I just unlocked my first 8 lock lockbox

[NewtSoup]

It was full of bombs

A reload gave me 1 modular trigger, 1 majaglit and some fruit - AND 4 bombs - 91% hull damage.

The devs have a mean sense of humour.

[Alan Phipps]

Yep.

[NewtSoup]

Yep.

Adding to what Nanook said, some of the lockboxes with higher numbers of locks don't just have explosives on their cases but can also release one or more tracker mines along with rather poor loot when successfully opened. These mines rapidly orbit the box when released and can be lethal to spacesuits or lightly shielded ships, especially if there are more than one mine. If you are cautious and alert in your ship, you can sometimes shoot them before their orbit brings them too close to your ship or even escape them by quickly reversing away, but if they happen to release from the box straight towards your ship then it's a problem.

Yep.

8 tracker mines on the first opening.

4 tracker mines and 3 low value loot items on the second.

[Alan Phipps]

A good tip is always to use your ship to shoot the last lock when the box opening is mainly facing away from you. It gives time for your ship to escape, and then you can pick off the now static mines from a safe distance.

[NewtSoup]

A good tip is always to use your ship to shoot the last lock when the box opening is mainly facing away from you. It gives time for your ship to escape, and then you can pick off the now static mines from a safe distance.

Thank you, I use my ship for every lock and quicksave after each lock. So far I've gone all the way through without hitting the container itself. On the reload I did the last lock again and slammed the ship into full reverse. They got me anyway but at least they didn't blow up the loot ...I mean fruit. I did notice that the loot is randomised on opening the box. So I guess I could reload until I get a good haul but with the loading time for save games it's more fun to just find another container.

[LameFox]

If I'm opening a lot of boxes I like to keep one very precise weak weapon like a laser so I can open the boxes from a bit further away. Those tracker mines are pretty slow, so many S ships with combat engines can reverse away fast enough to just shoot them down as they follow.

It does cost a bit of firepower in combat but I can always compensate with a few heavier guns and use the laser to tap shield regen away while fighting.

[NewtSoup]

I have now opened about seven eight-lock lock boxes and every single one had mostly tracker mines in. They are such a pain to open too AND they rarely have anything valuable in - the four-locks are much more lucrative.

So you can imagine the fear instilled in me when I found my first 10 lock. There it was, spinning very slowly with it's enticing roundness. All the locks well presented and easy to shoot at. I felt it's siren call and the shiver of apprehension run down my spine!

So I quick saved and resisted the temptation to simply blow it to pieces and dispatched the locks in quick succession.

Oh MY WORD

About 800k worth of goodies were vomited out of it and NOT A SINGLE TRACKER MINE.

Faith Restored.

[dtpsprt]

This Egosoft's "bad joke" happens only in the 8 lock lockboxes with 100% hull... the ones that are in 10% hull are filled with goodies too, One just has to be careful where to shoot or get out of the ship and repair the box;s hull...

[NewtSoup]

This Egosoft's "bad joke" happens only in the 8 lock lockboxes with 100% hull... the ones that are in 10% hull are filled with goodies too, One just has to be careful where to shoot or get out of the ship and repair the box;s hull...

that's interesting, thank you. I wonder then, should I shoot a 100% lockbox once to try and destroy the mines inside before opening the locks? I shall have to try this.

[grapedog]

Some other tips;

a center mounted gun is very useful for lockboxes, as opposed to side mounted. It can be a lot harder to open locks on an opposite side from a side mounted gun.

For fast spinnint lockboxes you can nudge them lightly with your ship to help slow the spin speed.

I find ion blaster to be the best lockbox opener, because if you miss it does minimal hull damage to the box.

If the tracker mines didnt get you, but they are close to the loot, do a little fly by to drag the tracker mines towards you and away from the loot for a second pass.

Be extra careful if the box is leaking smoke, those are explosives on the lockbox for a big boom if you blow it up accidentally..

Many many more lockboxes will appear for your pilot without having to scan, than they will for you, and you have to scan usually to get em. Early game is pretty easy to earn decent early cash by letting your pilot fly with you in the back, then just take over when they find a box.

[NewtSoup]

Some other tips;

a center mounted gun is very useful for lockboxes, as opposed to side mounted. It can be a lot harder to open locks on an opposite side from a side mounted gun.

For fast spinnint lockboxes you can nudge them lightly with your ship to help slow the spin speed.

I find ion blaster to be the best lockbox opener, because if you miss it does minimal hull damage to the box.

If the tracker mines didnt get you, but they are close to the loot, do a little fly by to drag the tracker mines towards you and away from the loot for a second pass.

Be extra careful if the box is leaking smoke, those are explosives on the lockbox for a big boom if you blow it up accidentally..

Many many more lockboxes will appear for your pilot without having to scan, than they will for you, and you have to scan usually to get em. Early game is pretty easy to earn decent early cash by letting your pilot fly with you in the back, then just take over when they find a box.

Thank you, I am reasonably adept at opening the boxes as I did it a LOT in Rebirth. The exploding ones are the same. The tracker mines were a new feature for me. I did try shooting one to see if it would destroy the mines and leave the loot but it didn't. The loot in the 8-locks has not been worth the effort of opening them so now I just blow them up.

My favourite so far has been the 10-lock. That had a nice amount of loot. The 4's generally are quite productive too. I use the suit laser to open locks if I'm in the Cerberus as the Ion Cannons are not precise enough to hit locks.