====== Exploration ======
> //We've beamed you through the security grid. You should be somewhere near the target, but you'll need to look for it.// \\ ---[[:agents:Central]]

It is almost always important to **explore** a [[:facility]] to find the locations of the [[:facility#objective rooms|objective room]], the [[:facility#exit room]], the [[:guards:]], and to a lesser extent devices like [[:mainframe devices:Corporate Safes]], and the [[:facility#guard entrances]]. Exploring a facility allows the player to make strategic decisions about which rooms to visit in which order, how much loot can be acquired safely before [[high alarm levels]], and what route to take to the exit once it is time to leave. Information about the guards' [[:guard behaviour#patrolling|patrols]] can also support tactical decisions about how to navigate an area safely.

Faster exploration also allows the player to hack [[:mainframe devices:]] more efficiently before their [[:firewalls]] rise, and exploring more of the facility also gives a direct [[:credit]] reward if [[:augments:MicroSLAM Apparatus]] is installed.

===== Exploring with agents =====

The main way to explore a facility is to move [[:agents:]] to see as much of it as feasible.

===== Hacking cameras =====

Hacking [[:mainframe devices:Security Cameras]] helps the player to explore, since hacked cameras give vision to the agency. Cameras can normally only be hacked once they are discovered by seeing them, but a camera can often see parts of a room which are not visible to an agent who can see the camera, especially if the agent is [[:peeking]] from outside of the room where the camera is.

It becomes more efficient to explore a facility by hacking cameras if you can do so without an agent having direct [[:vision|line-of-sight]] on the camera. Cameras can also be discovered by [[:agents:Internationale]]'s [[:augments:Wireless Emitter]] augment or a [[:items:Wireless Scanner]], by hacking a [[:mainframe devices:Camera Database]], or using the program [[:programs:Oracle]]. Cameras seen when exploring with a [[#hacking drones|hacked drone]] can also be hacked to give the agency vision over an area for longer than the drone is controlled, allowing the player to determine the [[:guard behaviour#patrolling|patrols]] in a room, or whether the room is [[patrol-free rooms|patrol-free]].

Most rooms are rectangular and small enough that a camera in the corner sees the whole room. This means that if you see a camera while [[:peeking]] through a closed door, there is often no need to spend an extra 1\ [[:AP]] for a [[:peeking#full peek]] with the door open.

===== Hacking drones =====

[[:Drones]] can be hacked and temporarily controlled to explore a facility. From [[:mission difficulty]] 2 onwards, every facility has either a [[:guards:Camera Drone]] or [[:guards:Pulse Drone]], and [[:corporations:Sankaku]] facilities usually also have other drones. While controlled by the agency, drones can be moved by the player, and give full 360° vision to the player with an unlimited range, regardless of their usual [[:vision]] cone.

Exploring with drones is relatively safer than [[#exploring with agents]] because hacked drones can step into enemy vision with no consequences, and other guards do not investigate [[:doors]] opened or closed by hacked drones. However, hacking drones other than [[:guards:Pulse Drones]] carries some risk, because they become [[:guard behaviour#alerted]] after they return to the enemy's control.

Pulse Drones are the ideal drones to explore with since they are controlled for 2\ turns, can move further than other drones, and afterwards they return to their previous [[:guard behaviour#patrolling|patrol]] due to their [[:guards:Pulse Drone#Focused AI]]. Camera Drones are also generally safe to explore with, since they are also controlled for 2\ turns, and when alerted they are less dangerous than other drones because they have no weapon. Other types of drone are only controlled for 1\ turn when hacked, so it is normally not worth making them alerted just to explore with 6\ [[:AP]] of movement (or less).

The most useful drones to explore with are those near [[:doors]] which you cannot easily get an agent to. When a drone is [[:guard behaviour#patrolling]], it may help to wait a turn in order to hack the drone when it is in a different place, in order to explore further with it; when using [[:programs:Parasite]], take care in choosing when to infect the drone. At [[:alarm level]]\ 1, it is also often advisable to wait so that a drone can remain controlled at the time alarm level\ 2 is reached; this way its base [[:firewalls]] will not be raised. However, this should be balanced against the benefit of exploring with the drone to find and hack other devices before their firewalls are raised.

After exploring with a drone, it is usually best to leave the drone [[:rebooting]] in a place where it will not cause problems for the player. After waking up, drones will be facing in the direction they last moved, and will use their [[:Local Scanner]] (or [[:guards:Pulse Drone#Pulse Scanner]]) for one turn; while rebooting, if they are not in [[:cover]] then they can also distract other guards, which may or may not be helpful.

===== Hacking databases =====

[[:mainframe devices:Databases]] can be hacked to reveal information to the player. This information is usually more useful if the Database is found earlier in the mission; the main benefit of hacking them is to see which directions are likely to be dead ends, so the facility can be explored with minimal backtracking.

Every facility has one of the following:

  * Hacking a [[:mainframe devices:Camera Database]] reveals the locations of all [[:mainframe devices:Security Cameras]], including [[:mainframe devices:Security Camera#inactive cameras]]. This allows further exploration by [[#hacking cameras|hacking them]], and perhaps the opportunity to hack them before their [[:firewalls]] go up at [[:alarm level]] 2; even if you don't, their locations can tell you how far the facility layout extends in some directions, and which other directions are likely to be dead ends. This is less useful in [[:corporations:K&O]] facilities, which have fewer cameras than other facilities.
  * Hacking a [[:mainframe devices:Console Database]] reveals the locations of all [[:Consoles]]. This can tell you how far the facility layout extends in some directions, and which other directions are likely to be dead ends. Consoles with low base [[:PWR]] can also be used to [[finding the exit#from consoles|find the exit]].
  * Hacking a [[:mainframe devices:Facility Database]] reveals the outline of the whole facility layout, giving almost perfect information about dead ends. Additionally, small "dents" in the outline indicate [[finding the exit#from a facility database|where the exit is]], as well as [[:facility#guard entrances]]. By learning the shapes of [[:prefab|prefab rooms]], the outline can also reveal the locations of [[:facility#objective rooms]].

===== Identifying distinctive decor =====

The decor of most [[:prefab]] rooms can be used to identify [[:facility#objective rooms]] or the [[:facility#exit room]] if a few tiles from the room are revealed, for example if you glimpse them through a [[:door]] opened by a guard. Objective rooms often have distinctive floor colours, markings on the floor or walls, and [[:cover]] objects; the exit room also has distinctive wall markings next to the exit teleporter itself.

===== Sounds made by devices =====

Some [[:mainframe devices:]] continuously make sounds, which can be heard even if the device is not revealed to the agency; the sounds are louder when the device is nearer to the center of the screen, and quieter when the device is off-screen. By listening for these sounds when exploring, these devices can be roughly located and identified; each device has a distinctive sound.

^ Device ^ Sound ^ Description ^
| [[:guards:Null Drone]] | - | A quiet electrical hum. |
| [[:mainframe devices:Scanning Amp]] | - | A mechanical buzz which fluctuates in intensity. |
| [[:mainframe devices:Server Terminal]] | - | An electronic drum pattern played in a loop. |

It may be easier to hear these sounds if you reduce the volume of the game music relative to the game sounds, or play without music.

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