Ast' Cracks: A visual guide for deep core mining

Tired of endlessly roaming through planetary rings in the hopes of finding the fabled fissure asteroids?



Hopefully, this visual guide will help you reduce the time spent looking for fissure asteroids in planetary rings by a fair amount.

Keep in mind that this guide is meant for asteroid visual reference (for the most part), I'm assuming that you already know how to mine in E:D.

If you've never mined before, check The Popular Guide To Space Mining![docs.google.com]

Foreword

My first mining foray in 3.3 was rather depressing.
I spent ~9 hours looking for the elusive fissure asteroids, only to find a mere handful.

I didn't know how the Pulse Wave Analyser[elite-dangerous.wikia.com] worked.
More importantly, I didn't even know what fissure asteroids looked like!
As a consequence, I wasted a lot of time checking asteroids that should've been ignored, roaming through pristine metallic rings that were actually "dry", etc.

Icy is the new Metallic

If anyone had told me this before the 3.3 update, I wouldn't have believed it.

Some commanders might take a look at commodity prices[inara.cz] and conclude that metals sell for higher prices than the typical minerals found in icy rings... therefore, metallic rings must be more profitable.

While it's true that metals are more expensive than most minerals found in icy rings, there's one exception called "low temperature diamonds" , which actually makes all the difference.

With the introduction of the new mining mechanics in 3.3, now all types of rings have hotspots, where the most expensive minerals can be found.
Thanks to these hotspots, metallic rings offer access to both metals and expensive minerals alike.

The problem is that the price of metals, although higher than most common minerals, is still rather low.
A single icy asteroid loaded with low temperature diamonds is worth several times more than a bunch of metallic asteroids put together.

Now, some might say "but you can find painite asteroids in metallic rings, which are almost as valuable as low temperature diamond ones".
While that's true, in my experience, finding painite is simply a pain (...I couldn't resist, sorry).

Low temperature diamond asteroids seem to be more common, in my experience, which makes icy rings a better choice (unless you know of places that are bursting with painite asteroids, ofc)

Anyway, the white color of icy asteroids also helps, since it makes fissure asteroids easier to identify.

That's why, in my experience, mining in icy rings actually pays more at the end of the day.

The Hunt for Ast' Cracks

First off, you'll need to find a proper mining location.
Look for scarcely populated star systems with low traffic and pristine reserves.

If you see other commanders around, it's bad news, you don't want the hotspots to be spoiled, so find an alternative star system (hotspots will deplete as commanders mine them).
If you don't see other commanders around, it might also be bad news (since they could be playing solo/private), so...

Always check the traffic of candidate star systems using online tools.

You can check commander traffic in specific systems by using https://www.edsm.net/

Once you've found a proper candidate, travel to the planet / moon in question and map its icy ring using probes in order to find hotspots.
Any 3.3 mineral hotspot will work, but, ofc, always go for the most expensive minerals.

When you finally drop in the hotspot, deploy your hardpoints, select your Pulse Wave Analyser and let the hunt begin!

Remember, we'll focus on fissure asteroids, we'll ignore the rest (unless low temperature diamonds are involved ^^).

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you don't find fissure asteroids in the hotspot after 10 minutes of searching, just leave and try your luck in other hotspots / rings / star systems.
Keep trying until you find a hotspot where fissure asteroids are relatively easy to find.

Failure to do this will lead to meagre profits/hr and insanity ^^

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Now we'll learn how to sort out asteroids, based on Pulse Wave Analyser readings.

(Remember, you'll need to use a Pulse Wave Analyser[elite-dangerous.wikia.com]
in order to get these "glow" readings.)

I'll classify asteroids in three different groups, based on the intensity of their glow.

1# 'Don't even bother' asteroids

This type of asteroids is the most common of the three.
Asteroids of this kind are characterized by a comparatively dim (or non-existant) glow.
The color of their "squares" is typically yellow (although they can also be orange / reddish).

They typically contain surface deposits.

2# Evil asteroids

This is the most annoying kind of asteroids.
They typically contain surface and/or subsurface deposits.

Asteroids of this type are characterized by a misleading glow, which can be easily confused with "fissure type glow".

If you pay attention, you'll see that the glow from these asteroids is comparatively intense, but not as intense as in fissure type asteroids (except for some nasty ones that we'll see later).

When mining in planetary rings, you'll be slave to the color/glow references from the asteroids around. Since you'll be surrounded by "Don't Even Bother" asteroids most of the time (which barely glow), "Evil" asteroids will tend to look like fissure asteroids, since they glow considerably more.

