Locked out from FSD grade 5 - nerf it or buff it - or really a tale of a tail hung in shame

[disorganise]

Bit of tongue in cheek humour

However, I am genuinely blocked from a grade 5 FSD cos I can't get the Chemical manipulators. I saw a youtube saying to go to hazardous resource extraction site and kill T7's and T9's, or look for combat aftermarth USS's.

I've looked at plenty of USS's and most aren't combat aftermarth...and when they are, there's chemical something elses, but not manipulators

So I thought I'd hang up my morals and go look at this resource site. Oh boy....

I took my Asp which has a few guns on it that I grabbed to 'play' some of the engineering. Eventually found a T7 innocently blasting away at rock and mercilessly opened fire :O The ensuing dog fight was a surprise. The computer kept telling me there's some kind of attack (thermal maybe?) and my shields didn't hold up too well - I even started to run away and he chased me! Was hunting me down too until I 4 pipped the engines - once I was beyond firing range I 4 pipped the shields and waited for them to come on-line before spinning around for another effort. I won in the end but was down to 70odd % hull, bruised ego, and no manipulators. Obviously the ship, right?

So I popped over to Deciat with the intention to call over my cobra, but decided instead to buy a Vulture since I never had one and it read tough. 1 fixed '3' laser and and 1 gimbal '3' laser and I'm good to go. Fast forward to finding a T9.....well.....
more of the [something] attacks but she's holding up well. turns out though, the fixed laser isn't much use 'cos I can't fly for sheep. I get the shields down and inflict some minor damage but suddenly my shields are downs too and the screen goes weird (bit like the alien encounter) - panic, boost, boost, thrusters offline. What the? Thank goodness for momentum. Seems thrusters went to 0% and I had to reboot repair - which made the screen go weird again incidentally.

Clearly I'm *really* bad at combat :/ I could try blaming the joystick since it's new and I'm more used to a mouse, but really? Anyway, any tips for making a tough attack ship for a numpty, or else upping the likelihood of of useful USS's?

 

[SpaceMonkeyz]

I go to anarchy outbreak systems and look for convoy beacons. Lots of T9s there. As far as combat tips go, IDK. I do all my farming in the Anaconda so I feel like my experiences would not help you much.

From my last farm session before I set out for DSE:

Spoiler

 

[MrFailfactory]

I too, have a problem getting Chemical Manipulators - stupid me, I had thought THIS was what was removed, but it seems that many people were complaining about the components that are easily.bought.in.bulk, so imagine my disappointment when I showed up at Farseer's house...

If you are going to try to obtain these via Combat, I would suggest either putting together a jousting ship, or just using one that has lots of big hardpoints. The point, is to overcome the lack of dogfighting experience with a withering storm of damage that allows you to thin the herd as quickly as possible.

I find that the Python works very well for both types, though it's got a fairly hefty price tag (and rebuy). Do you have access to a Clipper or Federal Assault Ship? Those are cheaper, and should also do well in either scenario. There is also the *OP* Fer De Lance, though I don't know how to build one so that it has this reported status.

The Vulture is a good Combat ship, but if your Combat flight skills are on the low end (ie, you end up jousting a lot, or are taking sustained hits from multiple enemies at once), then it's not going to work all that well.

I would also recommend keeping the lesson you learned in the AspX front and center - just because a ship has weapons and shields, does not mean it's ready for Combat. Build a ship that is centered around Combat first, and I think you will see a markedly different result. You might be tempted with the 6 hardpoints on the AspX, but toss that out the window - they aren't large, and the biggest shield you can mount on an AspX gives you less than 300mj...which isn't enough, imo, especially if awareness and maneuvers aren't your strong suit (currently).

I like multi-cannons, and all of my armed ships use them. My Python has 2x3 Gimballed, 2x2 Gimballed, and a Seeker Missle launcher. I tear though most things that I encounter, though most of those aren't mega-built Elite NPC's. Neither are those T-9's, I would imagine.

I would try to find some folks that are highly knowledgeable about Combat in ships less than a Corvette/Cutter, and see what they say.

Good luck, Commander.

Riôt

 

[NW3]

There's no need for combat. I gathered plenty of Chemical Manipulators in the Deciat system, from Unknown Signal Sources, specifically Combat Aftermath Detected ones. These are easily farmed.

Travel back and forth between the 1st and 2nd planets, scanning every USS you see. 2-4 will spawn for each one-way trip (of about 50 ls). Fly a little past the destination planet for the last USS to spawn. Sometimes I also shuttled between planet 1 and 4 or 2 and 4, depending on which was closer.

