Obtaining Guarding tech - is it really such a grind?

[Wendake]

Guardian ruins are really fun to do ! I unlocked FSD booster very quickly and got some weapons & modules blueprints in stock.

I did the first Ram Tha mission a few months ago and when I did it I didn't realized that it gave me a LOT of guardians data needed to craft guardian stuff.

So it was quite a nice surprise when I started to work on Guardian stuff to see hundreds of guardian data in my inventory.

After 400h of Elite Dangerous the only grind I felt was mining the 500T for Selena Jean. I unlocked pretty much every engineers, got some Guardians stuff and enjoyed every bit of gaming =)

 

[M00ka]

Oh, right.

Does each blueprint only require a single fragment now?

One of FDev's dafter decisions is that the blueprints are removed from the brokers completely once you've unlocked them so somebody who's already unlocked them has no way (other than the 21st century internet, of course) of checking what's currently required.

If each module/weapon only requires one BP fragment now, that's what you need.
If you plan on unlocking the Guardian FSDB, PP and PDist, you'll need a total of 3 module BP fragments - on the assumption that you DO just need one fragment for each.

As for the DSS, fair enough.
Be warned, though, some of the systems out there have over a hundred objects in them so you're gonna need a long movie.

Confirmed ..... one module blueprint for the FSD, then one module blueprint for the Shield Booster, then one for the whatever is next. But once each module is unlocked, it is unlocked in any size for any ship, which is jolly handy.

Thanks to both of you.

Just so you can have a laugh at my expense, I nearly committed one of the biggest blunders I could.

Course plotted, PD's installed, fuel topped up, all ready to go. Thought I would just give the Phoenix Ranger (my DBX) a final check in outfitting, just to make sure I have the right weapons fitted etc. It was then I realised I hadn't swapped out my docking computer for something I may kinda need - a vehicle hanger and SRV - eek that would have been a tad embarrassing lol

 

[Stealthie]

Course plotted, PD's installed, fuel topped up, all ready to go. Thought I would just give the Phoenix Ranger (my DBX) a final check in outfitting, just to make sure I have the right weapons fitted etc. It was then I realised I hadn't swapped out my docking computer for something I may kinda need - a vehicle hanger and SRV - eek that would have been a tad embarrassing lol

Leave it that way.

Fitting a DBX with a docking computer is like fitting low-profile tyres on a Land Rover.

 

[Jmanis]

Only complaint I have about the process is the drop rate of Guardian Sentinel Wreckage Components. For a "Very Common" material, I have none of them (as I farmed sentinels to get the unlocks I needed). Contrast that against other, "rarer" materials which I have 70-120 of because they drop so much more... but besides that I never felt the material gathering was a grind.

 

[M00ka]

Leave it that way.

Fitting a DBX with a docking computer is like fitting low-profile tyres on a Land Rover.

Completed, well almost. Still have to go back after the update to get a few more mats, but got the segment no problems, was kind of fun, but definitely glad I am only after 1 segment and not all of them. Yeah I decided digression once I saw the message about the servers going down, didn't want to be stuck with the half the pylons done and the servers shut down lol

Many thanks for those that helped

 

[askavir]

See, this is where FDev's insistence of being inscrutable is responsible for players problems.

Of the 3 original sites (no idea what the current total is), the 3rd, inactive, site is probably intended as the place where you're supposed to go to get scans and Guardian Sentinel wreckage.
There are more Sentinels and Obelisks than you can shake a stick at - and the site serves no other purpose.

I suppose it could be argued that the fact that one site provides weapon BPs and another provides module BPs hints that the 3rd site should be useful for something else but, unless you've already done Ram Tah's new mission, there's nothing that intuitively directs a player to the 3rd site.

In summary: Go to the 3rd site and you'll get all the Sentinel junk and Obelisk-scans you need in half an hour.

Thanks. Although I have no clue anymore which is the 3rd site, there are dozens now.

Is it one of those sites full of obelisks, with a few of them active?

 

[Stealthie]

Thanks. Although I have no clue anymore which is the 3rd site, there are dozens now.

Is it one of those sites full of obelisks, with a few of them active?

It's the one in Col 173 Sector QU-0 D6-25

When you arrive in-system you'll see there's a "Structure" site on the same planet as 2 "Ruins" sites.
Possibly planet 5B, IIRC. [where is it]

The "Structure" site is inactive; there's no terminal to provide BP fragments.
When you start driving around the site up to 6 Sentinels spawn and attack you.
As a result of this, you can blast up to 6 Sentinels in, literally, 60 seconds and collect their debris as well as shooting the structural panels to collect more components - and then re-log and do it again.
It's a much faster way of harvesting Sentinel debris, to the point where it can almost be considered "fun". Almost.

