A few tips.
Go where there are undiscovered systems. That way you're earning some money while also exploring uncharted locations. That's because you're also getting first discovery bonuses for everything you scan. If you find any earth like worlds surface scan those too. You also don't need to worry about running into good planets that have already been foot-falled. I do this by opening the ED Astro Interactive Map and uploading my journal (see the buttons on the top left). Then I just travel into an area where it's mostly "cold" on the heatmap. Most of the stars you find there will be undiscovered.
Once you get there plot a course using the "efficient" option in the galaxy map. This will make the shortest possible jumps between you and your destination. That'll give you a route with 50+ jumps over a short distance. Filter your route by star type. You can use this as a guide for which stars to pick. I personally go with O, F, and K stars only. Make sure to also include non-sequence stars and such so if there's a black hole on the way you'll see it.
Now, go on the route.
Run FSS in every system along the way. You will need a tool that will tell you if you Stratum Tectonis is possible in the system after you're finished with FSS. I use Elite Dangerous Market Connector with the BioScan plugin. Make sure you read the instructions on how to install. It's not that complicated. After I'm finished with the FSS this tool will tell me all the possible biological signals in the system and their price. It's only worth going for things that are worth 17+ million. Stratum Tectonis is about 19 million and each will earn you about 95 million with a first footfall bonus.
That's all you really need to know. There are other little details but you'll figure that out as you go.
If you find 10 Stratum Tectonis you just earned 1 billion. I've noticed that if I find Stratum Tectonis is one system then I often find more in the systems immediately surrounding it. Not every time but pretty often. You don't need to do that though if you don't want. You can just follow the route you plotted on the galaxy map and it'll be fine.
To summarize:
Go where there are undiscovered systems. That way you're earning some money while also exploring uncharted locations. That's because you're also getting first discovery bonuses for everything you scan. If you find any earth like worlds surface scan those too. You also don't need to worry about running into good planets that have already been foot-falled. I do this by opening the ED Astro Interactive Map and uploading my journal (see the buttons on the top left). Then I just travel into an area where it's mostly "cold" on the heatmap. Most of the stars you find there will be undiscovered.
Once you get there plot a course using the "efficient" option in the galaxy map. This will make the shortest possible jumps between you and your destination. That'll give you a route with 50+ jumps over a short distance. Filter your route by star type. You can use this as a guide for which stars to pick. I personally go with O, F, and K stars only. Make sure to also include non-sequence stars and such so if there's a black hole on the way you'll see it.
Now, go on the route.
Run FSS in every system along the way. You will need a tool that will tell you if you Stratum Tectonis is possible in the system after you're finished with FSS. I use Elite Dangerous Market Connector with the BioScan plugin. Make sure you read the instructions on how to install. It's not that complicated. After I'm finished with the FSS this tool will tell me all the possible biological signals in the system and their price. It's only worth going for things that are worth 17+ million. Stratum Tectonis is about 19 million and each will earn you about 95 million with a first footfall bonus.
That's all you really need to know. There are other little details but you'll figure that out as you go.
If you find 10 Stratum Tectonis you just earned 1 billion. I've noticed that if I find Stratum Tectonis is one system then I often find more in the systems immediately surrounding it. Not every time but pretty often. You don't need to do that though if you don't want. You can just follow the route you plotted on the galaxy map and it'll be fine.
To summarize:
- Go to uncharted parts of the galaxy
- Plot an "efficient" route through O/F/K stars
- FSS every system on the way
- Use a tool that'll tell you which biologicals are worth landing and scanning
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