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EVE New Citizens Q&A

 
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Methods of Exploring New Eden

Author
Maximillian Bonaparte
Interstellar Booty Hunters
#1 - 2011-11-18 22:50:50 UTC  |  Edited by: Maximillian Bonaparte
Although my RP character's ego knows no bounds, in RL I will admit this game has a lot going on , and I really hope I have time! lol.

I am learning quickly BUT I have some questions based on what I would liek to do as soon as my training is complete (about halfway done running the agent advanced studies missions).

I am currently in the Verge Vendor sector of Gallente space, I found these maps:

Very Interesting!

As well as:

This site.

When my training is complete, I would like to migrate northward to the edge of highsec space, and then I would like to explore north into the realms of those various alliances in low to nosec space. I have read that many have a policy of 'not blue shoot' or what ever...but I wonder if this might also be a way of understanding what those alliances are doing out there.

So, in general, what is a good way of exploring New Eden to see who or what is playing out in the fringe? I wonder if using a shuttle would be preferable - cheap so I do not loose anything of value. On the other hand, the ability to use something like remote combat probes would be nice - requiring at least a large-ish frigate.

And what about cloaking? Is it even viable for rookies to find and operate a cloaking device so that I dont get ganked in my explorations?

What about communication - if I do come across a slightly hostile group, but one that is still willing to talk, what might be a good opener to pump them for useful information?

Thank you!

Oh yes one other question. I was curious about player contracts. Why cant I see other player contracts in my journal? I was expecting to see oodles of people who need things done.
Keno Skir
#2 - 2011-11-18 23:17:48 UTC
In my oppinion cloaking is a must for lowsec activities, although survivability in a shuttle might be equally as high (just without modules). I currently operate around Essence region which i believe may be to your north between you and lowsec, feel free to contact me and come check out out lowsec boarder regions.
Tau Cabalander
Retirement Retreat
Working Stiffs
#3 - 2011-11-18 23:27:12 UTC  |  Edited by: Tau Cabalander
In lowsec, nulsec, or w-space, expect everyone to shoot and pod you on sight.

You can navigate through lowsec fairly safely in a shuttle, fast frigate, or interceptor. Of course having a covert cloak helps, but it isn't essential.

In nulsec and w-space there are warp disruption fields ("bubbles"). Shuttles, fast frigates, and interceptors have a good chance of evading once entering a bubble, but it isn't guaranteed you'll get away with it. Covert ships have a much better chance, but even they can be caught.

Strategic cruisers with interdiction nullifiers and covert subsystems have an extremely good chance of survival, but they are skill intensive and there is a skill loss penalty if you do get unlucky and lose one.

Basic keys to survival:
* Fast (get out of range quicker).
* Agile (get to warp speed faster).
* Small signature (take longer to get a target lock).
* Never warp gate to gate in nulsec, even if you are the only person in local.
* Make observation bookmarks >150 km randomly positioned off gates you frequent.

Example: I had to do some storyline missions last evening that required me to go a couple of jumps into lowsec. The first mission required me to deliver a 0.1 m3 item, so I used a shuttle. The second mission required me to move a 22 m3 item, so I used a Covert Ops.

The aforementioned Strategic Cruiser is the best one can do for travelling. They can warp gate to gate, as they are not stopped by bubbles, however it is still better to warp a random distance to a gate first, or dscan the gate from a celestial, so you know what to expect.
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#4 - 2011-11-18 23:33:34 UTC  |  Edited by: J'Poll
There is no such thing as completing your training, not at your age. I believe there are enough skills in EVE to let you train for the next 10 years.



As one of the guys up north I can tell you 1 thing, whenever you explore while cloaked expect 1 thing in return, empty system where everybody just sits in a POS waiting for you to leave.

What people do in null-sec:

- Ratting (killing NPC rats)
- Mining (ores / ice and produce stuff)

But mainly, shoot other players. So if you wonder into null-sec / low-sec expect to be killed eventually.
I do agree (and am speaking from own experience) seeking null out in a shuttle is a 'good' way to try it (though don't expect much of it as with intel channels running around they will you are coming before you know where everybody is).

On policy, there are 2 main policies around:

NBSI (Not blue, shoot it) = anything that isn't classed as your friend through standings must be sent back in a nice big explosion.
NRDS (Not red, don't shoot) = anything that isn't set as an enemy (War target, bad standing) should be left alone, enemies are shot on sight.

Also in null-sec don't expect anybody to talk to you in the local-chat. Null-sec does make you kind of paranoia and every noob can be a spy/scout. In general it's against alliance policy to talk in local when there are neutrals/enemies in there.

