Sampling Efficiently: A Guide to Reclaiming Thargoid Systems

[alexzk]

...maybe something to mention, maybe not.
Lately I disabled in-game vsync / fps limit and set fps limit externally (in my case it is is proton's running option).
Well, I can see steady 60 limited fps now even when docking carrier, it was 10-15 fps for a year before in this scenario. Also menus are super smooth to use.

 

[Jmanis]

I tried Tissue Samples a year or 2 ago and managed to get hundreds on my FC. Had no issues then, had over 80% success rate IIRC, had to kill all Scouts in NHSS until one left and then got Tissue Samples from it until limpets all gone.

This is exactly the nature of the bug that FD declared a feature.

My rates are more like 20%, which looks and feels like "one sample per interceptor"... but reality is i might get 2 or 3 per 10 limpets.

It's a per- commander thing which suggests a bug related to localised conditions (FPS, lag etc)

 

[Spacerschoice-00]

thanks for 30 fps cap suggestion

- some improvement from almost all failing.

set back to 60 for bit, then went back to lower rate. wouldn't even attempt to use it other than supplement orthrus explosions during alert clearing *(at rate I was getting)

reverted back to 30 been using that past week. to clear some easier control systems. still somewhat high fail rate.

 

[Starsong]

thanks for 30 fps cap suggestion

- some improvement from almost all failing.

set back to 60 for bit, then went back to lower rate. wouldn't even attempt to use it other than supplement orthrus explosions during alert clearing *(at rate I was getting)

reverted back to 30 been using that past week. to clear some easier control systems. still somewhat high fail rate.

If you’re sampling Orthrus, that would explain a high failure rate. They’re notoriously much worse than other Thargoids.

 

[Starsong]

[Deleted]

 

[Spacerschoice-00]

If you’re sampling Orthrus, that would explain a high failure rate. They’re notoriously much worse than other Thargoids.

I know... sampling othrus with 1e I was getting 1 out 5 Orthrus producing a sample. while seeing explosions and orthrus exploding after.

not since seen this thread... been sampling the others like cyclops and scouts basilisks... the medusa got me though...

 

[Ned Flandalorian]

The most I've had return from a single Orthrus is 4 samples (all limpets fired as quick as possible from a universal controller).

I don't think it is strictly related to framerate or collisions with the interceptor. I have had empty limpets return to the ship, purposefully left the cargo hatch closed and checked the contacts panel to confirm they are empty, and after a while samples will miraculously pop into existence in them.

 

[Starsong]

Updated the guide with AFK sampling and a few other things I've thought worth mentioning.

 

[Aleks Zuno]

To raise a few disparate Harvest notes of questionable applicability and usefulness:

• In an Alert system, drop first at a Threat 4 non-human signal and attack the Orthrus to provoke Scouts, then destroy those Scouts until one or two remain. This way, the local system forces will not join to "help"!
• In any system, a Wing is lovely for keeping an area active.
• Potentially after changing the settings, if your success rate is high enough and you are not collecting dozens over the corrosive capacity then it is as well to bring only corrosive cargo and accept that a few units will be missing.
• After Hyperspace destabilisation, often one can just use the normal Exit and Continue then retry the jump. Even if the Thargoid engages first, it should be quite fine and still faster to use the fifteen-second Exit and Continue.
• Since update 15, a single Research limpet harvests much faster than one from a Universal limpet, around twice as fast. Four extra Research limpets can be considered to match the rate of the Universal limpet, if one remembers to use them more often.
• As a Wing in a Control system, or perhaps a lucky Alert system with a signal very close to arrival, depositing at and returning from a Fleet Carrier directly back to the already-active zone is so fast that it changes the ideal limpet-to-cargo ratio. For example, with 80 cargo and four extra limpets, one can harvest, deposit, return with Hyperspace destabilisation, Nav-lock back in and resume harvesting before a similar vessel with 112 cargo even reaches its first 80 collected. 96 cargo gives a good balance!
• Understanding the system strength is quite important for choosing targets to match the available time. For empty Control systems since around week 29, these numbers and graphs are in use at present.
• For some quick strength thresholds as of week 31, beginners should harvest 275 at empty 25 Ly Alerts, or harvest 310 at empty 30 Ly Controls. Systems farther out are quite fine; the strength reduction is nearly flat at that point. Systems closer in will start to involve increased strength.
• Similarly, anyone seeking to recapture a previously-populated Control system can expect around 1550 at 25 Ly as of week 31. At 30 Ly it seems to be closer to 1500, but it may be as well just to remember one datum.
• In a Control system, Scouts continue arriving strictly in pairs until there are at least four present.
• As a Wing in a Control system, it is as well to leave four Scouts around so that everyone can remain stationary with Regeneration Sequence and usually always have a Scout within the 2 km range for using a Research limpet.
• When leaving four Scouts around, there is some room to manipulate which four are present. New arrivals will always replace an absent Scout variant if they can, a fact which becomes a weakness when combined with arriving in pairs. For example, the INIV harvest wing awaits first all four Scouts then destroys only the Berserker; this prompts a new pair which will bring a new Berserker plus a fifth which can be any variant. Destroying that Berserker can then leave four non-Berserkers and cease the irritating missiles.

