Ships Looking for tips for an Exobiology Build

Factabulous

Factabulous
After a recent ship->planet interface issue* I realised that classic explorer builds probably aren't great for Exobiology in the remoter regions:

  • Paper hulls & shields are fine for space, but really bad when you need to land on planets a lot
  • Lightweight undersized Power Distributors that can boost every 10 seconds are ok in space, but not when you need to land on planets (come out of Glide, boost towards planet, watch planet get closer, realise you can't boost back up yet - you know, the usual :) )
  • 'Take 1 SRV into the shower?' maybe not if you plan to do a lot of landing
  • Larger ships are fine for space, but some of that Exobiology shows up in bumpy places which are hard to land in

So - anyone have changes** they recommend for an Exobiology build? At the moment I'm thinking:
  • Full size PD with perma-boost for those difficult occasions when the planet wants to say 'hi' a little forcefully
  • Bigger shields (any specifics, IIRC it's just absolute shield strength for impacts?). I don't have a good feeling for how strong I want the shields to be.
  • More SRVs? I never lost mine, but I think a spare might be useful. Last time I looked I was 11K from the nearest FC, so restock is not easy
  • Better thrusters? Not sure about this - the faster you can boost the more likely I am to charge into a planet, so small thrusters may still be better (not planning any very high G landings)
  • Smaller ship - probably swapping the Phantom to a DBX - looks like the drop in range will be marginal, and I can still take 2 SRV

Looks like I can do all that and drop maybe 4 Ly, which is fine. The range doesn't matter for exploring, but it is nice to get to your start quicker.

* yes, I crashed into a planet, losing lots of Exo data - oops :)
** I am aware of 'git gud and don't crash into planets bro!', no need to recommend that ;)
 

Bigmaec

Bigmaec
You said it all by yourself.

I'd use a enhanced low power bi-weave to get quick regen after crashing.
Either D-rated full size PD with engine focused or charge enhanced due to the bi-weave demands. A-rated isn't really needed imho.
2 SRVs are nice to have, but cost range.
Depending on a ship you can use undersized A rated thrusters or D rated ones, dirty is good enough most of the time.

I always have problems with the DBX slot wise, I'd rather use a Dolphin.

I theorized one for my return from Colonia to do some explo... No SRVs though because I don't like them. Enough place for two of them though.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
Bigmaec said:
I'd use a enhanced low power bi-weave to get quick regen after crashing.
Click to expand...
🤔 I was thinking the opposite - maybe even prismatic - as they only need to take the one impact ... unless I'm very clumsy :)

... and no SRVs for an Exobiology build ... no thanks, not a big fan of walking 🚶‍♀️ ;)

Dolphin - certainly the immunity from heat could come in handy.... not done enough landings in one to have a good feel for how easy they are to land 🤔

Good thoughts about the PD - I need to look into this more (y)
 

Zannry

Zannry
Factabulous said:
After a recent ship->planet interface issue* I realised that classic explorer builds probably aren't great for Exobiology in the remoter regions:

  • Paper hulls & shields are fine for space, but really bad when you need to land on planets a lot
  • Lightweight undersized Power Distributors that can boost every 10 seconds are ok in space, but not when you need to land on planets (come out of Glide, boost towards planet, watch planet get closer, realise you can't boost back up yet - you know, the usual :) )
  • 'Take 1 SRV into the shower?' maybe not if you plan to do a lot of landing
  • Larger ships are fine for space, but some of that Exobiology shows up in bumpy places which are hard to land in

So - anyone have changes** they recommend for an Exobiology build? At the moment I'm thinking:
  • Full size PD with perma-boost for those difficult occasions when the planet wants to say 'hi' a little forcefully
  • Bigger shields (any specifics, IIRC it's just absolute shield strength for impacts?). I don't have a good feeling for how strong I want the shields to be.
  • More SRVs? I never lost mine, but I think a spare might be useful. Last time I looked I was 11K from the nearest FC, so restock is not easy
  • Better thrusters? Not sure about this - the faster you can boost the more likely I am to charge into a planet, so small thrusters may still be better (not planning any very high G landings)
  • Smaller ship - probably swapping the Phantom to a DBX - looks like the drop in range will be marginal, and I can still take 2 SRV

Looks like I can do all that and drop maybe 4 Ly, which is fine. The range doesn't matter for exploring, but it is nice to get to your start quicker.

* yes, I crashed into a planet, losing lots of Exo data - oops :)
** I am aware of 'git gud and don't crash into planets bro!', no need to recommend that ;)
Click to expand...
I've found the standard explorer DBX build fine for Exobiology. The only change I've made on my most recent expedition was to drop the SRV. A mix of on foot and slow aerial recon from the DBX seems as effective as using the SRV.
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
Zannry said:
I've found the standard explorer DBX build fine for Exobiology. The only I've made on my most recent expedition was to drop the SRV. A mix of on foot and slow aerial recon from the DBX seems as effective as using the SRV.
Click to expand...
Hmm, will have to try that. In the Phantom I was sometimes landing and only seeing the plants right next to the shop when I exited (y)
 

Zannry

Zannry
Factabulous said:
Hmm, will have to try that. In the Phantom I was sometimes landing and only seeing the plants right next to the shop when I exited (y)
Click to expand...
I assume your PC build and graphic setting will factor into this heavily but I've found for my set up an elevation in the DBX of between 45-60 meters and a forward speed of 35-40 m/s allows for the terrain and biologicals to fully render and be visible. Tussock included. It's also a great elevation for spotting bacteria colonies.

