Archives for EVE GUIDES category
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES, EVE ISK Guide |
19
Jan
The world of EVE online is a massive one, filled with possibility and opportunity for players to explore, trade, and battle. Few MMOs can compare to the unprecedented amount of freedom offered by the world of EVE online. There are no set classes or ship loadouts, players are free to customize their character and ship however they see fit and then set out into the massive galaxy before them.
To truly appreciate the scope of EVE online, players should really experience it for themselves. Fortunately, with the free EVE online trial, any interested gamer can do exactly that, free of charge.
Register for the Free EVE Online Trial
The first step on the journey into the world of EVE is to head over to the EVE Online Free Trial Page. Fill in all the relevant information and press the “Confirm” button to continue.
Download the EVE Online Game Client
After pressing the “Confirm” button on the registration page, you will be redirected to a confirmation page. Double check that you’ve entered all the information correctly and when you’re ready, press the giant “Download EVE Online Now” button at the bottom of the page to begin the download.
Choose the correct version of the client based on your operating system and press the corresponding
button. Doing so will redirect you to another page where you’ll be asked to once again confirm your operating system.
The next page offers you a choice between the original, classic graphics and the new and improved premium graphics. The premium graphics require a slightly faster processor, a minimum of 128 Megs of video memory, and more than twice as much hard drive space.
Most modern computers should have no problem with the premium requirements, so the major concern here is hard drive space. If you’re in a hurry to get into the game or have limited space available, you may want to go with the classic content. Everyone else would do well to check out the premium graphics, the extra time is well worth it.
Click the button below your choice and choose an easily-accessible save location.
Log in to EVE Online
Once the download finishes, open the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. Once you’ve reached the last step, simply check the box next to “Run EVE Online,” scroll to the bottom of the user agreement to accept it, log in with the name and password you created on the registration page, and begin creating your first character.
You are now on your way to experiencing everything the world of EVE Online has to offer. I should warn you, it’s an addicting world to step into.
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES |
13
Jan
Congratulations, you are now the proud owner/pilot of a new basic frigate of your race’s preference. This ship has been equipped with a civilian-class weapon (varying by vessel and skill), as well as a basic mining laser. While you have also been provided with a basic tutorial by your local insurance company and assigned agent, this guide has been provided as a supplement and aid for helping you decide your future.
As you have probably seen already, this part of the galaxy does not provide many “free lunches”. Ship owners are expected to provide a service or commodity of some kind in order to earn ISK, and often this will require ISK before you can provide many services. The exception to this is running simple courier missions for other ship owners, running simple locate-and-destroy agent missions, and mining. This guide will assume you will take up mining; however, please keep in mind that you are not limited to always being a miner, and many other career paths are open to you in this universe.
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES, EVE ISK Guide |
13
Jan
Eve Online: Mining guide
At the beginning of every production line within Eve Online lies the humble miner gathering raw materials from the depths of space, from the simple shuttle to the greatest titan, all of these ships require raw materials to be made. So as much as the hardcore PvP’er may dislike it, the carebear miner is still in great need.
What mining entails is simple, flying out to an asteroid belt, and using mining lasers/drones to harvest the ore in the asteroids. The types of ore found are as follows, ranging from most common to least common:
Veldspar
Scordite
Pyroxeres
Plagioclase
Omber
Mercoxit
Kernite
Jaspet
Hemorphite
Hedbergite
Gneiss
Dark
Ochre
Crokite
Spodumain
Bistot
Arkanor
The greater the rarity of the ore, the lower the sec status it will be in. For example Arkanor and Bistot can only be found in 0.0 sec space, while Veldspar can be found pretty much anywhere! The most common progression for a new player who plans to follow the mining “career” ship-wise is shown below:
Mining Frigate (i.e Bantam)
Mining Cruiser (i.e Osprey)
Mining Barge – Procurer
Mining Barge – Retriever
Mining Barge – Covetor
Exhumer – Hulk
Of course this progression is not set in stone, as many pilots like to use battleships to mine in for the reduced training time and greater tanking abilities, the Caldari Battleship Rokh being a prime example of this. Many people also skip the Procurer to go straight for the Retriever, and/or skip the Covetor to go straight for the Hulk.
