guide Simply Jetpacks: Let's Fly Around In Early Game

[Curunir]

Greetings, Tekkiteers!

 

I had a look at Simply Jetpacks (SJ), the newest addition to Tekkit. While there has been a jetpack module before within the arsenal of Modular Powersuits, this is expensive endgame stuff, and it has to be balanced against all the other modules as well.

 

So, what does SJ offer? In short, it adds jetpacks to early game, which is a big deal and should change the course of recommended progression quite a lot.

 

 

1. What do we have here?

Unlike Modular Powersuits, Simply Jetpacks is indeed rather simple. You could start with as little as potatoes, redstone, tin, lead and string, and go for the single-use, already-charged Tuberous Jetpack. Yes, this mod does allow you to stick a few wires into a potato and take to the skies with the result. But before you rush out and build your Tuber Air Force, beware that these only have thrust for 1-2 seconds. They also don't start reliably and tend to explode, so they're really just manned fireworks.

As you may have guessed, scaling is the word here. As a tie-in to Thermal Expansion, SJ scales beautifully with the TE power levels, namely Leadstone, Hardened, Redstone and Resonant. The power cores are Flux Capacitors, and the completed jetpacks are charged just like those in Energetic Infusers. Like Restone Arsenal tools, they can be (re-)charged with a separate activated Flux Capacitor on your hotbar. Just place the jetpack on your hotbar for charging, and don't forget that the Flux Capacitor needs to be activated once by shift-right-clicking when you hold it.

 

2. What do I need?

If you can build a certain tier of Flux Capacitor, you should be able to build the corresponding jetpack, too. I recommend going straight for Hardened, as Invar is not that hard to come by, and the added speed and flight duration will be useful. You will need Dynamos, gears, some redstone and assorted metal ingots and pipes to turn the capacitors into something that will fly.

 

3. Alright, how to take off?

You need to wear the charged jetpack in the chest plate armor slot. That's right, you will forfeit a large chunk of defense for the ability to fly, but that is to be expected. Get used to the thought that you have to use that mobility to avoid tight situations, rather than stay and fight them out. You can, after all, just press a button and rise above your enemies now.

The default key to toggle the engine is F. Hover mode is toggled with C. In Tekkit, C is also the REI Minimap waypoint binding key, so I suggest you assign something else for waypoints in REI config. Once activated, holding the jump key will fire the thrusters, and you will see smoke spewing downwards as you rise.

 

4. It's not the fall that kills you...

Unless you already managed to get a Feather Falling enchantment onto your boots, you are unprotected against fall damage. Try to do your first flight attempts over water or another friendly liquid, and always bear in mind that only the thruster stands between you and that bitch whose name is gravity. Have frequent looks at the charge level of your pack until you know how long it lasts. Because when it's empty, you're a pedestrian again. And if it goes empty over a lava lake... well, you know the gruesome details.

 

5. Bring your gun

You definitely should take a ranged weapon on your flights, preferably something better than just vanilla bows. This is Tekkit, after all. A musket seems a good choice in early game, especially when you dare the Nether. One well-aimed musket shot will kill a ghast, a creeper, an unarmoured skeleton and most animals, in case you are just out for meat and leather. The musket can be reloaded while flying, which is a great tactical advantage.

 

6. Advanced flight lessons

I recommend always keeping hover mode enabled, although it is ultimately a matter of preference. In hover mode, you will lose altitude slowly when not thrusting. Without it, you will simply fall when there is no thrust. Landing safely on dry ground can be a bit tricky that way, as you basically need to pulse the thrust. While in hover mode, you can press sneak (default: shift key) to accelerate sinking while still controlling your descent. This is useful on higher power levels.

 

7. As you advance...

Higher-level jetpacks have some profound advantages. Flight speed is higher on each consecutive level, and while power drain is also higher, the increased battery capacity still extends your overall flying time. Your sinking rate while hovering will also decrease. A Resonant Jetpack will make you fly at high speeds over long periods of time and hover in the air with just a very slight sink rate. Lower levels will not be so graceful, but still good enough to simplify many things.

 

8. What to do with it?

Being able to fly will make many tasks simpler. You can go spelunking with impunity, because you will always be able to return quickly even through vertical shafts. Just don't forget to mark your way.

You can fly into your quarry pit and resolve small issues without tedious ladder work. You can even brave the Nether and dash around to nibble those precious ores away before the zombie pigmen even know you're there. And even when they find you - don't fight a losing fight, just rocket away from them. Shoot the buggers with your musket if they sit on top of something precious that you want to get. I find it easiest to fly up to a safe spot where they cannot reach, and then shoot them from a distance.

I am not into Galacticraft, but I imagine that offworld missions will also benefit in no small way from a pack of thrusters on your back.

 

9. Always make two

I highly recommend taking the effort and making two jetpacks each time, so you can leave one as a spare in your base. Remember that while you can go places with your jetpack, you can also die in those places. If you find yourself respawning without another jetpack in reach, the stuff you dropped may be inaccessible. With that spare, there might still be a chance for retrieval.

 

 

10. What about the Powersuit?

Sadly, when you go for the Powersuit, you will have to discard your Resonant Jetpack, as both compete for the same armor slot. But it will serve you well until then, so you should only switch to a Powersuit when you can afford to maximize its power and flight abilities. A maxed-out Powersuit is stronger (and way more expensive) than the top-level jetpack.

 

 

Any questions, thoughts, corrections? This is a forum, so share your thoughts.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Curunir

[Curunir]

I just found out that you can enchant the Musket, much like a bow. With is one here, you will one-shot just about anything that isn't wearing armour. It also won't consume any bullets, as long as you keep one around.

 

 

Jetpacks AND rocket launchers.  :-D

 

In case you are wondering how to get the exact enchantments you want onto an item, look into Minefactory Reloaded and its Auto-Enchanter / Auto-Anvil.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Curunir