Asp Explorer Build for Exploration Help

[ThomasWJames]

Decided that it's exploration that I want to really do and not so much trading (what I'm doing now in my Cobra Mk III). I have a few questions, I don't know if this is the right forum to ask but here they go...this might get long so again bear with me as I'm a total newbie in this game.


1. I'm aiming for Asp Explorer that will cost around 52,000,000 CR here is the build: My https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0patiFfliddsnf5------020202023c0s4002v62f2i.Iw18WQ==.CwBj5BGSCYeYBmZioNCIA===?bn=Explorer <--that's what I was thinking for explorer build, please feel free to comment on it and give me suggestions for when I get there (I still only have 1,400,000 CR...still awhile to go.
When building I'm just tempted to pick everything "A" rated but I don't know what's actually important in DEEP DEEP Exploration. I figure life support is useless that far out so just D. Lots of Heat Sinks just in case of sun heat damage. No weapons (nothing to fire upon really). I want a planetary vehicle to land and explore, etc. I have the Thrusters, Power, and Distributor at D rating is this right? How important are they in deep space?

2. Does one need any cargo when going deep into the black? If none is required I was thinking of putting a Fuel Tank in there.

3. How can you tell if no one has been to a system yet in the Galaxy map? You know, being the first.

4. How important is the Sensor in deep space? D rated? A rated?

5. If someone has already visited the system do you still get credits for getting there and exploring it anyway?

6. If you die out there what happens to all the exploration data you collected? Does it disappear or do you keep it? Does the game start you again in a random station?

7. Is the regular shield or the Bi-Weave shield better for exploration out into deep space?


Well if you've gotten this far I want to thank you, if you answer my questions I want to thank you even further. Wow I'm actually so excited for creating this build and I'm not even close to reaching that goal lol. I'm also planning another build for flying around populated space and grinding missions and trading: https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/2pftfFflfdfskf57i7i24242j1902000103054a2t24v62f2i.Iw18WQ==.CwBj5BGSwJlgzEhVhrEA?bn=Multipurpose <--turns out this one with more "A" stuff is actually a cheaper build! That 6A Fuel Scoop is expensive!!!

[BaseKillerWolf]

1. Your Coriolis build looks pretty good. There are a few modules that you could potentially downgrade (shield generator being one of them) but everything looks pretty solid.

2. Yes and no. Salvage does sometimes spawn out in the black in the form of data cache canisters. Take cargo racks if you feel like doing a bit of salvage, but remember that more salvage will reduce your jump range. Fuel Tanks will let you take more jumps without stopping to scoop so often, but will impact your max jump range from the get-go.
Verdict: Take cargo racks over tanks, you can always jettison cargo but you can't dump fuel.

3. After you honk the discovery scanner, open your system map. Highlight a body with your cursor. If you see a green "First discovered by" tag, someone has already found that body. You can still scan it for credits though, first discovery just gets you a bonus when you sell the data.

4. Not very important. D rate it.

5. Already answered this in 3, but you still get money for scanning things, regardless if it's been found or not.

6. If you explode out there, you lose all the data for everything you've scanned and haven't turned in. You'll have the option to respawn at the station you last docked at after you pay the rebuy cost for your ship.

7. No real difference for exploring. Bi weaves have a faster recharge time, but weaker overall. Regular shields have better defense, but will charge slower.

Hope this helps, and keep your eye on that goal!

[Jeffers2112]

It's pretty close to the build I used, with a couple of variations.
I didn't bother with a cargo rack, I mean, if you pick stuff up you may have to carry it a long way before you can sell it, and it lowers your range. I took a second AFMU, they can repair each other, and they weigh nothing.
Also I wouldn't bother with so many heat sinks, I didn't need to use one on a six month trip, I think that FD might have reduced the chances of dropping too close to binary stars. Take a couple if you like, but you can gain a bit more range dropping the others.
Have fun out there, and see the sights, it's worth it.
You will find that, once you're out of the bubble, pretty much everything is undiscovered, there are a LOT of stars out there.......

[de Carabas]

What is your exploring aim? Are you wanting to go as far and as fast as possible, or is this about gettign the maximum exploration data?

