Increasing FSD range for an engineer-o-phobe

Jamey

Jamey
So far I've completely avoided engineers. I mean totally. I haven't even been to see Todd McBlaster or whatever he's called. As far as I'm aware I haven't even been to an engineer system.

And, so far, that's suited me just fine. I only really do PvE and mostly play in Mobius or Solo and I can't be bothered running around doing errands to unlock any of them.

But there is one area where I feel the lack of engineering a little and that is jump range. I just have an AspX and a DBE with 'normal'-ish jump ranges (32ly/34ly respectively, I think). I'm absolutely not willing to put in loads of effort to this, however is there anything relatively quick and simple (in real terms I'm talking about two hours of my time, I guess) I can do to make a decent difference to that and get me around the galaxy a bit faster?

I think Felicity is in my GalMap bookmarks without me having manually added her so I assume that means I'm 'aware' of her or whatever. What sort of improvements might I make with minimal effort of my part?

If it's too hard / boring then I'm quite happy to live with thirty-something ranges, but I figured it's worth asking, just in case.
 

Conch

Conch
First make sure you got the data for it, i think its strange wake solutions. Use a wake scanner to scan the bigger ships leaving the station.

Arsenic aint hard to get, more of a patience game. And if you like driving the SRV, its easy.

last one is chemical manipulators.. you can scoop those up near a tanker..

correct me if im wrong, just doing it from the top of my head.
 

furrycat

furrycat
Go to Ngurii and buy three Soontill Relics.
Take them to Elvira Martuuk.
Roll Increased FSD Range grade 1, three times.
Repeat for grade 2.
Repeat for grade 3.
Repeat for grade 4.
Roll increased FSD Range grade 5.
Enjoy your long range.

You could also use Felicity Farseer, and most people would probably tell you to go to her, mainly because when Engineers was in beta eveyone hung out there. But her unlock requirements are mildly more annoying, Elvira's progression is more immediately useful if you actually do decide to do more engineering and you don't care anyway.
 

ick

ick
I agree with you. The only interest in engineers I have is regarding increased jump range and WEIGHT..... because reducing WEIGHT gets you higher FSD.

First off, look over the engineers on a site like this. I wanted to do the LEAST POSSIBLE to get longer jumps.

https://inara.cz/galaxy-engineers/

In my OPINION there are two things you are looking for.

1. An ENGINEER that can do up to GRADE 5 FSD. Pick one that says G5 FSD and see what is required to "gain access". Develop that with the engineer and have them engineer a GRADE A FSD. Don't waste your time with another engineer without G5 FSD ability. Furrycat gave you some good suggestions.

ANY ENGINEER that goes to G5 FSD is the same outcome as any other... so it doesn't do you any good to work on another engineer if you have G5 FSD access with Felicity Farseer. Obviously engineers WANT different things to "open" so pay attention to what you think is dooable for you.

2. Engineers that can reduce weight of heavy modules like SENSORS. Those are the navigation sensors as well as the optional sensors you can modify. Pick someone that says G5 SENSORS and G5 Detailed Surface Scanner, etc. If you engineer your sensors for weight this can really help your jump range on the larger ships.

Engineering weapons for weight can help but you might compromise other weapon features doing that. Doing #1 and #2 is going to keep you busy for a while so worry about weight on weapons for later.
 
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viper666

V
For Grade 5 FSD engineering, you need Arsenic (SRV mining required) Make sure to check the planet you intend to land on has the materials you are looking for, local map>information tab.
Data Mined Wake Exceptions, you need a wake scanner, takes a while, but just sit outside a busy station and scan High Wakes.
Chemical Manipulators, High Grade USS or mission reward.

Remember once you unlock an engineer, you have to level up through the grades to get to G5. Worth mentioning, that for most people a G3 or G4 FSD range increase is plenty. Heck even some of the G1 rolls are decent enough.
 

seanguzzi

S
This site will answer many questions (which will beget more questions....)

You've gotten the Meeting requirement handled. Unlock requires meta-alloy. Google how to get that, and decide if it sounds like a task that's worth doing.

If you already have Atypical Disrupted Wake Echoes in your inventory (see right UI panel, under Inventory->Data IIRC) you can do level 1 FSD Range upgrades.

Some of the engineering requirements compel the player to engage in tasks they wouldn't otherwise consider, which can be fun or annoying. For example, for me one of these was mining, which turned out to be kind of fun. Not enough to be a career path, but enough to keep a mining-dedicated ship to fart around with it occasionally.

When it comes to engineering, do as much or as little as you like. I tend to pursue engineering upgrades until it no longer feels fun, then switch to something else.

