Spacesuit EMP (electromagnetic pulse) bombs are used to create signal leaks on stations for stealing blueprints. They have no other use.

See the Blueprints section for requirements for being able to steal blueprints.

EMPs are crafted from three materials at the crafting stations found next to trade counters on stations.

[The component you’ll have the most trouble finding is “lodestone.” If you see this for sale anywhere, always buy every lodestone they have (they’re cheap, but rarely for sale and usallly have to be found as a byproduct of asteroid mining).]

To use an EMP bomb, you need to be out in space in your spacesuit, and have the bomb launcher selected as your current tool.

Note that if you have spacesuit bombs in your inventory the explosive bomb (vs EMP bomb) may be selected as the current ammunition for the launcher. Press the “next ammunition” key (configured in game settings) to change to the bomb icon with the lightning bolts.

Fire the bomb at the hull of the target station module, wait for it to land, then set it off. It will create (usually) four new signal leaks that you can scan from your space suit (but not from your ship). One of the signal leaks will give you the blueprint for that module type.

You can set off an EMP once it lands by selecting it, right clicking on it, and selecting the “detonate” command. You can also do this from inside your ship if you are in the pilot chair.

Setting off an EMP from inside your ship (sitting in the pilot chair) will generally prevent all detection and police response if you are having trouble with it being detected as an attack against the station.

Using EMP bombs does not have a reputation penalty.

It does, however, count as setting off a bomb, a (small) attack on nearby vessels and traffic. If police drones are nearby, and associate you with the detonation, they will become hostile. Fortunately, police drones do not have any weapons. Unfortunately, they do have radios and so other nearby sector-police or military ships (which do have weapons) may come to investigate.

After setting off an EMP, or in the process of doing so, you may attract the attention of station police. But this is not always because of the EMP!

Police may also go hostile because you are carrying illegal inventory items. This is unrelated to using the EMP, and happens because you’re hanging around the station in your space suit, making an easy scan target. Police will scan you, just like they scan your ship.

Depositing your inventory somewhere while you’re out doing EMP work can help. (See the Inventory Items section.)

EMP bomb usage is a multi-step process, and learning to use them effectively can be frustrating for new players.

Some suggestions you may find useful to ease the experience:

1. Save First as it often happens that signal leaks will appear inside an invisible bounding box of the station model, and you will be unable to actually get next to the signal leak to scan it, thus effectively wasting the valuable EMP.
2. EMP blast have an invisible radius, so pick places to deploy them that are as far away from station drone traffic as possible. Stations see EMB blast on any traffic/ships as an unprovoked attack.
3. Setting off a blast when there is traffic (especially station security drones) will draw a response.
4. Police may notice, and respond. Don’t panic, the police drones have no guns and can only yell at you.
5. If there are military ships, or sector police nearby, they may turn hostile as well, and they do have guns and will kill you (unlike the local station police drones).
6. When you get out into your suit, move away from your ship and consider ordering your ship to dock at the station — this keeps it from shooting at hostile police drones if your EMP is noticed. Police drones can’t hurt you, but having your ship fire on one will hurt your reputation.
7. If there’s a police response, note that it’s only a temporary reputation loss with that station, not a permanent rep loss with the Faction that owns it. Keep your head down, finish your task before any military ships can respond, get clear.
8. Teleport to your docked ship immediately when done. You will die instantly if anything fires at you while in your space suit.