Tech Brokers & Special Modules

• Tech Brokers trade rare modules for materials and commodities. There are two kinds: Human and Guardian.
• Two deal types. Regular items are a one time unlock. Pre-engineered items cost materials every time you buy one.
• The big three for most players: Guardian FSD Booster, a pre-engineered SCO drive, and Guardian Shield Reinforcement.
• Powerplay modules (like Prismatic Shields) come from ranking up with a Power. Every Power gives every module. The order differs.
• Other special sources: Rescue Megaships (AX gear), Operations (MercGear for Merc Coin), and the Caspian Explorer's Mk II modules.

How to tell them apart: item names that start with "Engineered" are pre-engineered, pay per unit. So is anything that arrives already modded.

What is actually worth your time, in order.

Most of the rest is niche, AX only, or just for fun.

Pick the PESCO. SCO drives have a higher optimal mass, so a fully engineered SCO drive out-jumps the old V1. Add an experimental at any FSD engineer. Most guides say Mass Manager wins on SCO drives at every size. Elvira Martuuk at G1 is enough to apply it.

Every size needs 1 Titan Drive Component (commodity) plus:

Engineered FSD V1 (5A): 18 Datamined Wake Exceptions, 26 Tellurium, 26 Electrochemical Arrays, 28 Chemical Processors. No Titan parts.

• Titan Drive Components drop at destroyed Thargoid Titan wreck sites. They are rare and random. One tested method: fly laps around the outer edge of the wreck field and scoop everything.
• They are corrosive. Carry them in a Corrosion Resistant Cargo Rack.
• Propulsion Elements drop at Titan wrecks too, and from destroyed Thargoid Scouts and Interceptors.
• While you are there, scoop Meta-Alloys and pop Thargoid sensors. Those feed Farseer, Palin, and Sedesi unlocks (Module 1).
• PESCO drives are not sold at megaship tech brokers, like Rescue Ships. Use a station.
• Full Titan wreck guide lives in Module 8.

These arrive already built. Expect to pay materials each time. Check the broker screen before you buy.

Commodities like Radiation Baffle, HN Shock Mount, and Reinforced Mounting Plate are bought at station markets. Find them with Inara's commodity search.

One Guardian Module Blueprint Fragment per unlock. Unlock once, then buy any size at any Guardian Tech Broker. Six modules means six fragments for the full set. Where to farm fragments and Guardian materials: Module 7.

One Guardian Weapon Blueprint Fragment per fixed weapon. Medium and large turrets need 2 fragments. Every size and mount is a separate unlock.

Engineering: Guardian weapons only take G1 mods, and only from Ram Tah (Module 1). Sample cost, Gauss Cannon fixed medium: 1 Weapon BP, 18 Guardian Power Cell, 20 Guardian Technology Component, 15 Manganese, 6 Magnetic Emitter Coil.

One Guardian Vessel Blueprint Fragment each. Needs a Fighter Hangar.

Pledge to any Power, earn merits, rank up. Every Power unlocks all 12 modules by rank 97. Each Power gives its own signature module first, at rank 34. Rank 34 = 247,000 merits. Rank 97 = 751,000 merits. Merits never decay in Powerplay 2.0. Leaving your Power resets them to zero.

Tip: you do not have to pledge to Aisling for Prismatics. Ethos bonuses (+50% merits for your Power's preferred activities) can make another Power faster for your playstyle. Full Powerplay guide: Module 12. Bonus: every rank up pays a mini care package with 250,000 credits plus random ship and on-foot engineering materials.

• Bring everything in one trip. Brokers take no partial payments.
• Commodities take cargo space. Plan a ship with room.
• Unlocked items are only sold where a matching broker exists. Buy spares while you are there, or plan to transfer them.
• Pre-engineered modules cannot take new blueprints. You can only add an experimental effect.
• Guardian core modules cannot be engineered. That is why engineered human modules usually beat them.
• Only one Guardian FSD Booster fits per ship.
• Titan Drive Components are the bottleneck for PESCO drives. Budget time for the Titan wreck run.