Do You Believe in Ghosts?

I lived in a wormhole for two years, now I am on a different ride.

Largemouth Bass

I decided to do some high-sec exploration to see how many ghost sites I might find. My thought was to do a kind of blitz. Just move quickly from system to system, looking only for ghost sites.

I just couldn't not know what the sigs were. What if one of them was a good or fun site? So, of course, I scanned 'em down.

I visited 29 different systems. Nineteen of them were 0.5. Nine of them were 0.6. One 0.7.

I found ONE ghost site. Previously, in high sec, without trying, I have found a grand total of 2 ghost sites. Only one in low sec, but then I have never looked hard for them in low sec.

Seven systems had no sigs. Otherwise, I found 17 wormholes, 20 combat sites, 2 relic, and 1 data.

There were quite a few anomaly belts. I almost typed hidden belts. Anomaly belts, that is what I am calling them. I scoped out a few and always find it amusing how they cherry-picked. A Jaspet, Kenite, Omber belt will have no Jaspet left but will have Kernite and Omber. But then a Kernite, Omber belt will have Omber but no Kernite!

When I start an anomaly belt, I prefer to pop it. EVE is about accomplishment, I don't like leaving things undone.

Planetary Interaction

I lived in a wormhole for two years, now I am on a different ride.



Ice ice, baby

Let's talk Planetary Interaction

I have two mains and 4 alts. My four alts are all trained for PI. I have found a system where I can harvest all 15 raw materials. The planet mix is Barren, Gas, Ice, Lava, Plasma, and Temperate.

I am producing all 8 advanced items, so I have gone the harvester planet/factory planet route. I set the harvesting cycle to 4 days, mostly because it feels too much like a chore if I do PI too often.

Doodle Bug at the office.

I spend two and half hours about once a week or so. In that time (one harvest/manufacture cycle) I produce the following:

1635 Coolant
810 Enriched Uranium
810 Mechanical Parts
243 Robotics

16 Nano-factory
16 Recursive Computing Module
14 Broadcast Node
14 Self-harmonizing Power Core
12 Integrity Response Drones
12 Sterile Conduits
12 Organic Mortar Applicators
12 Wetware Mainframe

With my cargohold priceline negotiator that varies from 165 to 170 million. When I paid taxes they were 75 to 80 million (at 17%), which is closer to 50%!! I have since become good friends with the owners of the custom offices, and now pay zero tax.

Flub-a-Dub heading towards a Plasma planet

With this I produce POS fuel, and have tower and structure BPO's. Any leftovers are sold.

Bazinga!

The Expedition! (what a show)

Final escalation site, before boom.

I lived in a wormhole for two years, now I am on a different ride.


Was passing the time doing some high sec exploration in that new Sarum Magnate (yee haa!) and I found a Blood Vigil plex. This was a bit tough due to the fact I was flying a Prophecy and they were using neuts and tracking disrupters. I brought in my other character who was also flying a Prophecy (hey! It is all I had nearby).

As I said, not a bad plex. Fair bounty, and a C-Type energized adaptive nano membrane. And I
got an escalation!!

The first stop in the escalation was pretty tough, too. Least ways flying two Prophecies in the face of swarming tracking disrupters and energy neuts. But I tag teamed those blood rats to death. Stops two and three were easier. All three stops dropped some lame-ass faction laser ammo, which I have been stockpiling over the years but still don't have much more than 3 of any particular kind.

But the only reason to do steps two, three, and four, is to get to the final step of the escalation, which of course is in low sec.

Boom, with that skull nebula looking on.

This time I brought a Drake and Damnation, both passive tanks with heavy missiles, so the over-abundance of neuts and tracking disrupters, combined with scrams and webs, could be overcome. Part-way thru the site a bunch of pirates entered the system, and eventually someone dropped combat probes, so I bailed. Then I eventually logged and did real-life stuff.

I returned the next day, the site started over, but in the end no faction drop! The boss rat wasn't even a Dark Blood, so not even T2 salvage. And the bounties were horrible, too.

But would I do it again? Of course I would.

MIssions HO!!

I lived in a wormhole for two years, now I am on a different ride.

 

Agent's Station

I decided to run some level IV missions with Gallente; work on my standings, and you know, just to do something different. I have two accounts, what I call my two "mains." My mains were flying a Hyperion and Abaddon. I ran a total of 12 missions until I got the storyline (It takes a bit more than 12 to get to the storyline, but I had run some months ago.)

I ran missions before and most after the Retribution upgrade. My usual tactic is to have one tanking battleship that I send in first to get all the aggro. With rat AI now switching targets, that caused problems. The Abaddon is set to tank. In one mission the Hyperion had to run, and the Abaddon even got to 50% armor before I could take out enough rat DPS. After that I kitted the Hyperion more, but didn't change the fit.

Mission boom!

I hate losing drones; those dutiful little guys. Managing drones was only a real problem in a few missions. When the rats are picking on my drones I usually just have one character with them launched, so it is easier to keep an eye on them. I let the rat frigs get in close before I sick drones on them, so if I have to recall them they can get back in the bay quickly

Timed activities are from undock to dock, and values are from the cargo hold Priceline negotiator.

