Ships & Modules

Herro everybody. I'm back, and I was looking to get into nullsec radar/mag exploration. Trying to find a ship balance between size (I don't like battleships, they're fat, easily gankable, and not fun to fly...plus I don't really have the skills for them) and ability to run sites efficiently.

I looked around and it looked like the Ishtar is my best bet. However, coming up with something that can functionally run these sites has proven...difficult. I'm confident in my ability to scan down sites efficiently without a bonused scanship but just in case I have one of those lying around so I can drop the core launcher if needed.


This is what I've come up with so far. The salvager, codebreaker and analyzer would be offlined unless needed...which means I should only have to reserve enough CPU to run one at a time.


[Ishtar, Nullsec Exploration]
Armor EM Hardener II
Co-Processor II
Armor EM Hardener II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Armor Thermic Hardener II

Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Cap Recharger II
Analyzer I
Codebreaker I
Cap Recharger II

150mm Railgun II, Spike S
Medium Nosferatu II
Medium Nosferatu II
Salvager I
Core Probe Launcher I, Core Scanner Probe I

Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I


Garde II x5
Other assorted drones.

Notes: I would be fighting Sanshas. Fit does 553 DPS, tanks 276 peak (assuming 60/40 em/therm split) or 405 if hardeners overheated (which I can do for 2m20s).

A word on the Nosferatus: I'm thinking that I can let at least one rat orbit near me so I can continually suck cap from them (if I remember right, nosferatus always steal cap from NPCs). This may or may not work in practice, though, I don't know.

The other option is a cap booster...which I guess seems like a better idea, even though I don't like filling my cargohold with boosters. I'm really leaning towards this since it does the same stuff except tanking way, way harder.


[Ishtar, Plex Bettar]
Armor EM Hardener II
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Armor EM Hardener II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Medium Armor Repairer II

Medium Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Analyzer I /OFFLINE
Codebreaker I /OFFLINE
Cap Recharger II

Salvager II
Core Probe Launcher I, Core Scanner Probe I
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Antimatter Charge M
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Antimatter Charge M
[empty high slot]

Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I
Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I


And by "way, way harder" I mean, 551 peak DPS tanked (again, assuming 60/40 EM/thermal split).



RIGHT THEN. So, suggestions, comments, etc? Am I using the completely wrong ship for this?

i dont understand, i thought the ishtar was best as a shield tank and not an armour tank..?

can one of you clear this u p for me, im looking to fit an ishtar and im stuck between the two options...

Don't rely on nos for cap, get a large cap battery on there.

This is what I came up with a while back, should suit your needs better than your fit.

Tanks well too.

[Ishtar, Swiss Army Ishtar]
Armor EM Hardener II
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Centii C-Type Adaptive Nano Plating
Medium Armor Repairer II
Medium Armor Repairer II

10MN Afterburner II
Large Capacitor Battery II
Cap Recharger II
Analyzer II
Codebreaker II

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

Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I


Ogre II x5
Garde II x5
Hammerhead II x5
Hobgoblin II x5

first off: what is the default orbit range for long range sansha BS?
Garde's are very limited in range, so anything over 50km and you'll see your completion time suffer significantly.

Secondly: if you can't fit dual sentry damage rigs, ogre II's might be the better option, also frees up the rig slots for capacity upgrades.

Thirdly: you'll need significantly more tank then this.