About 1/4 of those USSes will be a Combat Aftermath and about 1/3 of those will yield a Chemical Manipulator and occasionally, you'll get 2. Enter normal space if you see a Combat Aftermath. Use your left UI panel (3rd tab) to quickly identify the available materials. I typically gathered about 16 Chemical Manipulators in under 2 hours.

Arsenic is available on several moons in the Deciat system, 2 of them are near Farseer. I was able to scan wakes at the station closest to the main star and got quite a few Datamined whatever wakes. I engineered a 56 lyr FSD for my Asp (stripped and with a lot of engineered low-mass modules) even though I mostly stayed in the Deciat system.

Granted, I spent 8 weeks engineering, but I really wanted to go on the Distant Stars expedition. During that time, I gathered enough materials for about 250 level 5 engineering rolls for my FSD, mostly in the Deciat system.

Occasionally, in the Deciat system, an NPC would try to interdict me, so stay on your toes. Try to win the interdiction mini-game (don't submit), so that the pirates don't repeatedly try to interdict you.

 

[disorganise]

I go to anarchy outbreak systems and look for convoy beacons. Lots of T9s there. As far as combat tips go, IDK. I do all my farming in the Anaconda so I feel like my experiences would not help you much.

From my last farm session before I set out for DSE:

ahh.....seen a few USS's that resolve to convoys, is that what you mean? Certainly looks like an easier way to get a heaps together - are they winged though, or otherwise band together to take you down?

 

[Nerwan]

I go to anarchy outbreak systems and look for convoy beacons. Lots of T9s there. As far as combat tips go, IDK. I do all my farming in the Anaconda so I feel like my experiences would not help you much.

From my last farm session before I set out for DSE:

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/USGgnwd.png

This, I got 30 in and hour doing this because there's an infinite supply of T9s. And then you can go to a famine system's distribution centre to pick up 30 datamined wake exceptions.

 

[disorganise]

I too, have a problem getting Chemical Manipulators - stupid me, I had thought THIS was what was removed, but it seems that many people were complaining about the components that are easily.bought.in.bulk, so imagine my disappointment when I showed up at Farseer's house...

If you are going to try to obtain these via Combat, I would suggest either putting together a jousting ship, or just using one that has lots of big hardpoints. The point, is to overcome the lack of dogfighting experience with a withering storm of damage that allows you to thin the herd as quickly as possible.

I find that the Python works very well for both types, though it's got a fairly hefty price tag (and rebuy). Do you have access to a Clipper or Federal Assault Ship? Those are cheaper, and should also do well in either scenario. There is also the *OP* Fer De Lance, though I don't know how to build one so that it has this reported status.

The Vulture is a good Combat ship, but if your Combat flight skills are on the low end (ie, you end up jousting a lot, or are taking sustained hits from multiple enemies at once), then it's not going to work all that well.

I would also recommend keeping the lesson you learned in the AspX front and center - just because a ship has weapons and shields, does not mean it's ready for Combat. Build a ship that is centered around Combat first, and I think you will see a markedly different result. You might be tempted with the 6 hardpoints on the AspX, but toss that out the window - they aren't large, and the biggest shield you can mount on an AspX gives you less than 300mj...which isn't enough, imo, especially if awareness and maneuvers aren't your strong suit (currently).

I like multi-cannons, and all of my armed ships use them. My Python has 2x3 Gimballed, 2x2 Gimballed, and a Seeker Missle launcher. I tear though most things that I encounter, though most of those aren't mega-built Elite NPC's. Neither are those T-9's, I would imagine.

I would try to find some folks that are highly knowledgeable about Combat in ships less than a Corvette/Cutter, and see what they say.

Good luck, Commander.

Riôt

Thanks.....Clipper - no, just got master and I think you need Baron so a ways to go....trying to get to a Clipper actually but so many distractions. But I should have access to the FAS....might give that a look

 

[Col Frost]

I go to systems in a war state and look for traders selling weapons.
You can take down multiple T9's and get lots of Chemical Manipulators

 

[disorganise]

There's no need for combat. I gathered plenty of Chemical Manipulators in the Deciat system, from Unknown Signal Sources, specifically Combat Aftermath Detected ones. These are easily farmed.

Travel back and forth between the 1st and 2nd planets, scanning every USS you see. 2-4 will spawn for each one-way trip (of about 50 ls). Fly a little past the destination planet for the last USS to spawn. Sometimes I also shuttled between planet 1 and 4 or 2 and 4, depending on which was closer.

