System Signal Sources

Not to be confused with Unidentified Signal Sources, which are a subcategory of System Signal Sources.

A beacon floating in space

While supercruising through a star system various signal types can be seen overlaid on the view of space.

Signal Source Types

These are the types of designated signal sources:

Conflict Zone

• Conflict Zone - can spawn as Low or High Intensity
  • Created during Civil War or War. You can temporarily align yourself to one of the factions and will receive combat bonds for the destruction of enemy ships.
  • The amount you get from each combat bond depends the ship you destroyed
  • (assuming one spawns) Earn 150,000 CR for routing a capital ship

• Powerplay Conflict Zones:
  • Military Strike
    • Zachary Hudson or Denton Patreus Expansion special conflict zone.
  • Crime Sweep
    • Arissa Lavigny-Duval's Expansion special conflict zone.
  • Resistance Pocket
    • Archon Delaine Expanson special conflict zone.
  • Violent Protest
    • Simguru Pranav Antal Expansion special conflict zone.

Checkpoint

• Checkpoint
  • Spawns during Civil Wars with one party being a controlling minor faction.

Nav Beacon

• Nav Beacon
  • These locations are located close to the primary star of every inhabited star system. These locations spawn a variety of NPCs. The most commonly spawned NPC types are traders, freighter convoys, smugglers, bounty hunters, pirates, wanted, and security vessels.

Pirate Activity Detected

• Pirate Activity Detected
  • High threat (5-7) signal sources populated by several pirate ships from various criminal factions. These ships are heavily-armed and piloted by high-ranking pilots; some ships may also be Engineered.

Resource Extraction Site

• Resource Extraction Site
  • The rewards here are higher but equally the NPC's are harder than the Nav Beacons. You DO NOT need to join a faction here. You simply target other ships, scan them and if one of them is wanted you take them out and, if they have cargo, steal their haul which you can sell on the black market. These areas, along with Nav Beacons, are full of pirates and bounty hunters. A Resource Extraction Site outside of a planetary ring is far less likely to contain NPCs.

Weak Signal Source

• Weak Signal Source
  • Weak signal sources *tend* to imply that few vessels are present. These most times contain salvageable cargo, almost always illicit and must be sold at black markets. Some missions require you to investigate these sites and locate specific items adrift in space.

Strong Signal Source

• Strong Signal Source
  • Strong signal sources *tend* to imply that many vessels are present. Be aware of elevated risk when investigating strong signal sources. Flying as a wing may help: there’s normally safety in numbers.

Seeking Luxuries

• Seeking Luxuries
  • This signal source was removed in February 2015 for balance reasons. It was supposed to spawn traders in large freighters who buy luxury goods. They only bought Performance Enhancers, a possible placeholder for future variety.

Seeking Meds

• Seeking Meds
  • At this location, Basic Medicines are sought and can be sold for a good price. "Seeking Meds" appear, if a faction is in state "Outbreak" (see also Faction State).

Convoy Beacon

• Convoy Beacon
  • Much like conflict zone where trade convoys have been interdicted and attacked.

Debris Field

• Debris Field
  • Lots of debris can be found here.

Seeking Weapons

• Seeking Weapons
  • Sometimes seen near conflict zones and in systems in a state of War or Civil War. Similar to 'Seeking Meds' only in this case weapons are the items being sought. Further investigation is needed to ascertain if armour and all weapon types can be sold at these locations.

Seeking Foods

• Seeking Foods
  • Minor factions affected by Famine are looking for Food Cartridges here.

Salvageable Wreckage

• Salvageable Wreckage
  • Contains canisters to be salvaged.

Unidentified Signal Source

USS are a subcategory of signal sources.

• Unidentified Signal Source
  • Once scanned, Unidentified Signal Sources will resolve into one of several subtypes. They may contain squadrons of pirates, large 'wanted' cargo vessels (which you can destroy and steal the cargo without becoming wanted yourself) and sometimes just empty space with low value cargo laying around. Typically these areas have more than one bad guy, so you can visit these locations without being attacked (as long as you don't have cargo) and have a look around, but bounty hunting or piracy at these sites may require a combat focused ship due to the random nature of the encounter (there may be Anacondas!).
  • Assassination missions require you to visit these sites in order to locate the target. Usually you will find a damaged trade convoy that will tell you the last known location of the target, but are usually no more specific than a system.

Non-Human Signal Source

• Unidentified Signal Sources can become Non-Human Signal Sources. These usually contain encounters with Thargoid. Non-Human Signal Sources are most common in the vicinity of the Pleiades Nebula.