Last advantage is that once I set a bearing and a constant forward speed I can count a set number of seconds to equate to the correct distance needed to find samples that have sufficient bio diversity. You can't easily do that on foot or in an SRV. Frankly, I didn't think it would work out but now I'm glad a tried dropping the SRV.
 

Bigmaec

Bigmaec
Factabulous said:
🤔 I was thinking the opposite - maybe even prismatic - as they only need to take the one impact ... unless I'm very clumsy :)

... and no SRVs for an Exobiology build ... no thanks, not a big fan of walking 🚶‍♀️ ;)

Dolphin - certainly the immunity from heat could come in handy.... not done enough landings in one to have a good feel for how easy they are to land 🤔

Good thoughts about the PD - I need to look into this more (y)
Click to expand...
If you use the prismatics or a rated, you definitely can use a D rated engine focused PD.

My build has two c2 slots which aren't really useful (HRP / MRP) so you could theoretically use 2 SRVs with two 2G hangars,

or swap it like this

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone

(edit: PD is not engine focused)

The Dolphin is really fun to fly!
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
GroG79 said:
Try not to fall in love with the SC performance of a cobra mk3.... Also mine boosts 560 m/s and jumps around 45
Click to expand...
I have a CM3 CMDR :) I was tempted, but that CMDR doesn't have EDO yet, so I want to go exploring in the CM3 when they upgrade

Bigmaec said:
The Dolphin is really fun to fly!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I might give this a try, the Dolph does have a nice view that might be handy. No 5A Thrusters for sale in Colonia, off to Ratraii to steal them off my FdL 👿
 

GeoJase

GeoJase
Viper Mk4 perhaps. ~48ly jump, 500m/s boost every 6.6 secs, can land just about anywhere, second SRV will cost 1ly jump, good shields, good hull, no heat issues, looks kewl
 

Bigmaec

Bigmaec
GeoJase said:
Viper Mk4 perhaps. ~48ly jump, 500m/s boost every 6.6 secs, can land just about anywhere, second SRV will cost 1ly jump, good shields, good hull, no heat issues, looks kewl
Click to expand...
I'd agree with you, but the Mk4 looks so... shabby inside and the downward view is terrible.
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
Ok, out on a test run in my Dolphin, hopping the ship around between samples - working well - thx for the advice :) Now I just need to test how easy she is to land in the mountains and I should be all set - just waiting for the Black Friday paint sales to finish off the good ship ... Nemo :)

1634653860373.png
 

Northpin

Northpin
DBX is still a nice beast, 68.7 jump (with dbl engineered fsd) and 744 shields, 2x SRV, one of the flight assists can be replaced with an afmu if needed
The Engine Focused 3D PD should give 3 boosts in a quick succession, but it should be tested
It can be easily used as a fast bubble taxi

Dolphin is nice too, but less jump obviously (around 53-54ly), although it can reach 700 shields too and it has some extra flexibility with internals
But Dolphin does not really cut it for me - i'm not really fond of the cockpit view - those thick A-pillars are quite obstructing :(

T6 is interesting too, but again only 50 ly jump range, 580 shields, however it may run really hot with a 0.45 efficiency power plant - no idea tho.
I only flew the T6 as an early trader, but i really liked it.
Yea, i know it's classed as medium, but it's foot print is quite small actually - pretty similar to DBX size.

With 4 pips in shields, all ships should really be able to survive some really hard bounces.
 

Anticon

Anticon
DBX major advantage over the Dolphin is the cockpit view, great for hunting that ground cover. I use minimal shields and avoid high-g planets in my DBX.
 

Torrle

Torrle
Of all the ships that I've used a lot for solo exobiology, there are two that I use and like the most: The Imperial Courier and the Imperial Eagle.
(Not that I'm a simp for the empire, these builds just happen to be the ones that worked well for me and they have style points, haha)

Core strengths of both builds:
-Getting on and off the planet surface fast (uses EPT)
-Very maneuverable
-Lands easily just about anywhere
-All of the essentials (DSS, Fuel scoop, FSD Booster, SRV)
-Lightweight dumbfires for clearing surface sites of hostiles (optional)

Imperial Eagle ( Coriolis ):
34.4Ly Jump / 116Ly Range / 34s refuel time
Lands more easily than the Courier.
Extra fuel tank for greater range between stops.
"scratch and dent" shields.
Frontloader

Imperial Courier ( Coriolis ):
41.6Ly Jump / 206Ly Range / 45s refuel time
Hardier, faster, further jumping than the IEagle build.
HRP could be replaced with AFM as desired.
Occasionally has issues with SRV height clearance.
Backloader

These ships also do well at infiltrating surface settlements, being able to park out of sight behind a small hill so you can arrive via SRV.
 
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