Getting past engineering

[EmmyV]

Hey so, with all that's coming up, I want to once again try to enjoy Elite Dangerous, I actually think to try and get some kind of "Goal" or event out of it, going after the Thargoids sounds like it could be fun, however, by looking at the guides, and also just my experience playing the last several times, it is obviously clear I need to engineer my ships.

Frankly, I think engineering is the absolute worst feature in this game, and every part of it sucks, and is annoying.
Upgrading ships could and should be fun, but the way this is done is just pure garbage, it sucks all the life out of me, and I shelf the game. So, to avoid this, I want to know if there's a FAST way to get past this so I can proverbially "Eat that frog" get past stupid engineering, and get towards the enjoyable part of the game!

Are there tips, tricks, advice or just general spacer knowledge you've picked up in your time through the black that can get through this horrible part of the game quicker? If so, please let me know, I greatly appreciate it, and thank you very much for your time! I really look forward to being able to walk around in Odyssey!!!!

 

[Factabulous]

Frankly, I think engineering is the absolute worst feature in this game, and every part of it sucks, and is annoying.

Ack, you lost me.

 

[Brrokk]

Hey so, with all that's coming up, I want to once again try to enjoy Elite Dangerous, I actually think to try and get some kind of "Goal" or event out of it, going after the Thargoids sounds like it could be fun, however, by looking at the guides, and also just my experience playing the last several times, it is obviously clear I need to engineer my ships.

Frankly, I think engineering is the absolute worst feature in this game, and every part of it sucks, and is annoying.
Upgrading ships could and should be fun, but the way this is done is just pure garbage, it sucks all the life out of me, and I shelf the game. So, to avoid this, I want to know if there's a FAST way to get past this so I can proverbially "Eat that frog" get past stupid engineering, and get towards the enjoyable part of the game!

Are there tips, tricks, advice or just general spacer knowledge you've picked up in your time through the black that can get through this horrible part of the game quicker? If so, please let me know, I greatly appreciate it, and thank you very much for your time! I really look forward to being able to walk around in Odyssey!!!!

I don't know, do you think there's anything else in the game you will enjoy more? Engineer unlocks are basically a sampling of the available game possibilities.

 

[here_it_comes]

So, to avoid this, I want to know if there's a FAST way to get past this so I can proverbially "Eat that frog" get past stupid engineering, and get towards the enjoyable part of the game!

Nope, there is no way to avoid it being an absolute slog. Unfortunately. Even after you complete the soul-killing process of unlocking them, you will be forced to fly back to each one most of the times that you want to do some Engineering.

If only FD knew how badly this turns people off. Easily my most hated part of ED. I have spent many of my gaming evening windows just flying around to apply some Engineering so I can spend my next gaming evening trying it out.

 

[EmmyV]

I have several engineers unlocked (I forgot about that part, ugh) but moreover, it's the going back and forth to the same points, collecting the junk over and over, and then trading them for a marginal upgrade to a stat, however, due to the fact that all the NPCs apparently also visited these guys and got their marginal upgrades, they're marginally, or in the Thargoids case, significantly, more upgraded than you. It kind of reminds me of the power creep of Gachapon games but instead of asking for money, it's time.

 

[Cheradenine]

It is a grind, and it's not much fun and engaging gameplay - it is a great accomplishment once you've farmed and grinded all of them though, then at some point you think it's a good idea to get an alt since the game is on sale. Back to square one

 

[thistle]

I would just do this. Jameson site, HGEs, and crystal shards:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4HClk1cRIo


The thing with the thargoids is you don't need heavily engineered ships to take on scouts, but the interceptors are deliberately I think for wing or end-game pve combat.

 

[Morbad]

Frankly, I think engineering is the absolute worst feature in this game, and every part of it sucks, and is annoying.

I'm not going to say it's the worst feature, but it's bad and has few redeeming qualities.

Are there tips, tricks, advice or just general spacer knowledge you've picked up in your time through the black that can get through this horrible part of the game quicker?

Don't try to get past it, just let it play out. If you find your CMDR near an Engineer, visit them to see what's up, blow some materials on ranking something, pin a blueprint, then move on. Sooner or later you'll find you have some useful gear and the next time you find your material bins overflowing you can get whatever you need without too much trouble. Some of the initial unlocks can be tedious, but you don't need to do everything at once or prioritize it over other goals.

Of course, if your CMDR is directly competing with other CMDRs, especially in combat, then you may have to get more proactive.