Good luck & fly safe.
 

C4R1TON

C4R1TON
I'm the same. I am not in the mood to go hunt and grind for materials for engineers especially since PVP isn't my bread and butter. I did want to at least work on my FSD so I picked up a meta-alloy and took it to Felicity to see what she could do. Since I want to be able to get around in game comfortably, I figured I would at least do a little engineering thru her. The fun part for her was going to the barnacle site, obtaining one and bringing it to her. Now, its even easier, you can just stop by Danielle's Progress in Maia and buy one. I just rack up the flight distance going. It's usually a shot in the dark as I go with whatever I happen to have accidently accumulated through Bounty Hunting and scanning. But if you don't do anything else, at least work on the FSD, you will appreciate the greater jump distances...basically quality of life in game.

Fly safe o7
 

Jamey

Jamey
furrycat said:
Go to Ngurii and buy three Soontill Relics.
Take them to Elvira Martuuk.
Roll Increased FSD Range grade 1, three times.
Repeat for grade 2.
Repeat for grade 3.
Repeat for grade 4.
Roll increased FSD Range grade 5.
Enjoy your long range.

You could also use Felicity Farseer, and most people would probably tell you to go to her, mainly because when Engineers was in beta eveyone hung out there. But her unlock requirements are mildly more annoying, Elvira's progression is more immediately useful if you actually do decide to do more engineering and you don't care anyway.
Click to expand...

This sounds like the winner right now. So I really don't have to go hunting for anything, is it really as simple as buying three Soontill Relics and then boom, I'm rolling the dice? If so I'm a big fan of that simplicity.

I think I might have Elivira Martuuk in my bookmarks too, can't remember. What are the prerequisites for her?
 

ZAKALWEINC8876

ZAKALWEINC8876
In my view, its worth it. I also have an aspx, with a decent g5 roll you can easily get 40% extra range on yours.
So, if you grind an engineer, thats gonna take a while, but then you are saving loads of extra time just moving around, forever....
 

viper666

V
Jamey said:
This sounds like the winner right now. So I really don't have to go hunting for anything, is it really as simple as buying three Soontill Relics and then boom, I'm rolling the dice? If so I'm a big fan of that simplicity.

I think I might have Elivira Martuuk in my bookmarks too, can't remember. What are the prerequisites for her?
Click to expand...

The relics are to unlock the engineer, you still need the required data/materials for each mod.
 

Wyaston Hypatia

Wyaston Hypatia
Jamey said:
This sounds like the winner right now. So I really don't have to go hunting for anything, is it really as simple as buying three Soontill Relics and then boom, I'm rolling the dice? If so I'm a big fan of that simplicity.

I think I might have Elivira Martuuk in my bookmarks too, can't remember. What are the prerequisites for her?
Click to expand...
Have traveled 300lys from start.
 

IndigoWyrd

IndigoWyrd
You have two options for FSD Range boosts - either a visit to Felicity Farseer in Deciat, or Elvira Martuk in Kun. Both are available from the beginning.
To enlist Felicity's help, you're going to need two Meta Alloys to turn over to her. These can be acquired from a number of locations - either in and around the Pleadies or from Maia. You'll also need be ranked Scout or higher in Exploration.
To enlist Elvira's help, you'll need 3 Soontill Relics - Rare Commodities you can purchase at Cheranovsky City in Ngurii and to have traveled at least 300 Light Years from whichever system you started in.

Both of these sets of conditions are easy enough to meet. Once you have met these conditions, you're just about ready to begin.

You'll also need some materials - some pretty common, others a little less so.

My suggestion is to collect the following:

Atypical Disrupted Wake Echoes (You get these commonly from scanning High Energy Wakes with a Wake Scanner) x6
Chemical Processors (You'll find these commonly in Signal Sources) x6
Phosphorous (found on most any planet or while mining) x3
Strange Wake Solutions (also found while Wake Scanning) x3
Chemical Distilleries (also found commonly in Signal Sources) x3
Eccentric Hyperspace Trajectories (found Wake Scanning) x3
Manganese (found on planets or while mining) x3
Arsenic (found on planets or while mining) x1+
Chemical Manipulators (found in Signal Sources) x1+
Datamined Wake Exceptions (found Wake Scanning) X1+

Wow, that looks like quite the laundry-list doesn't it? Don't worry, it's not nearly as bad as it seems.

