S Class Ship Theory (How and where to find them with the least effort)

I wanted to try to get the experiences and info gained so far regarding S class ships gathered into a single thread where it stands out for what it is - away from screen shots and intertwined in other threads. I have seen some bits and pieces here and there but I think it would be better all placed into one thread… here! :sunglasses:

This thread should not be all about where or what ships you have found but how you found them - other than by accident although, accidential data with enough details can sometimes help track down patterns and trends
What method(s) work or don’t work for you and why
What you might have read somewhere but have not tested.
What theories you have about “farming” or finding S class ships.

Actually, posting the where you found them is an important factor… at least at the moment, in regards to what the system type, wealth and so forth are concerned. Read below for more details.

UPDATE:
I’ve deduced that every system will have an exotic S class. See reply #73 for more details:

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Usually, when you use the economy scanner and go on “rich” or better systems, the ships have better stats so we have more chance to find S class (exotic or not). But it’s not always true.

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Agreed. To make matters worse, for the new Exotic ships, even if you see one once doesn’t mean you will see another any time soon. Going to various trading posts or sitting at one spot waiting through hours or hundreds of ships doesn’t always bring them up either.

I read somewhere that the new Exotic ships show more often early on when you enter a station or trading post (within the fist 10-20 minutes). I was actually seeing that happen too… until I tried to track down a specific ship after saving for the night. Now, three systems have proven to be elusive in finding them a second time.

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It seems true yes. they mainly land durig the “big ships ballet” at trading post. Yesterday i was in a “wealthy” system, one exotix land quickly (i saw it in the air) but it was only a 16 slots and 5mn later another one with 20 slots arrived (same design).

I’d like to find an exotic planet to spend time on it and see if it’s possible to find exotics crashed ships there. But i didn’t find one since the Artemis quest :frowning:

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I was watching a stream on YouTube the other day where someone in chat explained his tactic:

  • Find one of the wealthy systems and go to the Space Station. Requires Economy Scanner.
  • Check incoming ships to be A or B class. You are likely to get an S class. Find another wealthy system when mostly C class comes in, as it is highly unlikely to then spawn a S class.
  • Re-load your save to reset the ship spawns until you get an S class you like. If the S class is not the one you want, re-load save again to reset the spawns as otherwise the same will likely keep appearing.

Not verified myself, although it did appear to work for the person streaming.

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After a bit of experimenting by going to around 10 different wealthy systems, sitting in the station and at least 2 different trade stations on the planets and getting nothing, I decided to try another tactic and chose a scientific system that was only “Promising”. About 15 ships into sitting in the space station I saw 3 S classes and one exotic (orb type with no nose).

This is only one test but now I have to wonder if it’s the economy type plus the wealth of the system that influences the S classes and exotic ships.

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In my travels, I’ve seen one or two Korvax piloting an Exotic, a few Vy’keen, and a number of Gek flying them. So it’s possible that some melding of economy and tech level in a system has something to do with how frequently they appear, though I’ve seen several in systems which weren’t particularly safe, advanced or thriving.

The race might be a factor too. I’ve mostly been going through Vy’keen systems in a hunt for good fighters as Vykes seem to have the best designs, but recently have been going to more Korvax and Gek for new tech. But it could all be up to chance, so keep skeptical when judging factors.

I’ve also seen the same ships arriving at different landing spots between trading posts, freighters and space stations, as if they run around the system for a while. I’ve also seen the same designs show up but with different stats and pilots.

I have to remark again that there has to be some factor involved with how these ships appeared in the first place. I’m thinking that the Travellers originally piloted these ships, but how they lost them is a complete mystery. Maybe they were ancient wrecks, but I’ve never come across one. ATLAS knows something but it won’t give me any sort of clue.

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I actually found one exotic wreck by accident, it was visible from the trading post I was on as part of a mission. Just happened it see it as I was scanning fauna from the landing platforms for a little extra cash.

Otherwise I’ve had a couple pop in space stations, I’ve seen a couple more on the trading platform, and once once flew into my freighter just was I was leaving. Don’t remember the specifics of the locations, but I tend to visit wealthy/opulent systems unless a mission takes me elsewhere.

I came across my last one in a fairly unpromising Korvax system. This is the ship:

Unfortunately, to trade for it with the ship I visited in would have meant losing around 120 million on the deal. So I went back to my freighter, bought a cheap shuttle, went back to the trading station, and waited for it to come back.

Well it did come back. Eventually. But only after six in-game days. I traded for it, and now I own it. But it was a long wait to get it. It’s only a 20 slot, but it looks nice.

For people interested in statistics, this is the system it came from:

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I find it interesting you found it in a Tech type system, like did, and it was only “Promising” too.

…only seen 16 and 17 slot versions so far - waiting on a 20 slots.

It happened to me once. What i did is taking it anyway, take my previous expensive ship, let a beacon here and go to my freighter for a cheap ship and back. The exotic was there, abandoned, waiting for me.
20 slots seems to be the maximum for these ships. Did you find a bigger one (without mod/editor) ?

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I have yet to find any larger than 20, but we might find a large squid type because I have seen pictures of those being bigger.

Aren’t Exotics capped at 20 slots? Besides, one 19-slot I have seen had zero technology slots…

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So far 20 has seemed to be the max… at least that’s the best I’ve seen unless it’s a 48 slot ship which means it was obtained through mod use. But I’d love to see larger. I’ve seen 4 models: Orb, Orb with pointy nose, Orb with nose and long single fin and the Delorian (bottom splits open)… no squids yet.
I personally have 19 slot and I saw a 20 slot yesterday but didn’t have the correct ship to trade… working on that now via reloads. At first I was reloading my save in the system after 100-150 ships entering the station but wasn’t getting anywhere. then I went back a save to before I had entered the system and the exotics started appearing… it usually shows within the first 50 ships that land.

I recommend trading posts over stations the reload method works best there.

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So just to clarify:

You go to a trading post in a wealthy type system.
Watch the spawned ships.
If no S arrives, do a reload.(?)
Keep doing so until an S spawns.
Buy it as per usual…

Edit. Method not tested.
Edit#2. After 4 reloads standing on a trading post I acquired an S class.

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Your save point should be before you warp into the system.

At least for me, loading from within a system doesn’t seem to give early results… its as if the chance is high initially (you’ll see an exotic within 50 spawns or about 15-20 minutes if any will spawn in that system) then it drops way down and you could be waiting hours before the first one spawns.

It’s hard to know for sure though, not enough data so I’m just making educated guesses from what little I have experienced.

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Yeah sometimes it’s hit or miss you just need to try wealthy or the other rich systems it works eventually. And you never know what you might get.

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I just went to a ‘Promising’ economy on a mouldy planet and stood a on a Trading Post.
Four reloads later (as per suggested method to encourage spawning), a ‘tall wing’ S class came in. Basic but I grabbed it anyway.
Reloading and being patient seems to work :smile:

Out of curiosity I just repeated my actions (as above) and 3 reloads in, another ‘tall wing’ has come in, identical to the first one.
I let it go.