Thanks for being here! Download a copy of my latest mining charts here: redmonstergaming.com/mining-cheat-sheets/ And check out my Master Mining Cheatsheet, which now includes a loadout calculator to help estimate your combined bonuses! docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ePuSaqORlewxuMytUplTs8r-liePE8lJOSXCafqEW0/copy
@RedMonsterSC Your website seems to be down (or hacked???). The link goes to unsecure website according to chrome. It worked for me not more than 2 days ago. Hopefully you'll get it back up and running, because your sheets are amazing!
thanks for the videos! that google doc is amazing; the dashboard and refinery logbook are great to use, and it pretty much has all the cheat sheets within it. i did notice that the logbook formula for calculating total cSCU does not include the last column for aluminum. it's summing L2-AA2 but aluminum is AB. maybe it's just on the copy i made but thought i'd mention it as it affects the dashboard stats.
One other Prospector tip is to upgrade the storage to 48 UEC (from 32) by starting the personal salvage mole mission and taking them from the mole. This will cost you 10K uec and you can abandon the mission after you get the bags. Also the stock bags are applied if you need to claim the ship. But it's certainly a good way to increase your per-run returns.
I have found this increase to 48 SCU significantly improves the profitability on my Prospector runs. I am much more likely to have a 90-100k (as opposed to 60-80k) refined run with the 48 SCU (even when I am laden with Tier 2 material). I hope they don't patch this out.
@@SpaceShortsYT considering how the saddle bags are all supposed to be standard, they shouldn't. But then, that would fit in with their 'marginalize solo players and force them towards multicrew' agenda so they will probably do it anyway
Darn good stuff, as a side note, if 2 rocks have the same percentage of tier 1 or 2, but the filler is iron in one and inert in the other, grab the inert one, all the lasers filter at least 30% of inert mats.
But if the rock’s too big, maybe try the iron one, as it has a -40% resistance stat, which mixes with the resistance stats of the other minerals to help determine the rock’s overall resistance.
I'm currently running a Hofstede + Rieger C2 (because C3 is bugged) and I'm pretty happy with it. If there's a slightly too large rock I really want to crack, I will apply a gadget that fits the particular rock.
Gadgets are a must-have now! I've found that carrying them in a large backpack helps you keep them after a 30K error, rather than having them stored in the vehicle local inventory.
@@RedMonsterSC Definitely! I learned that after loosing a few 100K in gadgets thanks to a 30? I wouldn't necessarily say that they're a must-have, but definitely a very-nice-to-have 😁
@@hapskie it's only providing a 15% bonus instead of 25%. There is an active issue council report for it here: issue-council.robertsspaceindustries.com/projects/STAR-CITIZEN/issues/STARC-70967
Hi Red. You are making a huge difference to my SC mining life, and many who mine in Star Citizen. I have seen a considerable difference in the Aaron Halo in Band 5 for "3 rock clusters" vs. single rocks. It's a significant enough difference to me to mention it here. Also, I have found that Tier 2 materials that are found in 45% or higher are FAR more likely to have 100% pure breaks, or 85%+ pure breaks. So locating Tier 2's that are north of 45, is a way to offset picking up too much Tier 3 filler, when going after Tier 2 resources. Outstanding job sir. Truly 😍 - V
I’ve been having the most luck with the Klein 😂. Found some quant and it handled really well! I have tried the Hoft with focus III and found i was having a hard time getting rocks to crack.
The problem with the Helix 1 module for me is that additional breaks of 100% purity rocks seem impossible due to extreme sensitivity to laser instability. The charge level jumps around like crazy. Also would like to see how module changing in the field is done. Haven't been able to find the module slot on the outside of the ship to detach.
Great video. One note that I saw that you experienced but didn't address, is that the mining gadgets also seem to be bugged currently because they scale with the rock they are attached to visually. This can make it hard to calibrate, enable, and detach the devices because the UI of the device isn't being accurately represented and you have to spend quite a bit of time moving your mouse around randomly to find the interaction points. Hopefully that gets fixed as well in 3.19.1.
Thx nice vid! Another utuba mentioned something about clustering might be bugged and more testing is needed as gadgets towarda clustering might coz negative effects, trying to remeber who it was, anybody else heard this?
Yes! I want to cover the new salvage missions as I find they are much easier ways to get consistent salvage material, with the added bonus that you can reclaim some potentially valuable cargo. It's on the "To-Do" list.
@@RedMonsterSC I've had a fair bit of luck with panels spawning nearby the missions too or I scan along the way so it's pretty nice to make some cash. I just have trouble figuring out what the best 'method' of scraping is to do it quickly and efficiently/maintaining high extract rate.
Disagree with XTR-XL module as Inert materials aren't a big deal anymore. I would go with a Focus3 over this as its just better. Otherwise very good content and thanks for your cheat sheet its a big service to the community and everyone at my Org is loving it especially as you were very early in the patch and do regular updates.
Wait, you can stick a focus 3 in a size 1 laser? I don't know where I heard it, but I have been running under the idea that the higher modules required the size 2 lasers. This changes everything! Thanks, you absolutely have the best mining content channel. Keep it up!
Unrelated to this video (I will comment after I watch it) when I see an ad like the one for EVE at the start of this video, where someone says something like; "This game, you're not ready for it." I immediately click skip ad. I thank them for letting me know right up front I do not want to try their game lol.
Thanks for the great video, I have the lasers and gadgets down, I just need help figuring out the initial scan numbers out in space. I go to 3 different asteroids that come up with the number 1925 from 10km away. One has a mass of 52k, the next has a mass of 16k, and I cannot mine either one, and the 3rd has a mass of 6k and I can mine it. And it is the same for every other number I get on th initial scan. I cannot just see that it is impossible to mine from 10km away, I have to go up to every single asteroid in space and do a detailed scan.
I usually just mine right outside MIC-L5 so I don't have to quantum back and forth. It's really convenient and I can put in 5-6 work orders in an hour.
Minimal power level of a mining head for regular Prospector mining is not worth worrying about as it is easily worked around by varying your distance from the target as you have mentioned. I've proved this for myself by having been able to successfully mine gem nodes with a mass of 0.75 (ROC mineable) with the Helix mining head though the Arbor is best for this.
