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=oembedGuardian 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.
