Call me an idiot, but I decided to go mining Void Opals today. The trade routes are crap and weren't worth the grind today or so I thought. So I'm in the center of this void opal hotspot for about 4 hours now and have only managed to refine 49 opals. If I was laser mining Bromellite, I could have filled my hold a couple times already. This should be a Bromellite hot spot, not a Void Opal hot spot. This is the kind of crap that puts me off about Elite. I used to enjoy mining, it has become frustrating.
Misnamed Resource Hot Spots
- Thread starter Braydon_Backhair
- Start date
Surely whether or not it's a void opal hotspot depends on the actual average distribution of void opals. If you were outside the hotspot you might find only 2 or 3 in your 4 hours, but we don't have that data to hand. Bromellite on the other hand is a common material and probably has a high average content across the entire ring and you might get a lot more in a Bromellite hotspot, again we don't have those figures so all we have to go on at the moment are feelings, and they aren't very accurate or informative.
I know when I tried mining I got a couple of void opals in several days outside of a hotspot, void opals are rare not common.
Quick observation:
How do you know how much Bromellite was in the ring?
If you were looking for cores, you should not be seeing 'laser' yield type data much at all.
Do you prospect any rocks in your view, and not use the Pulse Wave Analyzer to only prospect Core Deposits?
If so, there is little wonder you pulled 10 tons per hour of your target resource.
I'm sure if you were to fly a few thousand megameters away from the center of the hotspot, you would have had much more luck.
Anyone can fly to the supercruise marker and pop all rocks they see. That means the Cores are gone for a few days for all other players.
Hotspots are not 'mine here' signs. They are 'guides'.
I realize it's a pain and a risk to do micro jumps (away from the marker) while core mining, but that is part of the game!
P.s. I would never call any one an 'idiot' for deciding to go mining.
OH!, and Welcome to the Forums, Braydon! I see you joined just a few hours ago.
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Spike.k
How do you know how much Bromellite was in the ring?
If you were looking for cores, you should not be seeing 'laser' yield type data much at all.
Do you prospect any rocks in your view, and not use the Pulse Wave Analyzer to only prospect Core Deposits?
If so, there is little wonder you pulled 10 tons per hour of your target resource.
I'm sure if you were to fly a few thousand megameters away from the center of the hotspot, you would have had much more luck.
Anyone can fly to the supercruise marker and pop all rocks they see. That means the Cores are gone for a few days for all other players.
Hotspots are not 'mine here' signs. They are 'guides'.
I realize it's a pain and a risk to do micro jumps (away from the marker) while core mining, but that is part of the game!
P.s. I would never call any one an 'idiot' for deciding to go mining.
OH!, and Welcome to the Forums, Braydon! I see you joined just a few hours ago.
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Spike.k
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I was dropping prospector limpets on rocks to see if I could laser mine the hot spot.
I found Elite about 2 1/2 years ago. I started mining about 6 months into it after watching some videos and learned there was a station that had every thing at a discounted rate (Jamison Memorial). I just needed to reach Elite in something, so Trade it was and mining was a reasonably quick avenue. I started with laser mining, then watched a couple videos on core mining, that was faster.
I used to be able to go to a Platinum hot spot and laser mine Platinum from a fair number of rocks. I tried this last night, as core mining wasn't working out for me. All I found was 2 core deposits, zero surface deposits and it only took me an hour in that "Hot Spot". Only about 24 tons.
I think they changed the ratio for deposits. I used to be able to fill my hold twice in 4-5 hours of core mining.
You see these guys producing mining videos saying you can make 100 Million credits in an hour, that's a load of bull and is only attainable through the magic of editing. My mineral of choice the last couple months has been Musgravite, it was consistently around 800,000 a ton. I mine in a Python and can hold 192 tons refined and about 8 in my refinery bins. It was fairly lucrative when I could make 2 or 3 runs on a Saturday. Now I can only manage one.
It may just be me growing less patient in my old age.
I found Elite about 2 1/2 years ago. I started mining about 6 months into it after watching some videos and learned there was a station that had every thing at a discounted rate (Jamison Memorial). I just needed to reach Elite in something, so Trade it was and mining was a reasonably quick avenue. I started with laser mining, then watched a couple videos on core mining, that was faster.
I used to be able to go to a Platinum hot spot and laser mine Platinum from a fair number of rocks. I tried this last night, as core mining wasn't working out for me. All I found was 2 core deposits, zero surface deposits and it only took me an hour in that "Hot Spot". Only about 24 tons.
