Relic and data sites

Relic and data sites are types of cosmic signatures that can be found with probing. Data and relic sites can be divided to 4 categories:

• Pirate data and relic sites
• Drone data sites
• Ghost sites
• Sleeper caches
• Sleeper sites

It should be noted that relic and data sites are also categorized into 5 different levels of difficulty, ranging from I to V. While a ship that is not bonus-ed to scanning can scan down a level I cosmic signature, even exploration-focused ships and fittings may struggle with level V sites.

Pirate sites

A Data Site container

A Relic Site container

Pirate relic and data sites can be found in all normal space regions, as well as in C1, C2 and C3 class wormhole systems. They are pockets of space populated with a variety of cosmetic structures (i.e., wrecked stations, abandoned machines) and several containers that need to be hacked before the contents can be accessed. The sites do not have any triggers or NPC defenders. Pirate relic sites contain T1 and T2 salvage materials, skillbooks and blueprint copies. Pirate data sites contain decryptors, datacores, skillbooks, blueprint copies and manufacturing materials. The contents may vary by faction.

Data sites use the following naming convention according to their location: "Local (Faction) (site)" in high-security systems; "Regional (Faction) (site)" in low-security systems; and "Central (Faction) (site)" in null-security and wormhole systems. Relic sites follow a similar convention: "Crumbling (Faction) (site)" in high-security systems; "Decayed (Faction) (site)" in low-security systems; and "Ruined (Faction) (site)" in null-security and wormhole systems. Each region spawns sites for the local pirate group.

Data site containers have a physical appearance that resembles a gyroscope, and are usually named "(Faction) Info Shard", "(Faction) Com Tower", "(Faction) Mainframe", "(Faction) Data Processing Center", "(Faction) Shattered Life-Support Unit", "(Faction) Virus Test Site", "(Faction) Minor Shipyard", "(Faction) Production Installer" or "(Faction) Backup Server". Relic Site containers resemble ancient shipwrecks and are named "(Faction) Debris", "(Faction) Rubble", "(Faction) Crystal Quarry", "(Faction) Antiquated Outpost" or "(Faction) Stone Formation". You'll have to hack into the containers first by playing the hacking minigame. In order to attempt a hack, you’ll need to lock on to the container and activate the corresponding hacking module. The module (Relic Analyzer in a Relic Site, Data Analyzer in a Data Site, or Integrated Aanalyzer for both) only works if the distance between the container and your ship is less or equal to the module's maximum activation range. Activating the module will open a new window containing the hacking minigame. Failing to hack a container twice will destroy it and its contents.

Drone data sites

• Abandoned Research Complex DA005
• Abandoned Research Complex DA015
• Abandoned Research Complex DA025
• Abandoned Research Complex DG003
• Abandoned Research Complex DG018
• Abandoned Research Complex DC007

Drone data sites spawn only in drone regions: Cobalt Edge, Perrigen Falls, Malpais, Oasa, Kalevala Expanse, Outer Passage, Etherium Reach, and The Spire. Drone data sites have two main differences from pirate data sites:

• Failing the hack twice in drone data site will not destroy the container. Instead there is a chance that failure spawns hostile frigates. These rogue drones can be easily handled by the drones of T1 explorer and do not pose serious threat. These frigates need to be destroyed before you can hack again.

• Drone data sites can escalate into another drone data site.

Drone data sites contain three hackable containers: Two "High Security Containment Facility" and one "Research and Development Laboratories". Most of the time the lone research container is empty but leaving it unhacked misses possibility for data site escalation.

Drone data sites contain drone components and blueprint copies for 'Integrated' and 'Augmented' drones. Each drone region drop blueprint copies for different racial drones: Kalevala Expanse and The Spire for Minmatar, Malpais and Oasa for Caldari, Etherium Reach and Perrigen Falls for Gallente and finally Outer Passage and Cobalt Edge for Amarr.

Sleeper caches

Sleeper caches are data sites with various triggers and dangers. They are significantly more difficult than pirate data sites. Sleeper caches spawn in normal space and do not spawn in wormholes even though the sleeper connection would imply the opposite.

The Sleeper Caches from easiest to hardest are:

• Limited Sleeper Cache Level IV scanning difficulty
• Standard Sleeper Cache Level IV scanning difficulty
• Superior Sleeper Cache Level V scanning difficulty

Sleeper caches are gated deadspace pockets with size limits for entry. Each sleeper cache has its own set of dangers. They contain mixture of containers with damaging explosions on failed hack, timed triggers, hazardous clouds, proximity explosions and sentry guns. For details see the page for individual sleeper cache.

Sleeper caches contain sleeper components, manufacturing materials, skillbooks and blueprint copies for polarized weapons.

Ghost sites

Main article: Ghost Site

Ghost sites are data sites with limited time and riskier failures. They can be identified from "Covert Research Facility" on their name.

The sites have invisible time limit after which strong NPC force will arrive, blow up remaining containers and attack the pilot on site. The hacks are also riskier as single failure will cause the container to explode dealing 4000–6000 raw explosive damage to 10 km radius.

Ghost sites contain Covert Research Tools, Villard Wheels, blueprint copies for 'Packrat' and 'Magpie' Mobile Tractor Units, ‘Wetu’ and ‘Yurt’ Mobile Depots and Ascendancy implants.

