Difference between revisions of "Guide to combat sites"

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[[Category:Guides]]
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{{Update|[[#Tips 'n' Tricks]]: WHC Mapper is no longer in use; rewrite so that the page makes sense without ShipFittings}}
[[Category:Exploration]]
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{{Exploration links}}
[[Category:PvE]]
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[[Exploration]] can be one of the most profitable and rewarding activities to perform space. While many players know [[relic and data sites]] to be very profitable in especially null security space, [[combat sites]] are a good source of income even in high security space and even more profitable in low and null security space.
Imported from [http://www.eve-ivy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19059 this forum thread]
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Combat sites are pockets in space filled with rats to shoot at. This guide focuses on [[Combat sites#Anomalies|Combat anomalies]], [[Combat sites#Cosmic Signatures|cosmic signatures]] (unrated and DED rated) that are found in normal space. These sites normally contain faction named rats or structures that may contain faction or deadspace modules, faction blueprints and faction implants worth dozens or hundreds of millions of ISK.
  
*you have your brand new scanning frigate with some probes?
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With the [[Expansions#Into The Abyss|"Into the Abyss"]] expansion, a new type of combat sites was released. This is the [[Abyssal Deadspace|abyssal deadspace]] combat sites, which are entered through the use of filaments. While these are also technically combat sites, they are outside the scope of this article.
*you are not interested in running missions/mining/trading to earn some money?
 
*you can salvage and have destroyers at lvl1?
 
*you want to earn some money with exploration?
 
  
Then this little guide might be something for you.
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=== Advantages: ===
 +
* You can start making a significant amount of ISK with only basic [[Skills:Scanning|scanning skills]] and a good frigate, and more with a destroyer or a cruiser.
 +
* There is no need to grind standing up for agents.
 +
* It can be more exciting to scan things down and do them rather than repeating the same missions over and over again.
 +
* There is a chance of a faction spawn that might drop really good/expensive loot.
  
It's far from complete, but it may give you some advice what to do and what not to do.
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=== Disadvantages: ===
 +
* Drops can be very inconsistent. Most of the time you get nothing but any of the sites can drop several hundred million isk worth of loot at once.
 +
* You have competition - not a lot with the cosmic anomalies, but it gets worse on combat sites that have to be scanned down. In missions you get your own deadspace pocket (although you can be scanned down in it).
 +
* To be somewhat effective you should be a few jumps away from the Uni HQ, to reduce the competition from other Unistas, which will reduce your ability to quickly join up with PvP fleets if you want to.
 +
* After a while, the sites do tend to get repetitive, sometimes as much as missioning.
  
It doesn't cover DRONE SITES - I just hate them and the angel sites give better loot+salvage.
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== Getting Started ==
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Combat sites all involve combat. Unrated and DED rated complexes also need to be scanned with probes while combat anomalies can be found with no additional equipment.
  
 +
=== Skills ===
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For combat you will want to train the skills for your weapon system of choice, tanking skills and general fitting skills.
  
----
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For probe scanning you should look at training {{sk|Astrometrics}}, {{sk|Astrometric Rangefinding}} and {{sk|Astrometric Pinpointing}}. Higher skill level will make scanning easier and faster but even at low levels you can scan down combat sites to run.
  
This guide is about making a little money (up to 10mio/hour) with only astrometics 1, destroyers 1, mechanic+survey 3 (for salvaging) and eventually science 4 (for tractor beams).
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{{note box|1= Be careful when operating near trade hubs in hi-sec space due to war targets. Clearing [[K-space]] anomalies and signatures should be treated in the same way as missioning. Read [[Wartime Operations in EVE University#How to adapt to being at war|How to adapt to being at war]] for more information. }}
I'm writing this cause I didn't find a single website that explained the exploration sites that can be done with a frigate or destroyer - an hour in the ingame EXPLORATION channel didn't help either... no one could help me, so I decided to collect some data and put it on the forum here.
 
  
To sum it up:
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=== Ship and fit ===
#First you scan down some anomalies/signatures.
 
#Then you kill the NPC's inside.
 
#While you do this, you bookmark a wreck at every site or if it has more than one room, in every room.
 
#Then you come back and salvage everything.
 
#Keep in mind that wrecks stay there for a maximum of 2 hours.
 
#There is no 6!
 
#Rinse and repeat until you have the skills to join worhmhole(WH) ops or until there is war or something. Smile
 
  
A note about scanning and WAR (and wormholes).
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Competition for these combat sites can be very high so the faster you can find them and run them the less chance of another player finding your site and completing it before you do. The problem most new players to exploration encounter is that they require two ships: one for [[probe scanning]] down the site with probes such as a [[Frigates#Exploration|T1 scanning frigate]] or a [[Frigates#Covert Ops|Covert Ops ship]] and a combat ship for running the sites, typically a [[Cruisers|cruiser]].
  
http://www.eve-ivy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7961
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This means that the pilot has to change ship when they find the site which loses valuable time in which other players can find the site and run it.
  
These are the IVY League Wartime Rules and they clearly state that no radar/gravimetric/exploration sites may be done while the UNI is at war. Magnetometric sites are not mentioned but "exploration" covers them all so don't do them while at war (you have other things to do then, anyway).
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The easiest way to solve the problem is to '''find a wingmate''' (or more!) and form a fleet, with each player filling a different role: one player with a specialized scanning ship will scan for sites (and possibly run Data/Relic sites), while the other runs the combat sites the first one scanned down.
 +
Then you split the loot.
  
If you want to do them and not want to participate in the war - just drop UNI for a while until we are at peace again.
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If you assemble a larger fleet, you can even try using smaller ships, like [[Cruisers]] and [[Cruisers#Logistics|T1 Logistic cruisers]] in harder low security sites, lowering the ISK and skill requirements even more.
  
Scanning is allowed - and since Wormholes are the only thing that is allowed while we are at war - scan for them!
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With higher skills and ISK investment you can jump into ships that are made to fill both roles at the same time, in particular the [[Servant Sisters of EVE|Sisters of EVE]] ships [[Astero]] and [[Stratios]], [[Society of Conscious Thought]] ships [[Sunesis]] and [[Gnosis]]. But with decent scanning skills even a hull with no scanning bonuses will be able to scan down combat sites without issues.
  
If you find one: warp to it and enter the name here: http://igb.bluesuntrust.com/wormhole.cfm or look there: http://www.eve-metrics.com/wormholes
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When doing anything in EVE you will need to use the right ship for the right job. While selecting the hull and fit you should remember the following:
While at war, you can be engaged at any time by a WarTarget(WT) - so best thing is to train for a covops ship(lvl4) +cloaking(lvl4) - If you are far away from that, you should always be at 0m to a station while scanning so as to be able to dock immediately - and have the local channel open all the time to see if there are WTs incoming.
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* Exploration involves traveling around in multiple systems. You will be usually on your own and need to have everything you need in your ship.
 +
* Probe launcher requires a high power slot. Some ships have so called "utility high" meaning they have more high slots than weapon slots.
 +
* Usually aim for cap stability to make life easier. But if you pay attention while fighting 10 minutes of cap is usually enough.
 +
* Shields are often preferred over armor so the low slots can be used for damage enhancing modules.
 +
* Rats of different regions are different. Each deals different damage type, has different resist profile and uses different electronic warfare. You should at least select your hardeners to match the incoming damage.
 +
** Angel (Minmatar space) deal and are weak to explosive and kinetic damage. They use target target painters that are mostly harmless.
 +
** Serpentis (Gallente space) deal and are weak to kinetic and thermal. They use sensor dampeners that will drop your targeting range.
 +
** Blood raiders and Sansha (Amarr space) deal and are weak to electromagnetic and thermal. They use tracking disruptions that will hinder all turret users and neuts that will hinder ships with active tank.
 +
** Guristas (Caldari space) deal and are weak to kinetic and thermal. They use ECM that will annoy everyone.
 +
** Rogue drones (everywhere) deal various damage types, mostly kinetic, thermal and explosive. They are weak to electromagnetic and thermal damage.
  
