What would the perfect Scanner look like?

Exploration Gameplay Center Known Space
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Hello everyone!

I would like to talk about the possibilities in case of ships, fittings and implants for a scanner.

I am interested in oppinions about which implants are actually useful, which can be ignored and which might be a necessity.

Then also, what kind of ship would be the absolute topnotch scanning-ship in your oppinion? And how do you fit it?
Would you use the same one for hunting other players and doing some relaxed exploration? (hacking-sites)

I hope there will be some interesting thoughts coming up here.

o7

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A perfect scanner would make use of a ship, fit and implants that maximises Scan strength and minimises Scan Deviation and Scan Time.

Modules

  • Scan Acquisition Array II - 20% off your scan time means you scan faster. That’s good. (Limited to one per ship.)
  • Scan Pinpointing Array II - With low scan deviation the signatures you have scanned will appear closer to their true location, allowing you to zoom in faster and reduces scan time. That’s good.
  • Scan Rangefinding Array II - Scan strength is what allows you to scan down even the toughest targets and also scan them faster.
  • Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I or II - this rig increases your scan strength by 10% or 15%.
    (While a ship can fit 2 T1 versions of 10% each, because of diminishing returns you get more strength out of one T2 rig instead of two T1 if you already have at least two other sources with scan strength. You also can still equip another rig in that case.)

Implants

The Virtue set is what you want as scanner. It has both a Low-grade and Mid-grade version of Alpha to Omega implants.

The ‘prospector’ implants in slot 6-8 then give you better deviation, scan time and scan strength, as well as some hacking bonuses in 9 and 10.

Slot 6 is also needed for a heavy bonus from Virtue Omega, so you may want to skip the deviation implant.

Ships

The perfect scanning ship obviously has scan bonuses.

This means there are a few ship lines you can use:

  • T1 explorers - with 37.5% scan strength good starting ships for an explorer, but not for the ‘perfect scanner’.
  • Navy Exploration Frigates - with 37.5% scan strength and better combat stats than the T1 explorers, these ships can easily fit an expanded probe launcher for free! No cloaks though, unlike all of the next options.
  • T2 explorers - With 50% scan strength a faster scanner than the previous two options, and also much faster in warp (8 AU/s instead of 5). Can warp cloaked with a covert ops cloak and has the ability to be nullified and ignore warp bubbles. Very little combat capabilities though.
  • T3 cruisers with covert subsystem - same scanning stats as the T2 explorers, covert ops cloak and option to be nullified. As a cruiser slower than the frigates above, but great combat capabilities.

And then there are some odd exploration ships without representation in the four factions:

  • Astero - as fast as the T1 frigates but with a covert ops cloak and much better combat capabilities. Cannot be nullified.
  • Metamorphosis - similar to the Astero with covert ops cloak, combat capabilities and medium scan strength. Has +2 innate warp core strength.
  • Stratios - the cruiser version of the Astero. Slower and better combat capabilities than the Astero, but lacks the flexibility and nullification options of the T3 cruisers.
  • Pacifier - with 50% scan strength and 12 AU/s warp speed at max skills the fastest scanner around. Has some combat capabilities.

The topnotch scanning ship then would be any of the ships above depending on the situation.

For non-combat scanning the T2 explorers are excellent with their speed, nullification and scan bonuses.
To combat probe enemies and kill them even if they’re as big as assault cruisers like Ishtars you’ll want a T3 cruiser.
To combat probe and tackle small targets fast the superior warp speed of the Pacifier is great, and it’s also capable of killing frigates.
To fight and kill other explorers while you’re exploring the combat capabilities of the Astero are very useful.

I haven’t used the Metamorphosis or the Navy exploration frigates yet, but I can imagine the Metamorphosis fills a similar role as the Astero (but with warp core strength making it great at escaping traps) while the Navy exploration frigates are great when you want a good combat prober without spending as much as a T3 cruiser.

So to answer your question:

I probably wouldn’t fit a ship to do both, because when I’m looking to hunt other players you want the firepower of one of the slower ships, while if you want to make money hacking sites you prefer speed.

Now if you want to combine both activities I would probably pick a T3 cruiser and fit it to your needs. The T3 cruisers have a lot of flexibility in their fits due to the subsystem choices and they can easily take on explorers and other targets you come across while traveling through space. And with the covert ops subsystem they’ve got the right bonuses to scan, hack and cloak.

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Thank you very much for the information.

I was more hoping for some actual fits and their usecases.
Because i have noticed, that people tend to have very interesting fits sometimes.

I myself would always fit a scanner pretty much the same.

For a Covert-Ops, in the high-slots, that would be a Sisters launcher, obviously a cloak, a nullifier.
Mid-Slots: Analyzers, MWD, if room left a scanning upgrade.
Low-Slots: Inertial-Stabilizers, Overdrive Injector and maybe a Damage Control.
Rigs: Emission Scope Sharpener and Memetic Algorithm Bank.

But i know there are a million ways to fit them.

That is what i am interested in. How do people do it?

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Fits depend on the usecases.

