SCB Engineer Lori Jameson locked behind 'Elite' grind - why hasn't this been changed?

Yosharian

Yosharian
Why is this Engineer, who is the only person we can visit to get access Shield Cell Bank blueprints, still locked behind the Elite pilot rank grind?

I mean you can go to Elvira for Grade 1 but come on..

What do you think, Elite forum-goers? Do you think it's a good thing that SCB engineering is only available for Elite pilots?

These are the blueprints, for those who are unaware:

https://inara.cz/galaxy-blueprint/17/

https://inara.cz/galaxy-blueprint/18/
 
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Riverside

Riverside
You ask why it hasn't been changed, implying perhaps you think it was done unintentionally. I don't think it was.

Get on with it :D
 

Arthur Shappey

Arthur Shappey
You only need Elite in one of the four disciplines... compared to some of the other engineer grinds this doesn't appear that bad. It is certainly less tedious!

Frankly I don't rate any of the abilities Lori has - if you really, really think you need her for shield bank cells - you might consider changing your fighting style.
 

crushdepth

C
Arthur Shappey said:
You only need Elite in one of the four disciplines... compared to some of the other engineer grinds this doesn't appear that bad. It is certainly less tedious!

Frankly I don't rate any of the abilities Lori has - if you really, really think you need her for shield bank cells - you might consider changing your fighting style.
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I thought it had to be combat rank?
 

Arindor

Arindor
I didn't think rank Elite grind was all that hard really (i.e. exploration being the easiest to obtain imo). :)
 

Bortas

Bortas
Yosharian said:
What do you think, Elite forum-goers? Do you think it's a good thing that SCB engineering is only available for Elite pilots?
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Well, the SCB mods are very optional even for PvP builds. Unlike most other blueprints they are not clear upgrades but sidegrades. You either get a few (really few) more MJ for the cost of a longer spin up time or the other way around. Both variants can provide a slight advantage in certain situations, but none of them are mandatory. Normal, unengineered SCBs are a good middle ground.

Lori is usually the last engineer I visit when building a new combat ship... if at all.
 

Stealthie

Stealthie
The services Lori Jameson provides are nice in a "cherry on top" sort of way but they're hardly critical.

I usually G5-lightweight life-support and (more usefully) sensors and the specialised SCBs seem okay although you really still need a heat-sink launcher, anyway, so they're not especially useful.
And does anybody bother modding their fuel-scoop?

Access to LJ isn't a big deal.
 

Darth Llama

Darth Llama
I'm cool with it since this engineer is pretty insignificant.

Also, Elite Rank is easy to get and fairly quick for Exploration or Trade.

Personally, I think Palin's unlock is far worse. I don't enjoy exploration and don't like being forced to play a game style I don't enjoy to get access. At least with Jameson, you can do it in any discipline you like.
 

Lucifera Danzig

Lucifera Danzig
The system itself is the part where you need an Elite rank, to access places like Jameson Memorial. That's never going to change.

Which means the only way to eliminate needing an Elite rank to get to Lori Jameson would be to move her out of system, which isn't something I'm expecting FDev is going to want to do.
 

Yosharian

Yosharian
Darth Llama said:
I'm cool with it since this engineer is pretty insignificant.

Also, Elite Rank is easy to get and fairly quick for Exploration or Trade.

Personally, I think Palin's unlock is far worse. I don't enjoy exploration and don't like being forced to play a game style I don't enjoy to get access. At least with Jameson, you can do it in any discipline you like.
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This makes no sense at all. Palin's unlock requirement takes a few hours at most. Getting Elite rank takes weeks of work at the very least.
 

Darth Llama

Darth Llama
Yosharian said:
This makes no sense at all. Palin's unlock requirement takes a few hours at most. Getting Elite rank takes weeks of work at the very least.
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A few of the most boring hours imaginable.. just jumping from star to star.

At least with the Jamison unlock, you can get it anyway you want (Combat, Trade or Exploration.)

Yes, it takes longer, the part of the Palin unlock I don't like is being forced to do an activity I find boring (exploration.) The upside of the Jamison unlock is that at least you can get it doing anything you want. Oh, and Lori Jamison is a lot less relevant as an engineer then Palin.
 

Yosharian

Yosharian
Darth Llama said:
A few of the most boring hours imaginable.. just jumping from star to star.

At least with the Jamison unlock, you can get it anyway you want (Combat, Trade or Exploration.)
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That's not true at all, you are required to get Dangerous rank in Combat in addition to whatever method you use to reach Elite status.

I'm close to Elite in Trade so I'll probably get Shinrarta Dezhra using that, but it'll be even more grinding to get to Dangerous as I'm currently Expert.
 

crushdepth

C
Bryan K said:
Scanning thousands of neutron stars? Easy perhaps, but mind-numbingly boring. No thank you.
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Neutron stars aren't really worth it anymore, since they changed the payouts what you want is water worlds, terraformables and (obviously) earthlikes. So you're actually better off just jumping around scanning likely candidates rather than grinding neutrons. For what it's worth, exploration progression is now hugely faster too - the last 30% of Pioneer took me hardly any time compared to the first 70%.
 

Darth Llama

Darth Llama
Yosharian said:
That's not true at all, you are required to get Dangerous rank in Combat in addition to whatever method you use to reach Elite status.

I'm close to Elite in Trade so I'll probably get Shinrarta Dezhra using that, but it'll be even more grinding to get to Dangerous as I'm currently Expert.
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Not sure where you're getting this from, I have heard others say this too.. and it's wrong.

The requirement for access to Shinrarta Dezhra is Elite in one rank.. period.

There is not now, nor has there ever been a requirement to achieve Dangerous in Combat to access Shinrarta Dezhra. I don't know where people are getting that.
 

Arindor

Arindor
Bryan K said:
Scanning thousands of neutron stars? Easy perhaps, but mind-numbingly boring. No thank you.
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Each to their own and that’s the brilliance of ED, it gives us a choice. In keeping with subjective comments though, I find combat rank grind just as dull and pointless tbh. :)
 
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