Thargoid invasion - Next target systems?

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in Hyades Sectors HW-M b7-5 (thank you CMDR Romarz!) and KN-K b8-1, HIP 4041, Pegasi Sector JH-U b3-9 and Col 285 Sectors VN-H b11-0 and XT-Q c5-1!

Thankfully the M. Taranis periphery is now on a clear completion course given the initial 50%. The rate thus far is still at only 12–14% over a day, where a one-sixth target would give future completions some comfort and generally one-fifth would be ideal, although I know also that some thoughtful Commanders are stockpiling the rescued Titan pods to help the final ten!

Ironically M. Indra is now in a position where at some point it needs an intermediate completion to help it proceed, although personally I propose ending some other Maelstroms first to reduce the Alert demand, which the eventual collapse of M. Indra will increase a lot.

Peripheries at 06:50 10th November 3309, excluding Alerts:
Six systems with 63% — Taranis 11–18 Ly, 2 matrix + 1 inhabited, 3363–13.4k strength
Ten systems with 4% — Indra 21–23 Ly, 4 matrix + 3 inhabited, 435–3790 strength

Alerts:
HIP 23716 Alert 36% *36.3% — Taranis 18 Ly, 2314 Ls starport, 2351 Ls outpost, 2354 Ls planet, Peripheral system
Njorog Alert 16% — Taranis 15 Ly, 637 Ls starport, 60 Ls outpost, 107 Ls planet, Peripheral system
Nibelaako Alert 16% — Raijin 22 Ly, 519 Ls starport, 519 Ls planet
HIP 25679 Alert 12% *12.4% — Taranis 17 Ly, 108 Ls outpost, 2902 Ls planet, Peripheral system
Gliese 9035 Alert 12% — Oya 20 Ly, 556 Ls planet, Peripheral system

Clean-up:
Pegasi Sector RE-N a8-0 Alert 86% — Raijin 21 Ly
Cephei Sector BV-Y b2 Alert 82% *83% — Oya 16 Ly, Peripheral system
Trianguli Sector BA-A d85 Matrix 62% *63.2% — Taranis 11 Ly
Hyades Sector DQ-O b6-0 Matrix 62% *63.2% — Taranis 12 Ly
Arietis Sector FG-Y d66 Alert 58% — Leigong 18 Ly, Peripheral system
Cephei Sector AV-Y b2 Alert 48% *49.4% — Oya 18 Ly, Peripheral system

If we get to clear Njorog (was 6800 samples before the increase, call it 7000 now, maybe a little over) that's great, if not Operation Kleenex will clear all the other Alerts and Njorog won't last more than a week in Invasion anyway.

The worry is that the mere presence of an Invasion—Njorog or otherwise—would distract too much from Spire kills. Then again, the hope is that the at-least-50% Peripheral progress Njorog receives will make it feasible.

I would be happier to allow an Invasion if that Periphery completion was still assured, but with the latter at any risk I think the answer to the question of Njorog matches that of whether we are indeed trying to remove M. Taranis or not, thus I should help Njorog myself if that is what it needs!

 

[Starsong]

The worry is that the mere presence of an Invasion—Njorog or otherwise—would distract too much from Spire kills. Then again, the hope is that the at-least-50% Peripheral progress Njorog receives will make it feasible.

I would be happier to allow an Invasion if that Periphery completion was still assured, but with the latter at any risk I think the answer to the question of Njorog matches that of whether we are indeed trying to remove M. Taranis or not, thus I should help Njorog myself if that is what it needs!

Indeed. As much as I hate to admit it, allowing Njorog to go Invasion would hurt our chances here.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Another minor advantage of taking out all four Alerts is that if something went wrong with Spire completion this week, then next week would end up as
- 1 Alert
- 3 Spires (one at 0%, two at >50%)
- 6 other Controls
and the plan could still proceed.

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Oh—interesting! That means the optimal approach is to commit to repelling Njorog later in the week, reach 85% and deliver the final twenty, then simply stockpile Titan pods regardless of whether the last 15% occurs. I imagine it will, of course!

Speaking of committing, INIV can (still) cover the other deliveries for the final ten. As an activity ratio compared to the Periphery needs, it is well that one harvest wing ought to be enough that everyone can focus on the Titans and Spires!

 

[Phill P]

If Spire Site activity can push Njorog a bit then finishing it after doing the other Alerts becomes more feasible. We don't know yet that we won't be able to clear it, I am simply considering all possibilities since each time it has gone into Alert before we have not quite been able to clear it so we have cleared every other Alert and had to leave it because we ran out of time. With some spire site work by others, which we did not have before, that could make the difference.

 

[BDelacroix]

Whoever made the DCoH Overwatch web site. Good job. I had been looking for sites manually and well, when I did find them they were usually devoid of other players.
I try to keep EDMC on so any updates should get through.

