As per the title, I'm kitted out for exploration, so have no weapons. I'm always intrigued by the signals when they appear in the object list, but I'm terrified it'll be a wing of pirates or something! Am I better off leaving well alone, or am I potentially missing out on any lucrative items?
Weaponless, should I ever scan signals?
- Thread starter HailVectron
- Start date
Well signals, from my experience, can be cargo but it'll be stolen so if your caught with it you'll get fined. If it's not cargo then it'll either be a mix of wanted and friendly ships or an all friendly convoy. Although tbh, if your picking up cargo while exploring, you're doing it wrong 
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Weak or Unidentified sources can have salvage floating around. I don't think I've ever seen another ship in a weak signal site, so they're always worth a look - though if you're exploring you might want to consider the loss in jump range from cargo as maybe not worth the few thousand credits it could earn you. Strong signals.... avoid. Even if you're in a combat ship unless you're highly skilled and in a great ship or in a wing avoid, nevermind unarmed!
Well signals can from my experience can be cargo, but it'll be stolen so if your caught with it you'll get fined. If it's not cargo then it'll either be a mix of wanted and friendly ships or an all friendly convoy. Although tbh, if your picking up cargo while exploring, you're doing it wrong
Is that all they ever are then? No chance of finding something cool, like an ancient relic, or alien ship?
Personal opinion this of course, but as an explorer my top priority is ship integrity.
Is entering a USS helping that ? No.
You're out exploring, anything lucrative should come from you scanning stuff.
You made the right decision by not taking weapons, stick to that decision.
You want to poke around in USS', bring another ship/loadout.
Is entering a USS helping that ? No.
You're out exploring, anything lucrative should come from you scanning stuff.
You made the right decision by not taking weapons, stick to that decision.
You want to poke around in USS', bring another ship/loadout.
I think after a certain distance you stop getting signals anyway.
Personal opinion this of course, but as an explorer my top priority is ship integrity.
Is entering a USS helping that ? No.
You're out exploring, anything lucrative should come from you scanning stuff.
You made the right decision by not taking weapons, stick to that decision.
You want to poke around in USS', bring another ship/loadout.
Once you're well out of normally inhabited space though, are they ever going to be pirates?
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Ah, ok, that sort of answers my previous question...
No, don't worry
EDIT due to jacozilla's post below
. I don't consider 500-1000ly "well out of normally inhabited space".It will eventually stop entirely, once you're beyond that range. Of course i don't know how far out you intend to travel.
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Yes you do find pirates far outside the bubble. I don't knock those that go without weapons, but I take a fully combat rated DBX on exploration, just to break up the exploration scan routine with some combat.
I can't speak for really, really deep exploration, never been to Sag A or anywhere close to that deep.
But so far I have been able to amuse myself with some combat whenever I want to break up the scan routine by dropping into ring belts. I've been told the reason they generate pirates so far out is because it is a spawn scenario - e.g. always a chance to spawn pirates near mining rocks
I've been out about 1k LY now on day trips, out and back on same day, and always able to find outlaws in these ring belts - not always, not every one I drop into, but as I explore I just check every now and then to get some combat and I find being a combat explorer more fun and suited to my taste than just pure exploration.
Are all systems outside the bubble marked as Anarchy? Or do they change to something else?
There's a few I've found right on the fringe areas of the colored bubble border - they are outside the bubble technically but claimed by one of the major powers.
Other than those, everything else outside the bubble is outlaw country.
Weak signal sources are usually empty aside from cargo.
I've had mixed results just jumping in and enabling silent running while I poke around - it's a bit risky, but part of the fun, yeah?
I've had mixed results just jumping in and enabling silent running while I poke around - it's a bit risky, but part of the fun, yeah?
That's a lie. Weak Signal Sources can contain ships.
"lie" is a little strong. It implies deliberate deception. It may be that he has never had or heard of ships in WSS.
Eh, maybe. but it is what it is. Little too late to edit it out. ('-' )
You are probably better of avoiding the signals, as since you are exploring and weaponless you will be at the mercy of pirates, probably have nothing to trade to the ships seeking goods that occasionally pop up, and probably don't want to have your jump range limited by the cargo you can illegally salvage from the times the signal is just floating cargo and is not a trap. Unless you feel like getting random cargo that needs to be sold at a black market, you are not missing out really. The chances you will find really valuable cargo that is not guarded is miniscule compared to the chance you will be shot at.
Anarchy means ungoverned. It doesn't mean run by pirates, so yeah, all uninhabited systems are anarchies.