Here's one for the galactic botanists! Welcome to the seventh reward in our 'how to get into' series. For these rewards, we want you to share tips and advice explaining how to get started and progress through Elite's various official and unofficial careers. Having covered mining, salvage, bounty hunting, exploration, trade, and piracy, we're moving onto exobiology!
So share your best guidance for new-to-intermediate Elite Dangerous players who want to make exobiology their career of choice. There's no minimum or maximum word count for this bounty, but we expect at least a few sentences. If your entry is longer than a few paragraphs, please use subheadings for reading ease. If you enter with video, be sure to first connect your account (see below).
Image credit: Frontier Developments and Mr T, as seen here.
I have to say that, even though I have been playing this fantastic game for many years, I am very new to the exobiology activity. One thing that has helped me to do this activity better is definitely having used an external tool for Elite Dangerous.
I am talking about the EDCOPILOT tool which is a truly extraordinary tool. In addition to having many advanced functions and a very fun talking on-board computer, it also has a function that allows you to keep track of exobiological research.
In fact, set up properly, when you enter a system, it immediately indicates if there are planets or moons that have scannable life forms. In the dedicated tab, it even says if they have already been discovered, and if someone else has already scanned them, it provides the type and coordinates to find it.
Furthermore, after scanning, it says how far away you have to go to find another sample and, when you have reached that distance, which is the distance needed to find new samples.
If no one has scanned yet, it says that a scan is needed, and in this case, it does not provide the coordinates, but still indicates the distance after the first scan. This tool provides, if installed and set correctly, even an in-game uhd to see in which direction the coordinates are.
Exobiology is an easy task to do and also profitable in terms of credits.
I will explain it in the easiest and simplest way.
Suit:
We will have to equip ourselves with the Artemis suit that is sold in any Space Station
Tools:
We will have to have the “Genetic Sampler” that does not need to be purchased because it is already included in the Artemis suit
Ship:
We can choose any ship, but in some circumstances the smaller the ship the better.
(There are biological organisms that are found in mountainous areas where it is difficult to land with a large ship, it is even difficult to land with a medium ship)
Ship module:
After using the system map to check which planets have biology, we will use the "Detailed Surface Scanner" to scan the surface of the planets which will tell us what types of biology there are
We will proceed to fly over the surface of the planet looking for biological organisms. Once we find them, we will proceed to use the “Genetic Sampler” to scan them. We will have to scan 3 organisms of each type to fill the “Genetic Sampler”
Once the process is complete, we will proceed to go to any Space Station and look for the “Vista Genomics” section where we can sell the data we have acquired.
First, buy the Artemis suit as it is equipped with a Genetic Sampler, then choose your favorite ship to explore equipped with any SRV and DSS or build one. Now all that's left is to find the right place, for people who want to make money quickly, I recommend using the planet system from the link below - it shortens the time to look for these planets and arranges them along the way, and for the rest, just find a planet with an atmosphere and scan it and it will show you always at least one plant. And now you're rich and u got some nice views with it.
I've once submitted an infographic and it was about Exobiology. Only one thing I'd added about it as of today is adding the Mandalay as a very good option for this activity, given it has small footprint to land almost as everywhere as the Courier, very SCO-optimized which saves you a lot of time if a planet is far away.
Other thing worth mention is a tool called Elite Observatory with BioInsight add-on, it's a very useful tool if you're after making efficient money, lets you know what kind of species to expect and their value as long as you've finished your FSS.
I am a big fan of images with information, so I decided to create a diagram with all the relevant information on how to start in exobiology. Take a look:
exobiology is a great way to make money but it also requires certain requirements
1) own the Odyssey expansion which allows exobiology
2) Buy an exploration ship that allows a large Jump range like the Diamondback explorer ( equip it with class A modules and pre-engineered FSD)
3) buy the Artemis suit inside the space stations Pioneer supplies, this includes the genetic sampler ( the only one that allows you to scan biological and zoological species)
4) buy a Hangar module for the ship and buy an SRV
5) go to a system and scan ( With the D -Scanner and Dettailed Surface Scanner) it and hopefully there is an organic and zeological form
6) land on the planet where there is an object to scan (these are marked in blue)
7) find the Exobiology , equip the Genetic Sampler and the scan begins
8) return to the ship
9) go to a space station and report the discovery to vista genomics
Its pretty Easy u need an Artemis Suit with the Scanner Equipped and a Planet with some Biological Sites. These are best find with a Surface Scan Drones who you can Shoot and Scan the Whole planet.