Thanks for confirming a "gut feel" I had that the Klein S1 wasn't that flash and my own empirical observations on the Hofstede's usefulness as a solo laser (even though it is clear its primary use-case is a support laser for multi-ship / multicrew ops) Good video! Nice, concise analysis and recommendations
One of my biggest disappointments was early this morning when I was mining on Wala with a Hofstede S1 and Focus module. I was able to break a 12100 mass rock and break it down into some 100% Beryl. I then broke a number of smaller rocks into some more 100% Beryl. I maxed out my 32SCU with 100% Beryl, and started QT back to my Refinery. Halfway there, 30K. I was furious, but it was time for bed anyway, so I just started the retrieve of my Prospector and went to bed. I’ll go back to it tonight.
@@Heisenberg55 30K protection is hit or miss at best right now. In the last week, I’ve had the 30K protection a couple or few tomes, but it generally fails. Before the “protection was instituted, a work-around with cargo was to call for landing again after the station, or if it was ore, or cargo that you loaded the cargo, you do a “fly-by” at the nearest space station, and call for landing. That would that you, and your ship and cargo would spawn at that station with cargo intact after a 30K until you called for landing somewhere else.
Hey Red. Thanks for the vid and the cheat sheets.. If possible, it would be nice to see what the distribution percentages are based on rock mass. And then a rough idea of laser power required for that mass. I'm still new to mining, but I'm finding few space rocks that are both profitable, and crackable as a solo prospector.
Good tutorial. I've been mining since it was first put in the game and I really like the direction it's going. Seems like the Orion will eventually fit in well. My only issue really has become the lack of motivation to be in there for now, this has been ongoing for quite a while. The game is awesome but being repeatedly punished with loss via server failure finally wore my resolve away. I'm not here to complain, just talking about the negative vibes I feel very often from the experiences and desire to not go through that anymore. Or as much anyway.
The risk of burnout is real, especially when facing down game breaking bugs each patch. Obviously some core features like 30k recovery need to make their way back into the game to help players out.
I have tried Helix I plus Focus and Rieger modules, works until the lower 10k rocks, adding a gadget expands this. I will probably try the hofstete combo. Can you please make a video about changing components on location?
Im finding that gadgets don't work at all. I put them on the rock and it just sits there telling me to put it on a mineable rock. It never turns on for me to tune. I did exactly the same as in this video and it sticks to the rock just fine like in this video.
Hey Red, I am a few weeks new to SC. Is solo mining with the ROC or multi-tool viable? All i have is a mustang alpha starter for now and I'd like to get into mining ideally without spending real money and I know the prospector is a few mil cred which I don't have either lol.
If you're still running with your Mustang, go rent a Cutty Black and a ROC from a terminal. You'll make the money in a week to buy a Prospector. Alternitively, rent a Prospector. Even a rental Prospector will allow you to build up the 2mil credits to buy the Prospector in-game. You'll still need to rent the Cutty Black to take your stuff to market, but it can be rented for a single day. Later, you can buy one or another cargo ship to take your stuff to market.
You should give klein 2 another look, with a c3 i was able to pop a 33k weight 49.5% quant rock and the instability doesnt become a real issue untill secondary which the hoff handles anyway, also im talking solo setup ofc. The klein pops a ton of fat teir 1 ore rocks that even helix has trouble with
great video again! I must be alone on this, but i wasn't having any fun solo with the Mole, and i returned to prospector, and i am finding it more enjoyable, despite being less capable. anyways, i have been mining asteroids belts, because it reduces the times back to and from to refinery. don't you find this appealing, efficiency wise?
@@Ultrajamz i mine on the asteroid belt where the station is, I have location set to it and i can always have a reference points and make sure not to search in same spots. i'm always 1 min away from a refinery. hope it makes sense. btw i sold it, and will buy it later in game
Sorry to ask here, but on your website, you recommended Rieger C3's on the Helix laser on a Mole, last I checked, they are still under powered compared to the C2 even in the PTU as of a few days ago and CIG has yet to acknowledge that they are aware and intend to fix, can I ask why you recommend them?
Also, side note, hate to be a downer, but my experience between 19 Live and 19.1 PTU is that rocks have become much tougher to mine, when PTU goes live, I do not believe that any of these laser setups will be able to mine rocks to the mass levels you mention, Prospector is going to have to focus on much smaller masses as I am struggling even in my Mole with Helix 2 against 20k-25k rocks with 3 Rieger c2's and even with Sabir to lower resistance, same with Klein, Hof, and Arbor
There is a confirmed issue council report for the Rieger module being incorrect, and I made my recommendations based on the assumption that it would be fixed soon(tm). The big hurdle I've run into is that rocks behave very inconsistently. I'll start working on a rock and the charge level won't even budge. If I come back to that same rock later on, it behaves just fine. Almost like something changed with the rock between the first and second attempts. It's frustrating but I haven't really found a pattern to it.
They updated the keybind to require holding the left alt key while scrolling. It can be rebound in your keybind settings or left as-is if you don't mind it being a little inconvenient.
It should work! I usually mine with the mole so I haven't had a chance to confirm it with the prospector but several others in the org are still using it.
The biggest issue I have currently is that when I use the scroll wheel to increase the power to the laser it just keeps resetting the power back to default. Not sure if this is a bug.
Did you adjust the keybinds back? The default for mining laser intensity was changed to (I think) Alt + scroll wheel, plain scroll wheel now changes the speed at which you can adjust the mining laser intensity
This happens for the first few seconds after turning on the laser, and I think it's due to server performance. After about 2 seconds it usually stabilizes out.
I'm finding more and more 'easy' rocks way below 10k mass and very reasonable resistance just refusing to be cracked. The charge level just goes up a bit, then down again and never reaches the green zone. Is this another bug or am I doing something wrong?
The scatter damage is not a bug. You just have to stay over the optimale range. If you go belowat any time during the charge, than the rock will explode
@@BrendenChase77 he is in the orange distance area during the part mentioned, he backs up as it breaks but its probably server latency not updating his position in time before the break imo ive been using a hofstead + reiger and i always stay in the green distance zone near optimal, ive only lost my module twice so far when im too close (indicated by the orange area + warning symbol) or i overcharged the rock by accident
@@james_robnett nice. well then see it as a workaround. I've never got damage again after i stayed over the optimal range. Try it urself. works 10 out of 10
@@BrendenChase77 yes thats because he was under optimale during charge. Try it urself, you will not get damage if you stay over otimal range the entire time. if you dip below at any time, u will get damage.
