Scanners & Probes

Not every sector is safe to warp into blindly. Scanners and probes let you gather intelligence before risking your ship.

Threat Scanner

The Threat Scanner is the first tier of reconnaissance hardware. It gives you a coarse threat score for any sector directly connected to your current position.

• Cost: 25,000 cr (StarDock upgrade)
• Scan cost: 1 Action Point
• Range: Adjacent sectors only
• Intel: Threat band (empty, light, occupied, heavy, extreme) and a numeric threat score

A sector’s threat score is additive:

Component	Score
Port	20
StarDock	15
Hostile player ship	12
Defended planet (Level 3+ citadel with Q-cannons)	+18
Bare planet (no citadel cannons)	8
NPC	6
Hostile fighter (per 20 fighters, minimum 5)	1–5+
Limpet mine	2 each (cap 30)
Armid mine	5 each (cap 50)

Higher scores mean more things that can hurt you. A defended planet (26 total) already outranks an empty port (20).

Tip: Threat scans are fast and cheap. Use them on every unfamiliar warp lane before jumping.

Holographic Scanner

The Holographic Scanner is the advanced reconnaissance package. It produces a detailed breakdown of an adjacent sector’s defenses.

• Cost: 140,000 cr (StarDock upgrade)
• Scan cost: 1 Action Point
• Range: Adjacent sectors only
• Intel:
  • Port presence and class
  • Planet count and planetary defense status
  • Fighter strength band (none/light/medium/heavy/extreme)
  • Mine presence (limpets and armids)
  • NPC count and threat estimate
  • Hostile player ship presence

Holographic scans automatically write their findings to your Captain’s Journal, so you can review the data later without rescanning.

Tip: Buy the holographic scanner after you’ve upgraded cargo or shields. It’s expensive, but the detailed intel can save your ship.

Probes

Probes are single-use reconnaissance drones that travel along the shortest warp path to a target sector, revealing every sector they pass through.

• Cost: 12,000 cr each (StarDock)
• Launch cost: 1 probe + 1 Action Point
• Path: Automatic shortest-route BFS traversal
• Behavior: Non-mutating — probes do not trigger PvP, consume defenses, or mark sectors as visited

What Probes Reveal

For each sector along the path, you receive:

• Sector name and danger level
• Port presence and class
• Planet count and defense status
• Fighter and mine strength bands
• NPC count
• Hostile player presence

Probe Destruction

Probes are fragile. They are destroyed immediately on contact with:

• Hostile fighters
• Limpet mines
• Armid mines
• Planetary defenses (Level 3+ citadel cannons)

When a probe is destroyed, you still receive all intel from sectors it successfully transited before the destruction point.

Tip: Probes are the only way to scout deep into hostile territory without risking your ship. Launch one before a long route into dangerous space.

Quick Reference

Tool	Cost	AP Cost	Range	Detail
Threat Scanner	25K cr (upgrade)	1 AP	Adjacent	Threat band + score
Holographic Scanner	140K cr (upgrade)	1 AP	Adjacent	Full sector breakdown
Probe	12K cr each	1 AP + 1 probe	Any sector (path)	Full per-sector intel along path

Keyboard Shortcuts

There are no dedicated keyboard shortcuts for scanners, but from the Sector View you can:

• Select a warp lane with ↑↓ or by clicking
• Click Density, Holo, or Probe buttons that appear below the selected sector
• Launch probes from the Actions panel or from the probe launch modal