After that u can fly to the Sites and Need to Scan 3 Biological Anomalies and u can bring the Results to Vista Genomics on Station to sell your Probes and get a Reward.
To become an exobiologist, first you need to buy an Artemis suit, because without it you will not be able to scan biological species.
Then we need a ship that has a good jump, as an example is the Diamondback Explorer it has a pretty good jump, even without fsd guards, but proengineer fsd I recommend.
And then on the way, what direction to choose is at your discretion, because there are many star systems, and in any of them you will definitely be the first.
(The price for discovering a system first increases the price of exobiology 5 times, I think.)
Exobiology in Elite Dangerous allows players to scan and catalog alien life forms on planets with atmospheres, introduced with the Odyssey expansion. Here's a quick rundown:
- *Equipment*: Requires an Artemis suit with a Genetic Sampler to collect samples.
- *Profit*: Selling data to Vista Genomics can be lucrative, with bonuses for first discoveries.
- *Rank*: Progress through Exobiologist ranks by selling data, aiming for Elite status.
- *Strategy*: Use tools like the Detailed Surface Scanner to locate biological signals. Planets with specific conditions (like atmosphere type) host different species.
- *Community*: Tools like EDSM and guides on platforms like Reddit and YouTube provide routes and tips for efficient exobiology.
Exobiology is a role recognised by the Pilot Federation that involves scientific activities on foot. Exobiologists must use the genetic sampler, which is included only with the Artemis suit, to collect samples of alien life forms and then sell them to Vista Genomics. This is a new mechanic introduced in the game from the Odyssey expansion, so it obviously requires gameplay on foot.
Not exclusively necessary, but of vital importance, the Commander must equip the ship with a Full Spectrum Scanner and a Detailed Surface Scanner, necessary to detect exobiology on the surface of an astronomical body. In the same way, it is highly recommended to have a SRV, preferably the Scarab model with Sonar.
From the ship
The search for specific locations where biological species can be found is a very important part of this mechanic. Planets with an atmosphere and that are landable must be checked, and once on the chosen body, the planet must be mapped with the surface scanner, which will indicate the presence of the various species on that body. It is likely that the signals will overlap, so that several species will be found in the same area.
The initial search for biological features should be conducted directly from the ship, flying at low altitude from the surface. Certain biological elements will be more easily detectable than others.
On the surface
Once the element is located and the ship has landed, the Commander can disembark on foot or by SRV, always with the Artemis suit equipped.
The scanner will show if there are scannable biological elements through a wave, marking in green those that have not yet been collected, and in purple those that have.
For each species, 3 different biological samples should be taken sufficiently far apart to indicate their diversity. If during the collection of one of these 3 samples, the Commander takes a sample of another species, the counter will be reset.
Biological elements tend to cluster around a certain area, so if one star sector has a cluster of biologicals, it is very likely that other stars in the neighbourhood have the same types and clusters.
Once the Commander have collected 3 samples of each biological element, it is ready to be sold as exobiology data at any Vista Genomics office.
Additional tips
All this could be done without scanners on the ship and without a SRV, but it is easy to understand that the process is going to be done virtually blind, without knowing for sure if there are biologics on the celestial body, what kind of biologics are present, and with long walks being necessary without a vehicle.
If the Commander wish to play this playable role in depth, remind that there are upgrades for the Artemis suit, such as: additional sprint, additional jump, additional battery.
Likewise, if this playable mechanic is complemented with exploration, it is advisable to try to do it away from the bubble, since in addition to getting rewards for Vista Genomics sales, there are also high rewards for being the first to scan a celestial body by making a first footfall.
List of exobiological elements
Aleoida
Amphora Plant
Anemone
Bacterium
Bark Mound
Brain Tree
Cactoida
Clypeus
Concha
Crystalline Shard
Electricae
Fonticulua
Frutexa
Fumerola
Fungoida
Osseus
Recepta
Sinuous Tuber
Stratum
Tubas
Tussock
(The translation has been done with the help of deepl.com.)
First you will need the Artemis suit so that you can scan life. Each life form needs to be scanned 3 times and they need to be a certain distance away from each other so between most scans I will just jump back in my ship and fly for a few seconds and look for more of the life I am trying to scan
Second you want a fast and small ship. I use the Imperial Courier for these reasons and because its sleek and has a nice view from the cockpit.