I've had multiple occurrences with different load-outs where I can get into the green zone but if I take too long converting it, the laser power goes to zero and I can not get it back up again. I haven't heard anyone have this experience. Is it just me?
Has anyone determined a correlation between scanning signatures (RS Signatures) and asteroid types? Like does a 1720 RS signature = Taranite / Iron? Just curious.
The asteroid types have a unique RS value, although that won't tell you the common elements included. The numbers can be found in my cheat sheets which should be pinned.
@@RedMonsterSC ok thanks. Is there a minimum of tier 2 and 3 then, that any lower you're just wasting cargo space with inert material? A few friends and I are going to give it a go soon, and I've been put in charge of finding out what to do lol.
The rental prospector is a valid option. The Arbor laser has some good bonuses, but as I mention in the video, it's got the lowest power and a pretty nasty resistance debuff which means you'll be limited on what masses you can tackle on your own.
Informing as always. Did you happen to encounter the issue I had where the impossible rating or easy rating both lie? I had "easy" rocks not even budge with full power and "impossible " rock break with ease.
Yes, absolutely ran into that problem on multiple occasions. We've been seeing a lot of rocks where you can easily manage the first break, but then the smaller fragment won't even budge.
@@RedMonsterSC That behaviour you've seen on secondary breaks is a bug. Move to another fragment, work on that, then come back to the original fragment that wouldn't charge from the laser.
I think it's great we can use the Prospector for actual prospecting now. You break and scoop what you can while you are out looking for larger high value rocks, but a large portion of your profits come from selling the location of said rocks to larger outfits when you find them. This is a simplified version of what real prospectors do with gold and other mineral claims.
Mine has shrunk to the size of a pack of gum. Reset the scale changes by storing the gadget in one of the local inventories. When it's brought out again, it will be back to normal scale.
I think the nerf of the prospector has been punitive. Primarily because although you can't find anything decent to mine in a decent amount of time, the fact quantanium before had to appear in quantities that you can fill up a prospector with. The new minerals do not. Meaning if you find one, its likely unminable, and if you find something you can mine, it won't fill you up. Very negative decision made by CIG. Furthermore solo mining in a mole is significantly better now than a prospector ever would be, because you can mine larger rocks, and take 3X the quantity back than with a prospector. CIG missed badly with the changes. Also a rental prospector is 80% as good as a regular one. I rented a prospector and using mining gadgets was able to mine almost 80% of what I could with my configured prospector. Just another nail in the coffin of prospector mining. I am staying away from mining and that was all I did before. The mining gadgets not working, disappearing, and as you noted the fracture bug is just more of the issue that don't even go along with the 30k every hour that is going on. CIG did something interesting with the mining, but it is better to ROC mine than to prospector solo. If your an org you probably are getting richer than ever with the new quant prices and the fact you can mine any rock of any size with a team as i watched a full mole cut a 60k gold rock. Solo miners are left out in the cold.
Everything you said is facts and how I feel too. Everything they did were all small nerfs to the prospect that added up. A simple easy fix would be to have planets have all prospector sized rocks and the asteroids be mole or bigger with moons being a mix. Sadly all the content creators are only talking about how amazing things are instead of trying to give the solo guys a chance.
Couldn't agree more! I can now mine maybe 1 in 10 rocks and always only the ones with 50/50 tier 2 and 3 materials in them, also after the break. So half a Prospector with at best 16 SCU @500 and 16 SCU @ 3000. That's barely 50k for a full load. I tried a couple of hours mining. 10 loads and I made 500k. Also, I lost money to repairs of 200k due to damage to the modules. That's just terrible. I used to make that for 1 or 2 loads
@@RedMonsterSC I figured lol. Was using the hoff and reiger before 3.19.1 took my ship. but I’d like to do bigger rocks without making it too hard to crack. Someone in my org mentioned helix and focus with something else, what would you recommend?
assuming i only had the base account and wanted to do mining would it be best to just focus on renting the rock and cutlass until i save enough for a prospector? looking for any opinions
I have a starter DUR and bought a ROC and do that as my start gameplay. Save up until I get the Prospector. Certainly do-able with a rented Cutlass Black and ROC. Just be sure you have enough IRL time to mine enough to offset rental costs.
I've been running the Helix I with a stampede and a focus III. My biggest break so far has been slightly above 20K. And yes, because of the min power limit I am having to use the toggle method on the smaller rocks. The range on the helix makes things tough, especially when you're trying to not lose your modules. I think overall the changes are a welcome addition to Mining in SC.
You can see where they're sold using my cheat sheets: redmonstergaming.com/mining-cheat-sheets/ Or you can try the Cornerstone Groups Universal Item Finder: finder.cstone.space/
The problem is that my Prospector refuses to come up with any SCU space, no matter what I do, explode it, leave it floating in space, claim it or try to repair it, it always comes up with 0/0scu
@@RedMonsterSC It's bought in the game, I didn't try to change the bags for the MOLE, because I don't have the MOLE, I bought it in the game, I went to mine it took me 30k and it's been like this for 3 days.
issue-council.robertsspaceindustries.com/projects/STAR-CITIZEN/issues/STARC-68830 is an active issue council report for the exact problem I think you're having. Please go contribute and keep an eye out for any workarounds that might come up in the comments section.
Hi, I experienced the bug today. And the repair on the ship is 80K. So I was pondering on reclaiming the ship. But I don't know if you loose mining heads on reclaim. Have you experienced anything in that regard? Cheers
This happens due to server desync issues which clears itself after a few seconds, but could also be that one of your inputs is trying to zero out your laser power. If you have joysticks, double check the keybindings for your laser intensity (both absolute and relative) as those may be trying to reset to zero constantly.