Mining within Eve Online is quite simply done, fit a mining laser, target an asteroid, then wait for your cargohold to full up. Due to this simplicity it is a cause of controversy within Eve Online as there is a growing usage of “Macro Miners” using programs to mine for them, which is against the EULA and is a bannable offense.
In my opinion, Mining within Eve Online is best done while multi-tasking and if your only half paying attention to the game, such as watching a film or doing work. Otherwise, there are far more profitable (and fun!) things to do with your time. But in the end of the day everybody is different and I am sure some people love spending all night mining ore in safe high sec, and the best of luck to them!
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES, EVE ISK Guide |
13
Jan
Ship Fitting Guide
On all ships within Eve Online, there are certain limitations on what that ship can fit and use. These limitations are as follows:
CPU – This can be raised through the use of items such as co processors
Powergrid – This can be raised through the use of items such as power diagnostic relays.
High/Medium/Low slots – The amount of high/medium/low slots cannot be raised.
Also some items can only be used on special types of ships, some examples of this are:
Strip Miners – Only useable on mining barges
Covert Ops Cloaking Devices – Only useable on Covert Ops ships
The job that you are fitting the ship to do, will affect what modules you fit on it, for example you wouldnt fit a shield recharger on a ship designed for armor tanking! In general high slots are used for weapons i.e missile launchers, lasers and gun turrets. Mid slots are mainly used for shield tanking; with items such as sheild hardeners and capacitor rechargers. And low slots are mainly used for armour tanking, with items such as armor repairers, cargo expanders, damage control units etc.
While fitting a ship, it is (usually but not always) best to play to its strengths and not just make it up as you go along! Even if you can armour tank a Drake, or even hull tank a Raven, it doesnt mean you should!
An example of a good fitting for the Drake, from battleclinic, is:
Shield Power Relay II (An item that increases the regeneration rate of your sheilds, by lowering the regeneration rate of your capacitor)
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Ballistic Control System II (An item that increases the rate of fire of your missile turrets, so that they fire more missiles in a shorter space of time)
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES, EVE ISK, EVE ISK Guide |
7
Jan
The Gallente are the defenders of Freedom and democracy in the Eve Online Universe. Player representatives of this faction are likely to be more interested in free trade than a free and honest government, but that can be said for any player character in this online space MMO, regardless of the character’s affiliation.
The people of the Gallente federation are fierce believers in democracy and the role of free will and human rights in the affairs of man. It is only on the planets controlled by this nation, according to some of the universe’s denizens, that an individual can pursue opportunities and live out his dreams, or at least that is what the author of this Eve-Online wiki page would like the reader to believe.
Getting the Most out of Your Stating Ship: the Incursus
Defending the causes of democracy, human rights, and free trade is a noble goal for any man, but one cannot do it without the proper equipment. The federation has, in its wisdom, seen fit to supply pilots who complete their training program with the reliable, if not always ideal, Incursus. This marvel of somewhat outdated technology is as reliable as any starting ship can be. Many Eve players prefer to purchase a different ship, such as the Tristan of the Caldari, as soon as they earn enough money to purchase a new vessel.
Once the player completes the introductory quests with his trusty or rusty Incursus, the player will be escorted to Gallente controlled space. Here he can start on the missions that will earn him enough points to gain favor with the Federation.
The best course of action for a new player to raise his faction standing is heading to the Federation Navy space stations to see what mission representatives of the FDU want the players to do for them. The Incursus may be underequipped for these missions. It may also have undesirable hard points, but a player can find out how to tweak this vessel, best suited for lightning raids and dodging enemy fire, by doing research on all the ships of Eve.
Political Factions in the Gallente Federation
Gallanteans – These people of French descent make up the bulk of the federation. The game stats are as follows:
The Intaki did not start out as members of the Federation, but were absorbed into it. Their soft-spoken demeanor and introspective tendencies have led many Intaki to great success in the Federation’s bureaucracy and government.