I think they changed the ratio for deposits. I used to be able to fill my hold twice in 4-5 hours of core mining.
You see these guys producing mining videos saying you can make 100 Million credits in an hour, that's a load of bull and is only attainable through the magic of editing. My mineral of choice the last couple months has been Musgravite, it was consistently around 800,000 a ton. I mine in a Python and can hold 192 tons refined and about 8 in my refinery bins. It was fairly lucrative when I could make 2 or 3 runs on a Saturday. Now I can only manage one.
It may just be me growing less patient in my old age.
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Well, I am glad you came back to Elite. I had wrongly assumed that you were aware of the changes made to the game. Much to learn! Here is a sample of things you may, or may not be aware of:
100 mil an hour (not including selling times and bulk Sale Taxes, mentioned above) is still quite possible. The Hazardous Resource Extraction site 'buffs' to laser yields are one way to achieve this. Another is 'Mapped Mining'.
Metallic rings are the only place to 'laser mine' Platinum.
Metal Rich rings (what you were probably in) do have Platinum Hot Spots. But only Platinum Core Deposits are available to take Platinum from. Not laser mining.
Void Opals are only found in Core Deposits, but in Icy Rings, not Metallic, Metal Rich, or Rocky.
I suggest, if you wish to continue your search for knowledge on this topic, [or fact-check any statements made here] that you install a program called Discord. The Elite community using the app will help you find up-to-date info on it.
Also,
The comments section of the old videos you watched will likely have newer info about this as well. Just look for relevant comments that are less than 1 year old.
This is the link for another source of info that is more current, and helps debunk statements such as "Misnamed Void Opal Hotspot", or "Cant find Platinum to lase"
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteMiners
You certainly are not the first CMDR to experience confusion over the changes FDEV have implemented, and perhaps these sources of info will help you to understand why the changes were made, get over your frustrations, and get back in the saddle!
There is also new mining equipment for your Python to try out! Multi-Limpet Controllers. (Collect and prospect with one device)
Again, welcome back to Elite, and I wish you well on your adventures! Friend request me, if you like (and are on PC) and we can wing up sometime!
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Spike.k
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I spent a few months out in the center of the galaxy, I only recently returned. I don't mind that they did it. But if I spend an evening mining and can't fill my hold, I can't just shutdown and pick it up where I left off the next evening. I have to out run pirates and hope they give up or just head to a station straight away and sell what I managed to get. Turn the damn pirates off and I'll take a Type 9 out and spend a week filling it.
If I'm in some out of way system many light years away from the closest station and there is nothing on the scanner before I drop into a ring, I have pirates on my ass soon after I do??
I mean, how lucky do you have to be to just pick a random spot in a ring around some random planet in a random system, to ply your pirating ways on some unlucky schmo who just happened to pick the same spot? In reality, I think you'd be waiting quite a long time. I can see, if you are transiting to a system to sell the fruit of your toils and they set on you or you're in a system close to a station, sure.
Thank you, I had forgotten all about the high metal content aspect. Once again, a side effect of old age is forgetting things. I do recall that from my previous ventures prior to aging another year. I took a few months and went to see what all the fuss was with the black holes in the center of the galaxy and forgot half of everything I learned prior to departing.
bring some guns. it's not like the pirates are hard to kill.
if it's pristine and not a res site, you only need to deal with like maybe 2 npcs in a session. miner ships don't need the be stripped down. and if you're looking for only a couple different types of rocks, you don't need 8 refineries taking up a large module spot (maybe instead of shields). just make sure everything but what you want is set to ignore.
if it's pristine and not a res site, you only need to deal with like maybe 2 npcs in a session. miner ships don't need the be stripped down. and if you're looking for only a couple different types of rocks, you don't need 8 refineries taking up a large module spot (maybe instead of shields). just make sure everything but what you want is set to ignore.
All my hard points are mining tools and my shields are only sufficient to prevent damage if I run into a rock or am showered with debris by exploding rocks.
sounds like you are trading security for flexibility so your ship doesn't need to be reconfigured as frequently to mine different things.
so then the game is working correctly, you are dealing with the cost of that decision. it shouldn't 'go away'.
just note, you can have plenty of mining capacity and security... it's not mutually exclusive. you're choosing to go a different route and that has different limitations.