Prospect Mining in the Halo is a crock. I use the Hofstead and it'll break up to 15k then won't touch the fragments as the resistance has doubled to silly levels yet the band is green and it says easy. Today nothing would enter the saddlebags. I use to enjoy mining in the Halo, but not any more. CIG have really screwed mining for me
@@hirofortis nope. The DS is pretty useless. Just go for the standard ROC. IF you really want to try the DS and learn why it's a disappointment, then you'll need a Mercury Star Runner, a Constellation Andro/Taurus or larger
@@RedMonsterSC I won't even worry about it if the standard Roc will work. :) I started the game with a Cutlass Black so I could experience different scenerios in the game. So far I have enjoyed it other than the bugs. lol
Don't forget, as of 3.19.1 update, you can still taek an Argo Mole and swap out the 4 Prospector mining bags (32 SCU max capacitiy) with 4 of the Argo Mole bags (48 SCU max cargo now on your prospector!!). They are actually the same size so once you unlock ports, you can increase ur carrying capacitiy out while mining.
One thing I have been liking is the Helix Laser with the Sabir gadget. It buys back a lot of the green zone. Combined that with 1 focus and 1 Reiger, and a surge in the backpack in case you need it. It's pretty capable. You will have to feather the smaller rocks though.
I find mining to be extremely bland now, and have no desire to land my ship and place gadgets on rocks to stop from ending up with 50% dirt on every break. I enjoyed flying my ship, staying in my ship, and mining from my ship where actions were meaningful. Getting out of my ship to tinker with some gadget is just as engaging as all the buttons I hit during quantum jump, which is 0. I find that turning the laser on and off in the green is a cheese way to break also, and also, extremely un-immersive. I thoroughly enjoyed searching for as long as it took for a quant, and it was rewarding even if it took an hour to find it, as I rarely mined on lyria, much like the rewarding experience of hitting something rare on loot boxes in games. Now, the loot boxes just have the same thing over and over and nothing truly to get excited about. Likely melting my prospector and moving to another game loop all-together.
Yeah I'm kind of hating it as well. There are no patterns to find, every cluster of rocks presents you with the same probabilities, and that means you spend 90%+ of your mining time scanning every single rock to see if you are missing something. Scanning is an important feature, but the rebalance right now is heavily tipped towards spending most of the mining time staring at the scan window. It's boring as.
@J Masked yeah for sure. What u can and can't do is essentially set in stone...whereas before one player could break a rock and another couldn't in 20 tries. It seemed and felt more skill based and felt like u developed a feel for it. They lost that. Min laser power is just a fake handicap to create purpose for other heads. Balancing mining was prob as simple as moving rock values. An entire rework was overreach by a new dev who wanted the old system to be his.
Thanks for being here!
Download a copy of my latest mining charts here: redmonstergaming.com/mining-cheat-sheets/ And check out my Master Mining Cheatsheet, which now includes a loadout calculator to help estimate your combined bonuses! docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ePuSaqORlewxuMytUplTs8r-liePE8lJOSXCafqEW0/copy
Solo mining is dead
FYI, first link provides a site unsecure warning.
yo RMSC, firstly ----- great videos, secondly where can we the Mining cheat sheets now please? thank you and hope the content keeps coming
@RedMonsterSC Your website seems to be down (or hacked???). The link goes to unsecure website according to chrome. It worked for me not more than 2 days ago. Hopefully you'll get it back up and running, because your sheets are amazing!
thanks for the videos! that google doc is amazing; the dashboard and refinery logbook are great to use, and it pretty much has all the cheat sheets within it. i did notice that the logbook formula for calculating total cSCU does not include the last column for aluminum. it's summing L2-AA2 but aluminum is AB. maybe it's just on the copy i made but thought i'd mention it as it affects the dashboard stats.
Thanks! Super duper helpful video, and very thorough!
You're welcome!
Everything I've red tells me you are a monster of the SC community.
Thanks again!
Well played, Paul. Well played!
Just started exploring mining gameplay over the weekend with the MISC Prospector I bought in-game. This series is incredibly helpful! o7
Huge work, very well explained, you are my top reference for mining. Thank you
Subbed and liked. Your guide actually inspired me to get a Prospector, and give mining a serious look. Thank you for your efforts!
One other Prospector tip is to upgrade the storage to 48 UEC (from 32) by starting the personal salvage mole mission and taking them from the mole. This will cost you 10K uec and you can abandon the mission after you get the bags. Also the stock bags are applied if you need to claim the ship. But it's certainly a good way to increase your per-run returns.
I have found this increase to 48 SCU significantly improves the profitability on my Prospector runs. I am much more likely to have a 90-100k (as opposed to 60-80k) refined run with the 48 SCU (even when I am laden with Tier 2 material). I hope they don't patch this out.
@@SpaceShortsYT considering how the saddle bags are all supposed to be standard, they shouldn't. But then, that would fit in with their 'marginalize solo players and force them towards multicrew' agenda so they will probably do it anyway
I have yet to fine that salvage mission
Wouldnt you lose these bags all the time with the constant 30k's?
Newb here. I rented a prospector for a day to help me Kickstart my earnings. Where would I store the secondary saddle bags?
You're the real MVP! Always at the forefront of mining! Cheers!
Dude, thanks to this guide i found my perfect build, mixed with the optimax it makes for perfectly stacked runs
Thanks Red. This is the guide I was waiting for! Just purchased a Prospector and was having a hard time
Thanks for this dude. Such a head start on the whole mining career.
Darn good stuff, as a side note, if 2 rocks have the same percentage of tier 1 or 2, but the filler is iron in one and inert in the other, grab the inert one, all the lasers filter at least 30% of inert mats.
But if the rock’s too big, maybe try the iron one, as it has a -40% resistance stat, which mixes with the resistance stats of the other minerals to help determine the rock’s overall resistance.
My SC mining guru 😁. Thanks a lot for your guides you are awesome 😉
I'm currently running a Hofstede + Rieger C2 (because C3 is bugged) and I'm pretty happy with it. If there's a slightly too large rock I really want to crack, I will apply a gadget that fits the particular rock.
yeah I'm also doing that and its really good!
Gadgets are a must-have now! I've found that carrying them in a large backpack helps you keep them after a 30K error, rather than having them stored in the vehicle local inventory.
@@RedMonsterSC Definitely! I learned that after loosing a few 100K in gadgets thanks to a 30?