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The following sections detail some basic fits for combat sites. With better skills you can upgrade the modules to T2 and with better fitting skills you can use more cap hungry, more CPU intensive and more PG intensive modules.
  
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==== Frigates ====
 
----
 
----
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Frigates can enter all sites. With modest skill, a frigate should be able to complete some of the easiest combat sites. NPC frigates deal low damage and cruisers can't hit small targets too well. The largest danger for frigates are destroyers and they should be dealt as soon as possible.
  
==Ships to use==
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[[Tristan]] is arguably the best frigate for the job. Using drones allows it to stay far and thus take very little damage. If drones aren't your thing you can use some of the other combat frigates but the probe launcher introduces fitting problems. All other T1 combat frigates must sacrifice one of their guns in order to fit a probe launcher resulting in 20%-33% damage reduction. Alternatively you must refit from scanning to combat every time you find a signature. The gun based frigates also need to close into firing range to apply damage but this also brings them into firing range of the rats so they will need to be able to tank the incoming damage.
NOTE: If you are using a ship fitted for long range fighting, you might have to use some different tactics.... I use short range because many NPC's spawn directly on my top and to kill cruisers, orbiting them close and fast is not bad to avoid ALL of their damage. Smile
 
  
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If your combat skills are good but scanning is troubling you can also use the T1 scanning frigates for combat sites. Use drones for your damage and take advantage of your drone control range to stay out of harms way. They are quite similar to tristan but with lower damage output.
  
  
===SCANNING===
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==== Destroyers ====
Probe
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----
'''High Slots:'''
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Destroyers can enter all cosmic anomalies, all unrated complexes and 2/10 DED complexes and above. While a destroyer has a much higher damage output than a frigate it is also slower and easier to hit. A destroyer is able to overpower easier sites with superior firepower. As with frigates, cruisers will have trouble hitting a fast-moving destroyer and other destroyers are the largest threat.
*core probe launcher/8 core scanner probes
 
*salvager1
 
'''Mid Slots'''
 
*analyzer1 (as soon as you have the skill)
 
*codebreaker1 (as soon as you have the skill)
 
'''Low Slots'''
 
*no lows, no rigs
 
  
  
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==== Cruisers ====
 +
----
 +
Cruisers can enter all cosmic anomalies, lookouts and unrated complexes that are above lookout and 3/10 DED complexes and above. Cruisers enjoy high damage and good tank. They can run most high security sites they can enter without issues. Only the hardest DED site is tricky hard and the hardest unrated complex is very hard for a cruiser.
  
===ADVANCED SCANNING: (til i can fly covops)===
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The fits here have T2 tank. While they do work with meta modules you should train the skills for T2 tank as soon as possible when you move to larger hulls. With the ship prices beginning to be in 30 million range the pilot should consider using sister core scanning probes instead of normal core scanning probes. A full set of 16 is still much cheaper than rest of the fit and they will help making scanning faster.
Probe
 
'''High Slots:'''
 
*sisters core probe launcher/8 sisters core scanner probe
 
*salvager1
 
'''Mid Slots'''
 
*analyzer1
 
*codebreaker1
 
'''Low Slots'''
 
*200mm reinforced rolled tungsten plate
 
*200mm reinforced rolled tungsten plate (to tank while I loot the rare magneto/radar sites that spawn rats and to protect the 50mio of scanning equip a bit from hisec suicide gankers)
 
  
You only want to use something like this in a quiet place... in or near a trade hub it might attract suicide gankers. But never feel safe with a frig worth 100k with modules worth 60mil Wink - know what your are risking for 15% more scanning strength...
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Vexor and its navy issue variant are perhaps the most popular T1 ship for PvE. There are numerous fits for them with shield tank, armor tank, oversized AB and more. they can use light, medium, heavy and sentry drones depending on how you like to fly it. When flying drone ship take advantage of your drone range and stay out of weapon range.
  
 +
Turret based ships like rupture are flown very differently from drone ships. they often uses short range guns and needs to get close to apply damage. To survive in close combat they have considerably stronger tank. Hitting frigates requires some manual piloting to reduce angular velocity.
  
 +
==== Battlecruiser ====
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While battlecruiser can still enter all anomalies and same unrated complexes as cruisers it suffers from inability to enter 3/10 DED site that is commonly found in high security space. In general a battlecruiser is not a good choice for doing combat sites in high security space.
  
===FIGHTIN===
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==== Battleships ====
thrasher
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Battleships are completely unusable in high security combat sites as the acceleration gates never allow a ship of this size pass.
'''High Slots:'''
 
*7x200mm autocannon/emp S (grouped in 4+3)
 
'''Mid Slots'''
 
*1mn ab
 
*medium shield extender I
 
*medium shield booster I
 
'''Low Slots'''
 
*damage control I
 
*overdrive injector system I
 
  
NOTE: I grouped in 4+3 cause some small frigs (hijackers, ...) pop from 3 guns if at close range, so i can take out 2 at once... for bigger ships, pressing 2 keys (F1+F2) isn't soo hard Wink - If you know what you're after and you won't get anything that instapops with only 3 guns you can group them all together - I'm too lazy and prefer to press F1+F2 together. Wink
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==== Advanced hulls ====
 +
Higher skills and money opens the option to upgrade to faction, T2 and T3 ships. The faction cruisers [[Gila]] and [[Stratios]] are popular ships for both high and low security combat sites. Of the T2 cruisers the heavy assault cruisers are best suited for combat site running. The T3 cruisers are perhaps the strongest ships in game.
  
 +
== Where to Explore? ==
  
 +
When deciding when and where to explore you should consider the following questions to help guide your decision making process:
  
===SALVAGING===
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* '''How far away do you want to travel?'''<br/> Traveling to more remote areas of space can have its advantages, there can be a lot less competition for sites, war targets are likely to be less of a concern and there will be less distractions. This has to be balanced out with the logistical costs, both in time and ISK, of being further away from a trade hub and your other in game activities.
thrasher
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* '''What pirate rat type is there in the region of space you are considering?'''<br/> This both effects the type of loot that will be dropped by rats and the type of damage and ewar the rats deal. This can be very important as your combat ship may be unable to run the sites in the region. For example an active armour or shield tanked ship may struggle against Blood raiders energy neutralizers and EM thermal damage.
'''High Slots:'''
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* '''How many back pockets, dead-ends and systems without stations does the region have?'''<br/> These systems tend to have more signatures as they are less likely to be scanned down regularly so a region with a lot of these can be more fruitful than one with a high amount of interconnectivity and stations.
*4x salvager I
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* '''How busy is the region and how much competition is there for sites?'''<br/> You shouldn't rule out a region because it's very busy and there's much competition: Metropolis is a very busy region, but Angel sites can give the most expensive loot, making it an excellent area to explore. In busy areas you might have great success exploring during off peak times and hopefully after reading this guide you'll be able to set yourself up so you are at an advantage against other explorers.
*3x small tractor beam
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* '''How much time can you dedicate per session?'''<br/> Players that have limited time might want to focus on a relatively small area of space in one region in an area that has a high density of stationless, back pocket dead-end systems. Players with more time may want an expansive route that covers more than one region or rat type, with staging-post systems to swap combat ships and resupply.
'''Mid Slots'''
 
*1mn afterburner
 
*small capacitor battery
 
'''Low Slots'''
 
*2x cargo expander (not really needed)[/url]
 
  
 +
== The sites ==
  
For your info (about shiptypes, what damage they do and so on)
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Combat sites can be divided into anomalies, signatures, escalations and static complexes.
:http://eveinfo.com/npcships/597/eve-online-deadspace-angel-cartel-frigate.html
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* Cosmic anomaly.
:http://eveinfo.com/npcships/596/eve-online-deadspace-angel-cartel-destroyer.html
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** Visible in probe window without a scanner.
:http://eveinfo.com/npcships/596/eve-online-deadspace-angel-cartel-cruiser.html
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** Low chance to either contain faction spawn or escalate.
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* Cosmic signature
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** Needs to be scanned down with probes.
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** Unrated has moderate chances for faction spawn and a low chance to escalate.
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** DED rated have guaranteed faction spawn that can drop DED modules.
 +
* Expedition
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** Escalates from anomalies and unrated signatures.
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* Static complex
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** Relic of the past and should be mostly ignored.
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** Visible beacon on overview that can be warped to.
  