This is the build I use it boosts to 851m/s and can fly at over 300m/s with the landing gear down so you can quickly land scan and take off and repeat 2 more times quickly per organism. If you don't choose the Courier I would still make sure to choose a small ship so that you can land to scan life easier. Small ships with level 3 thrusters can also be equipped with performance enhanced thrusters which make these ships crazy fast which is what you want to speed up your scanning.
If you want to do this to make money I would recommend getting the Elite Observatory program and the Bioinsights plugin. These will give you in game overlays for how much an organism is worth and you can set a price minimum for the app to notify you if a planet you scan with the FSS scanner has life that meets your minimum threshold. I set my minimum threshold to about 7 million credits.
If you want to make the most amount of credits you need to scan life that no one else has scanned before meaning you need to go to systems that no one has been to before or make sure that you will be the one to make first footfall which you can check for in the system map. If you are the first to turn in a bio scan you get 5X the payout. Stratum Tectonicas is the highest paying bio scan at around 19 million credits so when you are the first to scan it and turn it in you get almost 100 million from one bio scan.
To find less traveled space go around 1000 ly from the bubble BUT do not fly towards the center of the galaxy or you will need to fly more like 3000ly away. Once you get about 1000 ly away in your route planner in the galaxy map switch to economical route plotting and then just choose a system a few hundred light years away and slowly make your way there honking and FSS scanning every undiscovered system and wait for your bioinsights to tell you a planet meets your criteria.
Here we go, let's head towards the black and find some tasty brain trees.
What You Need
A Ship:
Any ship should do the job, but I still recommend using a small or medium explorer ship. The reasons are simple: first, a longer jump range makes it easier to reach distant destinations, and the farther you go from the bubble, the more likely you are to find unexplored planets and exo-life. Second, smaller or medium ships have a smaller landing footprint—sometimes landing an Anaconda on a planet's surface can be extremely annoying.
I personally recommend ships like the Mandalay, the Krait series, Asp Explorer, or Diamondback Explorer. However, I once saw someone on JustAbout mention that the Hauler can also be a good ship for exobiology. I tried building one on Coriolis, and it seemed to work fine.
I'll post the build in the comments below since the website considers Coriolis shortlinks as video links and asks me for verification, lol. It’s good for beginners, since it only costs 2.5 million credits to build the ship and requires only one FSD engineering mod.
Remember to bring a Detailed Surface Scanner and a Planetary Vehicle Hangar!
The Artemis Suit:
You'll need the Genetic Sampler to collect samples.
And that's basically everything you need for the task. Simple, right?
Your Standard Routine
Leave the bubble as far as you can.
As I mentioned earlier, the farther you leave the bubble, the more likely you are to encounter unexplored systems, and the easier it will be to find exo-life, especially with the first-discovery bonus.
Use the Full Spectrum Scanner to identify your target.
Use the FSS to scan all the planets in the system. If a planet (or moon) has exo-life on it, you should see a "Biological Signal" notice in the upper-right corner of the screen when you scan it.
Fly towards your target and launch the DSS probe.
Fly close enough to your target and use your Detailed Surface Scanner (DSS) probe to fully map it. Once the scan is complete, you should see blue marks on the surface of the planet, indicating the distribution of a certain exo-lifeform. If you land in one of those blue-marked areas, you should be able to find the corresponding lifeform. You can switch the filter to see the distribution of other lifeforms if there are multiple on the planet.
Land and scan.
Head to the blue-marked areas and fly close to the surface so you can visually check if there's a sample nearby. Once you find one, land your ship and disembark. Equip your Genetic Sampler and scan the sample.
You need to sample the same exo-life three times to collect enough data for analysis. The three samples should be far enough apart from each other to ensure genetic diversity.
Many people prefer to go back to their ship and take off, using the ship to find another spot for sampling. However, I personally prefer using the SRV. Both methods are fine. Whichever vehicle you use, just make sure to leave the previous spot far enough behind (around 3 km or so) and find another spot to take a sample. Repeat the process to collect three different samples.
And that's it! You've just collected your first exo-biological sample. You can sell it to Vista Genomics and make a lot of money.
Additional Tips for Bacterium Hunting
Bacterium can be extremely hard to find at times. They look like mats on the surface and are very difficult to spot when using an SRV. You can turn on your free camera view (Ctrl + Alt + Space), set your camera to bird’s eye view, lock it, and then start your SRV. Bacterium are much easier to spot from the sky.
