Worked fine the first two times. The third time it took me back to one of the previous ones and… You guessed it.–empty.
Too expensive to be unreliable like that.
2 Likes
On PS4 ever since NEXT I’ve experienced this.
2 per planet is my rule.
But…
You can now buy 2 per system if $ permit: one at the space station and one at the Anomoly, when you call it in to a fresh system.
3 Likes
Once I realised I wasn’t going to be able to rust base-building for awhile, I decided my next strategy for increasing storage would be to upgrade my cargo slots because each one holds 30 of the salvage units and the stuff I want to purchase with them cost between 250 and 600 savage units each.
I have purchased two from the station plus one or two from the module broker npc in the single-landing-pad buildings on planets, all in the same system.
Thanks for the tip. I will stick to spending only two per planet from now on. <3
2 Likes
Yeah, it’s smartest to move from planet to planet for that… I consider it a feature, not a bug, really.
Another thing I consider a feature is that little outpost I found, which has 147 of these things on sale on the terminal at some 97’000 a piece. I was like “OMG, shutup and take my money!” Then I spent literally all my money. Still haven’t burnt through all I bought. Realised that fixing the pods is actualy a bit of an investment in and of itself in the early game and it’s taking longer than I thought…
5 Likes
Cheated again!
This time I got my first pod on the new planet, repaired it, and got my slot, then I used another drop pod finding thingy, and I got a new drop pod icon 17 minutes on foot distance on the planet… I jumped in my ship and took off after it, and the icon had disappeared.
I’m tellin’ ya! Those boundary breaks are expensive!
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Whoops, that definitely shouldn’t happen. Not until you’re there, anyways…
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Update:
After having lost a few 100,000 U on the Drop Pod tech, I now drop a Save Beacon and save before using the signal booster to find another Drop Pod.
This is because lately, the Signal Booster is using the Drop Pod Tech but placing the mark on the Drop Pod I am currently standing inside.
Hope this helps others who are trying to build up their cargo and tech slots.
(Dunno why I didn’t make this common practice before I lost so much cash. lol)
3 Likes
In the meantime, I have been getting slot upgrades for free because the vendor never takes my money 
Not that I am trying to rub it in or anything. 
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:shakes fist: 
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Early on in the game, it’s not really economic to build up your backpack with drop pods. The extra slots from space stations are cheap, but the materials and effort to get a slot from a drop pod are both difficult and expensive.
As you gain more backpack slots, however, the space station puchase price increases - up to millions. Then drop pods become much more attractive.
As a general rule, drop pods are not nearly as common as they once were. This relative scarcity increases the chance of a signal booster sending you to a drop pod you’ve already cleared out.
So, in general, while you’re building up your character and equipment, it makes sense to keep moving on to new systems. Only sell one batch of goods per system (the price you get reduces dramatically the more times you sell). Only hit one drop pod per planet. Use the space station teleports to return to your home base to restock on trade goods, then head out to another new system.
Of course, there are some planets that have special resources, and you’ll want to keep returning to them. For instance, there are planets that have LOTS of manufacturing centres. You can fill up all your tech recipes on one planet. An extreme planet with nice flat terrain, decent visibility, and lots of storm crystals is worth its weight in gold - almost literally - (HINT - don’t bother searching for storm crystals on frozen worlds - white on white is really hard to see).
8 Likes
It doesn’t bother my analysis visor much… 
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Searching for storm crystals on foot is really inefficient - and you stand a high chance of dying. If you’re serious about making millions, you need to search in your ship, preferably for large clusters of crystals. But in your ship, your analysis visor won’t work, so you have to rely on normal visuals. Oh, and you’ll need an awful lot of launch fuel 
.
6 Likes
What a lovely full-rounded explanation you’ve given there, @Polyphemus. Thank you! 
I believe many others would benefit from being linked to it in the Beyond Tips and Tricks thread.
I will be taking your advice from now on.
My main modus operandi, and one i enjoy, is hoofing it as much as possible across the alien landscapes. That is on foot exploring and gathering with my multitool, scanning fauna, flora, and minerals, and stumbling across buildings and artifacts. The gathering I do requires a lot a of cargo space.
Flying my ship across the landscape at this time isn’t helpful for me as my cataracts are so bad all is a blur and goes by so fast I tend to have to go into photo mode so often to actually see what’s out there that I may as well walk and call my ship when I need it. 
I have hit on a way to get about 6 drop pods per planet (if the planet has any), now that the Compass is fixed, I pick a direction and travel far from the last used drop pod, always use a Save Beacon afterwards, then scan for the next. I only go to ones that are ahead of me on my chosen path, If it isn’t, I relog and move on.
I only use the drop pods for cargo and tech slots. The main ones I get at stations because they are cheapest --cheaper than buying the Drop Pod tech for the Signal Booster.
Thanks again for your timely advice.
Edited to add: When exploring on foot launch fuel is not a problem if you have that module that gradually refills the launch thrusters over time. Haven’t used launch fuel since I traded my starter ship in the first time for a ship that had that tech already installed.
5 Likes