Missions & Complexes

Hiya fellow space people!

I recently discovered Eve-Online trough a friend of mine, i did not really care much for the PvP aspect of Eve.
However, after he showed me a vid of exploration in Eve-Online i got really interested and wanted to give it a try.

Now my question is what ship is best to focus on in the sole purpose of exploring data and relic sites. (Might go for the DED complexes and souch later in my Eve-online life but for now i will focus on the data and relic sites)

I have had a look at the covert-ops ships that is avalible in the game and see no real diffrence between them, other then that they have diffrent amount of low, mid and high slots avalible. In other words wich one of these four covert-ops is best served for the purpose of exploring data and relic sites in high, low and null sec.

I tried asking my friend about this but since he is more interested in the PvP aspect of Eve-Online he could not provide a good answer to this.

If possible please provide a top four list of the covert-ops ship you like best for this purpose.

Thank you.

Thank you for the information, i was not aware of the rats beeing in the low and null sec sites. Are they managable in a Helios or should i make a long term plan of getting another shiptype for the low and nullsec exploration? And if so, what is the best ship for it?

You can deal with them if you have the right fit. But, I only seen them come up when you screw up in the hack.

Anyways, go to a chat ingame called HelpMyMission
This chat has a bunch of people who hang out in null sec. Just tell them what you want to do, and if they can give you a fit. Most likely they can give it to you if they are on.



No they do. I seen them come up when you screw up. IDK if the screw up has anything related to them showing up. But, they are still showing up.

That was after. Anyways, check out that chat in my last post. They should give you a few fits. If not, Sir Livingstons might.
IDK how to link my fits in here, but I have my fit in this video. http://youtu.be/0zcWSjJwbpk?t=10m41s
The ship has 1 drone. It just gives the rat something to shoot at while I warp away.

There are no spawns in DATA/RELIC sites, come on. There are spawns in LADAR sites in "normal" space (LOW/NULL-sec) and in the WH-space (wormholes still have sleepers which are the main income anyway).

What you should not care about?

You should not care about wrecks in space. Not only you'll sit near the wreck, but you will waste your precious time on trying to get T2 salvage. You can get an abundance of those in RELIC sites. Salvaging is matter of past, or at least until the moment when CCP decides to nerf the RELIC sites that much, that it does not pay off anymore.

Let's talk about covert-ops ships.

Each covert-ops should have!!!:

- Probe Launcher (not expanded one, since you will not hunt anyone, so you don't need combat probes).
- Micro-warpdrive 1MN (you need this one in order to dodge Saber-like ships who are specialized to hunt down frigates and anything alike when they're solo). You don't want to go in NULL-sec and then die because there was a solo Sabre on a gate. I would never take a covert-ops, or a frigate without a micro-warpdrive. Gate-crashing is one of the most vital things capsuleers should know about in EvE, whether it's PvP and pilot-splitting or just trying to escape from your predators.

Other high-slots don't matter. If you want to maybe kill few explorers, fit a gun but then take a covert-ops with more mids so you can fit up the scram\web if needed.

Capacity should not matter because you will take only the stuff what has some kind of worth. I tend to drop data-cores because they're too heavy, and they bring only ~20 M ISK so they're not the HIGH-end resource. You should care about your speed and inertia modifier. And when we talk about inertia and speed, then Minmatar is the best race out there?!

Check few stats below:

Buzzard [Caldari]

Slots: 2-5-3 (from low -> high).
Capacity: 190 m^3.
Inertia Modifier: 4.27 x.
Max Velocity: 306 m/s.

Helios [Gallente]

Slots. 3-5-2.
Capacity: 175 m^3.
Inertia Modifier. 4.142 x.
Max Velocity: 330 m/s.

Cheetah [Minmatar]

Slots. 3-4-3.
Capacity: 200 m^3.
Inertia Modifier. 3.77 x.
Max Velocity: 381 m/s.


Anathema [Amarr]

Slots. 3-4-3.
Capacity: 190 m^3.
Inertia Modifier. 4.89 x.
Max Velocity: 282 m/s.

I recommend you Cheetah for your NULL-sec exploration since it's fastest out there, and funny enough, it has the biggest cargo hold as well.

What kind of fit are you looking for?

