Cloaking
Cloaking allows a ship to become completely invisible to almost all forms of detection. The ability to disappear from view offers many obvious tactical advantages allowing you to observe whithout being seen, launch suprise attacks or to slip away from dangers.
Cloaking devices
Cloaking devices are high slot modules that allow ships to turn invisible.
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Cloaking device works on any ship and allows them to cloak up. The prototype cloaking device, improved cloaking device and almost all of the faction/storyline/officer cloaking devices count as standard cloaking devices.
This type of cloaking device comes with severe penalties:
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Covert ops cloaking device can only be used by certain T2 and faction ships. Most notable covert ops capable ships are covert-ops frigates, stealth bombers, force recon ships, blockade runners and T3 cruisers with covert ops configuration though a number of faction and limited edition ships can use covert ops cloaks too.
The covert ops cloaking device has drastically less severe penalties compared to the normal cloak:
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Cloaking mechanics
Cloaking is a nuanced mechanic and knowing the exact way it interacts with other aspects of the game is important.
Once the cloaking module is activated the ship is immediately considered to be cloaked. The cloaking animation itself will take a few seconds to play, during which time the cloaking ship is visible in space and on the overview, and can be selected, but cannot be targeted. Once the cloaking module is deactivated, the ship will immediately appear on the overview and be targetable, even though the decloaking animation also takes a few seconds to play.
While active the cloak will prevent activation of all modules, including reloading them or moving items between containers in inventory. However, non-offensive modules can still be activated during the first 5 seconds of being cloaked. Modules that are active before cloaking will also finish their cycles normally, however some modules such as the micro jump drive will decloak the ship if their cycle completes while the ship is cloaked. While cloaked, modules also cannot be set to Overheat.
There are multiple factors which can prevent ships from cloaking or forcibly cause a cloaked ship to decloak.
- Being within 2000 m from any object will prevent ships from cloaking and cause cloaked ships to decloak. This includes often ignored objects such as jettisoned cans, corpses, collidable structures, drones, and gas clouds.
- Missiles will decloak cloaked ships.
- Exceptions: Cloaked ships and scanner probes do not decloak cloaked ships. As a side-effect of this, multiple cloaked ships in the same spot will not collide with one another, however if one of them decloaks they will all forcibly decloak and potentially be sent bouncing away from each other.
- Being targeted will prevent a ship from cloaking. This includes being targeted by an NPC or a passive targeting module which does not show as yellow box.
- However, only completed target locks will prevent cloaking. If the cloaking device activates before a target lock is established, the targeting attempt will fail.
- If you are already cloaked you cannot cloak. This may seem like a non problem but this will force you to break the gate cloak (see below) before you can activate your cloaking module, and in the process briefly reveal yourself.
- Faction police and CONCORD ships are able to locate cloaked ships. If you are being chased by either of them due to low standing or criminal action they will warp to you even if you are cloaked.
- Offensive area of effect modules such as Bombs and Smartbombs will damage cloaked ships but will not decloak them.
- Command Bursts do not apply to cloaked ships.
Skills
Cloaking is the only cloaking related skill. This skill allows you to use cloaking devices and also reduces the duration of recalibration delay that comes after decloaking by 10% per level.
Jump cloak
Jump cloak, also known as gate cloak, is effect every ship gets when they jump thrpugh a stargate or a wormhole. Every time you jump your ship will be cloaked when it lands on the other side.
The jump cloak beahavior is different from cloaking modules. The jump cloak, unlike cloak from modules, is completely immune to everything and can not be broken by outside effects. While under the effects of jump cloak your ship is completely immune to every single possible offensive effect including area of effect. You can not be uncloaked, hit by area of effect weapons such as smarbombs or be bumped by ships. Effectively your ship does not exist while under effects of jump cloak.
The jump cloak will last for 60 seconds or until you move (including warping and fleet warping) with your ship. As soon as the jump cloak is broken by the timer running out or by ship actions the ship will immediately become visible. The 60 second jump cloak timer is visible on the upper left corner.
It is often best to take full advantage of the 60 second jump cloak and assess the situation you jumped in very carefully. Look at the ships on grid, player names in local, objects in directional scan and decide what actions you will take before you break the jump cloak.
