Thargoid invasion - Next target systems?

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in HIP 21991, HIP 115777, HR 1812 and Juipedun!

In advance defence of Neites, Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-0 was expected to complete immediately given over a thousand samples, the same as for TS-Z b14-2 closer to M. Hadad. It is possible that the progress updated mid-transport though, so we will move on to TS-Z b14-4 for now. Either the former completes and we go to 1000, or use that knowledge and assume we need 1250.

Targets at 17:40 22nd April 3309:
Yan Zangata Invasion 72% — Hadad 22 Ly, 2 ports, 98 Ls outpost attack
Bormuninus Invasion 60% — Raijin 24 Ly, 4 ports, 63 Ls outpost attack
Kuruma Invasion 32% — Raijin 26 Ly, 0 ports, 251k Ls outpost damage
Auaker Control 6% — Thor 36 Ly

Alerts:
HIP 20019 Alert 78% — Indra 26 Ly, 786 Ls starport, 1060 Ls outpost, 781 Ls planet
Cao Tzu Alert 54% — Taranis 22 Ly, 229 Ls outpost, 2226 Ls planet
Aowicha Alert 32% — Oya 24 Ly, 4350 Ls starport
Nu Guang Alert 30% — Raijin 19 Ly, 44 Ls starport
HIP 19757 Alert 22% — Indra 25 Ly, 2256 Ls planet

Clean-up:
Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-0 Control 80% — Hadad 24 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector ZZ-O b6-1 Control 32% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in Col 285 Sectors TS-Z b14-4 and b14-0, Cao Tzu, HIP 20019 and Yan Zangata! Ten populated Alerts remain, such that after those listed below I suggest considering leaving them for Invasions and start clearing those nearby unpopulated systems which are causing the Alerts originally. Those systems left for Invasion will be relatively defensible, with only HIP 18702 not having a planetary port and Arietis Sector DQ-Y c18 having only one nearby planetary port, where it will be fine to wait for an attack there.

If you want the best preemptive strikes for a Research wing, the Alert report ranks those likely to occur next cycle and what you can clear to stymie them; for example, the present Alert at the populated Khondo Po occurred for want of clearing the unpopulated Col 285 Sector HD-G b12-1 last cycle. Otherwise, it is great to clear any system within 10 Ly of those you want to keep!

This is what INIV is doing for Neites, with two of three clear and only Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-5 remaining, also functioning as a sort of procedure test for performing an open-space harvest. It does have a landfall planet, but with almost 70000 light-seconds to reach it we are opting instead to catch a open-space Cyclops and stop its swarms by making it reengage every five minutes.

Invasions at 08:20 23rd April 3309:
Bormuninus Invasion 90% — Raijin 24 Ly, 4 ports, 63 Ls outpost attack
Kuruma Invasion 34% — Raijin 26 Ly, 0 ports, 251k Ls outpost damage

Evictions:
Auaker Control 6% — Thor 36 Ly
HIP 18075 Control 2% — Thor 21 Ly
Wanmi Control 2% — Raijin 26 Ly

Alerts:
Aowicha Alert 56% — Oya 24 Ly, 4350 Ls starport
Khondo Po Alert 56% — Oya 24 Ly, 37 Ls outpost, 108 Ls planet
Nu Guang Alert 50% — Raijin 19 Ly, 44 Ls starport
HIP 19757 Alert 28% — Indra 25 Ly, 2256 Ls planet

Clean-up:
Hyades Sector ZZ-O b6-1 Control 34% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty
Cephei Sector HW-W b1-5 Control 26% — Oya 28 Ly, empty
Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-5 Control 14% — Hadad 22 Ly, empty
Pegasi Sector YQ-J a10-3 Alert 10% — Raijin 27 Ly, empty
Arietis Sector CQ-P b5-1 Alert 8% — Leigong 35 Ly, empty
HIP 21099 Control 6% — Indra 27 Ly, empty

 

[GreySix]

I'm heading back toward the bubble after a long trip to get my fleet carrier, so you cats keep those bugs off my back.

TM.

 

[Spacerschoice-00]

Pegasi Sector NN-S b4-4
unpopulated system state = none has 6 thargoid conflict zones couple very high intensity zones.

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in Bormuninus, Aowicha, Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-5, Khondo Po and Nu Guang!

