tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44953885504588906742024-03-04T21:55:34.111-08:00EVE Lost and FoundSven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-27149386499411440892018-01-06T21:44:00.000-08:002018-01-06T21:44:00.949-08:00Part 3 in Why Upwell Structures are Terrible: Destroying Citadels/ECs for Profit? and Why They Stifle Content<br />
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<i>Destroying Citadels/ECs for Profit, and Why They Stifle Content (pt.3 in my Upwell structures series) </i><br />
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Can you make decent isk destroying Citadels and ECs? Can you use them, as aggressor or owner, to create conflict for solo and small gang players? Do Upwell structures in general create or stifle content? I'll answer these questions here, but tl;dr: Kind of but not really worth it, and Kind of but not really worth it, and yes they stifle content but things might soon be getting better with Structures 2.0. <br />
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My posts in this series have covered stats on <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2017/06/staistics-on-citadel-ec-and-market-hub.html" target="_blank">the usage and proliferation of new the structures</a>, and some light testing and <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2017/07/how-much-trade-can-lshs-player-hubs.html" target="_blank">studies into profit potential for solo players</a>. What I care about much more, though, is whether Upwell structures create interesting content. Are they fun to use? Are they fun and rewarding to attack and destroy or defend and save? Upwell structures have been in development for over 2 years. The release of Citadels, then ECs, then Refineries, has occupied a large portion of dev time during that span. One would hope that such time-consuming and potentially game-changing content would provide enjoyable gameplay for both owners and attackers. What, ultimately, do we want from the new structures? I think, from the perspective of everyone from solo players to large blocs, Upwell structures should be:<br />
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1) A place to live and stage, scalable from the solo player to the largest coalition.<br />
2) A replacement to all of the functionality of starbases (and more), in a much easier to use, visually impressive, enjoyable package.<br />
3) A source of conflict that is enjoyable for both attackers and defenders and rewards active, intelligent gameplay.<br />
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So far, I think, 1 and 2 have largely been satisfied, but 3 is massively lacking. Citadels and Engineering Complexes have been one of the main sources
of "conflict stifling" over the past year. Why? Outside of creating a
trade monopoly in Perimeter or hoping for a good loot drop in a
Wormhole, there's little reward for destroying them given the power of
asset safety. By the end of 2018 it is likely we will see some regions (e.g., Delve) with a Keepstar in a majority of systems, for instance. While some of the first keepstars destroyed created <a href="https://zkillboard.com/ship/35834/losses/">some of the largest fights in the game's history</a>, the novelty has largely faded, making it hard to get excited these days about the prospect of grinding down structures--let alone hundreds (or thousands) spread throughout a region.<br />
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More significantly, though, conflict over the new Upwell
structures is extremely <b>binary</b>. Either they are in a state of
invulnerability--in which case they are an unassailable, offensively
powerful, yet a perfectly safe harbor for friendly pilots and assets--or they are
briefly vulnerable, in which case they can be assaulted for an intensely "fun" set
of 3 timers spaced over a week, during a timezone set by the owner, spent grinding down a structure
(sometimes, in cases of medium structures, worth less than 1b isk) which will
provide little to no profit upon destruction and is little to no inconvenience to
replace. <br />
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Fortunately, CCP has said they have heard player complaints. There is a large and rare consensus in the community about the problems with new structures--on the forums, blogs, in game, in groups, and on reddit, etc. The 3 periods of timers, the damage caps, the proliferation, the perfect safety of tethering, timezone tanking, all on top of asset safety, combine to make a disappointing game mechanic that has stifled conflict over the past few years and only gets worse as they proliferate. CCP's plan in "Upwell Structures 2.0" as announced at 2017's EVE Vegas and previewed at eve.updates answers some of the player complaints and some of my own personal issues. However, I will wait to post on the changes when CCP releases dev blogs, as the scheduled release date is not until the first quarter (or later) of 2018. Everything I say about destroying Upwell structures for profit--or conflict--here will only be more relevant when structures are more vulnerable especially when inactive.<br />
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<b>A Year of Killing Structures Solo/with Alts: The Results </b></div>
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A single player can certainly destroy any Upwell structure, given enough time or alts, especially when the owners are either inactive in EVE or not interested in defending the structure. How easy is it? How many are inactive? What kind of profit can players make destroying them? And what kind of interesting conflict can be created from attacking structures that are not owned by inactive groups?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWALl0e1lweAeUVZ_wi0LDvQ35vUAhgxCJDXMItDaGP1LbGHHdQcTJdY0EpJE2-bbtGGv7-4RyKmOcICDSPYe9MmOc3DvM1Hep5sETmnkIqDR6r3ubmC9ooeKyJD1oyHjr2Zd391JUR1Ym/s1600/2017.10.11.03.40.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWALl0e1lweAeUVZ_wi0LDvQ35vUAhgxCJDXMItDaGP1LbGHHdQcTJdY0EpJE2-bbtGGv7-4RyKmOcICDSPYe9MmOc3DvM1Hep5sETmnkIqDR6r3ubmC9ooeKyJD1oyHjr2Zd391JUR1Ym/s640/2017.10.11.03.40.57.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Let's answer the second question: How many structures are inactive in various regions of space? This is hard to answer, for one, because structures do not display their activity unless they are public and have services modules online or offline. In <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2017/06/staistics-on-citadel-ec-and-market-hub.html">the study I did a while back</a> while involved recording and tracking structures in 50 random HS systems, though, I initially found that around 10-20% of public structures with services modules remained inactive for a period of over a month. However, my later follow up 6 months later found that in all 50 systems I randomly picked, the amount of total player structures went from 198 to over 550 in a matter of 6 months, and of those 550, around 250 were public but lacked any online services modules. This does not automatically indicate that these structures are abandoned, but it does indicate that structures are rapidly polluting space and that many of them are not being used. <br />
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The best way to answer whether structures are abandoned or whether the owners will bother defending them is simply to attack them. So that's what I started doing in mid-2017. However, first, a <b>very big<i> </i></b>caveat: The <u>only</u> reason I was able to destroy these structures is because I was working from home during this time in my life, and hence had a flexible schedule. Working form home meant that a timer at 6AM, 11AM, 5PM, or 11PM were all usually doable. HOWEVER, and obviously, for the vast majority of EVE players many such timers would be impossible to meet. Since no longer working from home, the only structures I can even feasibly destroy are those vulnerable from 7PM to around 11PM US timezones. This problem is called "timezone tanking:" Most of EVE's playerbase are adult professionals with families, friends, or other obligations, and cannot set aside 3 1-2 hour periods at random times per week (often AUTZ) just to attack some boring structure. </div>
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The huge problem of timezone tanking aside, over the past year as a solo player (sometimes using 1-2 alts) I have destroyed the following: </div>
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<a href="https://zkillboard.com/character/91310024/reset/group/1404/losses/">12 Raitarus</a></div>
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<a href="https://zkillboard.com/character/91310024/reset/group/1657/losses/">1 Astrahus</a></div>
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<a href="https://zkillboard.com/character/91310024/reset/group/1404/losses/">1 Azbel</a></div>
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<a href="https://zkillboard.com/character/91310024/reset/group/1657/losses/">2 Fortizars</a></div>
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The skills amount to something like 70b isk in structures and structure rigs and modules destroyed. I kept rough track of how much I looted. M structures dropped on average 60m in salvage, the 3 large dropped around 700m each. Structures only occasionally had modules fitted, which only occasionally dropped. There was, due to asset safety, no other loot. <b>In total, I made 6.5b isk</b>, partly due to a few expensive service modules dropping (i.e., a market hub).<br />
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However, due to the 3 timer system in HS, all of these structures required 2 war dec periods to destroy, so 100m isk total. That's around 1.6b in war dec fees for the lot, bringing the net total down to around <u><b>4.9b isk</b></u>. (This does not include ammo spent, but void and tech 2 torpedoes are relatively cheap.) Just to be clear, I actually lost isk on almost all of the M class structures. Only a few had sufficient modules fitted (and dropped) to make a profit.<br />
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In sum, it is completely a waste of time and isk to destroy any structure in the M class, even if the owners left EVE years ago. This is, in my opinion, terrible game design in a sandbox. For L class structures, it is almost nearly a waste of time to destroy them. Given that I risked around 2-3b on the field against L structures, it is in no way worth the pay out. Again, given that conflict drives all forms of content in EVE--even purely afk PVE like mining--this is bad for the playerbase as a whole. </div>
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<b> Ships Used</b></div>
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So long as you reach the minimum damage threshold for pausing the reinforcement timer, there is really no ship requirement for destroying structures.<br />
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The deciding factor is firstly whether the structure is active. If they are actively manned and defended, specialized fits will be needed to tank the incoming damage and neut pressure, if possible. I have a marauder fit that is specialized for fighting defended structures, and can tank and DPS any M class structure (just barely surviving a maximally well-fit Astra). It is not really worth it.<br />
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I am not going to give the exact marauder fits, for one because structure defenses are among the areas CCP might be changing in the "Structures 2.0" release, and because they are highly situational. I have only used them on 3 occasions. Suffice to say, the marauder fits assume that the pilot of the structure has maximally and optimally fit their structure--using neuts, anti-sub cap missiles, and full ewar mids, and so on. To combat the neut pressure, I use high-grade implants and have a neutral alt bring in links and cap boosters. Of course, this is an extremely risky tactic. The marauder is/can be scrammed and webbed by the structure. If the owner brings in friends--alts or fellow corp mates or mercenaries--the marauder is likely dead. However, in cases where I am engaging a structure owned by a corporation with a single or very few members, it is "fun" to risk a ship that is likely worth two to three times the value of the structure being attacked. However, because of this isk disparity it is really not worth it. In general, if your goal is to destroy structures for isk or clean-up as a solo player, it is simply not worth targeting actively defended structures. The amount you have to risk is pointless when there are hundreds if not thousands of inactive structures across space. <br />
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This again goes to the highly binary and limited content involved in Upwell structure mechanics. If you bring enough logistics, the structure is essentially powerless to do anything and will not kill a single ship in its defense, let alone prevent its own death. If you lack sufficient logistics, your ships on grid will simply die one by one. This means that for large groups, killing structures is a tedious and boring grind (unless a defense fleet is formed to protect it, which is often rare), and has near zero risk, whereas for small groups who cannot meet the logistics requirements for risk-free PVP, it is a highly risky venture that is rarely worth it--yet another set of reasons why Upwell structures stifle content for groups both large and small. <br />
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If the structure is probably inactive or undefended, there are a number of ships I have used. The key is to maximize DPS per isk spent. It is theoretically possible to fit an officer fit polarized Vindicator that gets upwards of 2.8k DPS, but not isk efficient for the DPS gained. These are the following fits I have used that are highly isk-to-DPS efficient (and that I also have the max skills for):<br />
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<b>Gank Catalyst - 600 DPS for 10m isk</b><br />
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If I want to speed things up and use a third account, I put a secondary gank character in a DPS Catalyst. 600 DPS for around 10m isk is hard to beat, even if it does require reloading every so often.<br />
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<b>The Polarized Hecate - 1,050 DPS for less than 100m</b><br />
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The Polarcat is one of, if not the cheapest ship that can reach 1k DPS (especially since I still have a stack of Hecates left over from when they were 30m isk in Jita). In addition, it takes very little time to train relative to other high DPS ships. Switch to prop mode and get an instant 2 second align in case things get hairy. <br />
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<b>The Polarized Talos - 1,900 DPS for around 200m</b><br />
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The price of polarized large blasters varies quite a bit, but the polar Talos can run as cheap as 200m isk total. Use some augmented hobgoblins and you can easily reach 1.9k DPS on a ship that is no big deal to lose. <b> </b><br />
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<b>The Polarized Torp Rattlesnake - 2,200 DPS for less than 1b</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNziWTRHe6YrjcYOaAF2hyphenhyphenwyZItP102n2y68jsR_jo7z1g2ACdMV2YiTVqxH8l-fMwfrByQ5n7CDwQNA6nDGjvdsq7nkm-0pcgtpJKwvHUh3XixZTpM-ReDnnosQAujvYj-zb0_GXpRMuP/s1600/rattle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="1051" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNziWTRHe6YrjcYOaAF2hyphenhyphenwyZItP102n2y68jsR_jo7z1g2ACdMV2YiTVqxH8l-fMwfrByQ5n7CDwQNA6nDGjvdsq7nkm-0pcgtpJKwvHUh3XixZTpM-ReDnnosQAujvYj-zb0_GXpRMuP/s640/rattle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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An alt that has torpedo and drone skills can use a Rattle and reach well over 2k DPS. This is my secondary alt's main ship for inactive structure bashing. Augmented Ogres do almost 1k DPS by themselves, and don't have to be reloaded. <br />
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<b>The Polarized Vindicator - 2,500 DPS for less than 1b</b><br />
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For the really max DPS for reasonable isk (sub-1b) work, I use a polarized Vindicator, at 2.5k DPS without bling.<br />
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This ship selection is by no means exhaustive or even truly optimized. It fits my character skills and my playstyle. For instance, all of these ships require reloading. I do not fully afk structure bash, as that is simply begging to die. All three alts combined (Polarcat + Rattle + Vindi) gives me over 5k DPS for less than 2b isk on the grid. 5k+ DPS just about reaches the damage cap of M structures which reinforces them in 20-30 minutes depending on the M structure. For L structures this puts the timers at around 60+ minutes for an Azbel and 90+ for a Fortizar. If I truly want to afk bash, I switch an alt to an afk VNI that does around 800 DPS for less than 100m isk, but this takes a few hours per M timer. However, you only need 500 DPS or so to pause the timers of M structures, compared to around 1.5k for L class.<br />
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Total time for each class of structure is difficult to truly calculate and varies based on what ship and alt combinations I use. For maximal time efficiency, not including travel time to the structure, Raitaru's can take as little as 1 hour total over the course of the week / 3 timers, while Fortizars can take theoretically as little as around 5 hours total. More realistically, I don't always use multiple alts, I am not always on top of reloading right away, and travel time adds 10-20 minutes on both ends. Destroying a Fortizar using all 3 accounts realistically is a 7-8 hour project over the course of a week of 3 timers. This is, yet again, a complete waste of time and reiterates just how terrible these mechanics are for the average EVE player who, in fact, has a life outside the game. Let's hope CCP changes these mechanics at a deep level, making inactive structures easier to destroy and making them more fun to use and attack/defend. Otherwise 2018 will see more Upwell structures in space than players in the game. </div>
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Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-40066441483866125542017-10-27T16:47:00.000-07:002017-10-27T16:47:52.683-07:00Create the Content You Want to See (and some ideas for creating conflict in Lifeblood)In the first half of 2017--the last time, for the foreseeable future, I would be working from home--I did more solo roaming than I ever have in my 6 years of playing EVE. I took advantage of my flexible hours and lost about 20 ships in solo PVP per month (you know you are a solo PVPer in EVE when you measure your success by your monthly <i>losses</i>). That's, comparably, not very much for many active solo PVPers, but a lot for me given time constraints. I primarily roamed the north, from Verge Vendor LS to Pandemic Horde NS space and surrounding areas via the rarely camped RQH entrance. Later, I returned to Thera and roamed null if there were decent connections. <br />
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I would say 50% of the time I roamed to northwestern null I got good fights before getting blobbed into oblivion (thanks, of course, to all the people and groups who've PVPed me!). Many of my best fights were against players or groups roaming Horde space, not from Horde themselves (I often compare fighting Horde to fighting Concord. You can snag a few kills but it is hard-programmed into the game that you will die). I have dozens of fights recorded on OBS and I'd like to someday edit them for youtube, but this post is about something different, it's about what I constantly encountered on my way there.<br />
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While solo roaming as much as I could before taking on a more normal working schedule, I was "staging" from my market hub in Jufvitte, High Sec. I saw many of the same people in space in HS, from EVE UNI to war deccers preying on (<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/62260642/" target="_blank">or dying to</a>) EVE UNI, to afk miners, to mission runners. I saw dozens citadels and ECs go up each week, and dozens go inactive. There was some local conflict--such as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4b32dr/euni_basing_pirat_pocos_free_pocos_for_everyone/" target="_blank">EVE UNI's wars</a> against <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/6i9uk0/eve_university_successfully_complete_war_target/" target="_blank">HS "war deccers" and their POCO</a>s--but not many. <br />
<br />
I love the concept of "local conflict" in all areas of EVE--the idea that a group of players (sometimes new players, sometimes vets) can live in a location in some area of space and consider it their own, and run into conflict with another group of players who live there (or want to live there) and compete for the limited resources. "World wars" in EVE are cool--such as the currently dubbed "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gV2DJPj-IE" target="_blank">blue donut war</a>"--but often the small conflicts have the more interesting stories, and content that does not escalate to massive super/capital brawls. "Local conflict," though, almost always requires competition over limited resources, and as a result I am a huge proponent of CCP always looking to add limitations to resources. Single systems that can sustain hundreds of players, for instance, stifles content. POCOs are limited resources, moon mining refineries are/will be limited resources, market hubs are relatively limited resources, and so on. Are there stories of a small (10-30) player corporation waging war against another small local group in competitive for some resource? It happens occasionally in null--although small, unaffiliated groups are almost nonexistent--but not often. It is also rare in LS and HS. Perhaps it is most common in wormholes, where two small groups might compete for a specific hole. I wish I knew more stories of local conflict, in any case.<br />
<br />
<br />
I am a strong advocate of creating the content you want to see, rather than passively sitting by waiting for a war to develop. In the spirit of "creating the content you want to see," I've tried to do as much as possible as a mere solo player, and often with the goal of creating conflict or interesting content. I took my own POCOs, I destroyed starbases, I put up my own market and industry hub (more on this in the next post). Solo PVP itself is a way of creating content--sometimes for myself, usually for others.<br />
<br />
One day in mid summer, I was using an alt to ship scan citadels and ECs to record which were active, which had services and modules fit, as part of my citadel/EC research project (more on this next). I noticed a Proteus slow-boating off the undock of my Azbel. 30 minutes later the Proteus was still there, off-tether, so I ship scanned him. 6b in modules fit according to <a href="https://evepraisal.com/" target="_blank">EVE Prasial</a> at the time; a paper-thin mission running active tank that could be killed by three tornados or, maybe, 5 thrashers. I had neither. But I started paying attention, combat scanning and ship scanning all over, and AFK players in expensive ships were everywhere. And I thought: someone should take advantage of this.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPyuVBnJub08Oa2q5Xn4DsrSCpIqzPnw_addzk6zu7Gdkr9iRZzMe-7VxvxTCLRD-hS6xMq2EssvaiidhYpWc1NYT_fY2Xvo6L_N6mK9-wJPXV5la8jxCC_K-oY-6tZyIxA_P49gQmCHZ/s1600/prot+kill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="1138" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPyuVBnJub08Oa2q5Xn4DsrSCpIqzPnw_addzk6zu7Gdkr9iRZzMe-7VxvxTCLRD-hS6xMq2EssvaiidhYpWc1NYT_fY2Xvo6L_N6mK9-wJPXV5la8jxCC_K-oY-6tZyIxA_P49gQmCHZ/s320/prot+kill.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/64344474/" target="_blank">Well, I did</a>. The kill itself isn't really important--though it is always nice to make isk off PVP--but it got me thinking about how much content is out in space, waiting, drifting around, and how much could be created.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://community.eveonline.com/news/patch-notes/patch-notes-for-eve-online-lifeblood" target="_blank">Lifeblood</a> brings new content, new structures, new mechanics, and (maybe) new opportunities for conflict. Will Lifeblood's change to moon mining bring more "local" conflict? Will it bring conflict at
all? This remains to be seen, for one based on how unevenly distributed
the moon minerals are, and two, based on the overall supply refineries
provide. Here, then, are my current ideas for creating content and conflict: <br />
<br />
1. What if someone created a public freeport refinery in low sec on a moderately valuable open moon and made the moon extraction timer public? Assuming the price of the M refinery drops to sub-600m then dropping a bunch of refineries all over LS and making them public wouldn't be too costly, and might make interesting conflict when/if people try to mine the field. Or, at least, it would give groups something to blow up, which would give other groups an opportunity to counterdrop. So, the first idea I have for creating content is to put up a bunch of freeport refineries in active LS and make the extraction dates public. At the very least--if no one comes to mine or even destroy--I guess I will have to train some mining alts and grab the valuable goo. Win/win?<br />
<br />
2. Are there ways of exploiting the new mining sites? Some players were at first unhappy that ganking miners in the sites would be near impossible with the sites having a small cap on who can enter--almost "instanced" PVE areas. I am not going to let that stop me, and in the spirit of EVE even if it is not profitable or sensible in any way, I will find a way to gank miners in these sites--just on principle. However, are there ways of exploiting mechanics in the sites? For instance, can the Orca be killed? Can the friendly NPCs that help players be killed? I need to test this. For science. <br />
<br />
3. Pirate Forward Operating Bases. One of the more unknown parts of Lifeblood. Will FOBs, if left unchecked, disrupt high sec life in any meaningful way? <a href="https://zkillboard.com/group/1924/" target="_blank">You can see they are already being run in HS because they generate loss mails, collected here</a>. You can also keep track of players these NPCs have killed by looking at the HS losses for <a href="https://zkillboard.com/ship/43601/" target="_blank">blood raiders</a> and <a href="https://zkillboard.com/ship/46581/" target="_blank">guristas here</a>. There is a fantastic write-up on reddit <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/78s6ke/an_epilogue_of_the_new_pirate_fobs/" target="_blank">about how Spectre fleet destroyed the first of each type</a>. Ganking groups that attempt to run the sites might be a possibility--if, that is, anyone ever regularly runs them. There's a possibility a very bling marauder can solo them, which is something I may consider testing out. <br />
<br />
Other ideas?<br />
<br />
Oh, and way back in 2014 <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-i-got-26-billion-isk-bounty.html" target="_blank">I was up to a 2.6b isk bounty.</a> After years of hard work (dying), I have finally reduced that number to zero. Kinda bummed about it actually.<br />
<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-89295098673255262412017-08-30T12:46:00.003-07:002017-08-30T17:09:06.772-07:00Market Milestones: A 40b isk Month, Progress Past 600b, and a more interesting Economy<h2>
Market Trade in 2017</h2>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I was feeling nostalgic this week,
reading some of my <a href="https://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2013/12/exploring-and-trading-charting-my.html" target="_blank">original</a> posts about market trading back in 2014
when I was just playing with a few billion isk and a t1 hauler. I'd
haul things like 4 stealth bombers and some damage controls to a
faction war hub or system that bordered null sec, and was amazed when
I was able to PLEX my accounts via isk in just the first month.
Almost four years later, and I still find the markets in EVE an
incredibly fascinating experiment, and still tune into <a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" target="_blank">Delonewolf's weekly EVE Talk</a> when I update my orders, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Roedyn1/videos" target="_blank">Roedyn's Station Trading</a>
twitch stream (and still really miss EVE Prosper's weekly show, RIP).
Nowadays, I'm more interested in the market and
economy-qua-experiment than I am in making isk. But, the isk
basically makes itself, often in spite of my terrible trading habits.
