It wasn't me, it was the one-armed Rat!
Let's talk about fuel rats
- Thread starter husky of snow
- Start date
I’ve never needed the services of the Fuel Rats but did need the help of the Hull Seals once.
I was exploring the Formidine Rift and following the lore trail before heading out to the rim in a Type 10 set up for exploration. It had lots of room for toys and I was making the most of some of the old Horizons landscapes in one of my SLFs, just hooning about and taking a break from the Type 10 flight model.
At that point I’d never really used SLFs and didn’t realise just how inept the ship crew could be when you leave them to their own devices. Flipping with F/A Off through a canyon I got a superb view of my Type 10 coming full steam down into the Canyon after me and moments after just piling straight into the surface and bouncing around, just to ensure there was a good amount of damage.)
I can’t remember now exactly how much hull survived that encounter but it was very low and too concerning to leave it in the hands of fate and hope on good sized trip. So I put a call in to the Hull Seals who seem to operate in a very similar manner to the Fuel Rats.
The Cmdr who came to my rescue was heading back to the Bubble from Colonia if memory serves and just diverted. I genuinely couldn’t believe how quickly they got to me, or how quickly the whole process was completed in. It was a fantastic experience and I have total respect for anyone who chooses such a commitment in their spare time.
I was exploring the Formidine Rift and following the lore trail before heading out to the rim in a Type 10 set up for exploration. It had lots of room for toys and I was making the most of some of the old Horizons landscapes in one of my SLFs, just hooning about and taking a break from the Type 10 flight model.
At that point I’d never really used SLFs and didn’t realise just how inept the ship crew could be when you leave them to their own devices. Flipping with F/A Off through a canyon I got a superb view of my Type 10 coming full steam down into the Canyon after me and moments after just piling straight into the surface and bouncing around, just to ensure there was a good amount of damage.)
I can’t remember now exactly how much hull survived that encounter but it was very low and too concerning to leave it in the hands of fate and hope on good sized trip. So I put a call in to the Hull Seals who seem to operate in a very similar manner to the Fuel Rats.
The Cmdr who came to my rescue was heading back to the Bubble from Colonia if memory serves and just diverted. I genuinely couldn’t believe how quickly they got to me, or how quickly the whole process was completed in. It was a fantastic experience and I have total respect for anyone who chooses such a commitment in their spare time.
Playing a (very) small part in helping to write their name on the galaxy map was cool too!
Source: https://youtu.be/jTG-pCDvVVY
Last edited:
Fuel Rats tend to have enormous jump ranges, and many of them wait for rescue missions at Jackson's Lighthouse, with the FSD supercharged. That means that almost the entire Bubble is at 1 jump range, and since 99% of cases happen in the Bubble, they can get to the client with one single jump, in less than a minute. (Even if a rat isn't at the lighthouse with the FSD supercharged, but is located somewhere in the middle of the Bubble, the majority of Bubble cases will still be within 1-4 jumps, so it takes just a few minutes at most to reach the client's system. Only cases outside the bubble tend to require more jumps.)
But that's not the only place where the rats can get incredibly fast. As far as I know, if the client was somewhere very far from the Bubble, like 5000 LY, in the distant past the rats would schedule a meeting with the client several hours later, or even the next day. Nowadays, however, with engineered super-long jump ranges and the use of spansh, an experienced rat can reach such a distance within the hour or so. It's an amazing thing to watch.
Pretty much spot on. Cases east of SOL can take a few jumps but even then we can usually be iin system before dispatch has gone through the safety checks, assigned rats nd talked the client through the friending and teaming processes.
A few rats (myself included) have alt accounts staged in the black, that help minimise the time taken to get to explorers, but yes that can take time, For some common spots we can still do 15-25 minute, or even far far less
Other places can take considerably longer.(a few hours maybe, depending on client location).I've flown 32kLy one (from an account already staged 17klY north of SOL) to get to a client, Others have flown greater distances. At the end of last year, I had an alt account just 50 mins away from a client more than 40kly north of SOL.
I've only been rescued once by the Fuel Rats so far. It was early on in my Pilots Federation career and I was in the bubble and there was a stretch of uninhabited space where I came into trouble due to lack of places to refuel. The whole idea of the Fuel Rats is an amazing on to me, I think it's a sign of an overall awesome community.
Warp stone fuel - best fuel, gnhihihihi. skitter
Thread needs new, better fuel to burn, BURN, rahahahaha!
Thread needs new, better fuel to burn, BURN, rahahahaha!
Although I have logged a few hundred hours it has never been consistent and half the time I don't remember the key bindings and so on...
Yesterday I managed (through stupidity) to maroon myself in deep space.
Fuel rats to the rescue. I can't believe how smooth the operation was!
Requested help, fast response, helped me with conserving what little I had, got connected with a Rat, completed the instructions, in next to no time I was refueled and on my way! Back to the bubble for now. I won't venture very far now until I have a ship that can go further then 19ly... Need to save funds etc.
I am only interested in exploring.
Thanks Fuel Rats, brilliant and detailed support from start to finish.
Grateful thanks.
Yesterday I managed (through stupidity) to maroon myself in deep space.
Fuel rats to the rescue. I can't believe how smooth the operation was!
Requested help, fast response, helped me with conserving what little I had, got connected with a Rat, completed the instructions, in next to no time I was refueled and on my way! Back to the bubble for now. I won't venture very far now until I have a ship that can go further then 19ly... Need to save funds etc.