About 1/4 of those USSes will be a Combat Aftermath and about 1/3 of those will yield a Chemical Manipulator and occasionally, you'll get 2. Enter normal space if you see a Combat Aftermath. Use your left UI panel (3rd tab) to quickly identify the available materials. I typically gathered about 16 Chemical Manipulators in under 2 hours.

Arsenic is available on several moons in the Deciat system, 2 of them are near Farseer. I was able to scan wakes at the station closest to the main star and got quite a few Datamined whatever wakes. I engineered a 56 lyr FSD for my Asp (stripped and with a lot of engineered low-mass modules) even though I mostly stayed in the Deciat system.

Granted, I spent 8 weeks engineering, but I really wanted to go on the Distant Stars expedition. During that time, I gathered enough materials for about 250 level 5 engineering rolls for my FSD, mostly in the Deciat system.

Occasionally, in the Deciat system, an NPC would try to interdict me, so stay on your toes. Try to win the interdiction mini-game (don't submit), so that the pirates don't repeatedly try to interdict you.

ok, will give that a look too. thanks. It's 'funny', most of the time if interdicted by anything smaller than me and I decide to fight, I will win - I think the difference is 1 on 1 versus many on 1, I don't have the skills to monitor multiple ships

 

[Nerwan]

Thanks.....Clipper - no, just got master and I think you need Baron so a ways to go....trying to get to a Clipper actually but so many distractions. But I should have access to the FAS....might give that a look

I used a DBS. The thing about T-9s is they can't turn. So by using a DBS with 4 pips to engines I can use lateral thrusters to just stay on top of their power plant, and out of their main fire field (except for turrets) the whole time. 2/3 rails pops their shields and then 5-7 seconds of MC fire kills their power plants. Also, in an outbreak beacon you can attack one without the others turning on you so the whole thing just becomes a production line... If you're worried about the turrets just take some chaff.

 

[Isthisnameok]

There's no need for combat. I gathered plenty of Chemical Manipulators in the Deciat system, from Unknown Signal Sources, specifically Combat Aftermath Detected ones. These are easily farmed.

Travel back and forth between the 1st and 2nd planets, scanning every USS you see. 2-4 will spawn for each one-way trip (of about 50 ls). Fly a little past the destination planet for the last USS to spawn. Sometimes I also shuttled between planet 1 and 4 or 2 and 4, depending on which was closer.

About 1/4 of those USSes will be a Combat Aftermath and about 1/3 of those will yield a Chemical Manipulator and occasionally, you'll get 2. Enter normal space if you see a Combat Aftermath. Use your left UI panel (3rd tab) to quickly identify the available materials. I typically gathered about 16 Chemical Manipulators in under 2 hours.

Arsenic is available on several moons in the Deciat system, 2 of them are near Farseer. I was able to scan wakes at the station closest to the main star and got quite a few Datamined whatever wakes. I engineered a 56 lyr FSD for my Asp (stripped and with a lot of engineered low-mass modules) even though I mostly stayed in the Deciat system.

Granted, I spent 8 weeks engineering, but I really wanted to go on the Distant Stars expedition. During that time, I gathered enough materials for about 250 level 5 engineering rolls for my FSD, mostly in the Deciat system.

Occasionally, in the Deciat system, an NPC would try to interdict me, so stay on your toes. Try to win the interdiction mini-game (don't submit), so that the pirates don't repeatedly try to interdict you.

^
This is how I got my Chemical Manipulators as well.

 

[Trinity Star]

Can confirm Combat Aftermath USS seem to have plentiful supplies of these.

 

[Hooplah]

Yes, Combat Aftermath Detected USS found in Lockdown, War, Civil War as well as Anarchy systems works. Flying away from the orbital plane seems to generate more of them. Also get them now and then with cargo missions. Not even looking for CMs but have 15 and haven't killed a T9 to do it. Thus no Bounties!

 

[SpaceMonkeyz]

ahh.....seen a few USS's that resolve to convoys, is that what you mean? Certainly looks like an easier way to get a heaps together - are they winged though, or otherwise band together to take you down?

No. Convoy beacons are signal sources that are in Outbreak systems, like nav beacons. It is why you can drop in to one, kill the T9s and thenlog out or supercruise out and pop back in and everything is respawned. You can pick them off one by one, they are not winged up. Occasionally there will be one of the T9s in a wing with a hauler and a sidewinder. It is not common though.

You find an Outbreak system that is Anarchy so you don't get bounties.

