To put it simply, a scout is a scout. Its role is to provide an additional set of eyes that will enable the FC to make decisions on a smoother and more efficient fleet - more ISK, less frustration, less FC fatigue. There are several things on a scout's duty list:

• Tagging sites
• Preloading TCRC
• Providing information on other communities fleet strength and location
• Knowing site spawn timers
• Shadowing other running fleets

If you are scouting, chances are you will be opening these sites often, so they are listed here for convenience. If you are new to scouting, please read all of the content below to minimize stress and frustration.

• Online Timers
• aDashboard Intel

When the FC asks the fleet to x-up a scout, it is not meant for you to change ship. A scout is always an alt (secondary) character that will join the fleet, but will be off-grid, not with fleet. This is called multiboxing. You will fly your main fleet character and continue your standard fleet roles, such as DPS or Logistics, and simultaneously fly scout.

Multiboxing might be done by:

• Simply by alt-tabbing between clients
• Opening additional client on other monitor (if you have additional one)
• Use 3rd party application (like EVE-O Preview)

Find what works for you, but remember that you are in the fleet and you must always be aware of what is happening in the current site, like switches, bounces or contests. Being out of position, getting an aggro switch and not broadcasting, over-bastioning or leeroying the gate might easily get you killed (and will not be SRP'd). Therefore scouting is recommended for pilots who are already comfortable in running incursion sites and can divide their attention appropriately.

Do not use expensive ships/fits for scouting. As an absolute minimum, you can scout in a Corvette (Rookie ship). Scout ships are expendable and can be easily destroyed by Sansha while preloading the TCRC. Nevertheless worry not, your pod is safe, and even if the ship is destroyed you can still do the rest of the preloading sequence and safely dock the pod. While this will be common though the beginning and learning stage, the more you will scout, the more uncommon that you will lose the ship.

When you have your scouting alt in fleet, you will be put in a squad command position to enable that character the ability to tag. You will be responsible for tagging sites and pre-loading TCRC's.

There are two ways you can use to tag effectively.

• Manual tagging (from the right click >drop down menu)
• Assign the tag on keybinding, which is under ESC → Shortcuts → Combat.

If you do not see any tagged sites, when you find another running fleet and tag their site, the tags will automatically refresh. If there are no other fleets in the system, warp to an empty site, tag then untag it.

As a scout, it is also required to tag:

• ‘J’ - sites in the system which are not a main focus as:
  • Unstable wormholes
  • Abandoned battlefields
  • The Kundalini Manifest
  • etc.
• ‘A’ - site that fleet is in
• ‘D’, ‘X’, ‘Y’, ‘Z’ - site that other running fleet is in
• ‘1’ - site which is free for fleet to align next - usually just before the end of current site or preloaded TCRC.

Preloading a TCRC is high risk and lots of fun for a scout. A TCRC is a site where only part of Sansha ships are spawned. Entering the site triggers the rest of the spawn, and it takes around 60 seconds for the full site to be active.

The Scout's job is to trigger the site and ideally tag respawning Sansha scrams, and provide the initial tag order on Deltole's and Outuni's for incoming fleet DPS.

The tags:

• ‘X’ - 2 x Schmaeels that are by the MTAC factory 100km off the beacon
• ‘X’ - 1 x Auga
• ‘1’ - ‘5’ - Deltoles
• ‘8’, ‘9’ - Outunis

Now the fun part - how to trigger spawn. There are 3 effective ways:

• Take the gate and warp in, and immediately burn with MWD up/down engaging cloak at the same time. Beware if you are targeted (yellow boxed) or less than 2km from an object you will be decloaked and if you will not warp out before locked, scrammed. Remember, to prevent split aggro, warp out of the site before the meatshield and the fleet warps in, or after the aggro is established on meatshield.
• Take the gate and warp in and immediately warp out
• Take the gate and warp in and get shot down (Rookie Ship option)

As mentioned, the TCRC is the most profitable, but most dangerous site. Preloading a TCRC allows the fleet to focus all of the site on 1st ship (meatshield) on a staged entrance and prevents split aggro which is most deadly.

Sites will eventually respawn after each is completed. This respawn time is about 7min 10sec, and it is good to know when each site despawns or will respawn, as it provides the fleet with the option to wait a couple more seconds for better spawn, or to rush the site to get new spawn.

This is the only thing that is done by a scout, that does not scouting per se. The Online Timers website will make it easier to keep track of multiple site timers, if used correctly. When any fleet in the current system completes a site, it will disappear from the overview, at which point you should start a new timer and alert the FC whenever any of the timers has around 1 minute remaining.

If you, as a scout, are doing all that was provided in the guide, and maintain your activity in the fleet with your main character, that is more than enough. But if you still want to go beyond that, there is shadowing the fleet. As the name suggests your scout will join any other running fleet in the same pocket, cloaked and updating the FC on the status of that fleet (what wave they are on, what percentage of tower damage they have remaining for TCRC's and TPPH's, etc).

This is something for more experienced incursion pilots as well more experienced scouts. It requires both good knowledge of the sites as well as good divided attention. You have to know when your scout can safely enter a site, where to position the ship and cloak, and not to disrupt the other fleet.

Shadowing, except its advantage of knowing what stage of site the fleet is in, provides also information on where the fleet will be heading, by watching where the fleet aligns as the site nears completion.