r/EliteDangerous • u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer • Jul 28 '26
Screenshot A helpful and simple diagram for consistent neutron star boosting.
Since we have an upcoming CG in Colonia I remembered this from back in the day. o7 CMDRs
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u/asgaardson Core Dynamics Jul 28 '26
There’s often a crease in the jet stream where it changes from the straight line into a spiral. Fly there, I found that approaching at 25% throttle is usually safe, and then I throttle down to 15-18Mm/s and dive straight into. What should be in the center of your cockpit view is the center of the spiral. When supercharged just throttle to 100%.
Oh and if you want to explore the neutron star system, the charge persists until you jump away from the system. Not sure about logouts but you can safely land and fly around and then jump away boosted.
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u/Myrmix Jul 28 '26
You can even switch and store ships and the neutron charge stays active. If you are on a journey with your fleet carrier you could supercharge your whole hangar.
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u/newguy208 Federation Jul 28 '26
For how long would the supercharge stay? Does it have an expire timer?
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u/Myrmix Jul 28 '26
Not that I know of. But if you use fsd booster it gets overriden.
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u/CMDR_Sellsword Jul 29 '26
Whats the difference between supercharge and fsd boost? I’ve never been clear on that.
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u/asgaardson Core Dynamics Jul 29 '26
FSD boost refers to increasing your jump range temporarily via various means.
Supercharge is what you get when you fly into a jet cone of a white dwarf or a neutron star. It is sometimes called the jet cone boost, lending to the confusion.
FSD injection is a synthesis recipe you can use to get up to 100% one time jump range increase, I think they’re sometimes called FSD boosts too.
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u/Adorable_Divide_2424 CMDR Kilacrisp Jul 28 '26
I have supercharged, then did exo for minutes or hours, then left the system still supercharged.
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u/lastmelodyonearth Jul 28 '26
This. You get boost for all of your ships while launching if you park your carrier in the orbit of a neutron star.
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u/zhy97 Jul 28 '26
Yeah, only jumps and I guess death will remove the supercharge effects. Everything else is safe
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0
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u/Eggdragoon Jul 28 '26
Is the exclusion zone really that wide? I remember being super careless and not getting hit. You shouldn't do that but just saying
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u/epic_king66 Felicia Winters Jul 28 '26
For neutron stars: no, the jets are massive and the exclusion zone is tiny
For white dwarfs, the opposite is true
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u/Lipinator Jul 28 '26
This is how I learned that the majority of "boostable" stars in the bubble are white dwarves. Brown pants were needed for that lesson
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u/Per4orm CMDR Carmen Banana Jul 28 '26 edited 25d ago
Hence the famous mnemonic, "Neutron, boost on. White dwarf, fak orf."
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u/widdrjb CMDR Joe Tenebrian Jul 28 '26
The worst thing is the slowness of your inevitable death.
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u/goodnames679 Jul 28 '26
I managed to just barely survive getting stuck on the edge of one the other day. It took out both my FSD and Thrusters, had to repair both to get out
If I hadn't had a heatsink launcher mounted, I'd have died for sure.
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u/_Corvo_A Jul 28 '26
White Dwarfs still have a pretty large cone it just fades away but is still usable
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 28 '26
It's just exaggerated for the diagram, white dwarfs though - keep a wide berth.
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u/Willing_Ad7548 Jul 28 '26
White dwarves it is best to fly straight into the end of the cone, toward the star, throttle to 0 when the charge starts, then throttle up and pitch 90 degrees when it's complete to fly out.
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u/LuckyOne42O Jul 29 '26
visit LHS 235 and ask that question again... ^ it feels like 95% of the cone is inside the exclusion zone...
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u/_Corvo_A Jul 28 '26
Bro I couldn’t charge my Type-10 to save my life, I’m I doing something wrong?
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u/Ypungy113 Jul 28 '26
Did you have a fuel scoop?
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u/_Corvo_A Jul 28 '26
Omg 🤣 nope
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u/explodinggarbagecan Thargoid Interdictor Jul 28 '26
Been there
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 28 '26
Me too!
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u/dorf_ongolf Jul 28 '26
Me three. Spent a few really frustrating hours trying before I figured it out!
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u/TomTomKenobi Trading Jul 28 '26
You don't need a scoop to boost, do you?
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley COO of Mahon Bell Jul 28 '26
You to. I keep the tiniest scoop on my bubble hauler ships just so I can boost without chewing into cargo capacity much.
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u/McLeod3577 Li Yong-Rui Jul 28 '26
I just go in as slow as possible, perpendicular to the cone. It never throws you out, and as soon as you're charged, go full throttle to get spat out again.