Here is a link to Dr Kaii's very helpful video on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVM9OBMCV10

 

[disorganise]

I used a DBS. The thing about T-9s is they can't turn. So by using a DBS with 4 pips to engines I can use lateral thrusters to just stay on top of their power plant, and out of their main fire field (except for turrets) the whole time. 2/3 rails pops their shields and then 5-7 seconds of MC fire kills their power plants. Also, in an outbreak beacon you can attack one without the others turning on you so the whole thing just becomes a production line... If you're worried about the turrets just take some chaff.

ahh righty - need to aim for the power plant - didn't know that either I've just been selecting 'T' for target and let rip.

 

[goemon]

beside the very good tips of other sources, again on anarchy haz-res:

if you really really suck at combat, wait for npc pirates attacking a t9/t7/.... you only need 1 hit to get materials spawned.

which you can do nicely with seekers.

so, fit chaff, pointdefence and heatsinks to your AspE, 4 small seeker racks, 2 beams. stuff the class 3 with scbs beside 1 collector. go to anarchy haz res and wait for pirates attacking any miners. once their shields are down, fire a volley of seekers...

 

[CMDR CHIGGY VONRICTOFEN]

I tried all the above. The best way that worked for me was the anarchy /outbreak system at the convoy beacon. I got as many as I needed, then just kept killing the refugees for the pleasure of watching them die. Enough so, that I went from "expert" to "master" in combat. I used a Vulture with 4 lvl 5 shield boosters, lvl 5 PP and PD...I was cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. If a T-9 had a fighter, sometimes that would knock a ring off my shields before I could get it killed..then I would just kill some of the smaller ships until shields built back up..

 

[marx]

My tips: forget the Asp Explorer. Since you have a stick, you should go with something that flies well: you will be more effective, and even more importantly, it will be much more fun! Also if you want to get better at combat, the first thing to do is to learn to fly better. And get a combat-appropriate ship, which the AspE isn't really. There have been some excellent suggestions on this in the thread already, I'd recommend the Courier, the Vulture, and something which hasn't been mentioned much: the Keelback.
Why? Because it's cheap and it can fit a fighter hangar. Which would be perfect for you.

So, here's my recommendation. Buy a Keelback, fit a fighter hangar on it, class 5 bi-weave shields, fit some MRP/HRP/SCB, put some turrets (beam if you can afford them, pulse if you can't), hire a pilot and leave them in charge of the ship while you blow things up with your fighter. SLF-s can do a surprising amount of damage, with fixed-weapon loadouts having firepower comparable to a huge hardpoint. I'd recommend an Imperial Fighter with the fixed beam loadout, although you might wish to go with gimbals and perhaps the Taipan. (Forget the Condor.)

As for where to go, the above were all good recommendations. You could also go to a nav beacon at an anarchy system for a wider variety of ships to kill, but T7-s and T9-s can be quite rare there.

 

[Smiffoo]

There's no need for combat. I gathered plenty of Chemical Manipulators in the Deciat system, from Unknown Signal Sources, specifically Combat Aftermath Detected ones. These are easily farmed.

Travel back and forth between the 1st and 2nd planets, scanning every USS you see. 2-4 will spawn for each one-way trip (of about 50 ls). Fly a little past the destination planet for the last USS to spawn. Sometimes I also shuttled between planet 1 and 4 or 2 and 4, depending on which was closer.

About 1/4 of those USSes will be a Combat Aftermath and about 1/3 of those will yield a Chemical Manipulator and occasionally, you'll get 2. Enter normal space if you see a Combat Aftermath. Use your left UI panel (3rd tab) to quickly identify the available materials. I typically gathered about 16 Chemical Manipulators in under 2 hours.

Arsenic is available on several moons in the Deciat system, 2 of them are near Farseer. I was able to scan wakes at the station closest to the main star and got quite a few Datamined whatever wakes. I engineered a 56 lyr FSD for my Asp (stripped and with a lot of engineered low-mass modules) even though I mostly stayed in the Deciat system.

Granted, I spent 8 weeks engineering, but I really wanted to go on the Distant Stars expedition. During that time, I gathered enough materials for about 250 level 5 engineering rolls for my FSD, mostly in the Deciat system.

Occasionally, in the Deciat system, an NPC would try to interdict me, so stay on your toes. Try to win the interdiction mini-game (don't submit), so that the pirates don't repeatedly try to interdict you.

I agree with this, This is how I have found mine.

 

[NW3]

ok, will give that a look too. thanks. It's 'funny', most of the time if interdicted by anything smaller than me and I decide to fight, I will win - I think the difference is 1 on 1 versus many on 1, I don't have the skills to monitor multiple ships

That's not an option for me; my Asp has no weapons (to keep the weight down). I've gotten very good at the interdiction mini-game. It's been many months since the last NPC interdicted me. (I mostly play in Solo.)

Since I have now reached my engineering goals, I hope I never have to do this again.