The basic equipment needed to start probing is a Core Scan Probe Launcher I and Core Scanner Probes (I would bring a full clip of 8 probes).

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "The basic equipment needed to start probing is a Core Scan Probe Launcher I and Core Scanner Probes (I would bring a full clip of 8 probes)."

Eileen Bruce
5 years ago
Views:

1 Soldiers of Industry Exploration Guide Greeting corpmates, this is Heril, your corporation Explorator. As you all either know, or are just about to find out, I provide for most of my income via exploration, because I m just not really a mission person. This is a little guide I decided to whip together I created it after theorizing various fits, for various exploration scenarios. I thought, This all won t easily fit in a forum post, or in a couple of corpmails. So I decided to make it into a mini guide of sorts. As of today, September 1, 2009, only three of the following fits are tested by me, and another one I will certify as tested, since it is identical to a fit I use, just the ship is named differently. First, I will cover some probing and exploration basics. Then I will go over four general scenarios, as well as fittings from every race. I will note which ones are tested (and as perhaps this is updated, update that) as well as comments as to why I fitted both tested and untested fits the way I did. Probing Astrometrics, also known as probing is just using probes either to find other players ships, or to find exploration sites. Four skills help with probing: Astrometrics: Requires Science III. You can use one per level, with a base number of three, meaning at V you can use eight active probes at once. You need this at II to use the probe launcher for combat probes, III and IV for two other important astrometrics skills, and V for the Deep Space Probes. Astrometric Rangefinding: Requires Science II. Increases scan probe strength by 10% per level. Incredibly useful and is suggested to get to III. Higher levels take a long time since it is a rank 8 skill, so save those for later. Astrometric Acquisition : Requires Astrometrics III. Reduces time it takes for your probes to perform their scan after they are in position. Getting to III recommended. Again, higher levels take considerable time, so hold them off for just a bit. Astrometric Pinpointing : Requires Astrometrics IV. This one is interesting, as it takes something that you might not notices and reduces it. What it does is reduce scan deviation by 10% per level. Same level recommendation as Acquisition. The basic equipment needed to start probing is a Core Scan Probe Launcher I and Core Scanner Probes (I would bring a full clip of 8 probes). First you warp to somewhere that you feel safe, and away from others. Then, with Probes loaded in the launcher, activate the probe launcher. Then you open up the scanner window, which is on the left part of the HUD, right left of your ship health indicators. The last thing you need to do is open up your map

2 by pressing F10. If this comes up with the starmap instead of the system map, click toggle map on the world map window, and then minimize it. You ll notice that you have Probe 1 in your scanner window, and where you are on the system map, you will see the probe is exactly where you are. It is represented by a cube with an arrow coming off of each face. There is also a white interlaced sphere around this. This indicates the current scan range of the probe. In the scanner window press the Analyze button, the one to the left. Now wait a few seconds, and the probe will give the results, if there were no Cosmic Signatures (which will not be at 100% after a first scan), click recall active probes, reload the probe launcher and go to the next system, repeating until you do, so you can continue this guide. Now click the entry in your scanner window that says Cosmic Signature. You will see a red sphere appear. This will usually, but not always, be inside the white sphere. Assuming there is never any scan deviation (which there always is some) that cosmic signature is somewhere in that sphere. Next, what we need to do is to reduce the possible dimension of the signature site from 3 to 2 dimensions. To do this, drop another probe by activating the probe launcher again. This second probe will be in the same location as the first, but that s not we want. So reposition the camera so that you are looking as if from above, and dragging on one of the arrows you can see, pull one away from the other, until the moved probe is about at where the red sphere is and scan again. One of two things (well, three actually, but I will get to the third later) will show up. Either the signature will still show as a sphere, or it will show as a red circle. If it s as a red circle, you can go to the next probe, otherwise, I like to imagine a square, or even a box that circumscribes the sphere, where one of the vertices of that shape is where the second probe is now. Move the second probe to each of the other corners, scanning each time until it does come up as a circle. Now that you have a circle, we know the site is somewhere within that circle, so we drop a third probe, and this time move it so it s just outside the circle on one end, probe there, if it s still a circle, move to the other side, and scan again, and you should on one of those scans gotten two dots. Now, I don t think it should show two dots, but a one dimensional line segment. The signature is now somewhere on that line. This time when we drop the fourth and final probe, we reposition our camera so all the previous probes are horizontally aligned, and first pull the fourth probe above the previous three. Then going back to the from above view, move it so it is just over the point that is towards the top, probe, and if that is a miss, move it down below the lower point and scan there. After doing this with some tweaking, you should have one single red dot, and you know pretty much where the signature is. But you ll notice you can t warp to it, and the signal strength is probably still pretty low, so now we need to pinpoint it. Core probes have 8 ranges, starting with 32 AU with each successive one being half the range of the previous. Now, in either order, move the probes tighter together by dragging the arrows, and while holding shift, click on the edge of one sphere and drag it inwards till it reaches the next level (indicated