I wouldn't necessarily say that they're a must-have, but definitely a very-nice-to-have 😁
How is the C3 bugged? Been using it and it seems fine?
@@hapskie it's only providing a 15% bonus instead of 25%. There is an active issue council report for it here: issue-council.robertsspaceindustries.com/projects/STAR-CITIZEN/issues/STARC-70967
Thanks man! Short on time to test myself so this is a great boost!!!
Hi Red. You are making a huge difference to my SC mining life, and many who mine in Star Citizen. I have seen a considerable difference in the Aaron Halo in Band 5 for "3 rock clusters" vs. single rocks. It's a significant enough difference to me to mention it here. Also, I have found that Tier 2 materials that are found in 45% or higher are FAR more likely to have 100% pure breaks, or 85%+ pure breaks. So locating Tier 2's that are north of 45, is a way to offset picking up too much Tier 3 filler, when going after Tier 2 resources. Outstanding job sir. Truly 😍 - V
Just starting in the game and wow it's a lot to learn. Glad for this because I think mining may be a start for me.
Or crewing on one rather
I’ve been having the most luck with the Klein 😂. Found some quant and it handled really well! I have tried the Hoft with focus III and found i was having a hard time getting rocks to crack.
yeah i too am finding the hoft/focus combo not very good. not much i can crack
what a great job Well done !
I am using the distance to the rock way more then I am adjusting the power slider. It's giving me way smoother changes and adjustments.
i use the helix with 2x xtr-xl , cracking up to about 18k rocks, but right now its very hard to mine with all the 30ks
The problem with the Helix 1 module for me is that additional breaks of 100% purity rocks seem impossible due to extreme sensitivity to laser instability. The charge level jumps around like crazy. Also would like to see how module changing in the field is done. Haven't been able to find the module slot on the outside of the ship to detach.
Thanks for the update. You are great.
YOU are great Bob.
Thank you good sir!
Great video. One note that I saw that you experienced but didn't address, is that the mining gadgets also seem to be bugged currently because they scale with the rock they are attached to visually. This can make it hard to calibrate, enable, and detach the devices because the UI of the device isn't being accurately represented and you have to spend quite a bit of time moving your mouse around randomly to find the interaction points. Hopefully that gets fixed as well in 3.19.1.
@RedMonsterSC : Have any of your recommendations changed, since this video was released?
Thx nice vid! Another utuba mentioned something about clustering might be bugged and more testing is needed as gadgets towarda clustering might coz negative effects, trying to remeber who it was, anybody else heard this?
Glad to sit down and watch another mining vid while I'm at work. Any chance we'll be getting a salvaging video update soon as well?
Yes! I want to cover the new salvage missions as I find they are much easier ways to get consistent salvage material, with the added bonus that you can reclaim some potentially valuable cargo. It's on the "To-Do" list.
@@RedMonsterSC I've had a fair bit of luck with panels spawning nearby the missions too or I scan along the way so it's pretty nice to make some cash. I just have trouble figuring out what the best 'method' of scraping is to do it quickly and efficiently/maintaining high extract rate.
Can’t wait to see if you make a Mole video!
Disagree with XTR-XL module as Inert materials aren't a big deal anymore. I would go with a Focus3 over this as its just better.
Otherwise very good content and thanks for your cheat sheet its a big service to the community and everyone at my Org is loving it especially as you were very early in the patch and do regular updates.
How do you get rid of the inert material?
@@tonygallea-katz7882 By splitting and most of the time its not Inert but Titanium or other Tier 3 materials that isn't affected anyway
I like the Hofstede because of the cool squiggly laser
Isn't it cute!!!
Wait, you can stick a focus 3 in a size 1 laser? I don't know where I heard it, but I have been running under the idea that the higher modules required the size 2 lasers. This changes everything! Thanks, you absolutely have the best mining content channel. Keep it up!
Unrelated to this video (I will comment after I watch it) when I see an ad like the one for EVE at the start of this video, where someone says something like; "This game, you're not ready for it." I immediately click skip ad. I thank them for letting me know right up front I do not want to try their game lol.
Thanks for the great video, I have the lasers and gadgets down, I just need help figuring out the initial scan numbers out in space. I go to 3 different asteroids that come up with the number 1925 from 10km away. One has a mass of 52k, the next has a mass of 16k, and I cannot mine either one, and the 3rd has a mass of 6k and I can mine it. And it is the same for every other number I get on th initial scan. I cannot just see that it is impossible to mine from 10km away, I have to go up to every single asteroid in space and do a detailed scan.
Hey, are you going to do a solo mole guide? or would you consider the prospector the same as a solo mole? Thanks for the guides.
I'm working through them as I have time. A solo mole guide is on the horizon, but probably further down my list.
a very nice video and helpful
Great job! liked and subscribed
Thanks again! 👍🏻
I usually just mine right outside MIC-L5 so I don't have to quantum back and forth. It's really convenient and I can put in 5-6 work orders in an hour.
Minimal power level of a mining head for regular Prospector mining is not worth worrying about as it is easily worked around by varying your distance from the target as you have mentioned.
I've proved this for myself by having been able to successfully mine gem nodes with a mass of 0.75 (ROC mineable) with the Helix mining head though the Arbor is best for this.
Thanks for confirming a "gut feel" I had that the Klein S1 wasn't that flash and my own empirical observations on the Hofstede's usefulness as a solo laser (even though it is clear its primary use-case is a support laser for multi-ship / multicrew ops)
Good video! Nice, concise analysis and recommendations
do we need to consider the power plant we have equipped for each build? or does this not have any effect on mining laser performance?
Nope. Power plants don't affect the laser power.
@@RedMonsterSC cheers bruv
One of my biggest disappointments was early this morning when I was mining on Wala with a Hofstede S1 and Focus module. I was able to break a 12100 mass rock and break it down into some 100% Beryl. I then broke a number of smaller rocks into some more 100% Beryl. I maxed out my 32SCU with 100% Beryl, and started QT back to my Refinery. Halfway there, 30K. I was furious, but it was time for bed anyway, so I just started the retrieve of my Prospector and went to bed. I’ll go back to it tonight.
Does the 30k protection not work on mining cargo ?