<a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" target="_blank">When I first wrote a guide to regional trading</a>, I wrote:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That's the catch with regional
trading: it is very long term and heavily dependent on how much </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
you
invest into it, particularly if you do not want to micromanage your
markets.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We hit 600b in total profits this month
(that's like one good weekend for Rita Jita). I'm probably the worst trader in
EVE, like an economist who is personally terrible at investing or
making good economic decisions. Nah, I like the theories, the meta-,
the meta-meta- questions, the social psychology and virtual world
that is the game's economy, and I have Ramen Noodles and boxed wine
for dinner (a wild weekend for me in EVE is losing a few ships in solo PVP).<br />
<h4>
</h4>
</div>
<h2>
A 40b Isk Month in May - How it Happened</h2>
<br />
My prior record for profits in one month <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/03/market-milestones-30b-in-one-month.html" target="_blank">was 33b back in February 2016,</a> the month skill injectors were released. Last May I hit 42b due, this time, to PLEX (with a bit of help from working from home that month and having more time to play): <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V8vJ1CuUqkOtDhUxsueL660I8v0_LKB1AJ6TNcijJATTv9Ut7W_fHCKaoKU6PuMJvwGs87uVvkJYs5x9yLl6m414QtZf-8i-yybeGmzR10Q-ueVDTMjp8UDSxs90XWwgtMhsBE5k7uJD/s1600/evetrade2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="727" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V8vJ1CuUqkOtDhUxsueL660I8v0_LKB1AJ6TNcijJATTv9Ut7W_fHCKaoKU6PuMJvwGs87uVvkJYs5x9yLl6m414QtZf-8i-yybeGmzR10Q-ueVDTMjp8UDSxs90XWwgtMhsBE5k7uJD/s400/evetrade2017.jpg" width="400" /></a> May's breakdown was: 20b from PLEX, 22b from normal regional trade. Of that regional trade, around 8b was from <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2017/07/how-much-trade-can-lshs-player-hubs.html" target="_blank">the Jufvitte market hub project</a>, and the other 16b from the rest of the regional market hubs I stock here and there. With no traditional summer expansion and a rather deep "summer slump" in activity, I am honestly surprised I made so much casual trade profit in the quiet summer economy. From August to August, this puts me at around 200b for the year.<br />
<br />
The top two splits in the pie chart breakdown are plex and injectors, at
around 32b each (aka 32,000 million), while the rest of the profits are
distributed fairly even across various items sold at regional hubs. If
you can buy plex or injectors when "low" and sell when "high," it is
free isk--but how do we predict when the are low and when they will be
high? In 2017 it was easier than usual. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuGnA8K8NDpOcwB2K002AjRlX7033aEuem-8x0K3INoAFss5YCUFIqnKrwUzOw0PhWzX_A5Yxh8EhHU5Q_qRdaio7WJUZt9-02f2qSyYdvLabVyhpIp7UA4ueB-UuBxjgP_AtGYgYe940/s1600/profitbreakdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuGnA8K8NDpOcwB2K002AjRlX7033aEuem-8x0K3INoAFss5YCUFIqnKrwUzOw0PhWzX_A5Yxh8EhHU5Q_qRdaio7WJUZt9-02f2qSyYdvLabVyhpIp7UA4ueB-UuBxjgP_AtGYgYe940/s1600/profitbreakdown.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The <a href="https://community.eveonline.com/news/dev-blogs/plex-changes-on-the-way/" target="_blank">PLEX split was announced in March</a>, and released shortly after, putting upward pressure on PLEX prices for a few reasons. Sheer speculation was probably the main driving factor, but the split and removal of AUR increased the uses of PLEX itself. The lack of a traditional summer expansion being released may have also contributed to the PLEX rise, as there was not a large influx of players trying out or returning to EVE and buying and selling PLEX to jump start their play. <br />
<br />
Ghost training was increasingly discussed on the forums and r/eve and used as a main example of CCP's slow reaction to game-breaking bugs, mechanics, and exploits. Most people assumed CCP would imminently remove it, but it <a href="https://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/eve-online-news/exploit-notification-ghost-training/" target="_blank">wasn't until June that it will formally declared an exploit</a>. Yet this caused massive speculation on both injectors as well as PLEX, as some SP farmers tried to liquidate their stocks while many others invested in injectors for the inevitable spike.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5O8OtrrmVCMDxCElZEhZvgcBiDUeT2tK_TviohkABoiBUwKDUMC6tSltQR1gV4lLrpTMEVukdGHklgy5Z6ZDYbJa-PkzJhDsOBozOtnyGXGfn5P98yrUA13FYo5WWH-zkjLn8r5918g2n/s1600/rmt+trends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="558" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5O8OtrrmVCMDxCElZEhZvgcBiDUeT2tK_TviohkABoiBUwKDUMC6tSltQR1gV4lLrpTMEVukdGHklgy5Z6ZDYbJa-PkzJhDsOBozOtnyGXGfn5P98yrUA13FYo5WWH-zkjLn8r5918g2n/s400/rmt+trends.jpg" width="400" /></a>What will the RMT markets do now that "winter is coming," with the large (and only) expansion of the year coming around November? <a href="https://www.adam4eve.eu/market_trends.php" target="_blank">Adam4EVE's graphs</a> on market trends suggests why I think both plex and, following, injectors will rise. PLEX volumes spiked in mid-late summer with a massive PLEX sale, reigning in the spiking price that seemed to be fast heading to 4m per unit. <br />
<br />
Now that the volumes of PLEX are dropping back down, the price is slowly climbing back up. Barring another huge PLEX sale from CCP in winter, I'd expect PLEX to slowly resume its climb to 4m per, or 2b for a month of game time. The only game change I could see stopping this would be a change to 0% tax market hubs <i>or</i> another nerf to anom income. The former change would lesson the ability to manipulate RMT prices without real cost, while the latter would reduce money supply. In the past few months, <a href="http://cdn1.eveonline.com/community/MER/Jul_2017/9aaa_top.sinks.faucets.over.time.png" target="_blank">isk from bounties</a> has dropped by 10%, while <a href="http://cdn1.eveonline.com/community/MER/Jul_2017/9b_isk.float.3.png" target="_blank">money supply</a> has only plateaued. I would pay close attention to both graphs in the August and following economic reports (and sales from CCP), but from the looks of it, I'd say PLEX will be near 4m and L injectors close to 1b in early 2018.<br />
<br />
In August I was mostly unable
to play EVE. Traveling and moving left me without a computer that
could run the game. Yet I still made 15b or so. A large reason for this was rapid price changes across the economy--too many interesting changes to discuss. For instance, T3Ds doubled and for a few days tripled in price, and were reliably selling at those percentages. They sat at 30m almost all summer and each month I stocked up on more. Investing in them was a no-brainer: they are used tons in large fleets (e.g., jackdaws), as well as solo and small gang, as well as in PVE (exploration, wormholes), and some of their mats are used in other ships that were getting re-balanced. So, if you are wondering what to invest it for the upcoming winter expansion (or the next summer or winter expansions for 2018 if you are feeling really speculative), think about the following formula: What are materials or items that are already good to trade, which will be more in demand with higher player activity, which may also see a period of low supply as producers or gatherers work to catch up to demand? <br />
<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-7891666565294485192017-07-16T12:34:00.002-07:002017-07-16T16:58:48.780-07:00How Much Trade can LS/HS Player Hubs Capture? My Test at Owning a Market Hub (pt.2 in my Citadel/EC Series)<br />
<a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2017/06/staistics-on-citadel-ec-and-market-hub.html" target="_blank">In my first post in this series about Citadels/ECs</a>, I covered broad statistics about their usage, ownership, and proliferation. The findings of that post were simple: 1) There's a ton of them piling up in HS/LS, 2) even more in NS/WHs, 3) many of them are inactive, and 4) the current 3-timer system stifles most conflict and needs change.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3NjrNaXSCLUHK14zuhra24_n9KnTHbdcK1P0NqZ1M6P8CovPIjogfS8WBv7h_14x3wMd-IytfOqPp5rr8-SJSlLsftGBtqLYvSFuW1kAXWb4WSICgCcgXQMytIQoElydwgRhG653DmAN/s1600/2017.07.14.16.43.59.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1532" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3NjrNaXSCLUHK14zuhra24_n9KnTHbdcK1P0NqZ1M6P8CovPIjogfS8WBv7h_14x3wMd-IytfOqPp5rr8-SJSlLsftGBtqLYvSFuW1kAXWb4WSICgCcgXQMytIQoElydwgRhG653DmAN/s320/2017.07.14.16.43.59.png" width="320" /></a>In this post I am going to get more specific (and interesting?) and talk about player market hubs. I'm also going to cover an experiment I've done over the past few months that attempts to test just how much of a market player hubs can capture, and how profitable they (theoretically) could be for both trade and tax. The experiment is not about making isk but capturing trade away from NPC hubs and seeing if a market hub obviously owned by 1 player will create any conflict. (More on the latter in pt.3 of this series.)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Market Hubs </b></span><br />
<br />
This
is the important part about the new structures, right? Except for low tax industry, market hubs are where all the money is
made in the new structures--not just in market taxes, but in having a market hub where you and
your alts get low/no tax. Before we can talk about the market hubs
included in the sample we have to set out some basic metrics for
comparing player hubs them to NPC systems/stations. Here's how I think about the hub tier list in EVE: <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jita
is in a class of its own, to be fair, and can't really be compared to
another other hub NPC or player. The next most active market hubs are
"S"-tier. They mostly do not allow player hubs to be built in system and
are in<a href="https://eve-marketdata.com/station.php?step=Rank&region_id=&sort=count" target="_blank"> roughly the top-five or top-ten</a> on the station trading rank. Many players do their primary trading at S tier hubs like
Dodixie and Amarr, for instance. Just in terms of number of orders, the
biggest player hubs just barely reach S-tier, if at all. By amount of
isk traded the hubs in Perimeter do, but that's just in virtue of the
amount of PLEX and Injectors traded there, not total ships and
equipment. A few null sec player hubs reach S tier but none of them are currently public. Trading in null hubs is, of course, super profitable, but requires a character in the respective alliance.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The A-tier set of hubs represents the<a href="https://eve-marketdata.com/station.php?step=Rank&region_id=&sort=count" target="_blank"> top 5-30 or so trading hubs</a>
in game by volume, isk totals, and number of orders. These are hubs
where regional traders often thrive and see good movement on orders with
decent margins. <a href="https://www.adam4eve.eu/market_hubs.php" target="_blank">Probably only a half-dozen player hubs currently (May-July 2017) reach A to low-S tier trade levels</a>:
The hubs in Perimeter, Maurasi and other hubs 1-2 jumps from Jita, a few hubs one jump from Amarr, and a few null hubs.
Most of these systems can house player markets, though, and represent a
significant space in which player hubs could, if stocked, take a large
portion of the isk traded. Player hubs in such systems stand to potentially capture much more by players if dedicated traders moved in.<br />
<br />
What
I would call B-tier hubs represent roughly the top 20-150 NPC hubs.
They are active areas of regional trade like mission hubs, FW and LS
hubs, and regional bottlenecks, and often have high margins but,
depending on the goods, lower velocity. <a href="https://www.adam4eve.eu/market_hubs.php?arg=station&region=&system=&sector=&sort=psv&avg=3&rows=250" target="_blank">There are about 30-50 player hubs that could be included in this category based on number of orders and volume.</a> What I would call C-tier hubs are basically everywhere else, and profit depends on a highly case by case basis.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How Much Trade can Player Hubs Capture?</b></span><br />
<br />
What is valuable about player market hubs, of course, is that they have significantly less taxes than NPC hubs, and theoretically no taxes such as if you own the structure. Before player hubs, serious traders would grind (or pay for someone else to grind) their NPC standings up to above 8-9.0 in order to get 1-2% lower taxes. Even just 1% lower taxes adds up in the long run. If you list 100b of items in an NPC hub in a month, dropping a few percent of the taxes can save you a few billion. Moving to a player hub with, say, zero or 0.1% tax likewise ends up saving a few extra billion a month if your volumes and margins stay the same. <a href="https://www.eve-mogul.com/leaderboards" target="_blank">Considering that some top traders list trillions of isk of items a month</a>, a few percent savings ends up meaning a great deal. <br />
<br />
I'm not really a serious trader--<a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2017/02/market-trading-in-eve-ascension-or.html" target="_blank">more of a lazy one</a>--but I do like efficiency. Switching
to player hubs with 1% tax or less saves me roughly 1-2b isk a month in
taxes currently, and theoretically could save me upwards of 5b in taxes or more if I only traded out of low tax hubs during max trade months. The difficulty, though, is attracting as many buyers as the nearby NPC hubs.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Market Hub Experiment</b></span><br />
<br />
<b>Goal: </b>Own a HS market hub as a solo player and capture, with other player hubs, as much of the<br />
system and regional trade as possible with the amount of orders I can field<br />
<b>Secondary Goals: </b>Create conflict?<br />
<b>Time Investment: </b>Restocking and updating orders only once a week (specifically: on Saturday or Sunday I watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/delonewolf/videos" target="_blank">DeLoneWolf's EVE talk episode on youtube</a>, and during this hour or so I am able to update most of the orders.)<br />
<b>Start Date:</b> Mid-April<br />
<b>End Date: </b>Whenever it gets destroyed or whenever I get sick of updating orders<br />
<br />
If you can capture the majority of trade in a system or region, more traders will sell at your hub, and more buyers will buy, more builders will build, and so on. There's a "snowball" effect, in that there
seems to be a critical mass of orders that prompt a lot of people to
switch to buying from a player hub. Because of the ability to get little to no tax, most player hubs are focused on "offshore" markets for RMT goods--PLEX, injectors, etc. However, hubs are slowly capturing more non-RMT goods trade. In June, for yet another month in a row, player hubs managed to capture around 1.0% more brokers fees compared to the previous month: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5tD5SXJBli3K19FtPJRLUvAFzvm5o98_E68Ty97qOiZVcuZODOGTLe2FVK8s05pOb35W5B4dUmZRQ0Y1TsuQyvwlMbW6PtyXTXXnDSxfoUERarMXKhFti2gGhxFUuUazcqU1jbMOThqe/s1600/junebrokersfee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="513" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5tD5SXJBli3K19FtPJRLUvAFzvm5o98_E68Ty97qOiZVcuZODOGTLe2FVK8s05pOb35W5B4dUmZRQ0Y1TsuQyvwlMbW6PtyXTXXnDSxfoUERarMXKhFti2gGhxFUuUazcqU1jbMOThqe/s320/junebrokersfee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If the trend continues, player hubs will capture 20% of brokers fees by early 2018.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOvfrGk0rutrVQNHaf7N3A-3ItDQ7p1cpKaZGKPASjPAe3cInNIkTD8hsVXhxBQByoUqyjkeY2a7v5S8DwpJHOJANi9vmI0KbSzm8v0Q3AjNzS3jJ9UAJj-AeEmGd5jhyphenhyphenpSWDZ31Lyfts/s1600/vv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1021" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOvfrGk0rutrVQNHaf7N3A-3ItDQ7p1cpKaZGKPASjPAe3cInNIkTD8hsVXhxBQByoUqyjkeY2a7v5S8DwpJHOJANi9vmI0KbSzm8v0Q3AjNzS3jJ9UAJj-AeEmGd5jhyphenhyphenpSWDZ31Lyfts/s320/vv.jpg" width="320" /></a>I chose an odd region to set up a hub--Verge Vendor, and the system of Jufvitte. I've only ever traded a few select items in this region, but I thought it would be an interesting place for a hub because 1) there is no central market hub, 2) there's already some player hubs which capture a lot of trade, 3) EVE UNI and some other active groups live nearby, 4) I roam the LS part of VV and often roam north to Horde space from this area. However, VV is not a great place to trade if your goal is to make isk. Market activity in the region is overall very low, but my goal in setting up a hub is to capture trade and see if it creates conflict, not really to make great isk. The other important factor is that I cannot update orders more than once per week, so a slower trade region works better for my goal. <br />
<br />
<br />
In regional hubs, the ability for players to hit "buy all" and shop at one location matters sometimes more than the prices. More players will buy a 10-20% higher isk Rail/Blaster Comet fit in FW LS if they can hit "buy all" at a station, as opposed to saving a few million isk at most by having to fly all over for the items. The same can be said for mining ships, haulers, and so on. <br />
<br />
As a result, I use one character's
300 total orders to sell essential ships and equipment at basically Jita
prices in my player hub, along with another set of 100 orders or so that actually
make me isk. The idea is that in order for players to buy my one item 20% over Jita
prices, I need to incentivize shopping at a player hub by selling all the other modules they need in the same place and at low prices.<br />
<br />
For the market hub, I used an Azbel and also set up manufacturing and research at basically no tax--and partly to have a more vulnerable hub to, again, try to create conflict. EVE UNI has a campus one jump away and the region has rookie/career agent system, so I partly wanted the industry available to them or people building for them in mind. I set up the market hub at .2% tax consistent with other hubs in the region, then later lowered it just .1%. Other market hub owners were not supportive of the tax rate getting lowered even more. I don't make much isk off the taxes (maybe 50m a month?) and the fuel comes out to something like 1b a month--but, again, I am saving around 1b in taxes that I would be paying if I traded out of an NPC hub.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRL95k5yKvQwgPWIhBOZ2aTZKKhXqxznL8RPMJwJdvuodsCHDfhpQFzWjnLkTNqzO5eXfrzYgaNpGRWsHkDJ9uo1O2i52Zwr7EcGAq93oyrZFlmeiWJS5CKkfJZNfBGmfa4NPUuYpv-B2/s1600/juf+indy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="680" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRL95k5yKvQwgPWIhBOZ2aTZKKhXqxznL8RPMJwJdvuodsCHDfhpQFzWjnLkTNqzO5eXfrzYgaNpGRWsHkDJ9uo1O2i52Zwr7EcGAq93oyrZFlmeiWJS5CKkfJZNfBGmfa4NPUuYpv-B2/s400/juf+indy.jpg" width="400" /></a>You can see the exact day I put up the hub. I do research BPOs there, but I usually forget about them for days or weeks, so it is interesting to see the industry side actually getting used.</div>
<br />
There's another reason I chose this system/region to set up a solo market hub--there was already a market hub in system which has had a stable 1500 sell orders for most of 2017. While I could afford to inject a bunch of SP into alts to get to that many orders myself, my bottleneck is time to play EVE.<br />
<br />
In total, then, the other player hub has 1500 orders and my hub ("Market and Industry" below) has around 500 out of the total (sell) 3000 orders in system. That puts player hubs at around 2/3rds of the sell order numbers in system. So I am kind of cheating in my experiment, given that another player hub is capturing far more of the trade in the system/region than I am can.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7CpcOkYq2cqh60sLIrJ5-RF2zxQSE3biJb49VE3FooNf0jMgpV1EHB8PrqMArRojbACsiJjWYgLxSWAMwga-zjZv1HstrbVT3p9OfgkuL7N0rWX-Pmddl8afv9iKfWvxxpcyEkiifyWv/s1600/juf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="591" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7CpcOkYq2cqh60sLIrJ5-RF2zxQSE3biJb49VE3FooNf0jMgpV1EHB8PrqMArRojbACsiJjWYgLxSWAMwga-zjZv1HstrbVT3p9OfgkuL7N0rWX-Pmddl8afv9iKfWvxxpcyEkiifyWv/s400/juf.jpg" width="367" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJpXP6YC-c249XqarSI23Uohro3K783dSCq4MKcWF8YL8kd5FJZ_His6EWmLLoz2P8aIYyKrJnQysbUooW7vxsAbOfKQGzj98wSJcsnKwd1MIxI-s-iRmKFS5ezMBR4ZNdA9LAG50Z8Sg/s1600/juf+citadels.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="834" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJpXP6YC-c249XqarSI23Uohro3K783dSCq4MKcWF8YL8kd5FJZ_His6EWmLLoz2P8aIYyKrJnQysbUooW7vxsAbOfKQGzj98wSJcsnKwd1MIxI-s-iRmKFS5ezMBR4ZNdA9LAG50Z8Sg/s640/juf+citadels.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Profits / Times orders were updated:</span></b><br />
<b>April: 7.3b / 4 updates</b><br />
<b>May: 6.42b / 4 updates</b><br />
<b>June: 5.53b / 3 updates</b><br />
<br />
So with around 500 orders updating only once a week (and missing a week in June) the hub made on average 6.4b a month. Profit has been declining largely due to the drop in activity in game. In terms of time spent, that's around 700m per hour, but I was also multitasking (hauling goods on a second account and listening to EVE Talk). The other player hub in system updated orders much more frequently than I did, so I would estimate that they made at least (if not decently more) 3x the amount of isk given they had around 3x the orders. If that player hub was just one person trading on many accounts, that's a good 15-18b isk a month at least (granted with considerably more time invested each month). How much more profitable would player hubs be in regions that are not terrible for trade? <br />
<br />
My market hub was just a small solo experiment in a region bad for trade but convenient for me at the time in game. Ratting in a super, multiboxing 50 rorquals in Delve, or aggressively station trading in Jita are more profitable--insanely more. But those activities just don't fit my super casual playstyle. <br />
<br />
Last up in this series--and really the entire point of it--covers Citadels/ECs as conflict generators. Market hubs owned by solo or small groups are all over. They generate isk, but what about any conflict? And if not, why?</div>
Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-42064983768461277562017-06-19T19:12:00.001-07:002017-06-23T17:52:13.240-07:00Statistics on Citadel, EC, and Market Hub Use and Ownership (and a small study)<b>tl;dr :</b> over the past few months I've been collecting info on Citadel/EC use and their impact on the economy and conflicts in EVE. In short:<br />
<ul>
<li>Players are using market hubs in almost all regions and collecting around 12% of trade, but largely in RMT (PLEX, Injectors, and Extractors) buying and selling, with market hubs capturing an added 1% more trade each month</li>
<li>However, when well-stocked, some regional market hubs have been able to capture over 50% of system trade volume in LS/HS systems</li>
<li>A significant number of market hub owners in HS (outside markets near Jita/Amarr) are small groups or solo players, and probably highly vulnerable to destruction by small groups and up</li>
<li>Based on a small random study I did, probably at least 10-20% of structures in HS are abandoned/inactive during the past month (of April), as a conservative estimate</li>
<li>There's very little incentive to destroy Citadels/ECs (except for strategic purposes especially in NS/WHs) and as a result very, very few die in LS and HS and, as a result, abandoned/inactive ones are piling up extremely quickly </li>
<li>As a result, CCP should probably reduce the number of timers on Astras and Raitarus (except those in HS?) to only 2, like wormholes--or they should remove/nerf asset safety. Or both.</li>
</ul>
<b>~ Don't read further unless you like words or are super interested in Citadel/EC usage statistics ~</b><br />
<ul>
</ul>
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_____________________________ </div>
<br />
Citadels have now been in EVE for one year (the Citadel expansion having been released on April 27th, 2016). Engineering Complexes are newer, at only 6 months, but nearly already even more prolific. These new structure have completely shaken up the meta of living in space and generating content--and in some ways not for the good. I am interested in the stats for these structures: How much are they being used? How often are they being destroyed? Who owns them? Are they generating conflict, or stifling it? Do they make much money--and if so, who is making that isk?<br />
<br />
Some of this info is fairly public--such as the number of new structured destroyed on zkill. First, then, we are going to look at stats CCP released at fanfest on new structure use. Second, we are going to look at the <a href="https://www.adam4eve.eu/stats_structures.php?system=30000142&since=today" target="_blank">fantastic data compiled on Adam4EVE's structure statistics page</a>. However, some of it is hard, if not impossible for mere players to acquire. For instance, ownership of structure and data on non-public Citadels and ECs.To try and get an overall picture that might answer some of these more interesting questions, I did a semi-random study on Citadel/EC use specifically in high security space.<br />
<br />
Before I talk about the methodology and results, it is worth looking over the stats CCP shared about structure use during fanfest: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju4hIU3EO_sRo846IkWPI3-QR0wWJpYv-AyD-5orer1Nnip7Q7HA5SAlzQTy69vXyDRYEIluy7_3l6QY_41O7ORIF1Yf2pADY3zJ61rb5CdgXeRKm20tof60HLfbW_3tc4WG_yJymJ1rYD/s1600/Structures+online.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju4hIU3EO_sRo846IkWPI3-QR0wWJpYv-AyD-5orer1Nnip7Q7HA5SAlzQTy69vXyDRYEIluy7_3l6QY_41O7ORIF1Yf2pADY3zJ61rb5CdgXeRKm20tof60HLfbW_3tc4WG_yJymJ1rYD/s640/Structures+online.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
In terms of total structures online, a few things stand out to me. Raitarus are quickly becoming more popular than Astrahuses and should probably overtake them in total numbers in 4-6 months, and likewise for Azbels compared to Fortizars. Yet there is a surprising number of Fortizars online. At roughly 15b a piece, you are looking at a base value of over 18 trillion isk in just Fortizars in space as of March. Keep in mind that one of CCP's original goals was to make these new structures worth having, for almost every player or play style. Given the sheer number online thus far I would say they have succeeded (more on this later). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57X2PzznSHRrtT1alGQAPCyO10IveD53EXSBCFBBxjjOfUXgsX2kF1il-QUrWGD3OqHzZCOfZmtbp95QTlnMfyQDQZ_0fqeAMRZJDFKE_ZMCdxEKVANQEb4vEe1-qBLpYfwvvTAwhVqpb/s1600/Structures+by+corp+totals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57X2PzznSHRrtT1alGQAPCyO10IveD53EXSBCFBBxjjOfUXgsX2kF1il-QUrWGD3OqHzZCOfZmtbp95QTlnMfyQDQZ_0fqeAMRZJDFKE_ZMCdxEKVANQEb4vEe1-qBLpYfwvvTAwhVqpb/s640/Structures+by+corp+totals.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Networks of Citadels are increasingly common, especially as a way of safely moving capitals and jump freighters across the map. CCP has in the past voiced displeasure at how safely cynos work on Citadels, as well as with how overpowered tethering is (more on this later). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9_Md7YtVKZDPqECLr3qzsaErzhwgjly5N01nc0L6n5UW3gstV_a3hYvFyS9XWURjgpPdzrN_IDrp2ua9xRISPvKLQ1fq0Ccem59sepbBjJXwhyphenhyphen9Q-MjFa2ZJ3_Lb-6afNSZ2VfTvENwZ/s1600/Structures+by+space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9_Md7YtVKZDPqECLr3qzsaErzhwgjly5N01nc0L6n5UW3gstV_a3hYvFyS9XWURjgpPdzrN_IDrp2ua9xRISPvKLQ1fq0Ccem59sepbBjJXwhyphenhyphen9Q-MjFa2ZJ3_Lb-6afNSZ2VfTvENwZ/s640/Structures+by+space.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
