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Elite Dangerous

Elite Dangerous
C

get the best ship with a balance between cargo size and fighting
try to stay out of trouble and be careful with illegal items

RicZA's avatar

Salvaging is something you will undoubtably need to pursue in order to gain the materials required to engineer your ship and to synthesize various items in your adventures. Ship related salvage can be classed into 3 main categories. Raw Materials, Manufactured Materials and Encoded. There are various methods to "farm" these materials, some more efficient than others, so let's stick to the basics.

Whilst not getting too deep into ship builds, you will NEED the following: Collector Limpet Controller and come cargo space to carry limpets (For raw and manufactured). One method of data hunting will also employ a Wake Scanner.

RAW
These materials occur all over the galaxy and you may even stumble across some of them whilst mining asteroids, but there are other methods that require you heading down to the surface of a planet with your SRV. Check your system map and locate a planet that reflects the resource you are looking for in its planet properties, do a surface scan and head down to the surface - let the exploring begin! You will find asteroid fragments, geological features, crystalline deposits or even brain trees! These will all give you resources, hopefully weighted toward the resource you are looking for based on the planet info. Most of these resources you will have to dislodge utilizing your SRV weapon, once you've sniped your resource open your cargo scoop and collect your reward.

MANUFACTURED
These materials are most commonly gathered in High Grade Emission Sites (HGE) which can be found in many populated systems. This will involve you either, heading to the nav beacon of a system or, employing your Full System Spectrum Scanner (FSS); this will discover any High-Grade Emissions in that system. HGE's are effected by the state and/or allegiance of that specific system, the type of material you find is determined by those properties. As seen below.

Pharmaceutical Isolators - OUTBREAK
Military Grade Alloys - CIVIL WAR (Federation Systems)
Proto Heat Radiators - BOOM (Not in Alliance Systems)
Improvised Components - CIVIL UNREST (Independent Systems)
Military Supercapactors - WAR (Independent Systems)
Imperial Shielding - NONE (Empire Systems)
Core Dynamics Composites - NONE (Federation Systems)
Proto Radiolic Alloys - BOOM - HiTech/HiPopulation (Alliance Systems)

Other contributing factors could be the population densities and the minor faction states. Use a tool like INARA to narrow down your searches.

ENCODED
Data can be obtained from many places and requires you to use your Data Link Scanner, this module comes standard with your vessel. Common places include Jameson Memorial, a crashed ship that has some data points to scan, there are various wreckages dotted around the galaxy. Wake Scanning, simply park out at a busy station and scan all the wakes as folks jump out to carry on with their business. You will also recieve data for merely scanning other vessels, so make a habbit of checking out whose flying around in your neighbourhood, you might find a juicy pirate with a big bounty on his head.

TRADING
Remember that you can trade these salvaged items at Material traders, each material type has its own trader, just bear in mind trading up to a rarer material comes at a heavy price, but if your floating certain items, trade em off for ones you are short on.

Happy Salvaging Commander

o7

Alex Sinclair's avatar

This is another impressively clear and thoughtful entry. Thanks RicZA!

C

Take on missions that offer salvaging materials as it's the quickest ways to get exactly what you need.

Alex Sinclair's avatar

Thanks CMD-SCKIZ1 - we'll need a little more info if you're going to win a prize, can you expand a little? o7

V

Salvage?

Quite simply, "BE the Womble" - pick up things people leave lying around. And if there aren't things, then MAKE the things.... Yes, you can explore your nearby space for signal sources and pick over the bits like a crow but the very BEST salvage can be found when doing something else entirely.

Bounty Hunting. Res sites, hazardous nav beacons and the like. Take your "iron ass" (yes, that's a thing) and hunt for the wanted. It's a job that pays double - once for the bounty itself, and again for the salvaged materials....

Yes, you can scoop the old fashioned way - the mk1 eyeball and some piloting skills, but these days, collector limpets are your friend. Just keep an eye out for that illegal cargo.

...and if your local system breaks out into war - waste not, want not - take your collector to the warzone and help keep the local area tidy and free from debris - there might not be cargo, but there is always that little item you need for your next engineering trip.