---

On cloak, look for a prototype cloaking device on market (should be plenty around) and right click - show info on it.
Then look a prerequirements, this will list the skills you need to train for the cloaking device to be able to use it.
Then you also need a ship to fit it to, this can be anything but a shuttle (and noob-ship I think).

---

Contract don't show up in journal, they show up in the contract section of you UI.


p.s. feel free to contact me in game if you need any help or info regarding low-sec / null-sec stuff.

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club

Maximillian Bonaparte
Interstellar Booty Hunters
#5 - 2011-11-18 23:49:03 UTC
J'Poll wrote:



Contract don't show up in journal, they show up in the contract section of you UI.




Thank you, yes thats the screen I meant - I am not in-game at the moment.

In contracts I have a drop-down for 'owned by, and I have options for Me, and My Coporation. But nothing for other players.

I am just wondering what kinds of things people are willing to pay for...scouting and recon perhaps?
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#6 - 2011-11-19 00:11:47 UTC  |  Edited by: J'Poll
Maximillian Bonaparte wrote:
J'Poll wrote:



My original post here




Thank you, yes thats the screen I meant - I am not in-game at the moment.

In contracts I have a drop-down for 'owned by, and I have options for Me, and My Coporation. But nothing for other players.

I am just wondering what kinds of things people are willing to pay for...scouting and recon perhaps?


You should look in the tab named Available contracts.

On the left side you can specify certain things.

As a picture says more then 1000 words: http://tinypic.com/r/2mdp9a1/5

On my screen I've looked up all possible contracts in The Forge region (which is the region with Jita (main trading hub in EVE) in it). As this the region with the main trading up, a global search for anything in that region got me more then 1000 contracts.

Work out of left side menu:

ArrowBuy & sell / Courier = here you can specify if you are looking for to buy/sell anything or just move stuff around
ArrowItem type = here you can specify which item you are looking for

ArrowLocation = here you can specify for any location (region, constellation, solar system, station or any remote region or all regions)
ArrowContract type = here you can specify which type of contract you want (Item Exchange = direct transfer on payment / Auction = like the name says an auction, highest bidder gets the item(s).

ArrowItem Category = here you can specify which category of items you are searching for, usually this will open a sub-dropdown list.
ArrowExclude want to buy = if you are looking for buying stuff you can check this so you won't see any contract that require you to sell the item.

ArrowExact type match = only contract that exactly match your item you are looking for are listed.
ArrowPrice = here you can specify to only list contracts in a certain ISK window (minimum / maximum)
ArrowAvailability = Pubic > Open market, there is also possibility to search corp / alliance if you are in one.

ArrowSecurity filters = you can exclude any item in null-sec / low-sec or high-sec if you want to.
ArrowIssuer = if you want to buy from a certain pilot, put his name in here.

EDIT: I'm a EU player btw, so most likely you will find me around in EVE at 1700 - 2200 EVE time.

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club

Capital T
Doomheim
#7 - 2011-11-19 04:54:52 UTC  |  Edited by: Capital T
If you come out of warp and are in a bubble, and in a shuttle, you'll have no propulsion module like a Micro Warp Drive, to get you out of it and burn to a gate or out of range. If there are people there at the bubble, camping, then you will be shot at likely. Low sec is no worry jumping gate to gate, they cant drop bubbles...

I used a rifter tbh, for my first exploration ship. I wasn't using probe launchers yet, and just wanted to fly around null sec. I made several 50 jump journeys and some I survived. I did fit a cloak, a mwd, and two nano fibers and one inertia stabilizer to help me align, get to 3/4 speed, and warp off quickly. I had landed in several bubbles, some I survived, burning to the gate, or away from the gate and the camp, then warping off to a planet or safe cloaking up, and harassing the campers in local. lol. Learn to use the in game map, f10, and learn to set destinations quickly, and be prepared to make alternate routes quickly. Watch out for pipelines that focus or funnel to one system from many systems, especially when entering or leaving null to low sec. Sometimes they are perfect for trapping and flushing noob pilots down the pipe and into a gate and bubble camp.

Learn to use your ships directional scanner.
Learn to make bookmarks while in warp.
Learn to use dotlans map. google it.
Learn the gate mechanics and aggression mechanics.
Fly fast, cheap, and did I mention fast?

Don' second guess your intuition, use local chat for intel, and avoid contact if possible.

If you want to use probe launchers, get a cov ops cloak, and learn to fly that thing. best of luck, turn up your music, and fly fast.
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#8 - 2011-11-19 07:53:10 UTC
Totally agree with you Capital T, really good and solid advice there

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club

Lazzoth Krin
Doomheim
#9 - 2011-11-19 10:26:43 UTC
I do this a lot for a laugh and a "see how far i can get" challenge.

I usually just take an unarmed frigate, nice and cheap. Its good practice, just watch local and use scanner lots. I also chat in local a lot and most people cant be bothered with an unarmed frigate and you can have some good banter on the way!!

