Cosmic Anomaly
A Cosmic Anomaly is a hidden site in space, guarded by a faction of pirates, a group of Rogue Drones, or even ancient Sleeper Drones (in wormhole space). Capsuleers can find and eliminate the hostiles inside, often in exchange for a CONCORD bounty or in order to collect valuable salvage from the wreckage. Cosmic Anomalies can be found using a ship's on-board scanner or by use of scan probes. While, they are not as difficult as their Cosmic Signature counterparts, Cosmic Anomaly encounters are significantly easier to find, and can still give substantial rewards. There is a low possibility of a Pirate Faction Commander appearing within an Anomaly, carrying special faction modules. Furthermore, when destroyed, hostile ships within the Anomalies will occasionally leave behind clues which will "escalate" the Anomaly: leading to a new location with greater potential rewards. When an Escalation occurs, information about the new site will appear in the expeditions tab of the Mission Journal. In Null-security systems, certain infrastructure upgrades may increase the rate at which Anomalies can appear. Unlike Cosmic Signatures, Anomalies do not appear in a Deadspace zone and, thus, allow the use of MicroWarpdrives.
Scanning
Cosmic Anomalies can be found without any extra modules and skills by using the on-board scanner equipped in every ship other than capsules. The on-board scanner scans nearby space within 64 AU for Cosmic Anomalies and returns the results after 10 seconds of scanning. One can also utilize scan probes to find Anomalies, only one probe is required for Anomalies and it will provide a warp-in point for any Anomalies within its scan range, making it easier to find all Anomalies within a system. Please consult this Scanning Guide for detailed instructions on using scan probes.
Difficulty
There are 10 different classifications of Cosmic Anomaly, ranging in difficulty from easy (class 1) to hard (class 10). Among these, Anomalies of certain classes appear in 4 different level's, which seem to indicate increasing difficulty from Level 1 (easiest) to Level 4 (hardest) For example, an Angel Hideaway would be easier than an Angel Forsaken Hideaway, both of which are easier than an Angel Hidden Hub.
| Cosmic Anomalies | Levels | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | (Faction) Name | Rogue Drone Variant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1 | (Faction) <Level> Hideaway | Drone Cluster | Hidden | Forsaken | Forlorn | |
| 2 | (Faction) Burrow | Drone Collection | ||||
| 3 | (Faction) Refuge | Drone Assembly | ||||
| 4 | (Faction) <Level> Den | Drone Gathering | Hidden | Forsaken | Forlorn | |
| 5 | (Faction) Yard | Drone Surveillance | ||||
| 6 | (Faction) <Level> Rally Point | Drone Menagerie | Hidden | Forsaken | Forlorn | |
| 7 | (Faction) Port | Drone Herd | ||||
| 8 | (Faction) <Level> Hub | Drone Squad | Hidden | Forsaken | Forlorn | |
| 9 | (Faction) Haven | Drone Patrol | ||||
| 10 | Faction) Sanctum | Drone Horde | ||||
| High Sec | High & Low Sec | Low Sec | Low & Null Sec | Null Sec | ||
New Eden's Anomalies
Cosmic Anomalies may only be found in certain regions where the associated faction maintains a presence. These regions are as follows:
It's not uncommon to find the same type of Anomaly Class with different Level's located in the same system. For example - (Faction) Hideaway, (Faction) Hidden Hideaway, (Faction) Forsaken Hideaway and (Faction) Forlorn Hideaway can all spawn in the same system along with other types of Anomaly Class.
Escalations
Anomalies can escalate, giving pilots the exact location of a DED-rated complex without having to scan for it. The following Anomalies will lead to the following escalations. Although escalations often lead to sites in lower security systems, the pirates in these sites often have a greater chance of leaving behind valuable faction modules. Anomalies in wormhole space will never escalate.
Wormhole Space
Cosmic Anomalies can also be found in wormhole space. These Anomalies are guarded by sleeper drones, which are significantly more deadly than most pirate faction ships. Furthermore, these sites do not escalate.
| v · e · Exploration Categories | |
|---|---|
| Sites by Type | Anomalies · DED Complexes · Unrated Complexes · Expeditions · Wormholes · Gravimetric · Gas · Relic · Data |
| Sites by Faction | Angel Cartel · Blood Raider · Guristas Pirates · Rogue Drones · Sansha's Nation · Serpentis Corporation · Sleepers |
| Site Listings | Anomalies · DED Complexes · Unrated Complexes · Wormholes · Gravimetric · Gas · Relic · Data · All Signatures |