Wormholes

I realize the benefits of Deep Space Probes as far as the high sec exploration sig strength tables, but is astro 5 really needed much in wormholes?

My immediate goals are to day trip wormholes in BC/AFs but eventually I'd like to go down the hole for a few months.

Currently I have 10m SP, and will be able to fly a Cheetah soon. All scanning skills are 4 currently, Could someone please enlighten me what the benefits of Astrometrics 5 would be?


inb4 - Do a forum search derps, it only yields a bunch of scanning alt sale threads.

DSP that is all.

Most ppl, w-space and elsewhere, aren't fans of deep space probes. I love them.

They are not great for scanning down sites, combat and core being better for that, but they are great for stocktake scans and for watching the whole system for new ships and new / anoms / sigs (especially new wormholes when you're out-and-about earning iskies).

A single deep space probe, set to maximal range, will 'see' the whole system wherever you drop it ... in any system.

When i am PvP stalking w-space folk i often drop a DSP (or several) and move them way out into deep space outside the system margind. Set to max range I can keep a constant eye on uncloaked ships and no-one can see my probe(s) on their DS.

When we were clearing sleeper sites we'd have a scanner alt with a single DSP deployed. We always knew the status of our WHs so he would be an instant warning of a new WH ... and would usually see it, or hostile ships, well before they were a real risk. You *can* do the same with combat probes in many systems, but DSPs remove a level of hassle.

Stocktake scan. When I hop into a new w-system I drop a sungle DSP and within seconds know how many POSes, ships, and sigs / anoms there are. I also have a fair idea which sigs are the wormhole I am often looking for.

But, like I said, most ppl don't see this as worthwhile ... or at least not worth the training time. I have myself, my main scanner, and all my backup scanners trained to use DSPs.

IMO, for noob wormholers you prolly have mor eimportant stuff to train - except for your main scanner alt - but once you're seriously w-space inclined uou may start to see the benefits ... or may not as the case may be :-)

As an astrometrics V pilot, I'll say this: the skill is useful but not in the way you think. DSPs are a niche tool in W-space, useful mainly for overwatch/sigsweeping duties and sometimes for getting a complete initial read of sigs in a large system. However, the ability to fit Tech Two probe launchers shouldn't be underestimated; they provide an inexpensive (1mil vs 40mil for a Sisters) way to add that little extra to non-scanning-bonused ships that are still expected to be able to scan reasonably well (WH closing ships, scouting stealth bombers, nomad Orcas, and I'm sure you can think of others too).

Astro V + T2 Probe Launcher or GTFO.


Only idiots use faction launchers on cov ops(which are worth 2x the hull).

yes, in wh space we really need to consider a 30m module.

sister probe launcher give higher strenght, and with the amount of probing you do in wh space i think anyone not spending the little isk on a sister launcher for their main scanning ships is an idiot.

as for astro 5. yes, i think its a good skill to have. 8 probes can be rather usefull, though how usefull or fast it is compared to 7 is open for debate (i only use 8 in very specific situations) and dsp's are nice to have for blanket scans. both, as substantia nigra said for security blanket scans, but for seeing if there is anything alive in a system for pvp as well.

however, since you mentioned you only have 10m sp, id say its not worth the effort. id prefer covert-ops 5 any day over astro 5, and im also pretty sure you got a lot other skills to train

keep it in mind if you remain in wh space, but train other things for the moment

No, you definitely are not. But the rest of us wish you used more probes so it wouldn't take as long for you to scan down the hole where we're waiting on the other side to ambush you. Think about others, sheesh!

I have several characters that have astro V, but I never used more than 7 probes.

7 Probe setup is simple to do. Center, Top, Bottom, North, East, West, South.

But what formation do you have to use when doing an 8 probe scan?

Is the advantage worth the extra time to set up that 8th probe formation?

Or you can use 4-in-4, in which you have an outer group of 4 set to very wide range, and an inner group of 4 set to smaller range. Useful for keeping track of many ships/sigs across a wide area, while getting a warpin on one of them.

The thing is, I can scan down most sigs in under a minute and our C3 -> Hisec static in about 40 seconds. Granted, I have pinpointing at 4, scanning rigs, sisters probes and a sisters launcher. Maybe I am making up time launching and arranging less probes? I imagine I could get off one pass with 4 before someone even has their probes launched and their formation created with 8.