3 by light circles), adjusting the probes so the current red dot is in between each of the probes, and is within the range of all four, and scan again, for a higher scan strength. Assuming no difficulties, you can repeat this process as the strength goes up, first finding what class of signature, then later the name, and when you get 100%, ability to warp to it. One possible hitch you get into when reducing the probe ranges is you lose the single dot, getting one of the previous. This means that one or more probes got out of range of the site, and you either have to adjust them individually, or slightly move the whole formation by dragging one of the arrows while holding shift. Continue practicing this for a bit, and your scan time will come down. With proper astrometrics skills, a little practice, and a mouse that doesn t fail, you should be able to eventually get from the first drop to 100% scanning within at least five minutes and even less. The Deep Space Scanner Probes, when able to be used are a fantastic tool, especially for larger systems, since it has such a long maximum range, and can find ships as well as exploration sites, giving you an easy look at what is available in the system. They are offset by a poor deviation, poor scan strength, and have a high minimum range, but can still be used along with other probes to scan sites or ships down. Keep in mind, that whenever you are done scanning a system to recall your active probes, and reload your launcher. To make this quicker, open up your cargo after the probes have returned, and stack the probes on top of each other, so you only reload once. Exploration As you probe, when you get to around 30% signal strength, you get more information about a site. You get its type, which is one of five (six): Anomalies Combat sites. (These automatically are 100% if within range of a probe during the scan) Gravimetric Asteroid belt Ladar Gas clouds Magnetometric Archaeology or Salvaging Radar Hacking sites Unknown Exploration Complexes or Wormholes There are some ways to tell some of these without getting to that threshold. For example, most sites tend to be near to planets, one exception to this is Wormholes, which can be anywhere within the system. Also, if you get a number of signatures, and either are looking for, or are avoiding gravimetric sites, they tend to be the sites that are the hardest to scan out, so they typically have the lowest signature strength to begin with. For these various sites, different skills are needed. For Anomalies and Complexes, you just need combat skills (and an appropriately sized ship for the complex). For Gravimetric you need some sort of mining ship. Ladar sites require a Gas Cloud Harvester I, which no ship has bonuses to. This requires Mining IV and Gas Harvesting I to equip one. In general, unless you are in the business of making boosters, these

4 are worthless. Magnetometric sites either require an or a depending on the site, the salvager of course requires Survey III, Mechanic III so you can get Salvaging I. The analyzer on the other hand requires Survey V and Science V so you can get Archaeology I. I have yet to actually do any archaeology sites (1.5 days to go as of writing this), so I can t confirm what they contain. Radar sites require a, which you need Science V and Electronics Upgrades V to get Hacking I to use it. These contain items such as datacores, skillbooks and other things related to invention and research. Plexes are similar to the plexes you see on the overview in some systems. The difference is that these are constantly spawned and refreshed all over. You have the chance to get deadspace, faction loot, and sometimes nice things like T2 implants (I didn t get one of these, but someone I said hi to while doing a site reported that as their loot from that site. Wormholes themselves are worth nothing in and of themselves, but require even more probing to use. Wormholes After you ve scanned down a wormhole, and warp to it, it will have a strange looking sphere. The wormhole will have a designator in it s info, as well as info as to how long it has to go, and how much mass it can handle taking through. It also has the danger level, which is an indicator of what s on the other side. Go and look up the designator online, which should give you an idea of where you are going. Make sure before you jump to bookmark this side of the wormhole, and then on the other side bookmark it again. After jumping through you ll see in the system information a Locus. Download Wormhole Thingie and lookup that locus. It will give you more information on the class (difficulty) of the wormhole, as well as any effects on your ship by it. First thing you ll notice is that no one shows up in local. In wormhole space, you don t appear in local until you speak in local. So, unless you want to reveal to everyone that might be there of your presence, keep silent. Another thing you ll notice is a lack of everything. That s because besides planets and moons, everything that is in wormhole space has to be scanned out first, including the belts. Class 1 and 2 wormholes can be soloed in a Battlecruiser, but you might need to warp out a couple times in some combat sites. Anything higher pretty much requires at least someone helping with the rare exception.