Block9's avatar

My advice is to start mining on some asteroids with a basic ship and with a few million credits you can evolve to a better ship for combat or passenger transport. For combat it is recommended to buy an Anaconda ship and enter into small battles against Thargoids and thus little by little you will get a large amount of money in less than a week. For something more peaceful like passenger transport, you can buy an Orca and equip it with passenger lounges and thus pick up a lot of passengers and make some trips and earn a few million there. This method is a little slower but you can earn a lot of credits with it. And there is the old way of continuing mining with a Type 9 heavy and mining some valuable minerals. this worked for me and today i have many billions of credits accumulated and i hope it works for other CMDR too

Luriant's avatar

SALVAGE: The biggest category of items

First rule of salvaging, if can be done in ship, its faster. Driving the SRV its slow and can’t be simplified to a bunch of clicks, but sometimes it’s the only method.

Most valuable salvages:

Manufactured Mats: High Grade Emissions can be found in space in some systems, the faction and state decide the content, Inara will search all the factions instead the main one like the galaxy map. Only fly here (SCO recommended, because always spawn far form trade lines), drop and launch limpet controller, with Size 3 Operation/Mining multilimpet having 4 limpets, you only need cargo to bring extra limpets.

Raw Mats: Except for some minimal mats in asteroids, you will find this on surface…. But this don’t prevent the use of ships. Crashed Anacondas have cargo racks that can be destroyed by flaks, and collected with limpets. Brain Trees spawn lots of mats including some G4, break the fungus with flaks, retreat +750m to despawn the trees (low graphics), and launch limpet (B-rated and maybe big size, for more than 750 range). This avoid collision. Crystalline shards are a valid method that always spawn G4 mats, but are far away.

Data mats: You could scan jameson’s crash site beacons with your ship, or in a SRV, a good place will put your SRV in range of 5 beacons without moving, turret mode is a valid method and the exception to the “Use ship” advice. Go to Diaguandri to trade mats in what you really need.

Alien Salvage

Guardian item: Low G guardian worlds will provide lots of items, with guardian relic the rarest one because his place buried in the ground. The only reason to farm relic is some Community Goal, or the creation of Green Relics, use a SRV for this. For the rest of items, put the ship upside down in a Low G guardian planet, like and only relog to respawn the zone.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/r2dbjhIrrUk?feature=oembed

Guardian mats: Time to drive. You need to kill sentinels for some, or to break the panels. This pic show a good route for the desired guardian Tech Componentes, without fighting sentinels, planet Synuefe NL-N C23-4 B 3 , the guardian structure. And for the obelisk data, this place have 3 obelisk close in the Group F, beware the old legacy coords, bring your own DSS probes: https://ruins.canonn.tech/#GR43

Thargoid items: Anything that weight 1 ton (except meta alloys and human pods) its caustic, bring a corrosion resistant cargo rack, size 4 unlocked in Human Tech Broker, size 1 available in Palin Base ( the engineer workshop, no unlock needed).

Metaalloys, like guardian items, HIP 16171 C 1 its my desired spot with Low G. But install some lasers in your ship because you need to break the spires. Auto-deploy hardpoints when you shoot help me to save 1 key, and a good position could hit 2 spires at the same time, 2 small limpet controllers in the same firegroup of your weapon also save a key, and only cargo hatch need his own key. Relog to respawn in the same place and position.

Thargoid mats: This is harder, you need to kill scouts, use this guide and find a good signal with only scouts in Pleiades, far from any thargoid war, attack with Enhaced AX MC, and collect the parts. For Thargoid heart, needed for the Thargoid bobblehead, kill a Cyclops with 6x Shards in the anaconda, retreat and pick from the remain using big size B-rated collectors, beware the caustic cloud, range is important.

Thargoid scans: Only use the enhanced xeno scanner, distress signals in Pleiades or the bubble spawn peaceful thargoids from old events, wait for their approach and scan. Relog and repeat.

