people who report them are never able to prove them.
It does not matter if you play solo or open or private group, you can still engage with the community, there are a lot of discord servers for exmaple.
I'm sometimes enjoying it, sometimes it becomes a bit of a drag... mostly because I organise events and stuff which force me to be in certain places ingame at certain times, to ensure everything runs smooth.