Getting ready to play with the big boys

[Mr_PeaCH]

OK, I'm coming up on 100k skill points and I've mostly diversified this far (after attributes/learning) between gunnery and mining/refining with 3 trains in those things and 1 or 2 in a lot of random stuff so I can use basics like shield boosters or armor repair.  I've taken Minmitar Frigate to 3 trains and I have a Rifter fitted for fighting rats and a Burst fitted for simple mining (could use better miner turrets).  I've made about 30 jumps in the past week after getting comfortable in my system of origin and then slowly making my way through high sec to Neesher.  I stopped along the way to do a little of this and a little of that; take an agent mission, hunt rats, mine and refine.  As far as fighting capability I can hold my own most of the time in 0.6 ABs against say three 9k bounty rats or two 11k ones (hope I'm remembering that right) and if it looks bad I'll try and finish off one, warp out, repair, warp back.

So what I'm trying to say is I think I'm learning the ropes but I want to check and see if I'm making the grade.  But I'm also looking ahead to the next phase.  I've arrived in Neesher and have joined the F13 corp and I want to help out when and where I can.  I am definately going to convert my trial account to a paid one and I plan to be around for a while.   So what should I expect or where should I concentrate my next few hundred thou of training at that would be of use to myself and the corp?  And yeah, yeah, I'll still go ahead and do what I "want" but in as much as where what I "want" dovetails nicely with what can be utilized by the corp I want to fill a need as well.

I've never 'ganged' up against anything or team mined.  With what I've currently got going what are my options?  And through evesdropping on the F13 channel in-game I'm trying to form a picture of what actually goes on out there in the low sec hinterlands but would somebody go ahead and break it down for me?  Also; what sort of 'faction' is going to be useful in this region and what are some ways to go about getting it?

Thanks!  Oh, and I'm going to try and keep my EVEnoob threads to like one a day... please bear with me.

[Yegolev]

If I were going to be selfish, I'd say give me combat escort while I mine.  Doesn't sound like you are going to be flying a hauler anytime soon, so you might as well orbit my cruiser and play cards with my drones.  I have forgone the shield booster and armor repair in favor of a fourth Miner II laser, which may prove a mistake, but if you want to cover me I think we will be OK against anything we find in Neesher.

I can only guess that flying escort on a mining run must be more boring that the mining itself, though.  Don't feel obligated to escort me.

[Polysorbate80]

Don't feel obligated to escort me.

Unless "Yarrrrr-golev" puts on the eyepatch and goes pirating in .5 systems again.  Then feel free to baby-sit, just don't shoot at anything :)

[Yoru]

What happens in lowsec? Pretty much what happens in highsec, only the numbers get bigger (better ores, higher-bounty mobs with mixes of frigs, destroyers, inties, cruisers and BCs showing up). Oh yeah, and people can and will shoot at you, so you tend to try to stay alert at all times. In general, an unknown person warping into an asteroid belt tends to either lead to a call to target or a call to run, depending on the type of ship; it's generally also recommended that you detach local-chat and keep it visible so you can monitor when people enter and exit the system via the chat-window. You'll eventually get to know the names of the local pirates and know when to be extra on-guard.

ALl four factions are represented, with the Caldari and Amarr being represented most strongly. You can safely mission for any of them, although I'm not sure if there's L2/L3 Minmatar or Gallente agents about; I know there are for the Caldari and Amarr. You can get faction simply by doing missions for whatever empire you pick, although you can quickly boost up your faction to get to the better-quality L1 or basic-quality L2 agents by training up Diplomacy and Connections (social skills).

What does the corp need? Since it sounds like you've got a fighting edge, and it's looking like a war is looming, then you may want to begin prepping yourself for pvp. The essentials are Energy Emission Systems (nosferatu modules), Afterburners, and Propulsion Jamming (stasis webbers, warp scramblers). We're absolutely in need of people capable of running small, fast ships with scrammers on them as much as big guns. Since our enemy has primarily been sighted using larger ships, the emphasis on fast ships is important to avoid getting hit - High Speed Maneuvering for microwarpdrives (which rule anyway) and Evasive Maneuvering for the added turning agility are also good ideas.

In the meantime, training up Learnings and your gun skills to the point that you can keep the rats off a miner in 0.5 space are probably good ideas. Once you can take down the rats in Neesher without breaking a sweat, someone in a larger ship should be able to take you down to Perbhe to cut your teeth on 0.4 rats, or duel you to sharpen up those pvp skills.

[Hoax]

Well said Yoru..

To follow-up mostly focusing on your question about what the corp needs.

-Haulers are always welcome, dont know what race's ships you are piloting but if it is Amarr or Caldari it would be nice of you to train Industrial to I or III respectively ('Stower or Badger MkII) as I'm sure we'll have some of those laying around for cop usage.

