Wormhole scouting
This page is intended as a basic, fast, step-by-step guide to scouting a wormhole for PvE use.
Things you need before you start
- A wormhole. This page doesn't cover how to find a wormhole.
- A scan-bonused T1 frigate with a probe launcher and prototype cloak, or a covert ops frigate with probe launcher and covert ops cloak.
- Paper and pen.
- http://www.wormnav.com/ open in a browser.
Before you Jump in
- Open up http://www.wormnav.com/. Enter the wormhole ID (its 1 letter and 4 numbers, such as H296 or K162) into the Static box. This will tell you what type of wormhole it is. Don't shy away from K162s, you'll miss a lot of good wormholes skipping them.
The wormhole class is a rough estimate of the difficulty of combat sites you will find in it.
- Click "Show Info" on the wormhole.
Mass
How large of a ship can jump through this wormhole? How much mass can jump through before it collapses? You want the ships in your fleet to fit, and there to be enough mass to comfortably jump the fleet both in and out.
Show Info on the wormhole. You want to see "This wormhole has not yet had its stability significantly disrupted by ships passing through it."
If you see either:
"This wormhole has had its stability reduced by ships passing through it, but not to a critical degree yet."
or
"This wormhole has had its stability critically disrupted by the mass of numerous ships passing through and is on the verge of collapse."
Then move on, find another wormhole.
Life
How long will the wormhole last before it collapses?
Show Info on the wormhole. You want to see:
"This wormhole has not yet begun its natural cycle of decay and should last at least another day."
or
"This wormhole is beginning to decay, and probably won't last another day."
If you see either:
"This wormhole is reaching the end of its natural lifetime."
or
"This wormhole is on the verge of dissipating into the ether."
Then move on, find another wormhole.
Immediately after jumping in - while under jump cloak
Bookmark the wormhole No really, bookmark it Did you bookmark the wormhole? If you don't, you probably won't be able to get home
Type the locus number (or system name - its in the top left) into wormnav. This will give you information on the wormhole type, its effects, and recent activity. Note that wormhole jump tracking was removed with the Crucible update - there is no public record of how many ships have jumped in or out of a wormhole recently.
For example, J123450 (http://www.wormnav.com/index.php?locus=J123450) is a class 2, has a wolf-rayet effect (improved armor resistance, small weapon damage, signature radius and reduced shield resistance), and has hisec and class 4 statics.
Static refers to a type of connection that will always be available from that wormhole. For example, J123450 will always have a B274 connection to hisec, and a Y683 connection to a C4. When these close, new wormholes of the same type will open. They will likely connect to a different system than before.
A system with a hisec static means the fleet can always leave to hisec. If it closes, a new hisec connection will open. This is useful for a fleet that does not intend to stay in w-space for an extended period.
Uncheck the "Use Active Overview Settings" button on your D-scan, and do a D-scan at maximum range (enter a lot of 9s into the box, it will default to max range). If you see sleeper wrecks on scan, it is likely other people are running sites in the system. If you see a Force Field, then there is an active POS. If you see ships and a Force Field, it is possible they are inside the POS, or somewhere in space. Ships without a force field are probably piloted.
- As this guide does not cover PvP, ships outside a POS, or wrecks, should probably be considered a threat.
Scan for anomalies using your onboard scanner. Count how many there are - more anomalies refer to a more profitable wormhole.
Finding POS Towers
Create an overview filter that has only Force Fields and Moons. Select this filter, and check "Use Active Overview Settings" on your D-scan. If you see any force fields, narrow your D-scan to find the moon they are at, and make a note of it. If there are moons greater than 14AU from your ship (check on your overview), then you will need to warp to those planets and D-scan from there. D-scan is limited to 14.35 AU.
Once you have found all the active towers in the system, warp to each one at 100km. Make sure to be cloaked as you land, and be prepared to warp out immediately if there is something keeping you from cloaking when you land.
Click on the POS tower, and click "Show Info". You can then tell what corp owns the POS. You can also tell if ships at the pos contain online players by clicking on them and clicking show info.
If there are no online players at the POS, the players who live there are unlikely to be a threat. However, it is advisable to keep an eye on them when running sites to note anyone who logs in.
Scanning
Warp back to the wormhole you came in at range. Drop probes, move away from your probes and cloak up. Set your probe range to 0.25 AU, and scan. This will give you the sig ID of your exit wormhole. Make a note of it.
You can then scan down the rest of the system. Write down the sig ID and type of everything you scan down so you can tell the rest of your fleet, or not have to start over if you disconnect. Some Ladar and Grav sites can be profitable with gas harvesting or mining ships, respectively. I'm not sure which ones. Magnetar and Radar sites are often more profitable than anomalies. Bookmark any wormholes you find.
Scouting Connecting Wormholes
<To be added in>