Cheetah:

High-power: Covert ops Cloaking Device II, Core Probe Launcher II + free slot (pick what you want).

Mid-power: Cargo scanner, 1MN MWD, Data + Relic analyzer

For low-power you can consider few of these:

Overdrive injector,
Nanofiber structure,
Inertia stab.,
OR if you need more power: Micro Auxiliary Power Core.

Rigs:

Since the Odyssey has come, it's been pretty easy to find those sites so you probably won't need the Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I. But you can fit it if you want. Otherwise, aim for rigs which will help you in the hacking mini-game like Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I

Um, wait a minute. Is this for high sec, low sec, null sec or w-space?

Each sector basically has different requirements. The T3 Cruisers were meant to bridge the gap between all sectors of space, thus the reason for ability to customize their sub systems / fit ups.

Of course CCP has pretty much made T3's obsolete for high sec exploration but they still reign supreme every where else.

Guess if it's mainly high sec exploration for mostly Data / Relic sites and occasionally some combat sites, then a Force Recon Cruiser is the ticket. It can definitely complete the mid size combat sites as well as chase down expeditions into low sec due to Covert Ops cloak ability. It has plenty of slots to fit up both defense / offense mods along with exploration mods.

Definitely something to think about.



DMC


By the way, don't pass up the small anomalies, especially Hideaway and Burrow. They can be completed very quickly and have a good chance to spawn Commander NPC's which might drop Faction loot. The wrecks will usually give T2 salvage as well.

I agree with Aquila the Helios is a good choice because of the ability to fit MWD & has lots of mids. I would take a slightly different approach though. I use warp core stabs to avoid being grabbed rather than fitting shield for survivability. Both approaches are valid though.

The extra mid I use to boost scanning. I'd also use a mix of scanning and exploration rigs and implants to boost your abilities as much as possible. You need it to find and hack null sec sites. You have to balance boosting scanning and hacking.

- Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
- Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe
- Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
- Data Analyzer I (eventually II once you have Hacking V)
- Relic Analyzer I (and Archaeology V as well)
- PL-0 Shipment Probe (cargo scanner use before hacking)
- Scan Rangefinding Array I (boost your scanning power)
- 2X 'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I (avoid being stopped from warping away)
- Nanofiber Internal Structure II (a bit more speed and maneuverability)
- Small Emission Scope Sharpener I,Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I (rigs to boost hacking. Aquila's suggestion is also good)
- AP-606,AQ-706,AR-806,HC-905 or AC-905 (implants to boost your exploration abilities)

It takes a while to train into covops ships and support skills, so start off in high sec with an Imicus (the T1 version of Helios with hacking bonus) to practice scanning & hacking on easy sites. Once you get the Helios, don't bother with high sec because of low value of drops.

Just don't think that warp core stabs will save you :)!

Always keep an eye on local and directional scan! And don't think if you see a covert-ops exploration frigate that you're safe or a lot of bad things can happen :). Everyone uses what they think it's best. Helios is better when you think of it in a way you need the extra mid-slots, but I never needed such stuff due to the good skills.

Thank you for your post Amethyst Argyle. Well written. But I would just warn you how you handle your implants - you may eventually lose them in NULL-sec.

imbaRabbit, I agree implants are disposable in null :-) But they help and aren't too expensive once you're finding good loot.

consuasor, in my fit in the meta 4 version of the cargo scanner - same specs as the tech 2, but less CPU and cost :-)

If all I did was exploration data/relic sites in null sec I'd skip covops and go T3 Tengu for the mids and anti bubbles and more EHP so you dont die to smartbombers on gates. I'd also get a full set of low-grade virtue implants. I wouldn't take this fit into wormhole sites because they still have sleepers.

[Tengu, Exploration]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Warp Core Stabilizer II

Data Analyzer II
Relic Analyzer II
Cargo Scanner II
Gist X-Type 100MN Afterburner
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Scan Pinpointing Array II

Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher, Sisters Combat Scanner Probe
'Smokescreen' Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Small Tractor Beam II
Salvager II
Salvager II

Medium Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

Tengu Electronics - Emergent Locus Analyzer
Tengu Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Tengu Propulsion - Interdiction Nullifier
Tengu Engineering - Capacitor Regeneration Matrix
Tengu Defensive - Supplemental Screening