My friends have been having some problem getting some slippery guys who pop out of wormholes and bait us with Ventures to huff gas (then counterdrop, kill the guys who went after the Venture, and then escape when everyone in nearby systems scramble). At least three times they warped to a cosmic signature to escape from us and we only knew they went there because we had bookmarked those signatures, so they had been using them as safes.
I proposed we figure out how to flush them out. My initial proposal was getting someone who could use covert ops, but this was shot down due to the expense. The consensus was that it could work, but even a 1/8 chances of failing meant it wouldn’t be worth it.
Then I suggested getting someone to use an exploration frigate to scan them down. Energized membranes need CPU, and so do the probe launchers. A tackle is going to need something to shoot drones before everyone else can arrive. Most fits didn’t quite fit with what we had in mind and the closest is a Magnate fit that uses a warp scrambler instead of a desired warp disruptor because… CPU.
T3 ships? We need the guys who maxed their skills in these to be online at the desired time.
Could an armor tanked Drake, Prophecy, Butrix, Damnation or Harbinger fit those expanded probes without crippling it? If anyone thinks armor tanking a Drake (Caldari) is strange, according to Zkill it’s been done with the Raven and Scorpion before and an Onerios isn’t going to work well with a shield tank. Or maybe type of tank is irrelevent as long as there is a local logi module? The guy only needs to survive against 3 battlecrusiers long enough for everyone to warp to him since we only plan to chance down what we can kill (like… totally not chasing 7 Ravens no way). If the plan is to warp to 0, you don’t need CPU for a drone link agumentor, so maybe there is a fit out there that can use the expanded launchers?
The expanded probe launcher is pretty hard to fit, unless you’re using a T3D or T3C which can fit them for almost free. Those two would be my firat recommendation.
But as you’re not using T3 ships, it may be worth it to try fit the T1 version instead of T2 as it fits a bit more easily. (Or the Sisters version, which is a bit more expendive, is even easier to fit.)
A T1 exploration frigate can be a really cheap way to probe them. Just put the combat prober in charge of a fleet/squad so he can warp your fleet or squad on top of what he scanned down.
Caldari ships are known to have surplus amounts of CPU, I’ve fitted a Moa with the intent to inconspicuously hunt hard to scan ‘wetu’ mobile depots. With some arrangements you can fit it for the situation you’re describing.
[Moa]
1600mm Rolled Tungsten Compact Plates
Co-Processor II
Inertial Stabilizers II
Damage Control II
10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
Scan Acquisition Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Warp Scrambler II
Anode Ion Particle Cannon I
Anode Ion Particle Cannon I
Anode Ion Particle Cannon I
Anode Ion Particle Cannon I
Expanded Probe Launcher II
Medium Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Medium Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Hornet II x3
Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M x1480
Combat Scanner Probe I x8
This fit does decent 300 dps hot, and its still several degrees more tanky than a T3D, and cheaper despite the sacrifices in fitting.
Gnosis is your best option for this, given it has a probe str bonus so can catch them easier. It needs a couple CPU mods and maybe a CPU rig to be combat fit as well but can have a decent EHP buffer and dps with it. Additionally it locks much quicker than the other BCs so more chance of catching something you land on.
I’m not at my PC to grab a fit but here’s the rough idea:
Gnosis, Gnosis]
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Reinforced Bulkheads II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Gyrostabilizer II
50MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier
Warp Disruptor II
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution Script
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution Script
Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher, Sisters Combat Scanner Probe
425mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
425mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
425mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
425mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
425mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Medium Processor Overclocking Unit I
Medium Transverse Bulkhead I
Medium Transverse Bulkhead I
Hammerhead II x5
Roughly 50k EHP plus 500 dps, adjust high slot weapon type depending on what you have skilled. Lock time is pretty insane on a double sebo Gnosis and the double web let’s you keep stuff tackled.
Any good suggestions on what to do if I don’t want the double web? I don’t like double webs because stacking, which isn’t the end of the world but I don’t value speed debuffs enough to want to take those penalties. The closest thing I’d ever use to one is a web and a grappler on a battleship if I didn’t want to use the mid for something else