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Some lowsec explo questions
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Khan Dok
Hedion University
Amarr Empire
#1 - 2011-10-19 00:03:29 UTC  |  Edited by: Khan Dok
I have a +30mill sp main and I am doing some lowsec explorations in the militias lowsec. I just started and I'm pretty paranoid about it.

I do them in a Tengu and finished a 5/10 and a minor gurista something, but lost a 6/10 as I was cloacked in safespot with visitors and the thing despawned. There was a Falcon in the system and i didn't like it.

From 0.0, I remember trying to fit a combat probescanner on a Phantasm, and it severely gimped the setup, so I would like to know:

1) Are there certains ships I should be more afraid of than others?

Any other good advice?

2) When do you flee. When someone enter local? When you id their ship, when you cant id your ship? When you see probes on scanner?

3) I did some in covert ops config, but the dps is so low I was in the plex forever. I switched to the high dps version with a common cloack. This will increase risks at gates as I see it, but shorten time in plex, reducing risks there. What do people do?
Substantia Nigra
Polaris Rising
Goonswarm Federation
#2 - 2011-10-19 00:36:44 UTC
IMO any / every ship, except freighters, is a potential threat ... although haulers also have to be pretty low on the threat list.

Case in point. A buddy was running lowsec sites a few days ago. He was alone in the system.

One player joined him in local. DS showed him to be flying cheetah, and info check revealed him as relatively low-time player. My buddy wasn't too hassled and just started frequent DS scans to watch for probe deployment.

The cheetah didn't cloak, and no probes appeared ... so my buddy felt reasonably safe.

Next thing the cheetah is on-grid and he is locked and pointed. The cheetah maintains a wide, fast orbit, keeps him pointed ... and three other ppl suddenly appear in system. My buddy dies soon afterwards.

The gang had already scanned the sites in that group of systems and the cheetah pilot was roaming around to see if any ships had entered any of the sites. My buddy's choice of blaster proteus (couldn't hit the cheetah) is another question altogether, but the lesson here is that there are very few ships that you can afford to consider safe when you're pottering around in lowsec / nullsec.

I guess I am almost a 'vet' by now. Hopefully not too bitter and managing to help more than I hinder. I build and sell many things, including large collections of bookmarks.
Mnemosyne Gloob
#3 - 2011-10-19 02:16:45 UTC
What Substantia said - watch out for probes, but also don't neglect the possibility of ppl having scanned down the sites previousely. If you suspect something narrow down your dscan range (a few 10k km or so in gated complexes) to see if anyone is really coming for you (even covert ops ships will decloak at the gates unless they are careful). Also know the locals.

About the question regarding covert fit t3s - fly around in that config to get around and scan but carry spare subsystems in your cargo to refit once you find a site that warrants it.
Derath Ellecon
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#4 - 2011-10-19 03:27:25 UTC
What the others have said.

I am certainly no expert, but i have been trying low sec exploration a lot more lately (last 2 months). I moved into a WH with a low sec static so i felt it was a good way to have some low sec fun.

I have run into a number of cases where the locals obviously scanned down the sigs ahead of time. So watching for probes is not good enough.

Whenever anyone enters the system I am wary. I immediately check their info to try and assess their threat, although even a positive sec can be no guarantee of safety.

If it is a site with no gates be very wary. If it is a gated site you can try lowering the dscan range to watch for people popping up more closely, which would indicate them heading through a gate.

I always dual box my low sec excursions. I have one toon in a covert ops. He does all of the scanning while the other flies a DPS ship.

In gated anoms I will wait until i have aggro and move the covops on grid and cloak to keep it from despawning if I have to bolt.

Honestly I have found lowsec so far to be fairly annoying. Maybe if I was in the same area all the time to learn about the locals it would be easier. I always heard that lowsec was an empty wasteland. I haven't found that to be so true. I have had lowsec exits all over the place and while low sec is pretty empty, it never seems empty enough to get much PVE done without interruption.

Keep in mind a T3 is gonna be a higher value gank target as well.

By the way, not to hijack your thread. But can a covert ops go thru acceleration gates cloaked? or do they decloak when they go through?
St Mio
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#5 - 2011-10-19 05:49:01 UTC
Anything that can fit a point... so basically everything except pods, shuttles and freighters. :D
Personally the highest on my GTFO list would be recons, followed by fast ships that can easily disengage (Cynabal, SFI, Vaga, Dram etc)

As for covops and decloaking, best way to be sure is to leave one unit of ammo behind in a jetcan at the warpin point from each gate.
Derath Ellecon
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#6 - 2011-10-19 06:11:13 UTC
St Mio wrote:
Anything that can fit a point... so basically everything except pods, shuttles and freighters. :D
Personally the highest on my GTFO list would be recons, followed by fast ships that can easily disengage (Cynabal, SFI, Vaga, Dram etc)

As for covops and decloaking, best way to be sure is to leave one unit of ammo behind in a jetcan at the warpin point from each gate.


Now see, that is a nifty tip that I hadn't thought of. Drop a can at the warpin, then make sure as you are running the site that you move plenty far away. Stay aligned and you should be able to gtfo even if something lands on grid.
Nadine Le'Slut
The-Four-HorseMen
#7 - 2011-10-19 10:22:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Nadine Le'Slut
1) Are there certains ships I should be more afraid of than others?

:: biggest threat to me are scanbonused ships, because they be taking ma' site! Then usually recons/T3s.

2) When do you flee. When someone enter local? When you id their ship, when you cant id your ship? When you see probes on scanner?

:: as soon as my alt sees them on the entry acceleration gate. Sure if they launched combat probes, it's very self-evident they want my ass. I'm then aligned and get the thuck out. Most of times i see core probes though. I stay in the site and vigorously check the entry gate with my other toon. Lots of scanners won't enter my site because of a my mean looking T3 on dscan (and the eventuality of dropping another cloaked one on him).

3) I did some in covert ops config, but the dps is so low I was in the plex forever. I switched to the high dps version with a common cloack. This will increase risks at gates as I see it, but shorten time in plex, reducing risks there. What do people do?

Travel around with Covert Subsystem, refit at station for combat sites. No local station? Scout with Scanner.
Or DPS Subsystem with MWD + Cloak for gate safety - though it gimps your setup.

By the way, not to hijack your thread. But can a covert ops go thru acceleration gates cloaked? or do they decloak when they go through?

yes they can, they just have to be between 2 and 2.5km when activating it cloaked and be a little careful. You can see the graphics effect for a few secs when a cloaky goes through.
XXSketchxx
Sniggerdly
Pandemic Legion
#8 - 2011-10-19 12:30:13 UTC
Derath Ellecon wrote:
St Mio wrote:
Anything that can fit a point... so basically everything except pods, shuttles and freighters. :D
Personally the highest on my GTFO list would be recons, followed by fast ships that can easily disengage (Cynabal, SFI, Vaga, Dram etc)

As for covops and decloaking, best way to be sure is to leave one unit of ammo behind in a jetcan at the warpin point from each gate.


Now see, that is a nifty tip that I hadn't thought of. Drop a can at the warpin, then make sure as you are running the site that you move plenty far away. Stay aligned and you should be able to gtfo even if something lands on grid.



This is also how I run gated sites and I've never had a problem. Ungated sites are trickier as its much easier for a trap to have been laid already or for them to get a warp-in on you if you aren't watching dscan 100%. And even if you are, prebookmarks and such are dangerous. Basically, its probably only safe to run non-gated sites when no potential hostiles are in system. Gated sites are much safer, though there is still the chance of someone lying in wait cloaked for you.