Blog # 4
I don't wander into low-sec that often. Mainly, because I haven't had that much luck out there. I mentioned my first experience in a previous Blog-post with the Caracal, but my greatest loss in low-sec to date was with my Bustard.
The ship was full of high-value cargo, which I was trading between Hi and Low-Sec. I had been running a 0.4 gate without trouble, although I was fully aware of the risks of taking a sluggish ship through such a system.
On one of the jumps a ship was camping the other side (can't remember what it was). The Bustard's mighty tank held up and I was actually shredding his defences with smart-bombs. When the guy realised what was happening he apparently called in his chums to assist when the gate was suddenly alive with movement. I was going to lose my ship and the haul after all. Fine. I had made an awesome profit already (perhaps not enough to cover the cost of the Bustard, though), and this is EvE. And a lot of crap happens in EvE. The Bustard eventually popped and my pod screamed back to High-Sec.
After that incident I changed my tactics. I abandoned the idea of a Bustard and now do all my low-sec trading in a Crane, fitted with Covert-Ops cloak. And it's a fine ship. Next to my Rokh it is easily my most-used vessel. Although the cargo hold really does stand in the shade of the Bustard's, the cloak and fast-align means I no longer get blown-up (well, until I meet a well-organised gate-camp). I now venture deep into Low-Sec systems and I can make just as much per-hour from Low-Sec trading as I can from a decent level-4 mission. Except, it really isn't as fun. Apart from when I'm jabbing the air with the double V-signs at gate-campers as I slip past them - that's tremendous fun.
I know CCP are trying to get folks out into low-sec because I am suddenly getting more and more missions in 0.4. The problem is, ships fitted for PvE aren't very clever against PvP-fitted vessels. So even though I use a Drake for Low-Sec, I'm very aware of the danger that puts me in. To help my situation, I buddy-up with a Corp mate. They watch the jump gates and keep a vivid eye on the directional scanner for me so I can concentrate on the task.
As with a lot of people I am planning to move to null-sec eventually. But at the moment I'm more than content with where I am and what I'm doing. However, I've been following Star Defender and his posts on EVE Online Wormholes. He's been having a great time in Wormhole space, made a move to Null-Sec and now the game has totally transformed for him. It seems that the move has increased his EvE enjoyment ten-fold. After one particular post 'LightTraveler grows fangs', I feel that I'm missing out on what EvE is really about by dwelling in High-Sec.
'r7av7en7' has literally just made the jump out there, too - so I will be following his Blog, 'The Less than Dramatic Journey of a Tech Geek', very intently. I already like the sound of the bounties awarded by ratting! So maybe I will do it sooner rather than later.
However, it seems a lot more dedication to your Corp and Alliance is required when operating out there. At the moment, I cannot give enough time to the game. That is probably the biggest reason why I'm not making the move just yet. In High-Sec, casual playing is very achievable.
So for now, I will carry on CareBear-ing.
I was in the same boat as you, I knew I wanted to be a part of null sec but I was wondering if it was really worth the hassle that came with moving there. Thus far I'm very happy with my choice, it's barely been 48 hours but I've spent every free moment online learning as much as I can about my new home.
ReplyDeleteI made sure to find a corp and alliance that were already somewhat established so that I wouldn't have responsibilities right off the bat. I can take the time I need to learn at my pace, thats the most important thing to me. o/
Love your blogs mate. Just wanted to say you got loads to learn about Null-sec :-) Maybe seek out the difference between "NPC 0.0" and "True 0.0", and you'll see the bottleneck of movnig in there :-) 0.0 got pie, but more than one could eat.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the blogs mate. I was actually thinking of starting one my own, but I'm afraid it would turn into some bragging shit, and I wouldn't want that haha. I'll see.
See you in ally o/
Judas II
Haha! I didn't realise there were two types of Null-Sec!! Goes to show that I really do have a lot to learn! Looking forward to venturing out there, though - no doubt I have many more ships to lose!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!
Additional...
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy writing blogs - so give it a go. The only problem I really have is promoting it. It's finding a balance of advertising it, but without getting on people nerves. www.CrazyKinux.com is where I found out about the 'hows', so it's a good place to start and it's where I pick up a lot of my readers. The EvE forums is where most readers come from, but that's where the trolls live. Swings and round-a-bouts and all that :-) Good luck with it!