And then jump into your ship and fly a couple of hundred km to the nearest Ruins site (at least one of the sites is massive) where there are dozens of active Obelisks which give you 2x data for every scan you do.

Thing is, if you previously happened to go to one of the outposts in Meene, and accepted Ram Tah's new mission, you'd probably already have visited Col 173 and you might realise the usefulness of the sites in Col 173 but if you haven't done that stuff, you've got no way of knowing unless somebody tells you.
Thus leaving you to plod along, shooting Sentinels one at a time, and doing Obelisk scans 2 or 3 at a time, at one of the active "Structure" sites.

 

[dejavoodoo]

Honestly, I really enjoyed it. There was a bunch of googling. A bit of prep required. But overall, I was in space, flying to spooky alien ruins. I ran into a couple of players and helped out. Still friends.

I only got the most relevant stuff (to me): FSD booster, shield booster, module booster.

I imagine if you want to get it all, all modules and all weapons, it's possibly grindy, but seriously, you're flying in a simulated galaxy to spooky alien ruins where there may or may not be nice people, trolls, or nothing at all. Is it 100% guaranteed to be a positive experience? No, and that's the point. It will be interesting though.

 

[dejavoodoo]

I particularly enjoyed the bit where I dropped into a Guardian ruin, found 2 people already exploring it, they were under attack, so I flipped my DBX and took out the Guardian sentinel missiles with my point defense.

Really, they were OK without me, but I felt like the cavalry charging in to help. Good times.

 

[Scoob]

Thanks all for the additional replies, not sure when I'll get the chance to pop in-game next, hopefully soon.

I assume the update has gone ahead ok today? I've not checked yet.

My hope is to head out to the first Guardian site this evening all going well.

Sorry, one more question for clarity:

We gather blueprints and sufficient materials to unlock an item, unlocking uses a blueprint and a set number of materials for each. Then once unlocked, we simply buy the Guardian item from a Tech Broker using normal credits, right?

Scoob.

 

[Scoob]

Finally have an opportunity to make a start on this and I'm waiting for the update to finish lol.

I need to make sure I go over my ship load out before heading off, can't recall what state I left it in.

My "plan" such as it is, is simply to have a little nose around the site first, hopefully that'll not trigger anything...unfortunate. Going to re-read the guide that was linked earlier in the thread again too.

Scoob.

 

[Scoob]

So, I've arrived in the system, done a honk, yet I the map doesn't tell me which planet is B3. I assume it's the second sun, third planet out. I don't do exploring really, I've never scanned a planet or anything lol.

Heading to what I think is B3 now...

Edit: Ok, I'm at the guardian site. No sooner had I jumped into my SRV and move just a few metres and I'm attacked my a Sentinel that popped out of the ground. I killed it, but it dropped nothing at all.

I hope I'm in the right place, "Guardian Structure" there are also Ancient Ruins, but I went with the thing with Guardian in its name.

Edit 2:

Well, I'm confused already lol. After killing the Sentinel, I proceeded a little further and one of the things popped up. I saw it had an "Ancient Relic" in it, so I shot it and collected it. I did this twice. I then proceeded to wander around exploring for a bit, but was at a loss what to do next. So, as I'm evidently too dumb to work it out, I referred to the guide. It says "Once you have those find the where the Ball will be dispensed from and drive in front of it" those being the Ancient Relics, but I've not a clue what the rest of it means... a ball dispenser? I will explore some more.

Btw: should the Sentinels be dropping goodies when I destroy them? They're not for me.

Scoob.

 

[Lightspeed]

So, I've arrived in the system, done a honk, yet I the map doesn't tell me which planet is B3. I assume it's the second sun, third planet out. I don't do exploring really, I've never scanned a planet or anything lol.

Heading to what I think is B3 now...

Edit: Ok, I'm at the guardian site. No sooner had I jumped into my SRV and move just a few metres and I'm attacked my a Sentinel that popped out of the ground. I killed it, but it dropped nothing at all.

I hope I'm in the right place, "Guardian Structure" there are also Ancient Ruins, but I went with the thing with Guardian in its name.

Scoob.

