User:K950/3P38 Sleeper Nexus

Among man's more adventurous and exciting, if risky endeavors he regular embarks upon, exploration and discovering the unknown are definitely one of his more distinguishing characteristics, among many others. In EVE, exploration remains an interesting passtime or primary activity for many players, and I feel that it is important at this time to begin to chronicle and explain some facets of this particular pursuit. It appears that at some time or another, a few select individuals embark on a similar text wall on this subject -- and with that, here is mine!

In this thread, I will pass on some of my knowledge and experiences which I have laboriously explored and mapped out. Specifically, I will have posts to this thread which will entail the following topics in some detail:

• Ghost sites
• Limited Sleeper Caches
• Standard Sleeper Caches
• Superior Sleeper Caches
• General exploration tips

I'm not one to explain or elaborate on my own personal resume or length of tenure of a particular subject, as I firmly believe that neither of those two factors is exclusively indicative of competence. Instead I will rely on my peers and superiors to judge if I am considered an authority on the subject, so in that respect, I am open to good, solid commentary about my methods, techniques or procedures. For that matter, with some exceptions, the details explained here are not "the way" but "a way" of doing it.

Ghost Sites

A rather convenient upgrade from the regular data or relic sites you get in low, null or wormhole space, these sites are rather dangerous. You can, however, be assured there will not be any cloaked interdictors lurking in the site.

There are four classes of so-called "Ghost Sites", for lack of a better term, in order of ascending difficulty:

• Besieged Covert Research Facility
• Lesser faction Covert Research Facility
• Standard faction Covert Research Facility
• Improved faction Covert Research Facility
• Superior faction Covert Research Facility

In the beginning, these sites had to be scanned down like an ordinary cosmic signature, but then it was changed to a cosmic anomaly, which then got changed back to a cosmic signature recently. There isn't any specific danger inside the site in most cases, however the hazards that are there, are rather harsh.

Besieged Covert Research Facilities are common in low security space and are merely combat sites, and have no particular relationship to our subject here other than the name being analogous to regular Ghost sites.

By name, the Ghost sites are named according to the pirate faction which is associated to that particular system. In the area around Amarr space for instance, they will be named something like Lesser Blood Raider Covert Research Facility, whereas with Minmatar space they will be named something in the order of Lesser Angel Covert Research Facility. The name itself of the site (in respect to the pirate faction name) has no bearing or significance of the site itself, but rather the NPC pirates which spawn after a small span of time. There is some relationship between the pirate faction and the type of implant blueprints one can possibly obtain, though no further specifics are present.

In high security space, on the Lesser grade of Ghost sites will be available, in low security space, the Standard grades are usually the kind that spawns. In null security space the Improved variant is common, but only in wormhole space are the Superior sites present. As for the difference between the sites, the higher the site "rating", the higher the likelihood of good implant BPCs, mobile depot BPCs, mobile tractor unit BPCs, Covert Research Tools (used for making implants) and Shattered Villiard Wheels (also used for implant construction). Lower-grade sites will most likely have Mid-Grade rated implants, while the higher ones such as the Improved and Superior sites most likely will have the High-Grade blueprints.

Additionally, the higher the site rating, the more NPC pirate rats show up (when they do), the more damage they do, and the more damage a container does when it detonates. Site containers explode when they are shot at by the NPC pirates (which they do) or when a hack is failed. Thus, the specific dangers to these sites are:

• Limited time frame
• High damage received upon failure of a container
• The NPC pirate damage.

Let us discuss the merits of each point I mentioned here:

• Limited time frame: Ghost sites are all about speed and efficiency. The less time you spend moving around the site, the faster you hack, and a couple of other parameters are critical towards success. The use of a Data Analyzer II is strongly recommended, because it has a higher base virus strength, which means hacking is faster and safer.
• High damage received upon failure of a container: The Lesser grade Covert Research Facilities (i.e. Lesser Serpentis Covert Research Facility) can be handled with a Tech I exploration frigate, such a Heron with a medium shield extender and an active explosive hardener. That vessel however, can only eat one detonation, and should the pilot not evade the damage of the NPC rats, probably won't be able to survive if he does not escape immediately. The higher rated sites, such as the Standard Guristas Covert Research Facility, should be done with a different ship.
• The NPC pirate damage: They hurt pretty hard if you get caught. In an Improved site, they do healthy cruiser-level DPS. Your best bet is to get out immediately when they spawn. The particulars of this topic will be elaborated on later.

