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| − | '''Scouting''' in EVE involves gathering information around or ahead of the current location of a group of other players, to help the group succeed in their goals. Often a scout ship is also equipped to [[Tackling|tackle]] targets and start fights. Almost all PvP fleets and gangs in EVE have at least one scout, and some PvE fleets also use scouts.
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| − | Scouting can be demanding and dangerous, but basic scouting requires minimal player experience or character skills, and can offer a lot of satisfaction in helping fellow players succeed. The role has a high ceiling for skilled play and good scouts are a welcome asset in many player corporations. The skills and knowledge developed in scouting synergize extremely well with both solo PvP and fleet command.
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| − | == Scout roles ==
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| − | === Objectives ===
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| − | Some scouting is purely defensive: a group of players is doing something or travelling somewhere, and need one or more scouts to check how safe the space around the group is, and to warn of incoming threats.
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| − | Some scouting is defensive ''and'' offensive: a fleet needs one or more scouts to warn of threats, but also to locate weaker or even opponents. In some cases, offensive scouting will also involve tackling a target ship to hold it down and start a fight.
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| − | The ships and tactics used can vary a lot depending on which of these goals a scout has, and which kind of space they're flying in.
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| − | === Types of scout ===
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| − | ==== Picket ====
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| − | Picket scouts watch and wait in one location: one system, and often just one point in space, such as a gate or wormhole. Some example uses for picket scouts:
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| − | * a group of players in high sec run [[missions]] during wartime in a pocket of systems, with a picket scout on a chokepoint gate leading to their location to spot incoming enemies
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| − | * the residents of a [[wormhole]] system keep a cloaked ship on-grid with each wormhole in their home so that they can see any interlopers
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| − | * a [[Jump Freighters|jump freighter]] pilot has friends watching movements in a low-sec transit system that is on their jump route, so that they can pick a safe moment to move their freighter through
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| − | Medium- or long-term picket scouting is often provided by alts. In high security space an alt in an NPC corporation can sit in a system or on a gate safely in a [[corvette]; in other types of space, even a basic Tech 1 frigate with a prototype cloak works perfectly well, and requires minimal skill training investment.
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| − | ==== +1/-1 ====
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| − | Travelling fleets are very often preceded by an advance scout moving one system ahead of the main fleet, commonly called a "+1" or "plus one".
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| − | Jumping through a gate is one of the most vulnerable moments in a fleet's journey, as the jump mechanics scatter fleet members physically around their in-gate whenever they spawn into a new system. Having a +1 scout should at minimum guarantee that the fleet doesn't slam into a hostile gang without warning. In space with an automatically-populated Local Chat member list, a +1 also makes for a much less obvious presence than the whole fleet appearing in Local at once.
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| − | For PvP fleets, a +1 also often needs to hunt, and a typical sequence of actions on system entry for a hunting PvP +1 scout might run as follows:
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| − | # check that grid around the in-gate is clear
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| − | # check numbers in Local and note any important players (e.g. war targets in high security space)
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| − | # check the directional scanner at full 360 degrees and maximum range around the in-gate
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| − | # report immediate status of the in-gate, Local, and first d-scan to the FC
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| − | # warp to any other parts of the system not covered by the initial d-scan, while assessing the corps of the people present in Local
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| − | # if nothing else is discovered, proceed to the out-gate, report out-gate status to FC, and move on
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| − | Interceptors and covert ops frigates make excellent +1 ships, and interceptors in particular are ideal for the hunting +1 role. A Tech 1 tackling frigate can do quite well, especially if rigged with hyperspatial rigs for warp speed. Moreover, any ship can be pressed into service as a +1 scout in an emergency, and an FC who has lost all their scouts should pick an experienced pilot with a working mic in the fastest and most agile ship available.
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| − | In wormhole space, which prioritises stealth and probing more than known space, covert ops frigates and covert-configuration strategic cruisers can offer advantages over other options.
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| − | ==== Roaming hunter ====
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| − | A PvP fleet can field one or more roaming hunter scouts, who will move with more freedom of initiative through systems on or near the fleet's route, seeking incautious pilots in vulnerable PvE ships or hostile gangs.
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| − | Although roaming scouts provide additional security and can warn of approaching threats, their actions tend to be more purely focused on finding and developing fights. The distance which they can roam away from their core fleet depends on the fleet's speed, travel direction, and purpose: some fleets will pause on a journey for incidental targets of opportunity but will not chase fights, while other fleets might be in space solely to find PvP.
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| − | Roaming scouts typically report less detailed information to their FC, to keep comms clearer and avoid information overload. PvP threats and targets definitely deserve mention; that you are transiting an entirely empty system that doesn't lie on the fleet's route is probably not useful info. An FC and any roaming scouts must both work to make sure they understand how far the scouts might roam, to make sure they share a sense for what kinds of PvP opportunities the fleet will take, and to make sure that the FC has a working knowledge of roughly where the roaming scouts are.
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| − | Interceptors are ideal ships for roaming scouts in known space, as their high warp speed and short align times let them cover a great deal of ground, while their high survivability compared to other frigates gives them a better chance of holding a target or keeping a hostile gang interested until allies can get to the scene. Strategic cruisers have more limited range, as they warp more slowly, but they can use stealth to their advantage, can probe, and can fit reasonable tanks, so they can also have their uses. In wormhole space, as with +1 scouts, cloaking ships of all kinds see more use.
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| − | ==== Cyno hunter ====
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| − | Almost all ships which can fit a covert ops cloak can also fit a covert cynosural field ("cyno") generator, which lets a [[Black Ops]] Tech 2 battleship bridge and teleport other stealthy ships into battle while circumventing the normal gate network. Force [[Recon ships|recon]] ships and Black Ops battleships can fit a normal or "hard" cyno generator, which lets a Titan bridge ''any'' ships into battle. Some industrial ships can light an industrial cyno, and Black Ops battleships can bridge to these too. Specialized scouts can fly these ships not for a nearby fleet, but for a fleet "staged" and ready to bridge to a cyno.
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| − | Scouting as a cyno ship uses many of the same skills as other "hunting" roles, but can often emphasize cunning and stealth over raw speed. Force recons and covert-configured strategic cruisers can fit reasonable tanks and can have special abilities which make them very powerful cyno hunters: the Minmatar [[Loki]] and [[Rapier]], for instance, can use very long-ranged webs to pin a target in place as their allies arrive. Other ships, such as the [[Venture]] and [[Prospect]], offer attractively cheap "throwaway" options which might look less threatening if opponents spot them at gate transitions. [[Stealth bombers]] have the unique ability to begin target-locking immediately on uncloaking, though this must be weighed against their paper-thin tanks.
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| − | == Typical ships ==
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| − | === T1 tackle frigates ===
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| − | === Interceptors ===
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| − | === Tactical destroyers ===
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| − | === Covert ships ===
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| − | == Tools ==
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| − | === Local ===
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| − | === D-scan ===
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| − | === Maps ===
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| − | NB WH mapping tools as well as Dotlan &c
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| − | === Bookmarks ===
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| − | == Techniques ==
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| − | === Warp-ins ===
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| − | === Punting ===
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| − | === On-grid warps ===
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| − | === Making safes ===
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| − | == Communication ==
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| − | === What to say ===
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| − | === How to say it ===
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| − | == Further reading ==
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| − | * Rookie's guide to fleet ops
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| − | * D-scan
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| − | * Bookmarks
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| − | * Safespots
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| − | * Probe scanning
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| − | * Topology
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