Engineers Pharmaceutical Isolators

Ydiss

Ydiss
I've spent a lot of time over the last few weeks hunting mats. Data and raw acquisition is straightforward (either get MEFs or visit shard sites and trade down) and, for the most part, finding manufactured mats is easy enough, via trading down grade 5 mats from high grade emissions.

I do prefer how USS are created now, compared to how they were years ago. There's a logical process to it that, barring a few issues I've noticed, works well. Those issues do detract from the enjoyment somewhat, such as the game telling you "new signal source discovered" when that's an outright lie (nothing new shows on the nav panel) and the game can frequently be ultra reticent with spawning new USS over time, leading to the necessity of fudging by jumping away and back again.

But, mostly, when I want a specific material then I know where to go to get it. The rules have always been the same and they're well documented here and elsewhere.

So, pharmaceutical Isolators should appear in high population systems in a state of outbreak. They should exist in high grade emissions. Except, every single outbreak system I've visited since I started hunting mats this way has had a sum total of zero HGEs. Not one. Nada. Don't get me started on attempting to find these by only using in game tools, either. Eddb is almost essential here and that's what I used to find the highest population systems in outbreak States. But still, on arrival, not one of them had HGEs. It's just not very fun.

It's fine. I'll just burn up other grade 5s to get what I need (either by other USS, missions and/or ship salvage) but I just think fdev could revisit this process so that logically locating certain types of manufactured mats wasn't so demotivating.

I'd prefer it if HGEs were much more common for starters. Secondly, allowing us to use multiple filters in the map would help. Third, allow USS to be a bit more reliable; as soon as you visit one, spawn another in its place consistently. Finally, add way more USS types that are specific to these grade 5 mats.

So, in any outbreak system, have a USS type called "Emergency Medical Beacon", in which you can always find a bunch of Pharmaceutical Isolators. At least then if a system has conflicting states, you can quickly and easily locate what you need.

Take away the ambiguity of the existing system. Make it less random. Make finding systems of a certain state less arduous.
 

GroG79

G
Yes I see your problem.. But one has got to be the hardest to obtain right?

Do pay attention to the state of the USS. They are not always equal to the system state hence you will not find the isolators if the state of the USS is different. High population yield more HGE.
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
GroG79 said:
Yes I see your problem.. But one has got to be the hardest to obtain right?

Do pay attention to the state of the USS. They are not always equal to the system state hence you will not find the isolators if the state of the USS is different. High population yield more HGE.
Click to expand...
You may have missed it but I said in my post that I'm looking at the highest population systems. In fact I'm looking in the outbreak systems with the highest population according to Eddb.

I'm aware that faction states in system can differ and subsequently this can mix up the HGE type but this is irrelevant to me because I'm not actually seeing HGEs at all in the systems I'm looking at.

I appreciate you're trying to help but this is a feedback topic rather than one asking for help. I'm aware of all the methods. But in this case, I'm finding the methods don't help.

I'd prefer it if the process itself was better.
 

LumberTubs

LumberTubs
Agree with everything OP said as I've been through the exact same process. The only time I was able to gather PIs was after killing an elite anaconda which interdicted me during a mission. I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw what I was about to scoop up from the debris. I went through the process of ranking up, buying and engineering a Corvette with the sole intention to harvest high grade mats at HazRes sites but that hasn't spawned any PIs as yet and I've been at it for a while.

I'd like to think that HGEs is something that will be improved in the background (so to speak) when Odyssey lands.

I also think that the 6 to 1 exchange rate when trading one G5 material for another is a bit steep. I'd like to see that reduced to perhaps 3 to 1.
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
So yes, I've gotten them from Anacondas too. But that's still really random. Definitely not faster than trading down from other g5s.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has recently seen HGEs in outbreak systems with high pop (and then that they're for PIs).

From where I'm looking, it's as though they've been inadvertently removed entirely.
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
GJ51 said:
I did a brief mats hunt recently and scanned several nav beacons that showed NO HGEs in the system.

