Exploration is a time-honored profession in Eve Online. It encompasses a number of activities including hacking Relic sites, fighting Sleepers in Wormholes, and hunting other explorers in the depths of space.
Having the right ship for the job is vitally important. The best ship will largely depend on the player’s preferred playstyle and what activities they’ll be doing most. That being said, there are some ships that consistently rise to the top and are frequently used in exploration.
Survivability is another important consideration. What armaments does the ship allow, and how many shield and armor points does it have? Lastly, other little things, like some form of stealth capability, are other considerations as to whether a ship makes a good exploration ship in Eve Online.
15 Sabre
There are several reasons that the Sabre makes a good ship for exploration in Eve Online. It is capable of defending itself against moderately serious threats, and also large enough to not be immediately destroyed during a fight. It is small and nimble enough to dodge the more powerful beam weapons of larger classes of ships.
The Sabre is also quite fast for its size; this allows it to explore faster and outrun hostiles. This is also a great exploration ship because of its role as an Interdictor. The Sabre can launch probes that disrupt ships’ movement in one of three ways (depending on which probe you use).
14 Purifier
Designed to be a Covert Ops stealth bomber, the Purifier makes a great exploration ship as well. This little ship has some very strong armor. This makes it slightly slower than other ships of its size, but the added survivability given by the armor is worth the trade-off. The Purifier is far from being slow.
The stealth capabilities of the Purifier make this a hard ship to track. This makes escaping a dangerous situation more likely. Without the cloaking device, the Purifier isn’t nearly as effective an exploration vessel. This ship has enough cargo space and is strong enough to make an impromptu raid on a soft target during your exploring.
13 Punisher
The Punisher is one tough little Frigate. This ship has long been a favorite during large-scale engagements; when used in groups Punishers are capable of destroying even large capital ships. However, on their own, they still possess enough survivability to confidently explore.
Another reason the Punisher is so beloved is the flexibility it affords with its many slots. The Punisher isn’t that fast, normally, but if fitted right it can become one of the fastest ships in the game. Many players choose to balance these slots between speed and armor to turn their Punisher into a very nimble tank for exploring.
12 Vexor
The Vexor is a Cruiser class vessel that carries drones for attacking targets. As a Cruiser, it poses an extreme threat to most hostile ships, and the autonomous drones allow you to focus on maneuvering the ship and avoiding incoming fire. The drawback is that the Vexor isn’t nearly as fast as most of the ships on this list. At least you don’t have to worry about losing your ship like you do when using a smaller vessel - like a Frigate or Corvette.
As a Cruiser, the Vexor has a lot of options for you to customize it how you wish. This ship makes a great salvage ship with the right fittings; allowing you to make a little profit while exploring.
11 Kestrel
The Kestrel has several attributes that make it one of the best exploration ships in Eve Online. It is fast - fast enough to run from hostiles. The Kestrel is a tough little ship; with the ability to cause significant damage (for a Frigate). The Kestrel is also famous for its powerful sensor array. All three of these attributes make the Kestrel an excellent scram kiter.
Something that makes this ship an even better choice for exploration is that the Kestrel is cheap - not only that but it’s not too demanding in terms of skill either. So, if you lose a Kestrel while exploring it’s not as big a deal as losing a Vexor.
10 Cheetah
The Cheetah is the Minmatar’s Covert Ops ship. It’s a Tier Two Frigate that can cloak itself while warping away, making it very hard for the enemy to find and follow. It has the largest cargo bay and the fastest speed out of all the Covert Ops ships, which is great when hacking Relic and Data sites.
The reason it doesn’t rank higher is that it struggles in terms of CPU and Capacitator. This limits its versatility somewhat as players must be more careful with fitting, and will need better skills to compensate. It also requires Minmatar ship training, which presents problems when working toward better exploration ships later on.
9 Helios
The Helios is a popular Covert Ops ship for many players. It’s the only one to support drones, which can aid in salvaging, combat, or simply act as a distraction to escape. It has five medium slots, giving it great versatility.
