Hermes Class Probe
Evaluation
ADVANTAGES
This is the only espionage craft in the universe, and it is extremely fast. Also, no planetary defenses have Rapid Fire against the Hermes Class, so they can be used as fodder in some assaults.
DISADVANTAGES
Every other ship has Rapid Fire against the Hermes Class. And it has no combat potential at all.
ESPIONAGE REPORTS
The details for espionage reports can be found in the page for Espionage Tech
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.
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.
Uses
The Espionage probe is normally used for espionage against other players, in order to gauge their strengths, and 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 might save a larger ship (such as an Athena) from a plasma cannon. The cost is a lot of crystals lost from the probes, but as they cost little, and can be rebuilt fast, the net result may be worth the loss.
Ferries: When a player has gotten all nine of their planets, it is sometimes useful to abandon a world, and recolonize it, or recolonize elsewhere. A player would want to move all their resources, crew, and ships off of the world before abandoning, but as long as a fleet is in transit away from the planet, it cannot be abandoned. The wait time can be hours, and a few resources will be generated during the wait. Some players will use hermes probes, with their phenomenal speed, to scoop up the last of these resources just before abandoning. If one uses a large number of probes they can also be used to transfer cargo between planets, much like an Atlas class, albeit much much faster, although the cargo capacity of 5 makes this an expensive idea to attempt.
Statistics
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
Zeus Class x 1250
All Others x 5
Easter Eggs
The Hermes Class is similar in design (and function) to a Protoss Observer from StarCraft.
