Hermes Class Probe

Hermes Class Probe Production information Ore Cost 0 Crystal Cost 1,000 Hydrogen Cost 0 Technical specifications Cargo capacity 5 Base Speed 100,000,000 Engine unit(s) Jet Drive Requirements Shipyard 3
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The Hermes is a small, incredibly fast unmanned probe meant for exploring enemy territory. Sending these on an espionage mission will get you a report about their planet.

Evaluation

ADVANTAGES

This is the only espionage craft in the universe, and it is extremely fast.

No planetary defenses have Rapid Fire, so Hermes can be used as fodder in some assaults on targets with defenses but few ships.

In sufficient numbers, Hermes can have surprisingly high survivability against the Erebus Class Fighter.

Hermes boost overall score by counting as one fleet point each.

DISADVANTAGES

Every other ship has Rapid Fire against the Hermes Class. It has no combat potential at all (i.e., its attack strength is 0).

ESPIONAGE REPORTS

The details for espionage reports can be found in the page for Espionage Tech. Note in particular that if a probe does not retrieve all information, sending more probes in one group may be able to produce a more detailed report.

ATTACKING WITH

Even though the Hermes has a small amount of cargo space to hold fuel, it is unable to capture resources from a raid on an enemy planet. The main effect of this is to prevent hyper-fast farming of planets without ships or defenses.

Note that although Hermes can be used to detonate Space Mines at a target, and such detonations can (25% chance each) strike defending ships (earning DSP for ships destroyed), such attacks may be deemed intentionally unprofitable and therefore harassment and grounds for suspension.

Usage

The espionage probe can be sent out in two ways. One is by clicking the eye-shaped icon in the galaxy view for the planet you wish to espionage. Another is to send it from your fleets page by typing in the coordinates and selecting the espionage mission type and the number of probes you wish to send.

Sometimes it is desirable to probe a planet that is so distant the Hermes cargo space is insufficient to hold the fuel required. In this case it may still be possible to do the espionage by entering the target coördinates on the Fleets page and selecting a reduced speed.

Other Uses

The Espionage probe is normally used for espionage against other players, in order to gauge their strengths, determine what sort of threat they pose, or whether they are a suitable target to attack. However, espionage probes can also be used in a few other ways.

Fodder: When attacking an opponent, a number of Hermes probes are sometimes sent out along with the invading force. As the defenders randomly fire at the attackers, a fodder screen of Hermes probes might save a larger ship (such as an Athena) from a Plasma Cannon. The cost is crystals lost from the probes, but as they cost little to rebuild, and can be rebuilt quickly, the net result may be worth the loss.

Ferries: The miniscule cargo space inside a single Hermes makes this ship undesirable for regular transportation, but with a very large fleet of Hermes, it becomes possible to transport reasonable quantities of resources with exceptional speed. The fuel efficiency and speed of the Hermes mean that many trips actually require a fractional fuel cost, which is rounded up for a single ship, but distributed among the whole fleet for an armada of several ships. You may be surprised by how much space you then have. Ferries like this can be used for sending hydrogen to get a fleet out of a bind, to top off the last resource needed for a build or research project, or for moving the last bit of resources off a planet prior to abandoning it.

Moon shots: Players with sufficient crystal find that fleets of probes are the most convenient method of trading moon shots (or donating moons to smaller players). In Conquest, destroying 6000 probes in a battle provides a 20% chance of generating a moon. 6000 probes can be destroyed by a defending force of as little at 500 Artemis Class Fighters.

Against Erebus: The Erebus Class Fighter (along with the Moros Class Battleship) does not have rapid fire as such. Since the Erebus base attack is less than 30% of the Hermes base hull, Hermes generally survive single hits from Erebus. (The fact that Erebus attacks bypass shields is irrelevant as the Hermes has no shielding.) Consequently, a sufficient number of Hermes can be a defense against Erebus, which is the fastest ship capable of destroying an Hephaestus Class Attack Platform.

Statistics

Cost

Ore: 0
Crystal: 1,000
Hydrogen: 0

Specifications

Hull Rating: 100
Shield Rating: 0
Weapons Rating: 0
Cargo Capacity: 5
Base Speed: 100,000,000
Hydrogen Consumption: 1
Engine Type: Jet Drive

Rapid Fire

Against Hermes
Charon Class x 0
Helios Class x 0
Hermes Class x 0
Empusa Class x 0
Thanatos Class x 250
Zeus Class x 1250
All Others x 5

See Also

• Ships
• Oracle