These numbers are probably to be expected. Citadels are super popular everywhere except LS, but even there they are fairly common. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/group/1657/losses/" target="_blank">These numbers do not reflect where Citadels/ECs are destroyed, though. On any given day the majority of Citadels and ECs are destroyed in null, followed by wormhole space and LS, followed by HS last</a>. The average in wormholes is roughly 1.2 per system, though obviously not evenly distributed (however, I've been hard pressed to find many wormholes without an Astrahaus in them lately).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihviqhi2f6McExpxvWGcitMviZ3MliNUSaXLQhTglxnuSgo1P3ayYgtLQ7qUS7CmbOrDDJlk22uTTrfi4tnPzpqyonbiTBFUN7xFYcDvVED2joUruzwF-dRJCv54jo63heMdGQ2zOYpF0c/s1600/Structures+destroyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihviqhi2f6McExpxvWGcitMviZ3MliNUSaXLQhTglxnuSgo1P3ayYgtLQ7qUS7CmbOrDDJlk22uTTrfi4tnPzpqyonbiTBFUN7xFYcDvVED2joUruzwF-dRJCv54jo63heMdGQ2zOYpF0c/s640/Structures+destroyed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
So when we compare the number of structures online to the number destroyed thus far, do we get a balanced split? The cost and commitment of destroying these structures is in almost every case (barring trade hubs in systems like Perimeter) not at all worth it outside of WH space. An enemy Astrahus in null is a headache for attackers but a powerful staging platform for attackers or harassers. In many cases, all a staging Astrahus needs is a clone bay to perfectly function as a staging or move OP Citadel, making them even less worth being destroyed and less costly to deploy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCIiHYqbNv0vSUQVTg_rd10iuZvdgQSFucDEVUYi3MFkXESHgNYnEEiky2mFjGzmRAIqpQ39PeatKbKEC8_vRFm_jmdVqbSN0WU7FH9cIJAdHwUrcKmf8BR3C8qqWglaopl94MmdOcFCx/s1600/Industry+by+type.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCIiHYqbNv0vSUQVTg_rd10iuZvdgQSFucDEVUYi3MFkXESHgNYnEEiky2mFjGzmRAIqpQ39PeatKbKEC8_vRFm_jmdVqbSN0WU7FH9cIJAdHwUrcKmf8BR3C8qqWglaopl94MmdOcFCx/s640/Industry+by+type.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The final graph from fanfest is the most interesting. POSes apparently sat at 30% of all player industry in late 2016, but within just 2 months after release ECs had already surpassed that percentage. Since then, ECs have captured roughly 80% of player industry, and Citadels about 2% from the looks of it. "Legacy" industry POSes remain at 10% of player industry (this 10% from POSes probably represents a few LS capital shipyards with Thukker Arrays, which have not been replaced for ECs yet, and some industry POSes in HS that are running final months of jobs). The remaining industry in stations? A large majority of it is in Jita, and in career agent systems. (Career agent systems always have a high number of jobs per hour due to the industry career agents and tutorial.)<br />
<br />
Let's look at one more graph, this one from March 2017's economic report:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yKrlD3ifXfaI63DAs4ZRqXMg6uoZp5Ocaur-T-Evh12COmtup-9ZX5a7AAAT87dJAnUniYBzQdJHeAGmHkSXYatANmt40ZMFS1c9Iui7BCD4mH_6I3GK2wT86kQPrDV5p2WmRaVMBQpg/s1600/9aa_services_breakdown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yKrlD3ifXfaI63DAs4ZRqXMg6uoZp5Ocaur-T-Evh12COmtup-9ZX5a7AAAT87dJAnUniYBzQdJHeAGmHkSXYatANmt40ZMFS1c9Iui7BCD4mH_6I3GK2wT86kQPrDV5p2WmRaVMBQpg/s640/9aa_services_breakdown.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And here's the April chart for comparison:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhv9HnYHYXfxLwDW5R_SXHkCmoHOofvyGgyMhUdDTq6jA5uF95CHImEsIzUAX0KDDW0rKHi8Prz8iNOKnxoDgxOFFHd9OEJBFcyQqE_MP0XPzZlki8S3OL_x3lNM804BkDKXLt-afjcpa/s1600/9aa_services_breakdown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxhv9HnYHYXfxLwDW5R_SXHkCmoHOofvyGgyMhUdDTq6jA5uF95CHImEsIzUAX0KDDW0rKHi8Prz8iNOKnxoDgxOFFHd9OEJBFcyQqE_MP0XPzZlki8S3OL_x3lNM804BkDKXLt-afjcpa/s640/9aa_services_breakdown.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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With the May chart slowing but still seeing an increase in player hub trade captured:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jJftNFNmruHkL6C0kV2jGdRWn50dc6sa-AaiFpKA2hP8Vclptxurysdmtkz5B5QTP8_oj6xtXZ1UEAAi2b2BgZ62q6FKjeuuLqw5t07zWRIHvUfkviTzUI7vWrigMsMtKOCWGl7Ry6i9/s1600/may.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jJftNFNmruHkL6C0kV2jGdRWn50dc6sa-AaiFpKA2hP8Vclptxurysdmtkz5B5QTP8_oj6xtXZ1UEAAi2b2BgZ62q6FKjeuuLqw5t07zWRIHvUfkviTzUI7vWrigMsMtKOCWGl7Ry6i9/s640/may.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Though we still see some 90% of the brokers fee going to NPC stations, we also see 10-12%, or 1.3t-1.5t isk, occurring in player hubs. April saw a transfer of another 1% of broker tax to player hubs, and May 0.5%, and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/5vneqv/i_made_300_bil_per_month_from_perimeter_citadel/?sort=top" target="_blank">We (think we) know (assuming the info is accurate) that market hubs in Perimeter can make around 300b per month in taxes, which is consistent with the economic reports</a>. I would assume player market hubs all around Jita make at least 500b total per month, and hubs around Amarr another 100-200b. There are a few other player hubs in or near other systems, including LS and NS, that probably make another decent chunk of that 1.3t in March and, comparably, other months. This is one of the main questions I set out to get some evidence about: Where are the other player hubs, who owns them, who fights over them (if anyone), and what is the likely trade volume there? The other sources of service fees to players do not even approach the brokers fee even when all combined. Industry tax, clones, reprocessing, etc., together barely reach half of the market hub profit, even with nearly two-thirds of industry fees now going to players, industry is more of an incentive to get other players to use your market hub.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
Let's first look at <a href="https://www.adam4eve.eu/stats_structures.php?region=&group=&market=true&system=&sector=&structure=&since=&maxJumps=999" target="_blank">Adam4EVE</a>'s statistics on market hubs. Across all of EVE, there are around 450 public or semi-public Market Hubs in game, as of early May, 2017. The earliest ones date back to November, 2016, and the most recent were put up on the day this information was collected. The vast majority of these hubs are in High Security space. As of April, player markets are selling around 20t isk in sell orders and have up around 8t in buys. <a href="https://www.adam4eve.eu/stats_structure_markets.php" target="_blank">Interestingly though, a good half of all market hubs have no sell or buy orders at all, and just 10 or so have over 1k sell orders.</a> Large isk buy orders are most popular--of course, meaning buy orders for PLEX and injectors. With few hubs having a large amount of sell orders, it is apparent that not many players have chosen to sell materials, ships, and equipment in player hubs on a large scale, but the overall trends suggest that sell order volume and isk amount are both increasing.<br />
<br />
Adam4EVE's data is extremely useful and worth spending hours looking over if you're into that sort of thing (i.e. graphs), but it doesn't tell us some key factors about Citadel/EC market hubs: Who owns them? Are the majors hubs owned by a single cartel or is there evidence smaller groups own them? Do they get destroyed, or attacked, and what kind of isk do hubs outside of the Jita/Amarr areas make? Also, and not just for market hubs, how many structures are likely inactive? A significant amount of market hubs have zero orders--does that mean they are used for other purposes, or have their owners left EVE or taken a long leave?<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Small Study on Citadel/EC Use -</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Methodology:</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
To get some evidence about these questions, I took a semi-random<b>*</b> sample of 50
systems in high security space and searched for all “Upwell”
structures in each system (Citadels and Engineering Complexes). I
recorded the name of the corp/alliance holding the structure, the
number of players in the corp/alliance, and I also recorded whether
the structure had any fueled services active (in cases where the
structure had such info public, i.e., if the structure itself was
public). (I also recorded upcoming vulnerability timers for
~non-scientific purposes~) I researched public databases (zkill and evewho) to see whether the corp/alliances are (plausibly) active or (possibly) inactive. I recorded every market hub and used Adam4EVE's data to record the number of market orders and share of the market volume in the system. Then, I came back to the structures one month later to see if their activity had changed (e.g., to see if structures that had active services still had them).<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>*About the sample:</b> In order to get interesting results I
excluded systems at both ends of the extreme range of high sec
systems. I excluded from the sample systems one jump from Amarr and one
jump from Jita, like Perimeter—a very special
system—because the massive amount of upwell
structures would highly skew the final results. I also excluded high
sec systems that are in “high sec islands,” i.e. high sec systems
that are cut off from the main body of Empire high sec by low
security systems, and including Solitude. These systems are less
popular but also attract a special type of nomadic player and I did
not want this end of the range skewing the sample either. The final
sample is basically “your average high sec system," The sample includes
everything from systems with less than 5 jumps in the last hour I
visited,
to a few “mid/high-tier” trade hubs, to systems that border low/null
security systems, to mission running hubs, and so on.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Interesting Results: </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Total Activity/Inactivity, Public/Private: </b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<ul>
<li>In total, the <b>50 HS systems contained 198 Citadels/ECs, </b></li>
<li><b>87</b> of the Citadels/ECs were <b>private, </b>i.e. around <b>40%</b> give or take some that were temporarily private </li>
<li>Of those that were public, <b>42 of the 111 public structures had no active services. Of those 42, 25 still did not have active services after one month when I re-checked their status. </b></li>
<li>Based on the above, a reasonable<b> conservative</b> estimate is that<b> roughly 10-15% of structures in HS are inactive during any given month</b>, and probably a lot higher (by 10-20%).</li>
<li>In all the systems sampled, there were
<b>only 14 active POSes.</b></li>
<li>In all of the 50 systems sampled, <b><b>only 2
system lacked any</b> </b>Citadels or Engineering Complexes whatsoever.<b> </b></li>
<li>The most densely packed system had <b>18 total Citadels/ECs </b></li>
<li><b><b>One month later</b>,</b> I re-checked all systems, and<b><b> 52 Citadels/ECs were added and only 2 removed</b> </b></li>
<li>In <b>all 50 of the systems sampled, only 2 Citadels/ECs were destroyed since the Citadel expansion in 2016 to May 2017 (13 months)</b>. Both kills seemed to be a purge of inactive structures (no modules fitted). </li>
<li>(A net total of 50 Citadels/ECs added per month would mean these 50 systems would have around 750 Citadels/ECs by 2018, but there's no way to tell how many will be added on average each month.)</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Market Hub Activity: </b></span><br />
<ul>
<li>In the 50 systems sampled, there were <b>11 active market hub (6 Forts, 5 Azbels)</b></li>
<li>In all of the systems sampled, <b>only 1
had a market hub (Fortizar or Azbel) owned by a primarily PVP-focused</b>
entity (in this case, a null sec group that lived many regions away).</li>
<li><b>1 group owned 3 market hubs; 1 group owned 2</b></li>
<li>The<b> highest total market share for player hubs in one system</b> (in terms of total number of buy+sell orders) was <b>45%</b> at the highest point during the study </li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Future Improvements: </b></span><br />
<br />
Alright, so what stands out to me is that only a tiny fraction of Citadels/ECs are getting destroyed relatively to the number put up. They are piling up fast and not generating much content at all. Just from the number of decently upvoted and commented R/EVE posts in the past month (May/June) there's a huge amount of dissatisfaction with Citadel/EC timer mechanics at the moment (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/6gs7gh/wtb_content_button_or_how_to_fix_citadels/" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/6ed4br/a_simple_plea_for_you_devs_at_ccp/" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/6ggnbn/constructive_the_story_of_the_beachead_in_gehi/" target="_blank">3</a>, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/6di511/citadel_damage_caps_are_silly_logarithmic_damage/" target="_blank">4</a>, etc.). There's lots of proposed solutions but the general consensus is that the mechanics that stifle conflict are either 1) the 3-timer + off-timezone + damage cap system of destruction, or 2) asset safety, or both. <br />
<br />
<b>For 1)</b>, I think the solution is fairly uncontroversial. Citadels/ECs should use wormhole timer mechanics. 2 timers, back to back. Maybe Citadels/ECs in HS should retain the 3-timer system, and maybe Keepstars as well? Those are fringe cases, though. It shouldn't take 3-timers, in Aussie timezones with damage caps, across an entire week to destroy a single, undefended, 550m isk (R) / 950m isk (A) structure. Period.<br />
<br />
<b>For 2), </b>In my opinion based on destroying Citadels/ECs solo and in groups (more on this in future posts), removing asset safety entirely would be justifiable, but perhaps too extreme. It would push too many players away from using Citadels/ECs (a bad thing) and toward NPC stations, driving players back to the safety of NPC space. However, even if asset safety stays outside of wormholes, more can be done to increase the incentive for players to destroy Citadels/ECs, and primarily: increase the salvage amounts, espeically relative to rigs, and/or make blueprints in build part of the drop/destroyed loot table. Base salvage should be increased, and if rigs are fit, salvaging should drop substantially more based on the material requirements for rigs added in. If something like 40-50% of base material costs dropped in salvage, destroying inactive structures would at least have a small isk incentive. Blueprints in use in the structure would make destroying industrial structures much like destroying labs/arrays in POSes, adding in the same risk/reward as the legacy system. <br />
<br />
Phew, that was a lot of words. Upcoming (shorter!) posts in this series include my experiment in setting up a market hub as a solo player, and my experience destroying Citadels/ECs for potential profit (obviously, there isn't any) or fights (not much either!). <br />
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<br />
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<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-7663282266860245492017-06-09T16:55:00.002-07:002017-06-09T17:14:40.785-07:00That feel when you think CCP is making necessary (but lazy) changes yet the community is going insaneSo, I've been in the process of doing a super long study into Citadel/EC usage statistics for a post here. It has taken we way too long. That post is almost done, but I wanted to chime on the current, can-only-be-described-as shit-storm on R/EVE (and the forums, not that people really visit them nowadays).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPh9f_ESU2y767ajKwS116U2w-RaWPBHz70vYukVMdrQ2iScbM-47aS291KsQE5cXxCXfIPs8LnlXjmTdzPWh4-5miMgr8buebsZpwIpjMTAQzOebY_QRfKN2ORpm6NmuvjD89phQDpmB/s1600/meandreve.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPh9f_ESU2y767ajKwS116U2w-RaWPBHz70vYukVMdrQ2iScbM-47aS291KsQE5cXxCXfIPs8LnlXjmTdzPWh4-5miMgr8buebsZpwIpjMTAQzOebY_QRfKN2ORpm6NmuvjD89phQDpmB/s320/meandreve.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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CCP has made a number of necessary changes to EVE in the past week. Certainly not ideal changes to the underlying problems, but necessary, given how deep some of the problems go; and expedient, given that they did not require much dev time. Lazy is how I would describe the "fixes."<br />
<br />
<b>First</b>, <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6960162#post6960162" target="_blank">CCP once again nerfed Rorqual mining</a>, and this time nerfed the spawn rate of mining anoms. Let's be fair, anyone who objectively looks at the mineral markets and the amount being mined in certain regions would agree that a fix was needed to keep the economy healthy. In my opinion (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUFT4vVhpFA" target="_blank">similar to EVE Prosper's)</a> the problem with Rorqual mining was not cheap minerals (that's fairly win-win except for newbros), but the scaling. Any activity in EVE that can be done semi-AFK is going to be open for abuse and should probably be made more active. <br />
<br />
<br />
CCP Soundwave (rip) once called for a war on passive isk. Sadly he left and the current tenure of EVE devs decided to release a capital mining ship that mines just as passively as mining barges. Anything that can be done passively to make isk will be exploited to the maximum extent by players running as many accounts as their computer can handle. A better fix to the Rorqual would have been to keep the mining levels at their original released level, but to make Excavators like Fighters, requiring actively clicking at least a few times every minute to mine (and shouldn't all mining require or at least involve active gameplay to get maximum isk? One would think). Multiboxing more than 1 Rorqual should have been humanly impossible from the start. Instead, we got players naturally running 10+ Rorqs while still watching Netflicks, and as a result CCP implemented a necessary but self-induced nerf to their mining amount and mining anom spawn rate.<i> Lazy</i> is the best word I can use to describe this change.<br />
<br />
<b>Second, </b><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6968205#post6968205" target="_blank">CCP nerfed Fighter damage, and made it more likely NPCs will shoot fighters.</a> As a solo PVPer I think Fighers apply far too well to BS and lower targets, but their DPS when applying is probably OK. There's virtually no sig tanking their DPS (even in an AB Succubus), and that destroys the line between capitals and sub-caps. Nerfing Fighter DPS in my view is once again a<i> lazy </i>fix to a problem that requires changing. The problem of course is that EVE's primary isk sink (NPC bounties) is absolutely out of control.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgPYZuChs9nC-Vmc-cN7ysxzUSyVfw07A-Pd9Pc6kxXpm5RxSJq-Avbg8B-hVYJnmobundYKSgO7-mE93WJ-pkZAtllY57-i4zEyISxhotJt9zBMpofGEsS23IHn2b76XhCA3o-0kEw8P/s1600/9aaa_top.sinks.faucets.over.time.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgPYZuChs9nC-Vmc-cN7ysxzUSyVfw07A-Pd9Pc6kxXpm5RxSJq-Avbg8B-hVYJnmobundYKSgO7-mE93WJ-pkZAtllY57-i4zEyISxhotJt9zBMpofGEsS23IHn2b76XhCA3o-0kEw8P/s640/9aaa_top.sinks.faucets.over.time.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The isk facuet graph is the main one people are pointing to to indicate the problem of null sec anoms. Bounty prizes have completely outpaced every other isk facuet and isk sink in game. However, there's a more important graph.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEf_QCATyJsSlZs-LhJbL2uAj1qTyX1oXCoCQv6_oN0u6L9ZqzjtWnW1aDlC6S3qvmUyWL8neH6IrBjMW3d6Yqhbzellu5LLpmmdwE8oUQBFRQvU37_WtaUH8u0usG_4T2_j-33j1bdwkT/s1600/9b_isk.float.3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEf_QCATyJsSlZs-LhJbL2uAj1qTyX1oXCoCQv6_oN0u6L9ZqzjtWnW1aDlC6S3qvmUyWL8neH6IrBjMW3d6Yqhbzellu5LLpmmdwE8oUQBFRQvU37_WtaUH8u0usG_4T2_j-33j1bdwkT/s640/9b_isk.float.3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Money supply is more important than pure isk sinks. After all, if 100% of the isk from sinks was being destroyed, there would be no issue how much isk was entering the game. Instead, money supply is the issue. And money supply has absolutely skyrocketed and is only speeding up. <br />
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<br />
What does high liquid isk do to the game? First off, it raises PLEX and injector prices. Why? People who have a lot of liquid isk need a place to park that isk. Having 100b+ in your wallet is both dangerous and stupid. Dangerous because of the possibilities you misclick an order or contract and lose billions to a scam. Stupid because isk sitting in your wallet makes zero profit. Historically, players "park" isk in PLEX and, now, injectors. They are one of the few goods on the market that sees real inflation. T1, T2, T3 ships and modules have not seen virtually any inflation in the 6 years I've played. Neither has almost any other good expect PLEX and, now, injectors. So the smart thing to do--and indeed the only non-super-speculative thing to do--with hundreds of billions of isk, is to park it in PLEX. <br />
<br />
I parked 200b isk in PLEX when it was sub-1b about a year ago, and another 100b in injectors when they dropped below 575m (lol) in November 2016. As expected, both rose, and I sold off stocks of both to make a mindlessly easy 100b in profit or so. When PLEX and injectors are at a 1 year low, give or take, I'll probably start to park 400-500b in them, repeating the cycle once again.<br />
<br />
High PLEX and injector prices are not necessarily bad for the game. Look at it from this perspective: the higher PLEX goes, the more a measly 15 bucks will get you in game. Most people don't feel that way. High prices are bad for the players who view PLEXing their account via in-game earnings as essential to their playstyle--and, if R/EVE is any sign of how the playerbase views high PLEX prices, players freak the hell out when PLEX goes higher. It also creates a bad perception for new players. Making 1m isk an hour mining in a venture seems much less significant when PLEX is at 2b compared to when it is sub-1b, even if, realistically, new players would be better off not trying to PLEX their account with isk for a long time. <br />
<br />
Second, though, the higher liquid isk gets, the more EVE suffers from what I would call the "Planetside problem." The Planetside problem is that equipment, ships, and guns are trivially cheap, but there's no reason to log in to fight.Some back of the napkin math I did suggested that Goons could lose around 75 fleet fit Machs (and pre-spawn-nerf prices) a day and still be turning a profit from Rorqual mining and carrier ratting. <br />
<br />
Instead of putting a respawn timer on mineral sites--which do not
directly add isk to the economy--why didn't CCP add respawn timers to
ratting anoms, which add the majority of isk to the game? Running out of
Sanctums and Havens in your system would mean having to move (gasp) to
another system that you haven't depleted. It would mean players would have to (gasp) spread out and maybe move systems once and a while in order to keep ratting the best sites. CCP is once again, in my opinion, using a lazy fix to a deep problem. It won't hold. Players will switch to multiboxing rattlesnakes or super-boxed VNIs. I don't expect the isk faucet graph to go down relatively to average players logged in during the summer. Yes, it will slow down, because less people will be playing, but the Fighter nerf is only going to push some players to farming anoms with other ships.<br />
<br />
Overall, I feel I'm in an awkward position. I think CCP is trying to fix some real problems in the game and economy, but doing so in completely lazy and lacking ways that ultimately won't fix the problems. On the other hand, the shit-storm players are raising on reddit is focused almost entirely on the fact that CCP is making any changes whatsoever to null mining and anom isk. Both sides are being intellectually lazy and going by knee-jerks reactions. <br />
<br />
If
you've been around EVE and R/EVE long enough, you'll know some of the
posters there haven't played EVE in years, and others play R/EVE a lot
more than the spaceship pewpew game the rest of us play on a weekly
basis. If I were CCP I'd ignore them and pay attention to the feedback offered by the CSM and the quantitative data available, and I'd sure as hell try to create more long-term and sustainable solutions to the economic problems EVE is facing. <br />
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<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-87125331198217427082017-04-12T14:07:00.001-07:002017-04-12T14:07:34.454-07:00Finding and Destroying POSes for ISK in Low and Null while doing Exploration (and a review of the POS-Phase out plan)<a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-while-ago-i-started-series-of-posts.html" target="_blank">Way back in 2014 I stumbled upon an offline POS in high sec, owned by a corporation that, by the looks of it, had long since gone inactive</a>. Being new to POSes, wardecs, and structures altogether, I decided to see what would happen if I declared war and attempted to blow up the structures. I learned a ton, and actually made a bit of isk, and in the process I started one of many side-hobbies I have in EVE involving combining traditional exploration with hunting for offline POSes.<br />
<br />
