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Ground Missions (Elite Dangerous)
By ZanyScum
Some things to keep in mind during ground missions.
   
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ZanyScum
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Category: Gameplay Basics
Languages: English
Tags: Ground Missions, NPC Behavior
Posted
Updated
3 Apr, 2024 @ 11:46am
15 Feb @ 1:45am
770 Unique Visitors
17 Current Favorites
Guide Index
Overview
First thing to do 
NPC reaction 
Power Regulator 
Shuttle 
Misc 
Durations, Distances, Energy 
Comments
First thing to do
  • Always disable the "Settlement Alarms Console" first
  • Search consoles for it
  • Sometimes you see it without any authority
  • If is not in any room you can see but there is ONE room you can't look into because of missing authority...
  • Check (roof-)windows for it or get a higher authority until you find the "Settlement Alarms Console"
  • Sometimes NPCs wander in and out of buildings which need authority at the doors. Just run through the door. Nobody cares inside if you have the needed authority.
  • The console needs always some authority (1-3)
  • Sometimes you can just force it. Force any door open and kill everyone. Then copy an authority.
NPC reaction
  • NPCs react on sight and sound
  • You know how to handle sight
  • Learn how to handle sound
  • Create a shortcut for "walking". There are crouching / walking / running / sprinting. Running is your default behavior. Crouching is faster than walking. No joke.
  • There is a mod for your suit which makes you run much more silently.
  • Don't run behind a guard if you don't want to be scanned
  • Don't run out of a building
  • Don't run if you want to overload someone from behind
  • Overloading from the front is possible but needs preparation out of sight and is more difficult and fun
  • Killing someone can be heard through walls, but not through floors.
  • Killing and stealing and downloading can alert NPCs through windows.
  • Do not stand near a corpse to scan it. Go away (20m max).
  • Standing near a body makes you a suspect and some just start shooting.
  • Profile cloning works well if you are behind the target and the target is doing something
  • Destroying a Sentry Skimmer will activate the shields of the guards.
  • Disabling Atmosphere will draw guards there.
  • Sounds / events will draw guards, but only if they don't see you generating the sound / event.
  • Removed panels will draw attention
  • Overloaded door nodes will draw attention
  • "Authorized Area" or something like that is clearly visible, a band at medium height which crosses the entry. If you are seen inside, you are recognized as an invader at once.
  • Before the Settlement Alarms are disabled, always crouch in authorized-only areas, you can move through the room behind the backs of people or kill them before they start to shout and try to use their weapons.
  • After the Settlement Alarms are disabled, it depends on your mods, the mission's legality and your mood. If you have a silencer, just kill everyone inside authorized-only areas, but try to keep the bodies away from doors, so they can still close and the bodies will not be seen from the next room so easily. If it is an illegal mission you don't want to kill without successful (=bounty) scanning beforehand.
Power Regulator
  • Don't forget the Power Regulator, if you killed most/all of the population, there is no need to leave it behind
  • While the Power Regulator is going down, overcharge the doors to the outside and charge your suit to 100%
Shuttle
  • If you use shuttles to get everywhere, call the shuttle before you get the power regulator
  • If you are in a safe space, check the shuttle information. "Imminent" for longer than 1 minute means, it is not landing.
  • When the shuttle is bugged, just cancel it and book the same target again.
  • After booking a shuttle, if you hear "ready for boarding", you know it has landed.
  • Sometimes your shuttles are shot down. Just keep calling them.
Misc
  • Consoles show you the type of building you are in while you use the console. If there are multiple ones of that type, try to mark them and check the distance for each.
  • On legal missions, just scan the bodies after you kill them.
  • On non-legal missions, always scan before you kill or you'll get a bounty
  • On legal kill-one-person missions you can kill everyone in the settlement and not get a bounty (so far for me: true)
  • Either leave authorization scans alone, have a cloned authority and avoid guards or
  • Disable "Authorization Scans" and don't have cloned authority and don't have traceable stolen goods on you so guards can scan you without problem.
  • Use the console to track the last NPCs
  • Use the console to count the guards, so you can keep track when killing them.
  • Use the console to find the data pads if you can't find them yourself.
Durations, Distances, Energy
Context
Name
Duration / Distance
Shuttle
Booking to Landing
1 minute
Scanner
Range
20m
Scanner
Clone ID Range
10m
Reactor
Shutdown
3 minutes
Energylink
Cost of Transfer
7 energy
Energylink
Cost of Overload
22 energy
Energylink
Minimum Energy so Overload is working
38 energy
8 Comments
< >
Jack B. 9 Oct @ 12:55pm 
I just disable the Security Console always so I don't have to fight every single guard ever.
I could but I don't want to...
Chaka (FR) 11 Apr @ 5:07am 
Hi, i noticed i had security authorisation lvl 3 and was unable to see alarm panel in installation outside. I tried inside a building and i was able to see it on terminal. So it depends also if you are inside or outside if you can see alarm panel.
ZanyScum  [author] 26 Mar @ 2:33pm 
@Chaka Let's hope it stays that way. I can't imagine to play without being able to deactivate the alarm console. All guards with shields on, reinforcements coming in... no no no. I had that some times before I started doing it the right way, that is fun too but it takes so much time to "clean" a settlement if everyone has his shield up and reinforcements are no fun, at least not every time.
Chaka (FR) 11 Mar @ 10:08am 
So i repaired in launcher as you said (beware other people trying, it's very long) and gone back to settlements to see about the alarms. I was indeed able to see alarm location with security level 3 this time. So, maybe it worked. Thx anyway...
ZanyScum  [author] 6 Mar @ 5:17am 
If it happens often with different bases, then it is a bug on your side.
Because: it happened not once to me (yet). Not a really good reason, I know, but perhaps you should try the "repair" function of the Elite Launcher.
Chaka (FR) 6 Mar @ 5:13am 
Ah thx, i didn't understand. I hope it is reported. Then i use this site to find them:
https://www.quizengine.co.uk/omg/live/omg_1.1.html
But i don't like that because for me it is like "cheating" a bit.
Also i don't understand the difference between Terminal LO and Terminal > LO in the caption.
ZanyScum  [author] 6 Mar @ 4:42am 
@Chaka
Should be a bug. You are not alone: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/no-alarm-console.585005/
But I do not know if the settlement is really missing the console or if you just got a bugged level loaded where the console is missing. Had once one of my default bases 1/3 deeper, everything was in the ground, could not enter the buildings... it happens :-(
Chaka (FR) 1 Mar @ 8:41am 
Very nice guide about settlements. But i got security authority profile "3" and i was still unable to find in terminals any alarm console. Is it normal? Because i feel very disappointed.