Hadley's Hope

The harvesting of planetary resources is a dull occupation. However, harvest from planets in wormholes and you have the recipe for some profitable harvesting coupled with the raw resource richness wormholes possess.


My reports have been lacking lately due to this new endeavour. I have successfully installed several wormhole colonies producing Viral Agents, Vaccines, Robotics, Consumer Electronics and Mechanical Parts. I have also claimed an island on Sarum Prime 6 producing Livestock; this is now my nest egg.

At the time of writing we're producing nearly 4mil isk per day before costs, although the setup fee was bloated with experiments and came in at around 20mil. This isn't bad at all considering that this income is passive. This is only possible due to the vast resources to be found upon and within wormhole planets. Typically planets in wormholes tend to be saturated with all the minerals used in production lines. In comparison; the Sarum Prime colony is running at 1/3 the rate of my wormhole colonies. I conclude that the best locations I have found thus far for planetary harvesting are to be found within wormholes, taking into account all known, and unknown space.

Before rushing out to claim a stake within a wormhole and get fat, be prepared for the worst. Although the rescources are much greater, actually retrieving the goods from the wormhole can be problematic at best. As a wormhole will dissappear eventually and, if a POS is not installed in the system, an ALT will be needed to remain offline in the wormhole, fitted with a scan probe launcher and a healthy supply of probes. This grants the ability to find an exit to normal space to allow a hauler to find the wormhole then enter and leave with the goods promptly. An ALT with a Covert Ops Cloaking Device II is best as this will allow the ALT to scan and survey the wormhole properly for enemy vessels.

The upside of planetary harvesting in a wormhole is that, although the wormhole is not readily available to access requiring an investment of time and patience, the administration duties can be performed from anywhere in New Eden. This means that the colony can continue to produce until such time as all cargo areas are saturated or the produce can be withdrawn. Even then the structure of the plantation can be altered remotely to increase storage capacity. I have found that it is possible to harvest at such a rate that the final stage of production can barely keep up with the extractors, allowing the final production stage to run constantly, adding to the attraction. In addition to this is the fact that, at the moment no-one can remove or destroy your claim making the risks almost seem worth it

But without the produce from the wormhole, there is no profit.

Happy planet hopping…

Related Links
Wormhole Exploration Guide
Planetary Interaction (eve university)

Related Soundtrack

To Boldly Go...

Wormholes are a delicacy. Few pilots muster the courage to enter such alien environments, but those who dare can become very wealthy or dead within hours. I prefer to become richer through harvesting resources, or appropriating funds and items from the poor lost pilots found within. I recently convinced my mentor; EiD to assist the mining of an asteroid belt overflowing with rare ores as the job alone would've taken days.

The operation went without incident and we left wormhole space with our holds bursting with the rarest of ores. Despite the success I was slightly disappointed that there were no pirates, sleepers or trouble of any kind. For months I’d been telling tales of the hardships I’d encounter whilst dragging riches from the void, only for our joint expedition to be completed without the terror I usually endure.

As a director of our corporation, EiD has much more influence for my cause. I continue to request corporate funding to explore wormhole space, and although I'm alone in my pot holing, my efforts have not gone unnoticed by our CEO; CT. This is partly the reason EiD was tagging along, to observe my actions and evaluate the need for corporate funds.

With all the ore we gathered now processed and donated to the corporate wallet (minus costs) I am hopeful that this development will release funding to help me collate a fleet of dare-devil pilots, and to finally embark upon a crusade to mine the riches from wormholes with my corporations consent and backing.

My real intentions are to claim a wormhole environment as my own and use this random roaming space to carry out pirate attacks on the local populace, something my corporation does not condone. If I get the funding it will help me deploy a POS within the space; this is something which was previously deemed too expensive for me to carry. With the corporations backing, things may be a little easier and involve less risk to my own wallet. Only time will tell. Oh how I hate bureaucrats.

Happy hunting…

Related Links
Wormhole Harvesting

Related Soundtrack

Tech III Production Detail

Here follows a breakdown of how the components are manufactured to produce the elements required for T3 production and invention.

Polymer Creation

Polymers are made in the Polymer Reactor Array which can only be anchored using a POS in 0.3 space and below (and may be run in wormhole space). A polymer reaction requires a Polymer reaction which are seeded on the NPC market under Manufacture & Research / Reactions / Polymer Reactions, 2 of the 9 different types of fullerene gas and a normal mineable mineral.

Example - Making Fulleroferrocene.

To make this we require 1,000 units of Tritanium per cycle (per hour), 200 units of Fullerite-C50 gas per cycle and 100 units of Fullerite-C60 gas per cycle.

To make this reaction we require a POS/Starbase with at least the following equipment:

• 1 Silo [500 CPU 50,000 MW] - for Tritanium.
• 2 Biochemical Silos [500 CPU 100,000 MW] - for Fullerite-C50 and Fullerite-C60 gases
• 1 Hybrid Polymer Silo [250 CPU 50,000 MW] - for end product Fulleroferrocene
• 1 Polymer Reactor Array [1500 CPU 125,000 MW] - with Fulleroferrocene Reaction

The total CPU and power needed for the above reaction is 2,750 CPU and 325,000 MW, so a large control tower is recommended.

