I refuse to grind anymore

[OBYOZ]

About 18 months ago, I had enough and stopped engineering modules. Especially as fdevs kept moving the goalposts, and I realized it will never stop.

But is it necessary to engineer in order to play the game in open?
I plan on playing ED again when the next update goes live, Mainly to discover new stuff through the codex.

But can I still play the game now though?
Will I be easily destroyed by NPCs/thargoids/humans?

Have I missed out on any essential engineering?

I know that the scanner interface has changed so are there any tips anyone can give me before I head out into the black?

Regards

 

[Stigbob]

Its all optional. Grind has always been a choice if you don't like it just don't do it.

Nothings particularly hard to get hold of.

 

[GunnerBill]

There are several guides on evasion techniques, I'm sure someone with more time can post links.

The only engineering thing I'd recommend as essential for playing the game/QoL within the game is:

Dirty Drives so you can evade enemies in real space.

Increased range FSD so you can get about quicker.

I know it's a cliche but the grind really is in your mind. Just play the game and it will come to you but obviously it will take longer.

Everything else will make your ship more powerful but with good skills you will probably get about fine in Open and of course no probs in Solo/PG.

 

[xxThe_Dice_manxx]

Just got back from a long absence ,with nothing engineered on my ships I got a few shocks but nearly up to speed again in a few weeks.

So if you have engineered ships you will be fine if not tread lightly.

 

[Bigmaec]

With engineering 3.0 and the upcoming 3.3 USS changes it's easier then ever to do good modules.

Give it a try, it's not that much grind any more.

 

[Zieman]

We still remember
via Imgflip Meme Generator

 

[Han_Zen]

With engineering 3.0 and the upcoming 3.3 USS changes it's easier then ever to do good modules.

Give it a try, it's not that much grind any more.

It's more or less only raw materials, that are still a bit grindy to get. Manufactured and data comes quite easy, just by playing the game.

 

[Vardaugas]

Just switch over to an opportunist playstyle, snatching up material as you find it during your normal play and you should be able to engineer your ships eventually. Especially with the new exploration mechanics, finding high grade USS's and volcanic sites for needle crystals is easier than ever before. The rest goes through a material trader.

 

[Brrokk]

Yes, if you pick up everything you find, your storage will fill. You won't be able to use it fast enough. Even things out at a material trader occasionally.

 

[S~P]

Well the grind is a personal choice. But we do have material traders now and minor faction do give you materials as rewards now, so you can trade them for materials that you actually need. Plus the new changes coming in the new update will make it easier to find those uss that you are looking for.

 

[Zeeman]

It's not so bad now, because the final figures for all the upgrades are fixed, and it's not constant random dice rolls to get close to what you kinda want...

Basically, it's far less grindy now.
Z...

 

[Shiro Akai]

Its all optional. Grind has always been a choice if you don't like it just don't do it.

Both true and false at the same time. It's like saying you can walk to the next city and driving a car is optional. But driving a car is faster and more convenient. Still you can walk and you aren't required to have a car.

For me engineering is that kind of feature that is not required but not having it means you limit yourself much. So in the overall scheme - it's almost mandatory. That kind of twisted logic - totally optional but mandatory since it affects your efficiency.

As OP stated he's inclined toward exploration then G5 FSD engineering is a must. Guardian FSD booster is another "must". With old system we could engineer scanners for faster scans, don't know the new system, I avoided beta so don't know how it treat my current engineering.

As for combat:
- Thagroid somewhat require AX weapon which is unlocked via "grind"
- NPC can be fought without engineering, at least low to mid levels of competency. After that engineering would improve your efficiency so it's advised to have it
- PvP combat forget without engineering. You would feel like amateur competing with pro Olympic athletes.

 

[CMDR CPT. Boris]

We still remember

i remember all those mats/data wasted as well

 

[bootsam]

^As above. My Conda, the General Purpose, always has collector drones. Its amazing how much you pick up from moronic npcs in eagles/haulers/etc trying to pirate a g5 engineered vessel. Plus theres often lots of stuff knocking around. Pick it up, use it to trade for what you need. Engineering is so much better than it was, for me anyways. Carry 1t of gold on you and pirates flock to you. Zap em and scoop up the detritis. When is SC, scan all ships, all the time to get the data. It all adds up, just go about your day doing stuff, but keep mat/data gathering as you go.

 

[Factabulous]

Changed my mind

 

[pzykozomatik]

Flying faster and jumping further are the most obvious benefits of engineering. I'll also throw resistance engineering for shields and shield boosters into the ring as well as heavy duty armour/HRPs, even for a purely defensive playstyle those can be a lifesaver.

You can surely do without any engineering in PvE, but even the grade 1 ones give you a significant advantage over NPCs and don't require that much of a grind to acquire. Generally speaking, engineering gives you more room to experiment and lets you get away with more sloppy builds and piloting as you're usually so much better than most NPCs in every way that it's actually quite unfair.

Personally, I like engineering my ships and I don't see it as a grind, on the contrary it gives me a goal to accomplish. Every ship I buy gets the full treatment before I even take it on its first mission.

 

[Alec Turner]

If you want to go head to head against pvp combat pilots you need to grind. If you want to go up against the big Thargoid ships you need to grind. To fight scouts not so much but you probably ought to unlock some AX weapons. But otherwise, unless you're rank/credit grinding for the really big ships then no, there's no need to grind. You can let the engineering mat's come to you opportunistically and do sporadic engineering as and when the option arises.

 

[Zeeman]

Well, if we must grind... May I suggest an Anfim SPII?

Z...

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

for my playstyle everything is optional... however for those who like to PvP i do sympathise.

an unengineered "A" rated (although not, because say the vulture cant be A rated without engineers - which as it happens i thought was an interesting design) vulture would not last long against a G5 rated vulture even in the hands of a half decent pilot. so in those instances engineers goes far beyond an optional extra, so the grind is real for them.

for me however i very much play how i play and collect stuff as i come to it. when i have the stuff for a few tweaks i make them. I find this really enjoyable (which isnt to say things cant be better and indeed i think in beta things ARE better)

i will "grind" is there is something i really want, maybe for 30 mins or so, but anything beyond that no thanks. The rest of the time i just play the game

 

[Stigbob]

Both true and false at the same time. It's like saying you can walk to the next city and driving a car is optional. But driving a car is faster and more convenient. Still you can walk and you aren't required to have a car.

The difference isn't that great. Its more like the difference between walking and alpine walking.

For me engineering is that kind of feature that is not required but not having it means you limit yourself much. So in the overall scheme - it's almost mandatory. That kind of twisted logic - totally optional but mandatory since it affects your efficiency.

Or its optional, in other words. Just do the ones you want and ignore the rest.

As OP stated he's inclined toward exploration then G5 FSD engineering is a must. Guardian FSD booster is another "must". With old system we could engineer scanners for faster scans, don't know the new system, I avoided beta so don't know how it treat my current engineering.

Range doesn't help with exploration, shorter jumps are fine once you are out bagging new stuff. It just means it takes a little longer to get out there or back. People bothered by that generally don't go exploring anyway.

As for combat:
- Thagroid somewhat require AX weapon which is unlocked via "grind"
- NPC can be fought without engineering, at least low to mid levels of competency. After that engineering would improve your efficiency so it's advised to have it
- PvP combat forget without engineering. You would feel like amateur competing with pro Olympic athletes.

AX weapons don't require any unlock at all.
Not everyone cares about efficiency.
PVP is irrelevant to most players.