An Odyssey guide on farming tissue samples from Thargoid Titans
17 Jun 2023Hanchen
The progressive introduction over the few past months of various modules for Thargoid Maelstrom exploration has given CMDRs the opportunity to reach the centre of the Maelstroms, discover the Thargoid motherships also referred to as Titans, and collect various engineering materials and/or commodities from them. The exact purpose of many of these materials is still unknown at the time of the writing of this guide, but the introduction of the latest Community Goals this week has finally given an incentive for CMDRs to farm and collect Titan Tissue Samples. Tissue samples are corrosive cargo commodities that exist in several types (deep/regular/partial samples either, from the Titan or its maw) and can be obtained exclusively from a Thargoid Titan, making them extremely valuable and hard to obtain. In this guide, I wanted to provide advice and guidance to CMDRs wondering how to collect such samples, as well as the various engineering materials available at the Titan. One disclaimer: Thargoid Titan farming is a very dangerous activity that is definitely aimed towards CMDRs in the end-game, since an access to (Horizons) engineers, various modules locked at technology brokers and plenty of credits to pay for an occasional rebuy are mandatory.
A Thargoid Titan found at the centre of a Maelstrom, with its maw occasionally glowing yellow when an Interceptor is released or dock with the mothership.Outfitting a Maelstrom farming ship
Titan farming is a very dangerous activity for which a very specialised build is strongly advised to lower the chances of you meeting the rebuy screen as much as possible. More specifically, the ship must fulfill the following requirements:
- Be as fast as possible to evade hyperdictions and interdictions by Thargoid scouts and Interceptors unscathed. A boosting speed of at least 500 m/s is recommended more specifically.
- Have a large enough internal capacity to equip cargo racks, limpet controller(s) and hull and module reinforcements.
- Have as many utility mounts as possible since reaching the centre of a Maelstrom requires many different types of utlity modules. 3 utility mounts is the absolute necessary minimum, but having 6 or 8 will definitely make the farming experience more convenient.
- Be able to fight back against Glaives, since a large population of them can be found near the Titan, and jumping to a Thargoid controlled system leads to a fairly high chance of being hyperdicted by one.
Core internals:
- Military Grade Composite armour with heavy duty engineering modification and deep plating experimental effect to maximise hull hit points while keeping the rebuy cost as low as possible.
- Low emission power plant with thermal spread experimental effect to be able to stay in silent running without overheating for as long as possible.
- Dirty-tuned thrusters with drag drives experimental effect to be as fast and agile as possible.
- D-rated long range sensors as it provides the best balance between range and mass.
- A-rating the life support is not mandatory, but recommended since the difference in mass between A-rated and D-rated is relatively small after applying the lightweight engineering modification.
- A 7C universal limpet controller is strongly recommended as collection, research and repair limpets are important for Titan farming. With this module equipped, it is not necessary anymore to waste several internal slots to equip various limpet controllers.
- At least a size 4 corrosion resistant cargo rack is indicated since tissue samples are corrosive.
- An AFMU and at least one size 5 module reinforcement package are recommended since Glaives have the annoying habit to destroy random internal modules.
- As many heavy duty/deep plating hull reinforcement packages or Guardian hull reinforcement packages should be equipped to raise your hull hit points. Engineered human hull reinforcements are heavier than the Guardian ones and require engineering materials, but do not consume power and therefore allow you to stay slightly cooler.
- A shield is not mandatory since it is disabled anyway while activating silent running. I personally like to equip a very light one (enhanced low power/low-draw biweave) to absorb potential scout damage during interdictions, but other CMDRs may find the size 6 internal slot more useful for other modules.
- Gimballed enhanced AX multicannons are the best weapon to deal with Glaives by far, so equipping them is recommended. Having 4 of them or more (with a weapon stabilizer equipped) is a matter of preference.
- I found a fixed beam laser with long (or even short) range engineering and thermal vent experimental effect to be very useful to lower your temperature while farming the Titan in silent running, thus allowing you to save heat sinks.
- An abrasion blaster is recommended to obtain engineering materials at the surface of the Titan, but not mandatory since regular weapons such as beam lasers or multicannons can also destroy the surface deposits. Just keep in mind that the yield will be much higher with an abrasion blaster than a regular weapon.