Sleeper sites

Main article: Wormhole sites

Sleeper data and relic sites are found in wormholes. They are not empty, instead they have strong sleepers defending the site that need to be defeated before hacking.

Sleeper data and relic sites can be identified from "Forgotten" and "Unsecured" at the beginning of their names. The combat in them is harder than in combat anomalies of same wormhole class and the rats drop sleeper components as they do in combat sites. They can be ran as combat sites only looting the wrecks and ignoring the hacking part.

Silent Battleground

The Silent Battleground

Silent Battleground is a very rare data site found in shattered wormholes.

The silent battleground contains 20 data and relic cans scattered in 60 km radius, with no Sleeper rats present. It must be scanned down, and requires decent skills to do so. Failing the hack twice does not blow up the can. The data cans contain datacores, and the relic cans contain T3 manufacturing components such as Intact Power Cores. Early reports suggest that this site operates on a timer and will explosively despawn after some time, though dealing no damage. This timer should be longer than 30 minutes. 3 hacking ships should be able to clear the entire site before this happens, however.

At the center of the silent battleground is a wrecked Revenant, suggesting an unexpected historical Sansha's Nation presence in these shattered wormholes. The wreck cannot be salvaged.

Contested Covert Research Facilities

Note that it is unclear to this author whether Contested Covert Research Facilities are still in the game; some sources seem to indicate that they were removed when the Besieged Covert Research Facilities were added. Another thing to consider is that the reward received may not be worth the effort and risk of doing them: you will almost certainly lose your ship if you attempt them in an untanked frigate, but carrying around tanking modules just for these sites may be inconvenient.

The only known variant is the Contested Guristas Covert Research Facility. It contains 1 hackable can, called a Guristas Transponder Tower. If the hack fails or after about 45-60s from the first warp-in to the site (even if the can has already been emptied), the can explodes for roughly 2000 raw explosive damage. The tower has 1 Guristas Data Sequence (eve-central price) as loot, 75/200/700 of which can be turned in at the Mordu's Legion headquarters in nullsec for BPCs to build the Mordu's Legion ships.

Even an exploration frigate (Magnate, Heron, Imicus or Probe) can be fitted to survive this with 2-3 cheap T1/meta tanking modules swapped into the regular exploration fit: for example, on the Imicus/Heron/Probe using this wiki's basic exploration/scanning fits, one could:

1. keep 1 analyzer and the microwarpdrive in the mid slots,
2. remove the other analyzer and the cargo scanner/rangefinding array (and optionally the Heron's 5th slot, but this isn't even really necessary, the Heron has/ends up with the largest shield tank anyway)
3. add a small shield extender and a explosive deflection field (add a 2nd explosive deflection field on the Heron if you want)
4. change 1 lowslot module (usually speed/align modules on exploration ships) for a damage control if the fit doesn't have one yet.

These modules take up only 10-15m³ in your cargo hold and can be fitted in at any nearby station whenever you come across a contested covert research site while exploring, and back out once you've done the site.

With a Magnate using the "exploration basic" fitting, just switching the drone damage amplifier to an armor explosive hardener should be enough, thanks to the 100mm reinforced plates, damage control and energized adaptive nano membrane already included in the fit. After fitting the armor explosive hardener, the EANM isn't necessary anymore to prevent the 2k damage from spilling over into structure hp, so the EANM can be swapped for a small armor repairer if you don't want to pay to repair your armor, but you may run into lack of power grid with low/mediocre fitting skills. In any case, the limited mid slots and low base shield hp of the Magnate make pure shield tanking impossible while keeping both the microwarpdrive and an analyzer, compared to the extra low available for armor tanking.

Note: The author of this section did model all 4 frigates in EFT, using a damage control I + explosive deflection field I + small shield extender I (except for the Magnate, as noted) and with the "without skills" option, and got just over 2k (Imicus) to 2.7k (Heron with 1 EDF) shield ehp vs. explosive damage on all the above ships except the armor-tanked magnate (which had about 2.5k shield+armor ehp vs. explosive, with AEH+100mm plates+DC+EANM). However, TEST YOUR OWN FIT with a fitting tool and/or calculate your EHP vs. explosive damage before you go blow yourself up. Remember to repair any armor/hull damage you may have suffered afterwards (as noted, this should only be necessary with the Magnate).

Tips and tricks

• The contents of containers can be scanned with cargo scanners before hacking. This allows skipping containers that do not have valuable contents.
• Emptied sites will despawn in few minutes. Sites that have been warped to or partially completed will despawn in few hours.
• Once a site has despawned, the same site (sorted based on data or relic) will respawn within 2 minutes within the same region, but never within the same system.
• Sites with difficulty levels I and II should be scannable for any ship fitted with a core probe launcher, and a set of Sisters core probe scanners. However, as the difficulty level of the site increases, the minimum scanning strength required also increases.
• Sites with difficulty levels III and higher normally need to be scanned by a scanning-bonused ship. However, some level III sites may still be scanned by any ship if it is fitted with a Sisters core probe launcher.
• The recommended scan strength for level IV sites is around 90, while the recommended scan strength for level V sites is 100 and above.

See also

• Dev blog introducing Ghost Sites
• Dev blog introducing the Contested and Besieged Covert Research Facilities