 

[BDelacroix]

If Spire Site activity can push Njorog a bit then finishing it after doing the other Alerts becomes more feasible. We don't know yet that we won't be able to clear it, I am simply considering all possibilities since each time it has gone into Alert before we have not quite been able to clear it so we have cleared every other Alert and had to leave it because we ran out of time. With some spire site work by others, which we did not have before, that could make the difference.

According to DCoH system completion went up 6% this evening. Dunno what counts anymore. I'm certainly not doing skinning. Helped some other hummies with scouts and orthrus while [not] dodging alien flak.

 

[Kira Goto]

According to DCoH system completion went up 6% this evening. Dunno what counts anymore. I'm certainly not doing skinning. Helped some other hummies with scouts and orthrus while [not] dodging alien flak.

Shooting stuff and doing other things at spire sites has a general effect of providing progress to ten ‘active’ Thargoid states around a Titan(so recovery doesn’t count), furthest from it in distance as I understand. Njorog is part of that periphery, so the Orthrus shooters, sabotagers and whoever else you’ve got going around(unless they’re helping the Thargoids) will be contributing to its completion.

… I suppose this week might or might not show if continued activity at a technically cleared spire might still provide further progress to a periphery that isn’t complete? Providing Njorog is not pushed as the second system.

 

[Aleks Zuno]

As a little aside, Hupang is now accounted fully for the final ten! Deliveries for the final twenty will be clear as soon as the Periphery reaches 85%, which ought to be some time tomorrow if not by tomorrow at this rate, after which I will have a nice empty Carrier ready for storing HR 1737.

I suppose this week might or might not show if continued activity at a technically cleared spire might still provide further progress to a periphery that isn’t complete?

Remember that progress at non-Matrix Peripheral systems stops at 85% regardless, so by that indication one would not know. However, the Matrix systems are not bound by that limit, and from those we saw the Taranis and Indra progress exceed 200% and 300%!

According to DCoH system completion went up 6% this evening.

It looks to be 13% today thus far, presumably with some help from the new Sabotage missions, which makes me very happy given that the definition of today still has one-third remaining. Of course, that far exceeds the amount needed this week given its head-start, but thinking ahead we really need a reliable 16–17% daily at one Maelstrom to use it well!

Dunno what counts anymore. I'm certainly not doing skinning. Helped some other hummies with scouts and orthrus while [not] dodging alien flak.

That works! I have an overview of Peripheral progress actions at the top of the thread, lacking the new addition today of course. It appears that we have a good variety of actions now:

• Titan rescues
• Spire kills
• Spire items, now with missions available
• Spire sabotage missions, presumably

Said missions are spread across different Rescue megaships for different systems; the Telin system serves both M. Taranis and M. Indra, where we want M. Taranis. The remaining M. Taranis target systems are Hyades Sector DQ-O b6-0, Trianguli Sector BA-A d85 and HIP 25654!

 

[Kira Goto]

Remember that progress at non-Matrix Peripheral systems stops at 85% regardless, so by that indication one would not know.

Certainly, but by current progression, the spires would likely complete before Njorog’s alert reaches 85%(unless it is suddenly jumped on once HIP 23716 reaches completion). So I was looking at it from that perspective, if they would continue contributing to it even when going past 100%.

And, of course, that can justifiably be attributed to them.

 

[Phill P]

According to DCoH system completion went up 6% this evening. Dunno what counts anymore. I'm certainly not doing skinning. Helped some other hummies with scouts and orthrus while [not] dodging alien flak.

I think Titan rescues and spire site activity still work as before, but how that may change now we can "contaminate" them is still under examination.

Meanwhile, the unpopulated Alerts are proceeding nicely, so is HIP 23716 and Njorog has had some progress we can work with. It is at 40% at time of writing so I have set up a buy order for samples.

Buy Order for Njorog - 4200.

Deliver to PDES Cloudbase in Ildano.

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Victories in Pegasi Sectors RE-N a8-0, IH-U b3-8 and LC-U b3-2, Cephei Sector WO-A b4 and Col 285 Sectors XT-Q c5-2, WY-F b12-5 and KW-M c7-16!

Now 25% in one day at M. Taranis, which is an immediate double rate, or perhaps even more-than-double if it occurred around that time at the end of the week that the late Galnet article appeared along with some new missions:

• The missions are taken from Rescue megaships, and they are either to loot Spire items or to sabotage the Spire refinery process. Excluding those megaships which are evacuation destinations, the others seem to offer missions for nearby Maelstroms; for example, the Telin system offers missions for M. Taranis and M. Indra.
• I am interested in the results of another Titan rescue strength test; while it may be conceivable that the new missions doubled the rate, I find it more likely that the rate was changed explicitly at the same time.
• The previous 85% limit for Peripheral progress appears to be unchanged.
• Having reached said limit and observing that the M. Taranis final ten will be quite fine even if the Matrix systems avoid completion somehow, deliveries are clear for the final twenty! Calling upon @Starsong to awaken CMDR Daedalus Spyke for the delivery, with thanks for preparing and holding Hyades Sector FB-N b7-0.