Don't get me wrong. I would not advocate removing the pirate aspect of the game, it is a reasonable expectation. I would however suggest it be applied in a more reasonable manner. As I stated previously, I would expect it within a reasonable distance of a populated system where mining operations are ongoing, also while transporting your goods for sale. In those instances, I would expect "the rumors would be true" and you may have in fact "travelled a long way for what I have in my hold", even though I have only made one jump and had no previous encounter with pirates.
I wonder, if I were to pick a system 5,000lys outside the bubble and park a fleet carrier there as a base for mining operations, would pirates spawn there and in the neighboring systems? I will test this theory after save up enough credits to purchase and outfit one.
I may have over used the word "reasonable" here.
I wonder, if I were to pick a system 5,000lys outside the bubble and park a fleet carrier there as a base for mining operations, would pirates spawn there and in the neighboring systems?
I will test this theory after save up enough credits to purchase and outfit one.I may have over used the word "reasonable" here.
no, pirates do not spawn when beyond a couple thousand ly of inhabited systems.Don't get me wrong. I would not advocate removing the pirate aspect of the game, it is a reasonable expectation. I would however suggest it be applied in a more reasonable manner. As I stated previously, I would expect it within a reasonable distance of a populated system where mining operations are ongoing, also while transporting your goods for sale. In those instances, I would expect "the rumors would be true" and you may have in fact "travelled a long way for what I have in my hold", even though I have only made one jump and had no previous encounter with pirates.
I wonder, if I were to pick a system 5,000lys outside the bubble and park a fleet carrier there as a base for mining operations, would pirates spawn there and in the neighboring systems?
I may have over used the word "reasonable" here.
i forget to exact number but it's not terribly far.
i almost exclusively mine in deep space from my carrier.... which has not seen npc ships in well over a year.
if you don't mind the solitude, you can mine everything to your heart's content in peace.
it is quite boring though.
I think I will take your advice and only fit what is necessary for the type of mining I plan to do and outfit a couple engineered multi-cannons. Pirate problem solved.
No, they don't spawn. I often mine far from civilization, and there are no NPCs out there.
At about what distance do they stop ?
I don't know, I've never tried to find the edge. I just go out 3000LY or so and futz around out there. I'm sure they stop way before that, but I've never bothered to check the exact amount. I'm usually more interested in exploration and finding new systems and whatnot. Mining is something I do between times, or if I'm bored of exobiology or whatever.
IIRC about 500ly from Bubble or Colonia.
I take my FC to ANY Platinum hotspot in a Pristine Metallic ring and fill up required amount (or until bored or want to do a CG), with Platinum, Osmium and Painite in a mining Anaconda.
1 hour more or less each trip usually fills up the 256T hold and I do primarily laser mining, but always come across 1 or 2 cores (it does slow you down though) in that time (sometimes none though) .
I store lots on my FC so that I don't have to sell until I decide and then go to a system to sell plat at 280,000/T
All I do is jump anywhere into the Hotspot (I have been 2000km from HS centre sometimes and it makes no difference) and see NPC's arrive, sit there for 10 minutes whilst you do something else like make a coffee, shower, etc. they then jump out if you've got no cargo, and you are then free to mine in peace. If you fall asleep doing it, you are OK until you log in again, and have to jump immediately or get pirated with a cargo of Platinum!!!!!
If I want to do it quicker I un-ignore Gold and Palladium and so that takes about 40 minutes as these are always present in metallic rings.
When I was mining 256T Plat and Os only in Harma and selling immediately (before I got the FC), I got about 60M per hour. There is usually a FC buying Plat for over 200,000/T there.
1 hour more or less each trip usually fills up the 256T hold and I do primarily laser mining, but always come across 1 or 2 cores (it does slow you down though) in that time (sometimes none though) .
I store lots on my FC so that I don't have to sell until I decide and then go to a system to sell plat at 280,000/T
All I do is jump anywhere into the Hotspot (I have been 2000km from HS centre sometimes and it makes no difference) and see NPC's arrive, sit there for 10 minutes whilst you do something else like make a coffee, shower, etc. they then jump out if you've got no cargo, and you are then free to mine in peace. If you fall asleep doing it, you are OK until you log in again, and have to jump immediately or get pirated with a cargo of Platinum!!!!!
If I want to do it quicker I un-ignore Gold and Palladium and so that takes about 40 minutes as these are always present in metallic rings.
When I was mining 256T Plat and Os only in Harma and selling immediately (before I got the FC), I got about 60M per hour. There is usually a FC buying Plat for over 200,000/T there.