Missions & Complexes

Aside from running level 4s slowly in my Maelstrom in highsec, I have no idea how to do anything else. I saw many cruisers and HACS even doing these plexes and Im not even sure how its possible.

Here are the basics at least.

1) You're in low sec. That means anyone can shoot at you at any time, though gate guns do provide some cover. Read up on aggression mechanics and safe spots.

2) There are two broad categories of sites to choose from: anomalies and exploration sites. Anomalies are visible to anyone who scans the system with the on-board scanner. They consist of several waves of rats. The final wave can sometimes spawn a single faction rat which can drop faction loot. These sites occasionally grant an escalation, which see below.

3) The other kind of site represents what most people consider "true" exploration. To find these sites, you need probes and scanning skills. They come in eight categories.

First, there are gravimetric sites. These are mining sites and tend not to be very popular.

Second are radar sites. These combine light combat and hacking, which requires fitting a codebreaker. You can get datacores, decryptors, worthless skill books, near worthless parts, and near worthless blueprints that use these parts. Radars are relatively steady income and remain somewhat popular.

Third are magnetometric sites. These combine light combat and either salvaging or archeology, which requires fitting a salvager and/or an analyzer. The main yield here are salvage parts, sometimes T2. You can also get T2 rig BPCs. These sites are usually not worthwhile.

Fourth are ladar gas clouds. These are gas harvesting sites which require fitting (a) gas harvester(s). Gas is used in booster manufacture. They only spawn in ladar regions.

Fifth are ladar combat sites. These combine moderate combat with hacking, which again requires a codebreaker. They can yield some highly lucrative skill books, some iffy skillbooks, booster-related implants, booster reactions, booster BPCs, and other random crap. They also only spawn in ladar regions.

Sixth, there are wormholes. There are lots out there. If you want to explore wormholes, you need a more extensive write up than this.

Seventh, there are rated DED complexes. In low sec, there are three types available: 4/10, 5/10, and 6/10. These require heavy combat. The overseer at the end of each drops overseer's personal effects, which can be sold at CONCORD stations for varying amounts according to their tier. They also have the chance of dropping faction loot, deadspace loot, and (in low sec) pirate cruiser BPCs. These are probably the most highly sought after sites. They do not escalate.

Finally, there are unrated complexes. These are also heavy combat sites that culminate in a named faction rats that can drop normal faction gear. They can escalate and do so with some regularity.

Escalations, when granted, pop up in your journal and require you to travel (sometimes a very long way) to complete another site, which will have a faction rat. Faction rats can drop faction gear. If you get one to escalate to its end, you can end up null and will have a chance to get both faction and deadspace loot. Escalations from anomalies sometimes end at rated DED sites; escalations from unrated sites to my knowledge do not.

4) Scanning takes time and skills, both in-game and behind the keyboard. It's a great ability to have. Normally you want a scanning-bonused ship to do it in.

5) T3s are usually the ship of choice for exploration because they can be fit to both scan and run combat sites, though not always at the same time. However, all you have to do is dock and swap your fits to prepare for another job. Otherwise, it's usually a multi-ship deal.

6) Exploration is not reliable income. Even if/when you find the site you want, you aren't guaranteed any loot (except in the case of rated DED complexes, which will always drop OPEs). However, the payoff can be quite large. In Amarr low sec, you can get A-type EANMs, which sell for ~1bil. In Minmatar low sec, you can get A-type invulns (note that these are annoyingly also available in high sec) that go for about the same if not more.

7) Exploration is addictive. Try it and you'll likely never want to go back to missions despite repeated ship losses.

Hope that helps.

Unknown. Same as unrated and wormholes.

That post was insanely helpful. Thanks a lot.

What is exploration? Is it scanning down sites?