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The [[System security]] determines how hard sites spawn while the region determines what pirate faction sites spawn. Most high-security sites can be completed in a cruiser.
  
'''ANOMALIES:''' this guide will cover these types, angel cartel only (cause they give better loot than drones, and only drones+angel can be found near the HQ)
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In addition to these, there are occasional in-game events that contain combat sites. These sites show up as beacons on the overview and run for a limited time.
  
'''STATIC COMPEXES:''' there is only one static angel complex(lvl2-> frig+destroyer)
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== Cosmic Anomalies ==
'''SIGNATURES:'''
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Cosmic anomalies are the first type of exploration site, they appear automatically in the ship scanner whenever you enter a system. Cosmic anomalies come in a few varieties; this article deals only with the general site structure, see [[Probe scanning#Cosmic anomalies|Cosmic anomalies]] for a fuller listing.
*UNKNOWN: Combat sites.
 
**unknown sites can be wormholes too, but i wont cover them at all in this guide since its for soloplay and relatively new players.
 
  
the rest of cosmic signatures are not part of this guide cause they are pretty simple - you scan down a site, you loot/salvage/mine it, done.
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Cosmic anomalies are ungated pockets in space. They have several waves of rats that spawn when a trigger is triggered. Usually, the next wave appears once the previous wave has been destroyed but on some sites destroying a specific ship will trigger the next wave. The last wave can contain a faction commander spawn. This commander has different [[NPC naming conventions|name]] from normal rats and can drop valuable faction modules, implants or a pirate faction ship blueprint copy. Destruction of the last wave can also escalate the site. If an escalation occurs a text window will pop up with an escalation message and the escalation is added to the expeditions page on the journal.
  
*GRAVIMETRIC: Hidden asteroid belts
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Some sites are run for escalations (which lead to faction loot), particularly Refuges and in null-sec, normal Rally Points. Others are run for a high amount of battleship rats for bounties, such as Forlorn/Forsaken Rally Points, Hubs, and Havens.
*MAGNETOMETRIC: Archaeology/Salvage profession sites
 
*RADAR: Hacking profession sites
 
*LADAR: Gas Cloud sites
 
  
rats do rarely spawn in magnetometric/radar sites or are already there. they are 3-5 easy to kill frigs. no idea about ladar/gravimetric but there might be spawns too.
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When looking for faction spawns or escalations and your ship is able to tank the incoming damage of the waves it is possible to trigger all waves as soon as possible to get the possible faction spawn and escalation.
  
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Once a [[Combat sites#Anomalies|Combat Anomaly]] has been completed it will disappear a few minutes after you warp out, so make sure to bookmark the wrecks if you want to salvage them later. Ore sites will despawn when all asteroids have been depleted, or after an internal timer expires.
  
==COSMIC ANOMALIES==
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== Cosmic Signatures ==
Probing:
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Combat sites that appear as [[Probe scanning#Cosmic signatures|Cosmic signatures]] are more advanced exploration sites that need to be [[Probe scanning|scanned down with probes]]. They are gated [[deadspace]] complexes with limits on what ships can enter.
They are found with only one probe and are at 100% and warpable after the first scan
 
just bookmark all you want to visit and come back with your fighting ship - if you only want to do those you can fit a probe launcher on your fighting ship cause they take no skill to scan them down (other than the ability to launch probes) they are not deadspace, so you can use a MWD.
 
  
Onboard scanner only:
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The deadspace complex usually consist warp-in and one or more additional rooms. Any warp into the site will land on the warp-in. In each room there is an acceleration gate that will fling ships to next room. The acceleration gates are however most of the time locked. Most common requirements for unlocking the gate are destroying all hostile NPC ships in the room, unlocking it with a tag (consumes tag), destroying a specific ship or destroying a specific structure.
Cosmic Anomalies can also be found using your onboard scanner. Cosmic Anomalies are designed to appear within 4 AU range around planets. Fly to Open your onboard scanner by pressing CTRL+F11, select the "System Scanner" and press the "analyze" button tab(you may need a few goes to pick up the harder ones, possibly 10 or more times). When you have found an anomaly warp there or create a bookmark of its position. Once an Anomaly is been completed it will disappear after some time.
 
  
Please note: Cosmic Anomalies are designed to appear within 4 AU range around planets.
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Each room can also contain multiple waves of enemies. As with anomalies the next wave is usually triggered by destroying all ships from previous wave or by destroying a specific ship. Other triggers are proximity to an object in the room, damaging certain ship or structure and timed spawn.
  
===Angel Burrow - spawns only frigs===
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The prize of the site waits in the last room. DED rated complexes are guaranteed to contain an overseer or a structure that drops DED modules and on some sites pirate faction ship blueprints. In unrated complexes destroying certain targets has a chance to spawn a commander ship that can drop a faction module, implant or faction ship blueprint copy. Unrated complexes also contain two or more escalation triggers. Destroying the commander is always one escalation trigger but the sites always contain an alternative trigger that can be triggered if commander does not spawn.
2 examples:
 
----------
 
4 hijacker
 
--
 
3 thug
 
--
 
1 ambusher
 
--
 
4 hijacker
 
--
 
1 raider
 
----------
 
  
----------
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The complex can also have split routes and multiple opportunities for faction items. For example [[Serpentis Narcotic Warehouses|serpentis narcotic warehouses]] contains two routes that both contain an overseer cruiser with small chance to drop a faction module and a structure in last room that can drop DED modules and a faction ship blueprint copy.
4 rogue
 
--
 
3 rogue
 
--
 
2 outlaw
 
--
 
3 rogue
 
--
 
1 raider
 
----------
 
  
 +
When running cosmic signatures it is often best to rush to the commander as fast as possible as they are the most profitable objects in the sites.
  
 +
Each [[Combat sites#Cosmic signatures|site]] is unique, with spawn triggers, defender waves, and escalation possibilities.
  
===Angel Den - spawns frigs-cruisers===
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One often forgotten combat site group are [[Combat sites#Chemical Labs|Chemical Labs]]. They only spawn in certain low security regions and show up as gas sites. They are defended by two defender waves and to get the valuables you need hack containers with data analyzer. They can drop drug related commodities, drug blueprint copies, drug related skillbooks and drug related implants.
  
thanks to Lir O´Trog for the data:
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== Expeditions ==
 +
Sometimes, completing an exploration site will escalate to an expedition. These are like followup missions and usually have a chance to happen if you kill a faction spawn at the end of a site. If an escalation occurs a message window will appear with escalation message and the expedition is added to your journal on expeditions page.
  
