Please help me with a Skill build schedule

[Venkman]

Based on this thread, and using this tool, I've been trying to figure out the best skill build order. I'm new at this of course.

My goal is to go through this sequence: improved secondary weapon skills, be able to use Tech 2 Small Projectiles, other stuff, eventually: Assault Frigate.

I figure when I get to Tech 2, I can decide whether to take an intermediate step through Cruiser with the weaponry and playstyle I currently like. And if I have the cash :)

So here's the order:

Electronic Warfare=0-1
Rapid Firing=0-3
Motion Prediction=0-3
Sharpshooter=0-3
Surgical Strike=0-1
Small Projectile Turret=3-5:
Small Autocannon Specialization=0-3

This puts me at a week from Wednesday roughly (April 13). Beyond is Engineering 0-3, Mechanic 2-5 and Engineering 2-5 eventually ending on Assault Ships on June 5th.

Thoughts?

Is there any way to speed this up a bit? I'm not looking for a miracle, but would love to hit before Memorial Day if possible.

[gimpyone]

The only way to speed it up without actually training something (which would be learning skills) would be implants.  Which are expensive.
So up to you.

[Venkman]

Implants don't survive the cloning process right?

[Reg]

Right. If you get podded your implants are gone. It can be expensive but it keeps the market for implants going.

How do you make your money Darniaq? Mission running? Mining?

[Venkman]

Right now it's a combination of missions (they seem to fluctuate from 35k to 100k, all from that one level 1 agent at the main HQ), loot, reprocessing of that loot, finding the best buy price in the region on a case-by-case basis, and buying low in one part selling high in the other.

It's slow going given my limited cargo capacity, but I'm inching upwards. I've started exploring the two neighboring regions to explore the differences between their markets and our own. I am also toying with upgrading my Marketing skills before AF to see if I can't cast a wider exploratory net. Should be quicker than constantly flitting between three different regions :)

I am always open to suggestion though  :mrgreen:

[Reg]

It sounds like you're doing a lot of level 1 hauling missions. Painfully, desperately boring. If you must haul at least work up your faction so you can talk to a higher level agent so that you can get better rewards. :)  Kill missions are quicker, more profitable and give more faction than hauling missions. If I were you I'd get into a cruiser and work on my fighting skills so that you can do those too.

You really can't go wrong training your basic fighting and ship support skills. They apply to any ship you happen to be flying so they are never a waste of time.

Edit: Sorry about the broken record nagging about support skills. I've watched too many newbs in my corp make a mad dash for some ship they can't afford only to lose it almost immediately because their skills weren't good enough to fly it properly. :)

[Venkman]

Please, no apologies! If not for Ca'ad mentioning it the other night, I'd have not even thought of any skills beyond those required for T2 weapons and higher ships :)

As to money, most of the missions from the Level 1 Agent at our HQ are kill ones. In fact, most of them have involved our solar system, so just intrasystem warps. Very quick and easy. I only run into haul missions when I hit another station for a low purchase to sell high and there's an agent there who'll talk to me.

If I was doing mostly hauls, yea, I'd be begging for info on new Agents :)

[Reg]

Oh perfect. As long as you're in a frigate level 1 kill missions are just about right anyway. Once you're in a cruiser it will be time to look to upgrade to a level 2 agent.

[Venkman]

Any advice on where one might be near to corp HQ? There are only two Agents in it, and the other is level 4 I think). Or is this something I can find on the Peoples & Places > Agents tab?

[Krakrok]

Kizama (2 systems north?) has a level 2 from the same corporation.

[Venkman]

Cool, thanks! Should I bother with Level 2s while still relatively low in training on support skills?

[WayAbvPar]

You could try a level 2 and see how you do. Do NOT attempt Silence the Informant or Human Cattle in a frigate, whatever you do. They are fucking deathtraps. The rest of them are reasonably doable in frigates provided you keep your wits about you.

[Furiously]

Tech 2 and some gunnery skills made silence doable with the right weapon loadout in a rifter.

[Hoax]

Just never forget the following skills esp if we're talking AF's...

In terms of speed just check the numbers, I have no idea where your learning skills are but I'm sure that taking Perc/WP to 3 (possibly even to 4) might even save you time.  Learning to 3 should be automatic as well I would figure.  Hopefully you have already done that.

From your mission running hopefully you can score some +1-2 implants for relevent stats and then you'll have to decide if you can afford to plug them in or if your better served selling them for your AF fund.

Electronics, Engineering, Weapons Upgrades (Advanced Weapons Upgrades).  TechII ships call for techII modules, we've moved into expensive territory there.  The big question is will you have the money for ship+insurance+modules+rainy day fund, just from doing L1-2 missions.  Having never run missions I have no idea.

[Evangolis]

Speaking of implants, and not meaning to derail this thread, but I just started up a researcher on a Power of Two account, and was thinking of eventually having him try to make blueprints for a range of implants.  Is this the sort of thing that would have value in low sec space?

And btw, I am still in high sec space because I haven't gotten my new box set up yet, and my old one runs Eve like a slideshow.  I've lost a couple of frigates to level 1 rats because I couldn't lock targets and couldn't get a mouse click on Autopilot registered before my armor and structure melted.  It did register in time to get my pod out.  PvP in such a state seems contraindicated to me.

[gimpyone]

there are bpo implants? 

[Reg]

You can't make implants as far as I know. I've only ever gotten them as loot or as agent offers.

[Cougar]

You can't make implants as far as I know. I've only ever gotten them as loot or as agent offers.

This is correct.

[Yegolev]

Evangolis, have you tried turning the graphics all the way down to "ass"?  Might make things go faster.

[Evangolis]

I might try that, they aren't much to look at anyway.  I think part of the problem is with the overview, I was running the tutorial with it closed and performance was better, although I wasn't surrounded by a dozen rats at the time.  Best is to just get the new box out and set up in my office, since everything on it is better than this one by at least a factor of two.

Shame that you can't make implants, I'd think those would be in demand if they could be built.

[Venkman]

Heh just a thought on the original post. That is so out of date even in this short time it's scary. It's odd stumbling upon all these shinies!

I'm just glad I'm not focused on cruiser or AF. Every time I break 5mil, it goes down for some other freakin' skill or some crazy armor/shield boost thing i need ANOTHER skill for.