With this lovely preamble out of the way, I will then begin to discuss the specifics of these sites, and how I run them. I'm not going to say the way I do it is the "right way", but rather "a way" which I recommend you follow. Let's start with the procedure I use when I do these sites:

1. Scan down the site. Decide if I want to run it or not.
2. Prepare my ship. For the Lesser rated sites, I use a Heron, the fit of which will be shown later. For the harder ones, I earnestly recommend the Merlin, but the Moa is probably the best for tanking. I don't know how well it does versus a horde of null-sec rats though, yet.
3. For my Heron, I strip the ship of drones, cloaks, cargo and everything I don't need. Normally I do this in a safe spot with a mobile depot (refitting and clearing the ship out).
4. Warp to a bookmark OR a celestial close to the site. Less than 4 AU is ideal, but I like 2 AU.
5. Align to the bookmark made of the site or the scan result. Always align first. Activate the explosive hardener, make sure all my needed kit is online and ready to go. Wait for the capacitor to recharge if necessary. Set the Keep at Range distance to 2500m.
6. Warp to the site.
7. Select a random container, lock up all containers, choose Keep at Range (2250m) on the container, active the Microwarpdrive for one cycle, which is usually close to putting to me within hacking distance.
8. While I am approaching that container, run a cargo scanner on the other containers. If not equipped (Merlin) then don't bother cargo scanning.
9. Hack the chosen container, loot it.
10. Having identified the next container I want to hack, I approach it for one or two Microwarpdrive cycles. The site timer is close to running out by now.
11. I hack the other container: if time permits (it usually does not) I might get another hack off. Normally I only hack two containers then GTFO.
12. Warp off anywhere. I then refit at my mobile depot and continue on.
    

Really, there are three ways of running Ghost sites:

• Fit for tanking any damage that you may receive, from failure of a container
• Fit for the lowest cost, based on the assumption that failure is expected (usually just a MWD and an analyzer, with nothing else equipped); and * Bringing a friend to hack the other containers. Having recently lost a Merlin to an Improved Serpentis Covert Research Facility because of rats, if you want to tank the rats (a Scythe with reppers staggered was not enough to sustain the DPS) then use a Moa. Overheated staggered cruiser reppers might be able to allow a teammate to tank the damage of 8 NPC rats that show up long enough for the rats to warp off, but not if you're using a frigate: it just doesn't have the buffer to take it. Last resort? Use a pair of Ospreys in a 2 Medium / 1 Large / 2 Capacitor Transmitter configuration. Have the logistics warp at range to the site, about 30km. May need to overheat the remote repairers.
  

Let's move down the list of things I discussed in my order of operation for these sites, for which I will elaborate further.

1. Scanning down the site. While I'm not exactly aware of the probe strength required to scan down each site, they are not as difficult to scan down as a Superior Sleeper Cache, which requires a probe strength of at least 104. I've scanned down an Improved Serpentis Covert Research Facility with 65.6 probe strength.

2. Preparing my ship. Here are the fits I use, and recommend you use. They are cheap, capable and appropiate for the job. If you cannot fit or equip any one of these modules, I do not recommend running the site. The stakes are too high, especially in the harder sites.

Heron - Ghost Site Survivor

Heron: Heron - Ghost Site Survivor

EFT

[Heron, Heron - Ghost Site Survivor]

Data Analyzer II
Medium Azeotropic Restrained Shield Extender
5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Type-E Enduring Cargo Scanner
Limited Explosive Deflection Field I

Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Damage Control II

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

FITTING DIFFICULTY

EVE VERSION

YC118 1.0

ALPHA CAN USE

UNSET

EFT

SKILLS

NOTES

RECOMMENDED SKILLS

NOTES

• Only suitable for high security space sites.
• Can survive one high-security space container detonation.
• Cannot tank rats if they are close.
• Rigs are based on the author's choice of rigs for running Sleeper Caches: they do not particularly matter for this application.

The rigs are the default ones I use because this vessel is commonly used for running Sleeper Caches. The use of a Tech II Data Analyzer is essential because failure of the container causes it to detonate. For the Lesser grade Ghost sites, this fit can survive one detonation, and no more. If you fail one container, abandon the site and warp off. It's just not worth it to continue.