Another good thing to practice is changing angle on approach to gates to avoid those bubble things that so ruin your day.

I am a few days old but hey, you gotta have a look around Big smile

Just so you are under no illusions, i always get podded in the end. But its better than the 30/40 jumps back home!!!!
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#10 - 2011-11-19 10:38:55 UTC
Lazzoth Krin wrote:
I do this a lot for a laugh and a "see how far i can get" challenge.

I usually just take an unarmed frigate, nice and cheap. Its good practice, just watch local and use scanner lots. I also chat in local a lot and most people cant be bothered with an unarmed frigate and you can have some good banter on the way!!

Another good thing to practice is changing angle on approach to gates to avoid those bubble things that so ruin your day.

I am a few days old but hey, you gotta have a look around Big smile

Just so you are under no illusions, i always get podded in the end. But its better than the 30/40 jumps back home!!!!


Pod express to high-way is indeed nice...last week we didn't give a neut that benefit. we pointed and srambled him so he had to slow-boat out

On jumping through the next part of our fleet did the same, this was done for about 3 systems before we got tired

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club

Maximillian Bonaparte
Interstellar Booty Hunters
#11 - 2011-11-19 17:45:30 UTC  |  Edited by: Maximillian Bonaparte
Capital T wrote:
If you come out of warp and are in a bubble, and in a shuttle, you'll have no propulsion module like a Micro Warp Drive, to get you out of it and burn to a gate or out of range. If there are people there at the bubble, camping, then you will be shot at likely. Low sec is no worry jumping gate to gate, they cant drop bubbles...


I am not sure I understand this. I guess the 'micro warp drive' is a device of some sort that improves one's ability to get to warp.

I tested flying a shuttle around last night. I noticed its high sub-light speed, but I also noticed that it wastes no time going to warp. Where as a frigate hesitates a bit, finds a heading, shakes, and then goes to warp. With the exception of your statement above it looks as if a shuttle is the most economical option for low-risk generic exploration.

BTW I see no mention of warp disruption fields here. I would think that gate campers would have them and use them. And if they have ships that can reach close to 600 msec most ships are in trouble, right?
Santiago Fahahrri
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2011-11-19 18:18:04 UTC
Greetings.

The link below is to an (old) anniversary post from my corp. Within is another link, this one to a map that documented our explorations. It's a little outdated and would be even more colorful now, we just haven't care enough to make a new one.

I've had the pleasure of scouting around more or less the entire outer ring of the galaxy and quite a bit of wormhole space. Feel free to look me up in game if you'd like to talk. I might be able to help or offer some advice.

Post
J'Poll
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#13 - 2011-11-19 19:10:13 UTC
Maximillian Bonaparte wrote:
Capital T wrote:
If you come out of warp and are in a bubble, and in a shuttle, you'll have no propulsion module like a Micro Warp Drive, to get you out of it and burn to a gate or out of range. If there are people there at the bubble, camping, then you will be shot at likely. Low sec is no worry jumping gate to gate, they cant drop bubbles...


I am not sure I understand this. I guess the 'micro warp drive' is a device of some sort that improves one's ability to get to warp.

I tested flying a shuttle around last night. I noticed its high sub-light speed, but I also noticed that it wastes no time going to warp. Where as a frigate hesitates a bit, finds a heading, shakes, and then goes to warp. With the exception of your statement above it looks as if a shuttle is the most economical option for low-risk generic exploration.

BTW I see no mention of warp disruption fields here. I would think that gate campers would have them and use them. And if they have ships that can reach close to 600 msec most ships are in trouble, right?


A Micro Warp Drive (or MWD for short) will boosts your sub-warp speed a lot. This is useful to burn away from anything you don't want be close too (enemies or the warp bubbles).

A Warp disruption field can eighter be a mobile warp distruptor (or bubble) or deployed from Inderdictor-ships or Heavy Interdictor ships. These things will prevent you from warping away. This means you have to fly out of their field of effect on sub-warp speed which in turns make you vulnerable to attack.

On the point of having a ship that can get at 600 m/s, they don't need too, there are plenty of ships/fits that cna shoot you from very long range.

So all they need is you in the bubble to be able to kill you.

Personal channel: Crazy Dutch Guy

Help channel: Help chat - Reloaded

Public roams channels: RvB Ganked / Redemption Road / Spectre Fleet / Bombers bar / The Content Club

Capital T
Doomheim
#14 - 2011-11-20 05:43:03 UTC  |  Edited by: Capital T
exactly, and If I recall, shuttles may align fast, but they don't go 2000 m/s with a mwd, which is why i recommend a frigate. If you fit it properly, with modules in the low slots, you can use t1 items, that help you align time, you can get a frig to align and warp off fairly quickly. we are talking seconds here... Although sometimes seconds is all the enemy needs to catch you. Use of the MWD is essential in your exploration, getting you off gates, out of range, or up to speed where the larger guns can't track you. All you need is a few seconds to get you out of the bubble and aligned to something in system to warp off. Usually, if you land in a bubble, you will be 30-60 km from the gate. and warping off, is your best bet here if, there are pilots camping.