Intelligence: 8
Charisma: 6
Perception: 3
Memory: 7
Willpower: 6
Intaki – The Intaki did not start out as members of the Federation, but were absorbed into it. Their soft-spoken demeanor and introspective tendencies have led many Intaki to great success in the Federation’s bureaucracy and government.
Intelligence: 8
Charisma: 6
Perception: 3
Memory: 7
Willpower: 6
Jin-Mei – The Jin-Mei joined the Federation before they came into contact with the Amarr Empire. This might have saved this faction from the same fate of the Mimnitar, but the idealistic goals of the current government do not always mesh well
with the rigid caste system. A civil war raging on the Jin-Mei worlds prevents a more direct clash of cultures. The starting stats for the Jin-Mei are average, giving them neither weaknesses or strengths in many areas.
Intelligence: 5
Charisma: 7
Perception: 6
Memory: 5
Willpower: 7
Drone and Other Important Skills
The skies are a dangerous place. The Caldari and a few select corporations may agree with the sweeping goals of the Federation, but there are many other factions in the universe who do not and would not mind seeing the Gallente fade into nothingness.
The pilots who want to keep the galaxy safe for freedom and democracy will need to learn gunnery, electronics, mechanical, and engineering, but they should start with the learning skill, which reduces the amount of time it takes for Eve Online characters to learn their skills. Rounding out this list are drone related skills. Managing the drones attached to his ship will be the most important skill for any Gallente Federation pilot. More information can be fond on the Gaxonline web site.
The skills will be repeated here for those who find bulleted lists far easier to read.
Learning
Gunnery
Electronics
Mechnical
Enginering
Drones
It does not hurt for a Gallente player to choose a faction that helps with his engineering skills, as many of the drone related skills fall under this discipline in the game.
How an Eve Online Player Raises His Faction Standing with the Gallente
A player that wants to raise his standings with the Gallente Federation should seek out non-player character corporations that have friendly relations with this faction. After a pilot completes 16 missions, each of which will give small faction boosts with the Gallente as a whole, he will receive a storyline mission with an agent from the Federation itself. Completing storyline missions will give him the largest faction boost. (This information was supplied to the author by the Eve Online player Kalith Blackhand, a member of the Caldari corporation.)
Of course, in order to maintain a high faction standing, it is necessary to avoid activities that will cause the faction that bills itself as the only force for Freedom and Democracy in Eve from looking unfavorably upon the pilot. No matter how tempting it might be, a pilot attempting to get the Federation to look favorably upon him should refrain from attacking Gallente ships.
As always, pilots should make sure they complete the missions received from their contacts in a timely fashion. Not completing missions will cause a non-player character contact to lose faith in a player and lower his standings with the game faction that he represents.
Missions with non-player character controlled corporations can be found the easiest in systems controlled by the Gallente Federation. The navigation computers that are a ncessary componnent of any ship that travels betweeen the stars can help a character find a friendly place to dock. A starting pilot should be sure to upgrade the hard points on his ship when available. The first ship a Gallente pilot uses relies heavily on superior firepower and the ability to run away. Getting shot at should be the last goal of any pilot in Eve Online, especially if they are flying a scouting vessel. (Be warned that this cannot always be avoided.)
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES, EVE ISK Guide |
7
Jan
Eve Online
Eve is an in depth and complex sci-fi MMO set in a gigantic fully functioning universe with a bustling economy and plenty of warfare. There are loads of options in terms of the ship you choose and as with all MMO games it is important to build your character up and develop useful skills. In order to get a decent ship you’ll also need to build up some cash and choose your set up carefully depending on whether your principal aim is combat or trade.
The Rifter
The Minmatar Rifter is one of the toughest frigates in Eve and it is one of the best choices for PvP, giving rookies a fighting chance as they learn to play. It is fast and extremely powerful with a decent range of slots making it a flexible craft. Now even after the recent patch, which has rebalanced a number of factors in the game and seriously reduced the effectiveness of the Rifter, it is still a good choice of ship. The frigate class are light and fast so they are best for scouting or attacking weaker ships but you can fit them out for any purpose.
