Grey goo question

[Hunkulees]

After killing grey goo does the corrosive death zone ever dissipate so that you can go grab the nanobots? I killed 2 of them by dropping a ton of plasma mines, went on to kill a few Okkars (because of course the grey goo totally ignored them or any other enemy but me), then came back to grab the nano bots and immediately had 3/4 of my hull drained and all my systems damaged. Is it just never safe to enter that zone again or what?

[hck]

Sounds like a bug, we will investigate.

[Hunkulees]

Originally posted by hck:

Sounds like a bug, we will investigate.

Cool! I've encountered it a few times now. I kill the 2 grey goos, I dodge and rocket away (and use damage limiter if I see my hull dropping) and i'm fine, but if I return to the spot they died in to pick up nano bots all of the sudden my hull drops DRAMATICALLY fast and I have to boost away immediately or die. I wasn't sure if it was intended or not. I thought "well, maybe there is an invisible cloud of dispersed nanobots hovering in the air"

So now I just avoid that area entirely after they die but there are all these tempting bots floating around. Doubly enticing because so far I have found it impossible to defeat them without taking significant hull damage and really could use a heal at that point

[Stryke(r)]

Originally posted by myrothe:

I killed 2 of them by dropping a ton of plasma mines, went on to kill a few Okkars (because of course the grey goo totally ignored them or any other enemy but me)

Wasn't that supposed to be fixed?

[Hunkulees]

Originally posted by Stryke(r):

Originally posted by myrothe:

I killed 2 of them by dropping a ton of plasma mines, went on to kill a few Okkars (because of course the grey goo totally ignored them or any other enemy but me)

Wasn't that supposed to be fixed?

I was being a bit melodramatic. They do seem to attack other ships but the second you get within range they are on you, and only you, like gum on a park bench. I guess I should be flattered. My pilot apparently has irresistible charm

[The Icecream Snowman]

I lured a grey goo to a frigate, which killed it. I then got hit by the swarm from about 6km away. I'm guessing that when the goo dies, it comes for you at any range regardless of wether you killed it. The exception is luring it into a black hole. That is perfectly safe. As safe as it gets when those two are present, anyway.

[Hyndis]

You just have to eat the grey goo hit. It will always do damage to you and there doesn't seem to be any way to escape that.

However if you activate a damage resist consumable you can drastically reduce how much damage you take. You will always take some damage, but it will be greatly reduced to the point where you may even come out ahead once you gather up the nano bots.

[Hunkulees]

That kind of sucks. So there is literally no way to avoid being damaged? Even if you are far away when they die? I figured it was a zone thing because I killed them from a distance with mines and didn't get damaged until I came back to that area. Maybe they just hadn't "caught up" to me yet. Regardless having them always damage you no matter what is a pretty frustrating design choice. I guess from now on i will just ignore them, and jump out...what fun!

[Hunkulees]

Originally posted by hck:

Sounds like a bug, we will investigate.

Explaining exactly how grey goo functions would be helpful. How does this after death damage occur? Is it something that comes after you? Does it just happen automatically no matter where you are (which is kind of what it sounds like from the above posts)? Is there any sort of technique or strategy to avoid this beyond using damage limiter and nano bots to repair yourself afterwards?

Grey goo totally ruined my run the first time I encountered them. I was at full strength, had some great weapons, and had no idea that killing them would annihilate my ship. Literally all my systems were damaged. I did not regain nearly enough nano bots to fix it all, was totally crippled, and went on to jump only to discover my first ancient temple on my very next stop. Of course I stood 0% chance with no shield and barely functioning weapons and was slaughtered

From now on I am not firing a shot at these things, let alone killing them. I guess I will just jump out. It would be nice in a patch if we at least had the option to avoid damage by staying far away when they die so we could actually engage these things

[hck]

Right now, the grey goo explodes into the one that killed it and you cannot avoid the damage. It's still on our list of things to tweak. In the meantime, let others shoot them or just shoot them a few times for some nanobots. Or destroy them and activate a damage limiter when doing so.

[Hunkulees]

I definitely hope it gets "tweaked". Having an enemy that unavoidably damages you (and HEAVILY if you don't have a damage limiter) no matter what strategy you employ isn't fun or rewarding. It's a cheap shot run killer, so instead people are just going to avoid it entirely except to get a few nano's and leave, so at that point what is the point of even having it in the game? To pick up a few nano bots? You can get those much easier from crates or enemies and not expose yourself to devastating run ending system damage.

I actually thought I was being creative by wearing them down, then strategically placing mines and positioning myself to make them follow me into them, which wasn't exactly easy. And all my strategy and work was ultimately rewarded with...a crippled and almost entirely destroyed ship, despite the fact that I was boosting off to like 4km away at the time. Fun!

Unless you have a damage limiter on hand the damage you heal from nano bots doesn't come close to repairing the damage to your hull and systems from an exploding grey goo. That is literally the opposite of fun when your best case scenario is farming a few nanobots far less effeciently than looting a few containers or killing a couple ships

[WhiteCrow]

Originally posted by myrothe:

I was at full strength, had some great weapons, and had no idea that killing them would annihilate my ship.

To be fair, Elek explains this to you pretty clearly, which is why he gives you the MRK3 Damage Limiters. I died during my first encounter with them also, as I was totally unprepared for how quickly they would drain my Hull.

Theoretically, "Grey Goo" is potentially one of the most destructive, dangerous substances mankind could ever create. Swarms of nano machines deconstructing and absorbing matter and replicating is the stuff of nightmares. A good visual example of it would be the climax of the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" from several years ago with Keanu Reeves.

[Hunkulees]

Originally posted by WhiteCrow:

Originally posted by myrothe:

I was at full strength, had some great weapons, and had no idea that killing them would annihilate my ship.

To be fair, Elek explains this to you pretty clearly, which is why he gives you the MRK3 Damage Limiters. I died during my first encounter with them also, as I was totally unprepared for how quickly they would drain my Hull.

Theoretically, "Grey Goo" is potentially one of the most destructive, dangerous substances mankind could ever create. Swarms of nano machines deconstructing and absorbing matter and replicating is the stuff of nightmares. A good visual example of it would be the climax of the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" from several years ago with Keanu Reeves.

Still, not much fun to fight. If there is no valid strategy then what is the point. At this point they are best avoided, so in that case what is the point at all? Get a few nano bots? You can get them faster and much more safely from crates or enemies that don't wipe out your ship in seconds.

My point is there is no worthwhile reward for defeating, or even engaging them and no way to avoid being damaged by them so why bother. An enemy that there is no value in figting is a worthless enemy in a game

[Suzaku]

Maybe if they made it so that the death explosion also damaged enemies. It would be an amazing way to clear the entire node in an instant, at the cost of your health of course.

[Hunkulees]

Originally posted by Suzaku:

Maybe if they made it so that the death explosion also damaged enemies. It would be an amazing way to clear the entire node in an instant, at the cost of your health of course.

At least that would be something

[WhiteCrow]

Hmm, I've been able to take them out safely a few times on my last couple runs. They're a little difficult to make out at range, and even when they're close you can lose them if you take your eyes off them for too long. I find it to be an interesting challenge that you can't lock on to them, considering they're a strange substance.

I take them out from as far away as possible, the maximum range of my weapons. I'll kill their split forms also until they're completely gone, and after a few seconds I can safely move in to pick up the nano bots. It's possible to do without taking any damage at all; you just have to stay far away.

Reversing your thrust to keep the distance as large as possible helps, and if you need to, turn and boost to maintain the gap. I haven't taken any damage even after they die.