Targets at 22:50 23rd April 3309:
Kuruma Invasion 40% — Raijin 26 Ly, 0 ports, 251k Ls outpost damage
HIP 19757 Alert 46% — Indra 25 Ly, 2256 Ls planet
Jawul Alert 18% — Raijin 27 Ly, 3045 Ls starport, 3028 Ls outpost, 3063 Ls planet
Auaker Control 6% — Thor 36 Ly
Wanmi Control 4% — Raijin 26 Ly

Clean-up:
Cephei Sector HW-W b1-5 Control 76% — Oya 28 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector ZZ-O b6-1 Control 38% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty
Pegasi Sector YQ-J a10-3 Alert 12% — Raijin 27 Ly, empty
Trianguli Sector JR-W b1-0 Alert 12% — Taranis 29 Ly, empty
Cephei Sector ZZ-Y b3 Control 10% — Oya 15 Ly, empty
Arietis Sector CQ-P b5-1 Alert 8% — Leigong 35 Ly, empty
HIP 21099 Control 6% — Indra 27 Ly, empty

I'm heading back toward the bubble after a long trip to get my fleet carrier, so you cats keep those bugs off my back.
TM.

You will need to mind the affected systems, though I can speak at least for ensuring that M. Hadad recedes a little each cycle!

Pegasi Sector NN-S b4-4
unpopulated system state = none has 6 thargoid conflict zones couple very high intensity zones.

Interesting! Pegasi Sector NN-S b4-4 actually was completed in Week 18 as a Control system, so it could have had Conflict Zones appear, though I imagine it is not intended for them to remain afterwards. Admittedly I have not checked back in some of the Control systems I have helped clear recently, some of which indeed had Conflict Zones, though I may take a peek at some point!

 

[yttrbio]

Col 285 Sector JW-M c7-18 also had CZs after being liberated the first time. It may be worth checking if they're still there after the second.

 

[Planewalker]

Very few invasions atm, pretty wild to see.
Does anyone have information or coordination on liberating already overtaken systems?

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Victory in Col 285 Sector SX-Z b14-1!

Along with our previous three empty Control systems, including somebody else who moved Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-5 by an extra 8–10% (thank you!), that now prevents Alerts next cycle at Neites and H Puppis. Securing also Bi Dhorora and Muruidooges (depending on Recovery time) would represent a push towards the Maelstrom Hadad and would need the help of everyone else. For the moment, I think INIV can manage an erosion of Thargoid space at the 20–30 Ly range faster than it can place Alerts.

Targets at 07:40 24th April 3309:
Jawul Alert 58% — Raijin 27 Ly, 3045 Ls starport, 3028 Ls outpost, 3063 Ls planet
HIP 19757 Alert 52% — Indra 25 Ly, 2256 Ls planet
Kuruma Invasion 44% — Raijin 26 Ly, 0 ports, 251k Ls outpost damage
Auaker Control 6% — Thor 36 Ly
Wanmi Control 4% — Raijin 26 Ly

Clean-up:
Cephei Sector HW-W b1-5 Control 88% — Oya 28 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector ZZ-O b6-1 Control 40% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty
Cephei Sector ZZ-Y b3 Control 36% — Oya 15 Ly, empty
Trianguli Sector JR-W b1-0 Alert 14% — Taranis 29 Ly, empty
Pegasi Sector YQ-J a10-3 Alert 12% — Raijin 27 Ly, empty
Arietis Sector CQ-P b5-1 Alert 8% — Leigong 35 Ly, empty
HIP 21099 Control 6% — Indra 27 Ly, empty

Very few invasions atm, pretty wild to see.
Does anyone have information or coordination on liberating already overtaken systems?

Start with the Alert overview from SNPX to get an idea of the Research approach, then I have a few notes about INIV doing that in Control systems here. Control is much the same as Alert, except:

• No Orthrus option of course.
• You can drop anywhere rather than having to summon via Hyperspace, then await an Interceptor. If solo I suggest using only systems with Conflict Zones, otherwise the quickest are those with landfall planets available and not too far, otherwise it is open-space (see my post for swarm-prevention as a Wing).
• Because the arrival is via Frame Shift Anomaly, likely you will want a Shutdown neutraliser.
• Scouts will be around, the biggest effect of which is that likely you will want a Caustic sink.

Harvesting as a Wing above a planet:

 

[Planewalker]

• No Orthrus option of course.

