How dangerous is Elite?

[Fubidou]

Hi,

I haven't played Elite for about 2 years, not since I crashed my ship on the return journey after several months of exploration, then got griefed in my T6, and my X52 joystick broke and the customer support basically didn't want to know... (it was a bad day) ... so, traumatised, I put down my joysticks and played Skyrim for a long time

Anyway, I'm back and a lot has changed. When I set off, PowerPlay wasn't set up, and there were no moon buggies to drive around. so I'd like to set off and rediscover some of the planets I discovered (I logged all the system names), but I would like some advice about ... mainly Thargoids (and any other new threats to explorers that have arrived in updates)

How likely am I to bump into them on a voyage? Will I survive in a T6? What kind of precautions should one take? Would a Diamondback Explorer hold its own in a fight with Thargoids, and what would you need to survive? Or is the threat minimal and can be ignored?

The reason I ask is because I really like the sound of the T6 engines, it's like a space truck. The Asp explorer sounds like a toy tractor, and I just bought a Diamondback, but I'm not too sure I like the sound of that one either. If you're out there for many many hours, weeks, days, months, I don't want to listen to something like that!

 

[ALEX CAOS]

Bump in Thargoid by accident 1% if happens run dont try to fight.
Stand a Thargoid in exploration Diamonback 0%

Diamond Back exp. for exploration and jump for me, you can switch out the fsd booster if you dont have for afmu. Would be better for exploration eather i gues

https://s.orbis.zone/nx-

 

[Ian Doncaster]

So long as you stay clear of the Pleiades and nearby systems you won't meet Thargoids while out exploring. There are currently no other significant dangers either ... though it's worth having some shields so that you don't have to be ultra-cautious with every planetary landing, and practice some high-gravity landings before you depart.

 

[Shnyrik]

Will I survive in a T6?

If you run away -- you might

Would a Diamondback Explorer hold its own in a fight with Thargoids

Absolutely no. I mean, yes, there are CMDRs who fought thargoid cyclops on sidewinders and haulers and won, but still unprepared and stripped down exploDBX has no chances at all.

What kind of precautions should one take?

There are CMDRs who install shutdown field neutralizers, but high speed + silent running might also help

How likely am I to bump into them on a voyage?

Not really likely That so called thargoid "invasion" is so intense, that you usually have to look for special places of interest for thargoids to meet them And even then their interest to you would be so high, that they'd just spawn a bunch of "non-human signal" USS, that you can easily ignore.

Actually, that infamous the Gnosis incident was the first time when thargoid invasion really felt like invasion.

Yes, there still are hyperdictions to mention, but even in the Pleiades they are disappointingly rare

Or is the threat minimal and can be ignored?

Unless you fly to some place of thargoid's special interest (like the Pleiades) or are flying extraordinary expensive ship (like exploCutter with 100+ mil. rebuy cost), the answer is "yes"

 

[Qohen Leth]

Not.

 

[Sixxor]

Unless you go looking for them, your chances of randomly encountering a Thargoid are virtually zero.
If you do happen to run into one, then if your ship is set up for exploring, then it doesn't really matter which ship it is, you won't stand a chance if you try to fight it. The good news is though if you make no aggressive moves they likely won't attack you, so just stay calm, don't make any stupid moves and then retreat. You'll be fine.

Additionally, considering how long it is since you've played, you should be aware that neutron stars and white dwarfs are more dangerous than they used to be. Zero your throttle when you jump and if you do jump into a neutron or WD then stay well clear of the exclusion zone and don't crash out into normal space or you might get melted. I would also say stay clear of the jet cones for now until you've watched a video or two on safe jet scooping techniques. It can be scary skimming them for the first time and if you screw it up you're potentially toast.

 

[Fubidou]

Thanks everyone who replied.. very helpful!
I took the Diamondback out for a spin, and I think I'm going to use the T6: I can't stand the noise of the DBX, it sounds like some kind of industrial winch...

@Sixxor Yeah, I saw some jet cones on a white dwarf last night, I called my son over: "hey, have a look at this!" Didn't look like the WD's of yesteryear...

 

[Le-Betz]

Currently there are two kinds of Thargoid ships: scouts and interceptors. Here you can find everything you need to know about them:

Thargoid Scout
Thargoid Interceptor

When you encounter scout ships they always turn hostile immediatly against you, so you only can try to fight them or get away (both is not to difficult). I find encounters with interceptors much more interesting as the possibilities of interaction are still very limited, but not as much as with the scouts.

It is possible that Interceptors are remotely-piloted or even autonomous, and their organic design implies that if this is the case, they may be engineered organisms that were created by the Thargoids.

Thargoid interceptors indeed react very much like animals, they won't harm you as long as you keep following two simple rules:

1. Don't shoot at them,
2. Don't come to close (nearer than a little more than 500m).

Also they always give you a clear warning if you come to near (they turn red) and enough time to gain some distance.