I also had this silly completionist goal of visiting every system in EVE at least once, a goal that combined well with doing exploration sites and looking everywhere for POSes. Fast forward a year or so, and I had visited every system in High Sec at least once, <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-nice-15b-isk-drop-from-pos-but-is-it.html" target="_blank">and made many tens of billions on loot found</a> from destroying starbase modules like Ship Maintence Arrays, Laboratories, Assembly Arrays, and even Reprocessing and Compression Arrays packed for of ore/minerals. I learned a ton about the game in the process, listened to probably 20+ audiobooks doing this casual exploration, and amassed over 1k kills on my Stratios I used for the activity. This activity also caught on, and I learned of many players who had even better success than I did at destroying POSes. (For example, check this group out: <a href="https://zkillboard.com/corporation/98481574/reset/group/413/losses/" target="_blank">Mischief Managed.</a> They were finding and destroying so many offline POS mods for a few months that I basically couldn't find any. I have no idea how they found so many, so quickly, and over such a large area.)<br />
<a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/04/reaching-80-billion-in-loot-from.html" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/04/reaching-80-billion-in-loot-from.html" target="_blank">When I ran out of systems in High Sec to visit</a>, naturally enough I've moved to searching and exploring Low Sec and now Null in 2016 and on. This actually works well, because that's where I PVP most anyway. I created a POS Mods dscan tab and started using it in every system as I roamed different regions. I was surprised to find quite a few offline POSes to pop just from checking dscan. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/5u4vto/was_passing_through_heydieles_when_i_noticed/" target="_blank">One day passing through Heydieles</a>, for instance, I noticed the moon mining POSes had gone offline--all 13 of them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdKIcMqVgkeXXvxk9g7aJZb-uwRA_bHMPnOE4mJTKG-O1eFVCWdUezVhj72y_EynPTHLCNDhyphenhyphenSWZ0WZC9LRkT7PAzvVz7BbWH2rDZs4BaLmF4P2ABu2NeFNCEhNTrDsBQckjyJmFk6TVh/s1600/2017.02.15.01.18.08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdKIcMqVgkeXXvxk9g7aJZb-uwRA_bHMPnOE4mJTKG-O1eFVCWdUezVhj72y_EynPTHLCNDhyphenhyphenSWZ0WZC9LRkT7PAzvVz7BbWH2rDZs4BaLmF4P2ABu2NeFNCEhNTrDsBQckjyJmFk6TVh/s640/2017.02.15.01.18.08.png" width="640" /> </a> </div>
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This is likely going to be even more common over the next 6 months, partly because POSes tend to go offline during the "summer slumps" in EVE, but more so because CCP has announced some of the penultimate plans for phasing out old POSes. I'll talk about that more at the end. In this case, I fortunately had a 1k DPS Hecate nearby to quickly pop all of these moon mining structures. My hauler only collected around 500m in moon goo, so it wasn't really worth it. I expect in many cases owners of large-scale moon mining operations will simply let their farms go inactive, rather than undertaking the massive hassle of collective all of the remaining goo and modules. </div>
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In other cases in LS/NS I've made a bit more isk in my finds, putting me closer to 100b isk made from the activity (not that it is great isk per hour, keep in mind!). This <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/59901750/" target="_blank">SMA dropped</a> a few hundred million close to an NPC null station, and my "jackpot" so far was around a billion isk in capital blueprints and materials from this offline cap production POS: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2n3gIIWJVtgquMlJU2IHqYZ9PF_DwPwvnja2k9kERxONb52DwADvRqCOGlHR9LuOPSxvPNZSOYeXL-4OKQRhi7IbJeeXJccNbIiSbNLY7OW2-72lhantWJsSw0acjXkmgaFg2gSOtO-WW/s1600/2016.11.09.01.33.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2n3gIIWJVtgquMlJU2IHqYZ9PF_DwPwvnja2k9kERxONb52DwADvRqCOGlHR9LuOPSxvPNZSOYeXL-4OKQRhi7IbJeeXJccNbIiSbNLY7OW2-72lhantWJsSw0acjXkmgaFg2gSOtO-WW/s640/2016.11.09.01.33.20.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is my super-sophisticated map and checklist of regions I have now fully visited: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUUTVFje7vSqycHeIUD2OHPsjEsXGJ1qAG2x1OYOvAqZepWDSGqyzz5ZevIqLN1Q9f4jSO69DWW2VV7rAoH100rcyVh98UOS5HGxV-1GDe1K3yaoK-7kKzWouYNKdWgYlNAPUCakdDHlF2/s1600/EVE+system+visits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUUTVFje7vSqycHeIUD2OHPsjEsXGJ1qAG2x1OYOvAqZepWDSGqyzz5ZevIqLN1Q9f4jSO69DWW2VV7rAoH100rcyVh98UOS5HGxV-1GDe1K3yaoK-7kKzWouYNKdWgYlNAPUCakdDHlF2/s400/EVE+system+visits.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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HS and LS are fully covered, but I still have many small patches in many NS regions left to go. I think I will tackle that during the "summer slump" when action dies down elsewhere. Maybe I will find a few more final offline POSes to give this playstyle a final sendoff for me before POSes are removed. But this side-hobby I've had in EVE is largely at an end. </div>
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So what of the future? <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=516650" target="_blank">CCP has announced</a> plans for phasing out structures: In May, starbase production module BPOs will no longer be seeded, and in August POSes will no longer give such bonuses to industry. Moon mining, reactors, and refineries will be disabled when the new Refinery Upwell structures are released sometime in winter of 2017, probably November. According to graphs released by CCP at fanfest, we've already seen a massive decline in the number of POSes used for industry (more on this in a future post). <br />
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The first few weeks when the new Refineries are added and the old are disabled is going to make for a very interesting scramble across LS/NS to re-establish moon mining operations, and potentially for new and smaller parties to get involved. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2sf7esPhOk" target="_blank">Some solo/small group players like Delonewolf have plans to try out a Refinery.</a> I may give one a go as well.) I think it could mark a shake-up in LS. Potentially, it could allow for many smaller and some more industry-focused groups to carve out a piece of LS moons. Potentially, too, it could mark a transition of the Big Blue groups in LS to adopt a renter-style model of moon mining. I don't see Shadow Cartel doing much mining, but I do see them considering outsourcing the mining operations to a new style of LS renters.<br />
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Based on what CCP has said, I think we can expect POSes to be fully removed sometime in 2018--maybe summer or maybe winter. However, I think the main conflict drivers/content creating changes will be:<br />
<br />
<br />
1. The completely new way in which groups will have to run moon mining, and<br />
<br />
2. The conversion of outposts to faction Citadels. I think this could lead to a bunch of local wars across null in the weeks before the winter expansion, and could make for some super interesting content if large groups decide they want ownership of some or many of the faction Citadels. <br />
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The switch to Upwell structures means the burden is on them now--and not POSes--to provide a lot of content, and due to the long and off-timezone timers they are unfortunately not creating a lot of content. Many questions were asked about this at fanfest and CCP voiced some disfavor with how punishing the 3-timer, off-timezone system for structures is at the moment. A huge amount of conflict could be created if structures had slightly better self-defenses but, say, one less timer.<br />
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I am currently doing a small study on Citadel ownership and activity using data I am gathering myself. In upcoming posts I am going to talk about their current vulnerabilities, destroying them solo, and stuff like that, and later in the winter I will post more about the potential for solo or small groups to make use of the new refineries. Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-63300708045320765572017-02-08T12:02:00.001-08:002017-02-09T12:12:43.130-08:00Market Trading in EVE Ascension (or: grinding past 500b, setting new goals, maximizing efficiency, and some ideas for Alpha trading) <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-strange-new-economy-plex-crashes.html" target="_blank">The last time I posted about market trading</a>, the Citadel expansion had recently been released and offshore Citadel markets were already helping drive down the prices of PLEX and injectors. PLEX in early June, 2016, had fallen to an incredible 850m isk:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWILf6cJDPUKUiZEjPWFU7s_8ejdR1XNkKeMgAZfSwkfve09C-3envddltzZ2Qgq9Dw6F3W6WldQMNKMp2Cq33oQi0SDy2yXRHyRWH0b1mNmgx9mcGREQSWlUNKyV6eXYdW_I9H22qFnLL/s1600/plex+drop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWILf6cJDPUKUiZEjPWFU7s_8ejdR1XNkKeMgAZfSwkfve09C-3envddltzZ2Qgq9Dw6F3W6WldQMNKMp2Cq33oQi0SDy2yXRHyRWH0b1mNmgx9mcGREQSWlUNKyV6eXYdW_I9H22qFnLL/s400/plex+drop.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Daily SP rewards were implemented (remember when EVE had dailies?), offering around 300k SP a month if the played logged in every day to collect the reward, which put some downward pressure on the injector market while also lowering demand due to being an additional way to gain SP. Since then (over the last 8 months) PLEX prices slowly climbed back up to over 1.2b in November, and have since plateaued at 1.05b.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hHs-_1oIAh922ZQxHOn9dlfqOtYYEtDBsQHZEwqdINBziQfSf9VIgGdGdQqBKplKLzZ51QJldh04JuyU92h31z6NUiTiRCVQbIZw1bYRHPrUrwt1BdNsw0GGd2txsRFyMkdKeR3fs5di/s1600/PLEX+mar-feb+2016-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hHs-_1oIAh922ZQxHOn9dlfqOtYYEtDBsQHZEwqdINBziQfSf9VIgGdGdQqBKplKLzZ51QJldh04JuyU92h31z6NUiTiRCVQbIZw1bYRHPrUrwt1BdNsw0GGd2txsRFyMkdKeR3fs5di/s640/PLEX+mar-feb+2016-2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In spite of the massive economic changes that EVE has seen over the past few years--skill trading, Citadel markets, free-to-play, and so on--PLEX still follows a predictable path. However, PLEX is not where I've made most of my isk over the past few years, and I've only bought when it has dropped below 900m or so. Instead, injectors have made up around 40% of my trading profit over the past year.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0-NOeFwLQvE6f-HdByw_07tUgVkxtqPuyHEgVT2S0DSrDEjZ7BiVQ6Ky8yOMZt72eKh134j8Iv5LpipSI6VPEszzxtUIA6jKxDFhS8ay4nFxwcz1JM6BC4zoLPwon7SntxpwYkYHF6Mf/s1600/Injectors+mar-feb+2016-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0-NOeFwLQvE6f-HdByw_07tUgVkxtqPuyHEgVT2S0DSrDEjZ7BiVQ6Ky8yOMZt72eKh134j8Iv5LpipSI6VPEszzxtUIA6jKxDFhS8ay4nFxwcz1JM6BC4zoLPwon7SntxpwYkYHF6Mf/s640/Injectors+mar-feb+2016-2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Buy them low--ideally sub-600m--and sell them high--ideally over 650m. Since I do regional trading, incorporating injectors into my casual market took little added effort. <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/03/market-milestones-30b-in-one-month.html" target="_blank">The last time I posted specifically about my market trading gameplay was March 2016, the first month seeing skill injectors in game</a>. I hit a record 33b isk in profit that month--on one character and just 300 market orders. Where do I stand now? Here's a really vague chart of the profit. This only includes my main trading alt--it doesn't include trade on second or third alts that I occasionally add, nor does it include special projects I've done, such as Thera trade, or more recently Alpha clone trading. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4_BA4DRImAIDi-T28GN6GGrxQQYfyzv2TcsJBSwXC6id4ZU1WZ3E1ncSfZR0lD6LFmWcuFcjZM8_YUDfB6Poj6zMOPJyiGjcMUMlVEc9r7R56bPoypVi4dB_pdcwiKKc-X3Y0b8tm1Y5/s1600/Trade+profit+-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho4_BA4DRImAIDi-T28GN6GGrxQQYfyzv2TcsJBSwXC6id4ZU1WZ3E1ncSfZR0lD6LFmWcuFcjZM8_YUDfB6Poj6zMOPJyiGjcMUMlVEc9r7R56bPoypVi4dB_pdcwiKKc-X3Y0b8tm1Y5/s640/Trade+profit+-2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
March 2016 was a proof-of-concept: How much isk could I make with just 300 orders? Turns out, I made about 105m isk for every 1 order. However, my goal in EVE isn't to make as much isk as possible. My goal is simply to have as much fun playing EVE when I log in as possible. Isk value is relative: Is 100m isk a lot per month? 1b? 10b? 100b? It depends entirely on your playstyle. However, time is (largely) not relative: Every player only has, at most, 23.5 hours a day to play EVE. We might all have different playstyles and we might all value isk differently, but an hour for me is just as long as an hour for you, and we all have an upper-limit on how much time we can play (and for many of us, obviously, it is far lower than 23.5 hours a day! Or even 23.5 hours a month!). <br />
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That all said, my goal since I started trading has <i>not</i> been to make as much isk as possible. Instead, my goal over the past 3 years has been: <i>Make as much isk in as little as is time possible</i>. So, while my average isk per month has not substantially changed over the past few years, the time I spend to make that isk has <i>drastically plummeted</i>. In 2014, I estimate I made around 300m isk per hour spent maintaining my regional markets, or around 10 hours per 3b isk, or around 30+ hours a month to maintain my 10b monthly average during this year. That's actually quite a lot of time spent, even if it is better than many other activities in EVE--especially if you compare it to what good station traders make. It took me time to find items to trade; it took me time to find where to sell the items; it took me time to haul the items in low amounts since I did not yet have the best ways of hauling available; it took me time to list the items--and so on.<br />
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Fast forward to the past 5 months (since July-August, when I was unable to log in much). I have continued to average over 10b isk a month trading (on my one main character). However, I've also kept track of how much time I've spent to make this isk maintaining my market and occasionally station trading in Jita: Around 4-5 hours per week (usually split into 2 2-hour play sessions per week). So, I make around 700m isk per hour spent trading (maintaining markets) now. My profits have largely not increased, but my efficiency has. And since I largely value my time more than I value my isk, that's the improvement I like to see.<br />
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In total now, this means I've passed the 500-600b isk mark. About 450b of that is from trade on my main trader, <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/04/reaching-80-billion-in-loot-from.html" target="_blank">but around 100b or more of that is from destroying offline POSes</a> (another update about this coming soon!), and then around 50b isk or so from exploration.<br />
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Finally, I've started a side-project since the release of Alpha clones. Can you make decent isk doing trade on Alphas only? They are very limited in total market orders, making regional and station trade fairly painful, and you can only have one Alpha logged in at once. However, there are two ways I've made over 2b isk in a month with Alpha trade.<br />
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<b>The first involves using 3+ Alpha traders and taking advantage of limited edition items. </b>Remember back when CCP released the Sunesis? I set up low regional buy orders on 3 Alpha clones in distant regions (Solitude, Syndicate, Placid, Stain, Curse, etc.). I managed to get a few dozen Sunesi(?) for less than 20m isk, and resell them for around 40m in the following week. The most time consuming part of this, though, was hauling the Sunesi. Instead, I decided to simply relist them a month later in the same regions for 3x the price, and have sold a few this way. So, my first tip for Alpha clone trading is to use your small order amount to trade in limited edition items. This is relatively time consuming and I much more so recommend a second method.<br />
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<b>The second way I've done Alpha clone trading is buy selling high value, slow-moving items in null sec markets. </b><br />
1. Join a large null sec group that trains new players, such as Karmafleet, Horde, Brave, or Test. This is a great idea for Alpha players anyway, since joining such groups is often the best way to learn EVE.<br />
2. Once you have your first billion or so isk (I know this step isn't very practical, but you can easily make 1-2b isk in such groups doing anoms in a VNI or running data/relic sites in your null region). Start buying high value items in Jita that are not listed in your local null sec market. Don't price gouge, because your alliance will hate you, and also because you will either get undercut or not see sales. <br />
3. Repeat step 2 until you hit your order limit, then consider going Omega and getting better trading skills, or adding another Alpha into the alliance for more market orders. <br />
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I know steps 1-3 are not very enlightening by themselves, so let me give you some examples. Finding good items is 90% of the work. The other 10% of the work is hauling the items, but the best way to do this is to search for high sec wormhole connections to your space (such as while searching for data/relic sites). Injectors are a no-brainer, everyone loves injectors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVj85KglUl0JrrGr0KDlqJRMKKbgjTxv0sQVG0FF1bxDcWGwFJMxv6vi6albsvGK_I9PiLniDAsnICsi9We0j6QL4QMrl3pJt0PUcIPJVHS1YGFxxlA_CpdxWRwcKOjDHlY3aKwlZkm-3/s1600/Injectors+in+low+and+null.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVj85KglUl0JrrGr0KDlqJRMKKbgjTxv0sQVG0FF1bxDcWGwFJMxv6vi6albsvGK_I9PiLniDAsnICsi9We0j6QL4QMrl3pJt0PUcIPJVHS1YGFxxlA_CpdxWRwcKOjDHlY3aKwlZkm-3/s640/Injectors+in+low+and+null.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here my alt is selling injectors in two NPC stations--one in Aridia, a common route to Delve and Fountain--and the other in Venal. Selling in your respective alliance's own market hub is an even better option usually. The margins won't be as great but they will move faster, and you will be nearby to update or restock as needed. You can do this with many other items as well: expensive skill books, expensive T2 ships not in supply locally, and so on. Look at your alliance's killboard and pay attention to the expensive stuff that dies. Does it have faction mods, tech 2 rigs, or rare modules fitted? If so, are they in stock in your local hubs? If not, stock them. This works with NPC stations in null and low sec as well. Overall, though, I would recommend exploration for Alphas looking to make isk over any other activity, and trading as just a side-gig. Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-37283871967129295152016-12-21T21:23:00.002-08:002016-12-22T11:02:54.773-08:00Moa as Cyno bait? Sometimes they lose the Moa, and the kill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhak9oSiBOiUjF2xB44yJ09Y5_UhLynV95rkYxO6mqHcKN33PGTuWfkPPRBV-bdJlgHkrBvulXLr8X0ePa4TB1AV2h5sEa3S9ZHf_REZY7v5joq1NQG5DxeHNp408pMYwSKhNnHbcQgSqpL/s1600/2016.12.22.04.29.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhak9oSiBOiUjF2xB44yJ09Y5_UhLynV95rkYxO6mqHcKN33PGTuWfkPPRBV-bdJlgHkrBvulXLr8X0ePa4TB1AV2h5sEa3S9ZHf_REZY7v5joq1NQG5DxeHNp408pMYwSKhNnHbcQgSqpL/s640/2016.12.22.04.29.13.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyno Moa dead, but did they counter the MJD?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bgKpXCNb-EjNHIW2zJ2SMtCrLguh1KakIPTzyDhFEpmIQa6WTYsg6OcdsafsPYVmwYql006faj2STXOGrxjhTix9jsN17aiS3bvFgYnZlMYPS9KKSeLWfOA5lN2W4-ZZcI0KxOgXHz3A/s1600/2016.12.22.04.32.09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bgKpXCNb-EjNHIW2zJ2SMtCrLguh1KakIPTzyDhFEpmIQa6WTYsg6OcdsafsPYVmwYql006faj2STXOGrxjhTix9jsN17aiS3bvFgYnZlMYPS9KKSeLWfOA5lN2W4-ZZcI0KxOgXHz3A/s640/2016.12.22.04.32.09.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nah</td></tr>
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<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-91560608292649382622016-12-14T14:16:00.001-08:002016-12-14T14:19:02.919-08:00My Favorite Solo PVP Ships/Fits for Null over the Past Year - Assault Frigs, E-WAR Frigs, and Navy CruisersThis post is a bit late--it covers many ships I flew solo during the
glorious days of the Querious fight club (RIP), pre-WWB, and shortly
after. However, my past year (or two) of solo PVP in null has amounted
to some of the most fun I've ever had in EVE or any game for that
matter. Many of the ships I've flown over the past year in null sec for
solo PVP are usually considered off-meta, if not out-right broken, such
as assault frigates. My experiences with assault frigate solo PVP over
the past year has been largely positive--they get a ton of fights and
can hold their own against most comparable ship classes minus the
pre-nerf Svipul.<br />
<br />
On my quest to solo PVP in every
non-industrial ship, this past year I finally tackled navy cruisers,
assault frigates, and the new navy EWAR frigates. They each have their
strengths and weaknesses in the current meta and in solo PVP in general,
but navy cruisers are as close to the most versatile and affordable
ships for solo PVP (and available for Alpha clones as well). I was lucky
enough to find tons of navy cruiser versus navy cruiser 1v1s, such as
this nail-bitter:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoveAQwHlGwL3eU7wvVbx9n1Eeo5mAypF-otW_qxYtbVtSckDwAid7LVVczmgwVjz4MNiB9GjlXKfnpwrp__8KocjkkA5j0G5OgVeSTnrGPFAfjSAcU71XdruqV7N4-wDawDlQgM9kOHw/s1600/2016.04.25.02.43.33+b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoveAQwHlGwL3eU7wvVbx9n1Eeo5mAypF-otW_qxYtbVtSckDwAid7LVVczmgwVjz4MNiB9GjlXKfnpwrp__8KocjkkA5j0G5OgVeSTnrGPFAfjSAcU71XdruqV7N4-wDawDlQgM9kOHw/s640/2016.04.25.02.43.33+b.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This
was an amazing fight in a hull tanked ENI versus a Zarvox fit SFI, with
a blue pill running (as confirmed by the pilot later). The main fit I
like for the ENI is a dual medium armor rep, for the decent sustain
potential. The plated version and the hull tank version lack sustain in a
fight but do a ton of DPS. (Then again, against a blob, having some
buffer plus 800+ DPS is exactly what you need to kill something before
you die.) The SFI has range control against almost any ship in a 1v1,
but at the very end of the fight I managed to pulse my MWD out from 10km
and secure a few wrecking shots that ended up winning me the fight. Had
the fight started and ended at better ranges for the SFI, a hull tanked
ENI stands little chance! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4CDhZlnd1mzQLBoxj2Sr-zh2o2clkK9OTlEBpLHxsOzEqmUNJBkOccSbxPC5UatKT8SZdr_xt9mOhGYW_LzXYe-1R-QjG4eDwYuaXSQORWAj6PVcG7baJZTKoNDKUFlNxuvk0D45P84R/s1600/2016.04.25.01.52.42+b.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4CDhZlnd1mzQLBoxj2Sr-zh2o2clkK9OTlEBpLHxsOzEqmUNJBkOccSbxPC5UatKT8SZdr_xt9mOhGYW_LzXYe-1R-QjG4eDwYuaXSQORWAj6PVcG7baJZTKoNDKUFlNxuvk0D45P84R/s640/2016.04.25.01.52.42+b.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crispy means a job well-done</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Overall, my scoreboard for navy cruisers includes
some of my favorite fights in 5 years of EVE, and I am for sure not done
flying these ships.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Navy Faction Cruisers
(8/8):</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Vexor
Navy Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/42102195/">Exequror</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/42102219/">Exequror</a> RR Duo</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/42396141/">Cerberus</a> </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/42819372/">Ishtar</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51342939/">Hawk</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51342946/">Crow</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51342985/">Vexor</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51342994/">Svipul</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Exequror
Navy Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53545124/">Scythe
Fleet Issue</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Augoror
Navy Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52946219/">Stabber
Fleet Issue</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53973623/">Caracal</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53973629/">Vexor</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53973654/">Onyx</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Omen
Navy Issue </b>vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/57746053/">Sabre</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">~~need more here!~~</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Stabber
Fleet Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53031412/">Svipul</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53031435/">Hookbill</a> </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078533/">Vexor Navy Issue</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078590/">Talwar</a> +
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078628/">Kestrel</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078640/">Atron</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078654/">Thrasher</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078660/">Ares</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078665/">Condor</a> +
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078838/">Jackdaw</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078846/">Atron</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078851/">Dragoon</a> +
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53078854/">Taranis</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Scythe Fleet Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/54127628/">Stabber
Fleet Issue</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/54126931/">Taranis</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/54126984/">Hecate</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/54130891/">Svipul</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/54154899/">Stratios</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Caracal
Navy Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52417273/">Vexor
Navy Issue</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Osprey
Navy Issue </b>vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/56453445/">Raven</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53974577/">Jackdaw</a> </span>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f6EvnjZewTMy66A5PNf1CttZjMWoJppLfxzb7gcXM-Dx8IAMYPgPx9OknS4teGFSDoQR5V7m8jhyQSZtU3uRekgQQGPjvpJDXrsejdO7f7cxsqmmvXVKm-UIIiNB85GmZVBWAXwW0XnN/s1600/2016.02.24.07.47.02+b.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-f6EvnjZewTMy66A5PNf1CttZjMWoJppLfxzb7gcXM-Dx8IAMYPgPx9OknS4teGFSDoQR5V7m8jhyQSZtU3uRekgQQGPjvpJDXrsejdO7f7cxsqmmvXVKm-UIIiNB85GmZVBWAXwW0XnN/s640/2016.02.24.07.47.02+b.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at about middle age</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Oh this Vexor. What a ship. What luck.