For the Standard, Improved, and Superior Covert Research Facilities, or if I really don't feel like loosing a Heron, I recommend this:

Merlin - Ghost Site Runner

Merlin: Merlin - Ghost Site Runner

EFT

[Merlin, Merlin - Ghost Site Runner]

Medium Shield Extender II
Data Analyzer II
5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Explosive Deflection Field II

Damage Control II
Type-D Restrained Overdrive Injector
Type-D Restrained Nanofiber Structure

Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer I

FITTING DIFFICULTY

EVE VERSION

YC118 1.0

ALPHA CAN USE

UNSET

EFT

SKILLS

NOTES

RECOMMENDED SKILLS

NOTES

• Rated to survive three explosions of null-sec rated Ghost Sites (Improved).
• Will not tank rats, and remote repairs from one Scythe or similar will not be sufficient to tank the rats. Warp off instead.
• 24.4K EHP against explosive damage, 22.7K EHP in shields.

Because the containers deal exclusively Explosive damage, it's important to be tanked to that specific damage type. This vessel, with my present skills (Shield Management to IV) has 21808 explosive damage EHP. for a net total of 23499 EHP against explosive damage. Having tested this vessel on the test server in an Improved rated Ghost site, it has survived two deliberate failures (with the explosive hardener overloaded) and could probably eat a third.

Remember to overload your explosive hardener if you know you will fail the container.

Remember to turn off the Microwarpdrive while hacking. The increase in ship mass means that warping out takes longer, and any damage taken from rats will be amplified.

While you could upgrade to a Moa, I would still recommend this vessel because it is faster, does the job fine and is cheaper. If the ship you'd like to use is not here, it's because I don't recommend it. If the fit is not quite to your liking, feel free to change it, although I will also not recommend it. Here is a Moa fit you can use; one for speed, and the Maller is if you'd just like to laugh it off:

Moa - Ghost Site Boss

Moa: Moa - Ghost Site Boss

EFT

[Moa, Moa - Ghost Site Boss]

Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Large Shield Extender II
Explosive Deflection Field II
50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Data Analyzer II

Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I

FITTING DIFFICULTY

EVE VERSION

YC118 1.0

ALPHA CAN USE

UNSET

EFT

SKILLS

NOTES

RECOMMENDED SKILLS

NOTES

• 33.5K EHP overall (not overloaded), 68.3K EHP against explosive damage.
• You may elect to insert an armor tank in the lows with a 1600mm plate and hardeners if you are really intent on not loosing the ship to the rats.
• A scout to scan containers and provide the warpins makes this fit a lot more useful rather than soloing it because of its slow speed.

Maller - Ghost Sites

Maller: Maller - Ghost Sites

EFT

[Maller, Maller - Ghost Sites]

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Data Analyzer II
Type-E Enduring Cargo Scanner

1600mm Steel Plates II
1600mm Steel Plates II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

FITTING DIFFICULTY

EVE VERSION

YC118 1.0

ALPHA CAN USE

UNSET

EFT

SKILLS

NOTES

RECOMMENDED SKILLS

NOTES

If, for various reasons you cannot fit or equip any one module, then I recommend either skipping the site or going for a cheap-as-dirt barebones fit with just a cheap Microwarpdrive and Analyzer with nothing else on the vessel. Cheap meta overdrive injectors and nanofibers are possible -- they're so cheap because nobody else uses them.

Moving on...

4. Stripping the vessel. This is pretty straightforward. Drop a mobile depot in a safe spot, refit to the proper fit, strip the other goodies like the cloaking device and probe launcher, transfer everything from your cargohold into the mobile depot, double check everything, then proceed to the next step. A station or Citadel works too.

Of all the ships I have lost in Ghost sites on the main server (3 Herons and 2 Merlins if I am correct) I never lost more than 5 million ISK per ship. As always, the Data Analyzer II never drops...tsk tsk

5. Warp to a bookmark or celestial close to the site. This is important because the site timer is initiated when any player initiates a warp to the site (and gets the pop-up message), whether or not they actually landed inside the site. Rather than warping 70 AU from across the whole system, and thus burning up half the site timer before you get there, warping to a spot close to the site means you have more time inside the site.

6. Align to the site and prepare. Aligning saves time warping to the site; double checking that the explosive hardener is equipped saves ships; capacitor level might make a difference, and double-checking the fit saves the site from being abandoned.

7. Nothing to elaborate on here.

8. Beginning to run the site. Here is where the particulars really start to matter. Let's pretend that one of the four containers present has something good in it: such as a blueprint for a 'Wetu' Mobile Depot. Cargo scanning can provide a preview of what the site holds: in that respect, picking one at random provides a one in four chance of that one good can being on your way anyways.

