Dr. Pinko From Down Under Method
Dr. Pinko From Down Under method is a poor man's method of clearing Vital & Instrumental Core Reservoir gas sites in high class wormholes with Stealth Bombers. Traditionally to clear a Core Reservoir gas site one would need to use ships capable of tanking Sleeper NPCs from C5 combat anomalies. A technique called Jedi Huffing was used by some to clear the large C320 gas cloud in Instrumental Core Reservoir sites using specialized sig-tanking ships to stay alive when sleeper NPCs spawned.
The Concept
Sleepless Sentinels in the Instrumental Core Reservoir and Sleepless Keepers in the Vital Core Reservoir have low scan resolution; 130mm and 150mm. Stealth Bombers have large signature radius for frigates but the range (38m-42m) is small enough to allow them to de-cloak and cloak up after firing a few volleys of torpedoes. Stealth Bombers have a cloak reactivation delay of 15s. While the Sleepless Keepers can lock a stealth bomber in under 15 seconds, there is a delay before they start locking and this gives all stealth bombers enough time to cloak up without getting targeted. However the margin for error with Sleepless Keepers is very low and even a little extra latency can lead to the battleships locking you up before you can cloak.
| Ship | Race | 
|
Sleepless Sentinel | Sleepless Keeper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
38 | 16.40 s | 14.22 s |
|
|
40 | 16.02 s | 13.89 s |
|
|
41 | 15.84 s | 13.73 s |
|
|
42 | 15.67 s | 13.58 s |
One volley of torpedoes will hit without effort however getting the second volley to hit requires some setup. This can be done by either committing boldly and being very close to the battleship (in scram range of Sleepless Sentinel) or by fitting missile guidance computers with range scripts to increase the speed at which the torpedoes travel. A torpedo volley will register if it hits while the stealth bomber is cloaking up. If the torpedo is still in flight after cloaking is complete the damage may not apply.
Vital Core Reservoir sites also come with Emergent Keeper frigate NPCs that need to be dispatched using bombing runs. It is not possible to cloak up before being targeted by the frigates so use of torpedoes is not recommended while there are frigate NPCs on the site. At Covert Ops skill 5 it takes 8 bombs minimum to clear the frigates in a wormhole system without Red Giant system effect. All Sleeper NPCs have self repair and the frigates tend to repair more often than the battleships. A stealth bomber should minimize time spent target-able on grid by only de-cloaking immediately before launching the bomb and warping off as soon as the bomb has been released. Any time spent targetable will cause the frigates to burn away from the cluster of ships increasing the time spent clearing.
The Method
Clearing Battleships
- Get in position, you want to be far enough away from your fleet mates to avoid accidental de-cloaks!
- Keep at range on the rats (range can vary, but closer gives you more chance to connect your 2nd volley)
- Uncloak, activate your torpedo launcher and click on the target Sleeper NPC on the overview. This should start locking the Sleeper NPC and start firing Torpedoes. While the target lock is ongoing activate other support modules in order of usefulness; sensor boosters first, sensor dampeners next, etc. (consider placing them on the F1 -> F4 keys for easy activation)
- Cloak up as soon as your cloak reactivation timer is done. DO NOT WAIT for the Torpedo Launcher to complete its cycle.
- Spend at least one second cloaked. Allow all modules to cycle down so they can be activated immediately when de-cloaking.
- Go to 3
Sleepless Sentinels at the Instrumental Core Reservoir scram up to 24km. With Missile Guidance computers running Missile Range Scripts a stealth bomber can sit comfortably outside scram range and land the second torpedo volley for every attempt.
Clearing Frigates
- Bookmark create a 'Start Point' bookmark 35km away from the Gas Site warp in, inline with a celestial on the opposite end to use as a warp out point.
This warp in spot is where your bookmark gets created when you bookmark the Gas Site from your Probe Scanner window. - Get to the 'Start Point' bookmark when your Bomb Launcher is loaded and ready to launch.
- Align to your warp out.
- When you are 30km off the warp in bookmark de-cloak and release your bomb. Accuracy is not important as the NPCs tend to hover on the warp in.
- Initiate warp to your warp out spot immediately after you see your bomb leave your ship.
- Cloak up as soon as your cloak reactivation timer is done.