Total time in mission was 5.4 hours. Total reward and bounty was 114.5 million. So, 21.2 million ISK per hour.
Total salvage time spent was 2.1 hours. Total salvage value was 74.4 million. So, 35.4 ISK million per hour.
Overall total was 189.9 million over 7.5 hours, at 25.2 million ISK per hour. (plus the benefits of loyalty points)

The Quicker Picker Upper

I salvaged in a Noctis, which is clearly worth the time and effort, although almost half of the salvage ISK was from just two missions: The Mordus Headhunters and The Score.

I mined in two missions. (I need mexallon and nocxium for some manufacturing projects.) I mined pyroxeres and plagioclase in an Orca and Hulk. I mined for a total of 2.4 hours, 48.1 million, so 20 million ISK per hour.

Typically when I mine I do so until I fill the Orca and Hulk and then I go do something else. Just for comparison, I filled up on kernite and a bit 'o pyroxeres from a regular belt. I mined for 1.87 hours, with a yield of 37.1 million, so that is 19.8 million ISK per hour. But wait ....

Mining HO!!

I mined that entire time without activating the Mining Foreman Link for laser duration optimization!! Hate it when that happens. If I had turned the damn thing on then I could have mined the same amount in 77% of the time. That would have been 1.45 hours, so it would have been 25.6 million ISK per hour ...

Cheers

Exit Wormhole Left

Was able to dump some assets in the Nurtura Plantation at moon 10 in system Akeva.

Did I tell you I moved out of my wormhole? I moved out of my wormhole. Several months ago. Someone came along and wanted to fight over my class 1 wormhole. Whatever. I had been in there for 2 years. I was looking for a reason to pack up and leave. So, I am out.

Of course they were dicks about it. Why else would they be fighting over a class 1? I was unaware that if a structure is damaged then you cannot take down the POS. They took out the armor on one structure and I ignored it till I had moved out my fighting ships and other assets. Then I got the surprise. I was in no position to repair or blow it up, not without bringing back in ships. So I left my tower there as a monument to my ignorance.

This was actually the third time someone put up an uninvited POS in my wormhole. The first time I popped one of them working an anom, they moved out a week later. The second time I popped a small tower and the hanger dropped a large tower. Score! The third time, however, was the charm.

This has been more of a travel/scrapbook blog, as I covered low security exits. I guess it will now become a more generic EVE blog (if that is possible).


Freighter about to bug out of Akeva.



Crimson and no Four Leaf Clover

Dark side of planet VI

Cabeki is a 0.1 system in region Khanid, 11 jumps from high sec. It is it's own dead-end system in a six system cul-de-sac. I would have liked to have explored all six systems, but not on a work night, and not when I find 9 sigs in Cabeki alone!! 3 Grav, 2 plexes, 3 radar, and 1 mag.

For a 0.1 system the radar and mag sites were disappointing. 9 mill, 3.4 mill, 7.2 mill, and 1 mill. Also got a couple of BPC's.

A buddy and I worked a plex, Crimson Hand Supply Depot. We were unable to finish all 5 rooms, just ran out of time. We were in there for a while, chipping away at the sentinel, and local never changed, us and 1 apparent AFK cloaky. We decided to run just four rooms and the Dark Blood drop in the supply room is considered hit or miss, so we went with the sure thing (oversee effect) in command.

If I were to settle in low sec I might pick a location like this; a bunch of systems not along a pipe, what I like to call cul-de-sac's.

Race for a Mag Site

Ammatar Fleet Testing Facilities at planet IX in system Camal

Camal is a 0.2 system in region Derelik, 2 jumps from high sec. It is a dead-end system with a seemingly constant presence. The surrounding low sec appears to regularly scanned. I explored 5 systems, including 1 high sec and found 2 ladar sites, 2 plexes, and 4 mag sites (3 in high sec).

The low sec mag was tough to pinpoint without scan rigs. But I finally got it. Then a -8.7 pirate shows up scanning (I saw him in the previous system). I had a Falcon in the site, cloaked up. I had a Legion in the middle of no-where, waiting. I figured I would let him come into the site, then the Falcon would jam, scram, and web, and I would bring in the Legion and pop him. But he didn't seem to be able to pinpoint it so I worked the site, left, it de-spawned, and he left the system.

One of the ladars was a drug site, PDW-90FX Frentix Distribution. I usually work low sec drug sites with battleships; which, of course, I don't have in my wormhole. I scouted it and there was only one site can. The initial wave was 3 BS, 3 cruisers, 4 frigs, and 2 transports.

I worked the site. The second wave more BS, Cruisers, and frigs. I didn't count. There was a lieutenant guy in a frigate and he had a booster BPC: Synth Frentix Booster Blueprint. Listed in contracts at 10 million. I will not hold my breath on that one. Otherwise, 9.2 million in bounties and 6.7 million in salvage and loot. Kinda bla for the work and risk.

This is the second "bla" drug site I have worked in the past few years and they used to have a much higher payout. I used to find some 3-4 years ago in Caldari low sec.