When I did a lot of relic exploration I used the following fit:


[Helios, Relic Exploration]
Inertial Stabilizers II
Inertial Stabilizers II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Relic Analyzer II
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Scan Acquisition Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Core Probe Launcher II
Interdiction Nullifier I

Small Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II



Warrior II x1

Sisters Core Scanner Probe x16

I prefer warp speed and scan strength rigs and don’t use the hack bonus rigs as I had little trouble with hacking with max skills. Low slots were chosen to get just below 3 second align time.

But if I were to try to combat probe enemy cloaky ships or shuttles in one of our systems I would use another fit, like:


[Helios, Combat Probe Tackle]
Signal Amplifier II
Inertial Stabilizers II
Co-Processor II

1MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Scan Acquisition Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II
Warp Scrambler II

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher
Interdiction Nullifier I /OFFLINE

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II
Small Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II



Warrior II x1

Sisters Combat Scanner Probe x8

Align time is less important if you know the general direction of your target and can pre-align, so I swapped out some low slots. On the other hand lock time and a scram become more crucial if you want to minimise the chance the other can react and warp away when you drop on them.

But for that combat probing role I know some people in my alliance use the Pacifier for even higher warp speed and gun bonuses.

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Buzzard or Helios. Five mids is what you want.
Here’s my standard Buzzard:
[Buzzard}
Co-Processor II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Vigor Compact Micro Auxiliary Power Core

5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Scan Acquisition Array II
Scan Pinpointing Array II
Scan Pinpointing Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Interdiction Nullifier II
Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher,Sisters Combat Scanner Probe

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II
Small Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II

A couple notes:
2x Pinpointing arrays means both Rangefinding and Pinpointing are on a Third Mod Stacking Penalty. Using 2x Rangefinding arrays puts that last one on a fourth mod stacking penalty. 2x Pinpointing is better. We’re splitting hairs here, but there is a genuine benefit.

The hyperspatial because 10AU/s warp speed is great to have.

For a pod, full virtues with the 10% slot 7 and 8 Poteques is the gold standard. For a “poor man’s” set or if that kind of pod is a huge bite out of your wallet, then just the slot 6, 7 and 8 5% Poteques is a very nice boost to probe ability.

The train for max skills is horrible, It takes ages. It’s also well worth it on a dedicated probing character or once your main pilot is running out of stuff to train.
I have seven max skilled probers across my accounts. They are very useful in all manner of situations. Carrying a mobile depot and cov cyno + fuel is also a handy thing to do.

Be aware that just having max skills won’t turn you into Ace Prober overnight. There’s a lot of various player skills needed. Not least of which is a solid knowledge of how to use the d-scan effectively. When combat probing someone down at a safe, ideally you want to nail them on the first pass, punt your tacklers and pull probes before your target spots your probes on d-scan. There’s a real art to it that takes time and practice to get down. Once you figure it out, it’s a real adrenaline rush.

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And be at least honest with yourself. If you really need to ask, what ship to fly and how the fitting screen works, are you sure, you should be flying this ship?

Usually the “traits” tab on any ship info should provide a basic idea of what would be a good idea to fit on it, while other things are common for most ship.

Of course, you don’t have to. I just see it as a good guideline, whenever I struggle to find a fit that I like for any ship I am currently trying to fit.

For a scanning ship, I would guess that, for example, strip miners would not be a good idea to fit. So, whenever you are struggling, try a process of elimination. Ask you, do I need these modules when I do this?
That way, and after a few tries, you’ll get the hang of it.

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yeah that seems good if you have several accounts. just a ship dedicated to probing. thanks for the post

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I put a scanner on every ship with a utility high slot. My base scan strength in a regular old ship is 80. Thats good enough for exploring in high and losec, for me.
Jackdaw, ONI, Scythe FI, and a few others
But for good scanning, Metamorphosis, and Covert Loki both give me scan strength over 120. Combined with the enhanced combat abilities, these are the goto for me.
Metamorphosis has a mobile depot hangar built in, allowing you to carry more than one fit, you can REALLY do alot of content with that little guy. I have done 3/10 ded combat sites, and then hacked cans in the same system…made alot of isk.
Cloaky T3C great for bigger stuff, unrated complexes, 5/10 ded sites and mine has chewed through these seasonal blood raider events, but the trade-off is you can’t access the lower level DED sites with T3C, that’s where a good cruiser like ONI, Gila or a HAC comes in handy.

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[Helios, Zeugma Edition]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Zeugma Integrated Analyzer
Scan Acquisition Array II
Scan Rangefinding Array II
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Scan Pinpointing Array II

Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Festival Launcher

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II
Small Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II

Hobgoblin II x1

Sisters Core Scanner Probe x16
Sisters Combat Scanner Probe x16

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now it is starting to become interesting.

those are the type of posts i was hoping for here.
many options how to fit scanner-ships.

thank you for your ideas

for stuff like combatsites, a gnosis can also be a good pick.
it gets bonus to scan-strength and you can do things like C2 ratting in it.

looking forward to more ideas

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