Archive:Exploration at the NSC
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- Main article: Exploration
One common activity NSC members use to supplement their income is exploring. You can scan down data and relic sites and sell the loot from the cans, and you can scan down combat sites and run them if you're inclined and have the ship for it.
The NSC campus is fairly close to high sec. One result of this is that we get a fair amount of traffic, and scannable sites can often be thin on the ground in the campus area. We also have a fair number of campus members trying to make ISK from exploration, which has the same effect. One way to work out your frustration about the lack of useful sites is of course to hunt down non-IVY explorers and explode them.
NSC Exploration Bookmarking
As you travel around scanning down sites, you will come across a lot of signatures you're not personally interested in. For example, if you're looking for data and relic sites, you will find a lot of wormholes and combat sites just in passing. Please help out your fellow campus members by recording these signatures in the corporate bookmarks "NSC Exploration" folder. When you do this, please include some details of the site such as what kind of signature it is as well as the three-letter part of the signature so that others don't waste time scanning it too. *R [ABC] Sparkly Serpentis Relic Site - Relic Site
- D [DEF] Dusty Serpentis Data Site - Data Site
- C [CDE] Rabid Sepentis Prison Camp - Combat Site
- W [XYZ] C5 J123456 - WH to WH Space
- W [ZYX] LS Uphallant - WH to LowSec
In wormhole systems you may also encounter Gas sites, and it's useful to mark "the way home" specially so that it pops to the top of the list of bookmarks:
*G [FGH] Outstanding ISK Bearing Gas Site
- (*)W [CBA] PC9-AY
There's no need to include the time you scanned a signature, or your name; those are included in the bookmark anyway. Please, also, do not put bookmarks in the "NSC Public Tacticals" folder; that's maintained by a specific campus member and is not for general use.
Note: If the signature is a wormhole, please take a few seconds to warp on grid with the wormhole (not to 0, of course) and bookmark the object in space rather than bookmarking from the scanning window. This means that the bookmark will be precisely on the hole and not several kilometres from it. This might sound trivial, but it might save someone's life one day, particularly when bookmarking wormholes in a wormhole system.
If you're a Sophomore or higher, you can also help out by removing expired signatures from the NSC folder. If you don't have Sophomore yet, don't worry about expired signature bookmarks; someone who can remove them will take care of it the next time they pass through the system.
As with any activity in Null, if you're out and about exploring you're going to want to make lots and lots of bookmarks: gate tacticals and non-aligned safes are particularly valuable. Cosmic signatures usually work pretty well as non-aligned safes, but only some time after the signature itself has disappeared. So, for example, if I scan down a wormhole I'll often make two bookmarks: one for the corporate bookmark folder and another for my "sites and safes" folder. After a week or so, I'll rename the personal copy as a safe.
NullSec Data and Relic Sites
Databank, Mainframe, Coms Tower Ruins, Remains, Rubble
Heron
Core Probe Launcher I
Improved Cloaking Device II
Salvager I
Data Analyzer II
Relic Analyzer II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
PL-0 Scoped Cargo Scanner
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Inertial Stabilizers II
Inertial Stabilizers II
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Salvage Drone I x3
Hornet EC-300 x4
Sisters Core Scanner Probe x8
Helios
Core Probe Launcher I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Data Analyzer II
Relic Analyzer II
Cargo Scanner II
Scan Rangefinding Array I
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Warp Core Stabilizer II
Warp Core Stabilizer II
Small Emission Scope Sharpener I
Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I
Hornet EC-300 x1
Sisters Core Scanner Probe x8
Limited Sleeper Cache
Astero
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Sisters Core Probe Launcher
Data Analyzer II
Relic Analyzer II
1MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
Faint Epsilon Scoped Warp Scrambler
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
200mm Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Vespa EC-600 x5
Hornet EC-300 x5
Sisters Core Scanner Probe x16
Nanite Repair Paste x8
Standard Sleeper Cache
Stratios
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Dual 150mm Railgun II
Dual 150mm Railgun II
Dual 150mm Railgun II
Sisters Core Probe Launcher
Relic Analyzer II
Data Analyzer II
50MN Microwarpdrive II
Faint Epsilon Scoped Warp Scrambler
Medium Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Steel Plates II
Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Medium Anti-Explosive Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Wasp EC-900 x5
Salvage Drone I x5
Hornet EC-300 x5
Vespa EC-600 x5
Sisters Core Scanner Probe x16
Nanite Repair Paste x72
Spike M x2000
Superior Sleeper Cache
Exploration Ships and Fitting Advice
You can use an ordinary T1 scanning frigate (Imicus, Probe, Heron, Magnate) for exploration in Null if you have adequate skills, particularly if your signal strength is good enough. If you have trouble scanning down some signatures, add one or two Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I rigs and you should be sorted until you can skill up more. You may also find that the can hacking game is significantly harder in Null than you're used to; the best answer to this is to train the relevant skill and practice a lot, but there are rigs for that too.
You can use the shiny Sisters of Eve exploration frigate, the Astero, in Null if you're rich, and you don't mind painting a huge neon target on yourself. People in gatecamps salivate at the very thought of catching those.
At some point, you may want to move to the T2 Covert Ops scanning frigates (Helios, Cheetah, Buzzard, Anathema) for increased safety: being able to warp cloaked is very powerful. They also have increased virus strength, which is nice. There are disadvantages, though: apart from the cost, the T2 frigates are notoriously short on cargo space at 175m3 vs. the 400m3 on the T1 hulls. This is less of an issue now since the volume of drops from data sites was reduces in the Phoebe release, but may still be a concern.
One small problem moving from the T1 to T2 exploration frigates is that the scanning bonus moves from being based on your racial frigate skill to the covert ops skill. In turn that means that the Covert Ops frigates actually have less scanning strength than the T1 frigates until you get Covert Ops to IV. Don't just train it to I and think you're done.
