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Does exploration get easier?
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Wraith Shardani
Hedion University
Amarr Empire
#1 - 2014-02-25 20:32:33 UTC
Hey all, I started playing the game about a month ago and have been enjoying it a lot... up until the last couple days. Where it's been a bit of a struggle.

I have been basically spending most of my time exploring for relic and data sites in low sec space and was doing pretty good, and making some decent isk for a beginner. But all of a sudden I started getting ganked alot, I have lost pretty much all my isk that I made, because I've been smoked 5-6 times in the last couple days.

3 times I've I've found a relic or data site and once I start hacking someone uncloaks in their stealth bomber and smokes me.

I've been trying to alleviate risk as much as possible, always cloaked while scanning, unloading all my loot as often as possible in nearby stations, refreshing directional scanner when I'm hacking at data/relic sites, platinum insurance and cloning etc etc

Now I know what you're all thinking, "stay out of low sec", "pvp happens", "it's an open universe, where anything goes in low sec", "suck it up buttercup", I'm all for that. It's partly what attracted me to play the game in the first place.

But what I want to know is does it get easier to explore as you get better ships/skills etc or is it always going to be a gank fest while exploring, due to the fact I'm in a ship fitted for exploring and not killing.

Thanks
Dawn Lewis
Dawn Lewis Corporation
#2 - 2014-02-25 20:45:03 UTC
Almost all of lowsec is empty.

Dont run sites in systems with people in them.


And remember that this game is full of killmail whores who will sit in those sites for hours waiting for a month old player and then act like they soloed a Titan.


Remember that you are on easy mode. Wait until you are taking down 10/10 plexes in other peoples SOV. a billion isk for a few hours work and then hoping to slip away before you get caught.


Protip stay out of caldari lowsec space. Its the spacefag capital of the game.


Hope that helps
Rekkr Nordgard
Steelforge Heavy Industries
#3 - 2014-02-25 21:26:29 UTC
Yeah, avoid Caldari lowsec and Factional Warfare lowsec completely for exploration.

Play around with Dotlan and look for quiet areas of lowsec do exploration in. But don't go off Dotlan completely, some areas of lowsec are super busy during some timezones and then dead in others. Actually go to the areas you're interested in and hang out in them yourself for a few hours over the course of a few days to get a feel for them.

Once you've graduated into something with a covert cloak like an Astero or Buzzard and gotten your exploration skills up to at least 4 across the board, you should definitely consider moving your exploration to nullsec. You'll have to deal with bubbles and podding, but the rewards are much higher and many areas of nullsec are even emptier than lowsec.
Robert Morningstar
Morningstar Excavations LTD
Business Alliance of Manufacturers and Miners
#4 - 2014-02-25 21:42:07 UTC
The advantage to k-space is local keep a eye on it if you are not the only one in local expect that you are being hunted cloak up and leave. This is what you want to watch not d-scan.
Floyd Perdoo
#5 - 2014-02-25 21:45:38 UTC
Dawn Lewis wrote:
Protip stay out of caldari lowsec space. Its the spacefag capital of the game.


Rekkr Nordgard wrote:
Yeah, avoid Caldari lowsec and Factional Warfare lowsec completely for exploration.


just because there are many people in those areas doesn't mean they are all out to get you. in fact i would argue it can even be safer to explore in fw space, as most people will be occupied with fw stuff - whereas in non fw regions the residents will be much more interested to know what the guy that just came into their system is doing.

as for the getting ganked by bombers thing - players adapt. CCP changed some sites that now allows them to be done in (stabbed) frigates and people came up with clever ways to get at those people. it is actually quite enjoyable to sit 200 off the site cloaked, watch the dude work the cans until 'loot spew' and then warp down and instantly multiple scram him. clever and funny way to use ship stats, i would say. with the frequency that relic runners are seen, you don't even have to wait long. hell just make those bookmarks and once you see [t1 scanfrig], check it out.
Orlacc
#6 - 2014-02-25 22:01:51 UTC
It gets easier. You get faster and you learn ways to keep from getting blapped.

I pretend I am a trapper deep in the Rockies in the early 1800s trying to get pelts before the Indians kill me.

But that's just me.