I've flown the Vexor a few dozen times over the past two years but
sometimes avoid it since it will scare away some fights. The average
Svipul pilot, in my experience, will readily engage a rupture (and the
latter, if fit right, will kill it) and other T1 cruisers, but not
usually a Vexor, for instance. And there's few things I like more than
killing Svipuls (pre-nerf and post-nerf still), so I hate to scare them
off. The Vexor continues to be an incredible ship for solo PVP in both
LS and
NS, with a variety of possible fits, but because it is commonly viewed
as a strong ship it can struggle to find decent fights. I had a few fits
I wanted to try out in null sec specifically, so in between navy
cruiser losses I flew some T1 versions.<br />
<br />
This was a
slightly uncommon Vexor fit as well, with dual medium armor reps instead
of one plus an ancillary MAR, giving it slightly more sustain in longer
fights. (It's EVE though: how often do you get a long drawn out 1v1 or
1v2-5 as opposed to a 1 versus blob where an ancillary rep might at
least give you the time to kill something?) Yet this Vexor seemed
unkillable even when I tried to kill it.<br />
<br />
In addition to a few odd T3D kills, I agreed to a 1v1 against a <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52225828/">Dramiel</a>.
I was surprised he wanted to fight my Vexor (and he was surprised I had
neuts), so when I won I agreed to fight something bigger. He brought
out a <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52225893/">Vagabond</a>
(note: he was shooting Phased Plasma, which may seem like a mistake, but
I had a tech 2 explosive rig that gave me the same explosive armor
resist as thermal/kin). The quick math I did in my head suggested that
if he is XLASB fit I will just barely be able to tank his gun DPS with
both reps overheating, and somehow I ended up winning (and maybe what is
more surprising is that I did not burn out my reps). <br />
<br />
My
playstyle when solo is that I can be a touch risk average when I first
fly a ship or undock for a roam. Getting that "first kill" of the night
is a big psychological barrier for me, and sometimes I feel like I'll
never get another kill again when in the midst of a drought. I know if I
bring out a ship 3 times and die to 3 consecutive blobs I'm going to be
"tilted." So, in this case, having secured a few good kills in this
Vexor I was ready to throw it at anything lockable.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the next fight I roamed to <a href="https://zkillboard.com/alliance/99005428/" target="_blank">F-I-N-K's</a>
former space in Querious and tackled a Skiff. A Skiff alone can match
the light drone DPS of a Mrymidon, with the buffer of a battleship. To
defend it comes two Caracals, and I decide to let the Skiff go just in
hopes of winning a 1v2. As I'm fighting, a griffin lands but fails its
ECM cycle--the kind of luck I rarely get! I can barely tank the damage
of this one RLML and plus a HAM Caracal and I bleed into structure
before killing the first one. The RLML one goes into reload and gives me
a window to repair armor to full and kill it. Something strange then
happened during the middle of this brawl: the Skiff comes back. It's
drone DPS really hurts but the Caracals are dead and my drones are
popping the Griffin. All said, <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52225370/">Caracal</a> +
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52225379/">Caracal</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52225449/">Skiff</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52225452/">Griffin,</a> not bad by my standards.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
final fight I have goes even better, and would probably be in my
favorite 5 fights of all time. I roam to BX2- where Brave had a medium
sized corp. They bring a pretty rough group consisting of some tackle, a
Caracal, Cynabal, and an arty Mael, but at this point I will fight
anything. I manage to pop the tackle <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52308051/">Firetail</a>, <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52308127/">Caracal</a>, and and <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52308187/">Svipul</a>
at the sun, freeing me of tackle, but I am getting pounded by both an
arty Mael 80km off and an arty Cynabal. I yolo into the Cynabal and get
into a close orbit. My drones are dying which is bad news for this fit
since it only uses light neutrons in the top rack, but somehow the <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52308239/">Cynabal</a>
goes down too. I still get the shakes when PVPing and at this point my
nerves are shot, but at the gate waiting for me is like the final boss
for this Vexor, a Gila. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22xK8znaUDLawyWGc_uK1alPT81e_wj-SnQW2nM0J5dEGgaS__cKU9WBgn9JOE3VVPpNdsQPPQ2jANUtsrOKI7liWpl-xz83rlLjhlO86oq7fxv9hW7Vsz196XU_qo-QpTr5YLMkPBVV6/s1600/2016.02.28.06.20.23+b.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi22xK8znaUDLawyWGc_uK1alPT81e_wj-SnQW2nM0J5dEGgaS__cKU9WBgn9JOE3VVPpNdsQPPQ2jANUtsrOKI7liWpl-xz83rlLjhlO86oq7fxv9hW7Vsz196XU_qo-QpTr5YLMkPBVV6/s640/2016.02.28.06.20.23+b.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a close fight! Meanwhile my PVE alt was in system ready to do a relic site when I died - no poors!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This was the final fight of probably my best
performing single ship in 5 years. I had already lost a ton of cap
boosters and drones due to fighting a Cynabal while under arty Mael
fire, leaving me with light drones and less than 10 cap boosters to
fight this Gila. An impossible fight anyway, but I promised if they
fought me at the sun I would not leave system until I died. I had the
Gila in structure as you can see from the screenshot, but two things
happened at the same time: fraps ran out of disk space, causing my
computer to severely lag, and my damage control burned out, reducing my
tank severely (and this was just before the passive DCU change--had I
had the base 33% resist hull bonus this fight would have been even
closer). With all my drones dead, no cap charges left, and just small
turrets to fight the Gila, it was a battle against time before I died to
the Gila's overwheling DPS. But damn what a fight and what a lucky ship
that got me so many great fights! <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52308531/" target="_blank">RIP Vexor.</a><br />
<br />
<br />
During
my time in Querious CCP released navy e-war frigates, a class that
turned out to be some of my favorite ships at the level of the frigate
menace, even for null sec solo PVP.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrVXmZHqw77EjTr_kBcuiggjWytGLWrZn4861sR5Zt1prWAe3iXoX8nymm0knngWrAahqIp0VdIy6dbcQqLKBB0-jUR4FMC3SucFHgJQmkE7VKFTlo8Ye0g1jXilUDiy6XO9vwGv6QyON/s1600/2016.02.24.08.22.52+b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrVXmZHqw77EjTr_kBcuiggjWytGLWrZn4861sR5Zt1prWAe3iXoX8nymm0knngWrAahqIp0VdIy6dbcQqLKBB0-jUR4FMC3SucFHgJQmkE7VKFTlo8Ye0g1jXilUDiy6XO9vwGv6QyON/s640/2016.02.24.08.22.52+b.png" width="640" /></a></div>
The
Vigil Fleet Issue is probably my favorite frigate level ship at the
moment. With rockets it can do over 200 DPS. Tank runs either a republic
fleet MSE for buffer (the easy version of the ship to fly), or a split
MASB/SAAR fit like its Breacher cousin. The former is easier to fly
while the latter gives more sustain in 1v1 fights (as rare as they are)
but the latter is also paper thin and requires better piloting.<br />
<br />
Here are some highlights from flying them in null:<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Maulus Navy Issue</b>
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51617886/">Hawk</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Griffin Navy Issue</b>
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51950734/">Coercer</a>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52157332/">Imperial
Navy Slicer</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Vigil Fleet Issue</b>
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51622438/">Republic Fleet
Firetail</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"> vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51824849/">Federation Navy Comet</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52226680/">Sabre</a></div>
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Crucifier Navy
Issue</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52061926/">Vexor Navy
Issue</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52061894/">Taranis</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
Finally,
there's assault frigates. By reddit "CCPLS" thread count alone they are
surely the class players think are most in need of a balance pass, but I
(mostly) disagree. The major problem with assault frigates was that
T3Ds--and the Svipul in particular--did everything assault frigates did
only 2x-3x better. However, flying assault frigates successfully simply
required not fighting Svipuls! And flying them extremely well requires
paying close attention to their tech 2 resist bonuses. Assault frigates
are best when matched up with over-confident frigates and destroyers
especially when they cannot avoid shooting into your tech 2 resist
profile. <br />
<br />
And now with the fantastic nerf to T3D
versatility, assault frigates are an incredibly strong and under-rated
class of ship that pack a lot of damage and a lot of tank--if being a
bit too slow. (A 10% buff to assault frigate base speed, in my opinion,
is the only balance change they need to be in an ideal but not OP
place.)<br />
<br />
Perhaps most importantly for solo PVP, assault
frigates are widely seen as engageable (because widely seen as weak).
This means they will often get tons of fights, and tons of fights you
can easily win. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIji1k9HTDM1EcQYBmsicXCHTwE4Lq5qmGic77dMDAED3JX5v7I4VavTpJTxHhkScOBhR4G8-i0VpIstTglFRmGZmE0-VhngIaUqREVbTNlNzg09XFbXnce24dc_Qzl_4Tgo-xpT2DUIh/s1600/2016.03.27.05.51.30+b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIji1k9HTDM1EcQYBmsicXCHTwE4Lq5qmGic77dMDAED3JX5v7I4VavTpJTxHhkScOBhR4G8-i0VpIstTglFRmGZmE0-VhngIaUqREVbTNlNzg09XFbXnce24dc_Qzl_4Tgo-xpT2DUIh/s640/2016.03.27.05.51.30+b.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The
"Blarpy" (a blaster fit MSE Harpy) got a hidden buff with the change to
shield extenders and buff to faction MSEs, giving it a bit more tank
along with its nice amount of DPS and making the Blarpy an ever more
awesome ship to fly for go-crazy-brawling. It is a great ship to fly
when, say, inebriated, as it requires only a few button clicks and a ton
of (over)-confidence! <br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Harpy</b> vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52840820/">Jackdaw</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52950000/">Jackdaw
</a>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52948439/">Cynabal</a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisA06jhGZVt_QhSEf7OLto195XKnc21IMMRk0qgETOWHrLku_NGkSPhUjOxxEYaNKSGG6OCfi2ELbPTzXSQUCv4ofRY-Rz-TpJShOcDsjvRIzJuQgUqUoLPP2v_CRhpJFoF-YYCE8OJPk-/s1600/2016.04.17.07.30.22+b.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisA06jhGZVt_QhSEf7OLto195XKnc21IMMRk0qgETOWHrLku_NGkSPhUjOxxEYaNKSGG6OCfi2ELbPTzXSQUCv4ofRY-Rz-TpJShOcDsjvRIzJuQgUqUoLPP2v_CRhpJFoF-YYCE8OJPk-/s640/2016.04.17.07.30.22+b.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The
Ishkur is a rare ship in null sec, especially solo. With very low speed
and no tank bonus it seems an easy target. Until it scrams you or puts
its drones on you, and you realize you are an EM based ship like a
Confessor and are completely screwed! The Ishkur is perfect for taking
down over-confident kiting Confessors that get too close, or small
frigate gangs that primarily shoot EM or Thermal.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Ishkur </b>vs.
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/38821041/" target="_blank">Myrmidon</a>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52465044/">Confessor</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52483084/">Taranis</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52483095/">Taranis</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52483088/">Crow</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4q2FwNzFh_J27WA-oAY07fQ2qZKrAr8PlexID8gv0WFoy6DRXXY8z6dxDjIvjQjwPjdv-V1-KVgCfB9PfMWEXCZ-ZGe4ES18-Er2kmlnYp8H1oeS9epB0QkuDQnYkOSrVwD7S_f0Vp3G/s1600/2016.04.06.08.22.09.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4q2FwNzFh_J27WA-oAY07fQ2qZKrAr8PlexID8gv0WFoy6DRXXY8z6dxDjIvjQjwPjdv-V1-KVgCfB9PfMWEXCZ-ZGe4ES18-Er2kmlnYp8H1oeS9epB0QkuDQnYkOSrVwD7S_f0Vp3G/s640/2016.04.06.08.22.09.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The
Wolf is a perfect example of CCP's occasionally short-sighted
balancing: The Svipul was released as essentially a Wolf that goes at
least 50% faster, with at least 50% more damage, and at least 50-100%
more tank, plus having a similar range. However, this does not mean the
Wolf is a terrible ship, especially now that the Svipul is in a
healthier place. The Wolf proved to be one of my favorite ships in
Querious for solo PVP due to the fact that it was considered trash, and
that its resist profile perfectly matched the NPC damage types in the
region, making it great for killing unwary ratters, <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53971904/" target="_blank">such as this VNI</a>, <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53097016/" target="_blank">as well as this VNI</a>. </div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
No one, to my knowledge, flew the Wolf more effectively during this time than <a href="https://zkillboard.com/character/91612066/" target="_blank">the great solo PVPer Quinten Sarn</a>, and I emulated some of his fits and tactics, such as <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53097756/" target="_blank">his resist and sustain-heavy Wolf </a>that
is perfect for surprising the stock VNI ratters. However, I also flew
the arty Wolf, an extremely rare sight in null sec, and it decent. Not
good, but decent enough to win small skirmishes with frigates and
destroyers. </div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Wolf </b>vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52531517/">Atron</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52531523/">Kestrel</a> + <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/52531529/">Corax</a>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53080548/">Insursus</a>
+ <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53080565/">Kestrel</a> +
<a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53080555/">Svipul</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
vs. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/53969609/">Ishkur</a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
I
had good fights in all of the other assault frigates as well. They are a
ship class that is off-meta but underestimated, and as a result they
attract more fights than most other ship classes when flying solo.<br />
_____________________________________<br />
<br />
Eve online is a game that is fundamentally balanced <i>against </i>solo
play, and solo PVP in particular. Solo PVP in EVE Online is like trying
to go solo in League of Legends--good luck defending all lanes, etc.
Only the best--or, in my case, the most masochistic--can stomach it. And
let's be honest: solo PVP in EVE is not somehow about being better than
other players (though that certainly helps), but about a dedication to
flying your own ship against all odds.<br />
<br />
However, it is
possible to fight the good fight (by sheer resilience), and that's what
makes solo PVP in EVE so rewarding. You will die a lot, and you will
struggle to find decent fights, but you will also get amazing fights
where you win against all odds, 1 against 1 ship that out classes you,
or 1 against 2, or one against 3, or one against 20 where you take out 5
before you die. After almost 6 years in game, it is still the most
compelling reason I have to continue playing. <br />
<br />
<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-71828595221483778572016-10-18T10:43:00.000-07:002016-10-18T10:46:03.281-07:00Random Stats After 5 Years of EVE<br />
<b>Number of Active Accounts / Max Number of Active Accounts At One Time:</b><br />
<br />
Current: 2<br />
Max: 3<br />
<br />
<b>Total Skill Points:</b><br />
<br />
Sven Viko: 107m<br />
Next Highest Alt: 72m<br />
<br />
<b>Stations with Assets:</b><br />
<br />
This screenshot perhaps more than any other<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YRBjKFikFFiZcWJ4Lt37ZkaXF36LGhY_hHN4wh2DZ9-3nj4K2o2e0q1bU1K3Yy4guUY4V8RVQot6fVLxMXRxABPW_-xO4XwNQ0QnAFk48z-rtc3URkTc3y3W_hEif9rOieHOhaMHc0TH/s1600/assets+oct+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YRBjKFikFFiZcWJ4Lt37ZkaXF36LGhY_hHN4wh2DZ9-3nj4K2o2e0q1bU1K3Yy4guUY4V8RVQot6fVLxMXRxABPW_-xO4XwNQ0QnAFk48z-rtc3URkTc3y3W_hEif9rOieHOhaMHc0TH/s320/assets+oct+2016.jpg" width="320" /></a><b></b></div>
paints an OCD picture of how I play EVE. After 5 years of playing I have kept my assets on both accounts (trader top, Sven bottom) extremely organized. Really, everything except ships I am currently using for PVP or exploration are in Jita 4-4, and when I want to PVP in a new area I simply haul from Jita using a DST or Bowhead, then move all of the remaining stuff back to Jita when I head elsewhere. Some players have the complete opposite asset list and organization, with ships and items spread across hundreds of systems. Nope, can't do it. Even this many stations with assets starts to bother me... <b><br /></b><b> </b><br />
<b>Total Kills on Sven: </b><br />
<br />
<b> </b>7,419<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Total Losses on Sven: </b><br />
<br />
753<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Most Used PVP Ships: </b><br />
<br />
Stratios (1211), Confessor (582), Thrasher (348), Kestrel (315)<br />
<br />
<b>Favorite Ship for PVP:</b><br />
<br />
All of them!<br />
<br />
<b>Current Total Number of Ship Types With Solo PVP Kills: </b><br />
<br />
110 <b><br /></b><br />
<b>Most Active PVP Sytems by Space:</b><br />
<br />
High Sec: Poinen+Josameto (1245 kills, all during RVB)<br />
Low Sec: Ouelletta (141)<br />
Null Sec: GE-8JV (105, former home of Brave Newbies)<br />
<br />
<b>Most Active PVP "Location" (since added to killmail info in 2015): </b><br />
<br />
A2-V27 IX (52, former home station of Pandemic Horde)<br />
<br />
<b>Total Net Asset Worth:</b><br />
<br />
Approximately 400-500b<br />
<br />
<b>Number of Personal Bookmarks: </b><br />
<br />
2659<b> </b>(and wow does people and places lag!)<br />
<br />
<b>Total Number of Ship Fits on EVE Fit/Pyfa:</b><br />
<br />
A few over 1000<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Regions Explored/Visited:</b><br />
<br />
100% of High Security Space, apx. 85% of Low Security Space (in progress), apx. 40% of Null Security Space, apx. 15% of Wormhole Space:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7Mp-I6ctUVodZ7LN8koVoVEieuCuoHK42xRR1aYYY7Ia2J2O8bwlASBvlYazdyTp2cX_w7UvoDJQ7Sq4JJezSMXAC9dJ7pvKtEei2yaZFFS3vzUZR5OXBgoEldvAvafsa5niFUkhrJay/s1600/systems+visited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7Mp-I6ctUVodZ7LN8koVoVEieuCuoHK42xRR1aYYY7Ia2J2O8bwlASBvlYazdyTp2cX_w7UvoDJQ7Sq4JJezSMXAC9dJ7pvKtEei2yaZFFS3vzUZR5OXBgoEldvAvafsa5niFUkhrJay/s400/systems+visited.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Length of Sven's Skill Plan on EVEMon:</b><br />
<br />
With +5 Implants: 1105 days<br />
With No Implants: 1370 days<br />
<br />
<b>Length of Sven's Skill Queue on TQ:</b><br />
<br />
577 days (no implants)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b></b>
<b>Current Skill In Training:</b><br />
<br />
Minmatar Propulsion Systems V<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>POSes Owned / Citadels Owned: </b><br />
<br />
0 POSes<br />
1 Astrahaus<br />
(Citadels accidentally lost: 1...)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-2759297096833193902016-10-03T12:27:00.001-07:002016-10-04T09:03:07.982-07:00Reasons for Playing EVE Less (and hopefully some reasons for playing EVE more) <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In June I hit 100m skill points and 4 years of PVP activity every month. In just a few days I will hit my 5 year anniversary of playing EVE. However, this summer was also my lowest period of activity in 4 years. I did a few solo roams, a few public fleets, updated market orders a few times, and that was about it--a very stark contrast to the fall and winter of 2015 and early 2016 which were my most active months ever. It's not so much that I was tired of EVE, but a few reasons led me to need a break, reasons which probably resonate with many players that share my playstyles.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>1. Increased connection issues
</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Even though I don't experience lag or latency issues in any other online game (and experience very low ping
and a stable connection), my last year playing EVE has been a constant
battle against disconnects, bugs, and socket losses. On an average
play session I will experience roughly 1-2 disconnects, sometimes
many more, even while my internet connection is otherwise stable.
(E.g., on a casual roam through null I typically experience 1-2
disconnects every hour.) There also seems to be a rising number of bugs in the game, some of which affect my playstyle. For instance, the market window frequently "desyncs" when selecting a new item listing, updating the item listing but displaying the previous item's buy/sell orders. It definitely tilts me when I die on a roam due to lag or disconnects, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioumhnmDu4c" target="_blank">though in some cases it results in funny fights such as in this video (one of the only EVE pvp videos I've made).</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>2. Unfortunately, and inescapably, less
players simply means less content for me</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
One of the best things about being
involved in solo PVP is that you are your own FC, and do not rely on
others for creating content. Yet, in another way, you are entirely
dependent on others for content—you rely on people actually being
in space. When the average number of players drops below 20k, you
feel it acutely. The time in between fights—or even seeing another
player in space—has steadily increased over the years I've played
EVE. These days, even at prime hours, many systems are empty--systems that in 2011-2013 were very active--and few
that are flying in space are looking for a fight (or, if they are,
they are looking for an easy killmail).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some roams I encounter more people afk
at gates in null than I do solo or small gangs looking for
a fight. Solo PVP has always been a niche activity in a niche game,
but I feel it is hit particularly hard by periods of low player
activity. When the game is buzzing with activity, people solo more;
when it is stagnant, I think people fleet up more. This is true even for me:
my main PVP activity over the past 3 months has been from Zarvox's
amazingly fun Saturday interceptor fleets.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8JD0A8OcaPHq6OG9Ur7Iqjn-rdyvEZiHO2UYmdRzBFKBIOGyw2ufMeRb73jhKpdhOBmdo8TNBxUmx-Pyip6peXcrmPFR2FKkyRvww1_SzFwBMoXcjQe1z328GDPwrg8VdvrO6m7Bc08k/s1600/2016.10.02.00.19.14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin8JD0A8OcaPHq6OG9Ur7Iqjn-rdyvEZiHO2UYmdRzBFKBIOGyw2ufMeRb73jhKpdhOBmdo8TNBxUmx-Pyip6peXcrmPFR2FKkyRvww1_SzFwBMoXcjQe1z328GDPwrg8VdvrO6m7Bc08k/s400/2016.10.02.00.19.14.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturday = Zarvox interceptor fleet day lately</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Things haven't been entirely terrible;
I've found solo fights here and there, such as a roam in a ferox
where I snagged a <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/56338319/">blingy
rapier</a><u>,</u> then <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/56338811/">took
out 2</a> <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/56338823/">svipuls</a>
and <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/56338814/">a sabre</a>
before <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/56338825/">dying to the
6+ other svipuls</a> in the gang. It was fun, but finding such
content just takes so long these days, far longer than I often have
time to play for. I am definitely roaming more lately as activity increases as EVE nears the major November release, but my feeling is that the amount of relatively inactive months out of the year is growing. I hope that trend reverses. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My other main activity is the market,
and it, too, suffers from low player numbers. Sure, my PLEX stack has
risen in value over the past 3 months from when PLEX was sitting around 800-900m (see my previous post!), and I still make a decent
profit from my local market trading, but the markets over the last 3
months have simply been boring. Little activity, little velocity in
isk, little speculation, and slow turnover. Again, the November release should reverse this trend, with new structures and the Alpha clone option coming. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>3. The glacially slow balance progress,
even by EVE's standards
</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The balance pass on T3 destroyers, link
changes, Citadel improvements, and other balance updates were
originally planned for a summer release, and instead mostly got pushed back
to late fall. Announcements at 2016's fanfest were largely for features we knew were coming (with some, like some of the aforementioned, planned for summer, then pushed back), and the year's major focus on capital rebalance was a ton of time for little gain. According to zkill data, carriers are involved in almost 2x more kills than last year, but lost at around the same (or less) numbers. Dreads are roughly used (in kills and losses) the same amount. Remember, CCP's explicitly stated goal was to have capitals used more, and lost much more often, so they at best failed on half of their design goal...the more important half, from my perspective. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I support CCP's decision to move back to expansions,
yet am disappointed with how little balance work 2016 will see
compared to every previous year I've played EVE, where dozens of
ships across multiple classes were rebalanced in interesting ways for
each expansion. From my perspective, it is better for the game to make frequent small balance passes even if it results in some ships being overpowered and others underpowered, than it is to have few balance passes and a stagnant meta for long periods.<br />
<br />
These days, the ship balance team (only about 3 devs,
remember) is spread thin—they also work on module and item balance,
structure design and balance, events like the AT that take months of
preparation, and new and important (/s) ship designs and releases
like faction capitals that 1 or maybe 2 players will regularly use.