Reverse Engineering (RE)
Reverse engineering provides Tech 3 blueprint copies of the strategic cruiser hulls and the various subsystem modules it requires. There are six different types of relic and each one corresponds to a different piece of the Tech 3 ship - the hull, defensive subsystem, electronics subsystem, engineering subsystem, propulsion subsystem and offensive subsystem. The five subsystem relics can be unearthed in deadly magnetometric archeology sites all throughout Sleeper space. Hull sections can be recovered from the wrecks of ancient Talocan ships in Sleeper radar sites.

To be able to perform RE you will require a POS with an Experimental Lab (can be anchored in high sec) or access to a Caldari Outpost. You cannot do RE in normal NPC stations.

There are 3 different categories of Ancient Relics, these are Intact, malfunctioning and Wrecked. Reverse Engineering, like Invention is based on chance which is affected by skills and by the type of Ancient Relic you are using (intact = best chance and wrecked = worst chance).
Sucessful reverse engineering delivers different run BPCs based on type of Ancient Relic:
Intact Relic yields a 20-run BPCMalfunctioning Relic yields a 10-run BPCWrecked Relic yields a 3-run BPC>

Materials Needed to Perform RE

• Ancient Relic
• Racial Hybrid tech Decryptors - determines the race the BPC will be, so if you use a caldari Decryptor then on a successful RE attempt the BPC will be of Caldari design.
• Subsystem Engineering Datacores mixed with normal Invention datacores
• R.A.M.- Hybrid technology

All items above are consumed by the RE job (it's not like invention where the interface isn't consumed).

There are varying degrees of success, if you aren't successful then you may get back a datacores, a decryptor or the hybrid tech and then there's the utter failure where you completely fail and get nothing at all.

If you use "intact" relics there's a chance you may get a wrecked relic back from a failed RE attempt.

Relic Type	RE Outcome Type
Armor Nanobot	Defensive Subsystem
Electromechanical Component	Electronics Subsystem
Power Cores	Engineering Subsystem
Thruster Sections	Propulsion Subsystem
Weapon Subroutines	Offensive Subsystem
Hull Section	Ship Hull section

Tech III Production Overview

Tech III(T3) products are built from new fulleride-enhanced mineral polymers and the reverse-engineered relics of ancient and powerful civilisations.T3 production requires extensive exploration of Wormholes for the following materials:

• Fullerenes - 9 different types of fullerite gases harvested using a gas harvester module.
• Ancient Salvaged Materials - salvaged from Sleeper NPC wrecks and T3 ship wrecks.
• Ancient Relics - found using the Archaeology Analyzer module.
• Datacores, R.A.M.- Hybrid Technology, [Racial] Hybrid Decryptors - found using the Hacking CodeBreaker module.

Tech III Production Chain
1. Harvest fullerite gases from gas cluds in WormHole/Sleeper (WH) space.
2. Polymer Creation - React the Fullerene gases in a POS Polymer Reactor Array to create Hybrid Polymers.
3. Salvage Sleeper NPCs and T3 ship wrecks for Ancient Salvaged Materials.
4. Using T3 Hybrid Component Blueprints available from the market under Blueprints / Components / Hybrid Components, manufacture T3 Subsystem Components from Hybrid Polymers + Ancient Salvaged Materials.
5. Reverse Engineering: - Ancient Relics are Reverse Engineered (RE) using a POS Experimental Laboratory (or Caldari Research Outpost) to produce T3 Hull BPCs and T3 Subsystem BPCs.
6. T3 Ship Hull & Subsystem manufacture at a POS Subsystem Assembly Array (or Amarr Factory Outpost) using the reverse engineered T3 Hull/Subsystem BPC and T3 Subsystem Components.

Tech III Production Flowchart

Flowchart by Tareen Kashaar.

Bubble Bobble

System: Unknown
Security: Unknown
Mission: To Blockade a Wormhole

The sound of a POD decompressing is such a terrific sound, unless of course it’s ones own fragile shell bursting into the void. The bubble blowing contest went well scoring three juicy kills in two hours.

B13, CT, EvS and Miss Nexus and I set up camp in a 0.5 wormhole awaiting the arrival of prey. The system was part of a high traffic bottleneck into 0.0 and also served as a gateway to a trading hub. The wormhole itself was located between the 2nd and 3rd planet and led to an achingly beautiful binary system.


With Miss Nexus acting as scout outside the wormhole a pair of Megathrons were reported approaching. Their mission was assumed to be one of exploration as no POS’s had been scanned within the w-space. When they appeared in the system, the duo was allowed to warp to a destination of their choosing. Soon enough they were located and warp disrupted with an interdictor bubble.