​

Obviously

Would it be possible to use the diamondback scout or dolphin or other cold ship to sample tissue in order to push thargoid influence down, or is tanking with shields (as per the link/SPNX) in order to get kills the most efficient way?

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Would it be possible to use the diamondback scout or dolphin or other cold ship to sample tissue in order to push thargoid influence down, or is tanking with shields (as per the link/SPNX) in order to get kills the most efficient way?

From what I hear, quiet starships were once a good way to harvest samples when/where Thargoids were not immediately hostile. They are not quite so cooperative in war systems, so the original stealthy approach is out.

For the moment, you also must engage the Thargoid, otherwise it gets stuck trying to attack a limpet on its back. This is quite amusing, but unfortunately there is a bug which causes harvested samples not to appear depending on how the Thargoid was moving at the time, where spinning that way will give you zero. Once engaged, I think the only purpose of having a quiet vessel would be for orbiting, but that makes it very difficult to limpets to return.

The shield is not for getting kills; it is present because that internal space is needed for modules other than reinforcements, and it helps a lot that it can be regenerated in a Wing. The INIV vessels for Wing harvests are minor variations of these Imperial Cutters, where it is very much more efficient just to remain stationary. This is nicest above a planet for no swarms of course, though for Col 285 Sector TS-Z b14-5 we did an open-space harvest and stopped the swarms another way—by having the Thargoid target count five minutes then exit and continue while another Commander gets its attention, it restarts its swarm timer.

If solo, obviously it is as well to fit more Flak rather than Regeneration beams, and I recommend also taking a class 6 Shield cell in place of one anti-corrosion cargo. Movement also now plays a part, either to follow system AX forces at a Conflict Zone, or to handle swarms elsewhere. This is actually a good challenge in itself; managing the swarm at all is needed if a solo Cutter is to return with more than 15–20 samples, and getting better at it brings you progressively more samples beyond that. My best solo harvest is something like 70 or 71 samples, stopping there because I only had 64 corrosive storage.

That said, part of why I suggest Conflict Zones for solo Commanders is that those are quicker for obtaining Interceptors, usually at least one Cyclops. Conversely, a lot of the value of Wing harvests are that you only need to catch the Cyclops once, then one can just return to it after storing samples on a Fleet Carrier. With more cargo space, my best single-haul harvest while in a Wing is 90 samples, which is a full ten successful limpets beyond the 80 corrosive cargo space. I think others in Alert systems are using Corvettes with 96 corrosive, though for Control systems I think I will stay with the speedy Cutter!

 

[Kayvan]

I don't think a small ship will be very effective in that regard. First and foremost you'll be limited to just a couple of size 1 limpet controllers, so your progress with the anal probes will be slow and tedious. Secondly, a lesson that I also learned the painful way, you must be prepared to take hits. Even if your cold orbiting game is flawless, you have to stop maneuvering to collect returning research limpets - and that's basically that.
Further up in the thread I recounted my experiences with a cold orbiting Clipper, which avoided the first problem (size 7 limpet controller yay), only to run full smack into the second one (frightful damage taken while picking up returning probes boo).

So my next project will be to outfit my Cutter to the kind of build Aleks uses, but that's probably gonna take a while.

 

[Ned Flandalorian]

First and foremost you'll be limited to just a couple of size 1 limpet controllers

The Xeno multi-limpet controller (4 limpets) is a size 3.

 

[Planewalker]

For the moment, you also must engage the Thargoid, otherwise it gets stuck trying to attack a limpet on its back.

I will henceforth refer to that as the thargoid dance.
Appreciate the detailed writeup and will pass on the advice for those interested.
-for now i will see what i can accomplish with a dolphin outfitted with proper equipment.

 

[yttrbio]

The "Ah, it's a spider, get it off, get it off" dance

 

[Shayan al Nasarwa]

So my next project will be to outfit my Cutter to the kind of build Aleks uses, but that's probably gonna take a while.

When you collect samples in a wing, you can also think of using a Federal Corvette. This Ship is my absolute favorite... better manoeuvrability, more anti corrosive cargo space, a total of 10 research limpets.

https://edsy.org/s/vhtXf0H

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in Col 285 Sectors OC-L c8-11 and YY-X b15-8, Cephei Sector HW-W b1-5 and Jawul!

I can see some new Alert movement at Arietis Sector GG-Y d63, which at present is a little below the pace needed, although either way I recommend leaving that for Invasion and instead start clearing the attackers. The same few systems are getting Alerts on a regular cycle, where in many cases it will be easier to clear the nearby Control systems!