Thargoid Tissues: If scouts, leave one alive, tank the damage with good shields, and launch research limpets, the universal limpet collector launch 8 at the same time, but some size 1 research limpet also help. For thargoids, they will detect you when you drop, so store any previous tissue before going for more. Low heat under 20% and around 1-2 Km distance work, if possible low emission power plant, but use of heat sinks is valid, or even silent running. Second Ram Tah mission need one of each interceptor, except the hydra.

Maelstrom items: Caustic sinks, thargoid pulse neutralizer and pulse wave xeno scan if you want to approach the titan, and low heat. After a successful pulse scan, you have great places to shoot with the Abrasion Blaster, to drop more mats, other need a Research limpet to obtain the 1-ton item. For Human pods, shoot the subsurface extraction missiles (AX version of mining equipment), and release the trigger when in the blue zone, the above graph show resistance and how slow will be the slider below.

Tactical Chips: Enhanced AX Missiles, and limpet. Go to active titan and the closer Thargoid spire to him, find the revenants and shot missiles. Optional kill the banshee but it’s a hard target. Tactical chips are a rare drop, but like other mats, you obtain 3 units per collection. For horizons players without spires, Odyssey military settlements in barren worlds and inside the controlled zone, are reachable by you without having the DLC. Revenants exist here and your limpets could pick the item, but be fast because daddy interceptor will come to help.

Thargoid sensor and probe: Sensors have some place with one that respawn, with Canonn and Fandom systems and the easiest to obtain. The ones in the void, when gas giant with ammonia life are present, are broken and can be collected, but can be shoot and the sensor parts can be collected. Thargoid probe are harder. Back to the NHSS guide, try the ones with the scavenger symbol, target the item, launch the collector and be fast, because you are stealing in forn of the thargoid interceptor.

Thargoid structure mats: The scavengers can be killed while flying the ship, like tactical chips without retaliation. The data point need to be scanned with SRV. The items inside the structure need some thargoid sensors/probe/link to open the door, or crouching when on foot in some part of the door to trigger the detection movement in the other side. Inside, you can pick the link, and make the green relics if you drop the relic inside the pads. Leave the room ASAP if you don’t want to be cooked by the heat, and defend yourself from the scavengers. Once the room return to normal, pick the item.

SPACE LIFEFORMS:

If you find a lagrange cloud with life, the mollusk can be probed with research limpets, and maybe have some interaction like launching spires. It’s a low value item that weight 1 ton. Rock/crystals formation, even if made by some bacteria, can’t be probed.

ESCAPE PODS and other:

Menee system, above Ram Tah base, have 2 permanent distress signal that spawn escape pods, only enter and collect, relog to repeat, no need to suprecruise like HGE. The other option is megaships, scan the megaship (datalink scanner, hardpoints deployed), find the cargo hatch or escape zone, target sub-component and launch recon limpets. The operation multilimpet provide recon and collection. Sometimes the items become stuck in the megaship interior, relog and try again.

OTHER ITEMS:

Lots of hidden items in the game with zero use.

Trinkets of hidden fortune: A crashed ship in Mitterand Hollow

Hafnium 178: In LHS 2429 1 , (HIGH G planet, beware).

And other from old storyline or events, long forgotten. Or that spawn as target for some missions, like Rare Artwork, but if inside some ship cargo, will become stolen and need to be sold in black markets.

JHenckes's avatar

I love that you listed all (if not almost all) the best items to look for! I'm going to put my list aside and go for it!🙏🏻

Alex Sinclair's avatar

This is very thorough, thanks a lot Luriant

Toretto 70's avatar

take the mission and get into the ship, travel to the mission location looking the target and items then collect the salvage and then return to the station

JHenckes's avatar

I think one of the most important things before anything else is the ship: I'd bet on the Cobra MK III, mainly because of its cost-effectiveness and balance, it's a good ship. Then, get some limpet collectors to speed up your looting and never forget a shield generator, I learned the hard way how important it is to have one in any situation to avoid complicated situations that I can get involved.

With your preparations made, go after degraded emissions or abandoned settlements. These are usually good places to find good resources. Just be careful with anything marked as stolen, they should be sold on the black market to avoid problems.

The most important tip I received when I started this career was: start with low-level missions. I know your eyes light up at the profit from bigger missions, but the risk of going wrong is high, so start slowly to gain experience and practice! If you have to fight, know when to go into battle and when to run away, your ship will be good both ways!