The ensuing battle was very bitter. We lost EvS to concentrated hybrid platform charges and an ECM swarm; we soon avenged his loss with the destruction of both Gallente battleships and their respective PODs. The drops were all Tech II; even the drones were Ogre IIs. EvS left our gabble and proceeded to re-arm but whilst he was excused another battleship entered the system. This time it was a sole Scorpion.

The pilot had guts entering on his own, but the resistance of his ship left a lot to be desired. It wasn’t long before he was podded and his wreck looted. The contents of his ship left us all bemused at what his intentions may have been as his ship possessed both an active shield and armour tank. The high slots contained a mixture of hybrid rail turrets and standard missile launchers; the whole ship was a collection of named rat drops. Tragic.

I’ve declared the mission a success, despite the singular loss, and my fellow Corp collegues have agreed that we should embark on such excursions into the void more often. So be it.

Happy hunting…

The Heretic

A long, long time ago I bought this neat little craft before I could actually fly it. My reasons at the time were that it was a black destroyer and I had more money than sense. Only lately have I trained the skills to fly this little craft and use its most interesting ability; blowing bubbles.


As an interdictor it can deploy an AOA Warp Disruption sphere approximately 20km across. It’s my new toy within w-space and will be used over the coming weeks to trap would-be-wanders in this realm.

B13 and I head out within the next few hours with a select few of our motley Corp to see what we can catch, and I hope that everything works as intended. The Heretic doesn’t possess a great tank; I figure it’s the sort of ship that deploys then runs leaving the camp to mop up the victims. Having said that it does posses a healthy dollop of DPS and may be able to hold its own properly supported. It shouldn’t become primary as its destruction does not eliminate the Warp Disruption Sphere, and the little beast has a small signature helping it to avoid larger turret fire so I may be neat.

I’m looking forward to our excursion and hope the outcome of the mission is favourable. I have the utmost confidence in my crew to battle through so I’ll return victorious, or it’ll be the last tour they ever do. Literally.

Happy Hunting…

W-POS Execution

It happened, an event which I had assumed was impossible; a w-POS destroyed by hostile forces. Theoretically this shouldn't happen. I was of the common opinion that, by its very nature a wormhole POS was almost invulnerable because in order to field the firepower required to destroy such a structure, would take more weight than a wormhole would allow before collapsing. Obviously I underestimated the patients of some pilots to maintain firing at a POS shield for an unbearable amount of time. Bravo to those involved.



Related Links
www.planetriskshow.com

Holy POS!

Mission: To successfully deploy a POS in w-space
Location: Unknown

Phase one of the w-POS is complete. At present there are 3 POS of different configurations online within w-space with only the latest being maintained. All of them are to be found on Singularity as tests for the final phase of the mission. B13 and I have been living within various versions of these POS’s for the past three weeks refining the deployment process.

There were concerns that additional manpower was required to achieve our mission but in practice we found that deployment was (relatively) straight forward. Our POS specialist; EiD has contributed to the cause by supporting us with technical advice regarding arrangement of the POS systems and what supplies are needed to maintain the POS indefinitely.

The purpose of this mission is to seek out new life forms and new civ…er Ahem. The purpose of this mission is to farm the local Sleeper sites and manufacture Tech 2 and Tech 3 components for the building and sale of various modules and subsystems as well as construct our own Strategic Cruisers. The POS also provides an excellent staging area for excursions into the local populace wherever an exit wormhole may develop.


At the time of this report the third POS is undergoing reconfiguration. Initially we decided that only shield hardeners would be necessary but we have since agreed that it is wiser to support the POS with some form of defence beyond the passive nature of the POS shield. As the state of the wormholes fluctuate it is necessary for my ALT to remain within the POS shield to ensure that there is always a POD within the realm ready to scan an exit if required.

Logistically, operating in w-space is difficult. As wormholes are inherently unstable and an exit is not guaranteed, the tonnage of fuel necessary to maintain the POS shielding must be taken into w-space in bulk and at the earliest opportunity. At present we have enough fuel stored to last a desirable two months.

The state of this w-space is rich as it points from a 0.5 secure system. So far we have uncovered a constant stream of asteroid belts, complexes and gas clouds and we have been un-molested during our time there. This will obviously change when the POS goes live within New Eden itself. Unfortunately the gas clouds are not suitable for booster manufacture but with the wormholes appearing regularly we may yet be able to find an exit into a system which harbours the correct type.

The final stages of the mission are to take place over the next few weeks where B13 and I will attempt to use what we have learnt to successfully deploy a POS within New Edens’ w-space. The mission carries huge risks but, if you’ve ever been into a wormhole you must agree that the rewards are mountainous.

It’s a very exciting period for us both and we intend to maximise on our position when it occurs to bolster our own notoriety and wallets. To good health…

The Void

Wormhole space (w-space) is the latest frontier in New Eden. Appearing without warning they harbour unimaginable danger as well as incredible riches and resources. Before entering this unpredictable realm your mindset should be prepared for what to expect.