Rifter Slots
The Rifter has four high-powered slots, three mid-powered slots and three low-powered slots. This makes it an
offensive craft because generally speaking high-powered slots are for offensive weapons, mid-powered slots are for propulsion, sensor, shield affecting and electronic items and low-powered slots are for armor and assistance modules.
Defense
When you fit out your ship there are loads of different options. Starting with defence you’ll want to purchase some kind of armour. The choice is between fitting a large armour plate which will require no further action and hopefully give you the time you need to blast your opponent into oblivion. However it will weigh you down and slow your top speed. Alternatively you fit a normal armour plate and bolster it with an armour repairer and a resistance module, this is known as an active tank. This means you will have to use your capacitor to repair damage as you fight but it also means your craft will remain light and fast. Of course you will need repair skills for this set up to work well so you may be best starting out with fixed armour, usually called a passive tank.
Propulsion
Next up you’ll need some kind of propulsion or you won’t be going anywhere. Your choice is between a micro warp drive and afterburners. The micro warp drive lets you cover greater distances faster but it gives off a signature which makes you easy to target and it can be disabled by a warp scrambler. The afterburner might be a better way to go. You can also fit out your ship with a warp scrambler or disrupter to stop prey from escaping.
Weaponry and Combat
Now we get onto the fun part, the weaponry. You’ll probably want a rocket launcher along with three cannons. As for what
size of cannons you go for it depends on what you intend to do in your Rifter. There are various sizes to choose from and a mixture can work well depending on your motion prediction skill, use 125mm if it is low and 200mm if it is high.
With your Rifter fitted out you’ll want to head straight into the action but you have to select your targets carefully. You can go up against most other frigates, mining barges and some cruisers but there are ships out there that will chew you up so take advantage of your speed if you get attacked by anything too big to handle.
Tactics and Skills
The best way to attack is to get within range as fast as possible without being hit and then choose an orbit and speed round the target emptying your firepower into them. You’ll be able to hit targets at a decent range with projectile weapons so you can avoid laser fire by keeping your distance. You should also take advantage of your speed to stay out of the firing line.
You’ll need lots of basic skills to pilot the Rifter and you should aim to improve your navigation, rocket and gunnery skills to get the most out of it. You should also work on your capacitor skills if you go for the active tank system.
The Rifter is a versatile wee craft and fairly cheap compared to other ships so feel free to experiment and you should be racking up the kills in no time.
Posted on 2011 under EVE CD KEY, EVE GUIDES |
7
Jan
Eve Online – Guide to flying a Caracal
The caracal, is a very popular ship within Eve Online and can fil a variety of roles to suit the needs of whoever is flying it. From low-sec piracy, to fleet-work, to level 3 missions, the Caracal can be tailored to fit into these roles.
An example of a popular fitting is shown below, this fitting is designed to quickly and easily do level 2 missions:
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Invulnerability Field II
Photon Scattering Field II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
10MN Afterburner II
Assault Missile Launcher II
Assault Missile Launcher II
Assault Missile Launcher II
Assault
Missile Launcher II
Assault Missile Launcher II
As you can see, this fitting plays to the Caracals strengths with the use of assault missile launchers and invulerability fields. Using the afterburner, you can keep the rats out of your optimal range while shooting at them with your assault missiles. It is reccomended that you try to “kite” the rats (NPC ships) to keep them at range, rather than trying to orbit them.
For a cruiser sized ship, the Caracal can fit quite an impressive buffer tank which should be used to your advantage while doing pvp. Although, the downside to using the large sheild extenders to give you this buffer tank is that your signature radius will increase, making you easier to hit. Most people, myself included, think that this is a small penalty to deal with for the amount of tank you gain!
Another benefit to the Caracal, is that it is very affordable for even a brand new player as it only costs between 2-4million isk depending on location, and with the fitting shown above it can go through level 2 missions facing very little issues.
The Caracal is one of the most versatile and useful ships within Eve Online, and if flown correctly can definatly be a force to be reckoned with for players both young and old!
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES |
6
Jan
“Well, Mr. I-don’t-think-anything-can-be-more-beautiful-than-an-oversized-chunk-of-rock-because- I’ve-never-been-off-Intaki, what do you think?