2 X Heavy Missile Installation
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These sites can be very lucrative as each escalation typically contains another faction named rat for you to kill and loot and they cannot be scanned down by others before you warp in, and have a 24 hour time limit to complete.
6 X Gistii Hunter
 
3 X Gistior defacer
 
2 X Gistior defiler
 
3 X Gistior Shatterer
 
3 X Gistior Trasher
 
2 X Gistium Breaker
 
3 X Gistium Crusher
 
2 X Gistium Depredator
 
2 X Gistium Predator
 
  
NOTE: he did it in a cruiser - if i look at the summary of ships this might not be recommended for a destroyer. but well, i have to try it on my own if i find this site - ill write down the groups then, too (if i can handle them Wink ).
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Escalations from cosmic anomalies will lead to a deadspace complex that are normally found as cosmic signatures. Escalations from unrated cosmic signatures are unique four part expeditions that are only found as escalations. Each part has a chance to lead to location until fourth location is gained. Each of the three first locations have high chance to contain a faction commander with normal commander drops and the fourth location will usually contain quaranteed DED module drop.
  
 +
You'll only have 24 hours to complete an escalation. When you warp to an escalation site, make sure to make a bookmark, since the bookmark in your journal only marks the system you need to travel to.
  
===Angel Folorn Hideaway - spawns frigs-cruisers===
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Escalation sites are normally ungated and generally involve you being on site for a long period of time during which you can be scanned down very easily with combat scanner probes as any wrecks will appear on D-scan and a good combat punter can drop his probes virtually on top of you first time. As your ship will be PVE tanked and you will be dealing with room aggro, it's very unlikely you'll escape with your ship intact if an enemy fleet warps on you, and to add insult to injury the nasty pirates who ganked you will also have the location of the site and can steal the site and the reward.
4x ruffian
 
1x nomad
 
--
 
3x nomad
 
1x ruffian
 
1x preadtor (cruiser)
 
--
 
2 shatterer (destroyer)
 
2 depredator (cruiser)
 
1 predator (cruiser)
 
---
 
3 depredator (cruiser)
 
2 predator (cruiser)
 
---
 
just orbit the cruisers at 500 with AB on and they wont hit you at all, kill them last. approach the 2 destroyers in the 3rd group, kill em quick and get back to orbit. its way easier than the worst ANGEL REFUGE if you have some practise Smile
 
  
 +
The rewards for the final part of these escalations can be massive but they are very risky and highly unsuitable to be taken on solo in most cases without thorough research. '''Before deciding if and when you will run the final part of the escalation check for recent activity in the system''', in particular ship and pod kills: running escalations in systems with high activity is a bad idea.
  
 +
Consider forming a fleet with some friends to limit your time on site, provide a +1 scout for travel (preferably in a covops) and to provide some strength in numbers to deter opportunistic pirates.
  
===Angel Forsaken Hideaway - spawns frigs-cruisers - complete data missing===
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More info on escalation is found in the [[Combat sites#Expeditions|expeditions]] section.
3 raider
 
2 seizer
 
--
 
3 trasher
 
2 arch gistii hunter
 
--
 
4 hunter
 
4 trasher
 
--
 
4 seizer
 
4 arch gistii impaler
 
-> INCOMPLETE
 
  
no way to break through the last group in a destroyer
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== Competition and site stealing ==
  
 +
Since the rewards are so interesting, competition for sites is fairly high and it is not unusual for a player to enter a site whilst another player is running it. There are three main eventualities that occur when other players are involved: '''somebody has already been to the site and left the first room or the site completely''', '''somebody is still in the site''' or '''you are running the site and somebody warps in to the site'''.
  
===Angel Hidden Hideaway - spawns frigs-cruisers===
+
=== Somebody has already been to the site ===
7 outlaw
+
If somebody has already been to the site and left the first room or the site completely, this '''will be apparent by the presence of NPC wrecks or the absence of NPC rats in the first room''': do not despair as all might not be lost. It is quite common for inexperienced players to find one of these sites and fail running it, leaving it half finished.
1 predator
 
+ 1 sentry (ignore it for now)
 
--
 
3 defiler
 
--
 
2 depredator
 
--
 
now kill the sentry (trigger)
 
3 hijacker
 
2 depredator
 
--
 
4 hijacker
 
1 haunter
 
--
 
4 rogue
 
2 depredator
 
--------
 
  
 +
Alternatively, they may have moved on to the next room in the complex. Use 360 degree D-scan at 1 AU range on an overview setting that shows ships and wrecks and look for the other player or their wreck: if the faction rat or structure is still there and there are no player ships around, you can safely proceed with the site.
  
===Angel Hideaway - spawns only frigs===
+
=== Somebody is still in the site ===
2 hijacker
+
In this case you can decide whether to try to ''"steal the site"'' or leave him to it.
--
+
2 outlaw
+
'''To steal the site you have to land the final blow on the named rat or structure''' so that the wreck and loot is yours to take freely. This is '''not to be confused''' with stealing from other players' wrecks that appear '''yellow''' on your overview, which is expressly forbidden by Eve University rules and makes you a suspect, exposing you to EVE's [[Timers#Suspect Timer|aggression mechanics]] and the very possible loss of your ship.
--
 
3 hijacker
 
--
 
2 thug
 
------
 
  
or:
+
There are a number of ploys that can be used to ensure you land the final blow:
  
2 rogue
+
* '''a well timed overheat''' of weapons can help to land the final blow.
--
+
* '''trying to alpha strike the rat can also work, particularly if the other players damage output is relatively consistent or regular'''.
2 outlaw
+
* ''"pulling the triggers"'', i.e. shooting structures and rats that spawn other waves to aggress the other player and force him to flee the site, is another option as the increased damage output may cause him problems with his tank.
--
+
* '''leaving the site yourself''' may even be an option if you believe the other players ship is not capable of tanking all the aggro in the room.
2 rogue
 
--
 
1 ambusher
 
-----
 
  
or something like that.
+
Knowledge of their ship and your ship's capabilities and weapon systems is a massive benefit in formulating a winning stratagem. Even if your opponent is in a T3 you still stand a chance and anything you can do to maximize it is worth doing, even if you sacrifice drones or burn out modules in the process. If you successfully steal the site and it drops you may decide to give them some ISK in compensation but ensure you and your loot are safe first!
  
===Angel Refuge - spawns frigs+destroyers===
+
=== You are running the site and somebody warps in ===
now this one is a little more tricky... there are some really different types of spawns.
+
It is best to assume that this player is attempting to steal the site from you. Similar strategies apply as above but you may be at an early advantage depending on the situation within the site, or at a disadvantage, particularly if the site contains stasis towers.
some you can do easily with the setup i use for fighting:
 
----------
 
missile (kill first)
 
defense (kill second)
 
2x rogue
 
--
 
3x outlaw
 
--
 
3x ruffian
 
--
 
1x shatterer (destroyer)
 
--
 
2x haunter (destroyer)
 
----------
 
  
but you can also get this (or something in between) - this is the worst i got in 20 or more runs:
+
It may be in your advantage to warp out to the nearest celestial and warp back in so the other players has to deal with the adverse E-WAR effects.
you have to warp out and restack shields/cap (or repair armor) if you get these before the fifth wave cause you will be killed otherwise... well i have not seen any EW other than target painting in all my sites so that shouldnt be a problem (no warpscrambler or webber yet, in other words)
 
  
----------
+
If you lose the site, '''EVE University members should never take the contents of the named rat yellow wreck''' as it is forbidden by EVE University rules. You will also become a suspect and the other pilot(s) will be free to engage you and destroy your ship.
missile (kill first)
 
defense (kill second)
 
3x thug
 
--
 
3x ruffian
 
--
 
1x defiler (destroyer)
 
2x hunter (range frig)
 
--
 
3x impaler (range frig, missiles)
 
2x shatterer (destroyer)
 
--
 
3x defiler (destroyer)
 
2x ambusher (range frig, missiles)
 
  
==STATIC COMPLEXES==
+
== Tips 'n' Tricks ==
since i dont cover drones yet i think there is only one static complex at the moment...
 