5 Ship fittings Now, to what I consider the main event. This is going to show some fittings either I have made and have tested, as well some theorized fits, as well as the occasional comments. Highsec Exploration For highsec exploration the suggested ship class is a cruiser. Except for the plexes that are too small, cruisers are perfect. Amarr Arbitrator *Tested* This is the personal fit that I pretty much use, and is thus tested. I usually swap out the omni tank modules for rat specifics (I actually use faction). I warp into anomalies at 50km, orbit the central structure at 45km, let my drones do the work, and shoot at anything that gets in range. [Arbitrator, Highsec Exploration] 1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I Small Armor Repairer II Y S8 Hydrocarbon I Afterburners, Sisters Core Scanner Probe Medium Modulated Energy Beam I, Radio S Medium Modulated Energy Beam I, Radio S Hobgoblin II x10 Hobgoblin II x10 Caldari Moa This was the most difficult highsec explorer to come up with. You get a problem with sacrificing mids for using the exploring modules. So I tried a sort of passive Moa. [Moa, Highsec exploration] Y S8 Hydrocarbon I Afterburners Medium Shield Extender II Hobgoblin II x3

6 Gallente Vexor *Tested* Now this one isn t tested, but since the Vexor has better fitting attributes, and one more high and one less mid than the Arbitrator, I use pretty much identical fittings [Vexor, Highsec Exploration] 1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I Small Armor Repairer II Y S8 Hydrocarbon I Afterburners Dual 150mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Iron Dual 150mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Iron Dual 150mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Iron Hammerhead II x6 Hobgoblin II x8 Minmatar Rupture *Tested* When I first did combat inclusive exploration in highsec, this is what I used. It isn t as well tested as the Arbitrator, but it worked for what little I used it, and the numbers work. [Rupture, Highsec Explorer] Small Armor Repairer II Capacitor Flux Coil II Y S8 Hydrocarbon I Afterburners, Sisters Core Scanner Probe Hobgoblin II x4 Hammerhead II x1

7 Lowsec Exploration Solo The key thing with doing exploration in lowsec alone is the ability to fight these more difficult sites and get all the loot you can. From my exploration references, they recommend a Battlecruiser, HAC or Command Ship. Given the time required for the last two, the fittings I will be giving focus around the Battlecruisers. One thing to note in these and future fits is the different cloaks that I have on the ships. These are due to fitting issues, the idea is to fit the best cloak that will fit on the ship. Amarr Harbinger This is the one I m planning to use. I modified it from what a friend of mine uses. The key advantage for the Harbinger over the others is loot. You don t need hardly as much space for ammo if you are going out for some time. [Harbinger, Lowsec solo Exploration] Heat Sink II Prototype Cloaking Device I Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Hammerhead II x5 Caldari Drake I don t even think I need to mention the key advantage of the Drake to the other options. It s tank is bigger and stronger. [Drake, Lowsec solo Exploration] Power Diagnostic System II Invulnerability Field II Invulnerability Field II Improved Cloaking Device II Hobgoblin II x5

8 Gallente Myrmidon Okay, for the record I don t fly Gallente except for their T1 frigates. So, I m sort of in the dark, but I approached this as a Harbinger/Arbitrator mix, and was able to come up with something nice, not to mention having the biggest firepower of all of them. [Myrmidon, Lowsec solo exploration] Magnetic Field Stabilizer II, Core Scanner Probe I Improved Cloaking Device II 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Uranium 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Uranium 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Uranium Minmatar Hurricane Now, I ve flown this exploring, but I made a couple mistakes, talked to my mentors, and came up with the following fit. [Hurricane, Lowsec solo Exploration] Gyrostabilizer II Prototype Cloaking Device I Hobgoblin II x4 Hammerhead II x1 Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Hammerhead II x10 Hobgoblin II x10

