April 8, 2022

There are definitely some differences this year, in both the data sites and combat sites.

Data sites now have 2 rooms. You need a key to go thru the acceleration gate to the second room, where the typically much more valuable loot is located. The first room always contains four cans (Hunt Communication Towers). These are always green hacks, regardless of security of the system. The second room contains five cans (Hunt Mainframes). These are always orange hacks.

When you complete the first room in a data site, the site disappears off the probe scanner. That's a good thing. It means that unless someone has already scanned down the site, they're probably not going to scan you down with dscan. They'd have to use combat probes, and you'll know when those are around.

, all named Guristas Hunt Outpost. These are combat anomalies that are visible with your probe scanner and do not need to be scanned down.

Combat sites have 2 rooms. You need a key to go thru the acceleration gate to the second room. You will be webbed, scrammed, etc, for almost all the time you spend in each room.

The first room has several waves. Keep your drones on the ones most distant. Get up close and orbit others and put blasters on them. Use the webifier generously on them. These ships move fast and you will want to slow them down for better damage application from the blasters.

The first room has a boss that has a unique name…you can't miss it. He'll warp in when the last wave is killed off. Loot him, but don't expect high value stuff. The second room's boss is a Jackdaw. This is the ship with the real loot.

I found it helpful to slowboat to the acceleration gate to enter the second room, to provide time for the armor repairer to do its thing, and for drone shields to be recharged. At least in this ship, don't bother waiting for shields to recharge…they're going to be back at 0 shortly after entering the second room anyway.

The second room has several towers each doing one of stasis, EM, thermal, kinetic and explosive damage. In the Ishkur, put your drones on each in succession immediately when you enter the room. While that's going on, orbit the Jackdaw, webify him, and hit him with blasters. Once the drones finish off those towers, put them on the Jackdaw.

I found it impossible to kite in these rooms..you're constantly webbed and scrammed. You need to be able to tough it out. Some ships land a decent distance away, but close that distance fast.

I had a much harder time this year with these sites. They seem noticeably more difficult. The cheap 10.5 million Algos (Gallente Destroyer) fit I used last year survived them, but barely. I mean…barely. I was into hull each time, and was lucky if I didn't lose any drones. Always be sure to carry spare drones! On the second day of this year's event, I bought and fitted my first Assault Frigate, an Ishkur. Geared up, this ship was about 36 million isk. However, it handles the site much better. I've only gotten into hull once, and typically had decent armor left. And, yes, I lost some drones. In many of them I had drone armor and hull damage. Occasionally, I had none!

I found the loot in each type of site to be more or less equal. You'll get a lot of overseer effects, skins, decryptors, datacores and associated stuff, some very nice boosters, and occasionally a nice piece of equipment, like a C3-A 'Hivaa Saitsuo' Ballistic Control System (est value 8.6 million). I got three of those the first day of the event.

The estimated value of the skins is highly exaggerated in my opinion. This seems to be the case with all skins from all types of events. Yesterday I got a Raven Guristas Skin with an est value of 83 million. The best “buy” price on evepraisal is just 29 million, and you'd probably have to be lucky to get that. Hey, isk is isk!

Keep in mind that regardless of the value of any overseer effect, each takes up the same volume in cargo - 10m3. They can fill up an Astero or Ishkur hull quickly. More than once I've had to jettison stuff to make room, bookmark the cargo container, then go back for it. Alternatively, dock as needed and dump things into an item hangar before going on the prowl again.

See above … data sites are data sites … no need to show fits for those. As always in these sites, you're going to need to micromanage the drones. The bad guys will target them visciously.

Keep the armor repairer running as long as you can…you're gonna need it.

[Algos, Simulated Algos Fitting]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II

Small Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery
Small Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier

150mm Prototype Gauss Gun
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun
150mm Prototype Gauss Gun

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I



Hornet II x12

Thorium Charge S x1000
Antimatter Charge S x5000

This gives you breathing room compared to the Algos, but you still need to very much be on your game. Use the Assault Damage Control judiciously. With luck you may not use it at all. You will almost constantly run the armor repairer. The cap battery is important. I can't say how much value the nosferatu adds, but, hey, I had a free slot. Use the webifier generously.

The Hornets seem to be more effective and take less damage.

[Ishkur, Guristas Hunt]
Small Armor Repairer II
EFFA Compact Assault Damage Control
Vortex Compact Magnetic Field Stabilizer
Multispectrum Energized Membrane II

1MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
Small Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier

Small Ghoul Compact Energy Nosferatu
Light Ion Blaster II
Light Ion Blaster II
Light Ion Blaster II

Small Processor Overclocking Unit II
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I



Hobgoblin II x3
Hornet II x7

Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S x1000
Thorium Charge S x1000
Null S x2000
Antimatter Charge S x5000