Mon Dieu, man, pick your jaw up off of the floor, at least. Drool is hard to get off of a carpet.
Heh heh. Yes, the Crystal Boulevard is indeed impressive. You really haven’t seen wonder until you’ve seen an entire street – buildings, roads, lamps and all – made out of clear crystal. This is a view I have trouble getting tired of.
Not all of it’s the same, you realize, of course. The buildings and lots change hands constantly, so they have to be made of something fairly cheap that still sparkles in the sun. Usually glass, and some of the cheaper places have actually started using clear polymers in buildings. Completely ruins the ambiance, as far as I’m concerned. Plastic doesn’t gleam like crystal does.
A few of the richer, better established places are pure crystal, though. Take the Glittering Dream nightclub, for instance. It’s not only made completely – inside and out – of the clearest crystal you can find, it was grown on the spot. They used some of the most advanced shaped crystal growth techniques in the universe to shape that place just how they wanted – that’s why it looks like a triple helix. The owner wanted to make a statement about the building blocks of life being built out of the building blocks of planets or something or other. Why a triple helix, you ask? To be different, mostly, I think.
That does sum up the whole Federation in a nutshell, doesn’t it? Being different. Walk down the street of any town on any modern Federation planet and you’ll see a thousand different fashions all walking past each other. Some calm, some loud, some downright perverse (ever hear of a place called the Caduceus, on Sovicou? Eugh, don’t ask, you don’t really want to know). Each and every one of us tries to seize individuality as hard as we can. It’s what’s made the Federation the wonderful mess of a melting pot it is today.
Damned odd thing about it is, though, it’s also what makes us the strongest society in the universe. What do I mean? Well…
Take another look at the Boulevard. Ignore the buildings, look down at the road. Pretty, eh? Cobblestoned, but it’s all still clear and gleams like nothing else, not even the best buildings? And it seems bottomless, right? There’s a reason for that. The “cobblestones” are just decoration, carved into the surface. The street itself seems bottomless, but it really goes down for twenty meters. You see, the Boulevard itself – the road, and the foundations of all the buildings for about a block all around – is one solid chunk of diamond. Manufactured diamond, but still as hard as the real thing. Five square hundred-meter blocks laid in a row, each twenty meters deep, and the hardest material in the known universe. And for eighty meters beneath that, it’s layers of plates of latticed crystal-carbonate-nanofiber armor – the same stuff used in the most elite of military starships. The Boulevard is really the shield for the security bunkers of the three governmental branches and the Military Command in case of planetary bombardment – you can shoot a shell from a thousand-millimeter kinetic accelerator from orbit onto the Boulevard and not achieve a breach through the individual blocks. And even when the diamond shield does break, then you have to go through the layered carbonate-nanofiber armor, and you still have chunks of diamond to get through, which makes any shot bounce and lose force. Nuclear weapons’ll do nothing to the topshield – it’s already been heated and compressed, after all – and it’s heavily faceted in layers so shooting it with lasers from orbit is totally pointless. Never mind the heatsinks, in any case – they bleed off excess heat into the surrounding earth, so you’d have to direct enough firepower onto the Boulevard to turn half the district into molten slag to get through. Only direct-contact antimatter bombs could do the job, and even then it’d need enough antimatter blasts to end up destroying most of the Caille city district in the process. Essentially, you can’t get to the bunkers without laying waste to the entire city, and generally invaders who want territory want to try and keep urban centers as intact as possible.
The Ultra-Nationalists came up with the idea, of course (who else would?), during the early days of the Caldari War. They were afraid the Caldari might try and pull something exactly like Tovil-Toba ended up doing, and so decided to spend a ridiculous sum of money on the safest command bunker money could buy. One of them was sharp enough to realize that the project could pay for itself with a bit of deft positioning, though, and suggested putting civilian structures on top of the diamond shield. Even after the UNats were deservedly kicked from office, Tovil-Toba managed to convince just about anyone in office that the UNats might have been on to something concerning a super-fortified bunker for the government in case of concentrated planetary assault. So the thing was built, and the government rented space on top of it to whoever wanted it. They made back the expense in 20 years and have been raking in profit ever since.
