Missions & Complexes

You mean the cosmic anomalies that pop up on system scan?

It depends on how you define "worth the hassle". They can pay, but not nearly as much as in null. They can escalate (very rarely) and that's a good thing, though it will generally require a better ship. You of course have to calculate into your "hassle" the fact that anyone can warp to them and there are no gates, so the risk running them compared to gated complexes is significant.

Having said that, I've run a few, gotten some faction spawns, and never been interrupted. But at least for me it's very much a stopgap when I'm bored of scanning and don't feel like logging just yet.

As far as what kind of ship, just take something that will pile on damage. If you're comfortable using a BS in low, do that. Otherwise, I very much doubt a decent Harbinger would have any trouble with them -- it would just be a bit slower.

thank you for the replies
i really don't give a fuk about losing a drake once in a while, but it is less effective in amarr space, so i'd rather use a cane if the tank holds. if the expected payout is so small that you can offset it by losing a bc i probably won't even bother

Lowsec exploration doesn't necessarily have a large profit margin. But if you really like exploration and you want to have a little bit more risk and excitement in your gaming, go for it, you'll have lots of fun.

My personal experience, or lack of luck, is that every encounter site in lowsec is a gas cloud

Waste of a no-troll post. Ugh.

This made me chuckle.

Here Here!

I tried exploration and I like it. However, it is risky and pays, on average, much less than lvl 4's.

When I do losec exploration, I know I am being a fool. It's nice as a change of pace but one still is a fool doing it. If you don't like the word 'fool', substitute "play very sub-optimally". The Risk/reward is just not worth it.

Hell, I even tried null sec exploration in relatively safe space...and THAT doesn't even pay as well as lvl 4's...but I haven't done it enough to say that conclusively...haven't done it nearly enough so could just be RNG screwing with me.

There is no isk to be had through exploration.
Just leave the sites to me. I'll find use for them

vOv I think w-space payouts are alright, maybe on the surplus side, but wormholes are a special kind of risky. Far as lowsec exploration is concerned, there doesn't need to be a big tune-up. The act of exploring is pretty much 10x the amusement compared to "the grind," elsewhere and since the reward is loot there's no way to really bring it up too much without flooding the markets with the best faction/ds bling.

All I would like to see is isk faucet income like bounties and incursions brought down a peg and from the way Soundwave was talking a universal bounty nerf was high on his list of things to do. Honestly, I hope exploration is never -the- thing to do for isk. It feels good for me to take the legion for a spin in some bumfuck lowsec region and just enjoy the treasure hunt without empire levels of competition.

I'd like to see that next step too, but the reality is that change isn't forthcoming or at least not any time soon. Factor of being outpaced earning-wise really depends on where you are exploring and the competition, which is why I don't come out in favor of buffs to its income or drops. Like incursions there is a kind of soft cap to how crowded an area can get before everyone's profits except the ~elite~ sink to low levels. The only difference being, it takes a lot less players in a much larger area to saturate exploring.

You also have to consider, any modules you sell on the marketplace are going to be selling at a price adjusted for demand and inflation over time. If all the isk-faucets get nerfed today, in a few weeks time the average price for mods goes down, the average earning of the module seller (such as mr. explorer) goes down too. His average income is more or less neutral (some exceptions, but i'll not gore this argument with detail). This pretty much ensures that it will never be a truly competitive income source without a good roll of the rng, but it also makes it impossible (without the advent of some new modules that make drops worthless) for exploration to hit mining levels of absolute failure.

tl;dr: Exploration is well suited to being a slightly-below "average" income source, but that is a strength and a weakness. So long as the gameplay is good compared to other pve activities, I think it should be left alone.

which hisec site has the chance of getting you 3bil? and even if there is one, i'd argue that on average, your income is closer to 10mil/hr than 3bil/hr or even 50mil/hr if you are in hisec.