@@Heisenberg55 30K protection is hit or miss at best right now. In the last week, I’ve had the 30K protection a couple or few tomes, but it generally fails. Before the “protection was instituted, a work-around with cargo was to call for landing again after the station, or if it was ore, or cargo that you loaded the cargo, you do a “fly-by” at the nearest space station, and call for landing. That would that you, and your ship and cargo would spawn at that station with cargo intact after a 30K until you called for landing somewhere else.
Solo Mole video coming? Great video, thanks.
Hey Red. Thanks for the vid and the cheat sheets..
If possible, it would be nice to see what the distribution percentages are based on rock mass. And then a rough idea of laser power required for that mass. I'm still new to mining, but I'm finding few space rocks that are both profitable, and crackable as a solo prospector.
Good tutorial. I've been mining since it was first put in the game and I really like the direction it's going. Seems like the Orion will eventually fit in well. My only issue really has become the lack of motivation to be in there for now, this has been ongoing for quite a while. The game is awesome but being repeatedly punished with loss via server failure finally wore my resolve away. I'm not here to complain, just talking about the negative vibes I feel very often from the experiences and desire to not go through that anymore. Or as much anyway.
The risk of burnout is real, especially when facing down game breaking bugs each patch. Obviously some core features like 30k recovery need to make their way back into the game to help players out.
I have tried Helix I plus Focus and Rieger modules, works until the lower 10k rocks, adding a gadget expands this. I will probably try the hofstete combo.
Can you please make a video about changing components on location?
Been trying these builds you provided and they are very helpful with the Prospector. Now, will you make a video like this but for the Mole as well?
Im finding that gadgets don't work at all. I put them on the rock and it just sits there telling me to put it on a mineable rock. It never turns on for me to tune. I did exactly the same as in this video and it sticks to the rock just fine like in this video.
Hey Red, I am a few weeks new to SC. Is solo mining with the ROC or multi-tool viable? All i have is a mustang alpha starter for now and I'd like to get into mining ideally without spending real money and I know the prospector is a few mil cred which I don't have either lol.
If you're still running with your Mustang, go rent a Cutty Black and a ROC from a terminal. You'll make the money in a week to buy a Prospector. Alternitively, rent a Prospector. Even a rental Prospector will allow you to build up the 2mil credits to buy the Prospector in-game. You'll still need to rent the Cutty Black to take your stuff to market, but it can be rented for a single day. Later, you can buy one or another cargo ship to take your stuff to market.
Hello from France, thanks for your video and see you soon in verse bye bye
You should give klein 2 another look, with a c3 i was able to pop a 33k weight 49.5% quant rock and the instability doesnt become a real issue untill secondary which the hoff handles anyway, also im talking solo setup ofc. The klein pops a ton of fat teir 1 ore rocks that even helix has trouble with
Iv aced the prospector mining now. Even the optimal distance for extraction is important
great video again! I must be alone on this, but i wasn't having any fun solo with the Mole, and i returned to prospector, and i am finding it more enjoyable, despite being less capable. anyways, i have been mining asteroids belts, because it reduces the times back to and from to refinery. don't you find this appealing, efficiency wise?
How come it reduces time back to refinery?
@@Ultrajamz i mine on the asteroid belt where the station is, I have location set to it and i can always have a reference points and make sure not to search in same spots. i'm always 1 min away from a refinery. hope it makes sense. btw i sold it, and will buy it later in game
How do you get rid of the inert material? Where do I sell the ore?
So is the 27,000 credit gadget a consumable? That's my cost for each break I use it on?
But where do i sell the mined ore? For exampel at Area 18 everything i mined was under the "cannot sell tab".
Raw ore can be sold at a refinery station, or refined and then sold at a trade and development division at the main cities.
Sorry to ask here, but on your website, you recommended Rieger C3's on the Helix laser on a Mole, last I checked, they are still under powered compared to the C2 even in the PTU as of a few days ago and CIG has yet to acknowledge that they are aware and intend to fix, can I ask why you recommend them?
Also, side note, hate to be a downer, but my experience between 19 Live and 19.1 PTU is that rocks have become much tougher to mine, when PTU goes live, I do not believe that any of these laser setups will be able to mine rocks to the mass levels you mention, Prospector is going to have to focus on much smaller masses as I am struggling even in my Mole with Helix 2 against 20k-25k rocks with 3 Rieger c2's and even with Sabir to lower resistance, same with Klein, Hof, and Arbor
There is a confirmed issue council report for the Rieger module being incorrect, and I made my recommendations based on the assumption that it would be fixed soon(tm).
The big hurdle I've run into is that rocks behave very inconsistently. I'll start working on a rock and the charge level won't even budge. If I come back to that same rock later on, it behaves just fine. Almost like something changed with the rock between the first and second attempts. It's frustrating but I haven't really found a pattern to it.
does the hofstede has really 60% optimal charge window? it does not show in the info ingame
what do you think of the rented prospector? Still worth the effort to get or no?
I need an updated mining guide for 3.20. CIG keeps changing stuff
For new players/miners what's the best loadout here? The support or balanced ones?
try the balanced one, and if its too hard then go the support...
How do you increase and decrease the laser power? Mouse wheel isn't doing it as default like it used to
They updated the keybind to require holding the left alt key while scrolling. It can be rebound in your keybind settings or left as-is if you don't mind it being a little inconvenient.
uuuuugghh....@4:16 your chart indicates Hofstede S2 will fit a Prospector. I have discovered ....after purchase.....that this is incorrect.
I really didn't get on with Helix 1 so I'm back onto Hof plus Surge. Just need some bigger saddlebags. Does the trick to keep them still work?
It should work! I usually mine with the mole so I haven't had a chance to confirm it with the prospector but several others in the org are still using it.
The biggest issue I have currently is that when I use the scroll wheel to increase the power to the laser it just keeps resetting the power back to default. Not sure if this is a bug.
Wait, I thought that my joystick slider was broken, I have this problem too
Did you adjust the keybinds back? The default for mining laser intensity was changed to (I think) Alt + scroll wheel, plain scroll wheel now changes the speed at which you can adjust the mining laser intensity
@@Hearluck This is confusing
This happens for the first few seconds after turning on the laser, and I think it's due to server performance. After about 2 seconds it usually stabilizes out.
