Cloaking Device Vulnerability / Repairs

[ffutures]

I seem to need to fix my cloaking device rather more often than I would expect, compared to other equipment. Given that the thing is given to every player sooner or later and wasn't breakable (to the best of my knowledge) or repairable in Elite, I'm wondering why it's now so vulnerable to damage. I have the oxp for cloaking device repair, but having to repeatedly find TL15 planets to get the work done is a MAJOR pain, especially if you're in Galaxy 3 or 4 and need to get to Galaxy 5 for the next TL15 world! And yes, I have had to do this.

It's possible that I've just been very unlucky, but we have here a piece of equipment that is (a) in every player ship sooner or later, (b) vulnerable to damage and (c) either unrepairable or horrendously expensive and inconvenient to get fixed, depending on whether or not you have the relevant OXP installed.

What I would suggest is that this needs to be tweaked. Maybe by making the thing invulnerable again, like the jump drive or hyperdrive etc., or by making repairs cheaper and a little more readily available. Some situations are lethal without it, especially if you're playing in e.g. Thargoid Wars and have some of the extra Thargoid OXPs running.

[Cody]

Time was when the cloak wasn't repairable at all - be thankful that you can at least get it fixed now!
I too had a spell where it seemed to take regular damage - cost me a fortune in shipyard bills!

[Lone_Wolf]

ffutures, you might want to install  Repair Bots .

It can repair any core equipment and majority of oxp equipment items , the chance of a successfull repair depends on equipment techlevel.

[Smivs]

The cloak is repairable in the core game now, so although CloakRepair OXP is still available it is now redundant. You will still need to find a TL15 planet for the repair though, which is fair enough - it is after all a secret piece of military equipment and, if you get one at all, is only obtained in mysterious circumstances.

[ffutures]

OK. One question - the current repair options are repair or replacement with a refurbished unit (at double the price). Is the the replacement supposed to be more reliable than the repair?

[Norby]

Alternatively you can visit a Hacker Outpost in  Anarchies. Still need high tech level but not as high.

Repairs in the core costs the half of the original price and give back exactly the original equipment so no difference between a fixed and a new one.

[ffutures]

So I've just wasted 25K credits.

Oh well, it's only mOOney...

[Pirate World MK]

yeah the damn cloaking device , I never even knew I had it until it just appeared as N/A in my itinery (I looked into the cloaked asp mission realized I must have collected it there , although I can't remember scooping anything odd but maybe I did) . Anyway I repaired it at a TL15 after a bit of investigation . I attempted to use it a couple of times , was still getting fired at & queried whether it was worth the 25k credits it cost to repair . Maybe I was unlucky or wasn't using it advantageously ? when it got damaged @again' I made the decision it wasn't worth the repair & has been idle as broken ever since .
Is the consensus that this is a decent bit of kit or not ? those just my experiences above . I know this thread is almost 6 years ago & I am probably waffling to Pirate World MK only but hey ho .
Still loving the game . Now moved on to just attacking people indiscriminately (well except the space filth of course). It's all about the number of kills I guess . 600 more to go until deadly & thus surpassing my junior original Elite effort of dangerous

[Cody]

Thing is, if you fire at something whilst cloaked, you automatically uncloak and reveal yourself. As for its repair bill, 25k is peanuts for such tech - and it is worth having.

[another_commander]

Plus it's very effective against missiles. It makes them lose lock on you and instead of actively chasing you, they just fly in a straight line until they either run out of fuel or you decloak (in which case they resume chasing you).

[Cody]

<nods> Also, if you find yourself stranded in interstellar space, the cloak can buy you time to seek an escape.


What's the correct jargon, btw - decloak or uncloak? I've often wondered. Is it a Star Trek thing?

[another_commander]

What's the correct jargon, btw - decloak or uncloak? I've often wondered. Is it a Star Trek thing?

Not sure. I saw "decloak" once in an EVE Online video and it stuck like that.

[ffutures]

Is this thread a record for time between posts, 2014-2019?

[Cody]

Is this thread a record for time between posts, 2014-2019?

I believe Leafy holds that record - just over eight years (2004 - 2012).

[Pirate World MK]

Thing is, if you fire at something whilst cloaked, you automatically uncloak and reveal yourself. As for its repair bill, 25k is peanuts for such tech - and it is worth having.

Ah , that would possibly explain why I have not appreciated it's merits .

I 'upgraded' my Cobra MK3 to an Asp MK2 and the cloaking device appeared to move across with me . Has mysteriously disappeared now & can't remember where , when or why so will head to a TL15 & see if I can purchase one from new .

I say 'upgrade' as I am still not convinced which ship is better , I kind of loved my old Cobby...sniff ! still not sure after 800 odd kills later . If it had a tiny bit of cargo space it may have swung it for me towards Asp . My money running down without the trading , repair bills cost more than the passenger contracts can yield . Oh well , the quest for Elite continues