-Combat-wise, best bet is to make sure you have the skills to setup a tackler.  But beyond that follow whatever path you want to, more guns is never a bad thing but above all you should be flying the ship that works for you.

-Mining-wise, if you actually want to mine, talk to one of the miners I dont think we can have too many of them but I would never ask anyone to mine in EvE.  There are people of a certain temperament who can enjoy it, or at least the fruits of that labor, everyone else should stay away.

Hope that helps.

[Mr_PeaCH]

If I were going to be selfish, I'd say give me combat escort while I mine.  Doesn't sound like you are going to be flying a hauler anytime soon, so you might as well orbit my cruiser and play cards with my drones...  Don't feel obligated to escort me.

I'm game, let's give it a shot and see what we think.

... it's generally also recommended that you detach local-chat and keep it visible so you can monitor when people enter and exit the system via the chat-window. You'll eventually get to know the names of the local pirates and know when to be extra on-guard.

... You can get faction simply by doing missions for whatever empire you pick, although you can quickly boost up your faction to get to the better-quality L1 or basic-quality L2 agents by training up Diplomacy and Connections (social skills).

... The essentials are Energy Emission Systems (nosferatu modules), Afterburners, and Propulsion Jamming (stasis webbers, warp scramblers). We're absolutely in need of people capable of running small, fast ships with scrammers on them as much as big guns. Since our enemy has primarily been sighted using larger ships, the emphasis on fast ships is important to avoid getting hit - High Speed Maneuvering for microwarpdrives (which rule anyway) and Evasive Maneuvering for the added turning agility are also good ideas.

In the meantime, training up Learnings and your gun skills to the point that you can keep the rats off a miner in 0.5 space are probably good ideas. Once you can take down the rats in Neesher without breaking a sweat, someone in a larger ship should be able to take you down to Perbhe to cut your teeth on 0.4 rats, or duel you to sharpen up those pvp skills.

Totally understand about monitoring in Local when in low sec; I think that is what happened when I barged into 0.4 early on... I might have been hailed and given a chance to speak my peace but when I didn't respond they opened fire.  Or they just may have been heartless pirate bastards.  So what do you guys do when you jump into low sec; is it safety in numbers, jump in and immediately warp off before they pounce?

Will the varying factions work against each other if I dabble in all of them; do I need to pick one and stick to it?

Thanks for the breakdown of some specifics to train for PvP fighting.

-Haulers are always welcome, dont know what race's ships you are piloting but if it is Amarr or Caldari it would be nice of you to train Industrial to I or III respectively ('Stower or Badger MkII) as I'm sure we'll have some of those laying around for cop usage.

-Combat-wise, best bet is to make sure you have the skills to setup a tackler.  But beyond that follow whatever path you want to, more guns is never a bad thing but above all you should be flying the ship that works for you.

-Mining-wise, if you actually want to mine, talk to one of the miners I dont think we can have too many of them but I would never ask anyone to mine in EvE.  There are people of a certain temperament who can enjoy it, or at least the fruits of that labor, everyone else should stay away.

So far I've only trained Minmitar Frig; I'll be glad to help with the hauling and spend some time on the skills you mentioned so I can pitch in.

Please define tackler... I gather it is a role that smaller, faster ships play when engaging larger ones in gangs but I'm not sure exactly.  I'm guessing it encompasses some of the skills Yoru talked about.

Mining, heh.  Well, my temperment is best served by not getting stuck in a niche; I like hybrid characters and I like the freedom to 'solo' as well as be useful in groups.  Eve already fills one need that I have which is in other more traditional MMOs I get left behind because I don't tend to put in as many hours and the regular guys let alone the catasses.  I play late evenings Pacific time and a lot of east coasters are gone by then.  I get interrupted by my fatherly and husbandly duties from time to time but I can usually bargain for some uninterruptible time if it is known in advance there's going to be an 'event'.  So I expect I'll be spending some time afk mining in high sec from time to time until the kids go to bed and stuff.

[Furiously]

So what do you guys do when you jump into low sec; is it safety in numbers, jump in and immediately warp off before they pounce?

If I am going somewhere new - I pester people for "instas" to that area. This allows you to jump gate to gate which cuts your risk down dramatically. Or I take a shuttle where I won't care if I get blowed up.

[Yegolev]

Don't feel obligated to escort me.

Unless "Yarrrrr-golev" puts on the eyepatch and goes pirating in .5 systems again.  Then feel free to baby-sit, just don't shoot at anything :)

CONCORD has stopped vaporizing my ships, so the collateral damage should be minimal.  I promise to not shoot anything that isn't already shooting at me.  Hell, you can hang out in some other belt in Neesher, I can survive long enough (against rats) for you to warp in.

