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Author Topic: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?  (Read 12494 times)

Megas

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Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« on: February 16, 2019, 07:23:52 AM »

(Excluding non-campaign games like missions and tournaments.)

As soon as I acquire that hullmod, (almost) every ship in my fleet has it.  It is like Augmented Engines in prior releases, in terms of an automatic installation on everything.  The benefits enable more chain-battling (faster CR recovery), extends fleet range (less fuel use), and otherwise works wonders on logistics (the rest).

Efficiency Overhaul is sort of like Navigation or colony skills in Industry where the boosts are great, maybe to the point of must-have, but none of the benefits directly affect combat.  I guess since it does not directly impact combat beyond less OP available for actual combat stuff, maybe Efficiency Overhaul is not as glaring.  If anything, it gives NPCs the advantage since they do not worry about resources and can spend all of their OP on combat stuff.
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Wyvern

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2019, 07:59:16 AM »

I always try to fit it onto capital ships, since their fuel costs are so high compared to anything else - but otherwise I don't worry too much about it.  It's definitely one of the more useful logistics hull mods, but I don't think it really renders other options obsolete.
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Wyvern is 100% correct about the math.

Euphytose

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2019, 08:05:34 AM »

I put it on every non combat ship, but I never use it otherwise.
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Megas

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2019, 08:07:11 AM »

It seems more of an OP tax than rendering options obsolete.  I do not think Efficiency Overhaul renders anything obsolete, but it is so good at what it does that there is almost no reason not to use it if costs or logistics (or CR recovery between battles) is a significant problem.

What good is an optimized combat monster if you cannot support it, whether costs or simply lugging the thing far enough and back?
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MajorTheRed

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2019, 09:46:15 AM »

I nearly never use it.
Since I play exploration-driven game, I'm mostly found of Solar Shielding, Surveying Equipment, Expanded cargo hold and tanks. So I rarely have opportunity to put Efficiency Overhaul.
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DatonKallandor

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2019, 11:01:40 AM »

I almost never use it, there's just too many other hullmods or use for the OP that I find more important for my playstyle.
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ANGRYABOUTELVES

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2019, 11:02:51 AM »

I never use efficiency overhaul. You're right that it's good if costs or logistics are a problem, but I don't have cost or logistic problems. Maybe it's just because I'm good at the game, but money isn't ever a problem in vanilla. Even before you get a colony up, there's a ton of ways to make easy money; smuggling runs, bar missions, low-level pirate station bounties, etc.
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xor0

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2019, 11:22:19 AM »

It would have been good on previous versions that were actually difficult, but the present version is rife with free stuff everywhere. Also, expanded cargo and fuel tanks do the same thing and only need to go on two (noncombat) ships.
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Megas

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2019, 12:01:46 PM »

I do missions and stuff for money, before I get the first colony up.

Expanded cargo and fuel tanks is nice before I get Efficiency Overhaul.  Once I have EO, then I do not need those mods (as much as EO) anymore.  Extra crew might still be handy when hauling people for that first colony early.
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SCC

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2019, 01:45:54 PM »

EO is useful on combat ships taken on exploration voyages, since it means it isn't as expensive, and even with OP spent on EO, they're still better than combat freighters. Later on, I might save it for just my most important ships that I tend to deploy often, just because of the repair and CR recovery bonus. It's not a be-all, end-all logistic hullmod, but it's a very useful one. Though I have to say that it's a must-have on freighters, since they're logistic ships, and logistics-boosting hullmod is a very good for those. In the next version, there's going to be a little choice between EO and militarized subsystems + expanded cargo holds/auxiliary fuel tanks, but at the moment there's a bug that makes militarized subsystems not remove maintenance penalty for cargo, fuel and crew expansion hullmods.
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Euphytose

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2019, 03:22:57 PM »

Is it considered a bug by Alex? I always thought it was based on the initial state of the hull, and thus working as intended.
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Megas

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2019, 03:36:12 PM »

Most of my endgame fights are on "exploration voyages" since pirates and pathers would be happy with my fleet doing nothing and letting them bypass colony defenses and hurt my colonies (or core worlds I want to raid) in some way.

Not to mention named bounties or deserters, which spawn some distance away from inhabited systems.
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Plantissue

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2019, 03:54:39 PM »

Seems rather pointless to me. You can always just buy another ship. It's only really useful if you got a full 30 ship fleet.
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Recklessimpulse

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2019, 04:19:22 PM »

I don't find it a no brainier at all, if your storm riding solar shield can save significant amounts in CR recovery, and even with the cost savings I find I value increased sensor range on the map more, or while exploring survey cost reductions can add up significantly as well if your surveying everything under the sun and other suns as well so I almost never find a reason to use it.
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Megas

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Re: Is Efficiency Overhaul a no-brainer in the campaign?
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2019, 04:28:06 PM »

Seems rather pointless to me. You can always just buy another ship. It's only really useful if you got a full 30 ship fleet.
What another ship?

Most of the stuff I like to use is the rare stuff I need to raid markets for their blueprints.  If I have all of the blueprints I want to replace everything I want, and enough Heavy Industries to produce capitals in a month, I probably have already won the game due to all of the grinding I need to do to get everything.  Plenty of best stuff, especially capitals and high-grade weapons, is not on the common tech packs.


Solar shielding is good, as well as surveying.  Survey is often the #2 hullmod after Efficiency Overhaul on my faster non-combat ships, and occasionally combat ships too.  I probably would use solar shielding if I want to grind Remnants.  Yes, solar shielding for storm riding can be good too, and I have done that when I found Solar Shielding early and not enough of everything else yet.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2019, 04:38:41 PM by Megas »
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