I would recommend watching this documentary about an ancient vessel which became trapped in a void very similar to w-space. The hardships they encounter follow very closely what you can expect to find should you feel bold enough to venture into w-space…



Related Links
Wormhole Exploration Guide

Best Laid Plans

Our tour of duty has been terminated. My corporation has been withdrawn from the Amarr Militia and all equipment and supplies have been hauled via contract back into Sarum Prime. In addition to this all members have been asked to re-join The I-A as their PVP division needs bolstering with experienced pilots.

Reflecting on our time within the militia it was a great experience and one which I am sure to repeat in the future. The militia has been left in much the same state as it was left. We saw our territory gradually increase into the enemies but progress became slow as the enemies concentration thickened. My squad was charged with getting behind the enemies lines and disrupting their supply lines, a job which initially was quite dull but a few large scale encounters kept our appetites whetted. Our next tour is sure to be one of mass destruction as my skills are now hitting a level where Dreadnoughts are immediately plausible if a little expensive but it does mean that all tertiary skills are maxed.

I too will eventually be re-joining The I-A but for the moment I am happy to remain one of three surviving members of my former militia squad. Myself, B13 and a younger recruit XA. Besides we have a new mission, to set-up a wormhole POS. Since I came upon the idea I have spoken to my closest allies and a plan of action has been put into place. The retraction from the militia is the first step, downsizing the corporation another and the sale of all bounties and hardware within the core systems will help fund the purchasing of the necessary components such as POS fuel, haulers,and equipment necessary for this deployment.

The task at hand is greater than anticipated and will require that we three work around the clock for the next few weeks. It has been decided that the POS is to have no weapons but instead to bolster the shield as much as possible. We are looking to deploy a small POS for the moment to minimise the amount of fuel required to maintain the tower until such time we can decide whether the running costs outweigh the benefits. It is a brave new frontier for us and a great challenge. The logistics involved in dragging the massive tonnage through a wormhole without it collapsing is a real effort but one which we are glad to undertake.


At the present time we are still collating our efforts to collect the relevant constituent parts for the plan of action. I estimate a few more days should see the plan realised to the point where we can scan for a suitable wormhole and perform a pre-deployment recon of the w-space within. So here's to best laid plans...

Wormhole Exploration and Survival Guide

If you are thinking of exploring wormholes there are a few things you must get right first to minimise any chance of becoming trapped or killed. Before reading this guide you should already know how to use scan probes and your on-board scanner to locate the 'door' (wormhole) into w-space. You can review this video guide by clicking this link: Apocrypha Scanning Tutorial.

Clones

Do not take your best clone. Wormhole space is lawless, even more so than 0.0. No-one owns this space and to make matters worse there is no criminal flagging. Any hostile activity committed there is not reprimanded. So take an expendable clone and be prepared to lose it.

Ships

Only take what you are prepared to lose. Try not to take faction fitted ships or unnecessary items in your cargo hold. Chances are you may lose everything. Pirates prey very successfully in wormhole space on pilots eager to explore the 'unknown.'

Try to use a ship which requires no ammunition or take plenty of it. Bear in mind that you may want to salvage and/or loot when you get there so on-board cargo space will be at a premium. Most Amarr faction and some Gallente ships are best suited to explore this space as they require no ammunition at all and can run indefinitely.

Fittings

You will need a scan probe launcher with plenty of probes; 10 at least. This is the most important part of your fitting, if you have no scanning capability then you may become trapped inside the wormhole.

The Sleepers, the enemy NPCs found in wormhole space, attack your tanks lowest resistance. If you're shield tanking, an omni passive tank is your best choice if you can achieve around 1k DPS resistance this way. The sleepers like to Energy Drain(NOS) extensively so your capacitor may become drained very quickly so active tanks will be harder to manage effectively, but they too should be considered, but you'd be on a time limit depending on energy(cap booster/remote rep) supplies.

If you are armour tanking then make sure you have enough of an armour buffer to absorb the attacks if your capacitor is battered too low and you need to escape. Again, an omni tank is your best choice, get your resists as high as possible using passive armour modules. This will help preserve your capacitor should you need to warp out.

I also recommend an After-Burner(AB). They are very useful if you need speed and distance to get out of disruptor range as some Sleepers will Disrupt and Webify you. If Disrupted by more than a single enemy ship and you don't have WCS fitted, primary the Webifiers and destroy them quickly, then AB out of Disruptor range(20km) and warp to a safe-spot if needed.

Remember speed is life, as the Sleepers tracking is not great so orbit close and they will miss you enough, enabling you to tank them more effectively. I wouldn't recommend an exclusive speed tank, if you want to speed tank then fit a modest shield or armour tank at least, just in case you get Webified.

Always fit a Damage Control(DC) unit. This works with your AB by allowing you enough of a hull buffer to escape Disruptor range should your tank fail. If your tank fails in wormhole space it does so spectacularly.

You may or may not want to bring a cloak. Again this depends on your intentions. Fitting both a cloak and WCS will seriously compromise your ability to target quickly so decide early on what your mission is and stick to it. You can always come back again fitted differently. Use of a Covert Opeartiuons cruiser or battleship removes the damage to the sensors, but these are expensive, bear that in mind.