Seriously, though, ratting around Neesher is probably a good idea rather than just orbiting me.  Spawns can be slow and warping around is probably more exciting than watching my mining lasers pulsate.  If Angel rats show up, I'll toot the horn on the old jalopy.

[Mr_PeaCH]

Don't feel obligated to escort me.

Unless "Yarrrrr-golev" puts on the eyepatch and goes pirating in .5 systems again.  Then feel free to baby-sit, just don't shoot at anything :)

CONCORD has stopped vaporizing my ships, so the collateral damage should be minimal.  I promise to not shoot anything that isn't already shooting at me.  Hell, you can hang out in some other belt in Neesher, I can survive long enough (against rats) for you to warp in.

Seriously, though, ratting around Neesher is probably a good idea rather than just orbiting me.  Spawns can be slow and warping around is probably more exciting than watching my mining lasers pulsate.  If Angel rats show up, I'll toot the horn on the old jalopy.

Yeah, I was thinking along those lines and if it was looking pretty slow and safe like you couldn't get into too much trouble too fast then I was going to root around the system and see what I could run into.  But ready at anytime to warp back to you if you toot the horn.

[Yegolev]

I can fend off two or three 11k rats with little problem, my only real concern right now is that I am flying without repair units, so any help I can get in mitigating damage to my boat is appreciated.  This just means that you should have plenty of time to warp in from any point in the Neesher system to save my girly French ass.

Sometimes I tell my drones to attack the asteroid I am mining.  I really need some human help at times.

[WayAbvPar]

Please define tackler... I gather it is a role that smaller, faster ships play when engaging larger ones in gangs but I'm not sure exactly.  I'm guessing it encompasses some of the skills Yoru talked about.

A tackler is a ship outfitted to warp scramble, web, and otherwise prevent a target from getting away. Small fast ships work best, since they can close to within range quickly and are hard for medium and large guns to hit (missiles are another story). Once you have them locked down, it is fairly trivial for the rest of the gang to blow them to hell.

[Yoru]

Lowsec

I only go into 'unmapped' lowsec (lowsec that I haven't created instas and safeties for) when I have to, and then I use my Space Yacht, which is a Condor ship fitted with a MWD, capacitor battery and overdrive injector. This allows it to run very, very fast for extended periods of time, and it also aligns almost as quick as a shuttle. It's been battle-tested by running 0.0 blockades a handful of times now and has yet to get blown up, although the shields have been scratched.

I use the Yacht or a shuttle to make instas and safeties when I intend to be living in or passing through an area; for long-haul insta routes, I tend to bug Bant since his instas are amazingly good, whereas I still miss the mark occasionally.

When entering lowsec, I already know exactly where I want to go, so as soon as I'm in, I activate my insta/safety bookmark. No sense in hanging around by the gate.

Factions/Missions: If you work for the Amarr, your Minmatar standing (and thus your access to their agents) will slowly fall, and vice versa. Same thing for the Caldari with the Gallente. I think the rate of gain is higher than the rate of loss, so you can get friendly with all the factions by working directly for them, but it's a pain. Alternately, you can work for the Servant Sisters of Eve, whom everyone likes and will slowly raise (or at least not hurt) all your standings. Or you can pick sides.

Mining: AFK-mining and active mining are different beasts. For afk-mining, you want mining 4 (for Miner IIs), and the largest industrial you can get. Then you park it in 0.9 space and mine the biggest rock of the best ore you can find.

Active mining, you'll want Mining 4 (for Miner IIs), Astrogeology 4 (for the +20% bonus), Cruiser 4 (for the +mining% ship bonus for your race's mining cruiser), which will get you to a solid, cheap mid-term mining setup. If you're doing it entirely solo and don't want to risk ore theft from a jetcan, you'll also need Anchoring 1 to put out some Giant Secure Containers to mine into. To haul out those containers, you'll need an Industrial, although Industrial 3 (Badger 2, Iteron III, Bestower, etc.) is usually sufficient for solo-mining output. See the 'Roid Relief' thread for an analysis of the 3 major mining options (barge, Amarr battleship, cruiser).

[Yegolev]

Cruiser 4 (for the +mining% ship bonus for your race's mining cruiser)

Unless you are Gallente, in which case your mining cruiser's bonus is actually for mining drones.  This is something of an output inhibitor but I compensate by having pretty good drone defense.  Since my output with Miner II lasers is more than what I would get from mining drones, I float Hobgoblin I which are practically disposable with the BPO in Neesher.

[Reg]

Yeah, we Gallente really did get ripped off when it comes to mining cruisers. On the other hand the big drone bay and drone damage bonus on the Vexor does allow us to comfortably mine in .5 space without needing to worry about the local NPC pirates.