You're going to need at least 1 thing you may not run around with on a regular basis, and that's a Wake Scanner. It's a simple Utility item, and it's best used just outside any busy station.
You've probably seen ship Wakes plenty, but never done anything with them. You're about to. Lock on to one, fly close enough to scan it, and scan it. As long as you have room in your Data storage (right panel, Inventory tab, Data sub-section), you can collect wake data. You'll need to scan an absolute minimum of 5 High Energy Wakes, if you get perfectly lucky. You'll get 3 of any data type you scan. I usually shoot for collecting at least 9 Datamined Wake Exceptions when I venture out, and will end up with plenty of extra other data types. It usually takes about 10 minutes to collect wake data.

For your material needs - Phosphorous, Manganese and Arsenic, they are easiest to find on planets. Deciat 6F has all three materials. Look for Arsenic, settle for Phosphorous and Manganese. You'll find plenty of each, usually within 10-15 minutes.

And for all the other odds and ends - Signal Sources are your best friend here. Look for Combat Aftermath, Encoded and High Grade Emissions pretty much everywhere you go. With a bit of luck, you'll have more than enough of each type of material in 15-20 minutes of looking.

You'll have around an hour total gathering all your material and data needs. Now it's time to visit an Engineer and get some upgrades.
You'll have Grade 1 Available from the start. Make 3 grade 1 upgrades, but you needn't apply them. Just making 3 attempts will unlock Grade 2 upgrades. Again, make 3, but you need not apply them. Do it again for Grade 3 and Grade 4. This will open up grade 5 upgrades, and at least 1 of these you will want to apply, to get that nice, long-range jump you're looking for here. Total time to upgrade upgrades from 1 to 5 - 3 minutes.

Once you've unlocked grade 5 it will remain unlocked and you can bring as many ships and FSD's in for upgrading as you like and have materials for - which is why I mentioned above when Wake Scanning and Surface Prospecting, look for Datamined Wake Exceptions and Arsenic and settle for finding the other materials you need. Of course, once you've unlocked Grade 5 you won't need the grade 1-4 materials any longer for FSD range boosts. Just the 5's.

It's really not as bad as people make it out to be.
 

ick

ick
https://inara.cz/galaxy-blueprint/2/

See under each GRADE it lists the "costs"? You are going to need enough materials to roll a bunch of GRADE 1, enough materials to roll a bunch of GRADE 2, enough materials to roll a bunch of GRADE 3.. and so on. You don't need Arsenic until you EARN your way all the down to GRADE 5 first.
 

CMDR Carbo

CMDR Carbo
If you are an explorer, Farseer provides you probably the best entry level engineering.
You can modify Shield Boosters (G1) Power Plant (G1), Thrusters (G3), Frame Shift Drive (G5), Sensors (G1) and Detailed Surface Scanner (G3).
Both FSD and Sensor mods are useful to increase your jump range and reduce your weight, Thrusters G3 is nice to buff the D rated Thrusters a tad.

To unlock, fly to Darniell's Progress in the Maia System, buy 1 Meta Alloy, and bring it to Farseer.
 

Jamey

Jamey
viper666 said:
The relics are to unlock the engineer, you still need the required data/materials for each mod.
Click to expand...

Oh, boo. But thanks for clearing that up.

Do you 'spend' the data/materials per roll, or do you spend them once and then roll as much as you like? I'm guessing probably per roll. And do the different grades need different materials/data? If so this is all sounding like exactly the massive ballache I've spent so long avoiding and I might just forget it.
 

ick

ick
Pay as you go on every roll.

Don't forget to "pin" the blueprint you are currently trying to get BEFORE you leave the engineer. it makes it easier to follow what you are currently searching for.

I put the game down for a week and then I forget what material I was trying to gather....
 

Faded Glory

Faded Glory
Jamey said:
This sounds like the winner right now. So I really don't have to go hunting for anything, is it really as simple as buying three Soontill Relics and then boom, I'm rolling the dice? If so I'm a big fan of that simplicity.

I think I might have Elivira Martuuk in my bookmarks too, can't remember. What are the prerequisites for her?
Click to expand...

Well, yes, sort of... But you will need to have the appropriate materials / data for all the rolls. Depending on what you have done in the game that might be the case, but it also may very well not be. You can find out what you will need from the Inara site here.

Both Elvira and Felicity have 'exploration' requirements that you will need to have met before you can unlock them. They are both public knowledge from the get go, so you will know about them, but may or may not have the requirements to approach them. These are to travel 300 Ly from your starting location or exploration rank of scout respectively. Again, Inara shows these, as does the engineers page accessible from the right HUD.

Essentially, if you want to try and get the high level rolls in a short time it will (probably) be a grind. If you are happy to play the game and pick stuff up (the materials and data you will need for the upgrades) as you go along, it will likely take some time.
 
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