Is there a point in using a combat ship for exploration? Relic and Data sites can be done in pure scanning ships. And for combat sites it’s better to change into a dedicated ship. So, are there sites that can be done with an all in one ship?
I guess it’s possible in high-sec, but the reward is quite meager . . .
It would work in HS only. Combat sites above HS need something better than swiss army knife.
Edit: or you can use T3C, they are very versatile now becuase rigs can be switched.
the more versatile a ship, the less proficient it becomes in the fields it is used.
Tell that to the Stratios, she will stare very angry at you.
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for OP
if you do relic/data sites in null/low sec, you will often encounter other non-blue explos. If you have a ship able to fight (astero, stratios, T3c,…) you can kill them and loot all the explo loot that they had collected before this site, or you can make them run away and hack the remaining cans.
If you are flying a pure explo ship (covert ops) you can only run away if you find another ship in the relic/data site you were planning to hack
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try to do ded10 in a hacking/pvp stratios …
Overpowered said highsec. As far as I know DED 10 / 10 only appear in nullsec.
And no, I run those in my Myrmidon.
took me a while to get your " OP".
My bad then.
still a ded3/4 is done faster in a dedicated ship than in a relic+scan fit stratios, be it scanned or escalated.
anoms are done faster in a T3D than in the same ship.
Just because it’s possible does not mean there is not more efficient ways.
And I’m not even talking about the archives.
How would fitting a data and relic- analyzer influence the combat performance of an armor boat that does 650dps?
And what ship do you need in a 4 / 10?
Some DED 4 / 10 only require 5 minutes to complete and having a ship with a relic- and data analyzer and probing bonus would be perfect for exploring, no?
The covert ops cloak bonus on the Stratios also helps if you wanna dive into lowsec for an escalation.
I see people exploring in ishtars and Gilas.
If you need a tech 3 ship for DED 4 / 10’s, you can still dock your probing ship and get your tech 3 ship.
T3 are not allowed, but overall you get my point.
IT’s just better to get a dedicated probing ship and switch to adequate ded/hacking ship when encountering an interesting site.
covert ops are just wayyy better than stratios at probing. Also better align, and better warp speed.
hacs are so good with correct resists that you need only two slots for tank, allowing you to have a much better projection, and thus, completion time.
stratios is still my go-to for HS ghost and standard caches.
T3C are the only interesting ships able to complete the archive in a correct amount of time.
A covert ops with T1 hyper rig +t2 scan rig and 4s align needs 30s to travel through a 30AU system (including jump, align), for 140 probe strength and reduced deviation.
A stratios needs 54s (without hyper rig) for the same travel, and provides (without rigs nor scan modules, since you have relic and data ) 104 probe str.
I don’t mean the stratios is bad ; I mean exactly
A hacking stratios mgiht be ok in a ded4 site ; but a combat stratios will handle it even better.
define exploring. Scanning sleepers caches would be extreme in gila.
In general, outside of data/relic sites I would advise to use a dedicated scanner to scan down your chain (if WH) or region (if k-space) then switch to a dedicated ship to run whatever you’ve scanned down.
The few exceptions I can think of are DED 1/10 or 2/10 in an astero, or DED 3/10 in high sec in a stratios (4/10 and up is more efficiently run in any ship other than the strat, and 3/10 in low sec I’d use a cheaper, and often faster, ship)
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Like the dens and refuges which can escalate to ded complexes, this kind.
but OP was asking if there is one ship to do them all and if it’s worth it.
So short asnwer is: no, there are no hulls in EvE that can scan at max strenght (for top tier non combat exploration sites) and can be good at combat sites. There are no ship that can do it all.
Long answer: depend where you live. Stratios is very good for both in HS. Not so good for other spaces when comes to combat exploration sites. T3C are versatile but, mobile depot weight a lot and explorers must carry modules to switch when necessary, add ammo on top of that and dedicated hulls will perform better. There are excepctions ofc like nomadic legion.
All in one exploration ship is a grail I’ve been looking for for all my time in EvE, I even tried Nestor but no cloak for it.
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That’s what I said, the Refuges and Dens appear in 0.5 - 0.7 systems and the Stratios can handle all that.
Yeah that’s sad. We are asking for this for a long time now.
In nullsec I use a covert ops and a Dominix for DED complexes or my Myrmidon. That one doesn’t have a giant “gank me naow” sticker on and can be replaced by the bounty payout of a 7 / 10.
AF with utility high or faction frig for lowest ded sites then t3d then t3c
and I don’t understand why we can’t get it. It’s BS size hull so no instawarp, and covert cloak may be nerfed by adding huge targeting timer after decloak.
Thank you for the replies and the overview.
Doing data and relic sites while looking for other explorers … seems to be the most “Eve”-thing to do 
Go to anoikis galaxy