Mining Unit Change Idea

[Izon2887]

I’m basing this idea on the speculation that mining rates are reduced. 
 

Add a new consumable item, Mining Cartridge, that can be used with a mining unit to pull up lump sum of ore. The cartridge will be T1-T5 depending on ore targeted. When a cartridge is used, it’ll ramp up ore collection for X amount of time for a large quantity of ore. After time has completed the mining unit will go into cooldown where it won’t pull anymore passive ore. You can run another cartridge on a cooldown unit for a reduced efficiency. Use the current mini game for calibration for the cartridge activation, giving a bonus or deficit to quantity pulled. Make mining calibration a one time action on startup.  
 

Mining cartridges are obtainable by running missions, higher risk mission high tier cartridge, in both a minimum quantity with a chance for higher quantity by random number generator. T2 and above can be crafted from lower tier cartridges, for example T2=25*T1, T3=100*T2. Primary source should be missions, not crafting.  
 

The territory will have a cap on how many cartridges can be used in a given time period. Ore will still be dependent on what the tile has as well as how large the lump quantity will be.
 

 

[Taelessael]

...This just sounds like making auto-miners more complicated for the sake of making them more complicated...

 

Planetary auto-miners are supposed to be basic income for casuals & new-players, and subsequently need to be relatively simple. If you want something like this, you'd probably do better asking for it in a way that applies to asteroids, such as:

-A system that allows the deployment of territory units, static cores, and variant auto-miners on asteroids, with these auto-miners running on mining-cartridges obtained via missions.

 

 

On a related note, until NQ decides to add in random meteorite storms, coronal-mass-ejections, corrosive clouds, and space-lightning, the only thing that makes a mission dangerous is player-pirates, so scaling a mission's rewards to it's "danger" would be quite difficult at this time.