These tools are perfect and Exploration Buddy is going to show you the potential values of Exobiology so you're not wasting time on low payouts. I will also list the suns and what will most likely be found.
A Class: Mostly brown dwarfs, typically boring. B Class: Low mass, basic systems. C Class: Start finding Earth-like planets and unique objects. D Class: Best for exobiology and Earth-like planets. Most discoveries happen here. E Class: Rarer, often harder to navigate directly between systems. F & G Class: Increasing mass and rarity, often with exotic features. H Class: Ultra-rare, one per sector. Expect black holes, Wolf-Rayet stars, and other fascinating phenomena.
Getting into Exobiology is simple once you understand the star system and what could potentially live in these systems. Always filter out your routes and leave out suns that will not contain life or a very low probability. This will make your route very rich in exobiology but it will also make you rich in general.
I recommend not straying from this to make it easier or it will make exobiology boring. Discovering your first stratum and getting a high payout is really nice!
The Odyssey expansion is required so you can land on atmospheric planets and scan on foot
Buy an Artemis suit, if you're lucky you could pick up a pre-engineered one
You needs a ship, preferably one with good jump range
You need a Detailed Surface Scanner so you can scan the planet before landing on it. After scanning the planet you can cycle through the different exo-biologicals on that planet to see where they are likely to be.
Each type of exo-biological has to be scanned 3 times and each scan has to be a fair distance away from the last one
You sell your findings at Vista Genomics, either at a space port or a fleet carrier that has that facility installed
MyRecommendations
If it's your first time I would suggest finding out what certain types of exo-biologicals look like beforehand. Although all exo-biologicals are unique, those of the same type are generally a similar size and shape. It helps to know that when you go searching for them. After you've been doing it for a while you'll get the hang of what they look like
An SRV is optional but can be useful to have so you don't have to walk or fly so much
Bacterium is hard to find in an SRV. I'd suggest using an external view from your ship and slowly fly over flat ground where it is likely to be
I'd take a really small ship just because some rough surfaces are quite difficult to land on, for me that's the Diamondback Explorer. I also have an module installed to auto land if I need to turn that on to find a landing area
I personally made a video tutorial mixed with comedy about this subject. But I can talk a little about the basics.
To be able to work with exobiology you need a specific spacesuit called Artemis, and a ship with detailed surface scanning to scan the planets. Once you get to the planet, you just need to scan the organisms 3 times, each in different locations (I can explain this in the video). After finishing the 3 scans, you just need to return to a station and sell the scanned data.
For easier landings it's better to use small ships - for example the Cobra MkIII, Cobra Mk V and Dolphin all make excellent exobiology ships.
At a minimum, you'll need a DSS equipped on your ship and you'll need an Artemis suit. An SRV is useful if you plan to drive on planet surfaces.
Locating biologicals
To find exobiology to sample, visit a system and start FSSing bodies. If the FSS shows the body has biological signals then pay it a visit. Map the body with the DSS and it will show you all the Genus present on the body. If there are multiple Genus on the body, select one and then head to the planet surface in any of the shades of blue - I find I have the best luck in the turquoisey areas.
You can either stay in your ship to try and find the species or you can jump in your SRV (if you have one) and drive about. I prefer the SRV but many prefer ship - just don't go too fast or too high, or you'll miss what you're looking for.
Sampling
Once you find something, jump out of your vehicle (in your Artemis suit) and use the sampler to take a partial sample of the species. This will confirm the genus, species and variant of the exobiology. Next you need to travel far enough away from the sample and then locate another. Depending on the genus, you need to travel anywhere from 100m to 1km. If you're too close to the next sample, it will be blue rather than green when you use the sampler pulse, and not let you take a sample due to lack of genetic diversity.
Keep taking samples of the same species until you have 3 partial samples - this will complete the sampling, then you can locate the next genus and repeat. This might require you getting back in your ship and going back into orbit to see the areas the different genus are located in.
Third-party software
I strongly recommend using 3rd party software to help you when it comes to exobiology. There are addons that will attempt to predict what biologicals will be on a body before you map it which can enable you to focus on high value species. They can also tell you when you've travelled far enough away from your last sample. There are a number of them but BioInsights and EDBuddy are a couple of good options.
