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The Guide to High-Sec Exploration in Frigates!
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1-Up Mushroom
Doomheim
#1 - 2011-09-24 23:37:54 UTC  |  Edited by: 1-Up Mushroom
This guide will help all players who wish to spec in frigates and exploration. It covers the techniques to conquering high-sec exploration in only frigates, solo.

As a long-time supporter of frigates, I set out to push the limits of them. Frigates make excellent exploration ships due to their fast speeds, tiny sig and the ability to access the smallest of sites that T3's have to skip, allowing for more income.

So lets begin...

Guristas Space
The most popular space for exploration due to large rewards from the 4/10's and a chance to drop DG Invul's (Around 450-500m), but since there are these large rewards, a lot of people explore here, thereby decreasing the chances of finding good sites and hence, drops. Most of the explorer's here use a Tengu or similar. They then have to skip over the Lookout, and this site can drop some nice mods and escalate. Here's a fit that can run all the high-sec exploration sites:
[Ishkur, Exploration]
Coreli A-Type Small Armor Repairer
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Armor Thermic Hardener II

1MN Afterburner II
Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I


Hobgoblin II x5
Hobgoblin II x5

We use an Ishkur due to it's high dps, good cap and awesome Kin/Therm resists.

Sporting a cap stable tank of 277, 888m/s and a tiny sig, this can easily tank the vigil and 4/10 as long as you keep moving. Here is the order in which you should primary targets:
1) Webs
2) Destroyers
3) Frigates
4) Everything else

Sansha Space
This is less explored then Guristas space but has large areas of vast systems and smaller rewards, but due to more frequent sites (Less Competition) it balances out. Sansha space is a little easier then Guristas space but can still be challenging. Again, you being in a frigate will let you run all the sites. Here's a Jag fit that can run all high-sec Sansha space:
[Jaguar, Exploration]
Coreli A-Type Small Armor Repairer
Capacitor Power Relay II
Armor Thermic Hardener II

1MN Afterburner II
Analyzer II
Codebreaker II
Cap Recharger II

250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

As you can see there is a Analyzer and Codebreaker on here so you can run those sites. Now there is a trick to running the 3/10 and Vigil. With the 3/10, kite the first room and in the second room, grab agro from the overseer and start kiting away, you'll notice the overseer goes twice the speed of the other frigs, so when your far away, the overseer will be twice as close, then just turn and go straight toward him, shoot him, loot and warp out without having to shoot anything else. With the vigil, shoot the web towers first, then keep attacking all the spdier drones while attemping to keep your speed as fast as possible. Eliminate any frigs/dessys if needed to keep DPS down.

Serpentis Space
I will admit I haven't explored this much but still know stuff about it. This space is really nice as it has a 3/10 and 4/10, pretty simple though, use the same fit from Guristas space section. Kill webs, then dessys/frigs, etc. The 4/10 overseer requires a little more DPS though so load Void and Hobg's on him to take him down. There is a little trick I do know of though, some people who run the 4/10 don't have the dps to take down the final overseer, so they just leave, so always run the 4/10 to the end even if there are wrecks in it.

If your having trouble cracking the 4/10 Overseer with the Guristas Ishkur fit you can try this shield-gank version:
[Ishkur, Exploration]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

1MN Afterburner II
Gistii B-Type Small Shield Booster
Dread Guristas Heat Dissipation Amplifier

Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I


Hobgoblin II x5
Hobgoblin II x5

The tank is a little light at 131 but with drones you should be able to kite the frigs/dessys until they're all gone then cruise in under the cruisers guns and eliminate them next, just keep an eye out for webs as usual. The above fit pushes out a massive 324 DPS w/ Void, 357 w/ Overheating. It's extremely tight on CPU, so if it doesn't fit, you can swap the DG Heat Dis Amp to a Domination one, although they are about 20m in Jita. The booster is only around 60m in Jita atm.
5 Days In A Week... 4 Seasons In A Year... 3 Colors In A Stoplight... 2 Hemispheres On The Earth... ONLY 1-UP MUSHROOM!!!
1-Up Mushroom
Doomheim
#2 - 2011-09-24 23:39:56 UTC  |  Edited by: 1-Up Mushroom
Blood Raider Space
This is where it gets fun, Bloods like to neut and neut hard. They have a 4/10 which has comparable drops to the Guristas 4/10. Blood space is pretty quite usually so you can get lucky pretty quick. In the 4/10 you can use a passive jag to run it. There is a trick (never tried it) I know of where you can just blitz and shoot the struc, BM the dropped container, warp out and the site will despawn, then warp to your BM and collect the loot. Never tried that though and not sure if it's possible without eliminating some DPS/webs. Vigil is similar to the Sansha, destroy webs, dessys/frig, shoot overseer struc, loot the overseer, simple eh? Here is the passive jag fit:
[Jaguar, New Setup 1]
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II