Targets at 07:20 25th April 3309:
Kuruma Invasion 58% — Raijin 26 Ly, 0 ports, 251k Ls outpost damage
Auaker Control 8% — Thor 36 Ly
65 Kappa Tauri Control 4% — Indra 25 Ly
Wanmi Control 4% — Raijin 26 Ly

Alerts:
HIP 19757 Alert 86% — Indra 25 Ly, 2256 Ls planet
Arietis Sector GG-Y d63 Alert 12% — Leigong 34 Ly, 1753 Ls planet

Clean-up:
Cephei Sector ZZ-Y b3 Control 96% — Oya 15 Ly, empty
Trianguli Sector JR-W b1-0 Alert 50% — Taranis 29 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector ZZ-O b6-1 Control 40% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty
Pegasi Sector YQ-J a10-3 Alert 14% — Raijin 27 Ly, empty
Arietis Sector CQ-P b5-1 Alert 8% — Leigong 35 Ly, empty
HR 8536 Control 8% — Raijin 28 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector IM-L b8-5 Alert 8% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty
HIP 21099 Control 6% — Indra 27 Ly, empty

 

[Prasinus]

Wrong thread

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in Col 285 Sector NR-B b14-0, HIP 19757 and Cephei Sector ZZ-Y b3!

Looks like we have several more gentle nudges at many different Control systems to discover how far they move, which I consider a very good sign! If it helps to know, last cycle one Anaconda filled with 144 pieces of Cyclops would push Yukait by 8%. That was 26.15 Ly from the Maelstrom, and as I am just now discovering, was likely slightly easier due to being Sol-facing.

Targets at 07:20 26th April 3309:
Kuruma Invasion 86% — Raijin 26 Ly, 0 ports, 251k Ls outpost damage
Arietis Sector GG-Y d63 Alert 70% — Leigong 34 Ly, 1753 Ls planet
Auaker Control 8% — Thor 36 Ly
65 Kappa Tauri Control 4% — Indra 25 Ly
Wanmi Control 4% — Raijin 26 Ly

Clean-up:
Trianguli Sector JR-W b1-0 Alert 68% — Taranis 29 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector ZZ-O b6-1 Control 42% — Taranis 26 Ly, empty
Pegasi Sector YQ-J a10-3 Alert 16% — Raijin 27 Ly, empty
Arietis Sector CQ-P b5-1 Alert 8% — Leigong 35 Ly, empty
HR 8536 Control 8% — Raijin 28 Ly, empty
HIP 21099 Control 6% — Indra 27 Ly, empty

Wrong thread

Thank you for being so kind as to share upgraded Pioneer equipment locations though!

 

[Kalizandra]

A quick question to the big brains in this thread: Do we see the Invasion systems coming back? Or have we entered a new stage of the Thargoid War? I was really hoping to see the planet attack scenarios staying around for a bit longer (really enjoyed dropping in and joining other cmdr's in a bit of emergent gameplay as a solo player-plus the lack of swarms made it manageable for my skill level).
Don't get me wrong, not moaning or anything. It is what it is, If they have gone as a result of human progress in the war then I should have made more of them whilst they were around!

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Do we see the Invasion systems coming back? Or have we entered a new stage of the Thargoid War?

With U15 coming in just over two weeks, this is probably going to be changing anyway - the effects here are ones that will happen over a few months. But if it doesn't affect this bit:

The current human priority in most Maelstroms is to pick off as many inhabited Alert systems as possible, or defend early at Invasion where not, but ignore or deprioritise uninhabited Alerts. Over time, that will result in an increase in the number of inhabited Alerts being placed each week, which at some point may start pushing more significantly beyond human capacity to block those Alerts, which will lead to more Invasions again. If that then also overwhelms the combined Alert+Invasion capacity, some of them will become Controls which will temporarily reduce the pressure and number of Invasions again, and then the cycle will repeat at a slightly higher average distance.

Exceptions to this are Oya/Taranis - which are still primarily Alert-focused, but also picking off uninhabited Alerts and recapturing uninhabited Controls, so aren't likely to generate too many more inhabited Alerts than they currently do (but already generate a lot!) - and more obviously Hadad where the focus is primarily on diverting the Thargoids specifically onto uninhabited systems, so relatively few Invasions are likely there so long as that continues.