 

[Florenus]

I have several engineers unlocked (I forgot about that part, ugh) but moreover, it's the going back and forth to the same points, collecting the junk over and over, and then trading them for a marginal upgrade to a stat, however, due to the fact that all the NPCs apparently also visited these guys and got their marginal upgrades, they're marginally, or in the Thargoids case, significantly, more upgraded than you. It kind of reminds me of the power creep of Gachapon games but instead of asking for money, it's time.

The idea is to unlock them and upgrade modules as you play, not grind it before you play. But if you prefer it that way, it's your choice.

 

[Bottom Hat]

Well, yes it can be a pita, but the rewards are ready worth it. Most people have more fun for it, but some people refuse to acknowledge that it is somewhat grindy. Once unlocked though, it's not much work. But I can give you two pieces of advice:-

1. Only engineer one ship at a time. Fly the ship a lot, get used to it, learn to like it, then go engineer it. Don't spam all the engineers all in one shift else it's just dull, and you don't recognize the changes. So do them in little blocks - such as weapons, drives/fsd, power plant/dist, and so on. Then take the ship for a spin each time to see how the changes reflect. But do this in one ship - if you do all at once, you lose the difference in a mire of numbers.

1b. Sorry. No need to grade 5 everything immediately - some mods see the biggest difference at g3 or g4, you can always go back to g5 later on. Don't forget to pin a good blueprint at each engineer.

2. If you can, I really stress, carry a collector limpet controller. Your life will be easier for it. If you are good or enjoy combat, go to a high res, shoot people with the fuzz, pick up everything. Same for conflict zones.

As a final thought, or point 4, don't forget to trade down as and when you see a trader. Make it second nature. Nothing worse than seeing loads of g4 or g5 stuff floating that you are full of.


And ask as many questions as you want - some players will help you collect stuff for engineering. Or take you to the shard sites. Just don't get too myopic about it all, and it'll come to you a lot easier. Have fun with it mate


Edit - comments by @Morbad and @Florenus above are brilliant advice.

 

[Kelster87]

Hey so, with all that's coming up, I want to once again try to enjoy Elite Dangerous, I actually think to try and get some kind of "Goal" or event out of it, going after the Thargoids sounds like it could be fun, however, by looking at the guides, and also just my experience playing the last several times, it is obviously clear I need to engineer my ships.

Frankly, I think engineering is the absolute worst feature in this game, and every part of it sucks, and is annoying.
Upgrading ships could and should be fun, but the way this is done is just pure garbage, it sucks all the life out of me, and I shelf the game. So, to avoid this, I want to know if there's a FAST way to get past this so I can proverbially "Eat that frog" get past stupid engineering, and get towards the enjoyable part of the game!

Are there tips, tricks, advice or just general spacer knowledge you've picked up in your time through the black that can get through this horrible part of the game quicker? If so, please let me know, I greatly appreciate it, and thank you very much for your time! I really look forward to being able to walk around in Odyssey!!!!

Go play something else? Because Engineering prep is just playing the game.. The Engineer unlocks much the same. But then, I also make sure I have sufficient materials to do complete upgrades, all the way to G5, without going back.. And pin the damn Blueprints..

 

[EmmyV]

EDIT: I meant to quote Bottom Hat but apparently I'm using the forum wrong and it did not do so!
I get you, and what Florentus is saying just above, you're basically suggesting instead of making it a point to get past. It's a point to make note of AS you're doing other things, and you know, I think if the content leading up to the post-upgrade point was stronger, that'd be a very valid, and honestly it's still quite valid despite, way to handle things! As it stands though, I work pretty extensively, every week, all the time, and when I do get time for gaming, I like to be able to enter with an objective (Get to x point, fight the thargoid at X station) and the sort of... (I can't think of a better term) over-grindy, elements they kind of eliminate the ability to have any objectives, and instead sort of gatekeep in a way that essentially punishes you for trying to get anywhere. What I was hoping to do is basically set up the game, then perhaps on an odd day this holiday season when I can spend like 8 hours playing a video game seriously, try and get the ship upgraded, so I can go and play it more amenably later on in shorter 1-2 hour game sessions. Otherwise, quite literally, the game is gated away from my shot at being able to play it!

In short in the several hundred hours I've logged in this game over several years, the flow has been
1. Start upgrading ship.
2. Collect the materials
3. Start getting money to get the better ship.
4. Collect the materials.
5. Start upgrading ship.
6. Burnout, stop playing.