Work together and assist fleet members with Armour, Shields or Capacitor. Make sure you bring either Maintenance Bots or Transfer Arrays to achieve a spider tank.

Do not use Electronic Counter Measures(ECM) modules on the Sleepers as the enemy AI will primary you. Save your jamming equipment for other 'encounters.'

Gas clouds and most of the rarer asteroids can be found within these virginal 'unkown' systems so you may want to bring Mining Lasers, Mining Drones and/or Gas Cloud Harvesters. Keep close to protect your mining drones as enemy spawns are likely.

Fleet

Bring a Covert Operations frigate to aid with the exploration and exploitation of this new frontier. This may not always be possible, but it should be first choice for any fleet. If you don't have this option then you will need your own scan probe launcher. This cannot be stressed enough. You will need scan probes to return to normal space if the wormhole collapses. And there is little indication as to when that could be, only a vague warning from the infromation gathered from the wormholes icon. If you don't bring any probes then you could end up becoming trapped indefinitely.

Once your fleet is ready; you are at the wormhole and you are about to embark on an adventure unlike any you have seen before...

It is useful to know exactly what to expect within the unknown space as you enter. Using the locust signature code; found as the name of the system in the top left corner of the main view screen, it is possible to recon the space upon entering. Follow this link for the Wormhole Database and enter the code to discover what lies within.

Entering

Upon entering wormhole space immediately bookmark the wormhole, then set about marking a few bookmarks as safe spots. Try to make at least 3. Scan the system for other ships as soon as you can. Then scan the system regularly, ideally at 60 second intervals.

A Probe scan is also necessary to locate possible exploration sites and a scan using combat scanner probes is also useful - it is possible to field both types of probes in space at the same time. It's important to note that even if you do not read any other ships in the system, this does not mean that it is empty. Cloaked ships will not show on your scans so always be vigilant and ready to take the appropriate action if required. Try to remain aligned at 75% thrust to a safe spot (make an emergency safespot as close to the central star as possible - giving a point-of-reference to align to quickly) and never leave your ship unattended, unless you have a cloak fitted, and even then it isn't condoned.

If a POS tower is picked up on your scans it may be better abandoning the wormhole altogether as there are plenty of corporations whom make their homes in w-space and will attack to protect themselves and their installed assets.

Engaging the Sleepers

The sleepers will attack you in force and will Webify, Disrupt and NOS you so be prepared to become locked down. In addition to this they posses smart AI, priority target acquisition. This means that, unlike during missions or when ratting, they will change their primary targets depending on certain threat factors. No-one is safe while engaging them so all ships and pilots should be prepared to assist each other. Stick together and use spider tanking to aid fleet members when required.

Battleship sized targets should be engaged at close range, this will be under their weapons optimal and will help tank the spawns. In addition, if the DED has turrets, such as found in missions or guarding stations and jumpgates you must destroy them first as the Damage Per Second (DPS) output is large enough to obliterate targets smaller than a cruiser and will seriously dent the tank on most ships.

De-clutter your overview so you can identify hostiles quicker and keep aligned and moving as much as possible.Leave all but one enemy ship alive and clear the area of wrecks, loot and salvage before destroying the final target. Upon destruction of the final target, a re-spawn is likely so clear the battlefield of valuables before moving onto the next spawn.

Escaping

Before warping to the wormhole scan ahead and take the appropriate action depending on what you find there. It's difficult to judge other ships intentions, but under no circumstances talk in the local channel as this will give you away to anyone else present and may invite hostiles to your position.

If the wormhole has collapsed there are only a few options available to you:

1. Suicide. You should be prepared for this eventuality. It's important to weigh up your options first as this should be treated as a last resort. Without any loot or salvage the mission is a failure as the Sleepers do not provide bounties.

2. Ask for help in local. This is not recommended as more than likely, as there is no criminal flagging, you will become the victim of opportunists and may be killed anyway. You can ask for help from fellow Corporation members, but the likely hood of them being able to find you are nigh on impossible.

3. Scan down a new wormhole exit. Persistence is the key here. Keep scanning and your fingers crossed. If you find another wormhole, check where it goes first using the Wormhole Database.

4. If you have no scan probes, see options 1 and 2.

This concludes this guide to wormhole exploration and survival. There is much more to learn from w-space but that is in your capable hands. Fly safe...

Related Links

Apocrypha Scanning Tutorial

Advanced Scanning Techniques

Wormhole Harvesting

Wormhole Wandering Essentials

Back from the Brink...

Mission: To explore wormhole space for 10 days and return.
Outcome: Success.
Debriefing: B13 and I managed to stay in wormhole space for 10 days. I can't say it was easy or even packed with excitement, but we did get our share of loot and got the odd kill here n' there.

A very kind pod pilot left his ship in one of the asteroidless belts, a Vagabond, at 200km from the beacon. Obviously a pirate preying on the weak and the foolish, so we took his ship. Checking his hold we found he was full of loot. He must've left his ship to scout, and was killed by another pirate in the system. Or it was a trap, but we waited, cloaked for 10 minutes at the location to see if he'd return, but he didn't.

