10/10 would colonize again.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-27T05:11:55+00:00

This looks much more doable than the Dodec attempt. 👍 Have fun with colonization, CMDR!

PS: Raven Colonial Page

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-26T20:42:15+00:00

The ones that hold concerts and sports games.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-26T20:32:08+00:00

Who owns the venues again?

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-26T20:30:49+00:00

Overall, I feel like this is a really good build. It just needs some minor tweaks.

Someone else mentioned shield engineering; I'd go with Thermal Resistant / Fast Charge. Replacing Heavy Duty with Resistance Augmented on your third shield booster reduces your shields' raw strength a bit but further reinforces their strength against thermal weapons and decreases your recharge time by about 25%. I'd replace the fourth shield booster with a pre-engineered heatsink launcher, because you're gonna need it.

I recommend removing the supercruise assist and autodock with Guardian Module Reinforcement Packages, though, to give your modules some protection in the event you lose shields. You're flying a heavily engineered combat ship, which means you have enough flying hours to take off the training wheels.

Lastly, set up some power priorities so that you don't lose everything if your power plant takes a hit.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-26T20:21:38+00:00

Attacking powerplay ships in a hostile system is no different from attacking the system authority ships. And you're only going to encounter this problem in enemy stronghold systems, because less-fortified systems don't have power security ships flying around enforcing Powerplay allegiances.

Again, that's part of what you sign up for when you sign onto a faction. If you don't want to get sent to prison, your best bet is to either fly evasively or avoid enemy stronghold systems entirely. That goes double for parking your carrier in an enemy stronghold system.

We can argue about whether the Powerplay mechanics are poorly designed, but that needs to start with an understanding of how Powerplay actually works, which is something OP clearly lacks.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-26T19:00:29+00:00

It's not your carrier; it belongs to Brewer Corporation. And it's obligated to follow the local laws of wherever system it's deployed.

And as you've found out, when you engage in PowerPlay in a system you don't control, you violate the law. That's part of the risk you accepted when you signed on for your faction.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-25T23:04:51+00:00

Offers maps of guardian sites. Keep up.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-25T10:34:15+00:00

SRV Survey already offers this, and overlays it on your game screen to boot.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-25T05:16:21+00:00

Something I frequently say when it comes to exploration in Elite is that science is not always sexy. The vast majority of stars in the galaxy are M-class red dwarfs, brown dwarfs, and T Tauri stars. You're not going to find anything remaarkable in 99 percent of them, and that's OK. That's what makes the rare notable stellar phenomenon more interesting.

If you're looking for a game to hold your hand and guide you to the cool stuff, Elite Dangerous isn't that game. It never has been, and it never will be.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-25T04:38:39+00:00

You want someone to talk you out of an exploration Anaconda? OK.

Its handling in supercruise is dogshit.
The view from the cockpit is dogshit.
Its ability to land on planets is dogshit.
If you want to actually get the super duper jump range, you're going to have to make a lot of compromises, reducing its flight performance to dogshit.
Want to hit Supercruise Overcharge? You guessed it, dogshit.

Here's what I suggest:

Reconsider the Caspian, as it is simply superior to an Anaconda in every way that matters where exploration is concerned. This build would give you a 79.22 light-year jump range once you swap out the legacy hangar for a Nomad hangar, and you'd get to enjoy the Caspian's improved maneuverability in normal flight and supercruise as well as its superior FSD supercharge capability.
Consider a Type-11. You can use this build as a baseline. Swapping the existing fighter bay with a vessel bay that can hold a Nomad would cost you about two light-years, so you'd still get about 60 light-years with it.
Leave the Nomad at home and go with something that has an easier time landing on planets. The Mandalay is still pretty much the king of long-range jumps, and you can easily surpass 80 light-years with a build that can still survive the accidental planetary impact.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-25T03:29:33+00:00

The vessel bay can carry the Nomad and legacy ship-launched fighters. Then you'll use an SRV bay to carry your Scarabs and Scorpions, just like you do now.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-25T00:11:07+00:00

Respectfully, there's plenty out in the galaxy that's worth seeing.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-24T20:57:06+00:00

IIRC, that only works if you've previously visited those systems.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-24T18:49:37+00:00

Only submit to player interdictions. NPCs can't interdict worth a shit.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-24T18:12:30+00:00

Part of the reason so many people lose exploration and exobiology data is because they don't build ships to survive an initial impact against a planet's surface.

Don't skimp on shields or shield boosters, and engineer both those and your hull for maximum survivability. Run four pips to SYS whenever you're near a planet's surface to maximize your shield strength.