Picking a Keep at Range distance of 2250m is important not only for hacking sites in dangerous space (I like to call it fun space though, because that's what it is) but it also neatly positions the ship so you won't bounce off the container so fast that the hack auto-aborts by reason of the high velocity of the ship pushing itself away from hacking control range.

Conversely, for those who do not run cargo scanners, just hack at random. Some say the odd named container (i.e. 3x Secure Mainframe and 1x Secure Vault, so the Vault is the odd one out) always has the best loot, but I have not found that to be so.

Anyways, once on the first container, hack fast, efficiently and accurately. Familiarity with hacking principles and cool speed are essential. On the Lesser and Standard classes, those only have green hacks (blue-green cores); Improved and Superior are yellow cores and can have the usual restoration nodes/virus suppressors.

9. Nothing further to elaborate on that was not explained in the previous point.

10-11. Ibid.

12. Normally, the timer for the site is about two minutes, which can vary quite a bit. The shortest I believe have seen was just over 60 seconds. Two minutes is enough for two fast hacks and a quick high-tail out; three minutes and fifteen seconds is just about enough for four excellent hacks with a close exit time. When the timer runs out, the NPC rats instantly appear at the warp in spot: however there is a short time (about 8 seconds or so) before they start getting nasty.

Therefore, by most estimates, two containers is practically attainable out of these sites: three is better, and four is wondrous. If I get 3 cans hacked out, I simply warp off anywhere quick (except in null if there are bubbles known to be someplace) and then warp back to the mobile depot, refit and continue on the exploration path.

To handle one of these sites like a proper crew, you may use logistics as earlier, or just use the Maller fit and a covert ops pilot, probably in a bomber for the lack of cloak recalibration time. Using a cargo scanner on the bomber, have the cruiser pre-aligned to the site, and iniate warp at the same time as the bomber decloaks. The bomber pilot then quickly locks up all the containers, and being a squad commander position, tags the good container, as usually only one container has the blueprints while the others are just Villard Wheels and Covert Research Tools. All the hacker cruiser has to do then is burn an overheated MWD cycle as he lands, hack out the good can, the burn around to hack whatever he can hack afterwards. The bomber should be clear to warp off as soon as the cargo scans are complete. The bonus is that there is little risk to the bomber pilot at all, the Maller should survive (at 105K EHP with all V) just fine and is ready to be used again for your next cyno hot drop ship or usual bait ship that everybody recognizes.

I found a video on YouTube which is fairly good at demonstrating the basics in a more visual form. Through the content of this post, some experience of having run these sites yourself (I recommend a couple high-sec attempts before you do the more dangerous ones), and this video, you should find yourself adequately familiar with the site itself.

Sleeper Caches: A Preamble

These may appear by name to be an intimidating retreat where ships go, and then they don't come back, but in reality, these cosmic indications within EVE Online are actually fairly straightforward. They by default, more difficult versions of the data or relic sites you get normally. There is additional risk involved because of various hazards, but you can get some sizable reward for your trouble should you decide to run one, which after this, I hope to convince you that you should.

I should start off, appropriate, with a list of cautions and advisories:

• Do not attempt these sites without Tech II analyzer modules. This being the Relic Analyzer II and the Data Analyzer II. You can technically get away with just a Data Analyzer II, but without a Relic Analyzer II, you're going to be spending more time inside the site than if you just had it in the first place.
• Your first four to five times inside these sites should not be done with shiny ships, like the Astero or the Stratios. A T3 is also not worth risking in the upper grade of sites.
• Should you run the site completely, you might have some nice gank-worthy (or ambush-worthy if in lowsec/nullsec) cargo in your hold. Exercise the appropriate cautions: gank limits, using blockade runners, a hauling alt, et cetera.
• Do not rush these sites, at least until you're quite familiar with them. Ships get lost on these sites every month because of carelessness.

There are three kinds of Sleeper sites: Limited, Standard, and Superior; in this order is their typical difficulty in the same fashion. Unlike regular data and relic sites, Sleeper site loot is held in storage depots, which are accessed with the Relic Analyzer. Site-related functions, such as switching off sentry guns, turning off toxic gas clouds, resetting timers, and so forth are all data hacks which use the Data Analyzer. While failing certain Data hacks can be decidedly unpleasant, nearly all the Relic cans can be failed repeatedly without ill effect. Superior Sleeper sites do have a different mechanic in the Archive Room.

