Master Craft Builders!!

OUTPOST 11 NEW FEATURE:
EXPERT BUILDS

We had a few things get messaged by Kixeye today. Lots of mail, but the one that is new and has people scratching their heads is... Expert Builds. Probably need to change that to Expert Builders. That alone should clarify it, but let's review it real quick to get it clear for everyone.


WHAT ARE EXPERT BUILDS?

Well, as I mentioned, it really should be thought of as 'Expert Builders'.

This is an option that you will have, that becomes available in Shipyard 6 and Conquest Yard 3, when building a NEW ship. That's right, this only applies to a new ship build, NOT refits. This is important.

The idea is that when you elicit the Expert Builders, there will be an increase in construction costs (resources, advanced resources etc.) for a reduction in build time AND with the hull completing with VXP already on the hull (likely 4-5 ranks).



Selecting the Expert Build option on a fresh build results in shorter build times for the entire hull, plus its components, as well as the hull being built with several VXP ranks already in place.

In exchange, an Expert Build costs more resources to construct than a standard build, and can include Advanced Resources for higher tier constructions. The choice is yours on how you spend your time or resources.

HOW MUCH AM i GONNA SAVE?

Well... I'm not entirely sure. I think that is going to be a moving target as each hull gets older. New hulls can not have an Expert Builder, because... well, it's a new hull, there can't be an expert for it yet. The reductions are scaled by the hulls, and likely by the tiers from what we see in the examples.

The Zelos, a T5 hull has a reduction of or about 50% in this example...

 ...whereas the Dragon, a T7 hull, has a reduction of or about 10%.

So as we can see, the number will fluctuate based on, I'm guessing, tier level. Remember when I said that being applicable to a new hull only is important? Here's why:

The time reduction, while based on the hull alone, is applicable to the entire build!! So that % reduction that you get on the hull, if you equip it at the same time, will be applicable to everything on that hull too!

You will need to pay attention to build time and how long you want to occupy your yards. Long build times are a risk since you can't react immediately with a week long build in the yard, so plan ahead if using this option to its full potential.


OF NOTE:

Expert Builds will not be available for brand new hulls right away.  This will keep the gap a bit closer between the have/have nots / coiners/non-coiners when it comes to new content so the playing field stays only slanted rather than tipped over. When the Expert Build option for a hull becomes available, it will be announced in Release Notes.


Hope that helps. Have fun pirates!