This has left ships like the Svipul and weapon classes like ECM and Rapid Lights in dire need of even a quick
balance pass—just lowering a few numbers like base speed on the Svipul would have
been a fine temporary patch—for around a year. Sadly, the solution
seems to be that CCP simply needs more developers, and for that they
need more players.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>4. Disappointing events</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The events CCP were incorporating in
between their rotation of expansions at first showed promise. The
success of the few first events in 2015 like the Crimson Harvest were
based, I think, on the good rewards, the ability to run the sites in
almost any ship or fitting, and the benefits of running the sites in
dangerous space. I had a few great fights (some win and some lose) in
low, null, and wormhole space running these sites or catching someone
running them. Later events, though, jettisoned these elements and
opted for more of a slow grind in sites designed for mission running
ships, culminating in the Shadow of the Serpent Event. I truly did
try to enjoy the event, even getting to the first tier “chest”
unlock, but the event lacked any potential player conflict and took a
monumental amount of largely afk grinding to progress. My
disappointment was widely shared by players, especially since the
event turned out to be the only real content over the summer months. The more recent Purity of the Throne event was an improvement, and I really appreciated getting an entire skin set for Amarr ships, but the event did still lack the conflict drivers that we saw in the first few.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Am I hopeful for brighter days in EVE's
future, days of 40k average players logged in, better and faster
balance and bug passes, and tons of people to fight? Definitely. I am
hopeful that the “freemium” mode coming in November will bring in
a large chunk of new and returning players to the game. I would love
to see the average number of players double or triple in November or
return to 2010-2014 levels, and stay that way more permanently this
time. I believe EVE is a good enough game to deserve far more players
than it currently has, and hopeful that the Alpha clone option will
be enough to hook many new players.
</div>
Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-91805536310061965682016-06-03T17:56:00.000-07:002016-06-03T17:56:36.694-07:00A Strange New Economy: PLEX crashes, Daily SP, Citadel Markets (offshores), and the Future of Investing<br />
The <a href="http://eve-prosper.blogspot.com/">EVE Prosper blog</a> and show (sadly now on its hiatus) has recorded the recent rise-and-fall of PLEX, and in the most recent episode pointed out the impact "offshoring" is already having on the PLEX market. "Offshoring" refers to buying/selling PLEX at one of the many Fortizar Citadel markets 1 jump from Jita, where taxes are 1% or lower. This is what the PLEX market looks like in the Forge as of 6/3/16:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZLBa2RqitoGGN3tW49b6KNAr-CfmMfn9QB__tsqsqMUCbobFCyF-K1x0KXGBTtEPIvR3XX8_aeprAE67Y0FoCQwsA_rRa5H6mLzp76qa0H5Mxc2V1-ko4X1pFnK5tbgc9f27nUbfJvpf/s1600/plex+drop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="622" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZLBa2RqitoGGN3tW49b6KNAr-CfmMfn9QB__tsqsqMUCbobFCyF-K1x0KXGBTtEPIvR3XX8_aeprAE67Y0FoCQwsA_rRa5H6mLzp76qa0H5Mxc2V1-ko4X1pFnK5tbgc9f27nUbfJvpf/s640/plex+drop.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
First off, the sky is falling yet again for PLEX prices. 850m? In 2016? I don't think anyone predicted that one. However, just as interesting is that most of the best buy and sell orders for PLEX and Injectors are now at Citadels 1 jump away. In total there are 5 or 6 Fortizar markets 1 jump from Jita, and each has lower taxes and usually better PLEX/Injector orders than 4-4. Interestingly, the worry that a "New Jita" would be created largely turned out false (thus far)--instead, we seem to have Jita, and then dozens of "offshore" markets for high value and high volume items.<br />
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Jita 4-4 does not even appear until the bottom of this page of sell orders for injectors. When you can create contracts in Citadels and so on, they will be even more useful.<br />
<br />
Now let's talk about daily SP and the impact it might have on the skill injector market. <a href="http://www.eve-guardian.net/article/39/the-curious-case-of-recurring-opportunities">EVE-Gaurdian</a> has a great write up covering the relative isk value of the 10k SP daily. It depends heavily on your implants and attribute mapping, but for new players it daily opportunities come out to roughly a 15% increase in SP gain for new players.<br />
<br />
It is also worth noting that daily SP has a different (higher) relative
value for older players (above 60m SP) and especially those who fly in empty clones (i.e.
frequently PVP in null for instance). If such a player did the daily
every day for a 30 day month, that is 300k SP, or equal to 2 skill
injectors (because the player would only receive 150k per SP given their
high skills from an injector), which is around 1.2b isk a month in injector cost currently. So the value of a daily is quite a bit higher for a vet player who
does no implants PVP; it is two injectors per month or something like 40m SP in "injector->SP"
isk value per daily.<br />
<br />
Dailies are thus great for new players and even better for veterans, and the upshot is that dailies will likely put pressure <i>off</i> of the skill injector market. There's now a second, more active way of getting more SP faster. <br />
<br />
The PLEX market is unstable, the Injector market is good currently (esp. for regional trading) but unpredictable; that all leaves the basic question wide open: Where to now invest isk? In the past, you could dump as much isk as you wanted into PLEX at, say, 900m isk, and make bank when PLEX hit 1b a few months later, or 1.1b a few month after that, etc. <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/10/investing-100b-isk-update-ii.html">As my experiment investing 100b in ships showed</a>, you can make decent return on ships if you buy low and have patience to sell high.<br />
<br />
I don't have an expert view on this, but one way to look at investing large amounts of isk is to look at what in game is being replaced--i.e., structures. How much isk exists in POSes and POS modules in space and in assets? And they are all being phased out. I didn't buy a Citadel BPO but I do think it was a good investment, either for producing, selling copies, or researching and reselling. So in the future months/year I am look to the new structures as potential sources of investment, particularly since most POSes in HS are dedicated to manufacturing. Don't take my advice though, a lot of isk can still be made in the injector market!Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-65566334022667923212016-05-23T22:14:00.001-07:002016-05-23T22:33:41.300-07:006 months of solo PVP in Querious - good times, but going elsewhere, for nowThis week I lost my final ship I had staged in the Querious region.
Besides <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/04/reaching-80-billion-in-loot-from.html">blowing up a few POSes</a> and an occasional NPSI roam, I have been
doing solo PVP in Querious almost exclusively for the last 6 months.<br />
<br />
I
primarily flew navy EWAR frigates, assault frigates, cruisers, and some
navy cruisers, and a ton of off-meta stuff (RLML XLASB Blackbird killing interceptors?
Check. Brawling fit t1 logi killing an Oracle? Check. etc.). In total I
killed around 800 ships solo, plus assorted pods and junk. I lost around 80
ships and 30 (usually empty) pods, and 6b isk total, or about 3-4 per
night I roamed. But I flew about 50 different ships total! At this point
a few residents in Querious know me, and definitely know I never have
backup. <br />
<br />
The groups I most liked fighting were probably <a href="https://zkillboard.com/alliance/99004211/">Affirmative</a>, <a href="https://zkillboard.com/alliance/1119479143/">Agony</a>, the Brave corporation that lived in BX2- (<a href="https://zkillboard.com/corporation/98169716/">Absolutely Massive Destruction</a>), <a href="https://zkillboard.com/alliance/99005428/">F-I-N-K, </a>and <a href="https://zkillboard.com/corporation/1102941417/">Altruism/Triggerkittens</a>.
Many groups go to Querious to fight (or farm) Brave and Horde, and I
had a lot of fun fights with them, too. Large public groups invariably
have a mix of different personalities and play styles, which is partly
what happens with open recruitment. I had a few occasions were I agreed
to a 1v1 only to have a blob brought in, for instance, yet I also had
many hours of fun fighting the large groups that live/lived in the
region. Then there's also the usual share of tryhard groups in Querious
(never not falcon alt, etc), but you'll find them in any region and they
are not worth talking about.<br />
<br />
On my quest to solo in every ship, I am slowly moving up to the
bigger and more expensive ship classes. It's hard to roam in a BS/BC
when people know who you are, and know you don't have backup. In the
months before the summer update and the removal of off-grid links, I
look forward to roaming deep null, into some areas of space where the
population is smaller. That means less fights overall, but also less
deaths to 20-ship blobs (well, sometimes--there are blobs in every region!). <br />
<br />
It's
crazy for me to think just a few years ago I was roaming in null for
the first time after so many years doing solo in LS. Now, I've spent
almost 2 years in null doing solo with only brief vacations. But, links
are getting a massive nerf (for some play styles, i.e. those groups who
do not have the skill to effectively use links on grid), and T3Ds (the
svipul in particular) are also getting the shaft, and the true land of
good fights that is low security space may once again be a great place
to roam. Maybe.<br />
<br />
In the next few posts I am going to
highlight my favorite/best performing/luckiest ships during my time in
Querious. Solo PVP for me is half luck, half dedication (maybe a bit of
masochism in there, too), and most of my fits are taken from other (better) solo PVPers, so it will more so be focused on good runs I had in specific ships.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWCAn1J8-g5O8l14FvbX-s2UfMX31RKKtDo8vZwnFr9nqxgfY_3NoJwRP1LN7pttjc_lsOqLJ_8zY5-e_vHJ4jbGuczlLePDy67vzgXfnZq7RR3AutTyi3FaqlEwgN32snapp6Rx10Sz0/s1600/2016.05.24.05.06.58.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWCAn1J8-g5O8l14FvbX-s2UfMX31RKKtDo8vZwnFr9nqxgfY_3NoJwRP1LN7pttjc_lsOqLJ_8zY5-e_vHJ4jbGuczlLePDy67vzgXfnZq7RR3AutTyi3FaqlEwgN32snapp6Rx10Sz0/s640/2016.05.24.05.06.58.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thanks for all the fun querious thunderdome and pan-fam</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-27513666880610112142016-05-04T20:17:00.002-07:002016-05-04T20:21:07.033-07:00Putting up my first Citadel<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5SZkNSpJ8moWyIE1iq8zic3xPtULrPZA2QQBN8mCe9K9tV9pdPg0fAEAByOH0bEmjx9mc5hthc-1zlXWyXi0ENgsGi2LiHch09Ako-OXHRbfU_ymVR1m1vVRd4N80tWNTTjX8pQtP5OU/s1600/2016.05.01.21.47.33.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5SZkNSpJ8moWyIE1iq8zic3xPtULrPZA2QQBN8mCe9K9tV9pdPg0fAEAByOH0bEmjx9mc5hthc-1zlXWyXi0ENgsGi2LiHch09Ako-OXHRbfU_ymVR1m1vVRd4N80tWNTTjX8pQtP5OU/s640/2016.05.01.21.47.33.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I've had a M Ctiadel and all of the modules ready since Sunday, and was very close to risking it and attempting to deploy it in a wormhole. The sheer risk involved made me think twice, though. <a href="https://zkillboard.com/ship/35832/">The majority of Citadels destroyed so far</a> have been in wormholes. Citadels are incredibly vulnerable in their first 24 hours. If you deploy a Citadel, a 24 hour timer starts, and at the end of the 24 hours the Citadel enters a 15 minute "repair" window where it only has hull hit points to defend it. If someone attacks the Citadel <i>right</i> at the start of that 15 minute timer, you <i>cannot</i> fit any modules to the Citadel, and are essentially an empty, defenseless shell with just a few million hit points from death.<br />
<br />
Naturally, wormhole residents are very good at scouting a large number of wormholes in a small amount of time. All they have to do is note where a Citadel is being deployed, and show up at the end of that 24 hours. Attack the Citadel right at the start of the "repair," and it cannot fit any modules. For a solo player like myself, this means my only real chance of getting a Citadel up in wormhole (or LS/NS space) is to get <i>really lucky</i> and sneak one up. I have to gamble on no one noticing for 24 hours and 15 minutes. After that, I at least get a few weeks to use it (and fight back) while groups work through vulnerability timers.<br />
<br />
Of course, the same thing happens in low and null security space, and many Citadels have died an early death--before even being able to fit a single module. In fact, no Citadel has been destroyed with modules fitted yet. Personally, I think this is a bit unfair for Citadel owners. At the very least they should be able to fit or pre-fit modules in order to defend themselves during that most vulnerable first 15 minutes. Most would still die, but they could at least fight back.<br />
<br />
Putting balance feedback to the side, however, this mechanic is also why Citadels are actually very safe in high security space. So long as no one sees you put a Citadel up during the first 15 minutes and declares war during that time (hence starting the war during that 15 minute vulnerability window the next day), it will take groups roughly three weeks of vulnerability timers to destroy a Citadel in HS (such as the one in Perimeter that will likely soon be entering its final timer).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXcW1xTPO-CeT11WnwQP_PosjrfpPICxd-4OxB3GtfdOp6FJOJgFMzGBc6ze_Cas3KFGsxe0fWqVpftlpxDbLGmkXpOGm0GPwH-ygDy3M8DdjSrZJxe4Zibs6hYSg0BN7yA7Q9giaJ9eT/s1600/2016.05.01.21.41.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXcW1xTPO-CeT11WnwQP_PosjrfpPICxd-4OxB3GtfdOp6FJOJgFMzGBc6ze_Cas3KFGsxe0fWqVpftlpxDbLGmkXpOGm0GPwH-ygDy3M8DdjSrZJxe4Zibs6hYSg0BN7yA7Q9giaJ9eT/s640/2016.05.01.21.41.57.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santuary in Perimeter off the Jita gate was one of the first Citadels deployed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOmg6FRd4Wsg__BnYrDgUpcZbmYUNbiJaTibKwc5Y8KTbYBSPyi2KPa-E_mA4h1s1WK3KQbEu4mLGEuY5jVJmYxM3rFMidHKy3dFDw_lKlFtIsnWIq5JavvZ_Pfl1YkVdeAurhzxGjYiq/s1600/2016.05.01.22.22.38.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOmg6FRd4Wsg__BnYrDgUpcZbmYUNbiJaTibKwc5Y8KTbYBSPyi2KPa-E_mA4h1s1WK3KQbEu4mLGEuY5jVJmYxM3rFMidHKy3dFDw_lKlFtIsnWIq5JavvZ_Pfl1YkVdeAurhzxGjYiq/s640/2016.05.01.22.22.38.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naturally, the Citadel attracted HS war dec groups. During their first attack, they brought 3 Guardians and a few Domis. At first, the Guardians appeared to be able to tank the Citadel's damage, but then they messed up and went suspect--and immediately died to a swarm of people hoping for blood or killmails</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So I changed my initial plans, and put up my first "test" Citadel in HS. There are a number of systems in HS that lack a station, but get a large amount of PVP traffic. The most notable such system is <a href="http://evemaps.dotlan.net/map/Khanid/Keberz#sec">Keberz</a>: it borders the popular null system HED-GP. If you PVP in HED-GP or systems nearby but then need to repair, you have to travel 4 (long) warps to Agil to get to the nearest station. So, a public Citadel with free repairs and docking is extremely helpful in such a system. Someone already beat me to putting one up there, but there are a few other HS systems that lack a station but where having a place to dock and repair for free would be convenient. I settled on <a href="http://evemaps.dotlan.net/map/The_Bleak_Lands/Otelen#sec">Otelen</a>, on the Houla gate. Repairs, docking, and reprocessing are public and free, and I may add a free clone service if the Citadel gets used. I love that Citadels repair even heat damage for free--it's a really nice feature. Another interesting feature I did not at first realize is that pirates (-5 security status or below) can tether to public Citadels, receive repairs, and sit in space safe from both other players--and the HS police! This is a huge quality of life bonus for pirates operating in high security space (and I think groups like CODE. will figure out clever ways to use this mechanic...such as by putting up their own Citadels near the gates in Uedama and stocking them with gank ships, then sitting safe in space tethered to the Citadel ready to pounce down to the gate).<br />
<br />
I was a bit nervous putting it up during those crucial first 15 minutes,
but no war decs so far suggests that there's just too many Citadels in
HS already to honestly care. My Citadel is one of probably a few hundred M Citadels, and before long they are going to be far more common than POSes or potentially even NPC stations. However, being so visible and so close to a major PVP system, there are certainly enough groups nearby who can destroy it if they wish. <br />
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<br />
<br />
Something I've quickly learned about the balance changes is that tech 2 light fighters are incredibly strong at the moment, and probably brokenly so. Getting tech 2 fighters (like Firbolg IIs) is going to be incredibly important for Citadel defense (not to mention for Carrier pilots).<br />
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<br />
The 350km lock range of the Citadel prevents them from being able to exert force over the area around the gate itself, yet I still think that Citadels are going to change how groups control their space. A Large Citadel 1,000km off an important gate or station is a powerful force multiplier for the owner, and projects a large sphere nearby where the home team has a significant advantage. Thank Bob, however, that CCP effectively killed station games with the tethering mechanic and inability to dock when tackled. <br />
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<br />
In total I paid around 4.5-5b for the Citadel and fittings, but the prices are dropping very quickly. M Citadels are already sub 2b. My plan at this point is to leave the Citadel up with all services free. I do hope it gets attacked at some point, just so I can experience defending it, but if it still stands by the summer months I will likely replace it with a Large Citadel and set up market services in addition. The summer months may also be quiet enough to attempt a Citadel in a wormhole as well. Looking further in the future, CCP has plans to remove off-grid links and nerf T3Ds this summer. When they do so, I will certainly be returning to low sec PVP primarily, and a Citadel will be a great place to base out of.Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-54979945993916013092016-04-30T17:52:00.003-07:002016-05-02T11:31:06.042-07:00Citadels and the Solo Player (with hypothetical fittings, strats, and uses)<span style="font-size: x-small;">Updated, fixed mistakes already! </span><br />
<br />
If you're not a capital pilot, and you are not interested in owning a Citadel, the Citadel expansion is mostly business as usual. (What percentage of the EVE population flies capitals? And what percentage flies them on a regular basis? <a href="http://nevillesmit.com/blog/2016/5/1/occupy-new-eden">Those are good questions I do not have answers for, but charts of the player distribution in EVE suggest that it is probably a minority</a>!)<br />
<br />
In fact, it's likely that the majority of the playerbase will be unaffected by the expansion (setting aside paying overall higher prices for items due to the increase in taxes!), at least until Citadels become so common in all areas of space that docking in them, using their market, and so on, will become an everyday occurrence. The first few Citadels are going up currently, though the price of the M/L Citadels likely will not stabilize until June or July (a lot depends on what happens in the PI market and how many players want to set up an XL, which would drain the market of supply). After the initial excitement of using the first Citadels, though, most players will likely see them as just another kind of station to dock in and maybe buy/sell in.<br />
<br />
However, are there <i>any reasons</i> a solo player might want a Citadel? And if so, is there <i>any way </i>it would work? While I have tried almost everything in EVE, my play style is largely solo, and primarily solo PVP. Often I like to do things in EVE just to take on the challenge of accomplishing something solo. There are two ways I am going to use the new Citadels (a M and a L), just for the experience of using them. However, I also think more casual solo players<i> do</i> have some good potential uses for M/L Citadels. I am going to talk about how I am planning on using Citadels, and then go into detail about the fits I've tested for the M (as well as how to destroy it!). I am sure what follows has a ton of mistakes, so any feedback is welcome! Also, I'd love to hear how other solo or small group players are planning on using a Citadel.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Two ways a solo player can use a Citadel</b></span></span><br />
<br />
The two uses I have in mind involve Citadels in HS and C1-C3 WH space. I am not going to theorize about using Citadels in LS/NS/C4-C6 WHs simply because of capital ships and the groups who use them! With Citadels being so new, of course everyone wants to destroy them, and any Citadel in any region is going to attract a lot of attention. Every Titan pilot in EVE is just itching for a reason to try out the new DDs and so on. However, there may come a time when a solo player or small group can get away with building a Citadel in such space. Once Citadels are "old news" (like POSes are now), they may simply be too much of a hassle, and too boring of a killmail, to destroy. That's not going to happen until 2017 or latter, though. So what follows are the two ways I plan on using Citadels as a solo player in the coming months. <br />
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<u><b>An Astrahus (M) Citadel in C1-C3 space: </b></u>Solo players have small groups have a fairly easy time living in C1-C3 wormholes. The logistics for a POS isn't too bad, and the hassle of evicting you is often reason enough for large groups to ignore you. A M Citadel in such a wormhole does not have to worry about capitals (unless, of course, they are built in-system) and the logistics is far easier than a POS. In fact, if you forego service modules altogether, you don't even need to fuel the Citadel. Why forego services modules? Well, if you are running a M, you won't be able to use the market. If you aren't mining, you don't need the reprocessing ability (or, you can export minerals to k-space). That leaves, for now, cloning. Clone services in wormholes is going to be one of the best quality of life improvements for WH dwellers in years, as it allows the ability to swap clones (to go from your slave set to +5s or an empty clone for when you want to roam null for instance). However, for the solo or small group, it is not very necessary. Just having clone services will consume a fairly irrelevant amount of fuel, though, but the clone center itself is going to be quite pricey. The upshot, though, is that you can have a fully active and functional Citadel (albeit without services) that does not require <u>any fuel</u>. That by itself is a reason to use Citadels instead of POSes in wormholes, especially for small groups that do not have time for the logistics involved in POS management. Putting a Citadel up (and taking it down) is very convenient, and the 24-hour timer is brief enough to sneak one up without groups noticing, especially if you find an empty wormhole. <br />
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There are disadvantages, however. The M Citadel, especially without services, is simply fairly useless right now, and a giant target. In a wormhole, there's no asset safety, so everything will either be destroyed or dropped if the Citadel falls. CCP will eventually add more services to Citadels, but currently they are either useful as a market hub, or simply as a staging and storage location.<br />
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In the next week or so I will be putting up a M Citadel in an empty(?) wormhole. I'll be writing some posts about how it goes but I do hope I get attacked eventually. I will be disappointed if 1-2 months go by and no one has attacked it, but if that happens I'll just move it to somewhere more visible and name it "Vote Trump"! <br />
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<b><u>A Fortizar (L) Citadel in HS:</u> </b>While the L class of Citadels will not be on the market for a few more days, and not reasonably priced probably for a good few weeks into May if not June-July, they should eventually come down in price to sub-10b isk. With significantly better fitting and defenses than a M, the L class should be fairly hard to remove from HS. And, once there's a lot of them, the inconvenience might be their best protection. My plan is the same as many players, some of whom are solo or in small corps <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-mLQN9EFLU">(such as Delonewolf on Youtube who has been making videos about his plans for using a L Citadel in HS for a while</a>). Build a L Citadel in HS, set up public market and reprocessing services, put a low tax rate, and see if you get any business. It probably won't be until summer that I'm able to do this though, at which point I will post more about it.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fitting, Defending, and Attacking a M Citadel (besides just nuking it with caps)</b></span></span><br />
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Since I'll be putting up a Medium class first, I've tested fittings and services on SiSi to get an idea of what to expect. This is my first pass at fitting a M Citadel. I am sure I am making a ton of mistakes, but at this stage Citadels (and capitals) are really an unknown. I will definitely improve on this as I learn more.<br />
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Here is an example fitting for the M Citadel I've tested a lot on SiSi. M Citadels simply do not have a lot of fitting options. First off, the missiles. ASML missiles come in three sizes L, M S. The large sub-cap missiles do omni damage with an explosion radius and velocity similar to torpedoes. With a max velocity of 8700 m/s and a range of over 1k, they can hit well past the Citadel targeting range.<br />
On this test fit I am using 2x ballistic controls and one guidance enhancer, along with a projection and a precision rig, with a base damage of 1.7k. That's highly deceptive unfortunately: These missiles will primarily be effective against battleships, but any signature sizes lower are going to reduce that DPS substantially. As a result, I think two webs or a web and a target painter are essential. The Citadel stasis web has a range of 250km and reduces target velocity by 70%--very nice! The M and S missiles sizes are much more useful than the high DPS large size. The M size applies comparable to heavy missiles, but with 2 webs or 1 web and a target painter than will apply well against most ships with a signature size of 100 or more, and makes fitting 3x ballistic controls more sensible. That leaves the small missiles, which go 10k m/s and apply well against frigates and destroyers. <br />
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That brings us to the other two high slots. The guided bomb launcher and point defense battery do not fit on the M class. Heavy energy neuts do, however, and they are at least as important as the webs. With a range of 100km and a neut power of 1.5k capacitor drained every 15s, two of them can drain a T2 logi dry in one cycle. With a neut projection rig, you can boost this range up to 145km. Having either ECM or Damps in the 4th mid slot is going to be important for combating enemy logi in particular, as fleet comps will likely be designed around keeping logi outside of the Citadel's neut range or simply repping through the slow neut cycles, and either a signal amplifier in the low or a scan res rig is going to be important for boosting the Citadel's terrible scan res.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXuT58R3z95Hd-2Eo7tYsuYEgYDjQ-gJU9lvmEHhBfinec3qyDicvogk5hr0kilHkh3Rj5ZMEJbqNibIxnPu5OzrG-e3xM0uUASZ714QF-NEBTMqBfQTpCTrCRR5_6kLA9amIeXteYM_Kk/s1600/2016.04.30.22.03.39.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXuT58R3z95Hd-2Eo7tYsuYEgYDjQ-gJU9lvmEHhBfinec3qyDicvogk5hr0kilHkh3Rj5ZMEJbqNibIxnPu5OzrG-e3xM0uUASZ714QF-NEBTMqBfQTpCTrCRR5_6kLA9amIeXteYM_Kk/s640/2016.04.30.22.03.39.png" width="640" /></a>Now, the fighter bay. In my limited experience with light fighters thus far (I have even less experience with the support fighters), they feel strong against most sub-caps. Take 3 flights of tech 1 Firblogs on a Citadel as an example. Depending on your skills, their slowboat speed can be pretty bad. Their MWD ability boosts them to ridiculous speeds, easily as fast as interceptors. The blaster canon is their primary weapon, but it is the heavy rocket salvo ability that is particularly scary. They have a 10km range, 8 charges per fighter squad. With an explosive radius of 100m and velocity of 120m/s, and doing around 250 damage per fighter, if you have a target with a 70% web on it (or two, or one and a target painter) these salvos are going to be doing high damage against most ships (e.g., against a target with a sig of 50 the salvo was doing between 500-1k damage). Unfortunately, a simple question like "how much DPS can a M Citadel do against a target X?" does not have a simple answer, because of how much depends on the fittings, fighters, skills, and specific abilities you use--but that's part of the excitement of the new Citadels (and capital changes). Destroying a Citadel's fighters is likely going to be a strong strategy unless you have enough logi to tank the DPS. <br />
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Now that we have an idea of the potential defensive capabilities of a M Citadel (admittedly I may have missed a lot or made mistakes, sorry!), what will it take to destroy an actively defended one? A M Citadel has 7200 shield, armor, and hull, with 20% resists across the board, and as far as I know there is no way of improving these defenses. The M Citadel only has 3 hours of vulnerability per week. If you think about it, that narrow window is a massive form of defense in and of itself, but Citadels also have a damage limit. No more than 5k DPS can be done to a M.<br />
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So,<b> in sum</b>, you have 3 hours to do 7200 damage (before resists) but anything more than 5k DPS will be wasted. If you brought one ship with 1k DPS, before resists it would take 2 hours to put the Citadel into invulnerable (note that Citadels do not repair while being attacked, so besides resists there's no, say, passive regen you have to out-DPS as well). That's good news for solo players interested in destroying Citadels like myself, as it means if I find a poorly defended/fit Citadel, or one that is not actively defended during its vulnerability period, I can easily put it into reinforcement. A bomber with polarized launchers can get upwards of 1k DPS. A Raven with polarized torps can get upwards of 1.5k DPS. A Talos with polarized blasters can get upwards of 1.7k DPS. And so on. Further, many players can bring an alt or two in "POS" bashing ships. Bring 3k DPS and the Citadel is goes into invulnerability in maybe an hour. Bring the max 5k DPS (easy for players with many alts or just a few friends, or a gang of 10-15 svipuls or bombers for instance) and it's maybe a half hour total. Put in that perspective, and Citadels with no one to defend them are extremely vulnerable. CCP has basically said, unlike POSes, if you aren't there to defend it, it's going to be really easy to lose.<br />