Yes you got it right. Keep your handbrake on when attacked by sentinels and use the remote turret to shoot at them. They wont hurt you if you have full pips to sys while being attacked, but remember to restore a pip or two to weaps when you want to fire at the sentinels.

Your ship, equipped with Point Defence, should ideally be set to 3 pips to defence and 2 pips to weps to deal with missiles. Otherwise its weapons energy will run out while you are touring around in your SRV

 

[Scoob]

Yes you got it right. Keep your handbrake on when attacked by sentinels and use the remote turret to shoot at them. They wont hurt you if you have full pips to sys while being attacked, but remember to restore a pip or two to weaps when you want to fire at the sentinels.

Your ship, equipped with Point Defence, should ideally be set to 3 pips to defence and 2 pips to weps to deal with missiles. Otherwise its weapons energy will run out while you are touring around in your SRV

Yeah, they're not proving to be a problem at all, but they're not dropping any goodies as the guide suggests. I've noticed that a different type of pillar is popping up as I drive around, this one has a glowing ball in it...

I'm going to check the guide again, as I'm a little confused lol. Serves me right for attempting this when it's way too late - plus zero sleep last night hasn't helped my cognitive abilities.

Scoob.

 

[M00ka]

Yeah, they're not proving to be a problem at all, but they're not dropping any goodies as the guide suggests. I've noticed that a different type of pillar is popping up as I drive around, this one has a glowing ball in it...

I'm going to check the guide again, as I'm a little confused lol. Serves me right for attempting this when it's way too late - plus zero sleep last night hasn't helped my cognitive abilities.

Scoob.

Scoob, I did this little exercise yesterday for the FSD booster. I printed out the guide from post #24 and had the map up on the second monitor. Just follow the guide, it is pretty well laid out and easy. I do recommend performing a run through first, especially on going from each pylon to activate them, it helps when you have to do it for real although you are given a lot of time.

Good luck !

 

[WizzyThing]

So I was trying to farm epsilon patterns today, I averaged out with 2-3(x3) patterns per site, through "regular" gameplay it would take days of CONSTANT farming to get the patterns needed for the fighters (not even going to mention the rest of the unlockables).
I had to relog roughly ~50x to get the patterns while standing next to 2 obelisks, apparently re-logging is intended gameplay, man f*ck this .

 

[Scoob]

Scoob, I did this little exercise yesterday for the FSD booster. I printed out the guide from post #24 and had the map up on the second monitor. Just follow the guide, it is pretty well laid out and easy. I do recommend performing a run through first, especially on going from each pylon to activate them, it helps when you have to do it for real although you are given a lot of time.

Good luck !

Thanks. I'm finding this quite tedious, being tired really doesn't help!

I'm currently just exploring the site, getting jumped by Sentinels as those things pop up, but they don't always drop stuff.

Ireally shouldn't have started this so late.

Scoob.

 

[Blackcompany]

So I was trying to farm epsilon patterns today, I averaged out with 2-3(x3) patterns per site, through "regular" gameplay it would take days of CONSTANT farming to get the patterns needed for the fighters (not even going to mention the rest of the unlockables).
I had to relog roughly ~50x to get the patterns while standing next to 2 obelisks, apparently re-logging is intended gameplay, man f*ck this .

Behold. Exciting, engaging game play.

 

[Lightspeed]

The column that rises with the glowing ball is the pillar that you charge up by firing at it until it is fully charged and emits a beam into the sky. You have to get all six of them working within a time limit, and then drop the relic at the machine to get the orb to fire up for you to scan for the module.
Edit - you fire at the glowing ball.

It takes a bit of practice to get round them all in time, because it's not easy to pick your way around the wreckage to find the columns. It something that gets easier with practice. Took me an irritating hour to do it first time .... but people who say it takes only a minute are .... ummmm... fibbing.

Behold. Exciting, engaging game play.

Which you admit to not playing and are uninstalling. Are you still here?

 

[avow555]

So I was trying to farm epsilon patterns today, I averaged out with 2-3(x3) patterns per site, through "regular" gameplay it would take days of CONSTANT farming to get the patterns needed for the fighters (not even going to mention the rest of the unlockables).
I had to relog roughly ~50x to get the patterns while standing next to 2 obelisks, apparently re-logging is intended gameplay, man f*ck this .

Can't really beat this quality gameplay can we?

Logged in, read patch notes, checked forum, Grind Detected, logged out...

Fdev, stop wasting my time and bandwidth.