There's a magical thing called "Focus III" ... is it worth it? ...what can it do?
So is it and end to a solo prospector quantainium mining?
I'm finding more and more 'easy' rocks way below 10k mass and very reasonable resistance just refusing to be cracked. The charge level just goes up a bit, then down again and never reaches the green zone. Is this another bug or am I doing something wrong?
The scatter damage is not a bug. You just have to stay over the optimale range. If you go belowat any time during the charge, than the rock will explode
Trust, it's a bug. He proves it in the video. He's backing away and still loses his modules. That is not intended functionality.
CIG has said it's a bug and have reportedly addressed it yesterday in the PTU patch.
@@BrendenChase77 he is in the orange distance area during the part mentioned, he backs up as it breaks but its probably server latency not updating his position in time before the break imo
ive been using a hofstead + reiger and i always stay in the green distance zone near optimal, ive only lost my module twice so far when im too close (indicated by the orange area + warning symbol) or i overcharged the rock by accident
@@james_robnett nice. well then see it as a workaround. I've never got damage again after i stayed over the optimal range. Try it urself. works 10 out of 10
@@BrendenChase77 yes thats because he was under optimale during charge. Try it urself, you will not get damage if you stay over otimal range the entire time. if you dip below at any time, u will get damage.
I've had multiple occurrences with different load-outs where I can get into the green zone but if I take too long converting it, the laser power goes to zero and I can not get it back up again. I haven't heard anyone have this experience. Is it just me?
It isn't "just you" - it appears to be a bug ... maybe a de-synch issue.
what is a high resistance rate (number wise)?
Has anyone determined a correlation between scanning signatures (RS Signatures) and asteroid types? Like does a 1720 RS signature = Taranite / Iron? Just curious.
The asteroid types have a unique RS value, although that won't tell you the common elements included. The numbers can be found in my cheat sheets which should be pinned.
Hi Red, Im totally new to mining, what percentage s of the tier 1 ores should I be looking for in rocka to crck?
Honestly with how uncommon they are, any percentage of a tier 1 is worth stopping for.
@@RedMonsterSC ok thanks. Is there a minimum of tier 2 and 3 then, that any lower you're just wasting cargo space with inert material?
A few friends and I are going to give it a go soon, and I've been put in charge of finding out what to do lol.
I keep flipping over when mining and I don’t know how to stop it
Pls help
Just what I needed, one question though, can I start mining with the rental prospector or I still need to buy modules for it?
The rental prospector is a valid option. The Arbor laser has some good bonuses, but as I mention in the video, it's got the lowest power and a pretty nasty resistance debuff which means you'll be limited on what masses you can tackle on your own.
Is it possible to bring a 2nd mining head in the Prospector? Or would it be too big to fit through the door?
I wonder about this myself. Just haven't tried it yet
Too big unfortunately
Informing as always. Did you happen to encounter the issue I had where the impossible rating or easy rating both lie? I had "easy" rocks not even budge with full power and "impossible " rock break with ease.
Yes, absolutely ran into that problem on multiple occasions. We've been seeing a lot of rocks where you can easily manage the first break, but then the smaller fragment won't even budge.
@@RedMonsterSC That behaviour you've seen on secondary breaks is a bug.
Move to another fragment, work on that, then come back to the original fragment that wouldn't charge from the laser.
I think it's great we can use the Prospector for actual prospecting now. You break and scoop what you can while you are out looking for larger high value rocks, but a large portion of your profits come from selling the location of said rocks to larger outfits when you find them. This is a simplified version of what real prospectors do with gold and other mineral claims.
Anyone having issues with the optimax being small after using it? I can't even properly interact with it after the first time I use it.
Mine has shrunk to the size of a pack of gum. Reset the scale changes by storing the gadget in one of the local inventories. When it's brought out again, it will be back to normal scale.
I think the nerf of the prospector has been punitive. Primarily because although you can't find anything decent to mine in a decent amount of time, the fact quantanium before had to appear in quantities that you can fill up a prospector with. The new minerals do not. Meaning if you find one, its likely unminable, and if you find something you can mine, it won't fill you up. Very negative decision made by CIG. Furthermore solo mining in a mole is significantly better now than a prospector ever would be, because you can mine larger rocks, and take 3X the quantity back than with a prospector. CIG missed badly with the changes. Also a rental prospector is 80% as good as a regular one. I rented a prospector and using mining gadgets was able to mine almost 80% of what I could with my configured prospector. Just another nail in the coffin of prospector mining. I am staying away from mining and that was all I did before. The mining gadgets not working, disappearing, and as you noted the fracture bug is just more of the issue that don't even go along with the 30k every hour that is going on. CIG did something interesting with the mining, but it is better to ROC mine than to prospector solo. If your an org you probably are getting richer than ever with the new quant prices and the fact you can mine any rock of any size with a team as i watched a full mole cut a 60k gold rock. Solo miners are left out in the cold.
Everything you said is facts and how I feel too. Everything they did were all small nerfs to the prospect that added up.
A simple easy fix would be to have planets have all prospector sized rocks and the asteroids be mole or bigger with moons being a mix.
Sadly all the content creators are only talking about how amazing things are instead of trying to give the solo guys a chance.
Couldn't agree more! I can now mine maybe 1 in 10 rocks and always only the ones with 50/50 tier 2 and 3 materials in them, also after the break. So half a Prospector with at best 16 SCU @500 and 16 SCU @ 3000. That's barely 50k for a full load. I tried a couple of hours mining. 10 loads and I made 500k. Also, I lost money to repairs of 200k due to damage to the modules. That's just terrible. I used to make that for 1 or 2 loads
Can you use a bore max and optimax on the same rock?
Sadly you can only use one gadget per deposit starting in 3.19
@@RedMonsterSC I figured lol. Was using the hoff and reiger before 3.19.1 took my ship. but I’d like to do bigger rocks without making it too hard to crack. Someone in my org mentioned helix and focus with something else, what would you recommend?
assuming i only had the base account and wanted to do mining would it be best to just focus on renting the rock and cutlass until i save enough for a prospector? looking for any opinions
I have a starter DUR and bought a ROC and do that as my start gameplay. Save up until I get the Prospector. Certainly do-able with a rented Cutlass Black and ROC. Just be sure you have enough IRL time to mine enough to offset rental costs.
