User:Dossoles Hunter/Exploration-Fit

Purpose of Page

With the plethora of options and combination on ships and fittings, it can get confusing on figuring what to bring in each scenario. This page is created as a resource for explanation in fitting logic for relevant exploration sites for both Alpha and Omega players. This page will explain the different types of playstyle players can do during their exploration career, and let players decide on their personal fit at the end of the day. This page is viable to be used as a public resource for ship fittings however it is not the primary purpose of the page. Giving people a ship fit will set them for a day. Teaching people how to fit will set them for life.

Crucial Modules and the Mechanics

There are a few elements of exploration that needs to be discussed, but mainly it can be separated to 4 categories: Scanning, Hacking, Survival, and Auxiliary.

Scanning

There are 2 primary values we want to look at when picking our scanner modules which are Scan Strength and Scan Deviation. Scan strength affects your scan results by giving a higher percentage result after a scan, while giving a result closer to the pinpoint location of the cosmic signature the higher percentage you get as a secondary effect. There are two implications to this fact:

1. There will be a minimum Scan Strength required to scan certain sites
2. The quality of the result will be low on the higher difficulty scans.

Scan Deviation is a value that fixes the quality issue posed on relying solely on Scan Strength. Its primary effect is increasing the precision of your scan result, giving players a more reliable result and better information on where to do their next scan. In rough terms: the game straight up lies to your face if you have low to no Scan Deviation. The good news is you just need a bit of Scan Deviation reduction to fix this issue but this will be an important element that Alpha players need to consider.

There are a couple ways to manipulate these two values, which are: Skills, Modules and Rigs, and Implants.

Skills

There are three skills that affect the majority of your scanning experience:

1. Astrometrics: +5% scan strength per level. -5% max scan deviation per level.
2. Astrometrics Rangefinding: +5% increase to scan probe strength per level.
3. Astrometrics Pinpointing: Reduces maximum scan deviation by -5% per level.

These skills are also the prerequisites for ship modules, henceforth are recommended to level up as necessary. Astrometrics is the cream of the crop with each level having the effect of both Astrometrics Rangefinding and Astrometrics Pinpointing combined. The skill point price is quite low for the benefit it gives hence its recommended to get at least level 4, with future notion to get it to level 5 as it unlocks the T2 Probe Launcher module which is another drastic boost to your Scan Strength. Leveling Astrometrics Rangefinding and Astrometrics Pinpointing to level 4 is recommended, while the investment to get level 5 is hefty in skill points for minimum benefit hence can be left for last.

Modules and Rigs

There are 5 modules/rigs/items that affects your scanning: Probe launcher, Core Scanner Probes, Rangefinding Array, Pinpointing Array, and Gravity Capacitor Upgrade rig.

Probe Launcher

Probe launcher can be separated into 3 tiers: T1, T2, and Sister. Each with its own pros and cons

1. T1 Launcher has no bonus, requires no skill, and is the cheapest
2. T2 Launcher has 5% Scan Strength bonus, requires Astrometics 5 skill, and still relatively cheap.
3. Sister Launcher has 10% Scan Strength bonus, requires no skill, and is the most expensive.

Most people would think Sister Launcher to be the go to module, however it suffers 2 damning issues. Its obviously expensive as hell (30 mil Circa January 2026), and the added bonus to scan strength is irrelevant especially for Alpha players. Scan Strength is a numerical requirement to scan down sites, the effect on scan result is minuscule until there is a big gap on the value of Scan Strength (over 10 points). Stacking penalty applies to Launcher modules, along with other modules and rigs, making it harder for Sister Launcher to make a difference.