The story behind the Thargoid War is, as video game content goes, very well written. This article is going to focus on one small aspect of this conflict. If you like a good story, I highly recommend you investigate it. The story covers a couple hundred years, but is damn good!
Basically, in a nutshell, a long time ago (in a galaxy that's right here! 😁 ) humans tried to wipe out the Thargoids (the Cmdr Jamieson mission) which failed. They retaliated. Things went (sorta) quite. Then a guy named Salvation (who wasn't) tried to wipe them out again, and failed. The Thargoids responded by sending these mega-huge ships (called Thargoid Maelstroms or Titans) and have been attacking systems in the bubble. The war does not go well for the Thargoids (foiled by superior piloting skills!) and now these Spire sites have appeared! No clue what they are or do, but you can make a small fortune blowing shit up there!
OK....lets get to it shall we!?
What you will need:
- A heavily armoured ship
- An energy weapon to drop shields with
- A projectile weapon to kill things with
Note: None of these things require engineering! You can do this in an un-engineered ship no problem. That is, assuming your a half decent pilot 😁
First item, the ship.
This is a preference thing, and you'll get a dozen different answers from a dozen people. Keep in mind, it needs to be quick, very manoeuvrable, and can hold everything you need. For some that's a T-10, others an Anaconda, yet others the Cobra.
I prefer the Alliance Chieftain! It's quick, can take a pounding, and can hold everything you need.
Here's a link to EDSY for my un-engineered version: https://edsy.org/s/vghdGo8
Here's a link to my fully engineered version: https://edsy.org/s/vUdvUeY
Note: Whatever ship and loadout you decide on, DO NOT load any Guardian Modules on it. These will increase the rate of damage you take, and even attract certain badies to you!
Second item, the energy weapon.
The Thargoid you will be eviscerating is called Orthrus. The Orthrus has a shield rating of 6250. Before you can kill the thing, this shield needs to come down.
While any energy weapon will work, some are more effective than others.
For a totally un-engineered build, a Beam or Pulse Lazer will do.
If you have unlocked the Cytoscrambler power weapon from Archon Delaine, this is the best weapon to bring down Thargoid shields.
Third item, the projectile weapon
Once the Orthrus shield is down, you then need to cut through the 2500 points of hull.
Again, there are several weapons that can do this effectively, but for this article we'll focus on using the AX Missile Rack.
You want to load at least 2 missile racks onto your build, but the more you load, the faster the Orthrus will die.
Making your Millions (or Billions!)
With your ship build complete, you need to get that ship to a Spire Site. Cmdr Lilac Light has generously created a Google Sheet (click HERE) listing this and other details. Column P lists the Titan. Column C lists the system and D the planet. Pick one and head off!
When you get to the planet you should see a planetary site called "Thargoid Spire Site". Fly down and have a look around.
What you are looking for are Orthrus returning to the site. These will be the ones that hover around the base, scanning various points, then fly into the Spire.
Ignore the Orthrus that are heading up and away from the Spires. If you attack you will trigger the shutdown pulse. They also leave fairly quickly, so unless you are in a full wing of players, you will not be able to take it down before it jumps out.
Once you have identified your target, the process is simple:
- Take down the shield (energy weapon)
- Kill the Orthrus (projectile weapon)
Unfortunately, there will be some "complications".
Thargoid Scouts: Periodiclly, Scouts will jump in and just bug ya. You have two choices. Either take them out or ignore them and jump out once your Orthrus has been destroyed. Your choice.
Thargoid Revenant: These things partol the area around the Spires. When the detect you, they fire baby shutdown missle. These missiles will shutdown your ship for 5 seconds, but don't do any real damage. They're more annoying than anything else. The good news is, if you kill all the Revenant's in your instance, they rarely come back. You can use your missiles to take them out, but some players enjoy taking them out on foot. Again you have the same choice as the Scouts, deal with them or ignore them.
So that's it, pretty simple really.
Each Orthrus you take out will net (as of this article) 40 Million in bonds. Remember these bonds stay with you, even after death. Some players continue to take out Orthrus's until they die as a form of quick "reload & repair".
Once you get used to the area, you should be able to take out one Orthrus every 10 minutes, or 240 Million Credits in an hour.
Get together a wing of players and this increase very, very quickly. Personally I have made 1 Billion in less than an hour during Vang's Finance Friday events. Well worth joining!
If you have any questions, leave a comment here and I'll do my best to answer. Alternatively there are hundreds of Commanders out there, in-game or online, that can also help.
Fly dangerously Cmdr!