"Measure Twice, Cut Once."
Qalix
Long Jump.
#7 - 2014-02-25 22:06:18 UTC
If you're going to explore, go all the way. Probe down worm holes, go into them, then probe exits to other places. It's amazing how often you can end up in deserted systems in sovereign nosec. In the course of one 3 hr exploration jaunt, I probed out a network of WHs and exits that put me within 5 jumps of 2 hisec systems, 2 losec systems, and 4 nosec systems (both sov and npc). It's kind of cool to make only a couple of jumps from Stain to Syndicate to Outer Passage to Tenerifis and back to within 4 jumps of Amarr. Yesterday I was in a WH that had 1 WH exit and 5 nosec exits. Lots o' fun.
Tauranon
Weeesearch
CAStabouts
#8 - 2014-02-26 01:35:01 UTC
Wraith Shardani wrote:


But what I want to know is does it get easier to explore as you get better ships/skills etc or is it always going to be a gank fest while exploring, due to the fact I'm in a ship fitted for exploring and not killing.

Thanks


A hacking frigate can warp away before an SB can lock it or apply damage to it. Tried it myself - ie taken content directly out from someone I know was there (who eventually amusingly tried bombing me through lack of success).

If you know someone is there, the hacking game can be played as press 1 button, review d-scan, review overview, press 1 button, and just keep a particular eye on overview during loot spew.

In general you should use your mobility to find empty systems, be aware that people may already have the BM, and be aware that a station or ship maint array means someone can reship to a killboat even you initially saw a harmless hauler on d-scan.
Blue Absinthe
Wardec U
#9 - 2014-02-26 02:57:52 UTC
"stay out of low sec", "pvp happens", "it's an open universe, where anything goes in low sec", "suck it up buttercup"
Tauranon
Weeesearch
CAStabouts
#10 - 2014-02-26 03:03:21 UTC
Blue Absinthe wrote:
"stay out of low sec", "pvp happens", "it's an open universe, where anything goes in low sec", "suck it up buttercup"


naw, miniprofs in lowsec / nullsec vastly more profitable, well worth some losses and covops mobile, hard to intercept and some losses in your early career in cheap frigates and covops well worth it for experience and learning anyway.
Ghat Ashour
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#11 - 2014-02-26 16:00:01 UTC
Some good advice above. For now, googling/checking killboards for your system-mates might tell you if there's a bomber waiting for you.

When you're able, switch roles and gank a few explorers. That will give you a better idea of what to defend against and if you can defend yourself at all. If, hypothetically, I were to attack an explorer I would only hesitate against an Astero and even then it's still worth a shot.

I'd recommend eventually getting into an Astero with proper skills. It lets you run your sites, hunt explorers, and defend/retaliate against would-be hunters. Win-win-win.

I've yet to try the Battle Imicus approach, but it's on my list. Again, hypothetically.
Qalix
Long Jump.
#12 - 2014-02-26 16:20:06 UTC
Ghat Ashour wrote:
Some good advice above. For now, googling/checking killboards for your system-mates might tell you if there's a bomber waiting for you.

When you're able, switch roles and gank a few explorers. That will give you a better idea of what to defend against and if you can defend yourself at all. If, hypothetically, I were to attack an explorer I would only hesitate against an Astero and even then it's still worth a shot.

I'd recommend eventually getting into an Astero with proper skills. It lets you run your sites, hunt explorers, and defend/retaliate against would-be hunters. Win-win-win.

I've yet to try the Battle Imicus approach, but it's on my list. Again, hypothetically.

Astero doesn't have the cpu necessary to fit an expanded probe launcher without giving up literally everything else. No expanded launcher, no combat probes, thus no hunting. You might have meant Stratios.
Batelle
Federal Navy Academy
#13 - 2014-02-26 16:44:05 UTC
just go the extra 10 jumps to be in nullsec.

"**CCP is changing policy, and has asked that we discontinue the bonus credit program after November 7th. So until then, enjoy a super-bonus of 1B Blink Credit for each 60-day GTC you buy!"**

Never forget.
Ghat Ashour
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#14 - 2014-02-26 16:52:01 UTC
No, I meant Astero. The idea being that if he's scanning sites anyway he can kill explorers who are already there or may be there soon.
Ginger Barbarella
#15 - 2014-02-26 17:59:58 UTC
What everyone else said... :)

Just to add my $.02, as with anything low or null it helps to scout around first to find relatively quiet systems. Even after I've identified a few systems to run in, I always use a cloaky ship like a Loki to run the exploration in. If local has people in it, I tend to fly to a nice quiet spot, watch for probes on dscan, and watch for activity. You can usually tell pretty quickly how much activity a system has in your TZ by watching for a little while.