In addition to this and as expected we found loads of wrecks, both Sleepers and Pod pilots alike. It seems that wormhole space is crammed with eager pilots seeking adventure. Many succumbed to the firepower and/or the AI of the Sleepers and became smouldering wrecks. Not that we minded. They were salvaged and looted and added to our haul.

Supplies were a problem, as was cargo space. We had lost some of our drones, foolish I know, so we sent for an ally to bring us some more. It took 4 hours until we found an exit wormhole and set a destination for our back-up Hauler. The destination system was only 4 jumps from our original insertion point which made the whole process easier.

With an exit secured it was an opportunity to drop off our loot but we had to work fast, fearing other pilots scanning down our wormhole and looting our spoils. We quickly decided that the Hauler should fly into the wormhole and join us there to collect the spoils, instead of us exiting to drop them off. It was the right decision as we witnessed several other Battleships converging on the wormhole within minutes.

Eventually time was up. The 10 days were over and we had to leave, and our exit was found to be only 6 jumps from where we originally entered. This was a little dissappointing as we expected to travel further but this may have been a fluke, only repeated testing will confirm or deny that. We've estimated that the value of all the loot, the bounties from pod kills and the ships we destroyed came to a comfortable 110 million isk between us. We are still sifting through it all, but it was a very good haul. Not great for 10 days work but it was a unique experience, one which was more valuable as intel. We've decided to sit on all the Sleeper salvage until the prices become more realistic. The rarest items have been submitted to our Corporations Research and Development division to see if they can reverse engineer any of the parts.

For now we plan to remain here in Empire. To collate what we have learnt and put together a bigger fleet. I figure that with a larger group we can accomplish more, but may attract more attention. As a 2 man gank squad, not once did we get scanned down by a hostile fleet, but with a bigger team who knows.

There is something else too, a new problem and feelings of descent within our Corporation. It has been decided that this new realm requires a new approach. Many in our Corporation are hungry for the lawless 'unknown' and its opportunities, but a mandate is in place which forbids any acts of aggression towards Neutrals. Despite the lack of criminal flagging, our CEO does not want reprisals against the Corporation because of our actions. This leaves me in a difficult position and a decision has to be made about what my future holds within the Corporation.

I think the darkness in me is returning. After almost a year of running missions for the Sarum family to see my security slowly climb from -9.96 to a despicable -1.6, I feel the need to wreck my progress with a few acts of piracy once more. Wormhole space provides my ego with this satisfaction, but if it is outlawed within my Corporation surely I cannot remain within the ranks. It seems that what I need to do and what I want to do are rarely the same.

Related Links
http://eveonline-aghostblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Guides

Ramains of the Day

Last night B13 and myself became trapped in wormhole space after one of our fleet caused the collapse of the exit wormhole, returning to back to Empire. Initially we were dismayed at the situation, but then we received a comms in local, a request from another pilot to exit wormhole space after being trapped for 3 days!

Needless to say that this poor fellow was charged 30million isk with the promise of leaving via the wormhole we entered, he was then led to a safe-spot and murdered by our group. He wasn't happy, but he got what he paid for, he got out.

3 days! I'm not sure if that is true, and when asked if he returned to the same system he entered he declined to respond, funny that. Needless to say it got me thinking, would it be possible to live in wormhole space, farming the DED's, gas clouds and the asteroid belts and taking advantage of naive pilots who stray into this realm?

At the time of writing our group is still in wormhole space, exploring the system and farming what we find all the while scanning for new wormholes. We are no longer within the original 'unknown' system as we have already travelled through another wormhole we've found into another 'unknown' system. I wonder long we can keep jumping?

We could, theoretically remain indefinitely. Our only problem at the moment is on-board cargo space. After just one day we are all full to bursting with loot, minerals and salvage that we cannot continue looting without clearing the cargo somehow.

So the next wormhole we hope to find back into normal space will be a welcomed discovery, but only to un-load our cargo. We plan to return, scanning, farming and pirating for the next few days. Now there are better and much more effective ways to aquire isk, but few are as dangerous, or as much of a challenge as the one we find ourselves in.

I figure that 10 days should be an adequate test of this theory. If we survive the adventure then we may make it a regular event, perhaps calling in support in the form of a hauler or even a Capital, to provide us with the cubic meters to loot to our hearts content. Bringing a capital ship into wormhole space is risky, but done correctly, who knows what you could get in here. Only time will tell, and we appear to have plenty to kill, in every sense of the word.

Can't Sleep?

My camera drones were able to grab this image of the Sleepers as B13 and I engaged them for the first time. Unlike anything seen before, these vessels are equipped with some sort of laser which can cause some serious damage very quickly. Be prepared to run!

Into the Wormhole

The journey of mystery begins...

Wormhole Harvesting

The exploration of wormholes is a hazardous occupation. The dangers contained within are deadly and can and will kill you very quickly. If the Sleepers don’t get you, the pirates may.

