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EVE New Citizens Q&A

 
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I want to play as an out and out explorer, but can't find a sensible ship/fitting...
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Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#1 - 2012-10-25 15:33:24 UTC
Hello all (brand new player, so noob post)

I'm trying to play EVE purely as an explorer (eventually scout etc.) but am having serious problems and am worried that I'm backing myself into a corner.

I read through the forums and also found some helpful players online, who suggested I go with the Imicus. So I trained in Gallente ships, bought the ship with my rapidly dwindling ISK and immediately ran into fitting problems. It has a rubbish amount of slots and almost no capacitor.

Shortly after balancing as best I could, I flew around HiSec space and started scanning. Got pretty much one-shotted by some idiot who wanted 30mil from a new player and I got podded. Two days in. Not too bad, I guess?

Before I rant on even more, I've purchased the same ship, trained up to Shield Operation III and Shield Management I and have just started on Drones.

My question is more like a lot of questions, really:


What type of drones and further training should I go with?

How I can fit the Imicus to keep me alive, (or at least be able to fight off a few rats (which I can't AT ALL, for some reason)) and escape possible player encounters without sacrificing a sensible loadout for exploration?

Are there contacts specifically for exploration? I tried that Agent Finder tool but got even more confused :(


Again, apologies for my absolute noobishness, but this game is huge and intimidating :)

Hope you can help me, thanks! o/
Jim Era
#2 - 2012-10-25 15:34:06 UTC  |  Edited by: Jim Era
Should not have trained Gallente ships

exploration is just that, you go out and explore on your own.

Wat™
Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#3 - 2012-10-25 15:35:59 UTC
Jim Era wrote:
Should not have trained Gallente ships


Imicus is a Gallente ship. What is a comparable Amarr ship for exploration, do you know?
Jim Era
#4 - 2012-10-25 15:40:47 UTC
Arbitrator isn't bad.

Wat™
Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#5 - 2012-10-25 15:46:16 UTC  |  Edited by: Jocasta Nehlim
I was going to mention the Abitrator in my original post, as that's where I wanted to head eventually; but the cost and extra training required is going to take a while to get together. I'm obviously not trained in Cruisers yet and think I need Amarr Frigate IV before I can even look at that ship.

Should I just kit out a cheap frigate and grind rat bases for bounty money, then?

I don't have any current agents, and (if I could actually kill some pirates) I'm trained up for Salavge.
Jim Era
#6 - 2012-10-25 15:48:48 UTC
You can do that or spend 8m training Amarr Industrial (assuming this is a full acct) and do distribution missions, you can take 8m and train Destroyers and run some security missions.

Wat™
Jim Era
#7 - 2012-10-25 15:49:39 UTC
You can get in your rookie ship and go mine some asteroids as well

Wat™
Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#8 - 2012-10-25 15:51:27 UTC
I have the skill books for both already. I'll take your advice on board.

Thanks.
Jim Era
#9 - 2012-10-25 15:57:20 UTC
Security missions are good, can do level 1 and 2 with a destroyer...you get paid for the mission and also bounties. by the time you can fly a cruiser you should have enough money for one.

Wat™
Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#10 - 2012-10-25 16:00:13 UTC
lol Yeah I know that I have to take my time with this game. Been sitting there watching Astrometrics IV ticking painfully over, hogging my training queue :)
Frank Millar
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#11 - 2012-10-25 16:04:22 UTC
Have you done the Tutorials? They give Isk, Skillbooks, Ships and Modules and insight in how thing work.

Also, have a look at the Certificates tab. Anything related to Armor Tanking and Fitting (Capacitor, CPU, Powergrid) will help your cause. Also, look at Gunnery, because DPS is half the tank (dead rats don't shoot back).

Personally, I'd start with doing some lvl 1 Security missions and work your way up from there. Doing the Epic Arc Missions out of Arnon (I think) is also worth it and very do-able until the last mission (team up with other guys/gals or have a well-fitted Destroyer/Cruiser).

As for Drones, stick with Lights and Mediums for now. Gallente first, Minmatar/Caldari second, forget about Amarr (they're just the worst). But it all depends on the type of rats you're facing.
Jim Era
#12 - 2012-10-25 16:06:27 UTC
I've been waiting over 2 weeks on a skill I don't really need :[
Feel free to shoot me mails or post here if you got more questions.
I might not be able to answer everything but I will try to :p

Wat™
Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#13 - 2012-10-25 16:08:12 UTC
Just finished all of the training arcs and set off to explore. Spent most yesterday scanning down radar and gravametric sites but had to sit in Local begging for backup as I couldn't take on more than two or three rats at a time for the protected sites.

As for certificates: They act as buffs, then? (I didn't know!)
Jocasta Nehlim
Imperial Shipment
Amarr Empire
#14 - 2012-10-25 16:11:09 UTC
Arnon is the Sisters of Eve arc, right? Was planning on going there soon-ish, if only for their Probe Launcher ;)
Ronix Aideron
Zymurgy Corp.
#15 - 2012-10-25 16:11:29 UTC
I am a trader mainly for my ISK creation. So I feel your pain on watching the skills timer tick down.

