Engineers General Advice

[KRRONOSS]

I have just purchased Horizons and am about to start visiting Engineers for upgrades etc.

I was wondering whether my fellow CMDRs would have any advice for a newbie Engineer seeker - things to consider etc.

I am currently at Elvira Martuuk's base thinking about FTL drive and (maybe) shields. Is this a good start?

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[KRRONOSS]

So just tried on my first upgrade and not sure what this means:



Do i get all the effect under "Primary"effects PLUS all the effects under "Secondary"? I am confused because Integrity is listed on the left (under Primary) and right (under Secondary) and so is Mass, except it is Optimal Mass on left and just Mass on right. Plus the primary effects list integrity decreasing but secondary list as it increasing (and optimal mass and mass have variance too)..?

Have i actually achieved +9% Thruster power multiplier (along with an increase of 17% thermal load, 3% power draw, decrease in integrity and optimal mass) or only the effects on the right under Secondary?

Sorry for the noob question!

[TorTorden]

Yes both apply.

take integrity basically the invisible health bar for your module, thrusters in this case.

You have a primary negative effect from the mod taking you down from 124 to 116.56, you then get a random secondary for integrity of + 2% bringing the actual total up to 119.46.

These secondary effects are quite random, and you could roll again and not see integrity at all in the secondary effect list.

[pargyrak]

All upgrades have their drawbacks. Integrity can be an issue when you loose shields so don't loose shields

General advice:

Get your ship to A-rate (unless you want an explorer light wight ship) and then implement engineer upgrades to the A rated modules
Make sure you have enough power so oe of the firstupgades should be the power plant
Thermal load could be an issue so be careful when you have Dirty Drive Tuning plus overcharged weapons

Since you have a Python here is what I did to it:

Beam Laser 3C LW Mount G2
Beam Laser 3C LW Mount G2
Beam Laser 3C LW Mount G2
Multicannon 2F Overcharged G5
Multicannon 2F Overcharged G5

Shield Boster 1A Heavy Duty G2 40.3
Shield Boster 1A Heavy Duty G2 32.8
Shield Boster 1A Heavy Duty G2 33.3
Shield Boster 1A Heavy Duty G2 32.6

Power Plant 7A Overcharged G4 33.4
Thrusters 6A Dirty Drive Tuning G3 318 415 40.12/124.5/13.83
FSD 5A Increased FSD Range G5 27.33 31.27
Power Distributor 7A Weapons Focused G3
Shield Generator 6A Reinforced Shields G5 1136.4

LW Armor Heavy Duty G4 575.5

[KRRONOSS]

Thanks for the feedback guys, helps me understand what's happening a lot better.

Assuming "G" means the level you took it to (out of 5) pargyrak?

I wasn't sure whether the upgrades would be available to all ships or only the one you're in, seems to be the later. Might upgrade the Conda fully and take it to get modded...

It's either that or complete the grind for Corvette and then kit that out.

[uvelius]

You need only the max grade available, right? So you don't have to upgrade G1, G2 etc. up to G5 separately? Or does even that make your modules better in different areas?

Also, how big is the RNG impact on rerolls? I got first 3% Fuel Usage and then after rerolling 1% FSD spoolup instead (both FSD range) ... and of course the arrows were dancing along the bars again.

[BaseKillerWolf]

You need only the max grade available, right? So you don't have to upgrade G1, G2 etc. up to G5 separately? Or does even that make your modules better in different areas?

Also, how big is the RNG impact on rerolls? I got first 3% Fuel Usage and then after rerolling 1% FSD spoolup instead (both FSD range) ... and of course the arrows were dancing along the bars again.

You can upgrade a module to whatever grade you want, as long as you have the materials to do it and you've reached the required reputation with an engineer.

As for the RNG, when it comes time to roll your secondary stats, any stat on the module in question is up for tweaking. Secondary stats can push your primary stats past the limits of what upgrade you just rolled.

Case in point: I rolled a G1 Overcharged Power Plant on my 'Conda. Normally, your heat efficiency is reduced when you roll this, but I was able to come out with a power plant that was better at heat efficiency than a stock A-rated module.

[Cometborne]

You need only the max grade available, right? So you don't have to upgrade G1, G2 etc. up to G5 separately? Or does even that make your modules better in different areas?

You only need the max grade, and there is no advantage to doing the intermediate upgrades. And you can only apply one upgrade to a system, and that completely overwrites all prior upgrades. So if you had for example an L4 upgrade with a secondary bonus of 2% more fuel and then roll an L5 upgrade without that bonus, that bonus will be gone.

My personal strategy is to use the alternative method of leveling up with an engineer rather than grinding along. Martuuk/Farseer/Pallin are quite happy if you sell exploration data at their stations, others prefer commodity trading, mining, bounties, combat bonds, etc. Check Inara for the details of each engineer.

Also, how big is the RNG impact on rerolls? I got first 3% Fuel Usage and then after rerolling 1% FSD spoolup instead (both FSD range) ... and of course the arrows were dancing along the bars again.

Re-rolls have the same ranges as the initial roll. However, the display will change so that you can more easily tell if the second value is better or worse.

[TorTorden]

The dweller and lei chung ( power distributor and shields) both can be leveled up with mining.
I heard somewhere that the profit per ton influenced how much gain you got and mining is considered to be 100% profit.

And they happen to have pristine metallic belts not too far off.
But of course for a lot of people mining is less preferred than pulling out their own toenails with a leatherman.

[Falcon_D]

I have just purchased Horizons and am about to start visiting Engineers for upgrades etc.

I was wondering whether my fellow CMDRs would have any advice for a newbie Engineer seeker - things to consider etc.

I am currently at Elvira Martuuk's base thinking about FTL drive and (maybe) shields. Is this a good start?

► Show Spoiler

Hi,

Good luck.

Have fun, fly safe. o7