There is a very good reason why w-space is so dangerous; it’s full of riches to make even the Tash Murkon family jealous. With the correct approach and equipment it is possible to make a tonne of isk in a relatively short amount of time. Here follows a guide on some of the methods that are used to make isk from harvesting w-space.

Firstly, the choice of wormhole is important. All wormholes are different; some harbour more recources than others, some have a profound effect on your ships systems, but all will be highly dangerous and will vary depending on the strength or 'flavour' of the wormhole. The Wormhole Database can show you when the wormhole may collapse as well as it's destination if you're planning on a little excursion. The higher the class rating; the deadlier the sites within, yet increased loot drops.

It's important to note what's within the system, using this database, as massive stellar mass objects such as a Black-holes or a Pulsars may be present. These interstallar objects influence entire systems and will affect varying abilities of your ship, depending on the type of object encountered and the strength of the wormhole.

In all cases never forget to field a Scan Probe Launcher and carry plenty of probes just in case you are caught inside a collapsed wormhole and need to find an exit, without committing suicide and failing the mission.

For guidance on the exploration of wormholes please read this guide:

Wormhole Exploration and Survival Guide

Mining

There are many wonderful ores to be found within w-space. Unfortunately there are no surveyed asteroid belts in the local area so they will have to be scanned for. Generally this is the safest way to make isk in w-space as it requires little confrontation.

To mine in w-space you will need a mining vessel. I would only recommend using a Tech I mining vessel and not a specialised ship such as mining barges, because of the inherent risks involved, but this is ultimately up to your discretion. It’s okay to fit Tech II mining lasers as the increase in yield helps compensate for the increase in costs. Any mining operation is best conducted with at least two pilots. This minimises the risks and maximises the intel available to the operation.

You will also need storage. The best solution is to take a hauler. Fitted with a cloak this can act as a giant secure container just a little way from the main mining operation. Mine into a jet-can named after whatever asteroid you are mining and then have your hauler remain cloaked until required to recover the ore from the jet-can. The hauler should also field a tractor beam to assist the recovery of the ore.

The longer the operation can remain cloaked the better as there is no local beacon, hostiles in the area can not be determined without regularly scanning the system for ships. It is safe to assume that your ship is being sought at all times by opportunists therefore it’s wise to maintain an active scan of the system. Be aware that although no ships may show on your results, this is no guarantee that there are no ships in the area, bearing in mind that the on-board scanner only scans your local space and cannot cover an entire system.

When it’s time to leave; have the hauler exit first in-case the wormhole collapses. The loss of a Tech I mining vessel is not such a hard loss to bear but if the hauler is lost along with the ore then the whole operation will be a failure.

Camping

Wormholes are some of the best situational camping sites available to budding pirates because they are natural star-gates without rules or regulation. This means that any crime committed on the w-space side will not be considered on the normal space side allowing one to attack a target in w-space without any detrimental effect on your security status or aggravating a criminal flag.

As per usual it is good practice to have intel on the normal space side relaying information to the fleet on the w-space side about the targets imminently arriving through the wormhole. Try not to make the fleet too large as the tonnage may close the wormhole. Field ships with high DPS fittings and Remote Repair abilities but be aware that any target attempting to explore w-space will also possess a decent tank to cope with the large amounts of damage dealt by the Sleepers (enemy NPCs).

The fleet should target any incoming ship as quickly as possible and Web (Stasis) and Point (warp scramble/disrupt) to prevent the targets escape. The target is unlikely to field a WCS (warp core stabiliser) so a single point is all that should be necessary. The most important effect should be to prevent the targets retreat back through the wormhole so a strong Web is required, a minimum of two should be used, as well as the use of a Warp Scrambler to disable the targets Micro-Warpdrive, if fitted. It's also a good idea to try and 'bump' the target away from the wormhole itself further preventing escape.

The destruction of the targets ship and POD should then proceed in earnest, as well as the ransoming of the target if necessary. Remember that any crimes committed here will not be carried through to normal space, therefore anything goes.

If a particularly good haul is dropped from the victim(s) it’s wise to deliver it through the wormhole as soon as possible, because if the wormhole collapses or you become the victims of retaliation, the mission will be a failure.

It is worth remembering that wormholes by design do not attract massive traffic volumes, instead targets would consist mainly of other explorers or miners and haulers. Unless by remarkable fluke you run into a POS deployment fleet, by which chance you'd be in for a grand battle!

NPC Harvesting

This is the method where-by a small fleet engages the Sleepers, and recovers the items dropped by the NPCs for sale or production of Tech III ships.

Firstly a DED site will need to be scanned using a Scan Probe Launcher. Once located warp to the site and prepare your ships for tanking the inevitable hostile fire. Sleepers like to attack in force and will concentrate their fire on your tanks lowest resistance therefore an omni-tank is preferred for this type of work. In addition to this intelligence Sleepers will use almost every type of electronic warfare to lock you down, this includes Webs, Scrams and NOS. They will also attempt to disrupt your weapons by jamming their tracking abilities or dampening range so a wide choice of ammunition is advised. Personally I use lasers as they have a broad selection of optimal ranges and require no ammunition, or sentry/combat drones as they do not require ammunition but do require careful monitoring to avoid careless destruction.