- A Thargoid pulse neutraliser is mandatory to get through the massive EMP wave triggered by the Titan when you approach the centre of the Maelstrom. This module can be unlocked at any technology broker on a rescue megaship. Unfortunately, it is arguably one of the most difficult to unlock, requiring 1 unclassified relic, 5 massive surge analytics (acquired by throwing yourself at the EMP wave of the Titan), 5 propulsion elements (acquired by destroying Thargoid Scouts or Caustic Generators) and 5 sensor fragments (acquired by destroying a Thargoid sensor with a SRV on some surface sites). The procedure to obtain an unclassified relic will not be covered in detail in this guide, but to briefly summarise it: bring 3 Guardian relics and one Thargoid artifact (e.g. sensor or probe) in a Scarab SRV to a crashed Thargoid Titan. The Thargoid artifact in the SRV cargo is mostly there to open the door of the crashed structure. After inserting the three relics in the machine at the centre of the structure, scan it to activate it. This process will turn all relics into unclassified type, while making the present Thargoid scavengers hostile and generating lots of heat. Collect the unclassified relics with your SRV and then exit the structure.
- Caustic heat sink launchers are strongly recommended to get through the caustic cloud surrounding the Titan without taking too much hull damage. It should be noted that the centre of the Maelstrom where the Titan lies is not a caustic environment. For this reason, I found out that 3 caustic heat sink launchers (preferably engineered with increased ammo capacity) are enough for one trip to the Titan without having to waste materials on synthesis. A previous guide of mine on how to unlock this module at the tech brokers can be found here: https://inara.cz/elite/cmdr-logbook-entry/350242/76529/
- The recently released 0C Xeno scanner that is available in regular outfitting at several stations or rescue megaships is needed to easily find points of interest on the surface of the Titan. It is composed of a regular Xeno scanner to scan Thargoid craft such as Interceptors, Glaives or Scouts, and a P-Wave scanner to reveal points of interest on the Titan. Only the second one is required in the farming loop.
- I would recommend to fill the rest of the utility mounts with regular heat sink launchers that are very useful to make your ship harder to target in emergency situations. The Sirius modified version that is available at tech brokers on Sirius megaships (at the cost of engineering materials) is recommended as it can hold more heat sinks than the regular one with the increased ammo capacity modification.
Once your ship is ready, fill it with limpets and head towards one of the 8 Maelstrom systems (although I recommend against going to Hadad in HIP 30377 because of the very long supercruise time needed to reach the Maelstrom, which means more interdictions).
In case of a hyperdiction/interdiction by Scouts or an Interceptor, simply boosting away should be enough for you to escape the encounter unscathed. In case of a hyperdiction/interdiction by a Glaive, things unfortunately become more complicated since destroying it is the easiest way to escape. Basically keep firing at it with your enhanced AX multicannons until it dies. Do not worry about the hull or module damage you took from the battle since you will have the opportunity to repair it later, and keep progressing towards the Maelstrom.
When you drop from supercruise at the edge of the caustic cloud surrounding the Maelstrom is the first opportunity you have for repairs since - oddly enough - Thargoids do not spawn in this location. Feel free to take as much time as needed to repair anything you want (repair limpet for the hull, AFMU for modules), and then head into the caustic cloud.
Once inside the caustic cloud, progress towards the centre of the cloud without boosting so that your heat remains below 20% to prevent Caustic Generators from exploding in your face. I personally find convenient to put all caustic heat sink launchers inside the same fire group, and release all of them at once when they are full. Once you get close enough to the centre, the Titan will start to charge its EMP pulse. Put 4 pips in SYS and trigger your Thargoid pulse neutraliser to prevent the EMP from pushing you back outside of the cloud. After the wave has passed, put back 4 pips in ENG and keep flying towards your destination. Normally, the Titan should have time to launch only one or two EMP waves at you before you reach it.
