Hi guys, I’m new to probing/exploration and have some questions about how to quickly probe down all the relevant sigs when I enter a WH. I apologize if I mess up any terminology.
Setting: I’m in an Astero or Cov Ops frig, I go into a WH and see a dozen or more sigs sorta clustered around in the middle.
Goal: Identify and probe down all the Relics/Datas/WH exits QUICKLY so I can get my hack on and then go elsewhere.
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I normally just start off w/ a pinpoint 4AU in the middle of the cluster, then whatever pops up I either ignore it (like gas), or center around one of the higher % ones to identify it further. I’m not sure I’m doing it right since it can feel a bit slow.
Another question is do you hack a site as soon as you identify it, then finish scanning the rest later? Or do you scan everything first then hack? What are the pros and cons of each methodology?
Any other tips are appreciated. My main goal is to get in and out of a hole asap so that I can minimize danger and maximize profit. It’s also a fun challenge to be able to do it well!
I tend to go the other way and do a 16 AU scan and then move down from there, Gas sites identitify (for me at least) at 8 or 4au and I ignore them - I have not wasthced the whole thing for an age but this maybe useful -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3pVME34JNE
most sigs are 6AU from a celestial, so you can start by scanning around celestials with sigs around, with a 4AU range.
Then with enough probe strength and deviation, you can triple shrink, that is go straigth to 0.5 AU. this will save you a lot of time.
also you can look at the size of the signature bubble. bigger sigs usually mean wh/gas.
I think scanning all of them down first is a good idea, without multi tasking and trying to hack while scanning. The reason I say so is getting jumped is very possible and while vulnerable in the sites you should be fully aware and ready to bounce. Plus it somewhat helps your visibility if people aren’t potentially seeing your probes out from a place they otherwise couldn’t see your ship with dscan.
You will get things done faster by scanning while you hack but it’s a lot of apm.
I tend to have a scanning alt with a probe strentgh of 192. With that it’s quite easy to get lots of identifications with an 8AU probe around a celestial. From there it’s quite fast to take down the interesting ones. This works guite well close to the sun, where there usually is many sigs.
Then with the systems where’s a celestial off from the center I tend to put an 4AU scan on the celestial to get those. This is what I start with nowadays, since it’s easier to get them and hope to find what I’m looking for.
I don’t ignore the sigs anymore. It takes time that I can use to scan instead.
Getting your scanning skills to lvl5 and reducing probe range from 4AU to 1 AU or 0.5 AU is the best way,l. Also, use virtue implants if you are feeling rich.
I scan at 8au centered around groups of sigs or around outer planets. Then drop to 2au to resolve the sigs that are still unidentified. Data/Relic sites (and some K-space WH’s) will require you to drop au further.
You want to aim for a Base Sensor strength >100.
I find that virtue implants are rarely worth it. There is negligible difference vs a perfect scanner with +10 prospector implants for less than half the cost.
+6 prospector implants are a good value for less dedicated scanners.