Ships & Modules

I thought I’d give this exploration malarkey a go and I was hoping that the community would be able to suggest some good ships and fits suitable for the job. I have seen suggestions of Pilgrim and pretty much all T3 Cruisers but I’m willing to look at all options.

For additional info, I will be mainly doing high-sec exploration in Minmatar space, looking for RADAR, Mag, DED type sites. I would prefer a single ship (i.e. no swapping probe to combat ship, tough I understand the issues with this) and I can fly anything sub-cap. I can use DSPs (and would prefer a fit with an Expanded Probe Launcher) and any T2 weapon system, though I only have Hacking and Archaeology to 3 so not T2 versions of those mods please!

Thanks in advance.

I would suggest the Hawk. I do High Exploration in a Wolf in Ammatar / Amarr Space against Sansha and Bloods and find that it can clear Complexes quickly and efficiently. The good thing about an Assault Ship Explorer is that they can carry everything you need, are mobile, cheap and can run pretty much any High Sec Complex at a good speed.

[Hawk, Exploration Hawk]
Ballistic Control System II
Co-Processor II

Gistii C-Type Small Shield Booster
Shield Boost Amplifier II
Invulnerability Field II
1MN Afterburner II

Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rocket
Core Probe Launcher II, Sisters Core Scanner Probe I

Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I

Like my Wolf I keep a Salvager, Code Breaker and Analyzer in my Cargo Hold and switch out at the nearest station when I find Radar, Mags and Complexes. You can tank all Mag / Radar Sites without the Invuln and the Mid Slot Devices are not really used in Complexes.

I find with passable skills it take between 1-3 Minutes to scan down pretty much anything. The Faction Booster should not be too costly and will keep you pretty much stable. It should be able to tank everything up to a 3/10 Complex just fine. I use Evelopedia's Exploration Database to research the Complex just to make sure.

I myself am planning a Hawk for Gallente, Minmatar and Caldari Space while keeping my Wolf for Amarr Space. One week until she is ready till then I will continue with my Wolf.

I also use several other ships in an Exploration Combo. I often set up a hub or 2 with the Ships I need to farm the area then transfer. I usually pick a relatively low pop place that is well interconnected with the Gate network to limit jumps.

My average Hub has the following.

1 Cov Ops or T1 Scan Frigate. (I use this from time to time to quickly scan a few nearby systems before grabbing a combat ship.)
1-2 Assault Ships. (These are my main choice for running Complexes / Radars and Mags. I use it as a Scan Ship as well, you can pin down Complexes rather quick.)
1 Drake. (These are for 4/10's and Escalations that I do not need to scan. They can run everything pretty quickly. More then enough Tank and Spank to handle anything High Sec. Anything below your Assault Ship can handle.)
1 Hauler. (Always Cheap and useful.)
Several Shuttles. (I seed these around for fast transport often between Ships and Hubs.)

For a Heavy Ship if the Drake is not to your liking their are other Choices. Myrmidon, Cyclone, Gila (Very Good Experiences with this one), Ishkur and so have varying levels of efficiency.

So far I have had a lot of luck with these. I am pretty casual and only go on Exploration Sprees for about a week at a time. On my last one I netted about 8 LG Slaves, 1 LG Slave Omega, T2 Salvage, about 200mil in Radar stuff, about 2 dozen Complex Modules of varying value and a few Faction items.

Hawk is of course not your only choice. Anything with passable Capacitor, good Explosive / Kin resists, Kin or Ex Dmg will do fine.

I can not suggest T3's or Recons as I do not use them. I tend to stick to budget Exploration and it works well for me. It doesn't take a lot of Skill Points. I am very excited for the upcoming AF Buff. You might not want to go down this route for Exploration but I hope I gave you some idea's.

I find High Sec Exploration to be a very relaxing pass time that can be quite profitable.

I've been known to use a Cyclone and its 425 CPU for toys for exploring when my Loki wasn't nearby.

Medium Capacitor rigs for various power needs
Decent drone bay for things (8 lights in case you fall asleep)
8 highs so you can have a tractor, a salvager, probe launcher,and five weapons (up to 5 turret or 3 missile)
Enough mids (5) to keep the hacking tools on without hurting your tank and still fitting an AB to get around quick (usually ran a code breaker, analyser, AB, Inuv, and Med Shield Booster II)
Lows for turret mods or ballistics.

Legion is what you want, don't settle for anything else. I'll post fits if you want

All the good loot is in null sec.