  
ANGEL CREO-CORP-MINING
+
* Occasionally you may find sites that require a tag to enter through the acceleration gate. Some players collect these tags and will sell them on at exceptionally high prices on the market or via public contract. Be very wary of acquiring a tag in this way.
this is found via a beacon in space - one should be in hardbako(1jump from HQ) if i remember correctly
 
every gate here needs the key that is dropped from a guarded structure.
 
  
- deadspace syncronization HQ for second room key
+
* Some explorers keep a spreadsheet or record of signature ID's of non combat sites that fall within the desired deep space probe signal strength so that they avoid probing them down more than once. This is useful if you are scanning a small or busy area frequently, then you only have to scan down any new signature ID that falls within your desired range. Eve university members are recommended to use [[Archive:WHC Mapper|WHC Mapper]] for this when scanning near any of the campuses.
- creocorp main factory for third room key
 
  
short writedown what i experienced: (not a too big deal if you are in a destroyer)
+
* Carry spare drones as the rats occasionally target your drones and kill them. The drones are also easily forgotten in space when warping out. Also bring loads of ammo and nanite repair paste if you have the thermodynamics skill trained as docking up for repairs may be inconvenient and time consuming.
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
* Bring 16 core probes. This way the launcher autoreloads after launching probes.
ROOM1 - spawns frig-dest - open for frig-dest - key from deadspace syncronization HQ
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
5 thug
 
+ 1 hijacker (AGGRO on warp in)
 
--
 
2 hijacker (AGGRO after 1st group was killed)
 
--
 
1 hijacker
 
2 outlaw
 
1 ruffian
 
4 thug (shot to AGGRO)
 
--
 
3 thug
 
2 outlaw (shot to AGGRO)
 
--
 
1 nomad
 
1 thug (shot to AGGRO)
 
--
 
2 thug
 
1 ruffian
 
3 sentry stations (aggro if you shoot the KEY station. they cant do alot damage so nevermind)
 
---
 
now the deadspace syncronization HQ
 
-> key -> jump
 
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
* Always try and find ways of doing everything that little bit faster to increase your chances of finding sites before others do and you will soon be on your way to space riches.
ROOM2 - spawns frig-cruiser - open for frig-dest - key from creocorp main factory
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
1 hijacker
 
2 nomad
 
1 outlaw
 
1 rogue
 
1 ruffian (all AGGRO on warpin)
 
--
 
1 outlaw
 
1 thug
 
1 depredator (AGGRO while flying to something else, i turned and shot them)
 
--
 
after that i shot something and had stageaggro from:
 
4 hijacker
 
3 outlaw
 
4 rogue
 
1 ruffian
 
5 thug
 
but that was no problem at all in a destroyer
 
---
 
3 sentries
 
--
 
now the creocorp main factory
 
-> key -> jump
 
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
== See also ==
ROOM3 - spawns frig-dest - open for frig-dest
+
* [[Probing In Simple Steps]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
* [[Combat sites]]
2 rogue
 
1 ruffian
 
--
 
after that i shot the nearest and got almost stageaggro from:
 
10 hijacker
 
4 nomad
 
4 outlaw
 
2 rogue
 
2 ruffian
 
3 thug
 
1 predator
 
was not really a problem
 
--
 
3 hijackers
 
6 sentries
 
--
 
after that i could kill the "deadspace control station"
 
loot was only 500k, and you cant salvage more than stage1 cause you need the keys to progress, otherwise this would be salvaging heaven
 
  
==COSMIC SIGNATURES==
+
{{GettingStartedNav}}
  
they are scanned down with 4 probes, if you still dont know how, check the guides...
+
[[Category:Guides]]
they start with a acceleration gate. if you want to have an idea with what ship you can fly into those:
+
[[Category:Getting Started]]
#warp to them after you scanned them down
+
[[Category:Exploration]]
#check if your ship+fitting+rigs is worth <10mio, if not, dock, come back in a pod and continue at 4+7.
+
[[Category:Fittings]]
#eject
 
#activate the gate you now see all the shiptypes that may enter it - but since you are in a pod you cant
 
#reenter your ship, if you cant, align somewhere in space and try it again right after you did align
 
#no six
 
#come back with the ship that fits, destroyer in my case Wink
 
#for further information on cosmic signature sites check here http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Exploration
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
===[[Angel Hideout]] - spawns frig-cruiser - open for frig-destroyer===
 
FIRST ROOM:
 
-----------------------
 
4 thug AGGRO on warpin, rest spawns every some seconds
 
2 hunter
 
1 defiler
 
3 nomad
 
2 impaler
 
1 defeater (web)
 
 
 
SECOND ROOM:
 
-----------------------
 
1 hunter
 
2 impaler
 
2 nomad
 
3 raider
 
3 defeater
 
2 marauder
 
some AGGRO on warpin, rest spawns shortly later
 
--
 
Drug Lab (trigger after 25% shield or something)
 
--
 
4 frigates (do always spawn, last is trigger)
 
--
 
faction frigate (does not always spawn)
 
--------
 
 
 
there is another type of spawn for this:
 
spawns arent much different, only more scattered around (50km+)
 
cruisers hit harder this time but since they are all away they take some time to get to you
 
 
 
===[[Angel Lookout]] - spawns frig-dest+elitefrigs - open for frig-BS===
 
was afraid of this cause it is open for BSs but there was no need to be afraid, did it in my first try without a single warpout (in a thrasher)
 
 
 
FIRST ROOM:
 
-----------------------
 
1 angel light missile battery
 
3 gistii hunter
 
1 gistii outlaw
 
4 gistii thug
 
1 gistor defacer
 
5 shatterer
 
- five didnt aggro on warpin (2thug, 1outlaw, 2shatterer)
 
- no need to warpout in first room with a little kiting
 
- no spawns, no webbers, no scramblers
 
 
 
SECOND ROOM:
 
-----------------------
 
1 shatterer
 
2 haunter
 
1 defiler AGGRO on warpin
 
--
 
4 thug AGGRO on approaching
 
--
 
3 shatterer
 
3 ambusher
 
1 ruffian AGGRO on shooting grp2 or i was to close
 
--
 
3 ruffian
 
1 impaler AGGRO on approaching
 
--
 
2 arch gistii nomad AGGRO on approaching
 
--
 
angel control center: no loot
 
 
 
===[[Angel Watch]] - spawns ??? - open for up to battlecruiser - angel silver tag needed -INCOMPLETE!!!===
 
FIRST ROOM:
 
-----------------------
 
70 km away, aggro on jumpin:
 
 
 
3 arch gistii nomad (target painters)
 
4 ambusher
 
2 raider
 
1 gistum communications officer (target painter)(trigger)
 
------
 
spawned on first hit:
 
2 seizer
 
3 trasher
 
1 gistum communication officers - all at 30-50km (trigger)
 
------
 
spawned on first hit:
 
1 arch gistii hunter
 
1 ambusher
 
2 shatterer 60km
 
1 gistum communications transmitter (trigger)
 
1 gistum depredator 90km
 
------
 
spawned on first hit:
 
4 defeater
 
4 raider
 
4 impaler
 
4 shatterer
 
half of them was 30?km away, other half was 60something. had no time to note it all
 
-------------
 
while i warped out, some cruisers spawned, 4 if i counted correctly. no way to kill that all in a destroyer.
 
stopped here, sorry Very Happy
 
definately NOT a site for less than cruisers. this was the first of 2 rooms and i couldnt do it Sad i suggest a cruiser/battlecruiser for this one
 
 
 
===[[Angel Vigil]] - spawns at least cruisers - open for up to battlecruiser - some key needed - INCOMPLETE!!!===
 
FIRST ROOM:
 
-----------------------
 
10 sentries
 
7 cruisers
 
as initial spawn in the first room.
 
this is NOT for destroyers Very Happy
 
 
 
==ESCALATIONS==
 
escalations are something like followup missions. you get them when you spawn and/or kill a faction spawn - sometimes (like 1/10 for me)
 
you see a popup telling you something, after that you have a location in your journal under the expeditions tab. for me it was 5-15 jumps away usually and gave me 24 hours of time to complete.
 
