How useful is the Cyclops Thermal Reactor?

[Agent Chieftain]

I heard a while back that it's effectiveness was reduced heavily during early access. Is worth using in full release?

[Enheldor]

I hope it negates the leeches at least. I never took mine down that far because of them, but it was fantastic when I parked above a thermal vent in the Lost River while drilling.

[ImHelping]

It's only useful (in an honest non exageration sense) when you are in the lava biomes. While you are down there you won't have to worry about power so it's worth building for your last 10 minute drive between the lava castle and the containment facility. But you can't really even unlock it until you're already about to beat the game without sequence breaks, essentially.

Once you leave, it's back to causing blackouts because you wanted to recharge your seaglide batteries. Can't drive over to a thermal vent (which will take much longer, due to the combination of lower heat, and irregular erruptions) after you've already run out of power. And claims "Just build more spares then!" only further damn it, rather than defend it.

As for heavily reduced? It's actually in a better state than much of early access. It started out much worse. Then they bugged it to take literally 300 minutes (Which people defended as both 'working as intended' and 'no it's totally good gameplay).

So right now, at least it actually does it's job right. It's just that it's capability is vastly overstated, by people who have played the game to death.

[SternLX]

I never go to the lava biomes with my Cyclops. I do run the thermal module though. The thermal vents in the Lost River do good job of charging it up while I'm out swiming around gathering resources. Just park it right on top of a vent.

[Enheldor]

Originally posted by ImHelping:

Once you leave, it's back to causing blackouts because you wanted to recharge your seaglide batteries.

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

[ImHelping]

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Originally posted by ImHelping:

Once you leave, it's back to causing blackouts because you wanted to recharge your seaglide batteries.

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

Well, you charge your batteries in a base obviously.

And so many do so love to call the cyclops a Mobile Base, it can do anything a base can, haven't you heard?

Except when you actually try to hold it to those claims. Then people can't throw it's viable functionality under the bus fast enough.

"It's a mobile base! You don't even need a base with a cyclops-oh my god, he's trying to recharge a flashlight battery without the aid of unlimited energy! He'll destroy us all!"

[Enheldor]

Originally posted by ImHelping:

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

Well, you charge your batteries in a base obviously.

And so many do so love to call the cyclops a Mobile Base, it can do anything a base can, haven't you heard?

Except when you actually try to hold it to those claims. Then people can't throw it's viable functionality under the bus fast enough.

It's not a mobile base. It's the prawn taxi. If you want to charge batteries in your cyclops for some reason, park on a thermal vent in the lost River. I don't know why you're using the eruptions as a "reliable" way to measure the effectiveness of the thermal module.

[margalus]

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Originally posted by ImHelping:

Once you leave, it's back to causing blackouts because you wanted to recharge your seaglide batteries.

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

Why are you charging SeaGlide batteries at all? They stay 100% at all times with swimcharge fins....

[Enheldor]

Originally posted by margalus:

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

Why are you charging SeaGlide batteries at all? They stay 100% at all times with swimcharge fins....

I had so much power in my base that I was constantly keeping all of my batteries topped up so I got the other fins instead.

[Nibelungen Finest]

Originally posted by margalus:

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

Why are you charging SeaGlide batteries at all? They stay 100% at all times with swimcharge fins....

Actually they charge faster than seaglide can consume

[WWDragon]

Thermal module recharges SLOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!
However, as others have said, if you park it RIGHT over a thermal vent while you go explore in the prawn, chances are it'll recharge by the time you get back.

[margalus]

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Originally posted by margalus:

Why are you charging SeaGlide batteries at all? They stay 100% at all times with swimcharge fins....

I had so much power in my base that I was constantly keeping all of my batteries topped up so I got the other fins instead.

The other fins speed doesn't stack with the Seaglide, so it doesn't matter which you use as far as speed goes. I never have to carry spare batteries or charge them. I just swap the other equipments batteries into the seaglide if they get low and charge them as I go..

[SternLX]

Originally posted by Nibelungen Finest:

Originally posted by margalus:

Why are you charging SeaGlide batteries at all? They stay 100% at all times with swimcharge fins....

Actually they charge faster than seaglide can consume

Yup, Swim Charge Fins + Seaglide FTW! Never drops under 100% battery.

[Klumpatsch]

I found the recharger useful when I drove my PRAWN suit down to the active lava biome on my Cyclops. It's so dark and narrow and dangerous down there that sonar + silent run + shields can drain your battery extremely fast.

You COULD, of course, build 6 more power cells and just exchange them on the way back up. But if you happen to be in the lava zone often, I think the recharger is worth it. You can also just dock your PRAWN suit and let it recharge via Cyclops so you have one more add-on space on your suit.

[Zalzany]

Originally posted by ImHelping:

Originally posted by Enheldor:

Why are you charging batteries in your cyclops?

Well, you charge your batteries in a base obviously.

And so many do so love to call the cyclops a Mobile Base, it can do anything a base can, haven't you heard?

Except when you actually try to hold it to those claims. Then people can't throw it's viable functionality under the bus fast enough.

"It's a mobile base! You don't even need a base with a cyclops-oh my god, he's trying to recharge a flashlight battery without the aid of unlimited energy! He'll destroy us all!"

No actually says that about it. Just newbs, any one who has used the cyclops says its pawn/seamoth transport. It has been jsut that since they took away a bug ages ago you could put solar panels on outside of it lol. Its nothing more then a mobile storage locker/transport for smaller craft. Just put in lockers with spare batteries, and with it you shouldn't even need the seaglide you should be using seamoth or prawn to move around and docking with it, and using the base charging station to refill its powercells. Heck you can ferry them to the base in your seamoth pretty easy. Only catch is you can't have both the prawn and seamoth docked in it at once.

I mean its more like "My god he is using his electric car batterie to run his RC car, instead of just plug the batteries it into a charger at a base with its own power source.." I mean come on minus this module you got charge the cyclops powercells at your real base. WIth out a base the cyclops is worthless. Its quite literally like having an electric car with no geny on it at all, and expecting it to charge all your devices even though it has zero power generation at all.

[Chibi Life]

Honestly I use my cyclops as a mobile storage solution. I transport my prawn suit around and mine and store it in the cyclops to take back to my base as well as store food and water so I don't need to return to my base for quite awhile. I also prefer the cyclops through zones that have tons of warpers such as the grand reef as it makes me immune to being warped. I stopped using my seamoth completely after I got my prawn + cyclops.

I also don't have to worry about anything except leviathans and sea emperors when I'm in my Cyclops too. I really appreciate that.

I put 6 ion power cells in my cyclops and 2 in my prawn suit at this point I just forget to look at the power anymore. The thermal reactor module is mandatory for the cyclops in the lava zone due to the leeches and having to activate your shield constantly to remove them. Aside from that it isn't required at all. Frankly I can throw my power cells in chargers when I'm using my prawn suit and my cyclops is parked at base so I don't ever need to sit over vents.