Peripheries at 07:40 11th November 3309, excluding Alerts:
Two matrix systems with 88% — Taranis 11–12 Ly
Ten systems with 18% — Indra 21–23 Ly, 4 matrix + 3 inhabited, 330–3237 strength
Six systems with 2% — Thor 18–19 Ly, 1 inhabited, 1463–6612 strength

Alerts:
HIP 23716 Alert 88% *88.9% — Taranis 18 Ly, 2314 Ls starport, 2351 Ls outpost, 3051 Ls planet
Njorog Alert 48% — Taranis 15 Ly, 637 Ls starport, 60 Ls outpost, 107 Ls planet, Peripheral system
HIP 25679 Alert 40% — Taranis 17 Ly, 108 Ls outpost, 1960 Ls planet, Peripheral system
Nibelaako Alert 26% — Raijin 22 Ly, 519 Ls starport, 519 Ls planet
Gliese 9035 Alert 20% — Oya 20 Ly, 556 Ls planet, Peripheral system

Clean-up:
Arietis Sector FG-Y d66 Alert 96% — Leigong 18 Ly, empty
Cephei Sector AV-Y b2 Alert 94% *94.8% — Oya 18 Ly, empty
Hyades Sector DQ-O b6-0 Matrix 88% *88.5% — Taranis 12 Ly, empty
Trianguli Sector BA-A d85 Matrix 88% — Taranis 11 Ly, empty
Cephei Sector BV-Y b2 Alert 82% *83.5% — Oya 16 Ly, Peripheral system
Arietis Sector WJ-R b4-3 Alert 78% — Leigong 22 Ly, Peripheral system
HR 1358 Matrix 50% — Indra 22 Ly, empty

Buy Order for Njorog - 4200.
Deliver to PDES Cloudbase in Ildano.

Expect to see a harvest round in the cargo hold later!

 

[tolm]

Stupid question time … been a few months since I was last actively playing …

I used to run surface AX CZs in Invasion systems for fun / progress / credits but stopped when those seemed to dry up - either from lack of Invasions or CZs being removed due to CMDR successes before the weekend (which was an FDEV change).

Starting to play a bit again - just normal mission stuff so far - but if I wanted to “AX” now, is it all Spire sites?

 

[Aleks Zuno]

Starting to play a bit again - just normal mission stuff so far - but if I wanted to “AX” now, is it all Spire sites?

At present, I think the only classic anti-xeno activity would be the space Conflict zones in those outer Control systems, although it takes a lot of that to make a worthwhile difference. For an example this week, I imagine a wing or two could help feasibly with finishing Arietis Sectors FL-X b1-0 and HG-X b1-3, given a Fleet carrier parked nearby for restock.

Spire site air combat is really just slaying Orthrus Interceptors repeatedly after the Banshees have been removed, with the occasional Scouts arriving. If you enjoy surface actions, there are of course the new Spire sabotage missions I mentioned earlier, and there should be still some AX base reactivations around which target inhabited Control systems with Military bases.

For a non-violent challenge, definitely aim to rescue the Bio-storage capsules from the Titans!

 

[Grimscrub]

Forewarned is forearmed - Had a number of reports, and some screenshots since yesterday of interceptors up to Medusa now dropping in occasionally after some Orthrus have been taken out, with reports of Waves of combat interceptors arriving after a spire sabotage or two has been done. Some mention of hydra but, no pictures seen there yet.

Still no swarms planetside, but can be a bit of a shock if you notice the emotional support cyclops this week is a bit pointier and takes a lot more to bring down.

 

[Starsong]

1% progress reported by DCOH in Hupang and HR 1737, with only a few hundred kills reported for each. Interesting.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

and there should be still some AX base reactivations around which target inhabited Control systems with Military bases.

Not this week - the significant reduction over time in the number of inhabited Alerts placed at Indra, Oya, Cocijo and Raijin has meant that there happen not to be any within 20 LY of the specific Control systems with Military bases (and the other four never had any to start with, of course). Next week might have a few?

 

[Starsong]

Having reached said limit and observing that the M. Taranis final ten will be quite fine even if the Matrix systems avoid completion somehow, deliveries are clear for the final twenty! Calling upon @Starsong to awaken CMDR Daedalus Spyke for the delivery, with thanks for preparing and holding Hyades Sector FB-N b7-0.

I’ve just been informed that the samples have just been delivered and should show up in about 15-20 minutes when the tick updates.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

• Titan rescues
• Spire kills
• Spire items, now with missions available
• Spire sabotage missions, presumably

To add to this, Dark Session has done another effectiveness test, this time on the sabotage. Assuming the earlier measurements still hold and the rate boost is purely from the addition of sabotage (which is plausible, given the numbers), peripheral progress requirements seem to be

1% peripheral progress ~= 20 sabotage missions actions / 500 Orthrus kills / 1000 pod rescues / 1500 spire items

 

[Kira Goto]

Does the part where you deliver spire commodities also have an impact [that can be tested]? I’d assume yes. Or does the sabotage test refer specifically to both parts that require completion?