Last Updated on 2021-12-08 by Kshal Aideron
So, in past articles we’ve talked about Signature Radius and Scan Resolution. Now it’s time to talk about targeting and how scan res and sig radius are tied in.
What is Targeting?
This one is probably pretty obvious. Targeting is when you select something on your overview or in space and lock it up (the fastest way is to hold you ctrl button and click on the object you’d like to lock up).
The time it takes to target and lock a ship is shown by a flashy box around the icon in the overview and a woo woo woo type sound (if you have your game sound on).
Once you have the target locked up, you can then apply damage, ewar, repair it, mine it, etc.
Targeting Time
Targeting time is exactly what you think it is, how long it takes you to lock a target up. Hopefully you’ve taken some time to read about the signature radius of other ships as well as your own scan resolution because those 2 things are what your ship’s targeting time is going to be comprised of.
In a nutshell, a small ship like an interceptor is going to lock things up quickly (or can even be made to “insta lock”) because nearly everything else is going to be the same size or bigger than it (sig radius) and it’s scan resolution is crazy big (making it lock up FAST).
If you’ve ever ratted or done missions with a battleship like the Praxis, you’ll remember how slow it locks things up. Nearly everything is smaller than it and it’s scan resolution is small making it pretty slow.
So high scan res + low sig radius = fast locking ships. Low scan res and high sig radius = slow locking ships.
Target Range
Just like targeting time, target range is exactly how it sounds. This is the max distance you have to be from the object to lock it up.
Your target range will depend on the following:
- the ship you’re flying
- your character skills
- ship modules
- ship rigs
- implants
Number of Targets Locked
The number of things you can have locked at any one time will depend on the following:
- ship you’re flying
- skills
- ship modules
The base amount of targets a brand new pilot can lock up, without training any other skills, is 2. So it’s pretty important that you start training your skills ASAP to be more effective as a pilot.
Exactly What Helps You Target Things
There are skills, implants and modules that all affect target time, range and the number of targets locked. Below explains everything that helps with targeting.
Character Skills
The following skills will help the character target other ships and objects in space:
- Target management: +1 extra target per skill level, up to the max allowed by the ship.
- Advanced target management: +1 extra target per skill level, up to the max allowed by the ship.
- Signature analysis: 5% bonus per level to your locking time per skill level.
- Long range targeting: 5% bonus to targeting range per skill level.
Ship Modules
The following ship modules will help with the numbers of the targets, scan res and target range.
- Auto targeting system (high slot): targets hostile ships in range on activation. Grants +2 to 3 bonus to max targets.
- Signal amplifier (low slot): increases scan res, target range, and the maximum number of targets locked by +1 to 2.
- Sensor booster (medium slot): increase your ships target range and scan res.
- Remote sensor booster (medium slot): like the sensor booster, but can be put on your fleet members instead.
Implants
The following implant(s) will help with
- Zainou ‘Gypsy’ Signature Analysis: provides a 1-6% bonus to scan res depending on the grade.
- Zainou ‘Gypsy’ Long Range Targeting: can boost target range1-6% depending on the grade.
Ship Rigs
The following ship rigs will assist with targeting.
- Targeting system subcontroller: increases scan res at the expense of shield strength.
- Ionic Field Projector: increases a ship’s target range at the expense of shield strength.