Heh. I can see you’re getting tired of the allegories, so I’ll get down to it: the Federation, for all of its wild diversity, is a lot stronger than it looks. Any citizen with half a brain can understand that the freedoms that let us wear translucent clothing aren’t exactly looked on favorably elsewhere. (I’ll admit not everyone has that much of a brain, and again, you want examples, head for Sovicou… or better yet, don’t.) They understand that, despite how different we all are, what we have collectively is worth defending. Get a Gallentean angry about his freedom or the freedom of someone he knows and he’ll be ready to fight to the death and further. Sure, some folks might be “armchair activists” about Amarrian slavery… that’s not what I’m talking about. The Minmatar aren’t “our people”, or at least the Republic ones aren’t. It’s one thing to protest something happening many light-years away. But the Amarrians never made more than probing slave raids into the Federation, and you know why? They immediately realized that they’d never be able to enslave us, not without slaughtering most of us. Even if they did get people off of the streets of Luminaire, or Intaki, or Daasa, or Sovicou, or wherever, we’d fight them to the absolute end. Beneath all of our differences there’s a single bond between every living Gallentean that makes us hard as diamond: a love of freedom.
And yeah, that’s your answer, after a fashion. I figured you were here for my reaction to Kataphraktur’s comments about Gallente-Amarr relations. Soon as I heard them I knew a reporter would be here, although I wasn’t sure if they’d send you. I brought you up here so you’d understand the reason behind the answer I’m going to give.
And the answer is: I agree. Sooner or later, the Federation and the Empire have to beat the ever-loving shit out of each other and only one will rise from the carnage. One of us surrenders individual freedom for a universal human mission, and the other allows each person to define his own mission. In the end, the two can’t co-exist; they’re polar opposites, and they’ll clash eventually. I respectfully disagree with the good Holder as to who’ll win, but he’s got the right of it; no matter how long we put it off, it’s got to end in blood.
And I just hope to the Gods that we win. If the Amarrians take over the galaxy, we’ll never get out of the resulting dark age.
Anyway… enough worrying about the Amarrians, eh? Come on, let’s head for the top bar of the Glittering Dream. If you think this view is something, you haven’t seen anything yet.
Oh? What’s that? Wondering why anyone would ever want to walk onto the Crystal Boulevard, knowing what it really is?…
Well. It’s like I said earlier. If you were an invading army, and you wanted to take the planet, would you want to destroy a national treasure, frequented by the citizenry, and be forced to destroy the entire city along with it, just to get at the leadership?…
Now come on. They’ve got this drink you’ve just got to try. Quafe, I think it’s called…”
- comments made by Duran Ricard, 6th Federal Ambassador to the Amarrian Empire, to a now-forgotten reporter of Intaki descent, 60 years ago.
Posted on 2011 under EVE GUIDES |
6
Jan
Love them or loath them, missions form a large part of the EVE-playing experience. Whether you are grinding missions for a Navy ship offer, simply to earn piles of ISK or just passing time waiting for corporation members before embarking on a mining expedition, chances are you will run a fair few missions during your career.
Missions can be an important source of ISK and minerals, but, as well as these benefits, the associated corporation and faction standing changes have a significant role to play in the current game mechanics. You may get special treatment if you are favoured by a certain faction, or get shot on sight if you let your reputation drop too low.
Even if mission running can be a very lucrative occupation, a pilot has to constantly keep in mind there are still risks, and underestimating the dangers may lead one to quickly lose a ship. The purpose of this guide is to prevent this from happening, by not only describing the base mission mechanics but by also providing some advice in the same vein.
Types of MissionsMissions do not consist of only one type of activity and offer various purposes depending on a pilot skills and preferences:
Encounter/kill: Encounters, or kill missions, require a ship captain to fly to a location and destroy ships found there. There are currently two types of encounter missions: those located in deadspace pockets (a.k.a. ‘dungeons’) where you warp to an acceleration gate prior to engaging with the NPCs, and those where you warp directly to a particular engagement.
Courier missions: Entail moving goods from one station to another. These goods may be specific sealed cargoes or common market commodities. You may need to make multiple deliveries across many systems using an industrial transport ship, or the delivery may be able to fit into the hold of a frigate and only involve a quick visit to the next system.