My wife, another LEP owner like me, won't even play the game unless she can do a ship launched fighter, or something that gets to "Do something" for a moment because like me, she wants to experience the game, loves the setting, universe, so on, but just can't stomach essentially playing minecraft in space with no crafting system. (Though I've heard physically mining is more fun than resource mining for engineers! That might be fun to try too someday, but that ALSO means engineering another ship -_- (You can see why the problem is there)) also, most of my friends who played the game, just won't anymore, main reason cited: Engineers.

So, for most of the people that seem to enjoy the game these days, just looking around at forums, discords, so on, are people who basically have been able to amass great wealth through prior grinding bugs, get rich quick schemes, or just literally have the time and energy to get vast fortune in both cash and materials, and just get to experience content as it comes out, rather than watch it float by and go "Someday, that'd be cool". I'd like to try and get to a sort of less-awesome point like that with my limited time, and try to get at least 1 maybe 2 finished ships, so if things come out in those fields, I can at least play those parts solo.

 

[here_it_comes]

Because Engineering prep is just playing the game..

Yeah, because everyone was just bound to make trade runs for rare ale, tea and cigars, mine Painite and Bromite, run passenger missions to collect modular terminals, collect Soontil Relics, etc. without even thinking about doing it just to unlock Engineers. I'm sure you didn't go out of your way to do these tasks just to unlock Engineers.

My wife, another LEP owner like me, won't even play the game unless she can do a ship launched fighter, or something that gets to "Do something" for a moment because like me, she wants to experience the game, loves the setting, universe, so on, but ...

That echoes the sentiments of my ex-Wingmates. Well, that and Wing bugs.

 

[EmmyV]

Yeah, because everyone was just bound to make trade runs for rare ale, tea and cigars, mine Painite and Bromite, run passenger missions to collect modular terminals, collect Soontil Relics, etc. without even thinking about doing it just to unlock Engineers. I'm sure you didn't go out of your way to do these tasks just to unlock Engineers.



That echoes the sentiments of my ex-Wingmates. Well, that and Wing bugs.

Aha! I discovered how to quote messages successfully!!!! But yeah, wing bugs I can forgive, it's basically dovetailing instances of a MAAAAASIVE instance together (I'm a game developer) and that's like, well, honestly some of the stuff Frontier pulls of is really freakin impressive, so if the hard parts break I'm like "Eh, it happens", if it's like engineers, that's ON PURPOSE, and it leaves me scratching my head as to why.

 

[Brrokk]

EDIT: I meant to quote Bottom Hat but apparently I'm using the forum wrong and it did not do so!
I get you, and what Florentus is saying just above, you're basically suggesting instead of making it a point to get past. It's a point to make note of AS you're doing other things, and you know, I think if the content leading up to the post-upgrade point was stronger, that'd be a very valid, and honestly it's still quite valid despite, way to handle things! As it stands though, I work pretty extensively, every week, all the time, and when I do get time for gaming, I like to be able to enter with an objective (Get to x point, fight the thargoid at X station) and the sort of... (I can't think of a better term) over-grindy, elements they kind of eliminate the ability to have any objectives, and instead sort of gatekeep in a way that essentially punishes you for trying to get anywhere. What I was hoping to do is basically set up the game, then perhaps on an odd day this holiday season when I can spend like 8 hours playing a video game seriously, try and get the ship upgraded, so I can go and play it more amenably later on in shorter 1-2 hour game sessions. Otherwise, quite literally, the game is gated away from my shot at being able to play it!

In short in the several hundred hours I've logged in this game over several years, the flow has been
1. Start upgrading ship.
2. Collect the materials
3. Start getting money to get the better ship.
4. Collect the materials.
5. Start upgrading ship.
6. Burnout, stop playing.

My wife, another LEP owner like me, won't even play the game unless she can do a ship launched fighter, or something that gets to "Do something" for a moment because like me, she wants to experience the game, loves the setting, universe, so on, but just can't stomach essentially playing minecraft in space with no crafting system. (Though I've heard physically mining is more fun than resource mining for engineers! That might be fun to try too someday, but that ALSO means engineering another ship -_- (You can see why the problem is there)) also, most of my friends who played the game, just won't anymore, main reason cited: Engineers.

So, for most of the people that seem to enjoy the game these days, just looking around at forums, discords, so on, are people who basically have been able to amass great wealth through prior grinding bugs, get rich quick schemes, or just literally have the time and energy to get vast fortune in both cash and materials, and just get to experience content as it comes out, rather than watch it float by and go "Someday, that'd be cool". I'd like to try and get to a sort of less-awesome point like that with my limited time, and try to get at least 1 maybe 2 finished ships, so if things come out in those fields, I can at least play those parts solo.