1MN Afterburner II
Medium Shield Extender II
Magnetic Scattering Amplifier II
Heat Dissipation Amplifier II

200mm AutoCannon II, EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, EMP S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Core Defence Field Purger I
Small Core Defence Field Purger I

237 Passive Tank, 111 DPS and over 1000m/s speed.

Angel Space
This space is a little different, there is no DED complexes (I.E. 3/10 or 4/10) but you can make money on the Vigils and Watches. You can use a hawk to tank the Vigil although it is a little expensive, option to swap to standard missiles to snipe the webs if you need to. I'm not gonna explain how to run the vigil as I explain it in the above sections. Here is the fit:
[Hawk, Exploration]
Capacitor Flux Coil II
Ballistic Control System II

Pithi C-Type Small Shield Booster
Pithum C-Type Explosion Dampening Amplifier
Pithum C-Type Explosion Dampening Amplifier
1MN Afterburner II

Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rage Rocket
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

The pithum c-type amps are quite cheap, leaving really only the booster to kill your wallet, although it's not that expensive and can be found in Guristas space. Even though there isn't a DED complex, there is still very good money on the facion mods that drop.

Skills:
There are some skills I recommend getting. Good Frigate fits can get extremely quite on [usually] CPU, not so much on PG but there are a few. For this you should aim for Weapon Upgrades V (I know the above Serpentis Ishkur fit will need it), Electronics V and anything else that improves your CPU/lowers CPU needs.

Of course you want to max your DPS out to finish the sites as quick as possible. You will always want T2 weapons before you try these fits out, the combination of increased DPS and T2 ammo makes it well worth every second of training time, plus it's only a 1x skill that you have to get to V. Also get your weapon spec skills to at least IV

Your gonna want to get AF's IV and if your really devoted AF's V. Also your tank and speed skills are really important, the latter not as much though. For armor tank's get Hull Upgrades V, Rep Systems V and Mech V, this will give you a nice armor tanking skillset, also get the armor comp skills to IV if your fit is using passive hardeners. If your shield tanking you should aim for Shield Mangement IV, Shield Operation V and Shield Comp IV. If your using passive hardeners get the shield comp skills to IV.

In a frig, your speed is very important, therefore I recommend at LEAST a T2 AB minimum, upgrading to a deadspace one is even better. Training up some of the navigation skills is nice like Acceleration Control and Navigation. Fuel Conservation is very, very important as it lowers the cap usage of your AB's a lot.

Finally, your cap skills are very important, most of the above/below fits are very cap dependent. So, I suggest getting Energy Systems Operation V and Energy Management IV or V, other skills that lower the cap consumption of your mods are also very handy.
5 Days In A Week... 4 Seasons In A Year... 3 Colors In A Stoplight... 2 Hemispheres On The Earth... ONLY 1-UP MUSHROOM!!!
1-Up Mushroom
Doomheim
#3 - 2011-09-24 23:49:11 UTC  |  Edited by: 1-Up Mushroom
So there go, I'll add more to the parts above as I can. But I'm not finished yet...

Static Complexes
Always go into these and see if it hasen't been run yet, if not then run it. These can bring in very good side isk. I won't explain how to run them as they're super easy, just blitz em and move on.

Other Sites
You can run radars and mag to bring in some good isk, the best ones are in sansha and blood space. Guristas ones aren't that good but you can run them if your bored.

Other Ship Fits
Here are some more fits you could use for your exploration pleasures! Any of the above or below fits may not be able to tank some of the higher level exploration sites without proper skills and "skills"
[Harpy, Exploration]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Co-Processor II

Gistii B-Type Small Shield Booster
Pithum C-Type Kinetic Deflection Amplifier
Pithum C-Type Heat Dissipation Amplifier
1MN Afterburner II

150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

191 DPS Tank
133 DPS
Use against "Guristas" Swap for Blasters if you want to use against Serpentis.

[Enyo, Exploration]
Centii A-Type Small Armor Repairer
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Capacitor Power Relay II