CMDR Henckes's avatar

First thing to know. Salvaging is a simple activity in Elite Dangerous but it has its surprises. It was one of the first things that I started doing in my beginner of the game and I learned a lot how to play making this.

So you could do this using even your Sidewinder, it wont be very profitable but I think is a nice activity since there isn't so much profitable activity to do with your Sidewinder at the beginner, just kill Thargoid Interceptors. So as my recommendation I tell you to buy an new ship when you get enough credits, you can buy a Hauler, a Ader or a Cobra, they are cheap and nice ships, for me a prefere the cobra that has a little more speed and manoeuvrability to be able to escape the pirates that could show on the way. And don't forget to equip a decent shield to survive the first shoot from the pirates and a Collector Limpets Controller, to collect the canisters faster and DON'T FORGET YOUR LIMPETS.

Now finally you have to find the places to salvage, I started doing missions for do that, they show me the location that I can salvage, I get the item for the mission and the others you can sell. And the other method to find salvage is to explore a system and try to find Degraded Emissions, they will have debris of ships and you can salvage the materials and cargos that is around the debris, fly away and try to find another emission and after the cargo gets full you can go to a star port to sell your goods.

Imperial Senator Bluecrash's avatar

By telling you what not to Salvage on foot. Some alien artefacts can lead to chaos, lots of running, screams and explosions. Usually it starts with a lot of screaming... you never forget the screams.

What we are really looking forward to salvaging are some living dragon eggs from the Proto-Guardians. Our best guess is the Guardian artwork portraying them on bio-engineered dragon-like beasts was the only way to fight against their Metal-kind. The IA must of had some virus-type-of-mind control to drive the Guardians into such analogue methods of travel and hunt. The Guardian-Art of their horned riders was first seen on a star lit wall at Raxxla.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-h5xjBGWwtM?feature=oembed

USCSS's avatar

To get started in the world of salvage in Elite Dangerous, here are some beginner-friendly tips:

  1. Start with small tasks: Look for "Unidentified Signal Sources" (USS) or mission boards offering salvage jobs. These provide easy access to debris fields and wrecks.

  2. Basic equipment is enough: You don’t need an advanced ship. A modest vessel with a collector limpet controller and cargo space can get you started. As you progress, upgrade your equipment for better efficiency.

  3. Watch out for legalities: Some salvage, known as “illegal salvage,” may get you fined if you're caught, so make sure you check the mission details carefully.

  4. Sell your finds wisely: Sell your salvage at stations that offer the best prices or specific mission-related rewards.

H

A Beginner's Guide to Salvaging in Elite Dangerous

1. Understanding Salvage

  • What is Salvage? Salvaging involves locating and recovering valuable materials from damaged or destroyed ships. These materials can range from basic commodities to rare and valuable resources.

  • Why Salvage? Aside from the financial rewards, salvaging offers a unique gameplay experience. It's a mix of exploration, combat, and resource management.

2. Choosing the Right Ship

  • Basic Requirements: A ship with a strong hull and decent shields is essential for surviving encounters.

  • Recommended Ships: The Asp Explorer and the Cobra Mk III are popular choices for beginners. These ships offer a good balance of speed, cargo capacity, and firepower.

  • Essential Modules: A powerful mining laser is crucial for cutting through ship debris. A salvage limpet controller will help you collect the recovered materials.

3. Finding Salvage Targets

  • Combat Zones: These are hotspots for ship battles, and destroyed ships often leave behind valuable salvage.

  • Pirate Bases: These locations are frequently targeted by security forces, resulting in shipwrecks.

  • Signal Sources: Scan for signals that indicate shipwrecks or distress calls.

4. Salvaging Techniques

  • Cutting Through Debris: Use your mining laser to cut through the wreckage and access the valuable materials.

  • Using Salvage Limpets: Deploy salvage limpets to collect the materials and store them in your cargo hold.

  • Be Patient: Salvaging can be a time-consuming process. Be patient and methodical in your approach.

5. Tips for Beginners

  • Start Small: Don't jump into the deep end right away. Start with smaller ships and less dangerous locations.