You can try out mining without unlocking a single engineer. Many other game activities are also available.

In all seriousness I don't think this is the game for you. Basically, it's a spaceship flying game. Unlocking engineers and collecting materials will have you flying a spaceship just as every other activity will. You either like doing that or you don't.

The second paragraph is untrue. In fact many who are billionaires say that the best fun was in the early stages, learning the game in small ships. Myself, I still make reasons to fly my Cobra now and then.

 

[Morbad]

I think if the content leading up to the post-upgrade point was stronger, that'd be a very valid, and honestly it's still quite valid despite, way to handle things!

Unless you are looking for PvP engagements, the post and pre upgrade content is largely the same...combat is just easier, and distance travel faster, once upgraded.

 

[EmmyV]

You can try out mining without unlocking a single engineer. Many other game activities are also available.

In all seriousness I don't think this is the game for you. Basically, it's a spaceship flying game. Unlocking engineers and collecting materials will have you flying a spaceship just as every other activity will. You either like doing that or you don't.

The second paragraph is untrue. In fact many who are billionaires say that the best fun was in the early stages, learning the game in small ships. Myself, I still make reasons to fly my Cobra now and then.

I don't think that's really fair or accurate. If that's the case, then this game isn't for... most people. I do, in fact, like flying ships, and going places in those ships. Sometimes, I even like DOING THINGS with those ships. In games in general, it's also a good idea to have credible threat, and a margin of success, if that latter point is too heavily gated in "Endgame" content without enough "Game" content, then there is in fact an issue, and frankly just telling anyone who doesn't agree with your philosophy to get out, isn't really a mature, accurate, or even fair, way to go about a conversation.

EDIT: Apologies Morbad the ticker for your post just showed up the moment I posted. I get what you're saying, and if I perhaps upgraded the ship by doing those things, that'd be less an issue and more a flow of gameplay, but I instead have to do unrelated things, in order to get unrelated upgrades. Something akin to making 5,000 iron daggers in skyrim to become the greatest Two handed swordswoman.

 

[Kelster87]

Yeah, because everyone was just bound to make trade runs for rare ale, tea and cigars, mine Painite and Bromite, run passenger missions to collect modular terminals, collect Soontil Relics, etc. without even thinking about doing it just to unlock Engineers. I'm sure you didn't go out of your way to do these tasks just to unlock Engineers.

That echoes the sentiments of my ex-Wingmates. Well, that and Wing bugs.

Funnily enough, I've only forced myself to do exactly one of the things you've mentioned.. I won't mention I got the 25 modular terminals in 1 non-passenger mission.

Just because you choose to grind, doesn't mean we all do.. I fly around, collect things.. I do a CG now and then.. I haven't unlocked 1/2 the Engineers.. I flew to Colonia and the local Engineers all seemed to welcome me with open arms.

So, for most of the people that seem to enjoy the game these days, just looking around at forums, discords, so on, are people who basically have been able to amass great wealth through prior grinding bugs, get rich quick schemes, or just literally have the time and energy to get vast fortune in both cash and materials, and just get to experience content as it comes out, rather than watch it float by and go "Someday, that'd be cool". I'd like to try and get to a sort of less-awesome point like that with my limited time, and try to get at least 1 maybe 2 finished ships, so if things come out in those fields, I can at least play those parts solo.

Umm, I've never had more 500k in credits. Rarely owned more than 1 ship at a time..

 

[here_it_comes]

In all seriousness I don't think this is the game for you.

I detest the Engineer unlock process and how Engineering is done, so my 3k+ hours shouldn't have happened? I had no idea this game wasn't for me, it's strange I enjoy it.

 

[Brrokk]

I don't think that's really fair our accurate. If that's the case, then this game isn't for... most people. I do, in fact, like flying ships, and going places in those ships. Sometimes, I even like DOING THINGS with those ships. In games in general, it's also a good idea to have credible threat, and a margin of success, if that latter point is too heavily gated in "Endgame" content without enough "Game" content, then there is in fact an issue, and frankly just telling anyone who doesn't agree with your philosophy to get out, isn't really a mature, accurate, or even fair, way to go about a conversation.

I didn't tell you to get out; I hope you'll find enjoyment in this game. I think you're looking for "content" that isn't here though. In fact, if you could magically blast through engineering I think you'd then find that there isn't what you would call "end-game content" either.