You will know you have arrived at the centre of the cloud when you start seeing asteroids. The zone inside the asteroid field is non-caustic and Thargoids usually do not explore its edges, which means that this is a perfect place for repairs as well. Once ready, head towards the Titan that lies at the centre of the field. Keep your heat below 20% by avoiding boosting. As soon as you spot a Thargoid craft on your radar, activate silent running. In my experience, the Thargoid Glaives, Scouts and Interceptors that populate the asteroid field can still spot you while in silent running if they get too close to you (usually within 2 kms). They also have more difficulties to spot you when you are very close (i.e. 500-1000m) to the surface of the Titan, which might be due to the fact that having a direct line of sight greatly improves their odds of detecting you, and that it is relatively easy to hide inside the crevasses at the surface of the Titan. When trying to hide, try to avoid spots where the Titan releases Thargoid craft (i.e. the maw, and some exits on the side of the mothership that release Scouts and Glaives).
Once close to the Titan surface, you are basically ready to farm tissue samples and other materials.
Ready to farm the Titan!Farming tissue samples and engineering materials
Once close to the Titan (in silent running), deploy your P-Wave Xeno scanner and activate it to reveal points of interest at the surface of the Titan. Note that because the Titan is so huge, it is likely you might not find anything of interest near you, so you might have to look for points of interest for a while. Always stay close to the Titan surface to reduce the chances of being detected by a Thargoid craft while moving around. I personally like to put the P-Wave scanner and the thermal vent beam laser in the same fire group to reduce my heat levels while in silent running without having to use a heat sink. Please note that using weapons against the Titan may make it hostile and deploy its hardpoints, but as long as you stay in silent running, it should not be able to detect and fire at you.
On the surface of the Titan, you will find two different types of farming locations:
- Some surface material deposits that can be destroyed with a weapon or an abrasion blaster, and that yield Hardened Surface Fragments (from Coarse Hull Surface deposits), Phasing Membrane Residue (from Launch Tube Membrane Residue) and Heat Exposure Specimen (from Heat Vent Abrasions) engineering materials. Their usage is unknown at the time of writing of this guide.
- Some tissue limpet points that yield the tissue samples you are looking for. To obtain a sample, make sure your ship is facing the limpet point first, then select its subsystem in your left navigation panel, and launch a research limpet at it.
Extracting a Titan tissue sample from a limpet point.Getting a regular or maw tissue sample is a matter of whether the tissue limpet point you are farming is located near the maw of the Titan or not. The tissue sample quality seems to be determined randomly. Note that the same limpet point may be reused several times, although this seems to be set randomly for each point (between 1 and 3 times in my experience). Keep farming tissue samples until you are bored of it, fill your cargo hold, or end up being detected.
If you are detected ...
Being detected by a Thargoid craft (Scout, Glaive or Interceptor) might happen even when in silent running if one of them passes too close (within 2km in my experience) while also having direct line of sight to you. In that case, do not panic. Boost away from the Titan while staying in silent running, using heat sinks to lower your heat levels if needed, and reach the edge of the asteroid field. Once there, you should be able to fight back any Scout or Glaive without being bothered by other Thargoid crafts or the mothership. Once dead, spend any time needed for repairs and go back to the Titan in silent running. If an Interceptor followed you on the other hand, it is advised not to fight back since enhanced AX multicannons tend to be less effective against them due to their relatively low armour penetration. In that case, flee towards the edge of the asteroid field and keep flying alongside the edge until the Interceptor loses track of you. It then becomes possible to come back to the Titan for further farming afterwards.
It should be noted that the Titan might randomly enter in a berserk mode, triggering some type of magnetic field attack. It is currently unknown what are the exact conditions for this to happen, although it is hypothesised that destroying Thargoid craft or attacking the Titan hardpoints might raise the chances of it happening. This attack will very briefly disable your ship and inflict internal module damage (around 10-15%) if you are in range. If needed, go back to the rim of the asteroid field and use your AFMU to repair any critical module.
A Titan in berserk mode launching its magnetic field attack.Leaving the Maelstrom
Once you are done with your farming procedure, place the Titan away from you using your compass and boost away in silent running, using heat sinks to lower your heat levels if needed. You can safely disable silent running once you reach the edge of the asteroid field again. Be careful to preferably keep your heat below 20% when entering the caustic zone to avoid collision with Caustic Generators. After exiting the caustic cloud, perform any repairs necessary, and then jump towards your destination system.
Conclusion
Titan material farming is a difficult, but very intense, impressive and immersive activity. I hope that this guide will be useful to CMDRs who did not know where to start or are hesitant about engaging in this activity. As always, fly safe!
o7
CMDR Hanchen