Use your frigiate to run some level 1 missions to pass the time while you build up skill. You will also get some loyalty points and ISK out of it. I found that the certificates can be used to plan out your training. If you want explorer follow the certificates becuase they will somewhat balance the skills to be effective as you go.

I learned this the hard way as I was training on drone to level five and was getting spanked on missions. I realized that I was not addressing my core and gunnery skills.

Start the day off slow and taper off from there.

http://eveboard.com/pilot/Ronix_Aideron
Jim Era
#16 - 2012-10-25 16:13:49 UTC
certificates just groups skills together and give a brief description in order to learn what skills you might need to suit your playstyle better

yes arnon

Wat™
highonpop
KarmaFleet
Goonswarm Federation
#17 - 2012-10-25 16:15:49 UTC  |  Edited by: highonpop
Jim Era wrote:
Should not have trained Gallente ships

exploration is just that, you go out and explore on your own.


Why the gallente hate?

i love my pve proteus. If fit correctly gallente is just as good as any other race.

OP a lot of your fitting issues will be solved when you train more skills. as far as power and CPU


the imicus is not meant to be an exlorations hip, but just a scanner. No matter what race, you will not find a frigate that has a scan bonus that is also capable of clearing the npc's out of the site. For that you will need a larger ship or a t3 cruiser.

FC, what do?
Eternal Montage
Myriad Sequence
#18 - 2012-10-25 16:20:34 UTC
It's very hard to start out with exploration and do nothing else in Eve though it is possible. A buddy of mind started playing a few months back and he was soloing sites in an Imicus by the second or third week and making 10-20mil/hour ninja salvaging and soloing radar sites.

First off I must ask, are you exploring in high sec or lowsec? To be honest, the Imicus is not equipped to handle low sec. It lacks a covert ops cloaking device for getting around and the dps/tank necessary for the lowsec sites. Also you can't be doing wormholes yet so stay away from those. The problem is, highsec spawns more wormholes and less sites than lowsec or null. This is the problem with exploring as a noob. But like i said it is possible! You can even make decent isk hacking radar sites and you can occasionally hit the lottery and get 300m+ drops! Though you will need a cruiser for that.

So assuming you're exploring in highsec, the Imicus is in fact the best choice. You can fit it a number of different ways and the 3 drones give you decent dps without sacrificing something else. Now the specific sites you're looking for are Magnetometric and Radar. So with that being said you will need hacking, salvaging and archeology skills and probing skills (obviously). You're also looking for unrated and rated DED sites from 1/10-3/10 (difficulty level) but for those you will need to switch to a bigger ship--they also have bigger rewards.

Use the map (flatten it) and set your star filter to "number of pilots in space" switch between that and "security status". The ideal systems to scan in are deserted but with a security status higher than .4 (.5 and up--high sec) When u get there start probing. Look around google for a guide to identifying the type of site u are probing before it reaches 100%. This way you wont waste time probing down wormholes that u cant do. Also youtube sir livingston's highsec DED guides. He does them in a t3 which is optimal because you can probe and complete any DED site in one without having to switch ships as they have probing bonuses and the DPS/tank necessary for 3/10. For mag and radar sites you should be able to complete them with an imicus no problem! Just a few frigate rats and some hacking/salvaging/archeology. Speed tank and distance tank if necessary.

If you want to be a straight up explorer I insist you learn how to ninja salvage. You will make a LOT of money for a noob and you'll learn how to scan really well and its fun as ****. There are plenty of guides out there. Just PM me if you have any trouble figuring it out--I'm really good at it! I can also help you with fits and stuff but not right now cuz im at work.
Jim Era
#19 - 2012-10-25 16:24:14 UTC
highonpop wrote:
Jim Era wrote:
Should not have trained Gallente ships

exploration is just that, you go out and explore on your own.


Why the gallente hate?


The Gallente are the disgusting scum.

Wat™
Oraac Ensor
#20 - 2012-10-25 16:24:19 UTC  |  Edited by: Oraac Ensor
highonpop wrote:
Jim Era wrote:
Should not have trained Gallente ships

exploration is just that, you go out and explore on your own.


Why the gallente hate?

i love my pve proteus. If fit correctly gallente is just as good as any other race.

OP a lot of your fitting issues will be solved when you train more skills. as far as power and CPU


the imicus is not meant to be an exlorations hip, but just a scanner. No matter what race, you will not find a frigate that has a scan bonus that is also capable of clearing the npc's out of the site. For that you will need a larger ship or a t3 cruiser.

As I understand it, the Proteus is one of the best and most popular ships for exploration.

Edit: Imicus with 3 Hobgoblin II's is ok for some of the easier sites.
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