If the former then you can significantly increase your jump range with Engineering to increase FSD range and reduce weight on other modules. My Asp has a range of about 50ly, which would have really helped when I was out exploring the 'Formidine Rift' area recently given some of the gaps between systems.

If the latter then you can use economic navigation mode and gather huge amounts of data without going very far from the bubble at all!

[Relix Typhon]

I agree with all the answers especially about potentially downgrading the shield generator.

Regarding question 5, it took me 4 months of playing to realise that you still get credits for scanning systems and bodies, as long as they are unknown for YOU lol.

Couple of things I would suggest is upgrading to a Type 6, this kind of build will give you about 100 tons for trading, so you'll earn much faster and it only costs 3.5mil. Also do community goals; get in the top 50% and you'll usually earn about 6mil, minimum.

[ThomasWJames]

Wow thank you all so much for the answers, reading them gave me a few more questions so here goes. I'm learning so much in this game and enjoying it far more than I thought I would.

Carabas: That's a serious question that really got me thinking...In the back of my head I want to go as far out as possible I mean far, far out. However, I think to start I'm going to stay pretty close to the bubble and just really try to do some more "in-depth" exploring like scanning everything and landing everywhere. Then when I'm more comfortable do the 30, 40, 50, 60k LY like some have

Now as far builds:

1. Definitely no weapons right? What are the actual chances of running into an interdiction or some sort of "enemy" light years out of the bubble?

2. As far as cargo, my reasoning was if I found anything extremely rare that can't be found within the bubble...however, is there anything out there that can't actually be found within the bubble of civilization? If not than I see no point in cargo as I'll just gather crafting materials.

3. Jeffers: Six month trip! That's awesome! I've seen many builds with two AFMU's onboard so I might give up the cargo (depends how #2 is answered) and put another to repair themselves. How often did you find you had to repair them?

4. I've also seen builds with the Planetary Vehicle on the level 5 in order to have two of them and then have the two AFMU's at level 3. I'm guessing this is a good idea for deep space exploring since you don't want to be left without a vehicle? Thoughts?

5. What happens if you run out of fuel and get stuck out there cause you can't scoop a star? (Poor planning I know) Will you have just the minutes of life support or could you actually call on the Fuel Rats and survive the time it takes for them to get to you?

6. Here is the updated build: https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0patiFfliddsnf5------020202023cv4430i0i2f2i.Iw18WQ==.CwBjYZhBGaCY7GBFVjzmIA==?bn=Explorer. General confusion on importance of the following out in deep space: Shields, Thrusters, Power Distributor, and Power Plant?

Thrusters: Could I safely go down to the 4D ones and still have enough speed and power to safely maneuver, land, and take-off from planets or keep the 5D?
Power Distributor: Guessing the 3D one is good enough?
Power Plant: Didn't have much option here so I just went for the one I could choose to give me best jump while still have everything on.
Shields: Downgraded to the 3D...but is 71 MJ strength enough to handle situations out there? Landing on planets for example to help ease stress on hull?

7. Last question (I swear )...as far as "ship heat" goes. What item class/grade gives the least amount of heat? Like does a 5A generate less heat than a 4A? Does a 4A generate more heat than a 4D? Just wondering how the heat with equipment works.

Phew, that was a long one...back to work

Thanks again for all your help!

P.S. just made it to Leesti yesterday from 78 Ursae Majoris. Ready to start my Rare runs on my Cobra and start saving up for my Asp!

[TorTorden]

#5
As for the rats, you don't consume life support in real time.
so if you do find yourself in that situation, just take a screen shot of the HUD so you can see system name, log out and call the rats.
As long as you are logged out you don't consume life support, so you only log back in when a rat gets to you.

[de Carabas]

1. Definitely no weapons right? What are the actual chances of running into an interdiction or some sort of "enemy" light years out of the bubble?

Well, I have two small gimballed lasers just in case (with light-weight mount modification). At some stage the Thargoids are going to show up. Of course, they might not do anything other than annoy the Thargoids.