Polarized weapon BPCs, Storyline BPCs, random manufacturing materials (usually worthless in most contexts), skill books, "Blue loot", and random "meta" level weapons and modules is pretty much standard fare as far as loot goes for these sites. The "Blue loot" and the BPCs is where the money is at. Here is a cute image of one of the first Limited Sleeper Caches I have ran:

From here, the R.A.M. stuff isn't worth bothering with, the Meta modules or weapons are usually worthless, and the BPCs are sometimes useless too. I don't know if anybody will even buy those BPCs. Polarized Torpedo Launcher BPCs sell for bank though, because they're one of the few Polarized weapons that people actually use. The Electric Conduit and the Talocan Molecule are some examples of some "fluff" that is the reason you should always bring a cargo scanner with you to make sure you don't hack a can only to get 1 Limited Light Ion Blaster I out of, or 100 R.A.M. junk.

The so-called Blue Loot items are typically sold to NPC buy orders at most stations. Head to a normal trade hub (Jita IV-4, Amarr EFA, ...) and check that the icon on the right of the sale has a white (=) to indicate that you're getting full value. You can expect to make anywhere from 10 to 300 million ISK off of blue loot depending on the site: Standard and Superior Sleeper sites tend to have more blue loot.

Right -- now let's get to the site! First you'll have to scan it down -- and I'll say it's not easy. With extensive scanning experience, you can figure out if it is one without even pulling out the probes. How do you tell if you have a Sleeper site in the system?

• Looking at the signature as you scan it down. If you're at 1 A.U. and it's still only showing Data Site as the classification, you're probably looking at one.
• Normal cosmic signatures almost always spawn within 4 A.U. of a celestial. This can be a moon, stargate, planet, station or the Sun. But Sleeper sites, as I have come to understand, may spawn 5 or more A.U. away from a celestial.
• As far as I know of, Sleeper sites only spawn in Known Space. If you like real adventurous PvE content like this stuff, you should look at C5 and C6 wormhole "combat data sites" which have a nice Sleeper presence to welcome you. Bring lots of friends.[/list]

Before I go anywhere else, I should probably mention probe strength. You can find out your probe strength by pulling up the Fitting Window, usually ALT+F. Hover over your probe launcher, and choose the little (i) that says "Show Charge Info". Go into the Attributes tab of the window that opens and your probe strength is there before you, under "Base Sensor Strength". Pyfa and EFT can also display this information under Show Charge Info of the launcher (EFT) or Charge Stats (Pyfa).

I have scanned down a Limited Sleeper Cache with 85.8 probe strength. That is with a Tech I frigate and all Tech I equipment. If you have the following:

Racial Frigate V Astrometrics V Astrometric Rangefinding IV Core Probe Launcher II Sisters Core Scanner Probes 1 Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I 1 Scan Rangefinding Array I

... you should have a probe strength of 107.135, which is enough to scan down a Superior Sleeper Site, the hardest site to scan down, with just a basic Tech I exploration frigate. Findings from multiple Superior Sleeper Caches indicated that 104 probe strength was the minimum. A basic rundown of the minimum probe strength required to scan down each site is listed below: tight cube formations are pretty much required:

• Limited Sleeper Cache: 85.8 (approximate: less most likely won't work)
• Standard Sleeper Cache: 92 (approximate: 91 didn't work)
• Superior Sleeper Cache: 104

Some trick, you say? And why not use a shiny ship? Well, I'm a cheapie, and my reasoning is if I can do it with a Tech I frigate, why not do it with a Tech I frigate? Indeed, you can run all the Sleeper Sites, to a point, with just a Tech I frigate. I will show you how.

First to scan the site. While the Dual Triangle Formation can yield, according to my testing, the strongest strength, it is rather difficult to set up. You may have heard of custom probe formations before, and while scanning Sleeper sites down is an excellent time to work on two formations: a generic cube formation, and a "max strength" cube formation. The cube formation is the easiest formation to make that yields the best scan strength. How did I make mine? Well, awhile back I couldn't scan down a Sleeper Site, but I still found one to set my probe formations up and test them. There's also the Diamond formation, but I find that the cube formation has been the easiest and has worked every time.

