Low sec survival guide. A quick guide for new pilot of Eve

Low sec system is not as much dangerous as some legends in New Eden tell. Pilots who never have been in a below 0.5 sec. status system tend to imagine low security as a place where you have few chance of surviving and where you can lose your ship in few seconds. That’s no true. Low sec is dangerous but if you know how to read the environment, the universe map and how to move in a system, then your risks will be reduced a lot. Knowledge is power. Here you will find a quick guide to live and survive in low sec.

1) LOCAL is your best friend.
First of all a pilot has to take a look at the local. Who is in the system? Which kind of pilots I’m facing? Just take a look at the security status of pilots. Usually a negative sec status pilot is someone used to hunt capsulers.

The window of Directional Scanner

2) DIRECTIONAL SCANNER
Combine the local information with Dscan and then you can desume in which ships your potential enemies are in. To open Dscan just press Alt-d. On it you can see which ships are around and the name of the ship. You will not see which pilot is in, just the ship type. Second rule is to keep always Dscan opened. Click on "scan button" every few seconds to see which ships are around. Dscan will let u see even if there are combat probes around looking for you. Set “Use active overview setting” so the Dscan will have the same setting of your overview (Better to set on PvP). Set Dscan angle always at 360° and max range (2147483647 km). The max range of Dscan is 14.35 AU. To default is set on max range and max angle. Tip: Is better to rename all your ships deleting your pilot name. Doing that you will not let you know which ship are you in.

A solar system map with some safe spots

3) SAFE SPOT
Safe spots are very important. As soon as you enter in a system and you want to explore you need to use safe spots. Otherwise if u warp at a Planet, Asteroid belts or other common places every skill pilots can find you in few minutes just working with Dscan. He will come to you easly to destroy your ship. When you are at a safe spot the only possible way another pilot can find you is using COMBAT probes. But if you use Dscan then you’ll see the Combat probes around hopefully before they can scan you down. Then, if u see combat probes, just warp away to another safe. Tips: you can use old exploration sites as safe spots.

How to take a Safe spot: just open the window “people and place”, click on “places”, “add location”. Then open the system Map and warp to a planet or a belt. In the middle of the warp click on “Submit”. You will have your safe spot as a bookmark.Is better to warp with the solar system map opened, so you can control your warping and clik where u want to have your safe spot.  Usually is better to have more safe spots in a system. You can train to take safe spots in high sec first.

4) SOLAR SYSTEM MAP
To move in the system wisely you need to know how to read the SOLAR SYSTEM MAP. Open the map and check where are the planets, asteroid belts etc. If there are group at a higher distance of 14.35 AU it means with your Dscan you can reach all system and then cover all places when a ship can be. Then, is usefull to take some safe spot close to the group of planets, asteroid belts so u can move from safe spot to safe spot and check which ships are around.

5) GATE CAMPS
To avoid gate camps or unsecure systems first check the route on STAR MAP. Click on “Star map”, “Statistic”, then click on “ship destroyed in the last hour”. Doing that you will have on the map a quick view of the most insecure system on your route. The suggestion is to avoid systems where, in the last hour, has been destroyed many ships (more then two-three).
If you just want to move in low sec and avoid to get stuck in a gate camp then fit on your ship at least two warp core stabilizers. Every warp core stabilizer neutralizes a warp scramble. So it has to be a camp with at least three ships. Another suggestion is to fit in low slot Nanofiber internal structure to improve your agility and then even to align and warp faster. If you jump in a gate and see two or more pirates closed to the gate don’t be panic. You have different choices to stay alive: if you have fitted enough warp core stabilizers and you assume the modules can neutralize the warp scramblers just warp to the next gate or, if u want, warp to a planet, asteroid or station in front of you. In this way you’ll save time aligning and your warp will start faster avoiding some damages. Then you will warp directly to jump in a gate. If you think you can’t avoid to be scrambled you can try to point back the Stargate and opefully have the time to jump before to be destroyed. Much it depends on which ship are you in and how many pirates/enemies are waiting for you. Generally the safest ships in low sec are the fastest ones. (Frigates, destroyers etc.). Of course if you fly a cloaked ship as a Cover operation frigate or a stealth bomber you can easily avoid the camp due to the invisibility.

The F11 tab

BECOMING AN HUNTER
This is a second step of living in low sec. First you need to know how to defend yourself, read the environment and then you can begin to use Dscan even to hunt down pilots.
How to do it? Go to a safe spot. Press F11 and you will have a 2d map of the system (very small one). Then work with the angle of dscan and turn the nose of your ship. Turning your ship you will point the dscan in the direction of an asteroid belt, planet, etc. Click on Dscan to check where can be a ship, start with 180° and try to assume in which part of the system is your prey. Then reduce the angle gradually and move the camera. Click again on dscan and try to point the place you assume the ship you are looking for is hiding. Do that, working with camera and dscan angles, until u have the ship on dscan at a small angle: 15-30°. Then you can desume where is the ship. If is necessary you can prepare differente safe spots closed to the asteroid belts. Fly there and going on working with Dscan. It's all a matter of training and logic with angles and places.

The tracking camera way and the DSCAN at 5°- A faster way of hunting is to use the tracking camera option. You need to have a good overview setting (download here the overview of ZEURA) -RIGHT CLICK SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER THE .XML FILE-. That allow you to see where ships are (u can have different tabs for it: PvP, PvE, Hunting, Loot, Drones). Set on Dscan "Use tracking camera" and "Use overview active setting", then set the angle at 5°. Click on an asteroid belt on overview, or a factional warfare site (gallente small compound for instance) or wherever you think your pray may be. The camera will allign in the direction of the celestial. Then just click on scan. You will see who is in that celestial. Repeat the operation as soon as u don't find targets. Good hunting.

Dscan guide on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tcUAuM2cBw

Mark Yanning