Guide to combat sites: Difference between revisions

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~~This guide details how~~ to ~~get started with~~ [[~~combat~~ sites]] ~~that are found via~~ [[~~Exploration|exploration~~]]~~. Once you get~~ good ~~at clearing sites you can make several million ISK per hour from basic sites~~.

[[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 ~~the three most common types:~~ [[Combat_sites#combat anomalies|Combat anomalies]] ~~that can be found without probes and~~ [[Combat_sites#Cosmic_signatures|cosmic signatures]] (unrated and DED rated) that ~~need probes for locating. Cosmic anomalies~~ are ~~easier, have no ship restrictions and pay less~~. ~~Unrated and DED rated combat~~ sites ~~require probes to scan down~~, ~~have ship size limitations but pay on avarage more than anomalies . DED rated complexes pay especially well~~.

Combat sites are pockets in space filled with rats to shoot at. This guide focuses on [[Combat_sites#combat 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.

===Advantages:===

* You can start making a significant amount of ISK with only ~~{{sk~~|~~Astrometrics|I}}~~ and a good frigate, and more with a ~~combat destroyer or~~ cruiser.

* You can start making a significant amount of ISK with only basic [[Skills:Scanning|scanning skills]] and a good frigate, and more with adestroyer 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.

* For those basic sites, you don't really have to be worried about EWAR. There won't be any warp scrambling frigates to worry about.

===Disadvantages:===

* ~~Faction spawns are rare and rarely~~ drop ~~anything~~.

* 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.

* 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.

== Getting Started ==

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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 [[Tips_For_War|tips for surviving during war time]] 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 [[Scanning|scanning]] down the site with probes such as a [[Frigate#Exploration|T1 scanning frigate]] or a [[Frigate#Covert_Ops_Frigate|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.

~~===Ship~~ and ~~fit===~~

If you assemble a larger fleet, you can even try using smaller ships, like [[Cruiser|Cruisers]] and [[Cruiser#Logistics|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 Though]] 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 taht weapon slots.

* Usually aim for cap stability to make ~~your~~ life easier.

* 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.

* If you use drones bring spare drones in cargo. They are easily forgotten in sites and sometimes die.

* Bring 16 core probes. This way the launcher autoreloads after launching probes.

* 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. ~~Use~~ target target painters that are mostly harmless.

** 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. ~~Use~~ sensor dampeners that will drop your targeting range.

** 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. ~~Use~~ tracking disruptors that will hinder all turret users and neuts that will hinder ships with active tank.

** Blood raiders and Sansha (Amarr space) deal and are weak to electromagnetic and thermal. They use tracking disruptors 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. ~~Use~~ ECM that will annoy everyone.

** 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. ~~Weak~~ to electromagnetic and thermal.

** 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 hungy, 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. Largest danger for frigates are destroyers and they should be dealt as soon as possible.

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====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==

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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.

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 [[Combat_sites#Expeditions]]

==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 [[Timers#Suspect_Timer|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 EWAR effects.

If you lose the site, '''UEve 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==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{merge|Combat sites}}
+{{Exploration links}}
-This guide details how to get started with [[combat sites]] that are found via [[Exploration|exploration]]. Once you get good at clearing sites you can make several million ISK per hour from basic sites.
+[[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 the three most common types: [[Combat_sites#combat anomalies|Combat anomalies]] that can be found without probes and [[Combat_sites#Cosmic_signatures|cosmic signatures]] (unrated and DED rated) that need probes for locating. Cosmic anomalies are easier, have no ship restrictions and pay less. Unrated and DED rated combat sites require probes to scan down, have ship size limitations but pay on avarage more than anomalies . DED rated complexes pay especially well.
+Combat sites are pockets in space filled with rats to shoot at. This guide focuses on [[Combat_sites#combat 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.
 ===Advantages:===
-* You can start making a significant amount of ISK with only {{sk|Astrometrics|I}} and a good frigate, and more with a combat destroyer or cruiser.
+* You can start making a significant amount of ISK with only basic [[Skills:Scanning|scanning skills]] and a good frigate, and more with adestroyer 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.
-* For those basic sites, you don't really have to be worried about EWAR. There won't be any warp scrambling frigates to worry about.
 ===Disadvantages:===
-* Faction spawns are rare and rarely drop anything.
+* 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.
-* 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.
 == Getting Started  ==
@@ Line 28: / Line 26: @@
 {{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 [[Tips_For_War|tips for surviving during war time]] 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 [[Scanning|scanning]] down the site with probes such as a [[Frigate#Exploration|T1 scanning frigate]] or a [[Frigate#Covert_Ops_Frigate|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.
-===Ship and fit===
+If you assemble a larger fleet, you can even try using smaller ships, like [[Cruiser|Cruisers]] and [[Cruiser#Logistics|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 Though]] 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 taht weapon slots.
-* Usually aim for cap stability to make your life easier.
+* 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.
-* If you use drones bring spare drones in cargo. They are easily forgotten in sites and sometimes die.
-* Bring 16 core probes. This way the launcher autoreloads after launching probes.
 * 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. Use target target painters that are mostly harmless.
+** 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. Use sensor dampeners that will drop your targeting range.
+** 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. Use tracking disruptors that will hinder all turret users and neuts that will hinder ships with active tank.
+** Blood raiders and Sansha (Amarr space) deal and are weak to electromagnetic and thermal. They use tracking disruptors 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. Use ECM that will annoy everyone.
+** 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. Weak to electromagnetic and thermal.
+** 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 hungy, 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. Largest danger for frigates are destroyers and they should be dealt as soon as possible.
@@ Line 594: / Line 601: @@
 ====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?'''<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.
+* '''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.
+* '''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.
+* '''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.
+* '''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.
 ==The sites==
@@ Line 645: / Line 668: @@
 ==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 [[Combat_sites#Expeditions]]
+==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 [[Timers#Suspect_Timer|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 EWAR effects.
+If you lose the site, '''UEve 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==