Here's some fancy images to show you:

[images] [discussion]

So when I identify a Sleeper site, I normally start with 4 A.U. regular old default pinpoint formation. As you might imagine, my astrometric skills are somewhat high, so I don't have as much of a problem as back when I was wandering around in wormholes on my trial days. (I actually did hack a relic site or two back then.) I then jump to 1 A.U. size, refine, scan, then .25 A.U. and really make sure I get the location accurate. Once I get that result, I switch it over to the maximum strength cube formation preset, center it up nice, and scan...boom, result. No fancy costly Sisters launchers needed -- why would I buy one of those, when if I lost my ship, that module alone would cost more than three times the total value of my ship? I don't know why people buy those. Too shiny for me.

After you have scanned down the site, you'll want to make sure it's safe to run in the first place. Are there 8 war targets in the system? One of them might break out the combat probes, warp to the first room and join you in a rather interesting partyfest. As they've said before, in nullsec and lowsec (and in w-space, with other players detected in system), you should never hack with unknowns in local. Well, you can, but you are taking a considerable risk. He might have bookmarked the site and is waiting for you to come to him. (The Spatial Rift having been activated before you got inside is a clue that someone has been there before.)

However, Sleeper sites, like most mission sites, have a first room with an acceleration gate (renamed "Spatial Rift" in Sleeper sites). You cannot take an acceleration gate with an active cloaking device. Monitor D-scan with 2 AU range? Your call. Do be advised, Sleeper Caches do eventually get pulled from the probe scanner window after a few relic containers are hacked: in that case, the usual two minute despawn timer is initiated. That said, in low sec and nullsec, always ALWAYS keep an eye on Local and the directional scanner.

Ships -- now's a very good time to start talking about them. There are two Tech I exploration frigates I recommend, and frankly, if it's not listed here, there is a very good set of reasons why it is not.

The Heron is what I normally use for exploration. It is both cheap, capable, works good for combat probing detail, and works well enough for the job. Its slightly longer targeting range (it's not much, but I do like it) and higher top speed (with a MWD, about 300 m/s versus the Magnate) means that combined with the other purposes I use it for, makes it well suited as my default exploration vessel.

The Magnate is the alternative. Its abilities are slightly different than the Heron, but can mount a respectable armor tank, though it doesn't do as much in the DPS department because it has less powergrid than the Heron. I think it's a fine vessel, although I have a much harder time fitting an expanded launcher for high security space drone recovery work, which is part of my regular operations.

The Probe and the Imicus...where do I start: first the Imicus is beyond ugly, and it is beneath me to fly it for that reason alone. But really, these vessels are not suitable for Sleeper Caches because they do not have the slot layouts to handle either the proper shield tank OR armor tank requirements. It would be better to conscript a buddy to run a logistics frigate to help you with repair needs if, by some reason, these vessels are all you have.

The Astero is a fine, capable hull that can do well as a stiff tanky drone boat for PvP, an impromptu site runner or just a basic exploration purpose. The nice thing is the fits that I have created for the Magnate cross directly over to this boat, the not-so nice thing is a lot of the people that fly this vessel or aspire to fly it shouldn't (that included me at some point). There are those who say "well just one good container and your ship is paid for" -- and that is valid argument, but that same "one good container" is a rather huge caveat, leaning heavily on the "if you get out alive" factor. Loose one of these clumsily inside a Standard Sleeper Cache, and you'll know why I recommend the Tech I hulls to newcomers and regular runners.

But don't get me wrong -- I think it is a fine ship, it's just that it doesn't offer any particular advantages I need inside these sites, or for general exploration. Even in nullsec with the usual bubblecamps and in wormhole space with the cloaked Interdictor inside the site (your Magnate with 4 warp core stabilizers won't last with that thing on your tail) I just prefer the basic default frigates -- they are cheaper and work just fine.

The Stratios and Tech III Strategic Cruisers are more in the realm of those who can fly them, generally, but not always, know what they're doing. Would I use one in the future if I had a chance inside a Standard or Superior Sleeper Cache? No. I would be entertained by the prospect of a Stratios hacking out the entirety of the Archive Room with two Guardians, but otherwise, no.

Other pointers before I get started on the posts for each site:

• Don't forget to make sure all the hacking analyzers are set to Auto-Repeat Off. Otherwise they will needlessly continue to cycle, wasting capacitor.
• A squad commander of a fleet can tag items with various characters in the alphabet or numerical indications, and this is one of the ways I identify cans that should not be hacked because of lack of sufficient value in them. A fleet of 1 member is fine.
• I can't think of anything to put here for now, so I'll just ... draw a blank.

Read on for posts on each individual site.