I am only interested in exploring.
Thanks Fuel Rats, brilliant and detailed support from start to finish.
Grateful thanks.
Haven't had to bother the Rats yet, through a combination of luck and luck.
Have been wondering how busy they are lately though, due to SCO drives.
Have been wondering how busy they are lately though, due to SCO drives.
End of the Road
I've messed up. I am less than a thousand light years out from Beagle Point beginning a slow-boat journey home. Using the new feature in the galaxy map which highlights previous systems you have visited, I was retracing my jumps back and made a 50% boost into a system. It has one landable...
CMDR Chiggy Vonrictofen went the extra mile. Its 59 pages but its an awesome story imho when you consider the game was barely ~2 years old.
I've read it twice. It even made the Eurogamer
The 48-hour Elite Dangerous rescue mission to the edge of the galaxy
An Elite Dangerous fan spent two days travelling across the galaxy to rescue a marooned player who had declared his gam…
www.eurogamer.net
I had a hilarious fuel rat experience tonight. We've been cleaning out the last few systems before the weekly tick, so I was in a bit of a rush, and after we completed one system, I headed straight to the next. I didn't think much about my fuel capacity, my main focus was on just getting as much work done as possible.
I should have paid more attention to my fuel level, but as soon as I dropped into a medium axcz , two medusas spawned.
I proceeded to take them down. Not 20 seconds after the second one died, suddenly my ship came to a halt, and refused to move.
I was out of fuel. I watched, helpless, as more interceptors warped in. The conflict Zone was only halfway done.
This is literally the first time this has ever happened to me. I could have just self-destructed, but I was halfway through the conflict zone, and the system in question is barely going to make it if it does. So I figured, what's the harm? I've never called the fuel rats before.
There was no hesitation. No doubt. No delay. Less than 3 minutes after my request was sent, I saw a beautiful ship drop in right next to me, firing off refueling limpets like mad. Which was good, because he only got about four or five off before another Medusa and a basilisk plus 20 Scouts headed our way.
I yelled to run, and I started firing at The Cloud of Scouts that chased after him, trying to draw their attention. Finally, he jumped away, and I was back in the action. 20 minutes later, another basilisk and Medusa were dead, all thanks to this Intrepid fuel rat.
If we do manage to take that system this week, it may come down purely to their efforts.
10/10, would call again.
I should have paid more attention to my fuel level, but as soon as I dropped into a medium axcz , two medusas spawned.
I proceeded to take them down. Not 20 seconds after the second one died, suddenly my ship came to a halt, and refused to move.
I was out of fuel. I watched, helpless, as more interceptors warped in. The conflict Zone was only halfway done.
This is literally the first time this has ever happened to me. I could have just self-destructed, but I was halfway through the conflict zone, and the system in question is barely going to make it if it does. So I figured, what's the harm? I've never called the fuel rats before.
There was no hesitation. No doubt. No delay. Less than 3 minutes after my request was sent, I saw a beautiful ship drop in right next to me, firing off refueling limpets like mad. Which was good, because he only got about four or five off before another Medusa and a basilisk plus 20 Scouts headed our way.
I yelled to run, and I started firing at The Cloud of Scouts that chased after him, trying to draw their attention. Finally, he jumped away, and I was back in the action. 20 minutes later, another basilisk and Medusa were dead, all thanks to this Intrepid fuel rat.
If we do manage to take that system this week, it may come down purely to their efforts.
10/10, would call again.
They are great!!
Back when I was learning the game, in April 2016, I made the mistake of not outfitting a Fuel Scoop in my recently acquired Eagle and became stranded in a brown dwarf area within the bubble.
I call them, followed their fuel economy guidelines and help arrived within 15 mins. A couple of minutes later I was on my way again, having learned the lesson (never got stranded again).
Very nice people, the ones I've known.
Pretty amazing that they were willing to service you in the middle of an active AXCZ; I imagine human CZs are no problem at all, but Thargoids make no distinction between fighting and rescue vessels.
Next time add repair limpets instead SLF
...But I guess you could have both on T-10. At least Anaconda can have everything.
Was one, sort of ... I was supposed to set up with another rat to get ... qualified?
But I couldn't figure out how to make that happen, so I just went exploring.
Couldn't anybody in our ratchat channel guide you as to what to do?
Really, the progression is sign up, Read our standard operating procedure and other documentation that discuss rescue techniques (practially it will take several reads to gel), observe the communications of rats performing rescues, Make use of our training facilities if you feel so inclined (I'm one of the training team). When you feel ready (that you can meet the standards stated on the "What to expect on your drill" page) you can attend rescues but will be sent with more experienced rats (That said you should not go on live rescues to get practical experience - that's one of the purposes of our training programme). Also when you fee lready you can approach an Overseer to get drilled (this involves dealing with a simulated non-trivial rescue to an adequate standard). Once you pass a drill, you will be more trusted to go on rescues alone, and be sent on more complex rescues)
Progression need to stop once drilled. There are also trainings for more complex rescues, acting as dispatcher (the rat coordinating rescues) etc. that can be undertaken once you have been successfully drilled.
Contacting an Overseer or Trainer is just a matter of spotting one chatting in ratchat and chatting with them via direct message to arrange the drill/training.
It's the observe piece I couldn't make happen - nobody was available.