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But, we are interested in actively defended Citadels, which will absolutely shred through a POS bashing small gang of sub-caps. Unfortunately for the solo player like myself, I suspect it is going to be fairly easy to destroy a M Citadel in either HS or WH space for the dedicated group (again I am not considering LS/NS or C4-C6 wormholes here where capitals make destroying a M Citadel even easier). The hardest part might simply be the inconvenience of the once a week 3-hour timer! <br />
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Just focusing on a solo player defending a M Citadel, one of the
best ways to kill an Astrahus with sub-capitals is going to be by bringing a T3 fleet,
T2 logistics, and skirmish links for reducing signature radius. The L size missiles won't apply, the S won't do enough damage, but the M size still might not apply well enough and not do enough damage. However, how many will be needed to have minimal or zero losses? I really don't know, partly because I simply don't know how well fighters work. I would guess, though, that a gang of 3-5 logi and 10 T3s could destroy a M Citadel with no losses (at this point I am largely guessing of course). 2 neuts and one ECM would probably not be enough to disrupt the logi enough to burn through the high resists and low sig of such a fleet, and meanwhile the T3s melt fighter squads before the salvo DPS can take out a log or T3. Keep in mind that there's no overheating on Citadel modules currently, leaving them with limited burst outside of fighter abilities. <br />
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It is
also likely that a large enough T3D fleet with afterburners and T2 frigate logistics
could work well against the medium Citadels, particularly because they would be able to destroy fighter squads very quickly and sig tank the DPS of the Citadel. Plus, the heavy neuts have such a low cycle time that the logi could simply cap boost up after getting drained and be fine for the next 15 seconds, making the neuting power of the M Citadel largely useless. My feeling at this (hypothetical) stage is that the defenses of the M Citadel are best against a small group of battleships with only a few (or zero) logi, but that's also one of the least likely compositions that is going to attack it.<br />
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The first M Citadels come out of reinforcement in around 8-12 hours. When will the first be destroyed? How many will be up by next weekend? When will the first L go up? The first XL? There's a ton of "firsts" and big questions to look forward to, even for players who won't personally use or own one. But I hope what I've written here is some evidence is favor of using a Citadel as a solo or small group player, even if it is only a matter of time before you lose it!Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-6960455432310562052016-04-24T22:07:00.000-07:002016-04-24T22:09:58.481-07:00Reaching 80 Billion in Loot from Offline Starbases (but nearing the end of the project?) <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-while-ago-i-started-series-of-posts.html">Way back in the summer of 2014</a>, I stumbled across an offline POS in high security space and wanted to see what would happen if I tried to blow it up. What started as a test of science became a regular part of my routine of casual EVE time, along side doing occasional exploration in high security space and <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/03/exploring-every-hs-system.html">working toward my goal of visiting every system in game</a>. My skills for scanning POSes have improved to the point where I can scan a region in a short afternoon.<br />
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<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/3r0gtg/39b_estimated_dropped_from_inactive_pos_in/">Granted, I didn't find any tech 2 BPOs, such as this player did</a>. With one offline POS that player likely made over 150b isk, but this is potentially a drop so rare that it will never occur again. (I mean, who would store tech 2 BPOs in a POS?)<br />
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Though I haven't quite gotten so lucky, I have reached around 80b in loot dropped--in assorted BPCs and BPOs, ships, materials, and ore. It has been a fun--and profitable--weekend activity over the past 1-2 years. I used most of the funds from this activity to donate to the last Plex for Good campaign, and the rest I've simply re-invested back into market trading or bought ships to explode in solo PVP.<br />
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Here's some screenshots of the various loot piñatas. Part of the fun is in seeing what drops: <br />
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But in two days a massive change hits EVE, Citadels. Citadels do not replace dedicated manufacturing and research POSes, so it is likely we will see M&E POSes remain at least until the the next expansion (or so far as Fanfest suggests, fall and winter of 2016) when more new structures are released to cover such roles. Medium Citadels are also a few hundred million isk more expensive than a small staging POS that might be used in C1-C3 wormholes or for storage in systems without station, meaning we will likely see small and medium POSes still used as convenient staging platforms.<br />
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Based on the records I've kept, I estimate there are around 1.5k-2k active POSes in high security space currently. Around 500-1000 of them do not have any research or assembly arrays, I estimate (but only reprocessing arrays and maybe a single hangar). Finding an inactive POS in HS with labs or assembly arrays is roughly 1/40 systems per week, or one per HS region per week. When Citadels are released, some of these POSes will be removed in favor of the more convinent or at least newer option.<br />
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Well what about Citadels in HS? How vulnerable will they be? We already know how vulnerable Citadels in LS and NS will be: in LS, you will likely attract the attention of groups like Shadow Cartel etc., who will form overwhelming numbers of dreads to kill your Citadel. In null, the same thing, but different groups. Can a solo or small gang Citadel survive in LS or NS? I don't think so (but I'm happy to be proven wrong). So that leaves HS and wormholes.<br />
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How can the solo player use--or destroy--Citadels? Is there any possible way? That's what I am going to be testing in the upcoming months. And maybe my POS destruction side-project will transition into a new and much more interesting project involving Citadels. Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-64463692220175924742016-03-28T22:07:00.002-07:002016-03-31T19:45:15.817-07:00Joining the Hype in TributeToday was a near perfect storm of conditions that in some ways officially starts the war against the Imperium. Out of game, many players have re-subbed to join in the war, and some
are on spring break with the time to play during both of the EU-US timezones. A few timers in <a href="http://evemaps.dotlan.net/system/M-OEE8/kills">M-OEE8</a> came active at 20:00, a system that is symbolic for the Imperium as the gateway into the North and very close to Jita.<br />
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At peak, J-GAMP hit over 3,500 in local, but with the way the new Aegis sov works many other hundreds of players were fighting in other systems in the constellation at the same time. I watched many small gangs fight over command nodes spread out in the constellation, a very interesting mechanic Aegis brings from my perspective as a more solo/small gang PVPer.<br />
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M-OEE8 was at around 900 at the same time J-GAMP peaked over 3k, which is when I jumped into the largest fight of the day. Just as I was to jump in, one of the Imperium fleet trying to join their allies got bombed on the gate, losing something like 20-30b isk in Hurricane's, HFIs, and Slepnirs. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcGlxYt4iAM6RuMzrXRFTEtsFFhrqI4Rac-8V9X1wcuJ43ykwEwvtoDoKOtfaK1Z7dv74SrQrmsA2jozszv4XvcYbmE0tdnBs3g_eJj6ZXhRsVkeNBquAB3t6YJi4bXgTiUoSOA4olTE-/s1600/2016.03.28.20.45.30.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcGlxYt4iAM6RuMzrXRFTEtsFFhrqI4Rac-8V9X1wcuJ43ykwEwvtoDoKOtfaK1Z7dv74SrQrmsA2jozszv4XvcYbmE0tdnBs3g_eJj6ZXhRsVkeNBquAB3t6YJi4bXgTiUoSOA4olTE-/s640/2016.03.28.20.45.30.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUJOyttankFrgk3wPUWAn0LmPW35UmGrZtKHf3XkhT67k9wTWKNWxYQOm1Ydoh88PGfF-JkhtEcUf0BNCzyitxxJSEqq3Ykga2vYHHTu80GFS_opgsfYVS8qK1W2fPeLWfeGc6UEQ5hK2/s1600/2016.03.28.20.45.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUJOyttankFrgk3wPUWAn0LmPW35UmGrZtKHf3XkhT67k9wTWKNWxYQOm1Ydoh88PGfF-JkhtEcUf0BNCzyitxxJSEqq3Ykga2vYHHTu80GFS_opgsfYVS8qK1W2fPeLWfeGc6UEQ5hK2/s640/2016.03.28.20.45.27.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Pc4QM1uA7YeIDzF_GCera9ZjZl1axXK50vu2UGROVVzSiOh_HeN0v1eOjS2Wh5H0uc05XZXSKf2jy8RHE8xRGA6APduoEiirxgHwxVTbT_ATMpKMJSY3A2I5MDSwpAvchgAavvmL9XvK/s1600/bomb.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Pc4QM1uA7YeIDzF_GCera9ZjZl1axXK50vu2UGROVVzSiOh_HeN0v1eOjS2Wh5H0uc05XZXSKf2jy8RHE8xRGA6APduoEiirxgHwxVTbT_ATMpKMJSY3A2I5MDSwpAvchgAavvmL9XvK/s320/bomb.png" width="112" /></a>I joined the fight just as a third party, while also watching a live stream of the fight on twitch. I really lucked out with my timing--just as I jumped into J-GAMP the Imperium Mach fleet was 30k away getting pummeled. I got a bomb off just as PL. bombed and ended up doing over 50k in damage with one run and contributing to over 10b isk in ship destruction, including a Nestor kill which I believe is my first time on a Nestor mail. That's cool for me since I am still learning the ropes of bombing, and typically try to join these firsts as a solo party only to die horribly to a gate camp on the way there. Later in between work I did some solo PVP in the area in an interceptor, getting a few good fights against stragglers and people trying to loot the field. You do not have to join a corporation involved in the wars to actually get involved in these huge battles. Especially if you can fly a bomber, you can potentially contribute to these huge fights. Or at least get on kill mails if that is the sort of thing you care about. My total from the fight got a bit long!<br />
<br />
Will the hype continue? It is really hard to say. I am personally very excited about the war and think it could do wonders for the health of the game, maybe even more long-term good than the epic B-R did. I don't have much interest in the political side of the game. I suppose my ideal scenario of the war would be to see the breakup of large coalitions, and in its place to see the North become much more comparable to the "thunderdome" that is the South, with dozens of largely independent corporations fighting one another. The North in EVE has simply lacked interesting PVP content in literally years due to the massive amount of blues and PVP stagnation in this region, and seeing it have more activity and local conflict would probably benefit everyone.<br />
<br />
I mostly just hope that EVE will get a ton of PR from these fights which leads to an influx of new and lasting players. But I am curious to know how a few aspects of this war play out:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>How long will the fighting last? (Particularly relevant given that fanfest and Citadels--along with the entire capital/supercap rebalance--comes in just a month.)</li>
<li>Will the "Allied" forces make it to Deklein?</li>
<li>If the Imperium is fully evicted, how will they manage the retreat to low security or NPC null, and will large coalitions continue to exist after this war?</li>
<li>Will any more entities within the Imperium defect or go it alone?</li>
<li>Will we see a fight breaking 3,500 players or will this first battle end up as the largest?</li>
<li>Will a large supercap fight happen?</li>
</ul>
There's definitely a lot to be hyped about. The next month is going to be interesting, to say the least. Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-9407495887131342522016-03-24T17:12:00.000-07:002016-03-24T17:18:59.183-07:00How Do Alliances Die?This piece has two tentative theses about large group dynamics in EVE:<br />
<br />
1. In most cases, alliances do not die to war, propaganda, or loss of space, but to inability to survive stagnation in the game.<br />
<br />
2. In most cases, alliances that manage to live through war, losses, propaganda, and so on, are those who have learned how to manage membership activity during periods of low content--like the summer of 2015, which arguably claimed more major alliances than almost any other period/war/event in the game's history.<br />
<br />
Let's take 2015 as an example and consider some of the major groups that largely died during this period. <br />
<br />
Nulli Secunda was a surprising loss, considering their role in most major wars in the prior few years. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/3ikdsg/it_has_been_an_honor_nulli_secunda_is_closing_its/">In Nulli's case, "The consistent burnout of important people has been a problem for a while now</a>.” In the low activity summer of 2015 Nulli was getting less than 2k kills a month—less than what many small gang PVP corps were getting. Ship losses, too, were substantially down. Players were simply not logging into game. Gentlemen's Club likewise closed its doors partly due to inactivity as well: <a href="http://evenews24.com/2015/10/09/leaks-gentlemens-alliance-update/">“More specific to GCLUB, I am seeing a steady drop in fleet participation, and have been getting an escalating number of complaints/concerns about morale, culture, atmosphere, and enjoyment levels.”</a><br />
<br />
Reports of the death of Black Legion also cite boredom and burnout after taking sovereignty: <a href="http://evedarklord.blogspot.ca/2015/09/black-legion-end-of-era.html">"so too were our members starting to get restless, when CCP finally hosted their new sov party, and no-one came."</a> Many other alliances died during the summer stagnation. Black Legion's stagnation was rather surprising, given that other groups with arguably similar playstyles managed to survive or even thrive during the most recent periods of low-content. Yes, Black Legion's trademark pre-Phoebe playstyle of using the massively flexible jump range of capital fleets to third party fights across New Eden was substantially nerfed. Many other alliances died during the summer stagnation. Yet, Black Legion's stagnation was not guaranteed, given that other groups with arguably similar playstyles managed to survive or even thrive during the most recent periods of low content, groups like PL and low security powerhouses like Shadow Cartel. In terms of ship kills, ship losses, as well as leave/join rates as tracked by sites like EVE Who, 2015 was probably <a href="https://zkillboard.com/alliance/495729389/stats/">Shadow Cartel's</a> most active year in game.<br />
<br />
Take a further, much different case that illustrates how alliances do, and do not, die. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4al8j6/happy_birthday_to_eve_university_12_years_old/">EVE University is now 12 years </a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4al8j6/happy_birthday_to_eve_university_12_years_old/">old</a>. This is a group that trains newer players in all areas of space that has been under near constant war dec during that entire 12 year period. If ship losses killled alliances EVE University should have died a decade ago. Yet what E Uni is probably the best in game at is teaching players how to avoid and cope with groups who want nothing else than to farm them. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4b32dr/euni_basing_pirat_pocos_free_pocos_for_everyone/">They even recently turned their wars into interesting content</a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4b32dr/euni_basing_pirat_pocos_free_pocos_for_everyone/">, amassing large enough fleets to </a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4b32dr/euni_basing_pirat_pocos_free_pocos_for_everyone/">destroy the POCOs of some major high sec war dec groups</a>. EVE Uni is a group that knows how to survive stagnation and a group that knows how to create content, even against groups who want to simply farm them, and that is part of why it is done so well over the past decade plus.<br />
<br />
For another recent case, <a href="http://i.imgur.com/0OegDqJ.png">TEST alliance is currently waging a concerted propaganda war</a> against the CFC/Imperium on reddit (that's my favorite of the many, many TEST posts currently). Very much like during the recent large-scale harassment of SMA space by a variety of smaller groups, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4bt7tw/pl_you_do_know_youre_next_after_goons_right/">the </a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/4bt7tw/pl_you_do_know_youre_next_after_goons_right/">propaganda this time around also often paints itself as a war to destroy the alliance</a>. <br />
<br />
Propaganda wars usually help both sides (even if they cause some members to switch respective sides, or move to a neutral 3rd party). Getting pings to log in to defend another POS or Sov timer against a fairly no-name group that likely will not form up is boring. Getting pings to participate in fights against some of the most storied alliances in the game's history, with battlereports filling the front page of r/eve and fights being streamed live on twitch--now that's something to log in (or re-sub) for, even if you are on the "losing" or "hated" side. Alliances are often fluid groups. Some players stay with their friends in the same alliance for as long as they play the game, whereas many others come and go--<a href="http://evewho.com/pilot/Elo+Knight">especially some famous fleet commanders who are known more for their charismaand skill no matter who they lead.</a> It is thus hard to say whether wars in EVE even have losers. In EVE, wars are almost always win-win.<br />
<br />
<br />
The lesson of this history in EVE--if there is really one worth drawing--is that you don't kill groups by PVPing them. Fighting them, even taking their space or their moons, generally gets their membership to log in--it's content, even if you are on the side losing more space pixels or reddit up votes. It is still, in the end, just a game, and the possibility of ship or sov loss is still a reason to log in and play. <br />
<br />
There's also, I suppose, a lesson here about how to kill an alliance or any other group in EVE. You could, on one hand, wait for stagnation to kill them, and try to outlast them. Maybe the summer of 2016 will kill as many groups as the summer of 2015, or maybe the current trend of activity will continue into 2017 (I hope it does). Of course, this tactic very much makes the game a "last group standing," and since it is just a game, there's not much bragging rights in being among the very last people still playing. <br />
<br />
So, that leaves another method: denying content. Denying content is very hard to do if you have something that needs defending, such as sovereignty or POSes/Citadels. (This is partly why groups like Pandemic Legion are so impossible to "kill," they simply rarely have attackable assets like sovereignty or ratters/miners that need protection.) But, systematically denying a group content is one way to stagnate (or poach) its membership. If no one fights a group, if no one goes to their space to play or forms fleets to counter their roaming gangs, the game can become very boring for many of its members, especially those like its fleet commanders who play to organize such content. The one and only maxim of FCing is <i>don't be boring</i> for a reason. I would say the current wars in the North are good for the game, and good for all sides. But if you really wanted to kill the groups in the North (and I deeply suspect many of the players leading the "invasion" do not actually want their CFC/Imperium friends to literally stop playing the game), you'd pretend they don't exist, denying any sort of fun or content to such groups, while poaching their membership and leadership with the offer of fun content. <br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The
consistent burnout of important people has been a problem for a while
now - See more at:
http://evenews24.com/2015/08/27/unconfirmed-nulli-secunda-aims-to-disband-after-alliance-tournament/#sthash.0ScsftsN.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The
consistent burnout of important people has been a problem for a while
now - See more at:
http://evenews24.com/2015/08/27/unconfirmed-nulli-secunda-aims-to-disband-after-alliance-tournament/#sthash.0ScsftsN.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The
consistent burnout of important people has been a problem for a while
now - See more at:
http://evenews24.com/2015/08/27/unconfirmed-nulli-secunda-aims-to-disband-after-alliance-tournament/#sthash.0ScsftsN.dpuf"</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The
consistent burnout of important people has been a problem for a while
now - See more at:
http://evenews24.com/2015/08/27/unconfirmed-nulli-secunda-aims-to-disband-after-alliance-tournament/#sthash.0ScsftsN.dpuf</div>
Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-75861400425840547412016-03-07T14:50:00.000-08:002016-03-07T14:53:00.500-08:00Market Milestones - 30b in One Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tl_fbTDqSJuZXix-I1F-fGf6SRH18dMOz6ai5fB6K3vC5mC2nXAZDKWAutY7w8IRDcvoQqRr-mRpavFDfhtbpVfWQzpyBsU1-CZBNsANhqhD5mv3jD6eMTd766603FvmNOoJBp-PiipV/s1600/30b.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tl_fbTDqSJuZXix-I1F-fGf6SRH18dMOz6ai5fB6K3vC5mC2nXAZDKWAutY7w8IRDcvoQqRr-mRpavFDfhtbpVfWQzpyBsU1-CZBNsANhqhD5mv3jD6eMTd766603FvmNOoJBp-PiipV/s640/30b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
After bringing in 18b in January, I expected trade profit in February to drop down to a more average 10b or so. However, with the introduction of skill injectors--combined with more time to play and a few trading side-projects that proved profitable--I ended up bringing in 33b for the month. That's not bad for only trading on <u>one</u> character, or just 300 orders! -The basics of the month are:<br />
<br />
1. Skill injectors obviously made up a good portion of the trade profit for February. The margins have mostly fallen to 10-20% now, but I expect skill injectors to be a staple of my trade habits for some time. It is not so much the margins on injectors that makes for good trading, but the sheer volume:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_QClom5h5TWSRY77msYcPp0j3fXkQEkjCTKEyXdpq89ybuE7aVp9vr6i7x2M_r5cLfaioTjfdFgwgYw7Qj6cCku413VGTbF4aolVkgsXKpQsDfOKLU-YayN5CfRtlb-BKhaSwVLtBFcP/s1600/inject.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_QClom5h5TWSRY77msYcPp0j3fXkQEkjCTKEyXdpq89ybuE7aVp9vr6i7x2M_r5cLfaioTjfdFgwgYw7Qj6cCku413VGTbF4aolVkgsXKpQsDfOKLU-YayN5CfRtlb-BKhaSwVLtBFcP/s640/inject.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpI2Vlc1uLDmvvfgwZGZ2BOlZEh5E6OKvufSASlfsPlaf3HCgEwQchfFwNeiYHBJwnEfILG9fYTDRDHtguAroWxHzznU26sQ2Xh2YGOSjtt834VPohaJcf-mxH3VpVQVfaAZMeQhf4Ddy/s1600/inject2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpI2Vlc1uLDmvvfgwZGZ2BOlZEh5E6OKvufSASlfsPlaf3HCgEwQchfFwNeiYHBJwnEfILG9fYTDRDHtguAroWxHzznU26sQ2Xh2YGOSjtt834VPohaJcf-mxH3VpVQVfaAZMeQhf4Ddy/s640/inject2.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
<br />
Alright, so the 36k and 33k traded in skill injectors during the first two days is definitely a lot, but the initial hype was to be expected. What's really surprising, though, is how high the quantities have stayed a full month later. The quantity of injectors has yet to drop below 5k, and has in fact stayed closer to an 9k average (in Jita). That volume is <i>higher</i> than the PLEX volumes traded in Jita during the same period, which makes an unprecedented opportunity for traders. The point is, an initial rush of injector trading was expected, but a month later it seems that players have gotten used to occasionally using injectors. They seem to have become a regular part of the game for many players, something much like multiple character training or level 5 implants, that players want to grind isk for and use on multiple occasions. (E.g., I just used another 3 the other day to finish a level V skill I wanted to use. It is a habit now, just like training a month on an alt here and there.)<br />
<br />
The real questions I am interesting for skill injectors at this point are:<br />
<br />
<br />
I. What will the lowest quantities be pre-Citadel release? Will they stay above 5k per day?<br />
II. What kind of spike will the Citadel release bring to the injector market?<br />
III. During the next period of "Stagnation" for the game (maybe late summer of 2016?) how <br />
low will injector quantities fall?<br />
<br />
I am interested in how these questions will play out over the next 6 months, if only for science. <br />
<br />
2. Because I had a bit more time at the computer, I also did a bit of station trading in Jita. Spoiler: I traded in SKINs, as they are very low volume but very high margin. I made roughly 10b isk in the month I traded them. However, just a few hours of station trading here and there made me realize how much I cannot stand it. Not only do I not like updating orders, but I don't like having to remember to do it. The reason why I like regional trading is because I can update orders when I feel like it and then not think about the orders for a day or a week. Regional trading uses considerably less cognitive resources (because I can and do simply ignore it), which for me is just as valuable as time. But for anyone looking for some casual station trading, SKINs are a potentially worthwhile market. (Yes, players do sometimes sell them to incredibly low buy orders. I have no idea why, but it happens.)<br />
<br />
3. Some trading side-projects have also proven decently worthwhile. Basically, I expanded where I trade to a null sec hub--maybe 12 items or so that are bought pretty frequently. Here's another spoiler: it is in P-Z, the very convenient Red Frog freeport in Querious. However, I was able to stock this location at first because I found a wormhole in system directly to HS. I stocked it on another occasion by flying a hauler through null, mostly for the fun of it. I don't yet know if I will be able to reliably stock this location, short of scanning for a wormhole every day or buying a jump freighter. The JF likely would not pay itself off for a few months, though, so it would be a risk (and time consuming) venture. This freeport has also seen an influx in station camps as well (I didn't know Rote Kapelle, who just moved in, did a lot of station and gate camping, but apparently they do), and there's always the possibility some group will entosis the station out of freeport sooner or later. <br />
<br />Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-28628075333084239382016-03-04T19:24:00.001-08:002016-03-04T20:05:15.863-08:00Exploring Every High Sec System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Exploring every system in EVE is a sort of goal I have. It is completely personal and arbitrary really, but the sandbox nature of EVE is amazing enough to make such goals worthwhile.<br />
<br />
As of last week I've explored every HS system, as well as most of LS so far. I've made a decent dent in null sec space.<br />
<br />
I've scanned for and run (I think) every exploration site that spawns in HS/LS, and I've searched every system for inactive POSes in HS at least once.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of empty space in the game, that's for sure, but there's also a lot of unique space. And what is meaningful about the unique space is that it is not the developers who make it so, but the players living there who make this fascinating space world. Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-13249891787504068382016-02-20T15:35:00.000-08:002016-02-20T15:35:09.423-08:00Getting Rich Quick with Skill InjectorsI don't think there's ever been an easier time to get rich quick in EVE than during the last week, with the introduction of skill trading. All of a sudden, the market had an item which was traded in <i>higher </i>volumes <i>as well as</i> isk totals than PLEX, something I doubt we will ever see from an item again in the game's history. The Citadel expansion probably will not even compare in trading potential to the introduction of skill injectors. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I did not have too much time to play in the last week; but fortunately, I had enough time to make an easy 20b and rising on skill injectors. It really was as simple as "buying low, selling high," especially when, in jita alone, tens of thousands are being traded each day. On the first day I was buying injectors for sub-700m and selling them for 900m or more. I did transport some, and not dying did indeed help making a profit. I know quite a few other traders made many times what I did. The <a href="http://www.eve-mogul.com/leaderboards">leaderboards on EVE-Mogul</a> have a few traders making over 50b in the last month, and those are just the semi-public cases.<br />
<br />
Even if you only have a few billion isk, you can still get in on the trading wave by buying 1-2 injectors (especially if you can get them for sub-600m right now) and waiting, or shipping them elsewhere, to sell for 700m or more. Buy them in jita, for instance, and <i>carefully</i> ship them to Querious or Khanid, where lots of active new players currently are, and watch the profits roll in when you sell them for 700-900m before you can even get back to jita to restock your orders.<br />
<br />
The demand for skill trading is far higher than almost anyone predicted. (It does go to show that reddit in particular--which had a surprising number of negative threads about skill trading--is not often representative of the interests of the average players who log in every week, the many players who apparently love skill injectors and are driving the massive volumes.) Of course, there was a huge demand on the first day, which has since fallen off as players finished remapping their alts/characters.<br />
<br />
The first week is over, so what will the average daily volume of injectors settle on? Obviously, it depends a lot on the price of PLEX as well as the general activity level in the game. The volume in jita is now dropping to sub-10k per day, which leads me to expect an average of 2-5k per day in March. I would expect the volumes of injectors to decline each week until 1-2 weeks before Citadels, and then spike over that month until falling again in mid-summer. With injectors, volume matters more for trade than prices (especially if you are willing to transport them).Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-8548454481075387452016-02-11T18:23:00.004-08:002016-02-12T12:55:55.966-08:00Huge Module Changes in March (an analysis of damage control, ewar, and other changes)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
CCP released a bomb shell—or more
like a bunch of little cluster bombs—to the meta, coming in the
March release. Over a dozen module tiericde passes are coming, and to
many of the most important modules in PVP--damage controls, damage
amplifiers, webs, scrams, EWAR, and so on. The module rebalances
coming in March look small but they are actually some very big
changes for the meta across the board.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Module tiericide might seem like it
does not heavily affect ship fits and the PVP meta, but many of the
small changes CCP has made to modules have had greater impact than
the ship rebalancing itself. For instance, the buff to shield
extenders (lower fitting requirements and higher overall HP),
especially the buffs to tech 2 versions as well as navy versions like
the Republic Fleet shield extender line, has proven to be a
significant buff to buffer shield tanking. The relatively low fitting
and huge HP given by two Republic Fleet MSEs is part of what makes
the svipul so powerful given its bonuses, for example.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So let's look at some of the more
significant upcoming changes (keep in mind they are subject to
revision) and see how they will affect PVP fittings and balance (solo
and small gang fits in particular).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=468977">Damage
Control Tiericide</a></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Let's look at the biggest change first:
Damage controls will now be passive modules, and all ships are
getting a base hull resistance of 33%, and the bonus provided by all
damage controls is going to be reduced by around a third. <u>That.
