# Scanning vs. Hacking Skill Investment – What Actually Bottlenecks Exploration? **URL:** \ **Category:** New Citizens Q&A\ **Created:** [February 15, 2026, 9:34am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692 "2026-02-15T09:34:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/ranesumi_soikutsu/32/493442_2.png) [@Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Ranesumi_Soikutsu)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:35am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/81 "2026-04-08T01:35:54Z")
Del Pls ---
**Author:** ![Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/ranesumi_soikutsu/32/493442_2.png) [@Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Ranesumi_Soikutsu)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/82 "2026-04-08T01:37:56Z")
Del/ Pls ---
**Author:** ![Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/ranesumi_soikutsu/32/493442_2.png) [@Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Ranesumi_Soikutsu)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/83 "2026-04-08T01:38:18Z")
> [@Namdor](#): > > Your tests clearly showed that you have a skill issue. Will there be any concrete information or just speculation? In fact, the test showed that if there’s a ship at the gate capable of capturing you in one server tick, you’ll be captured 99% of the time. In organized ambushes like the gate in Akhbazon, these are exactly the ships that await you. An “automated” script that presses buttons with a fixed delay between actions is very useful and increases the chances of successfully re-entering invisibility. Skill has nothing to do with it. Why don’t skills play a role? The reason is that the server-side invisibility restoration process works like this: 1) Removing invisibility is a tick. 2) Entering invisibility is the second tick. This tick allows pirates to target an object and activate your engines’ shutdown and attempt to warp. Most commenters “express their expert opinion (not)” based on their own thoughts and purely personal assumptions/inventions, without any evidence. Above, I posted a link to an entire discussion thread with detailed information that completely matches my test results. Is anyone interested in repeating these tests? I can send you scripts that will fully automate the process and record all actions. The consequences of using these scripts will fall solely on your shoulders (the accounts have already been permanently blocked). ---
**Author:** ![Gerard\_Amatin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/gerard_amatin/32/481361_2.png) [@Gerard\_Amatin](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Gerard_Amatin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2026, 6:02am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/84 "2026-04-08T06:02:32Z")
They won’t tackle you within the first tick. Tackling within the second tick is possible. There’s wide evidence for that and I too have experienced it both as tackler and as tackled player. Tackling in the first tick won’t happen. At best they lock you in the first tick, disabling your cloak, but I never saw any evidence this is possible. In my own tests I haven’t been able to do that and while I won’t claim it is 100% not possible I also won’t say it is possible without seeing evidence. In the hypothetical scenario that this happens they could disable your cloak in the first and tackle you in the second tick. To do that they don’t need some automated script, they just need to repeatedly ctrl-click an empty line on the overview. More likely is that you got caught because you could not cloak at all due to an unnoticed object next to your ship. Then it’s easy to get caught, because they have three full ticks to tackle your covert ship where two would already be enough. Here’s a nice article on the timing of ultralocking: > **[EVE-GUIDES.FR | Insta-lock : Le guide Ultime](https://english.eve-guides.fr/index.php?article=105)** > > Guides website about the MMORPG EVE Online. Including the Ultimate Citadel Guide and the EVE Online Career Tree! and here’s some more info about someone who did ultralock: > **[How I got 170 killmarks on my Daredevil - An in-depth look into "ultralock"...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/l4mg4y/how_i_got_170_killmarks_on_my_daredevil_an/)** > > Intro > \------ > > Hi, it is me, Nimos, you may remember me from my previous hit reddit post about how you could see cloaked ships initiate warp on grid in Eve's log viewer. > > This post is also about a game mechanic that almost nobody knows about but is... ---
**Author:** ![Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/ranesumi_soikutsu/32/493442_2.png) [@Ranesumi\_Soikutsu](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Ranesumi_Soikutsu)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 9:33am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/85 "2026-04-09T09:33:40Z")
> [@Gerard\_Amatin](#): > > and here’s some more info about someone who did ultralock: > > ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/original/4X/3/b/d/3bd6e09907519fff3e84613971130b053bea1908.png) [r/Eve](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve) > > ### [How I got 170 killmarks on my Daredevil - An in-depth look into “ultralock”…](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/l4mg4y/how_i_got_170_killmarks_on_my_daredevil_an/) > > Intro ------ Hi, it is me, Nimos, you may remember me from my previous hit reddit post about how you could see cloaked ships initiate warp on grid in Eve’s log viewer. This post is also about a game mechanic that almost nobody knows about but is… > > 864 points | 192 comments — u/Nimos The author’s conclusions and calculations aren’t entirely accurate. Although they seem very close to the truth. But this information is quite interesting - [CCP\_Masterplan comments on Travelceptor vs Instalocker; Latency, server ticks and you!](https://old.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/2w3j85/travelceptor_vs_instalocker_latency_server_ticks/coo2o0m/) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Gerard\_Amatin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/gerard_amatin/32/481361_2.png) [@Gerard\_Amatin](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Gerard_Amatin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 9:58am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/86 "2026-04-09T09:58:58Z")
Which comments and which conclusions are you referring to? There are a lot. Reading through the comments I see that the OP of that reddit post [mentioned something](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/l4mg4y/comment/gkp9m9u/) I suspected to be possible: It is indeed possible to lock a covert ship before they manage to cloak. Sometimes. It seems to depend on the position in the tick order of the covert player, which they got randomly assigned as they jumped into the system. And if an ultralocker is well prapared and the covert player happens to be unlucky it is possible to get caught. That’s good to know, so a covert cloak is not 100% safe to gate camps, only ‘mostly’ safe. Flying cheap and avoiding dangerous camped systems would reduce that risk. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/original/3X/4/1/41ec4921cbaca7a6f9ea556e7cc20018461eae5e.png) [@system](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 9:59am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/scanning-vs-hacking-skill-investment-what-actually-bottlenecks-exploration/506692/87 "2026-07-08T09:59:43Z")
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