 

[Phill P]

• As a Wing in a Control system, or perhaps a lucky Alert system with a signal very close to arrival...resume harvesting before a similar vessel with 112 cargo even reaches its first 80 collected. 96 cargo gives a good balance!

That works in Controls but not Alerts. Two reasons;

- As signals have to be found first and as the speed of finding those signals is random, 112t is better than 96 because you want to make the most of them when you get them.

But more importantly;

- You cannot keep farming in Alerts like you can in Controls. Maybe because you are dropping into a signal source instead of normal space or a CZ. A wing can farm a NHSS 4 once only. Then as soon as anyone jumps out the scouts freeze and hang in space. Nice for those still getting samples, they can sit next to it and fill their holds, but no use for the person jumping out because when they jump back in again they are unable to see the Scouts at all and cannot target or sample them. All you can do is find another signal.

 

[Factabulous]

Nice guide - I was pulling my hair out trying to find things to sample in Controls before I came across it

I'd also add that the scout variant you choose to sample can make things easier - my choice is to always sample the Berserker. Scouts seem to fire their 'special attack' at regular intervals, so if you get an incoming Marauder + Berserker pair then the Berserker will make the Marauder do it's missile attack, but if you keep the Berserker around for sampling then it has a chance to fire its attack while there is no Marauder around - so it wastes it's attack.

(OTOH sampling a Marauder means it is always close when you get an incoming Berserker, so I get missiled a lot)

When sampling the Berserker I find my shields stay very high, whereas with others I have to pay more attention to them - interested to hear if others find the same

And I use a 'conda () rather than Cutter - with 10 limpets out I think it has a slight edge in cargo space, I keep one size 6 non-CRCR so I can always fill the CRCR even with limpet failures at 30 FPS.

 

[Phill P]

For Alerts since that last post we have found you can take advantage of NHSS4 and do a form of buddy sampling, which ourselves and SNPX have worked on to perfect as much as it can be.

 

[bigcee75]

Is sampling scouts still a viable way to help clear control systems? Because I've spent the night engineering my ship and doing it, managed to get 240 and now I can't find anywhere to sell them and INARA is a tad unreliable(tired of jumping here there and everywhere)

 

[Factabulous]

Is sampling scouts still a viable way to help clear control systems? Because I've spent the night engineering my ship and doing it, managed to get 240 and now I can't find anywhere to sell them and INARA is a tad unreliable(tired of jumping here there and everywhere)

Yes. You sell them at one of the rescue ships - they have icons on the galmap. Haritanis for leigong.

 

[bigcee75]

Just unloaded all of them now, they're not on their buy list of samples so only got just over 1K each which isn't great for the time spent but I'm not doing it for the credits. Thank you

 

[bigcee75]

Yes. You sell them at one of the rescue ships - they have icons on the galmap. Haritanis for leigong.

Just unloaded them now. They're not on their samples buy list so only got just over 1K credits each which isn't great for time spent but I'm not doing it for credits. Thank you

 

[moshmurph]

Im sampling control systems around Leigong, 80 limpets gets me 50 samples, is the 30 fps a definite thing to try?

 

[Factabulous]

Im sampling control systems around Leigong, 80 limpets gets me 50 samples, is the 30 fps a definite thing to try?

Worth a punt - I'm around 75% return rate at 30 fps. If it doesn't work turn it back up.

Also, as I'm sure you know, worth having some large non-corrosive cargo so you can guarantee filling your CRCR capacity every time

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Im sampling control systems around Leigong, 80 limpets gets me 50 samples, is the 30 fps a definite thing to try?

Definitely, yes! The INIV harvest wing uses that setting, and the results become close enough to 100%, at least above 90%. From HIP 10118 yesterday, here were our individual deliveries, from full rounds only:

Capacity	112	96	96	112
Round 1	112​	89​	96​	105​
Round 2	112​	94​	96​	103​
Round 3	104​	95​	96​	108​
Round 4	106​	96​	95​	105​
Round 5	110​	92​	95​	105​
Round 6	109​	92​	92​	105​
Round 7	109​	96​	95​	108​
Round 8	109​	93​	93​	​
Round 9	​	94​	95​	​
Round 10	​	​	94​	​
Average	108.88	93.44	94.7	105.57
Success	97.2%	97.4%	98.6%	94.3%

Additional: The success is so high for us that we do not use normal Cargo at all; taking 100%, normal Cargo would imply having to overshoot by at least 16 units for the corrosive damage to be worth enduring. Some commanders overshoot by 30 units, but by then one will be losing modules very quickly.

 

[bigcee75]

Im sampling control systems around Leigong, 80 limpets gets me 50 samples, is the 30 fps a definite thing to try?

I was using 80 around Leigong and in 4 rounds of sampling I ended up with 66, 63, 59 and 62 of collected samples all at 30fps,.