Talk to me about scanning megaships.

Stealthie

Stealthie
Something else that arrived with 3.0 which I've yet to look at...

As I understand it, you need a variety of specialised modules to do this optimally; recon' limpets, hatchbreakers and, ideally, collectors.
Is there anything else a ship needs to do this stuff efficiently?
What sort of response can I expect while I'm doing it?
Am I going to need a "combat build" to survive?

I've already got a lightweight AspX kitted out for scav'ing (collectors, wake scanner and SRV) but it's not terrific in a fight.
Can I squeeze everything required for megaship-bothering into that ship or do I need something else?
If I do, is it going to get blown out of the sky as soon as I try to mess with a megaship?

Advice, links and/or videos gratefully received. [up]
 

Ian Doncaster

Ian Doncaster
Generally you're going to want to get in and out quickly. The megaship turrets aren't a massive problem since they're mostly slow-firing seeker launchers which any half-decent shield won't be bothered by. Once you get a bounty, though, the bounty hunters and police will be on their way and it's probably time to leave unless you're flying something very tough. If the instance has them there to start with, plan carefully!

Looking around is legal - you'll generally only get into trouble when you start firing limpets - except for a few installation types which have trespass zones protecting all the interesting stuff.

Some instances you may be able to get a bit of time with a pirate attack distracting the police, but be careful. Remember that both megaships and installations have station-like masslock zones, so you'll need to get well clear before you can jump out.

Exceptions:
- damaged megaships have public cargo holds, so you can do a bit of salvage and rescue legally. (They don't necessarily have public data points)
- unauthorised installations have HazRES-style "no cops" jamming, so you can get a small bounty from trespass and it really doesn't matter. (There are a lot of pirates to "rob it forward" once you start picking up cargo, though)

If you have the space and are going for data, take two recon controllers - some things have two hack points, and it's much faster to do them in parallel. It'd be nice if you could get them in size 3 rather than having to fit two size 1s, though.
 

Eldragon

E
More importantly, how do I find them?

I stumbled across them from time to time, but I never bother interacting with them because I'm not kitted out to interact with them at that moment.
 

Dbrn47

Dbrn47
Eldragon said:
More importantly, how do I find them?

I stumbled across them from time to time, but I never bother interacting with them because I'm not kitted out to interact with them at that moment.
Click to expand...

An answer I'd like as well. Other than stumbling or using a 3rd party listing, there doesn't seem to be an immediate way to find them or even really know if it's worth the time fitting for the activity.
 

Ian Doncaster

Ian Doncaster
Yes, that's about all there is. Systems under Thargoid attack tend to get a lot of damaged ones, and the Colonia region has (as of 3.1) a much higher density of megaships and installations than the Sol bubble, so you could move up here to make stumbling across one much more likely.

All you really need to assess "is it worthwhile" is to drop in with a manifest scanner fitted (to safely check the cargo bays) and you can check out what data points are available with the basic data link scanner.

I'm hoping that the Codex is going to solve some of this - waiting for the exploration feedback threads there.
 

Stealthie

Stealthie
Well, that's a pleasant surprise.
The forum index was telling me this thread had zero replies.

Thanks for the advice.[up]
Heading back from Merope right now and then I'll have a look at Coriolis to see if I can squeeze everything I need into my scavver AspX or, possibly, build an entirely new ship for this activity.
 

Julio Montega

Julio Montega
Stealthie said:
Something else that arrived with 3.0 which I've yet to look at...

As I understand it, you need a variety of specialised modules to do this optimally; recon' limpets, hatchbreakers and, ideally, collectors.
Is there anything else a ship needs to do this stuff efficiently?
What sort of response can I expect while I'm doing it?
Am I going to need a "combat build" to survive?

I've already got a lightweight AspX kitted out for scav'ing (collectors, wake scanner and SRV) but it's not terrific in a fight.
Can I squeeze everything required for megaship-bothering into that ship or do I need something else?
If I do, is it going to get blown out of the sky as soon as I try to mess with a megaship?

Advice, links and/or videos gratefully received. [up]
Click to expand...

Step 1
locate megaship, easy through external sources, won't referr to ingame methods..........

Step 2
scan the ship with the datalink scanner to locate subtargets

Step 3
choose subtarget of choice

Step 4
have the necessary utility to scan (skip if just hacking)

Step 5
run silent (to dodge fines/bounties), scan with datalink for subtarget

Step 6
launch specialized hacker limpet, targetting the subtarget

Step 7
dodge eagle eyed NPCs wanting to sniff you out while running silent

Step 8
finish the hack/hatch break

Step 9
Dodge eagle eyed NPCs while picking up cargo (ignore if hacking for data)

Step 10
Escape unscathed
 
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