DED's regularly house turrets much like you would find in an Empire mission. The turrets are by far the most dangerous targets and should be engaged first. Order your fleet to concentrate their firepower to take them down as quickly as possible. When all the turrets have been destroyed focus the fleets firepower on the remaining Sleepers, leaving only a single enemy ship to prevent any re spawns. This will give your fleet time to recover all the wrecks on the field and give your group time to recharge their tanks/ammunition/capacitor.

When all your cargo holds are brimming with salvage it's time to leave. A bold practice is to remain within the wormhole for 24 hours where the Sleepers will re spawn so they can be 'harvested' once more. It's wise to note however, that unless the salvage returns to normal space the mission is a failure should the fleet become lost or victims of pirates.

Above all else ensure that you return from w-space alive and with your loot. And do not under any circumstances forget to field a Scan Probe Launcher, backed up by a healthy number of probes.

This concludes my guide to W-Space Harvesting. I trust you will learn much more as you practice the art of survival and prospering within a wormhole. Good luck and fly safe...

Related Links

Apocrypha Scanning Tutorial

Advanced Scanning Techniques

Wormhole Exploration and Survival Guide

Wormhole Wandering Essentials

Wormhole Wandering Essentials

Wormholes are wonderous but what lies within can quickly strip you of your ship and your life if not prepared. For this reason I ensure I have checked off the following for my excursions into the final, final frontier.

1. Scan Probes and a Scan Probe Launcher. Top of the list as this is an absolutely essential module. Any pilot entering W-space without a scan probe launcher is a fool. I take at least 15 scan probes in the cargo hold, plus 10 in the launcher. As I use 5 per scan this gives me 5 chances. So far this has seemed to be adequate. Pay attention to their flight time as I have carelessly lost a group due to the expiration timer.

2. Cloak. Dependant on your intentions for entering w-space, a cloak can become your best friend. Use when-ever you feel fear or your mind is occupied elsewhere ie: scanning.

3. A formidable omni-tank. Absolutely necessary if battle is sought as the sleepers will attack your lowest resistances. Within class 4 wormholes literally no-one is safe as a few seconds as primary can turn almost any ship to dust. Ensure your tank is as high as possible with capacitor to spare as sleepers can and will NOS your ship with several streams.

4. Drones. These little pups can act as a decoy for the sleepers. Although sleepers display intelligence they can still be fooled into attacking several drones instead of ones precious hull. If your tank is failing against the sleepers’ onslaught then stop firing and deploy drones. The sleepers will then consider them the threat until such time your tank can be repaired. If you’re to use this tactic take the least expensive, fastest and smallest drones you can and use them as fodder for the fight. Note position 2:01 in this captured recon video where the sleepers switch to the drones perceiving them as the threat instead of the (brave) Myrmidon. Unfortunately the pilot did not take this opportunity to escape while the webs and scrams were released from his battered ship.

5. Ammunition. The use of Amarr vessels permits endless exploring as lasers do not require ammunition to fire, only c apacitor. If you are planning on using missiles, hybrids, rails or projectile turrets then a healthy supply will be needed as re-supply is time consuming and dangerous.

6. The Wormhole Database. This little gem will tell you what type of wormhole you are entering, where it leads and what type of star the wormhole contains. Depending on the type of star will change the affects on your ships abilities. Pay extra attention to this as the effects can severely undermine your ships capability.

7. Nanite Repair paste. If you can overload your modules then take a healthy supply of Nanite Repair Paste as you may find you overload more often then usual.

8. ALT. Another character fitted with a cloak and a scan probe launcher is wise as the fate of your main vessel is not guaranteed. Use the ALT to locate an exit should the worst happen and you are left ship-less without a paddle.

9. Cargo Space. This will be at a premium if you plan to harvest the sleeper wrecks. If at all possible increase your base cargo space by adding a cargo expander or two. This method has several drawbacks. The first is the reduction of available modules on the ship. Also, the actual space increase may not be sufficient to warrant the use of a low module slot. This is entirely dependant on your intentions.

If you are looting then cargo space is essential. Try to choose a ship that has a large base cargo area, this’ll make a larger increment by adding a cargo expander. Marauders have massive base cargo spaces and formidable tanks so they make excellent wormhole harvesters, but they are very expensive.

If you are simply salvaging then cargo space should not be such an issue as salvage is not m3 hungry but a salvager and perhaps tractor beam will be needed in addition to your kit.

10. Combat Clone. Never take your best clone. Again as with lawless areas of New Eden, pirates such as myself and other predators will be prowling the void looking for a juicy meal so be prepared for the worst.

Related Links

Apocrypha Scanning Tutorial

Advanced Scanning Techniques

Wormhole Exploration and Survival Guide

Wormhole Harvesting