Is. Huge.</u> Put the contentious issue of freighter ganking aside
and focus on how major of a buff this is to the many powerful ship
fittings which do not use a damage control currently.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here are some very common pvp fits
which do not use a damage control: Kiting Slicers (e.g. Chessur
style), kiting Tristans, Jackdaw fits with 2 BCs, Flycatcher fits
using 1 BC, pure armor tanking ships that do not often fit a DC such
as are common on the Enyo, Retribution, Punisher, Maller, and so on.
All of these fits and some others are powerful right now, and getting
an added base hull resist makes them quite a bit more tanky. The
Slicer and kiting Tristan in particular would be pushed from tier 1
class to overpowered in my opinion.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh god, I almost forgot to add the RLML
Caracal (in addition to a few other RLML kiting setups) which already
does not use a damage control (on 2x Nano 2x BC fits) and is
insanely powerful and quite tanky already. It would be a huge stealth
buff to many already OP ships.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My suggestion (one I made on the
forums) would be to only add a 10-20% base hull resist, or to have
tech 1 ships have a base hull resist of 10% and tech 2 ships have a
base resist of 20%. In any case, 33% across the board is probably
just too high.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But let's assume that CCP adds some
amount of base hull resist—that is a huge buff to ships that do not
fit a damage control, and the potential fittings that run without a
DC increase tenfold. It would give more options for kiting
setups—making more sense to sometimes swap a DC for another damage
or speed mod—as well as some dedicated armor tanking setups that
could better use another armor resist module.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What about the addition of faction
damage controls? Solo PVPers who fly big stuff should be rejoicing at
this news in particular. Regardless of the final cost of a faction
DC, it would be a nice buff to battleship level solo PVP fits. If
they are cheap enough, it may even make sense to put them on smaller
ships as well, as the added resist bonus above the Tech 2 provides a
worthwhile boost. Once this change is finalized I will go back over
which fits in particular benefit the most, but I have a feeling CCP
will be adjusting the numbers with damage controls soon.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh, and my mouse and hand thank CCP for
making the damage control passive! <3
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6334429#post6334429">Damage
Module Tiericide</a></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tech 1 damage modules are getting a
(significantly) lower CPU variant and a buff to the damage in order
to bring them closer to tech 2 versions. Some meta damage mods
currently have more CPU than tech 2 versions, making them worse than
useless right now.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First of all, this is a nice buff to
new player PVP. Currently, tech 1 damage mods have high CPU costs and
low damage output, meaning new players both have more fitting issues
and much lower damage than they would if they could fit the tech 2
version. Over the years CCP has made many small balance changes that
bring new player fits closer in ability to tech 2 or higher SP fits,
and I am happy to see this trend continue.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Second, there are a few PVP fits I can
think of off the top of my head which have CPU issues and would
benefit from dropping a damage mod to a tech 1 version in order to
not have to fit a CPU mod or rig. For instance, one of the most
common <a href="https://zkillboard.com/kill/51961895/">Tristan fits
is the kiting MSE version</a>, but it has CPU issues which force it
to lack a damage control or fit a CPU rig. Dropping the tech 2 DDAs
to the (new) compact variant would let you either fit three DDAs for
a small DPS buff at the expense of less speed from losing the
nanofiber, or allow you to add a compact damage control for decently
better tank. There's really nothing too major that will change with
damage modules, but there will be some added options for fits that
are tight on CPU.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=468975&find=unread">Warp
Disruptor, Scrambler,</a> and <a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6334454#post6334454">Stasis
Webifier Tiericide</a> </b></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
important change here is that Tech 2 modules here will now be better
than the Meta 4 versions of scrams and webs, a nice change not only
because Meta 4 versions of these items have skyrocketed in price but
also nice simply to have a reason to use Tech 2 versions if the
fitting space is available. Faction disruptors are being split into
three categories based on their respective strength: those with the
</span></span>lowest fitting and cap use, those with the longest
range, and those with a balance of stats. I still think the
disruptors with longest range will remain the most used and
expensive, simply because the fits that tend to use faction points do
not generally struggle with small amounts of CPU or cap use.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When it comes to fitting non-faction
scrams or webs, I think the priorities are generally going to remain
favoring the highest range that can fit. So, Tech 2 webs and scrams
are going to be preferable when they fit, and if they don't the
compact version will probably be necessary. The lower cap use
versions just don't make a big enough difference to be preferable in
any case—unless, say, you are fleet tackle and expect to face neut
pressure and want to have the lowest cap using tackle possible, but
even then it is questionable how much the lower cap cost would really
matter.<br />
<br />
Some players have pointed out that the overall CPU requirements for current fits are going to increase, making some past fits tight on CPU need reworking. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/45e57o/can_we_talk_about_the_cpu_bloatplease/czxanh6">Gorski Car has a very nice post on reddit about how to adjust certain current fits after these changes</a>, but the overall result is going to be that some fits will need to lower the meta level on one more damage control, web/scram, or even damage module, compared with how they currently fit. On tight setups, which module you keep as Tech 2 (the prop mod? DC? damage module? scram/web/point?) is going to be a more meaningful decision than it is now.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6334527#post6334527">Cap
Battery Tiericide</a></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I love the proposed revamp of currently
useless cap batteries, making them both add a base amount of
capacitor while also adding a resistance to neut/nos pressure. Even
though mid slots are extremely valuable, I can think of a few armor
tanking fits I would love to use these on if the numbers were right.
For instance, the Tech 2 medium compact battery would add (on the
current numbers) 500 capacitor and -25 cap resistance. That would be
reasonable to fit on a dual rep Myrmidon (the triple rep really needs
the 2x cap booster), for instance and would be slightly more
resistant to neut pressure and could do slightly more damage than a
triple rep Myrm.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But, using a cap booster is going to
provide better resistance to neuts in most cases anyway. And, on some
ships that could really benefit from the battery, there does not seem
to be a way to usefully fit the battery in the first place. On a dual
armor rep Deimos, for instance, the battery would be incredibly
useful, but with only 4 mid slots there's nothing you can get away
with replacing.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The other big problem is, the CPU is
too high on all of the sizes, and the PG is too high on the small
variant. I think they would only be worth using if they had roughly
the same fitting requirements as cap boosters (or maybe with slightly
more CPU but similar PG). To be honest, to really be worthwhile
instead of a cap booster, the battery needs to provide more
resistance to neut pressure—such as in the range of 30% or more.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6334553#post6334553">Sensor
and ECCM Module Merger/Tiericide</a> </b></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh yes. Oh hell yes! I and other solo
PVPers have made this very suggestion, and let's just say that this
is probably one of my favorite small changes CCP has made in recent
years. One of my biggest complaints about ECCM modules is that they
provide no real use unless you are facing ECM, and the use they
provide when you do face ECM is purely chance based and is not worth
the slot for the module.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
ECCM modules are getting merged with
sensor boosters, and sensor boosters will get a script which
specifically boosts sensor strength. Signal amplifiers will also be
getting an added sensor strength bonus, which actually makes them
useful to fit on some battleships for the added scan res as well.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
ECM is still terrible game design,
there's no gameplay or skill involved in it, and the range at which
ships worth less than 1m isk can perma-jam virtually any other ship
in the game is absurd, but this is a small step in the right
direction.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The only downside to this change is
that it is a stealth buff to the arty svipul. Now it gets another
buff, an extra resistance to ECM. To be honest, with the added
functionality of sensor boosters, their CPU should probably be quite
a bit higher. 16 CPU for a Tech 2 sebo is insanely cheap given the
added functionality it will be receiving.
</div>
Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-45520039231413626862016-02-08T16:10:00.002-08:002016-02-08T16:12:12.551-08:00Predictions about Skill Injectors (and why I'm fine with the pricing)CCP released the initial pricing on skill extractors, <a href="http://community.eveonline.com/news/news-channels/eve-online-news/skill-trading-launch-offers-on-aur-subscriptions-and-plex/">then updated the prices slightly presumably in response to (negative) player feedback</a>. I am happy they rounded out the price; and while I think the extractors would sell better if slightly cheaper, overall the prices are what I predicted and, frankly, in the range I think is reasonable for a pure item of convince that, if made too cheap or without diminishing returns, could threaten to ruin or cheapen one of the most fundamental and delicate systems in EVE. I particularly like that you can buy the extractors directly with cash, meaning no need to deal with PLEX to Aurum conversions that many players were frustrated with. CCP is also including extractors in subscription renewals for 3 months or longer. If my accounts were up for re-subbing I would definitely get the 6 month or 1 year renewal in light of the included extractors. <br />
<br />
The ability to directly buy extractors and the fact that CCP added extractors to renewing a subscription (in addition to a small PLEX sale) will likely significantly dampen the rise in PLEX costs. I was expecting a massive spike in PLEX prices and demand starting February 9th, and while the isk cost does continue to climb, my guess would be PLEX will not go above 1.5b until the Citadel expansion, assuming the expansion is a major success. But, that's just my largely unfounded guess. It could be wrong, who knows. <br />
<br />
I am still going ahead with my plan to use roughly 15+ extractors across all of my characters, and send that diminished SP all to long skills I would like on Sven, such as Drone Durability V and other 20+ day trains. Impatience might get the best of me and I may train skills on an alt just to get more skills, faster; we'll see! Many older players I've heard from have at least some plans for redistrubting skills on their characters, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ZCG-XMwc8">and some like JonnyPew are even planning to use over a hundred extractors.</a> Skill trading is a completely optional system, but everyone can benefit from it in some way, and as a result I think occasionally using skill injectors will become almost as common as training a month of skills on an alt or getting a set of +5 implants. For instance, say CCP introduces new skills coming out in the next expansion. Stocking up on injectors would be a great way to get those skills to V on patch day. <br />
<br />
Some new players I've heard from also plan to use just one or two extractors. Receiving or re-distributing 400-500k skill points is a significant change when you are new, with only sub-10m skill points. It is the difference between being able to do PI or not at all, flying a tech 2 ship, using a tech 2 weapon type, and so on.<br />
<br />
The <i>real</i> impact of skill trading I am interested in is not just PLEX prices, it is also the total skill points across characters in EVE. Because the skill points still have to be trained at a fixed speed, we will likely see a noticeable decline in the average SP of characters in EVE. Many alts are going to be gutted down to 5m SP and many main characters are going to increase by 1-10m, but the diminishing returns will lower the overall SP of the playerbase. I think a 2-5% drop in average SP could be expected to result from skill gutting.<br />
<br />
For my final prediction, the first injector loss will likely happen within an hour of the patch going live. Someone, I am confident, will throw an injector in an alt and blow the ship up, just to be the first player to destroy the new item. Heck, I would do it if I could get up that early!<br />
<br />
Players often say that CCP doesn't listen, but that does not generally seem true. They revise plans, if ever so slightly, all of the time. Maybe they do not do exactly what many players want (some players were calling for extractors to be <i>free</i>, for instance) and maybe they do not always respond quickly (they do not have a lot of free dev time, after all), but they are by no means as bad as most gaming companies. So overall, I think they did an <i>okay</i> job with skill trading, and I'm excited for the new feature.Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4495388550458890674.post-33559458767409059812016-01-28T16:58:00.000-08:002016-01-29T16:35:34.857-08:00Table of Contents (Guides on EVE Lost and Found)<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">PVP Guides</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/04/solo-pvp-in-every-ship.html"><span style="font-size: large;">Solo PVP in Every Ship</span> </a></span><br />
-Discusses
my progress toward the biggest goal I have in EVE--doing solo in every
ship--and lists ships killed and my favorite fits<br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/01/solo-stealth-bombing.html">Solo Stealth Boming</a></span></span><br />
-My guide to doing effective bombing runs while solo.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/03/wormhole-pvp-part-1.html">Wormhole PVP: Part 1</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">-M</span></span>y first experience doing solo PVP while living out of a wormhole<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-nice-15b-isk-drop-from-pos-but-is-it.html">3) A Nice 15b Isk Drop From a POS - But Is It Worth the Time?</a> <br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/04/pillaging-poses-now-and-later.html">2) Pillaging POSes: Now and Later</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-while-ago-i-started-series-of-posts.html">1) How I Made 15+ billion isk Shooting Starbases – Or, Unorthodox PVP Part II: POS Destruction</a></span><br />
-A three part series on finding inactive POSes in high security space and destroying them for potentially large amounts of loot<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/02/unorthodox-pvp-part-1-baiting-mission.html">Unorthodox PVP Part 1: Baiting Mission Runners</a></span><br />
-My first guide on niche forms of PVP, from when I was a fairly new player.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/12/tons-of-new-pvp-options-with-december.html">5) Tons of New PVP Options with the (2015) December Release</a></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-single-best-guide-for-new-player.html">4) Hunting the</a><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-single-best-guide-for-new-player.html"> </a><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/12/hunting-elusive-good-fight-november.html"> Elusive Good Fight - November (2014) Solo PVP in Review </a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-single-best-guide-for-new-player.html">3) The Best Gui</a><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-single-best-guide-for-new-player.html">de for New Player Solo PVP</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-solo-pvp-in-eve-looks-like-in.html">2) What Solo PVP Looks Like - In Graphs </a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/03/practicing-flying-skills-for-solo-and.html">1) Practicing Flying Skills for Solo and Small Gang PVP</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Miscellaneous posts about m</span></span>y progress toward learning solo PVP, such as using out of game tools, learning to solo in null, finding fights during dry spells, ship fittings I've used, and so on<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Exploration Guides</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2016/01/sansha-wormholes-for-pve-and-pvp.html">Sansha Wormholes for PVE and PVP</a></span> <br />
-A guide to making isk in the three Sansha wormholes, one of my favorite places for exploration and not widely known about in the EVE community<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/06/besieged-covert-research-facilities-now.html">Besieged Covert Research Facilities - now spawning in a system near you</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">-Covers fittings for running besieged covert research sites as well as the average loot drops and value (currently being updated for 2016)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/02/gas-harvesting-and-baby-fleet-booster-1.html">Gas Harvesting</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">-My experience making a one month character to harvest gas sites in wormholes <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/10/4-months-of-casual-exploration-some.html">3) Four Months of Casual Exploration - Some Statisics</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-end-of-era-with-some-exploration.html">2) The End of an Era (with some exploration statistics thrown in) </a></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2013/11/exploration-and-isk-7-months-of.html"><span style="font-size: large;">1) </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Exploration and Isk - 7 months of Statistics</span> </span></a></span> <br />
-A three-part series on living nomadically in low security space doing primarily exploration. This was how I made my first billion in EVE and then was able to PLEX two accounts doing something I really enjoyed.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Market Trading Guides </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/03/hauling-1-trillion-isk.html">2) Hauling 1 Trillion Isk</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/07/safer-hauling.html">1) Safe(r) Hauling</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">-How I haul large volumes and isk amounts, without incident in over 2 years</span> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/02/trading-in-thera-part-ii.html">2) Trading in Thera: Part 2</a><br /> <a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/11/trading-in-thera-part-i-plan.html">1) Trading in Thera: Part 1 - The Plan </a></span><br />
-A two-part series on a small trading project I did in Thera <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/10/investing-100b-isk-update-ii.html">3) Investing 100b Isk - Update II</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/08/investing-100-billion-isk-update-i.html">2) Investing 100b Isk - Update I</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/07/investing-100-billion-isk-experiment.html">1) Investing 100b Isk - An experiment</a></span><br />
-A three-part se<span style="font-size: small;">ries on a project a did that involved investing 100b isk in long-term markets </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/12/market-milestones-reaching-300b.html">6) Market Milestones - Reaching 300b Isk</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/12/market-milestones-20-billion-in-one.html">5) Market Milestones - 20b in One Month</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/04/market-milestones-200b-isk-from-trade.html">4) Market Milestones - 200b Isk from Trade </a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/11/market-milesteones-5-months-over-10b-isk.html">3) Market Milestones - 5 months over 10b Isk </a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/07/market-milestones-10b-in-one-month.html">2) Market Milestones - 10b in One Month</a> <br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/04/market-milestones.html">1) Market Milestones</a></span><br />
-Covers all of the progress I have made in doing trading (regional and station) to make isk <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/02/some-good-places-to-trade.html">3) Some Good Places to Trade</a><br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-applied-introduction-to-regional.html">2) An Applied Introduction to Reg</a><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-applied-introduction-to-regional.html">ional Trading: Part II - Items to Sell</a> <br /><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/03/an-applied-introduction-to-regional.html">1) An Applied Introduction to Regio</a><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/03/an-applied-introduction-to-regional.html">nal Trading: Part I</a></span><br />
-A three-part guide to getting into regional market trading, with specific examples of locations and items <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/12/taking-and-owning-pocos-solo.html">Taking and Owning POCOs Solo</a></span> </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2015/12/taking-and-owning-pocos-solo.html"> </a></span><br />
-Covers the player-owned customs office system and how to (potentially) take over POCOs as a solo player. I also discuss the profit I make off a number of HS POCOs and how I would defend them if/when attacked.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Misc. Guides </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://evelostfound.blogspot.com/2014/09/ten-things-you-do-with-one-month-alt.html">Ten Things You Can Do With a One Month Alt</a></span></span><br />
-One of my favorite guides which covers a bunch of different useful alts you can make using only one month of skill training (particularly relevant since the release of skill trading)Sven vikohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16866199796001363039noreply@blogger.com0