Using the small excavator

[MadSpaceMouse]

Hi, any tips on how to efficently use the small excavator with the mobile plant?
I see many youtubers fill it up so fast and and wait untill it processes... how lol?

also, i heard somewhere if they paydirt falls into the bucket from above gold ammount is reduced.. is that true?

Any tips are welcome!

Thanks!

[Bad Pilot]

If they have to wait they are probably using the big excavator, that's why many have two MWP's once they get the big excavator. You may get close to this with the small excavator if you're getting the dirt from right next to the MWP & close to the surface but as soon as you have to move the bucket any distance to get the dirt you'll start to fall behind.

Not heard of any issue with paydirt falling into bucket with the MWP. You could try putting the dirt into the bucket while it's on the MWP and see if the bucket % goes up.

[Zuleica]

If you have a full bucket you'll fill the hopper by 25% but it will start processing so you might only see it start at 23%. If you turn off the wash plant and dump a full bucket you'll seet it at 25%. Apparently the large excavator bucket fills it to 50%.

What I do is position my excavator such that I can reach the farthest away from where the washplant will be with the arm fully extended. Then I rotate the arm to over where the washplant will be with the bucket closed and tucked in but the arm extended fully. Then I backup the washplant to where the yellow hash marks of the excavator bucket just overlap the washplant hopper. That way when I open the bucket it will be directly over the washplant hopper. Then I just start digging in an arc around the excavator leaving enough room to drive out on one side of the washplant.

And I might add that with the small excavator each FULL bucket only fills the washed rock bucket by 3% max. So it's still going to take 33 full buckets to get a full white bucket of washed gravel.

[Ruges]

best thing I can say about help with the excavator is key bindings. Change them. I know for myself. and my friends we where always hiting the E to exit or the C to change camera view.
A-D for turning left right was fine.
W-S for large arm up and down works.
T was changed to change camera view
F-C was changed to small arm up and down.
Bucket close (both the bucket and the claw) was set to left mouse
Bucet open (both the bucket and the claw) was set to right mouse

having the bucket and the claw work togeather on one button was pretty handy.

Finally I keep the washplant on the left of me. You might not think that right or left would make a difference. But holding W-D-F-LMB at the same time after you dump into the washplant. is allot easier and comfortable for myself. And then the transfer to S-D is smoth, adding some C pressure when needed. possibly rocking A-D-C-LMB. finally going to finally going to A-W-F to get over the washplant again. and then using C/F-RMB to dump. repeat. The entire new layout makes it allot easier for myself to mash multiple buttons at the same time.

If your used to the default controls swaping them will take some time getting used to. But if you find yourself hiting the E or C key often enough you might find the time it takes to get some muscle memory built into a new keybind might be worth it.

[MadSpaceMouse]

Thanks everybody for all the help !

[Ruges]

Might be a small problem with binding the bucket close with the buck up on the same key. Seems you are no longer allowed to do this. I was going to go play on my laptop, but it wont let me bind those controls. Anyone know where the file is located that contains keybinds so I can edit it? At the vey least transfer the file from my desktop to my laptop?