I am going to start running solo data/relic sites in low sec and null sec, and I was hoping to get some advice on build and strategy. I have good skills with both Amarr and Gallente ships and modules as well as drones. I am thinking I should build a mostly defensive ship that can quickly warp away in case of an intruder. What modules are essential for this type of strategy? If I were to be ambushed, are there any electronic modules that can help me escape? Lachesis seems to be a good choice since it’s quick and does not show up on the D-scan. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
As an individual who has hunted and caught a lot of explorers in low sec data/relic sites I’ll give you my 2 cents worth.
pay attention to local.
have safe spots pre made.
don’t hug your relic/ whatever thingy. Keep 4,000 meters away. Because at this distance you can scan and play the mini game. And you can also break the target and cloak if needed
ping d-scan every 3 seconds. Always always always.
always assume the data relic site has been previously scouted and book marked by scum sucking pirates such as myself, and we are either sitting nearby in another SS, or in the site itself in a stealth bomber.
Yes, a stealth bomber, fitted with rockets and 2 warp scramblers. I love the purifier for this task and have one with over 30 kill marks on it hunting relic/data sites. A stealth bomber is nice because 1) it does not have a target delay after cloak. And 2) it has a pretty fast target acquisition. We just mosey on up to you cloaked humming the baby shark song. Bump into you, which deactivates the cloak and boom, your locked and scrambled with -4 warp core strength.
use after burners. Warp Scramblers shut down microwarp drives.
My advice, look up anyone in local on zkill and see if they have a history of hunting exploration frigates/ships. If they do, steer clear of any relic data sites in that system and adjoining systems.
use a battle heron. Fit that puppy for shield tank, with void blaster goodness. Don’t bother with data sites. They suck and have a low return. So, only a relic analyzer. Fit for DPS and tank. A battle heron would make short work of a rocket stealth bomber.
Use starmap to find systems with low activity such as amount of pilots in space, pilots docked, ship/pod kills, etc. Also look for deadend systems that are in a pipeline since exploration sites have a tendency to build up there due to lack of player activity.
Personally I wouldn’t mess with Hacking sites in Low Sec space, the Mini-hacking game takes up too much screen space and more importantly, too much time to complete, especially the higher tier sites.
And since you’re going on the defense, use a small fast agile ship fit with a cloak so you can warp out to a safe spot, cloak up and hide when needed…
Excellent advice. Thank you. What can I do if I get trapped in a bubble? Sometimes I will get trapped in a bubble on the other side of a gate and get demolished immediately. Is there anything I can do in that scenario?
That is outside my area of expertise. My trips into null occur one of two way.
yeeting into null via a filament with a cruiser and wreck as much damage as I can on the krabbers before a strike force takes me out (1 way trip)
Or
wormholing in, robbing an ESS or two, than sneaking back out via said wormhole.
My only advice for getting caught in a bubble camp is, grab your ankles and get the K-Y cause it’s going to be a rough ride. But at least it’s over fairly quickly.
Covert ops frigates (the scanning ones, not the bombing ones) can fit an interdiction nullifier which allows you to become temporarily immune to non-targeted warp disruption.