Trade missions: Trade missions differ with the courier ones as they need a pilot to provide the agent with the goods requested in the mission briefing. These goods need to be purchased (or produced) by the pilot and delivered to the destination station.
Mining missions: Consist to deliver volumes of minerals or ore to a certain location. These items can either be mined and reprocessed directly by the pilot or purchased on the open market.
Special MissionsStoryline missions: After every 16 regular missions completed you will be offered a storyline mission. These will be one of the regular mission types but will differ by having a great impact on your faction as well as corporation standings. The initial 16 missions can be completed for any agent, as long as those agents are aligned with the same faction and are at the same level as each other. The number of missions is not altered or reset by rejecting or failing an accepted mission.
Cosmos missions: Most of the Cosmos missions may only be done once, but they provide unique rewards and give a significant boost in standings. However, pilots have to find Cosmos agents inside complexes to receive such an offer.
Epic Arc missions: Epic mission arcs are composed of a series of branching missions that present the player with choices. These choices will determine how the Epic Arc concludes. These missions also increase your faction standing considerably.
Posted on 2010 under EVE GUIDES, EVE ISK Guide |
30
Dec
Last week I discussed the basics of the “ratting” profession in EVE Online, from picking a good system to three popular ratting strategies. If you’re planning to hunt NPCs in nullsec, of course, you’ll need to get there first. Pilots who aren’t in an alliance with secure access to nullsec will have to run the gauntlet from empire space to their chosen ratting system. The entry points into EVE’s nullsec regions are often camped during peak hours and you can expect to run into roaming gangs. Things get a little easier once you’re at your destination, but you can still expect to see the occasional pilot or gang passing through the system. Your ability to get into nullsec safely and your efficiency at ratting will be determined largely by the ship you’re using and how it’s set up. For someone who’s never been to nullsec before, setting up a ship for the task and heading into the void can be a daunting task.
In this article, I look at selecting the appropriate ship for ratting, some popular ship setups and important safety tips that will help keep your ship safe in hostile territory.
Battleships
If you’re ratting in friendly territory, a tech 1 battleship is the obvious choice. Any battleship can be set up to tank even the biggest NPC asteroid belt spawn and most make short work of NPC battleships. Popular choices for ratting battleships include the Raven, Typhoon, Armageddon, Apocalypse and Dominix, though others can perform just as well. A cruise missile Raven or Typhoon can deliver its full damage to NPC battleships from up to 250km away, suffering from none of the range or tracking issues that might slow down ratting in a turret-based ship. The ship never has to move from each asteroid belt’s warp-in point and requires very little micro-management.
Other popular ships for ratting include tech 2 heavy assault cruisers and tech 3 strategic cruisers. They both have a very high power-to-weight ratio, able to deal around 500 damage per second but without the sluggish turning speed of battleships. With their high agility, they’re able to align and warp out much quicker than a battleship in the event that an enemy pilot enters the system. If you can afford the ISK to splash out on a tech 3 cruiser, it can be set up with the same damage output as a heavy assault cruiser but with double the tanking potential. This makes strategic cruisers perfectly suited to running cosmic anomalies and exploration complexes solo. At the lower end of the price spectrum, tech 1 battlecruisers like the Drake and Myrmidon can also make good ratting ships.
Setting up
For long-term stays in nullsec, laser-using ships like the Armageddon, Apocalypse, Zealot or Legion have the added benefit of not consuming ammunition. Similarly, dedicated drone ships like the Dominix and Ishtar will never need to restock on ammo, with the added advantage of being able to field any damage type they want. If you’re using a ship that needs ammo, you’ll need to keep a stock of it nearby. For ratting in NPC systems or your alliance’s territory, you’ll have the luxury of being able to store ammo in the nearest station. If you’re ratting somewhere more remote, I’d recommend hauling a giant secure container or two full of ammo to the target system and anchoring them in space for easy resupplying.
