Exploration: Difference between revisions

You've managed to locate a Relic or Data Site. Half the work is done: now you just need to find the loot inside!

It's worth repeating here that, ''outside of wormhole space'', '''Relic and Data Sites do not have NPC defenders'''. That means you can wander into these areas and concern yourself mainly with the structures inside... oh, and other player-controlled ships, of course.

These containers hold all of the site's valuables, but you can't just fly up and take them: you'll have to hack into the containers first by playing the Hacking/Archaeology minigame. In order to attempt a hack, you'll need to fly within 5,000m of the container, lock on to it, and then use the correct module on it (your Relic Analyzer in a Relic Site, or your Data Analyzer in a Data Site). This will pop open a new window containing the hacking minigame.

Mercifully, the hacking minigame is identical in both Data and Relic Sites, aside from a few cosmetic changes to the game's playfield and sound effects.

The object of the hacking minigame is to '''find and disable the container's System Core'''. You do this by maneuvering a virus through the board of "nodes" that represent the container's electronics.

** Each Defensive Subsystem has two ratings: a '''Coherence''', which is the equivalent of its health/HP, and '''Strength''', which is equivalent to its "attack power". '''Coherence is represented by an asterisk and is listed atop the Subsystem. Strength is represented by a "wifi/signal" icon and is listed at the bottom of the Subsystem.'''

** Thankfully, '''your virus has a Coherence and Strength, too, which you can use to disable the system's defenses!''' You can attack a Defensive Subsystem by clicking it after it has been explored.

*** Your virus' Coherence and Strength are listed in the bottom left of the hacking window. '''When you attack a Subsystem, you will lower its Coherence by your Virus Strength.''' If you reduce its Coherence to 0, it is disabled and removed from the board.

** Its icon looks like a green "X" inside a Subsystem circle.

** Utility Subsystems are helpful, consumable "files" that have been left inside the system. '''You can click one once it has been exposed to add it to a utility slot at the bottom middle of your hacking window.''' They can then be used by clicking the appropriate utility slot. You can only store three Utility Subsystems at a time, so plan ahead!

*** '''Self Repair''' utilities increase your Virus Coherence by a variable amount. A single Self Repair has three "charge": the first is consumed immediately after use, and the next two are automatically used after your next two actions in the system (i.e., exploring a node, attacking a subsystem).

*** '''Kernel Rot''' utilities reduces a target subsystem's Coherence by 50%. Great for use on the System Core.

*** '''Secondary Vector''' utilities reduces a target's Coherence by a variable amount. Much like the Self Repair utility, the Secondary Vector has three charges: one used immediately, and two more that fire off after taking actions.

** Data Caches act a bit like a "treasure chest". They can contain either a "treasure" (a useful Utility Subsystem), or a "trap" (a particularly nasty Defensive Subsystem). Data Caches have to be manually opened after being exposed (single-click them), so you can safely leave the decision as to whether or not to chance their activation until later on in your hacking attempt.

Thankfully, exploring until you find the System Core and then annihilating it isn't too difficult in the vast majority of sites you will find in high-sec. With a little practice, you'll be hacking with the best of them!

* As a general rule, '''you'll want to explore as many nodes as you can before attacking any Defensive Subsystems.''' Restoration Nodes are an exception to this, but for the most part, it's better to explore the entire board before engaging with any subsystems: you may just stumble onto the System Core early!

* '''Don't open Data Caches until you've fully explored all their adjacent nodes.''' You don't want your exploration to be cut off by an unexpected Defensive Subsystem!

* Because exposed Defensive Subsystems cut off access to adjacent nodes, '''you may want to explore nodes along the edges first before exploring inward'''. This is because if you happen to expose a Firewall or Anti-Virus along a "wall", you will be a bit less likely to cut off all of your movement options in that direction.

Once you've successfully hacked the system, the loot is yours! Unfortunately, there's a catch: for whatever reason, everything kept inside the container is simply jettisoned into space at this point, and you'll have to act fast to tractor it into your cargo hold before it disappears.

[[File:Hacking_minicont.jpg|300px|thumb|left|"Mini" loot containers being ejected after a successful hack]]

After completing the hack, zoom out from your ship a bit and you should see a handful of green cross icons radiating out from the now-hacked container. These are small loot packages, and single-clicking any one of them will automatically zip it into your cargo hold over the course of a second or two. '''You can only grab one container of loot at a time, and only if they are within 3,000m''', so be sure to stay close to the cloud of packages as it travels outward from the container. You can maneuver around while tractoring loot in: double-clicking on one of the packages will automatically have your ship approach it.

These loot containers come in several types: '''Materials Containers, Parts Containers, Equipment Containers, Data Containers and Scraps Containers'''. Each contains a different assortment of loot, so how do you know which ones to grab? That's where the Cargo Scanner that you've fitted to your ship comes in! '''Before starting a hack on a container, use your Cargo Scanner on it.''' This will bring up a list of items that you can receive as loot from the container. Each type of loot will be ejected into space in a particular type of container, so once you know what is inside the soon-to-be hacked receptacle, you'll know what types of containers you should grab for once they are ejected into space!

 

The cargo hold icon at the bottom middle of your ship HUD will display what was inside each container as you tractor it in, so you can watch on the fly which pieces of valuable loot you've managed to find.

 

Each type of "mini" loot container will contain a default loot item if it does not contain an item from your Cargo Scan in it. These are essentially "booby prizes". Note that failing a single hack attempt will cause more mini loot containers to show up ''without changing the amount of loot found inside the hackable container''. What this means is that failing a hack will make it harder to tractor in the valuable loot out of a container, and make it much more likely that you'll get the booby prizes listed below.

If a mini loot container does not contain a default loot item, however, it'll have an appropriate item from the hackable container's Cargo Scan, which is more often than not an item of value! [http://neural-boost.com/minicontainer-loot-distribution This website] has done a great job in the early post-Odyssey days of tracking which type of container contain what sorts of loot, and this article's writer can personally confirm a lot of its findings. For the purposes of keeping everything in one place, though, its site listing will be duplicated below.

If you haven't used your Cargo Scanner to find out what loot items could be available (and you really should), a reasonable rule of thumb for which mini loot containers to grab in a Relic Site is '''all the Parts and Material Containers first, followed by Data and Equipment Containers'''.

If you haven't used your Cargo Scanner to find out what loot items could be available, a reasonable rule of thumb for which mini loot containers to grab in a Data Site is '''all the Parts Containers first, followed the Data Containers, and then the Material Containers'''. Technically, the Blueprint Copies that come out of Data Containers can be more valuable than the Decryptors and Datacores that come out of Parts Containers, but a Data Site structure is much more likely to contain the latter than the former. Hopefully this has stressed why a Cargo Scanner is so important: '''if you scan a structure and there are no Blueprint Copies or Skill Books inside, you can safely ignore all the Data Containers'''.