  • Learn the Market: Understand the value of different materials and sell them at the best prices.

  • Join a Wing: Teaming up with other players can make salvaging more efficient and safer.

By following these tips, you can start your salvaging journey in Elite Dangerous and enjoy the rewards and challenges that this unique career path offers.

Alex Sinclair's avatar

Hi HeiseN. We've rejected your entry here, because it appears to have been written by generative AI. As Ford mentioned to you on another bounty, Just About exists to promote human creativity and knowledge. Please refrain from using generative AI on Just About in this way in the future.

V

Salvaging is probably the second easiest activity in Elite, the first is the delivery mission. The salvaging is just ate action to get some cargos in debris and sell in a station. With this in mind you need just tips to get this task easier and efficient.

  • Search cargos to loot in degraded emissions signals, but search for salvage missions this will help you to understand and give you another rewards.

  • Avoid get ilegal cargos, get ilegal cargos will call attention of the authorities.

  • Start with small ships, recommend a Hauler or a Adder, both have nice cargo capacity.

  • And last and not less important get a collector limpet controller and buy limpets. The use of limpets will get the salvaging faster, just keep in mind that limpets get all types of materials including the legals ones, remember to jet this kind of cargo to avoid problems.

R

Salvaging can either be a focussed activity, where you go out and seek the exact materials you need to craft your perfectly engineered build, or something you do whilst playing the game.

That's my preference, and you can do this through simple measures such as:

  1. Collect the dropped materials after destroying enemy ships

  2. Choosing the material reward from missions (Hexagon with a hole in it!)

  3. Target ships on your way in and out of stations, the minor data rewards build up. You can fit a wake scanner and grab some of those as well.

  4. Fill your pockets doing odyssey missions - don't get caught but if it's not nailed down it can go in your backpack. Check the data ports scattered around as well. EDOMH is great for telling you what is irrelevant.

L

Salvaging can be simple, profitable, and fun. Get a ship with a descent amount of cargo space and some combat capability (Python), take on some bounty missions or go drop yourself in a rez site and start taking out the trash. Pop those puppies like loot pinatas and pick up the goods. Yes, you can do the scoop and loop with your cargo scoop but collector limpet controllers are definitely the way to go (don't forget your limpets!). If you can only afford a controller that will only handle 1 limpet that's fine but you will really notice the difference with a 2 limpet controller. 3 limpet controllers are fine but not needed in my opinion.

The one thing that you really need to watch out for is the illegal cargo floating around out there. Make sure you know how to use your contacts screen on the left menu to ignore the illegal stuff. If you do decide to scoop the contraband, make sure that you've practiced using Silent Running and have heat sinks equipped.

Salvaging is an essential task if you're going to upgrade your boats since that's the best way to get your upgrade materials. Get good at it because you're going to need to do it a lot.

yan57436's avatar

First of all, it's crucial for new salvagers to recognize that not all salvage is legal

I would start by looking for signs of Degraded Emissions or Coded Emissions in Unidentified Signal Sources (USS). These signals often contain legitimate salvage, such as materials or cargo adrift in space. This will help you avoid penalties at the start.

Outfit a Collector Limpet Controller: An essential tool for effective salvage. It automatically collects cargo or floating materials making your life easier.

Understanding the rules: Make sure you only transport authorized goods in populated areas or be prepared to take part in smuggling operations with stolen items. Use the underground market to sell illicit salvage, but always be wary of security patrols when transporting stolen goods. However, I advise against collecting illegal items as a beginner, as it is quite difficult.

Choosing the right system: To make your life easier, explore regions with a history of conflict or piracy. The wreckage of battles often contains resources and cargo that will be of interest to you.

Start small: In the beginning, focus on smaller vessels, such as the Cobra Mk III or the Adder. These vessels are economical and can be equipped with essential components such as cargo holds, limpets and scanners.

I think that's the basics you need, and I thank my friend CMDR Henckes for guiding me when we started playing so that today I can give you tips hah

CMDR Henckes's avatar

Thanks for the mentioning, and maybe someday the student will surpasses the master! Great guide!!!

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