[video=youtube;ahWmuWsVAmw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahWmuWsVAmw&t=0s[/video]

 

[Hanerib]

There could be all sorts of dangers out there. They sing and then they find you. Weird shapes lurking behind craters. I swear I was attacked by a species of telepathic space-mushrooms during sleep somewhere around Crab nebula. Planetary orbits can talk. Never travel without a railgun. Things more dangerous than Thargoids.

 

[Le-Betz]

And never underestimate the constant danger of space-madness.

 

[Sixxor]

Thanks everyone who replied.. very helpful!
I took the Diamondback out for a spin, and I think I'm going to use the T6: I can't stand the noise of the DBX, it sounds like some kind of industrial winch...

@Sixxor Yeah, I saw some jet cones on a white dwarf last night, I called my son over: "hey, have a look at this!" Didn't look like the WD's of yesteryear...

Yeah it's easy for us to forget that they didn't always look like that! They look awesome now. Neutron stars look even more amazing.

I'm with you on the DBX, I had one for a while and I just couldn't grow to like it. A lot of explorers love it for it's huge jump range potential, but it's not for me aesthetically. I have to like the looks, sound and feel of my ship these days, which I why I now explore in my Imperial Clipper. Luxury.

 

[Ethaidan]

Thanks everyone who replied.. very helpful!
I took the Diamondback out for a spin, and I think I'm going to use the T6: I can't stand the noise of the DBX, it sounds like some kind of industrial winch...

@Sixxor Yeah, I saw some jet cones on a white dwarf last night, I called my son over: "hey, have a look at this!" Didn't look like the WD's of yesteryear...

Have you considered one of the new ships for exploration - in particular, the Krait?

 

[Shnyrik]

I swear I was attacked by a species of telepathic space-mushrooms during sleep somewhere around Crab nebula

Did they talk to you? I don't think you need my warning, but still: don't believe a single word of what those little sneaky boasters say!

Never travel without a railgun

Hey, I seem to have one on my exploration DBX! May be I'm not as crazy as I've thought

 

[Zieman]

I swear I was attacked by a species of telepathic space-mushrooms during sleep somewhere around Crab nebula.

Did they talk to you? I don't think you need my warning, but still: don't believe a single word of what those little sneaky boasters say!

Embrace the Juffo-Wup!
"Juffo-Wup is the hot light in the darkness. All else is unfulfilled Void."
"When we encounter the Non, we must absorb the Non or reject the Non so that it is no longer Non."

Spoiler

[video=youtube;w5qoWoKpkzM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5qoWoKpkzM[/video]

 

[Rat Catcher]

Yeah it's easy for us to forget that they didn't always look like that! They look awesome now. Neutron stars look even more amazing.

I'm with you on the DBX, I had one for a while and I just couldn't grow to like it. A lot of explorers love it for it's huge jump range potential, but it's not for me aesthetically. I have to like the looks, sound and feel of my ship these days, which I why I now explore in my Imperial Clipper. Luxury.

How is your Clipper outfitted? I have bought one with the option of exploring in it but the 16 ton fuel tank worries me!

 

[Shnyrik]

16 ton fuel tank worries me!

It's not that bad actually

Being stripped down it has total range of about 170 ly. There are not that many places in the Galaxy where you won't meet a single scoopable star in that radius.

Though I'm now trying to fly through the Monoceros Passage and I've still decided to take DBX with a more comfortable 70/255 ly range

 

[iain666]

How is your Clipper outfitted? I have bought one with the option of exploring in it but the 16 ton fuel tank worries me!

The 16t tank is fine, just took mine (outfitting link in sig - updated since I got back to FSD boosters and engineering changes) on a 600kly trip for DECE and had no problems.

 

[marx]

First off, about Thargoids: speed is an excellent defense against interceptors, as you can outrun them. In the extremely unlikely event that you met them without specifically looking for them, you could just turn around and boost. If your ship can go over 450 m/s, you should be safe from Thargoid and human NPCs both. (Not from hostile players, mind.) Plus it can be a lot of fun to zoom around on planets in a fast ship.

On a Clipper, I've never had any problems with 16t fuel. Even went with 12t for a while: if you pay attention, it's quite enough. Tried 8t too, but that was iffy for me. But in the age of FSD boosters, you don't really need to save that weight.

 

[EISENHORN01]

Meh......SCREW THE BUGS, if you love exploring wait till the new stuff arrives in a few weeks time. The whole exploring experience is getting a overhaul and from what they’ve drip fed us so far it looks highly promising (note not everyone feels this way further exploration of the forum will undoubtedly enlighten you).

 

[Sixxor]

How is your Clipper outfitted? I have bought one with the option of exploring in it but the 16 ton fuel tank worries me!

Something like this: https://s.orbis.zone/o8c

That's not the exact setup as my engineering rolls aren't quite that good, but that's the module setup at least. My jump range is a bit lower than that, around 37.5 with a full fuel tank.
The 16t tank is fine, I've taken it to various nebulae and other areas of interest without any problems. Just need to be mindful of voids full of unscoopables and work around them. Under normal travel circumstances though the tank fills up so quick at every scoopable star that it rarely drops below 50%.

Edit: Remembered why mine is 37.5ly, I have 6A thrusters, not 5D as in the link above.