9 Lowsec Team Exploration Of course, since lowsec can be quite dangerous, it s always nice to work together as a team. Here I will provide Battlecruiser/Covert Ops combinations for that purpose. Now you can usually just do a regular combat PvE fit for the battlecruisers, but in case you want a cloak, and you want to have long range weapons for combat sites. So I proved them anyways. Amarr Anathema Looking at the fitting I came up with, I really like the Anathema. This is because I m able to fit everything I want without using any fitting modules. [Anathema, Tag team explorer] Overdrive Injector System II Catalyzed Cold Gas I Arcjet Thrusters Small Shield Booster II Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Amarr Harbinger [Harbinger, Lowsec Team Exploration] Heat Sink II Focused Modal Medium Laser I, Standard M Focused Modal Medium Laser I, Standard M Focused Modal Medium Laser I, Standard M Focused Modal Medium Laser I, Standard M Focused Modal Medium Laser I, Standard M Focused Modal Medium Laser I, Standard M Improved Cloaking Device II Hammerhead II x5

10 Caldari Buzzard The Buzzard is the nicest covert ops ship in terms of mid slot options. While I ve seen people fit very differently than this, this is how I would fit it. Feel free to swap the extra Codebreaker for an Analyzer as you wish. [Buzzard, Tag team explorer] Micro Auxiliary Power Core I Small Shield Booster II Catalyzed Cold Gas I Arcjet Thrusters Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Caldari Drake Standard mission drake [Drake, Lowsec Team Exploration] Power Diagnostic System II Invulnerability Field II Invulnerability Field II Invulnerability Field II Improved Cloaking Device II Hobgoblin II x5 Gallente Helios Frankly speaking, for exploring the Helios sucks. It has the awesome mids of the Buzzard, but is the only covert ops ship without a third highslot. This means your teammate has to drop a high slot for a salvager. It does, however, not need fitting mods. [Helios, Tag team explorer] Gallente Myrmidon [Myrmidon, Lowsec Team Exploration] Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

11 Overdrive Injector System II Catalyzed Cold Gas I Arcjet Thrusters Small Shield Booster II Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Improved Cloaking Device II Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Hammerhead II x5 Hobgoblin II x5 Hammerhead II x5 Hobgoblin II x5

12 Minmatar Cheetah Pretty similar to the Anathema [Cheetah, Tag team explorer] Micro Auxiliary Power Core I Small Shield Booster II Catalyzed Cold Gas I Arcjet Thrusters Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Minmatar Hurricane [Hurricane, Lowsec Team Exploration] Gyrostabilizer II Improved Cloaking Device II Hobgoblin II x4 Hammerhead II x1

13 Wormhole Team Exploration While I mentioned above that low class wormholes can be soloed, having a teammate makes the experience more fun and less likely to end in disaster. For these fittings, they will have either a Codebreaker, or an Analyzer, make sure that between the two of you, there are one of each module. Also, only one person really needs a Salvager, but both need probe launchers. Amarr Harbinger [Harbinger, Wormhole Exploration] Heat Sink II Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Hammerhead II x5 Caldari Drake [Drake, Wormhole Exploration] Power Diagnostic System II Invulnerability Field II Invulnerability Field II Hobgoblin II x5

14 Gallente Myrmidon [Myrmidon, Wormhole Exploration] Magnetic Field Stabilizer II, Core Scanner Probe I 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Antimatter 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Antimatter 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Antimatter 200mm 'Scout' I Accelerator Cannon, Antimatter Minmatar Hurricane [Hurricane, Wormhole Exploration] Gyrostabilizer II Hobgoblin II x4 Hammerhead II x1 Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Hammerhead II x10 Hobgoblin II x10

Eve online apocrypha scanning

Eve online apocrypha scanning Now we the new patch is out on eve many have found out that scanning ( probing ) is complete change. So here i try to explain a good as I can how to do the new probing. Skills