Cadet I/Deprobing

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Mid Game - Deprobing

Tip: You can kill a probe by ramming it!

Both your team and the enemy team will constantly probe the map during the game. As we taught in the probing lesson they will focus on key sectors (i.e. the sectors you are likely to bomb through and mine). You, as a team, want to keep your opponent's key sectors probed and your own deprobed, so they won't have any usable information which they can act on.

This article will discuss deprobing to:

• Aid miner defense
• Aid bomb runs
• Aid HTT runs

You want your miners to live and your offensive runs (Bombing/HTT) not to be "eyed" ... right? If they are, the enemy can act on this information, either killing your miners, or stopping your run dead in its tracks!

Deprobing to aid miner defense

The most important is making sure that your miners are not "eyed". Your opponent has to know WHERE your miners are before they can come and kill them. The exception to this is sometimes a lucky SF or Int can find them without any recon from a scout or probes in the area - not much you can do to deprobe against that!

Start with checking for probes next to helium rocks where your miners are working. That is where many vet pilots will probe early game and the dedicated probers make a habit of it. Once you have checked them raise your sig to that of an average miner (180-210). (Remember: firing weapons, mounting shields or missiles will help change your signatare). If you get eye then check a bit further afield for probes. If you still fail to find anything it's either a well placed rescue probe or a scout/sf you can't see. In this case tell your Commander immediately ("Eye on miners in Rigel") so he can either move the miners or assign more defense.

If you know where your miners will be mining next don't leave it until the miners are in there to begin deprobing. Go there and deprobe that sector before they have finished mining the previous sector. Remember, if they can't see your miners, they can't kill them.

Tip: Expand the minimap and check for high levels of Helium in friendly sectors, if you are still unsure, ask your commander or the person defending the miners.

Deprobing for Bombers

A bomber will have a sig of around 200-400, depending on factions and whether the pilot is trying to be stealthy or not. This means that a standard EWS Probe 1 (with a scan range of 500) will eye your top sig bomber at 2000m.

Go ahead of your bomber's flight path to find and destroy probes. Remember that a bbr has a higher sig than your scout and although you don't get eye when you check the path the bbr might! Raise your sig to around the bbr's by mounting shields and missiles and firing your guns. Warn the bbr if you do then attempt to find the probe.

If you are ranging far ahead of the bbr (i.e. he is one sector behind) ask him what his sig is. Adjust yours to match it and fly around the aleph he will enter from - if you don't get eye you can tell him it's clear to come through. If you do then try and find it, of course. Then continue along the route to the next aleph and inform the bomber pilot if you get eye at all.

Deprobing for HTTs

HTTs are generally the easiest to deprobe for. When your commander has researched Sig2 (most competent ones will) it will lower the signature of the HTT to around 80%. This makes things much easier for the deprobing scout. Once again try to get your sig as close as possible, but it does not matter if you are a little over (say 100%). If you do not get eye at 100 sig the HTT pilot definitely won't at 80. Proceed exactly as if you were deprobing for a bomber. It should be easier as probes have to be a lot closer to 'eye' you. Once you have verified that the HTT will not get eyed, inform the pilot, and allow him to proceed with his mission.

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