Apocrypha Ship Probing
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Definition
Ship probing, or also Combat Probing, is the same process as probing for exploration sites, but is focused on finding ship signatures (this includes drones/probes).
Minimum Requirements
- Science III
- Astrometrics II
- Expanded Probe Launcher I
- Combat Scanner Probe I
- Ship with a minimum of 220tf CPU.
Recommended Requirements
The recommended skills below all help shaving time required to probe a ship. This is important because ships can move at any time while you probe it, so the faster you obtain the signal the less chances the target will get away. It is not necessary to train all those skills to level V, considering some of these skills have high training time multiplier.
- Astrometrics IV: At level I you control 4 probes, at level IV you can control 6 probes. With more probes it's faster to get a 100% signal strength.
- Astrometric Pinpointing IV: Reduces scan deviation by 10% per level. Scan probes will estimate better the position of the signatures. This means less time wasted repositioning probes.
- Astrometric Acquisition IV: Reduces scan time by 10%. Especially important when tracking down ships. It takes less time to receive scan results from your probes.
- Astrometric Rangefinding IV: 10% stronger signal strength per level. This might allow you to get 100% signal strength of a target with larger probing ranges, saving time.
Mechanics
For more information, visit the article Apocrypha Probing.
It uses the same system as regular probing for exploration sites. The only real differences are that you will find much more signatures and that those signatures are mobile, so it's easier to lose the signature, especially if the target is aware you are probing for him/her.
It's worth noting that drones or probes are very hard to track down and may require some skill investment to optimize the signal strength. It's also harder to find exploration sites with combat probes, it's preferred to load Core Scanner probes if that is the target.
Uses
Ship probing is used for several reasons. Here is a few popular uses below:
- To track a target who is hiding in a safe zone or mission deadspace (PvP).
- To find a mission deadspace and ninja loot or/and ninja salvage the wrecks in there.
- Find abandoned drones or probes.
Mission Deadspace Invasion
For more information, visit the Deadspace Invasion article.
Invading a mission deadspace of another pilot can be worthwhile. Several players don't loot the wrecks right away, especially if they use a slow ship. They usually come back later in another ship if they really want the loot or salvage. However it can be hard to properly locate a mission deadspace. To even find one, you need that the mission runner is inside the deadspace or at the initial acceleration gate.
Mission deadspaces are usually located away from static objects, like stargates, planets, moons or stations. Your best bet is to spread a bunch of combat probes in empty zones with a large scan area. If you find a ship signature in the middle of nowhere, it's a good hint that it may be a mission deadspace. You can start working on probing.
At any rate, when you properly find a ship signature inside a mission deadspace, you won't warp to the ship directly, but rather at the acceleration gate. So you probably won't be in direct sight of the mission runner (unless he's sitting at the gate), which is a good thing since you probably don't want him/her to know you're here.
At this point, use the gate. If you find out that the owner is there (rather than further in the complex), attempt to warp out before he figures out there's someone invading the deadspace. Come back at the gate and wait some time so he can proceed further in the complex.