If you're warping to another spot on grid with the NPCs do not break warp invulnerability. If warp invulnerability is broken the Emergent Keepers will react and move towards you which may make clearing the site difficult. - Go to 2
Emergent Keepers tend to become active fast and may even get some repairs off in the process. This may lead to some of the frigates lasting longer than the rest. To avoid blowing up the wrecks deploy a Mobile Tractor Unit at range from the warp in.
Clear Times
| NPC | SP Level | 1 Player | 4 Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x Sleepless Sentinel | Min SP | 72 | 18 |
| High SP | 30 | 8 | |
| 4x Sleepless Keeper** | Min SP | 45 | 12 |
| High SP | 20 | 5 | |
| 4x Emergent Keeper | Min SP | 29 | 8 |
| High SP | 12 | 3 |
* Clear times will vary depending on downtime between cloak/de-cloak cycles and if there is any interference.
** Sleepless Keeper clear times might be reduced depending on how much damage they take from bombs while clearing out Emergent Keepers.
The Fit
As the main concept relies heavily on having a low signature radius all modules that add to signature radius should be avoided like Shield Extenders, Inertial Stabilizers, etc. The Bomb Launcher might be needed to clear frigates for the Vital Core Reservoir sites but it must be taken offline before shooting torpedoes at Sleeper Battleships to remove the additional signature radius it adds to the fit.
After signature radius the next concern is DPS. This is usually about finding a balance between DPS output and missile application with the CPU available on the stealth bomber.
Gas Huffer Cheap
Prototype 'Arbalest' Torpedo Launcher, Caldari Navy Nova Torpedo
Prototype 'Arbalest' Torpedo Launcher, Caldari Navy Nova Torpedo
Prototype 'Arbalest' Torpedo Launcher, Caldari Navy Nova Torpedo
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Bomb Launcher I, Shrapnel Bomb
Missile Guidance Computer I, Missile Range Script
Peripheral Compact Target Painter
Missile Guidance Computer I, Missile Range Script
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Co-Processor II
Small Warhead Calefaction Catalyst II
Small Warhead Rigor Catalyst I
Caldari Navy Nova Torpedo x540
Shrapnel Bomb x2
- For Low SP Pilots the fit may appear to be over CPU but you only need to have the Bomb Launcher I or all Torpedo Launchers active, both do not need to be online.
- Bomb Launcher I MUST BE OFFLINE when using Torpedoes against Sleepers.
Gas Huffer T2
Torpedo Launcher II, Nova Rage Torpedo
Torpedo Launcher II, Nova Rage Torpedo
Torpedo Launcher II, Nova Rage Torpedo
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Bomb Launcher I, Shrapnel Bomb
Missile Guidance Computer I, Missile Range Script
Peripheral Compact Target Painter
Missile Guidance Computer I, Missile Range Script
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Co-Processor II
Small Warhead Rigor Catalyst II
Small Warhead Rigor Catalyst II
Nova Rage Torpedo x540
Shrapnel Bomb x2
- Fit only has enough CPU to use all Torpedo Launchers or the Bomb Launcher at a time.
- Bomb Launcher I MUST BE OFFLINE when using Torpedoes against Sleepers.
Wormhole Effects
- The Good
- Black Hole
- Bonus to Missile Velocity and Missile Explosion Velocity affects Torpedoes
- Magnetar
- Bonus to Missile Damage affects Torpedoes (no bonus to bombs)
- Red Giant
- Bonus to Bomb Damage
- Bonus to Overheating Effects allow 3 volleys of torpedoes to be launched every cloak/de-cloak cycle.
It may be difficult to preheat launchers while cloaking up.
- Wolf Rayet
- Lower Sig Radius allows staying de-cloaked to fire a third volley in some cases(needs a little calculation on ship and NPCs)
- Black Hole
- The Bad
- Pulsar
- Blooms Signature Radius making this technique unusable without signature resolution sensor dampeners and coordination of 4 pilots
- Pulsar
Be sure to check the class of wormhole system effect in the current system as the bonuses vary.
Conception
Dr. Pinko From Down Under method was a brainchild of Pink Kondur inspired by aimz_playz video on clearing the Frontier Barracks C4 combat anomaly using a Stealth Bomber. Biwako Acami introduced the use of bombs to clear Vital Core Reservoir gas sites. Testing was conducted by Pink Kondur, Professor Academic, Danny Algaert, Biwako Acami and other Wormhole Community members across different wormhole systems with different effects. The method is named after the players involved in initial theory crafting and testing. Every new attempt made is still a learning experience.