 
 
so check your journal under expeditions everytime you had a popup or killed a faction spawn. if you got one:
 
 
 
#travel to the system
 
#warpin to the location
 
#BOOKMARK the location or the very first wreck. the bookmark you get in your journal is only for the system! if you leave the site and didnt bookmark something there, you cant go back since once you are in, the bookmark in you journal is gone.
 
#youll find one or even more faction spawns there, so it might be well worth the travel time (got a 60mio T2 implant from one of those e.g.)
 
#have fun!
 
#this time there really is no 6 Razz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==FINAL NOTES==
 
 
 
*to keep this thread somewhat clear, send me your corrections of the combat sites via PM or evemail. ill check them and put everything new in
 
*if anyone has collected data about
 
>drone cosmic anomalies
 
>drone static plexes
 
please PM too, ill be glad to put them in.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
encouraging/discouraging:
 
+ you can start making some money here with only Astrometrics1 and a good frig, you can actually make quite some money with a destroyer and another destroyer fitted for salvaging
 
 
 
+ no need to grind standing up for some agents.
 
 
 
+ for me its more exciting to scan things down and do them rather than doing the same missions over and over again
 
 
 
+ there is a chance of a faction spawn that might drop really good/expensive loot
 
 
 
+ for those basic sites, you dont really have to be worried about EWar. some frigs are target painting which should be your primaries, but i havent seen any webbers or warp scramblers yet - so its really forgiving mistakes, just like lvl1-2 missions.
 
 
 
- faction spawns in those "simple" sites wont drop really good things, im not sure if they drop anything good since i only got one spawn
 
 
 
- you have competition - not alot with the cosmic anomalies, but it gets worse on looting sites (magnetometric/radar) or on combat sites that have to be scanned down
 
 
 
- to be somewhat effective you should be some jumps away from the uni HQ (less other Unistas hunting for the same stuff)
 
 
 
- to be really effective you should be far away from the HQ (im 15jumps away and i noticed an increase of 100% to 500% in population in the last 2 weeks, so that might not be far enough Wink
 
 
 
- this lessens your ability of quickly joining fleets alot!
 
 
 
- you should have your racial industrial skill at least at 1 - you wont be able to sell anything to a reasonable price in the uncrowded systems you are looking for - hauling to HEK or RENS is the way to go.
 
 
 
- ...after you have done everything some times its the same grind like missions, too...
 
 
 
 
 
==some things you have to think about that arent covered in this thread since its for beginners only==
 
*if you want to make more money out of that for longer than the 2-4 weeks of peace we might get, you will have to go to lowsec or even 0.0, with missions you can stay in hisec
 
*there are rats waiting at the lowsec looting sites (salvaging, archaeologoy, hacking) - you need some specialized ships and shouldnt be afraid of losing them
 
*missions are more profitable. period.
 

Latest revision as of 13:21, 7 October 2023

This page should be updated due to game changes.
Reason: #Tips 'n' Tricks: WHC Mapper is no longer in use; rewrite so that the page makes sense without ShipFittings

Exploration can be one of the most profitable and rewarding activities to perform space. While many players know relic and data sites to be very profitable in especially null security space, combat sites are a good source of income even in high security space and even more profitable in low and null security space.

Combat sites are pockets in space filled with rats to shoot at. This guide focuses on Combat anomalies, cosmic signatures (unrated and DED rated) that are found in normal space. These sites normally contain faction named rats or structures that may contain faction or deadspace modules, faction blueprints and faction implants worth dozens or hundreds of millions of ISK.

With the "Into the Abyss" expansion, a new type of combat sites was released. This is the abyssal deadspace combat sites, which are entered through the use of filaments. While these are also technically combat sites, they are outside the scope of this article.

Advantages:

  • You can start making a significant amount of ISK with only basic scanning skills and a good frigate, and more with a destroyer or a cruiser.
  • There is no need to grind standing up for agents.
  • It can be more exciting to scan things down and do them rather than repeating the same missions over and over again.
  • There is a chance of a faction spawn that might drop really good/expensive loot.

Disadvantages:

  • Drops can be very inconsistent. Most of the time you get nothing but any of the sites can drop several hundred million isk worth of loot at once.
  • You have competition - not a lot with the cosmic anomalies, but it gets worse on combat sites that have to be scanned down. In missions you get your own deadspace pocket (although you can be scanned down in it).
  • To be somewhat effective you should be a few jumps away from the Uni HQ, to reduce the competition from other Unistas, which will reduce your ability to quickly join up with PvP fleets if you want to.
  • After a while, the sites do tend to get repetitive, sometimes as much as missioning.

Getting Started

Combat sites all involve combat. Unrated and DED rated complexes also need to be scanned with probes while combat anomalies can be found with no additional equipment.

Skills

For combat you will want to train the skills for your weapon system of choice, tanking skills and general fitting skills.

For probe scanning you should look at training Astrometrics, Astrometric Rangefinding and Astrometric Pinpointing. Higher skill level will make scanning easier and faster but even at low levels you can scan down combat sites to run.

Be careful when operating near trade hubs in hi-sec space due to war targets. Clearing K-space anomalies and signatures should be treated in the same way as missioning. Read How to adapt to being at war for more information.

Ship and fit

Competition for these combat sites can be very high so the faster you can find them and run them the less chance of another player finding your site and completing it before you do. The problem most new players to exploration encounter is that they require two ships: one for probe scanning down the site with probes such as a T1 scanning frigate or a Covert Ops ship and a combat ship for running the sites, typically a cruiser.

This means that the pilot has to change ship when they find the site which loses valuable time in which other players can find the site and run it.

The easiest way to solve the problem is to find a wingmate (or more!) and form a fleet, with each player filling a different role: one player with a specialized scanning ship will scan for sites (and possibly run Data/Relic sites), while the other runs the combat sites the first one scanned down. Then you split the loot.

If you assemble a larger fleet, you can even try using smaller ships, like Cruisers and T1 Logistic cruisers in harder low security sites, lowering the ISK and skill requirements even more.

With higher skills and ISK investment you can jump into ships that are made to fill both roles at the same time, in particular the Sisters of EVE ships Astero and Stratios, Society of Conscious Thought ships Sunesis and Gnosis. But with decent scanning skills even a hull with no scanning bonuses will be able to scan down combat sites without issues.