The general idea with ratting ship setups is to maximise your damage per second while making sure you have a tank that’s both capacitor-stable and strong enough to withstand a triple battleship spawn. To save on slots that might be useful for other modules, it’s best to fit hardeners for only the damage types the enemy deal. Serpentis and Guristas deal only kinetic and thermal damage and Sanshas and Blood Raiders deal EM and thermal damage, making it very easy to tank them without using too many low or mid slots. Angel Cartel and Rogue Drone NPCs are a little harder to tank as they deal all four damage types. If you’re expecting trouble, it also makes sense to tank against all four damage types as roaming pirates will expect you to be tanked only against the local NPCs.
Insertion point
The simplest way to get into nullsec would be to join a corporation that’s already established there. For those who don’t live in nullsec, getting out there might seem like an incredibly daunting task but it doesn’t have to be. You’ve probably heard horror stories about all the entry systems being permanently camped, with warp disruption bubbles on every stargate and station and people throwing capital ships at small targets like a hammer used to smash an ant. Anyone who has been in nullsec for any length of time will tell you how far from the truth this actually is.
The reality is that most of the time there’s at least one mostly unguarded entry system into a nullsec region from empire. There will also always be a time of day during which the local alliance has low member activity and the route may be clear. To find out which routes are clear enough for you to run the gauntlet, get a friend to go ahead in a cheap frigate or cloaked covert ops ship. Having a scout stay one jump ahead of you will warn you of impending danger, including gate camps you might be headed for and warp disruption bubbles you might get caught in. It’s absolutely essential that you have a scout if you plan to move through nullsec safely; to do otherwise is practically suicide.
Gatecamps
Rather than fitting your ratting setup for the journey into nullsec, you’re much better off stowing those modules in your cargo hold and fitting a travel setup. A few warp core stabilisers will let you escape if you’re tackled by a roaming pirate or two but if you get caught inside a warp disruption field or interdiction sphere, they won’t help you at all. Keep in mind that when you warp to a stargate with a warp disruption bubble behind it, you can sometimes be pulled into the bubble. This is because your warp path lined up with the bubble and if this happens to your scout, try to warp to the stargate from a different angle by first warping to another planet in the system.
Tech 3 cruisers are particularly great for travel as with the right subsystems they can get both a covert ops cloak and an immunity to warp disruption fields. With careful timing on your warp commands and activating the cloaking device, a tech 3 cruiser can go right through a crowded gate camp unimpeded. You’ll need to stow your full combat setup, including subsystems, in the cargo hold of your ship. Once you reach your destination, you’ll need a station or a friendly starbase or carrier to refit the ship.
Safety tips
If it ever comes down to a fire-fight between a ratting ship and a couple of pirates, the ratter’s probably heading home in a pod. The best strategy in nullsec is to avoid fights entirely and to help you do that, your first line of defense is the local chat channel. Detach it from your other channels and place it at the side of your screen where you can always keep an eye on it. The pilot list in the local channel will update instantly when any pilot enters the system. If an enemy or unknown pilot appears in the list, align to a planet and be ready to warp out if anyone appears in the asteroid belt with you. If you’re within range of a stargate, you might be able to pick the enemy up on your directional scanner and see what class of ship the pilot’s in.
Cloaked covert ops ships and force recons won’t show up on the directional scanner and may take you by surprise. Even if a force recon ship can’t kill you on its own, you can be sure its buddies aren’t far behind! If you suspect that there’s a cloaked enemy ship in the system or just want to get safe as soon as a name appears, your best bet is to set up safe-spot bookmarks in the system before you start ratting. Just warp between any of the planets in the system and make a bookmark through the people and places tab while in warp. Since you can still be found here using scanner probes, you should have a number of safe-spots and warp between them constantly until the enemy ship leaves the system. If an enemy fleet rolls into the system and you haven’t been involved in PvP in the past 15 minutes, feel free to log off and your ship will disappear within a minute.
Summary
Ratting in nullsec is a great way to make ISK that a lot of people write off as too dangerous. With the right equipment, strategies and safety advice, it can be a relatively safe endeavour that will produce a significant stream of ISK. Hopefully this guide has given you the tools to launch a ratting expedition into nullsec and explore some empty systems. Who knows, maybe you’ll find an officer and hit the jackpot!