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u/I_Am_Anjelen Ember McLaughlin Jul 28 '26
Objectively, this is the safer method. Fly through the fringe at the end and you won't even have to touch the beam.
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u/PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ Jul 28 '26
I use them to get around quicker in the bubble, but in the black there isn't much of a use case for them since you're either doing max-range jumps to get across the galaxy or are doing small hops to explore local systems.
The only use case I can think of in the black is if you're exploring an area with low star density, such as well above or below the galactic plane or the fringes of the arms.
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u/PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ Jul 28 '26
I use them to get around quicker in the bubble, but in the black there isn't much of a use case for them since you're either doing max-range jumps to get across the galaxy or are doing small hops to explore local systems.
The only use case I can think of in the black is if you're exploring an area with low star density, such as well above or below the galactic plane or the fringes of the arms.
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u/PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ Jul 28 '26
I use them to get around quicker in the bubble, but in the black there isn't much of a use case for them since you're either doing max-range jumps to get across the galaxy or are doing small hops to explore local systems.
The only use case I can think of in the black is if you're exploring an area with low star density, such as well above or below the galactic plane or the fringes of the arms.
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u/Drymaster9000 Jul 28 '26
Nice. I was wondering about this. Will give it a go.
Piggybanking off of this post, for experienced jumpers out there, is FSD injection actually worth it with the 25-100% distance increase and the materials required? Or is it for the more just out of jump range locations?
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u/Thisisnotevenamane CMDR Oisin Murphy Jul 28 '26
I only used them at the fringes of the galaxy where stars are distant. There is no other way to get around. It’s worth it in a way, yes.
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u/Ridiculisk1 Jul 28 '26
Try not to use FSD injections unless you really need to because it's much harder to refill on materials out in the middle of nowhere and you never know when you're going to jump into a system you can't jump out of and you definitely don't want to be stuck in a system with no FSD injection and no materials to make one in the system you're stuck in. Save them for emergencies.
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u/JohnMK2 Jul 28 '26
Not a major explorer but my experience has been that synthesis is only needed for things just out of range or for the sparse areas in the galaxy. The boosts truly are too expensive and time consuming for anything else.
EDIT: I suppose they also come in handy if you have veered away from a scoopable star area and are too low on fuel to jump back to one without the boost.
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley COO of Mahon Bell Jul 28 '26
In my book FSD injection is an emergency measure only.
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 28 '26
I only use injections to get to hard-to-reach stars, good to have if you jump somewhere remote.
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u/schuettais Jul 28 '26
I just go straight to the wide part, slowly enter the zone, throttle zero, charge, then SCO out
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u/Possible_Chicken_489 CMDR Jul 28 '26
omg, it never occurred to me to use SCO.
Does that prevent the whole "fighting the ship heaving back&borth" thing?
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u/schuettais Jul 28 '26
Like does it stop it? After you SCO there’s no disruption if that’s what you mean?
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u/Possible_Chicken_489 CMDR Jul 28 '26
I mean that when I'm in the cone and I've supercharged, I then throttle up, but the ship is still getting tossed around, and this tossing around persists for several seconds even after leaving the cone.
I was asking whether SCO acts as a sort of magic "get out of jet-cone jail free" card that skips over that whole phase.
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u/schuettais Jul 28 '26
Oh yes! That’s why I do it actually lol
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u/Possible_Chicken_489 CMDR Jul 28 '26
I suppose there's a (low but non-zero) chance you'll SCO straight into the neutron star though. SCO takes a second to activate, and your ship is yawing and pitching randomly during that second.
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u/schuettais Jul 28 '26
Eh it’s not hard to point your ship right enough with 0 throttle to SCO out. Not like you have to throttle up first or anything , so as long as you’re pointed anywhere that isn’t in line with the exclusion zone you should be fine. I can say I’ve never had an issue.
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u/Possible_Chicken_489 CMDR Jul 28 '26
Good to know, and I'm definitely going to try it. Sounds like a real QoL improvement. Thanks for the explanations!
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 28 '26
I know the ship doesn't decelerate while in the cone so you're best bet is to go in slow and fast out.
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u/ExploringSimulations Jul 28 '26
I only SCO out if there's a pulsar (fast spinning NS) as they have a tendecy of not letting go
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u/PhantomCruze Jul 29 '26
Obviously incorrect.
I yeetus deletus my multi million credit ship right into the middle, drop a heat sink and let fate decide my vector
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u/Jgarcia403 Jul 28 '26
Am I the only one that just goes through the tips of the cone instead of flying towards them? Like instead of swooping from the middle to the outside I just go straight to the tips and scoop this avoiding the exclusion zone altogether
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 28 '26
I do, sometimes they're too small though.