When doing anything in EVE you will need to use the right ship for the right job. While selecting the hull and fit you should remember the following:

  • Exploration involves traveling around in multiple systems. You will be usually on your own and need to have everything you need in your ship.
  • Probe launcher requires a high power slot. Some ships have so called "utility high" meaning they have more high slots than weapon slots.
  • Usually aim for cap stability to make life easier. But if you pay attention while fighting 10 minutes of cap is usually enough.
  • Shields are often preferred over armor so the low slots can be used for damage enhancing modules.
  • Rats of different regions are different. Each deals different damage type, has different resist profile and uses different electronic warfare. You should at least select your hardeners to match the incoming damage.
    • Angel (Minmatar space) deal and are weak to explosive and kinetic damage. They use target target painters that are mostly harmless.
    • Serpentis (Gallente space) deal and are weak to kinetic and thermal. They use sensor dampeners that will drop your targeting range.
    • Blood raiders and Sansha (Amarr space) deal and are weak to electromagnetic and thermal. They use tracking disruptions that will hinder all turret users and neuts that will hinder ships with active tank.
    • Guristas (Caldari space) deal and are weak to kinetic and thermal. They use ECM that will annoy everyone.
    • Rogue drones (everywhere) deal various damage types, mostly kinetic, thermal and explosive. They are weak to electromagnetic and thermal damage.

The following sections detail some basic fits for combat sites. With better skills you can upgrade the modules to T2 and with better fitting skills you can use more cap hungry, more CPU intensive and more PG intensive modules.

Frigates


Frigates can enter all sites. With modest skill, a frigate should be able to complete some of the easiest combat sites. NPC frigates deal low damage and cruisers can't hit small targets too well. The largest danger for frigates are destroyers and they should be dealt as soon as possible.

Tristan is arguably the best frigate for the job. Using drones allows it to stay far and thus take very little damage. If drones aren't your thing you can use some of the other combat frigates but the probe launcher introduces fitting problems. All other T1 combat frigates must sacrifice one of their guns in order to fit a probe launcher resulting in 20%-33% damage reduction. Alternatively you must refit from scanning to combat every time you find a signature. The gun based frigates also need to close into firing range to apply damage but this also brings them into firing range of the rats so they will need to be able to tank the incoming damage.

If your combat skills are good but scanning is troubling you can also use the T1 scanning frigates for combat sites. Use drones for your damage and take advantage of your drone control range to stay out of harms way. They are quite similar to tristan but with lower damage output.


Destroyers


Destroyers can enter all cosmic anomalies, all unrated complexes and 2/10 DED complexes and above. While a destroyer has a much higher damage output than a frigate it is also slower and easier to hit. A destroyer is able to overpower easier sites with superior firepower. As with frigates, cruisers will have trouble hitting a fast-moving destroyer and other destroyers are the largest threat.


Cruisers


Cruisers can enter all cosmic anomalies, lookouts and unrated complexes that are above lookout and 3/10 DED complexes and above. Cruisers enjoy high damage and good tank. They can run most high security sites they can enter without issues. Only the hardest DED site is tricky hard and the hardest unrated complex is very hard for a cruiser.

The fits here have T2 tank. While they do work with meta modules you should train the skills for T2 tank as soon as possible when you move to larger hulls. With the ship prices beginning to be in 30 million range the pilot should consider using sister core scanning probes instead of normal core scanning probes. A full set of 16 is still much cheaper than rest of the fit and they will help making scanning faster.

Vexor and its navy issue variant are perhaps the most popular T1 ship for PvE. There are numerous fits for them with shield tank, armor tank, oversized AB and more. they can use light, medium, heavy and sentry drones depending on how you like to fly it. When flying drone ship take advantage of your drone range and stay out of weapon range.

Turret based ships like rupture are flown very differently from drone ships. they often uses short range guns and needs to get close to apply damage. To survive in close combat they have considerably stronger tank. Hitting frigates requires some manual piloting to reduce angular velocity.

Battlecruiser

While battlecruiser can still enter all anomalies and same unrated complexes as cruisers it suffers from inability to enter 3/10 DED site that is commonly found in high security space. In general a battlecruiser is not a good choice for doing combat sites in high security space.

Battleships

Battleships are completely unusable in high security combat sites as the acceleration gates never allow a ship of this size pass.

Advanced hulls

Higher skills and money opens the option to upgrade to faction, T2 and T3 ships. The faction cruisers Gila and Stratios are popular ships for both high and low security combat sites. Of the T2 cruisers the heavy assault cruisers are best suited for combat site running. The T3 cruisers are perhaps the strongest ships in game.

Where to Explore?

When deciding when and where to explore you should consider the following questions to help guide your decision making process:

  • How far away do you want to travel?
    Traveling to more remote areas of space can have its advantages, there can be a lot less competition for sites, war targets are likely to be less of a concern and there will be less distractions. This has to be balanced out with the logistical costs, both in time and ISK, of being further away from a trade hub and your other in game activities.
  • What pirate rat type is there in the region of space you are considering?
    This both effects the type of loot that will be dropped by rats and the type of damage and ewar the rats deal. This can be very important as your combat ship may be unable to run the sites in the region. For example an active armour or shield tanked ship may struggle against Blood raiders energy neutralizers and EM thermal damage.
  • How many back pockets, dead-ends and systems without stations does the region have?
    These systems tend to have more signatures as they are less likely to be scanned down regularly so a region with a lot of these can be more fruitful than one with a high amount of interconnectivity and stations.
  • How busy is the region and how much competition is there for sites?
    You shouldn't rule out a region because it's very busy and there's much competition: Metropolis is a very busy region, but Angel sites can give the most expensive loot, making it an excellent area to explore. In busy areas you might have great success exploring during off peak times and hopefully after reading this guide you'll be able to set yourself up so you are at an advantage against other explorers.
  • How much time can you dedicate per session?
    Players that have limited time might want to focus on a relatively small area of space in one region in an area that has a high density of stationless, back pocket dead-end systems. Players with more time may want an expansive route that covers more than one region or rat type, with staging-post systems to swap combat ships and resupply.

The sites

Combat sites can be divided into anomalies, signatures, escalations and static complexes.

  • Cosmic anomaly.
    • Visible in probe window without a scanner.
    • Low chance to either contain faction spawn or escalate.
  • Cosmic signature
    • Needs to be scanned down with probes.
    • Unrated has moderate chances for faction spawn and a low chance to escalate.
    • DED rated have guaranteed faction spawn that can drop DED modules.
  • Expedition
    • Escalates from anomalies and unrated signatures.
  • Static complex
    • Relic of the past and should be mostly ignored.
    • Visible beacon on overview that can be warped to.

The System security determines how hard sites spawn while the region determines what pirate faction sites spawn. Most high-security sites can be completed in a cruiser.

In addition to these, there are occasional in-game events that contain combat sites. These sites show up as beacons on the overview and run for a limited time.

Cosmic Anomalies

Cosmic anomalies are the first type of exploration site, they appear automatically in the ship scanner whenever you enter a system. Cosmic anomalies come in a few varieties; this article deals only with the general site structure, see Cosmic anomalies for a fuller listing.

Cosmic anomalies are ungated pockets in space. They have several waves of rats that spawn when a trigger is triggered. Usually, the next wave appears once the previous wave has been destroyed but on some sites destroying a specific ship will trigger the next wave. The last wave can contain a faction commander spawn. This commander has different name from normal rats and can drop valuable faction modules, implants or a pirate faction ship blueprint copy. Destruction of the last wave can also escalate the site. If an escalation occurs a text window will pop up with an escalation message and the escalation is added to the expeditions page on the journal.

Some sites are run for escalations (which lead to faction loot), particularly Refuges and in null-sec, normal Rally Points. Others are run for a high amount of battleship rats for bounties, such as Forlorn/Forsaken Rally Points, Hubs, and Havens.

