How do you find Wrecks for Items, Frags, and Databoxes

JackeJacke Calgary Join Date: 2017-03-20 Member: 229061Members
As I mentioned in a recent post, to find certain items, frags, and databoxes, I really have problems finding enough wrecks in the midgame and always eventually resort to using a 3rd-party map.

But I wonder what other players do. So how do you find wrecks? As well, do you use the Lifepod beacons to find those pods and then look for wrecks nearby? And how long do you spend on looking for wrecks and how well do they satisfy your need for blueprints?

Comments

  • JackeJacke Calgary Join Date: 2017-03-20 Member: 229061Members
    edited January 2018
    I voted for the 3rd-party map. Initially I use the Lifepod beacons that get revealed and wrecks I initially find in the Safe Shallows, as well as some other locations I can easily find like the Jelly Shroom Cave Degassi Base. Fragments I usually pick up in initial exploration as well as including on my deliberate trips to particular wrecks.

    But to locate the items, frags, and databoxes in wrecks I have found I have to resort to a 3rd-party map. My games are already between 48 to 72 hours and that's only to just get to the Lost River.

    I am trying alternatives but I hate that I have to almost be on top of wrecks before I see them. I tried a Bioreactor-powered prefab base with a Scanner Room with 4 range mods, but as the scan range seems to be less than 700m, I think it would take too long to locate enough wrecks.
  • adel_50adel_50 Join Date: 2016-09-01 Member: 221973Members
    I find everything in the first 6 big wrecks(grandreef,sparce reef, mountains,dunes,floating islands near the gun,bulb zone)

    NOTE!!!!!!!: I haven't played since the prawn update so I don't know how much has changed regarding this topic but I don't think that their locations have been changed, right?
  • RainstormRainstorm Montreal (Quebec) Join Date: 2015-12-15 Member: 210003Members
    edited January 2018
    Before knowing where everything is by heart what i did was to explore every single biomes one by one and then move on to the next. So in other words when i first played the game (there was no scanner room back then) i made a small base, explored the safe shallows around the lifepod fully then move on to the adjacents creepvine forests // grassy plateaus. It helps ALOT to make a small outpost when you discover a new biome from whom you can make small trips from your main base to. Once i got the seamoth it then made it much more easier to reach the biomes that are further from the lifepod.

    Of course i can't expect everyone to work like that, neither are the devs so im guessing thats why they made the scanner room. My memories of names is crappy but i have a pretty boss photographic memory so when i see someone or go somewhere for the first time i can easily remember even the smaller details about the person/place. Since the map stayed fairly similar from then to now it has been somewhat easy for me to learn it in details. The big wrecks also remained where they are now for the most part, only the smaller rubbles were added later on.

    Nowadays the Scanner Room does wonders for the new players, It now has a much wider range of scanning, specially with the upgrades you can add to it so i'd strongly suggest the use of them to find all the smaller rubble/wreckages that holds the data boxes and other fragments.
  • LordBrisingrLordBrisingr Join Date: 2018-01-05 Member: 234829Members
    Quick question, why isn't there a map in some form or another available in game
  • kingkumakingkuma cancels Work: distracted by Dwarf Fortress Join Date: 2015-09-25 Member: 208137Members
    edited January 2018
  • JackeJacke Calgary Join Date: 2017-03-20 Member: 229061Members
    Rainstorm wrote: »
    Nowadays the Scanner Room does wonders for the new players, It now has a much wider range of scanning, specially with the upgrades you can add to it so i'd strongly suggest the use of them to find all the smaller rubble/wreckages that holds the data boxes and other fragments.
    I think the Scanner Room is more useful in certain locations to find resources to gather. I've found scanning very helpful to harvest all Outcroppings, Quartz, and Ruby. I'm going to test further, but even with 4 range mods the scan radius is around 700m or less. That means the scan circle area is around 1.5 km^2. While the explorable area of the map is around 7 km^2, about 5 times the scannable area, it would take a lot more than 5 scans to cover the entire map. To scan the entire map I think it would take more than 10 scans to be sure to not miss anything.
  • ShadrissShadriss Join Date: 2017-05-02 Member: 230205Members
    Third Party maps - while I know that exploration is one of the big things in the game, with no in-game reference (map) to work from, I end up getting turned around real easy, so having coordinates and the console to display them is about the only way I can find anything.

    On the up side - I think I saw something in one of the Trello's that mention that some kind of map may be a post 1.0 thing. Here's hoping...
  • SkopeSkope Wouldn't you like to know ;) Join Date: 2016-06-07 Member: 218212Members
    I would really like to help, but my problem is, I've been playing for so long that I just know where wrecks and fragments are. I can't even remember how I found them before.

    What I can do, is give some (maybe) helpful tips.

    Usually, except for Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest, and Grassy Plateau, there's only one wreck per biome.

    Many of the earlier wrecks can be found either relatively close or right next to lifepods.

    With some exceptions, wrecks are never on or near a biome's borders. They're closer to the center, or closer to the Void.
  • jamintheinfinite_1jamintheinfinite_1 Jupiter Join Date: 2016-12-03 Member: 224524Members
  • AnomalyDetectedAnomalyDetected Alterra Housing District: Planet Vicaron Join Date: 2017-04-19 Member: 229741Members
    edited January 2018
    I picked explore with a pattern, but I have two options I should check.

    So I have a map, but it only shows where the biomes are. To find wrecks, I placed the map into my cyclops and go to a specific biome, the dunes for example.

    I sail there and explore all the way around the border of the biome, and large chunks of the center of it.

    If Unsuccessful, I will go back to my base, charge power cells, restock, and go back. I'll search in the areas I have not seen, search any wrecks I find, and do the next part.

    If Successful, or if I find some the second run, I search thoroughly and find any items, scannables and Data Boxes. I then put a beacon down to mark it as explored, setting it to, say, "Wreck - Dunes (1)" and leave. In the PDA, I color code it as yellow.

    Same goes with lifepods 4, 7, and another one I forgot, as now those three do not have signals.

    If i have the signal, I'll collect all the items I can and run. Why run? Cause things want to kill me.
  • AvimimusAvimimus Join Date: 2016-03-28 Member: 214968Members
    A lot of the joy of the game for me was exploring and discovering new things (I used guides to find one cave system after putting in a couple hundred hours and missing it).

    A lot of the tension in the game was building up resources for increasingly long expeditions and then getting back to my base before water/food/power ran out! :) It had this nice gradual gating effect. The only thing that would make it better was the possibility of storms or damage to my bases ...which would increase the complexity/longevity of this gameplay a lot.
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