1MN Afterburner II
Cap Recharger II

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I


Hobgoblin II x1

240 DPS Tank
256 DPS
Use against "Serpentis" Can swap for rails against Guristas.

[Wolf, Exploration]
Centii A-Type Small Armor Repairer
True Sansha Armor EM Hardener
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Capacitor Power Relay II

1MN Afterburner II
Cap Recharger II

Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
250mm Light Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

287 DPS Tank
119 DPS
Use against Sansha (Bloods will cap you out)

[Retribution, Exploration]
Centii A-Type Small Armor Repairer
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Capacitor Power Relay II

1MN Afterburner II

Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

More of an off fit, some may not like.
202 DPS Tank
156 DPS
Use against Angels

Yes I know, lasers against Angels suck but at close range w/ IN Multi they should go down reasonably fast and it's got good Angel resists.

Might also be possible to use Inty's to move very fast to avoid taking much fire. Good ones might be Taranis/Crow/Cruasder/Claw

Other Info
You can use other ships/fits that I didn't show above, those are just some I used. I wouldn't recommend downgrading any tank mods as they are quite necessary and aren't that expensive. Feel free to upgrade other stuff if you want. Just remeber to keep your speed up and have fun searching for treasure!

I will continue to update this when possible

Like this thread? Like Me! I also accept donations Big smile
5 Days In A Week... 4 Seasons In A Year... 3 Colors In A Stoplight... 2 Hemispheres On The Earth... ONLY 1-UP MUSHROOM!!!
Allzat
Viziam
#4 - 2011-09-25 10:30:56 UTC
Nice little guide. +1 for ya :)

-Allzat-
Trush
Liberation By Annihilation
#5 - 2011-09-25 11:24:06 UTC
I cannot begin to imagine how you can crack the Serpentis 4/10 Overseer in frigate - but nice job to anyone who has!

Great guide, very informative and well written. +1

I have one question though: Haven't the Gurista 4/10s been moved to Lowsec? I searched feverishly for nights in Lonetrek and The Citadel and came up empty handed.
1-Up Mushroom
Doomheim
#6 - 2011-09-25 12:09:46 UTC
Trush wrote:
I cannot begin to imagine how you can crack the Serpentis 4/10 Overseer in frigate - but nice job to anyone who has!

Great guide, very informative and well written. +1

I have one question though: Haven't the Gurista 4/10s been moved to Lowsec? I searched feverishly for nights in Lonetrek and The Citadel and came up empty handed.


Actually no, all 4/10's still exsist in high-sec, although I think they can also spawn in low-sec too. Just a matter of luck Blink
5 Days In A Week... 4 Seasons In A Year... 3 Colors In A Stoplight... 2 Hemispheres On The Earth... ONLY 1-UP MUSHROOM!!!
Fabulous Virgil
Pator Tech School
Minmatar Republic
#7 - 2011-09-25 13:26:17 UTC
looks good, +1

refreshing to see a post by someone who actually done this **** and know how to fit ships
Tyrnaeg en Varche
#8 - 2011-09-26 06:38:42 UTC  |  Edited by: Tyrnaeg en Varche
1-Up Mushroom wrote:
Blood Raider Space
This is where it gets fun, Bloods like to neut and neut hard. They have a 4/10 which has comparable drops to the Guristas 4/10. Blood space is pretty quite usually so you can get lucky pretty quick. In the 4/10 you can use a passive jag to run it. There is a trick (never tried it) I know of where you can just blitz and shoot the struc, BM the dropped container, warp out and the site will despawn, then warp to your BM and collect the loot. Never tried that though and not sure if it's possible without eliminating some DPS/webs. Vigil is similar to the Sansha, destroy webs, dessys/frig, shoot overseer struc, loot the overseer, simple eh? Here is the passive jag fit:
[Jaguar, New Setup 1]
237 Passive Tank, 111 DPS and over 1000m/s speed.


Mate, bloods at the 4/10 will melt your little ship. The structure is 50km away from warp in. There are 6 clusters of rats, each with a stasis webifier. If you try to "just blitz and shoot the strcut" you gonna see your speed get lower than a freighter. Blitz a structure with 111DPS!

Oh, each cluster also has 5-6 neuting cruisers, and 5-6 heavy missile silos.

I wonder what kind of guide is this, without you actually having tried what you are suggesting.
Tyrnaeg en Varche
#9 - 2011-09-26 06:43:23 UTC
My 2cents about frig exploration in sansha/blood space:

Forget Magnetometric sites in hisec, also forget 4/10s, get into a gank wolf and focus on hideouts and radars.