2. As far as cargo, my reasoning was if I found anything extremely rare that can't be found within the bubble...however, is there anything out there that can't actually be found within the bubble of civilization? If not than I see no point in cargo as I'll just gather crafting materials.

Again, you never know. At some stage someone found the first Unknown Probe, Unknown Artefact etc. Who knows what else might be out there? I would be gutted to be thousands of ly's out, find something and not be able to bring it home to glory.

[ThomasWJames]

1. Definitely no weapons right? What are the actual chances of running into an interdiction or some sort of "enemy" light years out of the bubble?

Well, I have two small gimballed lasers just in case (with light-weight mount modification). At some stage the Thargoids are going to show up. Of course, they might not do anything other than annoy the Thargoids.

Boy that would really suck for players that are out deep in space with no weapons to all of a sudden put a new "feature" of Thargoids out in deep space...fear the unknown I guess.

2. As far as cargo, my reasoning was if I found anything extremely rare that can't be found within the bubble...however, is there anything out there that can't actually be found within the bubble of civilization? If not than I see no point in cargo as I'll just gather crafting materials.

Again, you never know. At some stage someone found the first Unknown Probe, Unknown Artefact etc. Who knows what else might be out there? I would be gutted to be thousands of ly's out, find something and not be able to bring it home to glory.

Yes, that would really stink lol. That is why I'm considering the cargo racks to bring home something never seen for fame and glory...though i doubt that will happen and will most likely go with two AFMU's.

[Cometborne]

What are the actual chances of running into an interdiction or some sort of "enemy" light years out of the bubble?

NPCs will currently only spawn up to 1000 LY from Sol. The second bubble around Jaques only has NPCs in system, and that only in very limited doses. As long as you are not carrying cargo, the chances of interdiction are very small. If you have a done a trip of several months and are afraid to loose all your data to a random NPC, contact Iridium Wing for an escort.

I've seen many builds with two AFMU's onboard so I might give up the cargo (depends how #2 is answered) and put another to repair themselves. How often did you find you had to repair them?

The reasoning behind dual AFMU is that an AFMU cannot repair itself, so you put in a small class 1 AFMU to repair your main AFMU. How often you need your AFMU depends on how often you screw up and crash into a star or into a planet

4. I've also seen builds with the Planetary Vehicle on the level 5 in order to have two of them and then have the two AFMU's at level 3. I'm guessing this is a good idea for deep space exploring since you don't want to be left without a vehicle? Thoughts?

That depends on how roughly you treat your SRVs. SRVs are still auto-repaired every time you deploy them, but if you do wild stunts, SRVs are surprisingly fragile. During the last GNE basecamp, at least five SRVs blew up due to players horsing around, or the SRV popcorn bug.

5. What happens if you run out of fuel and get stuck out there cause you can't scoop a star? (Poor planning I know) Will you have just the minutes of life support or could you actually call on the Fuel Rats and survive the time it takes for them to get to you?

Take a screenshot of your left UI panel, log out, go to https://www.fuelrats.com/i-need-fuel/

General confusion on importance of the following out in deep space: Shields, Thrusters, Power Distributor, and Power Plant?

Thrusters: Could I safely go down to the 4D ones and still have enough speed and power to safely maneuver, land, and take-off from planets or keep the 5D?
Power Distributor: Guessing the 3D one is good enough?
Power Plant: Didn't have much option here so I just went for the one I could choose to give me best jump while still have everything on.
Shields: Downgraded to the 3D...but is 71 MJ strength enough to handle situations out there? Landing on planets for example to help ease stress on hull?

Power plant should be B-rated for best heat management, but you have that.

4D thrusters and 3D shield are good enough for landing on planets as long as obey rule 1 of planetary landings: There is no such thing as "too slow". Practice with a stock freewinder on some high G planets.

Distributor: I A-rated mine for better boosting because I also use my Asp as taxi in the bubble.

P.S. just made it to Leesti yesterday from 78 Ursae Majoris. Ready to start my Rare runs on my Cobra and start saving up for my Asp!

If money is tight, use a b-rated fuel scoop and b-rated AFMU, and downgrade one of the two AFMU to class 1. You can get all ships and all modules with 15% discount in all systems exploited by LYR.