Im looking for some pro-active defenses for my hauler when I go into low-sec and thought maybe an ECM burst or smart-bomb for those pesky drone attacks.
So I fitted a couple and went out to an asteroid field in hi-sec to try them out. There was no one around but what I saw is that I get flagged with a weapon timer regardless, just by using them. No docking or jumping for a minute.
So what happens when I do this in low sec?
If I happen to do so in a tight situation and manage to slip away, would I not be able to jump into hi-sec because of this timer?
I found an archived thread from 5 years ago, and apparently the bombs are tricky to use in hisec. Which judging by the post i read, its changed somewhat. 5 years ago, smartbombs when hitting any object, got you concorded. but if you don’t hit them with anything, you are good to go. Not sure if that rule applies in low sec or not.
I have used them in hisec to kill NPC rats. Just don’t be near anything that might get you concorded if you damage it.
You can use them fine in lowsec but you should familiarize with the various timers and mechanics. Especially at gates. Jumping into highsec from lowsec can be problematic with some timers, and with low security status.
OK, I just tried it in low sec and both ECM Burst and smartbombs will get you a timer for “capsuleer aggression” even if there is no one around and no one got hit. So it cant help me with fast getaways from lowsec.
In lowsec, if you use smartbombs/ECM bursts, it can be advantageous, even if you cant jump.
If you have a good fast ship, you can still warp away, saving your ship from destruction.
But more than that, the ECM burst,is especially good if you are lucky and use it in conjunction with the MWD cloak trick.
If you have a slow but tanky ship, it may be better to use that to disable anyone scramming/webbing you so that you can approach the gate faster, and then tank the damage for one minute.
Secondly, be careful when near gates. You will be shot at by gate guns in lowsec if you are the one to engage in the first act of aggression.That is a lot of extra damage that you dont want to have on you.
you probably don’t want to be using ecm burst or smartbombs in highsec, especially not near a gate, easy way to hit something neutral and get concorded. Most gankers will probably have something pretty resilient to ECM anyways.
Lowsec maybe an ecm burst, it might break their lock and give you a chance to warp off. probably want to bounce to a safe or something and not go straight to the next gate/station as you get that 1min weapons timer. A smartbomb probably wont put out enough damage quick enough to really help out.
Smartbombs arent so smart - they hit everything around you, regardless of whether it is a legitimate hs target.
The reason why people think smartbombs cant be used in highsec is because it is not done in regular combat, due to the risk that some neut will slide up to you and get hit causing you to be concorded.
If you dont care if you get concorded, or are trying to gank something, you can certainly use smartbombs in hs.
you can fit out a combat t1 hauler but that is more for baiting fights - it wont really work in avoiding fights or escaping from them. What you should do instead of fitting ecm burst and smartbombs is fit for agility and a cloak. you want to learn the cloak/warp trick - which is the only sure way of avoiding being caught on a gate in hs and low (but not null because of bubbles).
I doubt eve uni said that - regardless you certainly can use them. They are not “illegal” in high sec. What is “illegal” is shooting someone who is not a “legal” target, i.e yellow suspect, red criminal, flashy red war dec, or someone you have a limited engagement with. Since smart bombs are area effect, they can hit non-legitimate targets equally with legit targets. If you shoot a non-legal target in hs you get concorded. So, in short, its not that you cant use smart bombs in Hs, its only that if you do use smart bombs, someone may fly one of their neut alts near you to get you concorded.
Ofc all of this is besides the point because fitting offensive weapons to a hauler is silly unless you are baiting. Instead, just learn the cloak warp trick to avoid being tackled on a gate, or use a covert hauler for smaller loads.
Small edit - just as an aside - eve U may be referring to “bombs” that are used by stealth bombers or by citadels. These “bombs” are banned in highsec and lowsec. Honestly, it would be cool if ccp lifted their ban on their use in lowsec, but I can see why they dont want them in hs - jita undock being hit would be very funny.
As you can tell this is not a good place to get reliable answers. I would suggest joining a good newbie corp with active forums, karmafleet, brave, horde and use their wikis and their comms/forums. Maybe get a mentor.
Their wikis have up to date fits, the eve u wiki fits are not good.
Taking an impel to lowsec would need a good fit a cloak and a mwd and a tank, perhaps mjd or dual propped. ECM is useless on such ship because of its useless radar strenght…
