Heron
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The Heron has good computer and electronic systems, giving it the option of participating in electronic warfare. But it has relatively poor defenses and limited weaponry, so it's more commonly used for scouting and exploration. SHIP BONUSES
Traits:
Ship Attributes
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3 (2/1) 
5 
3
15 MW 
300 tf
306 m/sec
190 m³
Summary
The Heron is the Caldari T1 exploration and scanning frigate. It is a good ship for rookies and veterans who are interested in exploration but do not have the skills for the T2 version, the Buzzard. Bonuses to scanning, archaeology, and hacking modules make this ship very effective for looting exploration sites, as well as being a valuable hacker in the Override Transfer Array vanguard incursion site. The 5 Mid Slots allows all the 4 required exploration modules in addition to a free slot. This is often used for a Scan Rangefinder Array or other boosts until the Capsuleer has enough scanning skills to skip these. An aspiring Capsuleer will also find Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrades useful for scanning down difficult sites although eventually these should be replaced with rigs that increase your virus strength and coherence.
Skills
While it is possible to explore with very minimal skills, having at least Astrometrics III, Astrometric Rangefinding II, Archeology II, and Hacking II will make exploring much more enjoyable. Power Grid Management III and Jury Rigging I will help with getting a basic functional fit. The author does not recommend a serious attempt at exploration without these minimum skills. Also keep in mind that training the racial frigate skill will significantly improve your probe scanning strength.
Fitting
Exploration
Core Probe Launcher I
Improved Cloaking Device II
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Data Analyzer I
Relic Analyzer I
PL-0 Shipment Probe
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Hobgoblin I x4
Salvage Drone I x3
Core Scanner Probe I x16
- The Cargo Scanner lets you decide which cans to grab.
- This ship is very fragile, but is capable of the MWD/Cloak trick.
- For highsec use, the cloak is unecesary
- Consider dropping the cloak and "wallet tanking" (AKA it's so cheap who cares?)
Rocket Launcher II
Rocket Launcher II
75mm Gatling Rail II
1MN Afterburner II
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
'Langour' Drive Disruptor I
'Langour' Drive Disruptor I
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I
Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II
Small Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Hobgoblin II x4
Warrior II x3
Tracking Speed Disruption Script x1
Optimal Range Disruption Script x1
Caldari Navy Inferno Rocket x1
Caldari Navy Lead Charge S x1
- Originally designed for the Libold FFA, this heron is fit for short-ish range 1v1 frigate combat. Be careful what you engage with it though, since as an exploration frigate with little to no tank it cannot stand up to most combat frigates without being able to control range; hopefully with the double webs, scam, and good piloting this should not be a problem. (Still, expect to die a lot).
Caldari Scout
Prototype Cloaking Device I
Expanded Probe Launcher I
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Eutectic Capacitor Charge Array
Eutectic Capacitor Charge Array
Eutectic Capacitor Charge Array
Eutectic Capacitor Charge Array
Local Hull Conversion Nanofiber Structure I
Local Hull Conversion Nanofiber Structure I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Hornet EC-300 x5
Hornet EC-300 x2
Core Scanner Probe I x8
Combat Scanner Probe I x8
- CPU Management 5
- T2 the nanofibers if money and skills allow
- Can fit combat and core scanner probes.
- The hornets *might* save you if you're tackled at a gate, if you deploy them in time and get a jam off.
Tactics
While not designed for combat, one can still combat fit an exploration frigate to catch unsuspected lone gankers off guard. When fitting for combat, as other races' exploration frigates, the Heron has a severe shortage of power grid while having a huge CPU reservoir. Plus the ship has no bonus to guns or missiles, it is best to fit missile or rockets to save on power grid for prop and repper. The large CPU left over can then be used to fit a range of damage, resist or ewar mods.
Notes
This vessel qualifies for the University Ship Replacement Program, PYOS, and BYOM.
Outer Ring Excavation Ships