The whole HGE thing seems to be a bit off.
Click to expand...
Yeh, I'm feeling that too. I've managed to find most g5 manu mats via USS (or mission etc). It's been OK mostly until this point. It's just PIs that just don't appear to work how I remember.

I'm glad it's not just me.
 

Factabulous

Factabulous
Mmm - free range PI, much tastier than those cardboard farmed ones ;)

1597675117855.png
 

Northpin

Northpin
This is how i search for PI:
Inara, Nearest, Minor Factions, Outbreak (preferably in empire/independent space)

It will give me a list of systems that have factions in Oubreak.
I usually pick a 45-65 ly range ship and setup a loop between 3-6 systems.
Jump into a system, drop in nav beacon, low-wake out, check for hge, move to next and so on.
A ship that is highly maneuverable in SC and has a SCA is really good for this - AspX, Dolphin, AspS, Cobra Mk3 - but ultimately any will do, even an Anaconda.

Combat is an option too

1597679120037.png
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
Northpin said:
This is how i search for PI:
Inara, Nearest, Minor Factions, Outbreak (preferably in empire/independent space)

It will give me a list of systems that have factions in Oubreak.
I usually pick a 45-65 ly range ship and setup a loop between 3-6 systems.
Jump into a system, drop in nav beacon, low-wake out, check for hge, move to next and so on.
A ship that is highly maneuverable in SC and has a SCA is really good for this - AspX, Dolphin, AspS, Cobra Mk3 - but ultimately any will do, even an Anaconda.

Combat is an option too

View attachment 184247
Click to expand...
Finding outbreak systems isn't the difficulty though. I used this method, only with eddb instead. Found plenty of systems just saw no HGEs in any, even the independent 2.1bn pop one at the top of the list (checked three times on different days).

Killing anacondas is a source yes but only "better" because 1(3) > 0.

I'll try Inara next time I need them. I just traded though. Waste of time using that method.
 

[VR] Orodruin

[VR] Orodruin
GroG79 said:
Do pay attention to the state of the USS. They are not always equal to the system state hence you will not find the isolators if the state of the USS is different. High population yield more HGE.
Click to expand...
Actually, not only the HGE state but all states of the HGE faction. Regardless of what the HGE state is, the drop is random from all the faction states.
 

Vetinari

V
Ydiss said:
"new signal source discovered" when that's an outright lie (nothing new shows on the nav panel)
Click to expand...

It usually is there but only in Nav Panel as USS if close, dunno what distance, try another 'honk' and if not you'll have to use the FSS again to find it, luckily therell only be one or 2 new signals so fairly obvious, or a trip to the Nav Beacon to update it, or those beacons around any support ships also update it.

Apart from that same issue here, ended up selling my soul to the mat trader and just giving up looking for them specifically. One day Ill find them.
 

Ydiss

Ydiss
Vetinari said:
It usually is there but only in Nav Panel as USS if close, dunno what distance, try another 'honk' and if not you'll have to use the FSS again to find it, luckily therell only be one or 2 new signals so fairly obvious, or a trip to the Nav Beacon to update it, or those beacons around any support ships also update it.

Apart from that same issue here, ended up selling my soul to the mat trader and just giving up looking for them specifically. One day Ill find them.
Click to expand...
I always do honk but they don't show so I guess I'd need to fss or nav beacon but...

It's a ton easier and faster to just find another system and roll another 10-15 USS instantly.

The whole process is iteratively better than the original random pops system but still several iterations away from being the finished game mechanic it could be.

But PIs definitely feel out of whack. Hunting most other g5s feels OK. Better because you can game it to respawn the same uss more than once and reenter it... If they ever fix that particular loophole then it'll be really naff. That's been the only saving grace for this whole process.
 
Last edited:

CptArcher

CptArcher
Just spend a morning ferrying passengers to Sirius Atmospherics and trade down exquisite focus crystals and biotech conductors for pharmaceutical isolators. You'll easily get enough materials to upgrade one, if not two ships.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom