Exploration: Difference between revisions

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'''Exploration''' in EVE involves using scanning probes to locate [[Cosmic Signatures]] in space which may contain hackable containers with items inside, resources like [[Gas Cloud Mining|gas clouds]] or ore, [[wormholes]] to distant star systems, or collections of NPCs which may drop rare items. As a profession, exploration can be profitable and engaging, and offers better rewards for players willing to travel in more dangerous space. It has a low skill barrier, and new players can start exploring almost from day 1.

This ~~guide~~ is intended to provide new players with all the information they need to get started in exploring in high-security space. More experienced players who are new to exploration, or that have not explored since the Odyssey patch will find the sections on [[Odyssey_Exploration#Exploration_Using_Probes|probing]] and [[Odyssey_Exploration#Relic_Sites_and_Data_Sites:_Hacking|hacking]] useful, as they are updated to contain information on the changes that were made to both systems.

This article is intended to provide new players with all the information they need to get started in exploring in high-security space. More experienced players who are new to exploration

Players will learn what [[#Skills|skills]] are required to start exploring, what [[#Ships|ships]] and [[#Equipment and Modifications|equipment]] are best for the new explorer, what sorts of areas can be [[~~#Checking Your Ship Scanner~~|located]] using the exploration mechanics, how to use [[~~#Probing Down an Exploration Site~~|probes]] to track down hidden exploration sites, and how to use analyzer modules to ~~[[#Relic Sites and Data Sites: Hacking|~~hack]] into loot containers in exploration sites.

Players will learn what [[#Skills|skills]] are required to start exploring, what [[#Ships|ships]] and [[#Equipment and Modifications|equipment]] are best for the new explorer, what sorts of areas can be [[Scanning|located]] using the exploration mechanics, how to use [[Scanning|probes]] to track down hidden exploration sites, and how to use analyzer modules to hack into loot containers in exploration sites.

= Getting Started as an Explorer =

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* After you’ve probed something down, you may notice that your scanner ''used'' to have a bunch of Signatures on it, but now does not. This is because launching probes and reducing their range has removed those Signatures from your scanning region. This is easy enough to remedy, however. You can either '''expand your probes’ range to their maximum and re-scan''', or '''temporarily switch the Spread formation and re-scan a larger area'''. In both cases, make sure your probes are covering as large a space as possible: the entire system, if you can. That should find those missing Signatures easily!

* While scanning, once you have a signature down to a single dot, double-click the signature in the scanner window. This will center your star system map on the signature, and, more importantly, make the camera rotate around it (instead of around the sun), which makes moving and aligning your probes much easier.

~~== Hacking Minigame ==~~

~~{{main|Hacking 101}}~~

~~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.

Moving around the board is easy enough. Unexplored nodes in the system are marked as green. Clicking on an unexplored node will reveal its contents: if the node is empty, it will turn orange and allow you to further explore nodes adjacent to it. Sometimes, however, a node will contain an obstacle or other item of interest.

A more recent (late 2014) addition is that as you click on each node, if it is unoccupied (or after you clear the item from the node), it will briefly display a "minesweeper" number, from 1 to 5, which indicates the distance from the nearest good (or possibly good) node. (5 means "5 or more".) This shows distance from any undiscovered Utility Subsystem, System Core, or Data Cache (even though Data Caches are not always good). The numbers can be used to guide the direction that you should move around the grid.

~~Among the various things a node may contain are...~~

* '''Defensive Subsystems'''

** These are represented by large circles with an icon inside, and they will be the bane of your hacking existence. '''Defensive Subsystems prevent you from exploring adjacent nodes until they are disabled.'''

** 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.

*** Attacking a Subsystem is turn-based: your virus will attack the Subsystem, and then, ''if the Subsystem is still active'', it will attack your virus back.

*** Your virus’s 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.

*** '''If your Virus Coherence reaches 0, you fail the hack and the window is closed.''' Failing a hack '''once''' does not matter for regular Data/Relic sites, but failing a second hack will destroy that container. (Note that for some special kinds of containers/sites, such as [[Ghost Site|Ghost Sites]], Sleeper Caches, etc., failing the first hack might cause an explosion, or have other negative effects.)

*** '''Interrupting a hack counts as a failure''', and that includes moving too far away from the can (out of range of your analyzer) while the hacking window is open. This is sometimes a problem for frigates with a MicroWarpDrive active, where you can overshoot the can when Approaching it too fast - so be careful.

** Defensive Subsystems come in a few different types.

*** '''Firewalls''' have high coherence, but low strength.

*** '''Anti-Virus''' subsystems have low coherence, but high strength.

*** '''Restoration Nodes''' show up in more difficult hacks. Each turn they are active, they will give extra coherence to all other uncovered defensive subsystems. Incredibly nasty.

*** '''Virus Suppressor''' subsystems lower your Virus Strength while active.

~~[[File:Hacking_Indications.png|400px|thumb|right|The hacking minigame with systems indications.]]~~

* '''System Core'''

** The System Core operates a lot like a Defensive Subsystem, with the major difference that '''disabling it will successfully complete the hack'''.

** The System Core typically has a lot of Coherence.

** Its icon looks like a “X” inside a Subsystem circle.

** The color of the System Core reflects the difficulty of the container: Green for easy; Orange for medium; Red for hard.

* '''Utility Subsystem'''

** 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!

** Utility Subsystems are extremely useful and come in a few different types.

*** '''Self Repair''' utilities increase your Virus Coherence by a variable amount. A single Self Repair has three “charges”: 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). Always use a Self Repair as soon as you find it - there is no gain in waiting.

*** '''Kernel Rot''' utilities reduces a target subsystem’s Coherence by 50%. Great for use on the System Core. Useful too on defensive subsystems with high Coherence.

*** '''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.

*** '''Polymorphic Shield''' utilities prevent the next two instances of damage done to your virus. Good for taking down subsystems with high Strength.

* '''Data Caches'''

** 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!

~~=== Hacking Tips and Tricks ===~~

* As a general rule, '''you’ll want to explore as many nodes as you can before attacking any static Defensive Subsystems.''' In general, it’s better to explore the entire board before engaging with any subsystems: you may just stumble onto the System Core early! Restoration Nodes and Virus Suppressors are the exception to this though, as they should be removed from the board as soon as possible.

* '''Always pick up Utility Subsystems as soon as they are exposed.''' If you keep exploring without snagging these, a Defensive Subsystem might pop up and cut off your access to them!

* '''Always use a Self Repair as soon as you find it.''' It simply increases your Coherence, so there is no gain in waiting.

* '''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!

** Additionally, more difficult hacks contain Data Caches that might expose particularly nasty Defensive Subsystems (Restoration Nodes), so sometimes, '''you may just want to leave opening Data Caches as a last resort.'''

* 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.

* '''Use the 1-5 "minesweeper" numbers to guide your movement''' around the grid. For example, if you're approaching an edge or corner of the grid, and the number is a 5, then trying to explore anything towards that corner/edge is not useful, because you know that there cannot be anything good within 5 nodes. In general, you want to click in directions that make the numbers smaller. Because the numbers disappear as you move along, you need to remember where there were 5's, so you know which areas not to bother going back to later.

'''Check out Daegarn's excellent and up to date video on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_oBxU7qW48 Hacking].'''

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 '''Exploration''' in EVE involves using scanning probes to locate [[Cosmic Signatures]] in space which may contain hackable containers with items inside, resources like [[Gas Cloud Mining|gas clouds]] or ore, [[wormholes]] to distant star systems, or collections of NPCs which may drop rare items. As a profession, exploration can be profitable and engaging, and offers better rewards for players willing to travel in more dangerous space. It has a low skill barrier, and new players can start exploring almost from day 1.
-This guide is intended to provide new players with all the information they need to get started in exploring in high-security space. More experienced players who are new to exploration, or that have not explored since the Odyssey patch will find the sections on [[Odyssey_Exploration#Exploration_Using_Probes|probing]] and [[Odyssey_Exploration#Relic_Sites_and_Data_Sites:_Hacking|hacking]] useful, as they are updated to contain information on the changes that were made to both systems.
+This article is intended to provide new players with all the information they need to get started in exploring in high-security space. More experienced players who are new to exploration
-Players will learn what [[#Skills|skills]] are required to start exploring, what [[#Ships|ships]] and [[#Equipment and Modifications|equipment]] are best for the new explorer, what sorts of areas can be [[#Checking Your Ship Scanner|located]] using the exploration mechanics, how to use [[#Probing Down an Exploration Site|probes]] to track down hidden exploration sites, and how to use analyzer modules to [[#Relic Sites and Data Sites: Hacking|hack]] into loot containers in exploration sites.
+Players will learn what [[#Skills|skills]] are required to start exploring, what [[#Ships|ships]] and [[#Equipment and Modifications|equipment]] are best for the new explorer, what sorts of areas can be [[Scanning|located]] using the exploration mechanics, how to use [[Scanning|probes]] to track down hidden exploration sites, and how to use analyzer modules to hack into loot containers in exploration sites.
 = Getting Started as an Explorer =
@@ Line 184: / Line 184: @@
 * After you’ve probed something down, you may notice that your scanner ''used'' to have a bunch of Signatures on it, but now does not. This is because launching probes and reducing their range has removed those Signatures from your scanning region. This is easy enough to remedy, however. You can either '''expand your probes’ range to their maximum and re-scan''', or '''temporarily switch the Spread formation and re-scan a larger area'''. In both cases, make sure your probes are covering as large a space as possible: the entire system, if you can. That should find those missing Signatures easily!
 * While scanning, once you have a signature down to a single dot, double-click the signature in the scanner window. This will center your star system map on the signature, and, more importantly, make the camera rotate around it (instead of around the sun), which makes moving and aligning your probes much easier.
-== Hacking Minigame ==
-{{main|Hacking 101}}
-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.
-Moving around the board is easy enough. Unexplored nodes in the system are marked as green. Clicking on an unexplored node will reveal its contents: if the node is empty, it will turn orange and allow you to further explore nodes adjacent to it. Sometimes, however, a node will contain an obstacle or other item of interest.
-A more recent (late 2014) addition is that as you click on each node, if it is unoccupied (or after you clear the item from the node), it will briefly display a "minesweeper" number, from 1 to 5, which indicates the distance from the nearest good (or possibly good) node. (5 means "5 or more".) This shows distance from any undiscovered Utility Subsystem, System Core, or Data Cache (even though Data Caches are not always good). The numbers can be used to guide the direction that you should move around the grid.
-Among the various things a node may contain are...
-* '''Defensive Subsystems'''
-** These are represented by large circles with an icon inside, and they will be the bane of your hacking existence. '''Defensive Subsystems prevent you from exploring adjacent nodes until they are disabled.'''
-** 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.
-*** Attacking a Subsystem is turn-based: your virus will attack the Subsystem, and then, ''if the Subsystem is still active'', it will attack your virus back.
-*** Your virus’s 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.
-*** '''If your Virus Coherence reaches 0, you fail the hack and the window is closed.''' Failing a hack '''once''' does not matter for regular Data/Relic sites, but failing a second hack will destroy that container.  (Note that for some special kinds of containers/sites, such as [[Ghost Site|Ghost Sites]], Sleeper Caches, etc., failing the first hack might cause an explosion, or have other negative effects.)
-*** '''Interrupting a hack counts as a failure''', and that includes moving too far away from the can (out of range of your analyzer) while the hacking window is open.   This is sometimes a problem for frigates with a MicroWarpDrive active, where you can overshoot the can when Approaching it too fast - so be careful.
-** Defensive Subsystems come in a few different types.
-*** '''Firewalls''' have high coherence, but low strength.
-*** '''Anti-Virus''' subsystems have low coherence, but high strength.
-*** '''Restoration Nodes''' show up in more difficult hacks. Each turn they are active, they will give extra coherence to all other uncovered defensive subsystems. Incredibly nasty.
-*** '''Virus Suppressor''' subsystems lower your Virus Strength while active.
-[[File:Hacking_Indications.png|400px|thumb|right|The hacking minigame with systems indications.]]
-* '''System Core'''
-** The System Core operates a lot like a Defensive Subsystem, with the major difference that '''disabling it will successfully complete the hack'''.
-** The System Core typically has a lot of Coherence.
-** Its icon looks like a “X” inside a Subsystem circle.
-** The color of the System Core reflects the difficulty of the container: Green for easy; Orange for medium; Red for hard.
-* '''Utility Subsystem'''
-** 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!
-** Utility Subsystems are extremely useful and come in a few different types.
-*** '''Self Repair''' utilities increase your Virus Coherence by a variable amount. A single Self Repair has three “charges”: 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).  Always use a Self Repair as soon as you find it - there is no gain in waiting.
-*** '''Kernel Rot''' utilities reduces a target subsystem’s Coherence by 50%. Great for use on the System Core. Useful too on defensive subsystems with high Coherence.
-*** '''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.
-*** '''Polymorphic Shield''' utilities prevent the next two instances of damage done to your virus. Good for taking down subsystems with high Strength.
-* '''Data Caches'''
-** 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!
-=== Hacking Tips and Tricks ===
-* As a general rule, '''you’ll want to explore as many nodes as you can before attacking any static Defensive Subsystems.'''  In general, it’s better to explore the entire board before engaging with any subsystems: you may just stumble onto the System Core early!  Restoration Nodes and Virus Suppressors are the exception to this though, as they should be removed from the board as soon as possible.
-* '''Always pick up Utility Subsystems as soon as they are exposed.''' If you keep exploring without snagging these, a Defensive Subsystem might pop up and cut off your access to them!
-* '''Always use a Self Repair as soon as you find it.'''  It simply increases your Coherence, so there is no gain in waiting.
-* '''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!
-** Additionally, more difficult hacks contain Data Caches that might expose particularly nasty Defensive Subsystems (Restoration Nodes), so sometimes, '''you may just want to leave opening Data Caches as a last resort.'''
-* 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.
-* '''Use the 1-5 "minesweeper" numbers to guide your movement''' around the grid.  For example, if you're approaching an edge or corner of the grid, and the number is a 5, then trying to explore anything towards that corner/edge is not useful, because you know that there cannot be anything good within 5 nodes.  In general, you want to click in directions that make the numbers smaller. Because the numbers disappear as you move along, you need to remember where there were 5's, so you know which areas not to bother going back to later.
 '''Check out Daegarn's excellent and up to date video on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_oBxU7qW48 Hacking].'''