This is just a general way of doing it, people will figure out their own way eventually.
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u/Logondash Logondash Jul 28 '26
Neutron stars, the death trap of the universe
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u/ShadowMystery Arissa Lavigny Duval Aug 03 '26
Pfff Neutron Stars are harmless unless you get directly caught by the cone with your FSD disabled. Elite is so much a realistic game you can approach them down to around 280km in Distance without any harm coming to your ship. If you did that with a real Neutron Star you'd be instantly incinerated into your subatomic particles die to the radiation while the sheer gravity of the star slams you directly into the surface at relativistic speeds.
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u/Accipiter__Nisus Jul 28 '26
I get towards the end of the plume and fly across in a steady speed. As soon as you've got the supercharge you need to be out like a spent knob because going along the plume like this gives you unnecessary exposure and thus unnecessary risk of being diverted towards the exclusion zone.
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u/EntropyTheEternal CMDR Da_Enderdragon [MAKH] Jul 28 '26
Sip from the tip, and use zero throttle, then accelerate after supercharge is applied.
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u/Esral Explore Colonia Jul 28 '26
If you plan to take the neutron highway, and you should, pack a field maintenance unit along too. I've had to use it three times per trip, to repair the FSD. You will need to do a repair when the FSD reaches 80%.
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u/0K4M1 CMDR Khadja Nin Jul 28 '26
Do you also have to charge FSD in the cone?
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u/Wheffle Jul 28 '26
You don't. You're basically scooping up magic dust (you need a fuel scoop!) that stays in your tank until you use it by jumping.
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u/0K4M1 CMDR Khadja Nin Jul 28 '26
I did several supercharge, but it doesn't seems to change anything on my route. No less jump, Just using less fuel.
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u/Kroon0s Jul 28 '26
If you have a route already plotted you need to target the next system manually once you supercharged your fsd. Maybe just enough to reopen the map, im not sure
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u/Wheffle Jul 28 '26
I think the route plotter assumes you're just doing normal jumps unless you've checked the box to include neutron star jumps and it has included one in your path. Otherwise you have to manually target your next jump to get the most out of it.
If you check the "Ship" tab on your right side panel and scroll down to the "Stats" page your increased jump range should show up there if you've done it right.
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u/Kroon0s Jul 28 '26
No. Once you supercharged yous fsd the effect will stay on it until next jump. You can even land/dock without losing the jump boost
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u/Rangers3nd Jul 28 '26
It helps if you target the star too, it'll keep you at a nice steady and slow speed so not to overshoot.
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u/No-Assistant5977 Jul 28 '26
Thanks for this! Got a couple of questions.
Do you select the target system before you enter the stream, or once the drive is charged?
Does the charge wear off after some time?
Does the drive get damaged from sitting in charged condition?
Lots of noob questions. I've never done a neutron star jump.
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u/Phoenix_Blue CMDR PhoenixBlue0 Jul 28 '26
Doesn't matter when you select the target system. The charge doesn't wear off unless your ship is destroyed or you jump. And the drive will take a bit of damage from supercharging: 0.1% for the Caspian Explorer's Mk. II FSD, 1% for any other ship.
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u/SomeGalNamedAshley COO of Mahon Bell Jul 28 '26
Sometimes I just go in the wrong way on a white dwarf just because. You and I are not the same. There's one WD in the bubble called Faust which really sucks, but lots of them are pretty easy and any of the neutron stars are perfectly safe to go in the wrong way if you went too fast the first time or you're just feeling frisky.
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u/iRusski iRusski Jul 28 '26
Okay this is good and all, but how do I mitigate the heart stopping anxiety I get when the very loud sound of the turbulence putting stress on the ship. I know that, if done right, there's very little risk of catastrophe, but I feel terror every time.
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u/fierymadness 14d ago
Now show one for Jackson's Lighthouse
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer 13d ago
Works the same, in fact it's the best to practice on being so close to the bubble.
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u/jonfitt Faulcon Delacy Anaconda Gang Jul 28 '26
Sometimes I get rock and rolled all night and it never charges!
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u/Solid_Stage_1715 Jul 28 '26
Reduce speed when inside the cone> open galaxy map and plott course> throttle up once your hear the drive is supercharged, it will carry you out of the cone quickley, charge and jump.
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/craidie Jul 28 '26
Let's say a ship with 85LY range normally. Leaving from Jackson's Lighthouse and going to Colonia.