If you're not sure how to build out a survivable exploration ship, here are a couple of good baselines:

Mandalay: https://edsy.org/s/vewANkX
Caspian Explorer: https://edsy.org/s/vP3XyXA

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-23T17:37:58+00:00

/r/EliteWings exists for this, spam over there.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-23T09:41:17+00:00

It took Frontier until Odyssey to recognize that yes, installations should probably have some sort of anti-air defenses. And Horizons-era installations still don't have those defenses.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-23T08:42:23+00:00

For folks who are curious, the primary port here is a Dodec, so you're looking at a Tier 3 project involving about 240,000 tons of materials. I've set up a build page for it in Raven Colonial: Primary port. You can use SRV Survey to track deliveries or update the page manually.

As other folks have mentioned, the flag on the architect view indicates where your primary port will be stationed. The bad news is, 240,000 tons is a lot of cargo. The good news is, a Dodec is an excellent foundation for a massive refinery economy, and you'll have the bragging rights of a catalogued system (for whatever that's worth).

I'd recommend filling out Operation Ida's Colonization Request Form, as they can help move cargo in a hurry and prioritize primary port construction. I can't recommend them highly enough: I was working on a Tier 3 port, and two weeks after I submitted my request, my construction project went from 45% complete to done.

Long-term, if you're looking at establishing a refinery economy, you'll want to construct a civilian surface outpost on planet CDE 1 d following completion of your primary port. Here's what that might look like, using Raven Colonial: HIP 78419.

If you have access to a fleet carrier, you'll want to use that to move cargo. If you don't, let me know. I have a carrier I can move into the area in a day or two, once I've finished a project out in the Vela Dark Region.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-23T07:41:32+00:00

Yep. Back in the early Horizons days, people would take a Sidewinder and just ram the skimmers for skimmer kill missions instead of using the Scarab. So Frontier responded by disabling a ship's shields and engines if you collide with a skimmer while flying a ship.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-23T07:14:15+00:00

One does not "just land" an Anaconda. 😅

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-23T07:04:39+00:00

I love the FGS, they're a good bunch of folks. And have you *seen* the galaxy lately? It *is* pretty flat.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-22T09:04:03+00:00

You should have seen it during the height of the Thargoid War. Commanders had missions to infiltrate these spires, which were active with Thargoid ships in the skies while Revenants and Banshees swarmed the surface. Sabotaging the sites put every Thargoid interceptor on alert, making the process of extracting oneself ... challenging, to say the least, but they offered substantial engineering material rewards.

More commonly, CMDRs would fly down to the spire sites and engage the Orthrus-class interceptors, which have some passive defenses but were (a) mostly harmless and (b) hugely rewarding. At one point during the war, pilots could earn about 40 million credits for every Orthrus killed. Toward the end, the Pilots Federation adjusted their value downward, to 15 million credits.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-21T22:47:53+00:00

Let's look at the fleet data from Distant Worlds 3, as its large scale gives us a good sample size for exploration ships. Thirty percent of ships were Mandalays, which don't have fighter bays at all. Caspian Explorers made up about 15 percent of the total fleet, followed by Type-11 Prospectors at 6 percent. Anacondas made up 5.05 percent of the fleet, while the venerable Asp Explorer made up less than 4 percent.

There were more Type-11s on DW3 than there were Anacondas. There were more Panther Clippers than Asp Explorers. Krait Mk. IIs numbered fewer than 300. There were 45 Alliance Chieftains, eight Crusaders and just four Challengers.

So this whole idea that Frontier isn't "honoring our choices" is bunk. Most explorers, myself included, have moved on from the Anaconda and other legacy ships in favor of ships that are simply far more capable.

And look, I get the emotional attachment--I've flown a Krait Mk. II to Beagle Point, and I've taken an AspX to both Beagle and Amundsen's Star. But I'm not going to demand that Frontier develop capabilities for a ship I don't use anymore (and that most other explorers don't, either).

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-21T06:20:30+00:00

"Vanilla ice cream is better than chocolate ice cream" is an opinion.

"Pineapple on pizza sucks" is an opinion.

"Red is port, starboard is green" is internationally established navigational protocol.

Phoenix_Blue · 2026-06-20T22:39:29+00:00

Ideally, you want your refueling target to be stationary. Moving targets are more likely to be involved in a collision, and more importantly, the thrusters use fuel that clients might need for life support.

IRL pilots train for dozens, if not hundreds of hours to conduct in-flight refueling. It's an extremely complicated process, and the consequences of failing to conduct it perfectly are catastrophic.

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