I've been running the Helix I with a stampede and a focus III. My biggest break so far has been slightly above 20K.
And yes, because of the min power limit I am having to use the toggle method on the smaller rocks. The range on the helix makes things tough, especially when you're trying to not lose your modules. I think overall the changes are a welcome addition to Mining in SC.
The Helix ranges are pretty ridiculous. You'll be scraping paint all day! No wonder the Mole center turrets' glass is all scuffed.
@@RedMonsterSC HA!
Where can i buy the Surge Module?
You can see where they're sold using my cheat sheets: redmonstergaming.com/mining-cheat-sheets/
Or you can try the Cornerstone Groups Universal Item Finder: finder.cstone.space/
The problem is that my Prospector refuses to come up with any SCU space, no matter what I do, explode it, leave it floating in space, claim it or try to repair it, it always comes up with 0/0scu
Is this a pledged prospector, or rented, and did you previously swap out the cargo bags for the mole sized bags?
@@RedMonsterSC It's bought in the game, I didn't try to change the bags for the MOLE, because I don't have the MOLE, I bought it in the game, I went to mine it took me 30k and it's been like this for 3 days.
@@RedMonsterSC I rent a prospector and put the rented bags in mine, but when the lease time ended the bags went together and the problem came back.
issue-council.robertsspaceindustries.com/projects/STAR-CITIZEN/issues/STARC-68830 is an active issue council report for the exact problem I think you're having. Please go contribute and keep an eye out for any workarounds that might come up in the comments section.
@@RedMonsterSC Thank you my friend for the help. I truly appreciate your gesture, and I will definitely check out that post.
Hi, I experienced the bug today. And the repair on the ship is 80K. So I was pondering on reclaiming the ship. But I don't know if you loose mining heads on reclaim. Have you experienced anything in that regard? Cheers
I blew up with my Prospector a week ago, everything was on it when I claimed it back. But maybe I was just lucky.
Do you recommend moon mining over halo?
The laser intensitivity resets to 5% the whole time on my prospector so i cant mine anything is there a solution to this?
This happens due to server desync issues which clears itself after a few seconds, but could also be that one of your inputs is trying to zero out your laser power. If you have joysticks, double check the keybindings for your laser intensity (both absolute and relative) as those may be trying to reset to zero constantly.
@@RedMonsterSC i only have mousewheel on my pc
i was able to once break 14k mass roc with 35% quant in prospector was the best day of my life unitl the game 30k during my delivery
Well, that explains why my borrowed MOLE keeps coming back with more damage than the load was worth. Ugh...
Prospect Mining in the Halo is a crock. I use the Hofstead and it'll break up to 15k then won't touch the fragments as the resistance has doubled to silly levels yet the band is green and it says easy. Today nothing would enter the saddlebags. I use to enjoy mining in the Halo, but not any more. CIG have really screwed mining for me
There's a number of fixes and changes for mining in 3.19.1 patch which is currently in PTU
I like your guide man, it would be nice if you increase your mic volume a bit higher
so can any ship be used for mining?
Unfortunately not. The only ships that can be used for mining are the MISC Prospector, Argo Mole and Greycat ROC/ROC-DS.
@@RedMonsterSC thanks, still learning here. Can you fit a roc-ds in the back of a cutlass black?
@@hirofortis nope. The DS is pretty useless. Just go for the standard ROC. IF you really want to try the DS and learn why it's a disappointment, then you'll need a Mercury Star Runner, a Constellation Andro/Taurus or larger
@@RedMonsterSC I won't even worry about it if the standard Roc will work. :) I started the game with a Cutlass Black so I could experience different scenerios in the game. So far I have enjoyed it other than the bugs. lol
Don't forget, as of 3.19.1 update, you can still taek an Argo Mole and swap out the 4 Prospector mining bags (32 SCU max capacitiy) with 4 of the Argo Mole bags (48 SCU max cargo now on your prospector!!). They are actually the same size so once you unlock ports, you can increase ur carrying capacitiy out while mining.
how do i get the extra cargo space? (very noob to mining)
Helix 1 with Focus 3 and Rieger C3 for me.
Is it possible to make a profit on a rented Prospector as you can’t change parts?
Yes, so long as you're not interrupted by a server issue.
One thing I have been liking is the Helix Laser with the Sabir gadget. It buys back a lot of the green zone. Combined that with 1 focus and 1 Reiger, and a surge in the backpack in case you need it. It's pretty capable. You will have to feather the smaller rocks though.
Do these builds still work for 3.21? Great Video thank you :)
Yes, they should still work. The Rieger C3 is also fixed, where it wasn't providing the right power increase in earlier patches.
I find mining to be extremely bland now, and have no desire to land my ship and place gadgets on rocks to stop from ending up with 50% dirt on every break. I enjoyed flying my ship, staying in my ship, and mining from my ship where actions were meaningful. Getting out of my ship to tinker with some gadget is just as engaging as all the buttons I hit during quantum jump, which is 0. I find that turning the laser on and off in the green is a cheese way to break also, and also, extremely un-immersive. I thoroughly enjoyed searching for as long as it took for a quant, and it was rewarding even if it took an hour to find it, as I rarely mined on lyria, much like the rewarding experience of hitting something rare on loot boxes in games. Now, the loot boxes just have the same thing over and over and nothing truly to get excited about. Likely melting my prospector and moving to another game loop all-together.
Yeah I'm kind of hating it as well. There are no patterns to find, every cluster of rocks presents you with the same probabilities, and that means you spend 90%+ of your mining time scanning every single rock to see if you are missing something. Scanning is an important feature, but the rebalance right now is heavily tipped towards spending most of the mining time staring at the scan window. It's boring as.
@J Masked yeah for sure. What u can and can't do is essentially set in stone...whereas before one player could break a rock and another couldn't in 20 tries. It seemed and felt more skill based and felt like u developed a feel for it. They lost that. Min laser power is just a fake handicap to create purpose for other heads. Balancing mining was prob as simple as moving rock values. An entire rework was overreach by a new dev who wanted the old system to be his.