Odyssey Exploration Guide Part 2/8

(Draiv Solregard's Exploration guide is subject to change, based on updated information, new information, expansions, and the apocalypse.  If you notice any errors in this guide, wait for your booster side effects to subside.  If the error is still there let me know and I'll look into it.)

Introduction

Ships

Modules

Scanning

Hacking

Looting

Safety

Skills

These are the skills you will need to fit the modules and use the ships that will make you an effective "explorer".

Eve is different than other MMOs in that the skill system or leveling system is actually done in real time and has no bearing on how much you play.  As such to arrive at the point where your skills will make you effective will take awhile, but fear not because though your skills impede your progress that doesn't mean you should not explore.  One should not put off doing something and always wait for that next skill, if you do, you'll never play the game.  But there is plenty of experience and practice that you can gain while you wait for skills to finish training. 

The skills which I recommend are for a brand new, never trained character so you may have several of these skills already trained.  I also do not include all the little support skills that may also prove to be of benefit, the skills which are presented are very focused towards the "exploration" profession.

Now then, your capsuleer is fresh out of the vat and you're ready to brave this new world and you are 100% sure that you want to be an explorer.  Go do the starting tutorials.  After which the first thing you are going to do is a neural remap, this will help accelerate your training time.   Now remaps are not given out like candy, you start with 2 and are given 1 extra remap every year.  So if you are unsure, DON'T do a remap, it becomes more important later though when skills start taking days to train, but for this first bit it's alright to wait until you feel more comfortable.

When you do the remap make sure your attributes look like this:

Skills correlate to two attributes, the higher those attributes the faster you will learn the skill.  The majority of the following skills are based off Intelligence and Memory, so we want to raise those as high as we can.

Since you've done the tutorials and have some cash under your belt, as well as some ships and other skill books; if I list a skill you don't have you will have to purchase it, but you should have plenty of ISK to afford it.  So the following list will be formatted by listing the skill name and then the level to which it should be trained to.

The absolute basics:

·         Electronics Upgrades III

·         Survey III

·         Hacking I

·         Archaeology I

These are the minimum skills required to even equip data and relic analyzers without these you'll just look at the data and relic sites as pretty scenic locations.  With these skills at this level you will have trouble completing sites, but you can keep practicing for when you're skills catch up.

The thinking skill:

·         Cybernetics IV

This skill is for learning implants and to be able to equip scanning implants which help find sites easier.  With the first level you can plug in a +3 attribute enhancing implant.  Bringing this skill to level IV will allow you to use +4 attribute enhancing implants which reduces training time even more.

The fledgling "explorer":

·         Mechanics III

·         Jury Rigging I

·         Afterburner III

·         High Speed Maneuvering I

·         Hacking III

·         Archaeology III

·         Astrometrics IV

·         (Faction Frigate) IV

·         Astrometric Rangefinding III

·         Astrometric Pinpointing III

·         Astrometric Acquisition III

This is where you'll actually start to be able to be effective, sites will become easier to scan down and hacking attempts will be more successful.  This skill set also provides you with the ability to fit hacking rigs and a microwarpdrive which will be a saving grace with sites where the hacking containers are spread further than 20 km apart.

The advanced "explorer":

·         Hacking IV

·         Archaelogy IV

·         Astrometric Rangefinding IV

·         Astrometric Pinpointing IV

·         Astrometric Acquisition IV

·         High Speed Maneuvering III

·         (Faction Frigate) V

·         Electronics Upgrades V

·         Covert Ops IV

·         Cloaking IV

Your scanning skills are now up to snuff where you shouldn't have an issue with a lot of the sites, but low and null will still throw curve balls at you.  The Covert Ops ship which you have moved into will greatly enhance your ability at hacking and surviving.  At this point in time, you can subsist pretty reasonably on what you can scavenge from sites with these skills.

The elite "explorer":

·         Hacking V

·         Archaeology V

·         Astrometrics V

·         Astrometric Pinpointing V

·         Astrometric Acquisition V

·         Covert Ops V

·         Astrometric Rangefinding V

This will top off your exploration oriented skills and allow you to use tech II modules.  The benefit these provide is vastly superior to their basic counterparts and are well worth the training time investment.  If you have no wish to do all of these skills, at least do Hacking and Archaeology to V if you plan on sticking with exploration, the benefit they provide is substantial.

Helpful exploration skills:

·         Biology

·         Thermodynamics

The reason for including these skills instead of other helpful ones is that these are probably not as obvious as to why they are useful.  Thermodynamics is just to allow you to overheat your microwarpdrive if you get caught in a situation that enables you to do so.  Biology will increase the duration of booster effects, but the main booster you will use will be Quafe, while it doesn't provide direct benefits to hacking or exploration, when you venture into lower security space the extra maneuverability might prove to be the difference between life and death.