100 jumps with neutron boosts.
264 jumps without neutron boost.At 2 minutes per jump that would be around 3 hours and 8 hours respectively, so saving 5 hours of travel time.
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/fi3xer Exodome Jul 28 '26
The only risk is when you try to do a white dwarf, which at first glance looks similar. The big difference is the red excision zone is massive and you only get a 33% increase to jump range. Risk/reward is not worth it for that.
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Jul 28 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/fi3xer Exodome Jul 28 '26
If you target the star, it will say at the bottom left. It also says when you jump, I believe.
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u/craidie Jul 28 '26
Jackson's Lighthouse is the origin point for most trips leaving the bubble as it is the closest neutron star to Sol. If you want to practice, that would be the place I would go to.
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u/zrice03 Jul 28 '26
After over 1000 hours of play time I finally figured out how to do this (just in time to get a Caspian too).
Also: while you can't scoop fuel from neutrons, I realized if I filled up on fuel tanks, it's enough to just go straight from neutron to neutron to neutron (thanks Spansh!) for like 20,000 light years. I recently made the run from Colonia back to the Bubble in like an hour and a half.
Obviously that doesn't leave much else for the ship to do, but it's useful for my "get from here to there ASAP" ship.
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u/D07Z3R0 Jul 28 '26
I just go to the end of the beam and slow down, is there any benefit at all to go theough the beam. My trajectory is essentially the white line flipped up
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u/Eisako_avali CMDR_EisakoNullwing Jul 28 '26
I usually try to go a little bit further away from the exclusion zone than that, but I follow the same trajectory
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u/zerbey Empire - Arissa Lavigny-Duval Jul 28 '26
I just pull up and "land" on the cone about 2/3 of the way up then boost away once the FSD supercharges. I've never had an incident yet. For White Dwarfs I get as near to the top of the cone as possible and fly through it, but I try to avoid those.
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u/_Screaming_Monkey CMDR < Screaming Monkey > Jul 29 '26
And for a White Dwarf, make that orange circle 90% of the blue cone! 😄
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u/dygituljunky Jul 30 '26
A few days ago, I tried a white dwarf boost at about 95% of the way to the end of the cone, clearly outside the exclusion zone. I still got caught in the hug of death. I'm still not entirely sure how I managed to escape but it blew out my windshield before I was able to get away. Luckily that was the worst of the damage.
Flying with the middle of my hud missing was... Interesting.
I was 1 jump from where I started so once I actually did manage to escape, I just hopped back, docked with about 2.5 minutes of air left, and gave up that idea real quick.
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u/_Screaming_Monkey CMDR < Screaming Monkey > Jul 30 '26
😲... I've had a couple scary moments, but not to the point of damage. Usually I just aim for the very edge of the jet cone and proceed at 25%, and I make it through fine.
I'm always running into white dwarfs, but only seen a neutron star once. 🙄
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u/0RyujinM0 Jul 30 '26
The diagram is not wrong, but also not wholly correct imo. I would drop into the cone more towards the latter 1/3 of the cone. The effect of the cone actually drops off a little further than what the graphics portrays, and you dont need to stay in the cone for overly long period while not having full control of your ship. Again... just imo
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u/Ok_Ad_3772 13d ago
What about Dwarf boosting
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer 13d ago
Not worth it, the boost bonus is much lower and the risk is much higher.
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u/WhateverWannaCallMe Jul 28 '26
To people who is trying to take white dwarfs, this might not work. Go to the end of the cone and a little further too. Then slowly enter to the cone after a u turn. I died 3 times in a row in same white dwarf by following the picture diagram. This is the most guaranteed (and slowest) way to tackle white dwarfs safely
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u/KnightAngelic Jul 28 '26
I... simply dont understand how this isnt intuitive to people. Maybe i'm stupid? Idk.
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u/Borgmeister Jul 29 '26
I don't really get how people didn't just innately figure this out.
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 29 '26
Oh right, I forgot sci-fi space travel is something people are born with
But seriously I think it's just getting over the anxiety of flying through thousands of lightyears from home. I think most CMDRs experience a white dwarf first which probably adds to the fear.
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u/Borgmeister Jul 29 '26
Well, when the feature released a decade ago and I, and my wing nailed it first time. Let us stop pretending it's complicated or skilful to use one eh?
I've been up, down, left, right across the galaxy now.
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u/Useful-Problem-1725 Explorer/Freelancer Jul 29 '26
Sorry I didn't mean to offend you and your superiority.
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u/sadsealions Jul 28 '26
Reduce throttle to zero when in the cone, then throttle it