Be mindful of this, don't let these Evil asteroids lead you astray!

NOTE: By petition of the honorable and learned gentleman bad coffee
Bromellite fissure asteroids are officially included in this category!
Whenever you find them, blow them to bits!
(don't do it for profit, since they'll barely yield any, do it for justice! ^^ )

3# Fissure Asteroids

Finally! The asteroids we're all after!

This type of asteroids tend to have the most intense glow (you'll likely find a few odd ones, which don't glow as intensely).
They can either have a very intense reddish glow or a very intense yellow-orange glow (with some reddish tones, perhaps).

Their color doesn't matter, they'll make you rich regardless!

They always contain deep core deposits and, typically, surface and/or subsurface deposits as well.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The smallest asteroids may display fissure-like glow without actually having fissures. As far as I can tell, subsurface deposits are enough to make them glow like there's no tomorrow ^^. As a rule of thumb, ignore tiny asteroids (unless you want to check them for low temperature diamonds, ofc!)

Let's put all this into practice!

Example 1

-Somewhat evil + don't even bother:
https://i.imgur.com/v5yBVVX.jpg

Example 2

Don't even bother + evil + fissure (worth checking regardless):
https://i.imgur.com/UCNQQuu.jpg

Example 3

Don't even bother + one of the most evil asteroids I've ever seen (totally worth checking):
https://i.imgur.com/wCNA0SO.jpg

Example 4

Evil + evil (worth checking):
https://i.imgur.com/8NdRRzT.jpg

Example 5

Evil (worth checking):
https://i.imgur.com/5MBg303.jpg

Example 6

Don't even bother + evil:
https://i.imgur.com/c63TVko.jpg

Example 7

Don't even bother + evil (worth checking):
https://i.imgur.com/xyCQ8UL.jpg

Example 8

Fissure asteroid:
https://i.imgur.com/3fPpL9N.jpg

Example 9

Evil asteroid (worth checking):
https://i.imgur.com/HdRQPrb.jpg

Example 10

Fissure asteroid:
https://i.imgur.com/qp2T008.jpg

Example 11

Evil asteroid (worth checking) + don't even bother:
https://i.imgur.com/7906fvD.jpg

Example 12

Evil asteroid (worth checking):
https://i.imgur.com/uZiqIP7.jpg

Example 13

Fissure asteroid + don't even bother:
https://i.imgur.com/AO7rv8A.jpg


As you can see, fissure asteroids always have a distinctive very intense glow.
The only problem you'll find are those nasty intensely glowing evil asteroids, which can be easily mistaken for fissure asteroids.
This isn't actually a problem, since they can be inspected quickly and then you can keep moving.

Knowing your Ast' Cracks

Keep in mind that sorting asteroid signals from a distance is only half of the equation.
The other half is knowing how to spot fissures without the need to waste a prospector limpet (potentially).

NOTE: I'm assuming most of you already know this, but you'll need to fire a prospector limpet before starting the asteroid mining process (it increases yield and provides useful information)

Here you have a few fissure pics, so you know what to look for:





TIP: In order to spot asteroid fissures more easily from up close, you can try enabling night vision.
Here are a couple more fissure pics (night vision only):

Blowing Ast' Cracks

Now that you know how to spot fissures, you need to learn how to blow them up for optimal yield.

First, fire a prospector limpet at the asteroid (if you haven't already), then target one of the fissures (its strength will be indicated in the lower left corner).
Fissure strength can be either "low", "average" or "high", this basically indicates the optimal explosive yield for that fissure.

Then select your Seismic Charge Launcher[elite-dangerous.wikia.com] , when you do, six vertical markers will appear on the HUD.

Those HUD markers indicate the explosive yield of your seismic charges.
In order to increase their explosive yield, you need to hold down the fire button until the indicator reaches the desired yield level, then release.



At first glance, you might think that charge explosive yield should match fissure strength, for optimal results... but it's not quite like that in practice.

TIP: In order to reduce the number of seismic charges spent, start by finding low strength fissures in the asteroid, then plant high yield charges on them.
This will help you reach optimal detonation yield using just a few seismic charges.
(My efficiency record so far is 2-3 charges per asteroid)

The overall asteroid detonation yield will be displayed on the upper right corner.
Normally, you'll want to keep it within the "blue area" for optimal results.