When looking for faction spawns or escalations and your ship is able to tank the incoming damage of the waves it is possible to trigger all waves as soon as possible to get the possible faction spawn and escalation.

Once a Combat Anomaly has been completed it will disappear a few minutes after you warp out, so make sure to bookmark the wrecks if you want to salvage them later. Ore sites will despawn when all asteroids have been depleted, or after an internal timer expires.

Cosmic Signatures

Combat sites that appear as Cosmic signatures are more advanced exploration sites that need to be scanned down with probes. They are gated deadspace complexes with limits on what ships can enter.

The deadspace complex usually consist warp-in and one or more additional rooms. Any warp into the site will land on the warp-in. In each room there is an acceleration gate that will fling ships to next room. The acceleration gates are however most of the time locked. Most common requirements for unlocking the gate are destroying all hostile NPC ships in the room, unlocking it with a tag (consumes tag), destroying a specific ship or destroying a specific structure.

Each room can also contain multiple waves of enemies. As with anomalies the next wave is usually triggered by destroying all ships from previous wave or by destroying a specific ship. Other triggers are proximity to an object in the room, damaging certain ship or structure and timed spawn.

The prize of the site waits in the last room. DED rated complexes are guaranteed to contain an overseer or a structure that drops DED modules and on some sites pirate faction ship blueprints. In unrated complexes destroying certain targets has a chance to spawn a commander ship that can drop a faction module, implant or faction ship blueprint copy. Unrated complexes also contain two or more escalation triggers. Destroying the commander is always one escalation trigger but the sites always contain an alternative trigger that can be triggered if commander does not spawn.

The complex can also have split routes and multiple opportunities for faction items. For example serpentis narcotic warehouses contains two routes that both contain an overseer cruiser with small chance to drop a faction module and a structure in last room that can drop DED modules and a faction ship blueprint copy.

When running cosmic signatures it is often best to rush to the commander as fast as possible as they are the most profitable objects in the sites.

Each site is unique, with spawn triggers, defender waves, and escalation possibilities.

One often forgotten combat site group are Chemical Labs. They only spawn in certain low security regions and show up as gas sites. They are defended by two defender waves and to get the valuables you need hack containers with data analyzer. They can drop drug related commodities, drug blueprint copies, drug related skillbooks and drug related implants.

Expeditions

Sometimes, completing an exploration site will escalate to an expedition. These are like followup missions and usually have a chance to happen if you kill a faction spawn at the end of a site. If an escalation occurs a message window will appear with escalation message and the expedition is added to your journal on expeditions page.

These sites can be very lucrative as each escalation typically contains another faction named rat for you to kill and loot and they cannot be scanned down by others before you warp in, and have a 24 hour time limit to complete.

Escalations from cosmic anomalies will lead to a deadspace complex that are normally found as cosmic signatures. Escalations from unrated cosmic signatures are unique four part expeditions that are only found as escalations. Each part has a chance to lead to location until fourth location is gained. Each of the three first locations have high chance to contain a faction commander with normal commander drops and the fourth location will usually contain quaranteed DED module drop.

You'll only have 24 hours to complete an escalation. When you warp to an escalation site, make sure to make a bookmark, since the bookmark in your journal only marks the system you need to travel to.

Escalation sites are normally ungated and generally involve you being on site for a long period of time during which you can be scanned down very easily with combat scanner probes as any wrecks will appear on D-scan and a good combat punter can drop his probes virtually on top of you first time. As your ship will be PVE tanked and you will be dealing with room aggro, it's very unlikely you'll escape with your ship intact if an enemy fleet warps on you, and to add insult to injury the nasty pirates who ganked you will also have the location of the site and can steal the site and the reward.

The rewards for the final part of these escalations can be massive but they are very risky and highly unsuitable to be taken on solo in most cases without thorough research. Before deciding if and when you will run the final part of the escalation check for recent activity in the system, in particular ship and pod kills: running escalations in systems with high activity is a bad idea.

Consider forming a fleet with some friends to limit your time on site, provide a +1 scout for travel (preferably in a covops) and to provide some strength in numbers to deter opportunistic pirates.

More info on escalation is found in the expeditions section.

Competition and site stealing

Since the rewards are so interesting, competition for sites is fairly high and it is not unusual for a player to enter a site whilst another player is running it. There are three main eventualities that occur when other players are involved: somebody has already been to the site and left the first room or the site completely, somebody is still in the site or you are running the site and somebody warps in to the site.

Somebody has already been to the site

If somebody has already been to the site and left the first room or the site completely, this will be apparent by the presence of NPC wrecks or the absence of NPC rats in the first room: do not despair as all might not be lost. It is quite common for inexperienced players to find one of these sites and fail running it, leaving it half finished.

Alternatively, they may have moved on to the next room in the complex. Use 360 degree D-scan at 1 AU range on an overview setting that shows ships and wrecks and look for the other player or their wreck: if the faction rat or structure is still there and there are no player ships around, you can safely proceed with the site.

Somebody is still in the site

In this case you can decide whether to try to "steal the site" or leave him to it.

To steal the site you have to land the final blow on the named rat or structure so that the wreck and loot is yours to take freely. This is not to be confused with stealing from other players' wrecks that appear yellow on your overview, which is expressly forbidden by Eve University rules and makes you a suspect, exposing you to EVE's aggression mechanics and the very possible loss of your ship.

There are a number of ploys that can be used to ensure you land the final blow:

  • a well timed overheat of weapons can help to land the final blow.
  • trying to alpha strike the rat can also work, particularly if the other players damage output is relatively consistent or regular.
  • "pulling the triggers", i.e. shooting structures and rats that spawn other waves to aggress the other player and force him to flee the site, is another option as the increased damage output may cause him problems with his tank.
  • leaving the site yourself may even be an option if you believe the other players ship is not capable of tanking all the aggro in the room.

Knowledge of their ship and your ship's capabilities and weapon systems is a massive benefit in formulating a winning stratagem. Even if your opponent is in a T3 you still stand a chance and anything you can do to maximize it is worth doing, even if you sacrifice drones or burn out modules in the process. If you successfully steal the site and it drops you may decide to give them some ISK in compensation but ensure you and your loot are safe first!

You are running the site and somebody warps in

It is best to assume that this player is attempting to steal the site from you. Similar strategies apply as above but you may be at an early advantage depending on the situation within the site, or at a disadvantage, particularly if the site contains stasis towers.

It may be in your advantage to warp out to the nearest celestial and warp back in so the other players has to deal with the adverse E-WAR effects.

If you lose the site, EVE University members should never take the contents of the named rat yellow wreck as it is forbidden by EVE University rules. You will also become a suspect and the other pilot(s) will be free to engage you and destroy your ship.

Tips 'n' Tricks

  • Occasionally you may find sites that require a tag to enter through the acceleration gate. Some players collect these tags and will sell them on at exceptionally high prices on the market or via public contract. Be very wary of acquiring a tag in this way.
  • Some explorers keep a spreadsheet or record of signature ID's of non combat sites that fall within the desired deep space probe signal strength so that they avoid probing them down more than once. This is useful if you are scanning a small or busy area frequently, then you only have to scan down any new signature ID that falls within your desired range. Eve university members are recommended to use WHC Mapper for this when scanning near any of the campuses.
  • Carry spare drones as the rats occasionally target your drones and kill them. The drones are also easily forgotten in space when warping out. Also bring loads of ammo and nanite repair paste if you have the thermodynamics skill trained as docking up for repairs may be inconvenient and time consuming.
  • Bring 16 core probes. This way the launcher autoreloads after launching probes.
  • Always try and find ways of doing everything that little bit faster to increase your chances of finding sites before others do and you will soon be on your way to space riches.

See also