EVE New Citizens Q&A

In no particular order:

Yes, skills and equipment are a big factor in finding sites quickly. But so does your player skill in managing the probing interface.

Exploration is a game of chance. Don't expect phat loots after 5 sites. Try 50 to get a decent chance at something moderately valuable.

Exploration in highsec is not particularly lucrative. In terms of ISK per hour, you're better off running missions. If you want to profit from exploration, you should do it in low or zero security space.

Only cosmic anomalies and scannable complexes can escalate. Depending on the site the chance of escalation is quite low, so again don't expect faction loot on the first try. The sites you see on your overview without scanning anything are pretty much worthless.

Those are anomalies. The DED sites are signatures that you have to scan down.

Giving you the benifit of the doubt here, but i have read that guide and many others thoroughly. Im looking for extrapolation and personal opinions.

I dont see that guide informing me what high value items drop from relic/data sites or if multitasking is a viable option in exploration.

Thanks for the clarification elena, and the help guys.

Im going to knuckle down for a few weeks and see where it gets me.

once upon a time you could make decent isk from exploration - but ccp changed it from mini-profession for long time players to a newbee starter gig. Now there are so many folk doing exploration that the values of the drps from relic and hacking sites have tanked and so there really isnt all that much isk there (apart from the ded sites which are hit and miss). IMO the people you see talking about making serious isk are either referencing the time before the expansion changes or the time immediately after the change when prices were still high. Sure you can still make isk, and for a new toon, its probably reasonable isk at that, but it is no longer what it was - in fact, i usually just leave the sites that i find (lowsec) and use them as bait.

As for why you cant get it to 100% - assuming you are using the right technique (there are guides that can show you how to scan - its difficult to express in words much easier to watch it on youtube) - then its just a function of skills and the mods that you use.

As to how you can tell a ded site from other combat sites - if you try and warp to a ded site you will get a pop up which will tell you it is a ded site - everything else is a potential escalation site. Escalation sites are imo rarely ever worth doing.

I am a big advocate on exploration for new players to develop their income. Back around June a created a new character and spent a month training her for exploration, mostly working towards fitting a Buzzard. Her Hacking and Archaeology skills are both at 3, and barely any Astrometric skills. Part time (maybe two or three nights a week) I would go explore LowSec using a Heron to start, fitted with normal Probe Launcher, SoE probes, Prototype cloak, Analyzers, Cargo Scanner, and the necessary rigs. In a months time, I made about 400m just selling off the random stuff I got from the sites.

Now, on the flip side, I have another character with very similar Hacking/Archaeology skills and went out in NullSec last night, made about 80m+. Not including the blueprints laying around. Was at it for about 2.5 hours, maybe 3. That character has much better Astrometrics skills so I'm sure I was scanning down sites my dedicated explorer wouldn't have been able to.

Training up Astrometics (regular, rangefinding, and pinpointing) will help you not only scan down sites that may have a lower signal (when your probes are at .25AU and its only at 75%), but should help you find them quicker (reaching 100% at a high probe scanning range). Don't forget there are rigs and ship bonuses that help you with that.

As far as the loot, you don't always get a big payoff, and the bulk of it is from the the Decrypters, Datacores, and Materials that spew out. Just make sure you are using the cargo scanner to find out what is in it, and grabbing the specific containers when they pop out. Additionally, Exploration of Data/Relic sites is not consistent income. There are some nights you can pick up 100m, some nights you get 10m. It really depends on where you go to explore, and what kind of chances you get.

TLDR:

- Explore in LowSec/NullSec. HighSec sucks
- Astrometric skills helps you probe down the sites, but there are ship bonuses and rigs to help out as well
- I'd recommended Hacking and Archaeology to Level 3 minimum.

All in all, Exploration can be decent income if you tough it out. I will be streaming tonight (2200ish, Eve time), and if its not PVP, I will probably be exploring (in fact it will most likely be exploring). Feel free to drop by and ask any questions.

I recommend aiming to move into lowsec soon, but before you do so, two things you should do.

First, get real practice in at scanning. You want to be as fast as possible.

Second, familiarise yourself with D-Scan. Look up a tutorial on it, then go into lowsec in a combat ship (one you do not mind losing; I recommend a T1 cruiser although most will recommend a T1 frigate) and use your new D-Scan skills to hunt down the people you see in local chat. Fight them when you find them.

You will want to be constantly D-scanning while you are probing sites down in lowsec.

Most of my exploration payout from exploring non-combat sites has mainly been from T2 salvage from relic sites. POS prints are a nice windfall, and capital rigs can be too, but more often than not you'll end up with an obscure rig BPC no ones ever going to buy.

Data sites tend to fill up your hold full of cheap datacores and other low value junk. Decryptors can add up nicely though.

In null with a little luck you can go close to 100mil per hour quite easily. And in a covops with a finger on d-scan and an eye on the overview it's pretty easy going, plus in sov null, there's almost no competition and plenty of sites. Just be sure to be ready for something nasty uncloaking or warping in.