The downside to the Helios is that it only has two high slots, enough to probe and hack sites, but not much else. It also has the smallest cargo bay of the Covert Ops, meaning the player will have to be more choosy with loot or cut their trips short. It is a Gallente race ship which helps with skill training later.
8 Anathema
The Anathema is perhaps the most resilient of the Covert Ops ships. Having four medium slots isn’t too shabby either, as it gives this ship options if combat is inevitable. Having laser weapons on hand also means no necessity for ammo, so there’s more cargo space for loot.
While it does have a better tank than most, a Covert Ops isn’t strictly intended for combat. It’s far more effective to avoid a fight in the first place. It is an Amarr ship, which helps with skill training later on.
7 Buzzard
The overall best Covert Ops ship in terms of exploration is the Buzzard. It has five medium slots, giving it a lot of room for customization. Players can fit it in a variety of ways to help survive the more dangerous parts of space.
The downside to this ship is the limiting two slots, which hinders maneuverability. It’s still the best balanced of the Coverts for exploration. Being a Caldari ship causes issues training-wise in the midgame for exploration, but is really helpful in the endgame.
6 Astero
The Sisters of Eve ships were designed with exploration in mind. The Astero is the Frigate class they offer and it dramatically improves exploration efforts. It’s sneaky like the Covert Ops, but has the teeth and drones to get into fights and come out the victor. Its ability to warp almost instantly without pre-alignment is a big deal.
This ship isn’t without its downsides though. For starters, it’s expensive - coming in just shy of 100 million ISK to fit. It also requires both Gallente and Amarr frigate skills to fly, which is an issue for those flying Minmatar or Caldari ships.
5 Stratios
Stratios is the bigger sister of the Astero. This Sisters of Eve Cruiser is one of the most common ships used in exploration. It has all the advantages of the Aster with some major improvements with better cargo, better drone projection, and fitting slots.
It can also handle a variety of combat situations, from sites to other players. This is the ideal ship in the midgame and it’s capable of handling long hauls while doing a variety of things along the way. The player will need the relevant Gallente and Amarr cruiser skills to fly it and about 300 million to buy it.
4 Loki
Strategic Cruisers are considered the pinnacle of exploration and easily the most expensive ships on the list. The Loki is ideally suited for hacking Data and Relic sites, but when compared to other Tier Three’s? Not much else.
Its DPS is low and is the biggest setback when encountering Sleepers or other players. The Loki is a solid ship, but arguably the least effective in terms of exploration out of the Tier Three Cruisers. Players should really only shoot for this one if they like the look of the Minmatar ship or were flying the Cheetah.
3 Proteus
The Proteus is the pride and joy of the Gallente and a solid progression from the Sister of Eve ships. It’s arguably the sneakiest of the Strategic cruisers and has terrifying DPS potential with blasters. This ship was designed for creeping up on an explorer distracted with a hack and blasting them to smithereens.
If the player isn’t exclusively hunting other players in Wormholes or Null Security then there are better ships. It doesn’t have a lot of versatility when compared to others and struggles running sites.
2 Legion
Where the Proteus is a PVP beast, the Legion is a PVE monster. It seems geared towards running sites and fighting Sleepers in Wormholes. This thing packs a lot of armor and has powerful weapons. The advantage of those laser weapons is that it doesn’t take up precious cargo space with ammo.
It can handle PVP situations, which makes it more versatile than the Proteus, but it isn’t meant for this. It’s a fantastic choice and a logical progression for Sister of Eve ships, being an Amarr vessel. But there is at least one ship out there that’s better at exploration.
1 Tengu
In many ways, the Tengu is the ultimate exploration ship in Eve Online. Compared to the other Strategic Cruisers it’s a veritable jack-of-all-trades capable of handling just about any activity. Whether the player is stalking other explorers, hacking sites, or hunting Sleepers, this ship can do it.
Granted, if the player is wanting to do something specific then other ships might be better. But much of exploration is seizing upon opportunities as they arise, and having a versatile ship to capitalize on those moments is king. If players have the Caldari skills, which will take a few months, and around a billion ISK to buy and outfit the thing, it’s the best ship out there.