The thing is, survivability. MWD is needed in null sec, even low sec at times, imo. take for example this fit,
You should put what ever you want in the left over slots mind you but the point is simple.

[Rifter, 2]

Prototype Cloaking Device I

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

2x Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Inertia Stabilizers II

3x Small Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I


You will be fast with the nanofibers and mwd, about 3600 m/s with all skills five... and less than 3 seconds align time. the cloak is nice for you to be safe, and find out what to do next, when you get chased... the rigs, well they are my special treat for, they make me warp around at 10 au/s rather than 6... or 3... meaning you will get to the gate faster if you get chased... than your opponent.
Boadiccea Iceni
Minmatar Nuclear Deconstruction Service
#15 - 2011-11-20 17:38:04 UTC
What to do as a capsuleer?

Here are the answers.

Be a Space Hun, it's fun! \o/

Toshiro GreyHawk
#16 - 2011-11-20 21:15:04 UTC


Just one more vote for bringing a cloak.

Even a crappy cloak can save your ass.

You can move with the crappy cloak on - you just can't move very fast - so you have to be patient but that may be preferable to getting blown up.

With a pittance you can put together a moderately useful scout using such as an Imicus. Just understand what you're doing.

Practice in Hi Sec.

Learn how to warp around and make safe spots. Don't Warp To Zero - but warp about to celestials dropping bookmarks mid warp. Use the system map to see where you are and what's happening with your book marks. Once you have some bookmarks set between celestials warp between THEM to make the safe spot bookmarks - don't use a safe spot that is in line between two celestials as the next person coming along can uncloak you as they warp past.

Learn how to use your on board scanner.


Probes are nice. Dump them off at one safe spot - then warp to another and cloak up in case you were scanned while launching them. You can't launch them while cloaked - but you can manipulate them.

.
Maximillian Bonaparte
Interstellar Booty Hunters
#17 - 2011-12-01 19:31:00 UTC
Last night I went on a long 40-plus jump exploration mission into the wild-lands of the Northwest.

But a while back I trekked briefly into low and nullsec from Reblier (western Verge Vendor) where I was attacked twice. I ran with a Tristan frigate equipped with MWD's and speed boosters. I was able to align and warp to safety on both occasions, and on one occasion someone was station camping.

But last night I was not attacked at all, and I had a prototype cloak. I left from Reblier again, went into Syndicate, Cloud Ring, then went back south into Placid, into lowsec, and back into Highsec. I checked out interesting places, stopped in at asteroid fields, watched bases, and found sovereign Goon and TEST alliance space - nothing was really happening at all out there, but I was spotted a couple of times, no one was able to attack me.

I really liked how Cloud Ring is a 'ring nebula cloud' that changes perspective as you jump through it - kudos to CCP for immersive interstellar travel dynamics.

I was surprised how quiet much of Syndicate nullsec is - which leads me to believe that these systems could be great places to look for cosmic signatures or even mineral rich roids.

I cloaked when stationary and watched stations, gates, and asteroid fields hoping to see some piracy or pvp in action, but there was nothing. I learned how to use the directional scanner, but I am not real good at locating bogeys yet.

When I got into lowsec in Placid, I started to get bold. Someone left a Navitas near a station, and seemed to be AFK. So I attacked it, thinking station camping is a GO n lowsec. Well, this lowsec station had turrets around it - I got blowed up! Lesson learned!

When I got back to highsec I bought a Vexor which I am anxious to use. Cloak equipped and with Combat Probes, I am looking forward to seeing more stuff happen without really engaging; just watch and learn for now, and also looking forward to hunting down some low or nullsec cosmic signatures.

On piracy - I am wondering if a valid tactic is to use something like a Vexor to hunt down contacts with the combat probes, and then travel to a station, switch to a frigate, dessie, or more appropriate cheap pirate ship, then go toward those contacts for a possible attack.
Also - when I think of piracy in the traditional sense, it is mainly the attack of merchant shipping. In EVE it seems that merchant vessels do not put themselves at risk in lowsec too often - if this is true than I am rather disappointed. It means piracy in the traditional sense probably would have to be done in highsec where the merchants and miners live.

Unless there are certain lowsec systems where miners or merchants are known to frequent on a regular basis, ones that I am not aware of yet.

Anyway - Fun times!