I will almost always use EO on all ships if it is available. Just because it
really suits a particular playstyle that I happen to like.
For most of the game I play as a long-distance scavanger/explorer, and EO offers several things which are beneficial to doing that, all of which compound with other skills to make the whole process almost self-sustaining.
- Crew requirements are lowered
- Fuel usage is reduced, which combines with navigation skills
- Supply usage is reduced, which combines with industry and logistics skills
There are also industry skills which boost the amount of post-battle salvage recieved, which also adds to this effect and all combined eventually results in you in having an overall gain of supplies and fuel over time.
This leads to the only real limit of long-range flights being crew and cargo space. EO mitigates the crew limits somewhat, by giving you a larger margin in which your ships still function properly. So you can stay out longer with the same amount of crew.
And the expanded cargo/fuel mods can help with the other limit,
and EO offsets the downsides of those mods.
With a setup like this you can stay out on the fringe almost as long as you like.
And to that end, the other ability of EO comes into play. The increased rate of recovery between battles is
very valuable if you are leaning into a combat-heavy game, which doing this you definitely are.
Which also combines very well with the industry skill which lets your entire fleet recover a portion of it's readiness after every battle.
This does however mean that you
are taking a number of skills which are not nescessarily 'optimal'. And if this bothers you, then there's a good chance that you've either not explored this way of playing or have found it to be unenjoyable. And that's fine.
It's a 1P game, so there is no 'wrong' way to play so long as you're having fun.
Basically, I really like EO. And I don't even care that it's essentially an OP tax because it gives me so much in return.
I don't use EO because 9/10 times I take Navigation 3 and Fleet logistics 2. Half my game I play scavengers (love it!) so got the perk were D-mod reduce supply cost apply all the time, and you get more fuel after battle.
I used that same reasoning to 'double down' on those boosts, which turns out is quite good at giving you huge piles of supplies and fuel. So long as you keep pushing faces in.