TIP: Exceeding optimal asteroid detonation yield ("blue area") just by A TINY BIT (very few red peaks/squares), will provide the best yield. Be careful, though, since you'll be pushing it to the very edge... it's very easy to miscalculate this and overshoot (leading to reduced yield).

If you get carried away and exceed optimal detonation yield, don't worry, you can still correct the situation by disabling one of the seismic charges.
(Left side panel > contacts > asteroid fissure > disarm charge)

Keep in mind, though, that the countdown won't be stopped, so you'll need to do this fast.



Once you've mastered this, you'll be getting ~20 chunks of rare minerals per asteroid.

Don't sell yourself cheap!

Congratulations!
You've finally become an ast' crack ace, fissure asteroids can't hide from you!

However, all your efforts will have been for nothing if you end up selling your valuable cargo cheap!
Always sell to stations that desperately need the resources you carry.

When you're done mining, check commodity price charts like this one[inara.cz] or this one[eddb.io]

Select the commodity you're interested in selling and then use the available tools to find the best station choices.

This will seriously maximize your profits, so do it!

Final words, [placeholder section]

That's about all I can think of right now.

I hope you'll find this visual guide helpful!

PS. If you don't like this guide, you know what they say about looking the mouths of gift horses ^^

[Fenyella]

Late to the party, have mined fissure roids since the update that actually brought them into the game. Was searching for something completely unrelated but stumbled upon this thread.

First off: I don't understand what people are saying about "black lines" and that your guide is bad.
I know what black lines they speak of, it is completely settings- and hardware based, aswell as monitor setup. Has nothing to do with fissures, just coincidence.
I've seen black lines where no fissures were present, i've not seen black lines where i scooped up big hauls of LTD's ... people are just weird.

Anyways, your guide is one i've sent to friends before, especially the video, that this was used in.
So when i saw people commenting you're "wrong", i just wanted to chime in and say:
No you're not. This guide is supreme.

Just as a small token of gratitude for all the work your guide has saved all of us.
Fly dangerously, CMDR o7

[van Leeuwenhoek's mustache]

@Mattbat64

I haven't played E:D in a long time, but I seem to recall that I used to bring about 2/3 of cargo space worth of limpets.

I used to jettison limpets when needed, in order to make room for minerals... limpets are dirt cheap, after all.

However, keep in mind that I used to mine with my cutter, which had lots of room to spare.

Right now I don't recall the ratio of limpets I used when mining with my krait... might've been the same, idk.

Just carry as many limpets as you want and toss them if you need space.

[Mattbat64]

whats a good ratio to the amount of limpets you need to bring to the amount of cargo space that you ahve would you recommend? I was thinking 1/3

[Girthius Maximus]

Best money to be made in the game.

[WolfintheWheat]

I will recommend that you look for fissure asteroids with A) Night Vision & Spotlights on, and B) in any asteroid belt except for the ones that are mostly reddish metallic asteroids. It's much more difficult to identify fissured asteroids both from afar and up close in those types of asteroid fields. Icy or Rocky ones seem much easier and no less plentiful.

[Redovic Draconis]

i hate having to find crackable asteroids. this helps.

[Articulate Llama]

This is a lot of work for simply saying "Look for the mess of black lines."

I have made 2tr core mining so far, and the color system just doesnt work properly, but the shape does. You want the thick, almost tangled, mess of black lines and you need to have night vision turned on.

And as mentioned earlier, from far away you will only see a small bit of thick black line. Closer up it will get thicker and ticker, and color shifts more into the green the closer you get. Though at that close you can usually spot the fissures.

Look for the brightest asteroids when pulsewave, all core asteroids are exactly the same shape, never will different shaped asteroids be cores, and then go towards any you find black lines on. Pop a prospector limpet to be sure, or look for fissures up close.

[Jackofallgods]

If you use edprofiler and change your games contrast it is a bit harder to spot good rocks. For me anyways. I always use a different color scheme and after turning that off it became way easier to spot good rocks. Just a tip for any fellow graphic tweakers out there.

[ZDhulter]

the black lines people refer to have basis, ive played on ps4 and pc, and the black lines are what i use to determine when to use a prospector, However what it seems people are missijng is that its the SECOND pulse that shows the lines, and it has to be following closely with the first in order to show them, also there needs to be a great deal of them, just a few isnt going to give you anything, it will look like a grid over the majority of the astroid. and i have notice Void Opals are an exception, they are sometimes in random asteroids that dont follow any rules

[Sayca]

I HATE Evil'steroids.