And yeah, I rarely do exploration in FacWar war zones; too much activity for my comfort.

"Blow it all on Quafe and strippers." --- Sorlac
Saji'us
Magnetar Dynamics
#16 - 2014-04-08 13:20:43 UTC
Dawn Lewis wrote:
Almost all of lowsec is empty.

Dont run sites in systems with people in them.


And remember that this game is full of killmail whores who will sit in those sites for hours waiting for a month old player and then act like they soloed a Titan.


Remember that you are on easy mode. Wait until you are taking down 10/10 plexes in other peoples SOV. a billion isk for a few hours work and then hoping to slip away before you get caught.


Protip stay out of caldari lowsec space. Its the spacefag capital of the game.


Hope that helps




Wow. Someone got ganked in a low-sec data/relic site eh?

Lol
Kaivar Lancer
Doomheim
#17 - 2014-04-08 14:22:10 UTC
The Magnate exploration frigate can fit 4 WC stabs. If you're getting warp scrambled, this ship may do the trick. It's been awhile since I flew one, but if you can fit drones on it, put in some ECM drones for good measure. You can't scramble what you can't lock.
Jean-Jaques Keikira
Perkone
Caldari State
#18 - 2014-04-08 15:02:47 UTC
I'm one of those suckers flying around Caldari low-sec/null-sec running Data and Relic sites, and here's what I've learned:

1. Fly something cheap and disposable. I use a Heron with maybe 1 million ISK of modules. You can make that back in one site. If you lose it, no big deal.

2. Cloaking is your first, best, and only friend. It is the only way you will survive gate camps, and will keep you alive if you get scanned down or make a mistake. Make sure you know how all the cloaking mechanics work, like cooldown, movement, and targeting delay. Make sure to move after coming out of warp so somebody warping in behind you doesn't uncloak you (2000 meters).

3. Get an Expanded Probe Launcher and see for yourself how, and how fast you get scanned down. Keep a little timer in your head to either cloak, warp away, or look out for other ships when you get involved in a site.

4. There is no time limit on hacking. Make your first priority to check if your overview is safe before clicking away on nodes.

5. Local chat is your other best friend (not applicable in wormholes). If Local is clear, you're golden. Do what you want. Start being careful as it gets more populated. Check pilot info to see how likely it is that other nearby players are PVPers.

6. Assume everybody is a PVPer out to kill you and behave accordingly.

7. If you can beat the gate camps, null-sec is usually less populated and safer than low-sec.

After some poor attempts, I'm turning a better profit on Data and Relic sites lately. I pulled 26 million ISK out of a couple null-sec sites in my last run, barely surviving a trip back through a gate camp. It's risky, but profitable, and one of the more fun parts of the game, IMO. With that kind of profit available, I'm training up for a Buzzard, which should make running gate camps much easier.
Balshem Rozenzweig
24th Imperial Crusade
Amarr Empire
#19 - 2014-04-09 09:12:57 UTC
Pretty much what everyone else said - go elsewhere if you feel unsafe. You're in a frigate - it's quite safe to travel.

"NUTS!!!" - general McAuliffe
Saji'us
Magnetar Dynamics
#20 - 2014-04-11 18:44:04 UTC
Kaivar Lancer wrote:
The Magnate exploration frigate can fit 4 WC stabs. If you're getting warp scrambled, this ship may do the trick. It's been awhile since I flew one, but if you can fit drones on it, put in some ECM drones for good measure. You can't scramble what you can't lock.



I actually came across an explorer I was hunting in a Magnate once with this setup. He was a pretty smart guy for fitting that way.

...What wasn't smart was continuing to do sites 2 systems over from where he got away from me. I threw on an extra scam (equaling 6 points total) and snagged him in a data site. He admitted that he should have quit while he was ahead xD but he was cool about it.
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