The Amarr pray for God
Found on an EVE player’s bio
The Caldari pray for money
The Gallente pray for peace
The Minmatar just pray that their ship holds together…
Good morning class, and thank you for listening to another one of my lectures on Null-Sec Rock Mining. This is the last lecture, so after today I will be going back to the Bourynes Campus of Caille University, but I will still be available by mailer to answer any questions, so please take note of my name (“Meredith en Thielles”) and, if you have questions after today, please feel free to reach out and I’ll do my best to answer.
Now, null-sec mining — as I’ve touched on before — has its own unique set of dangers. In many ways it is similar to mining in both high-sec and low-sec but at the same time it isn’t.
The first thing to note is that mining in null isn’t usually done at the marked places like it is in high-sec. You don’t just head straight for the first asteroid belt or you’ll find that you’re finding the usual Veldspar, Plagioclase, and Scordite instead of the higher value ABC’s. It also depends on what section of null-sec you’re in. For reasons we haven’t quite managed to figure out yet, what pops up in an anomaly in one section doesn’t always appear (or appear at all) in another.
So, the first rule is that you need to check your probe scanner (not the d-scanner, but keep that screen handy too!) to bring up what anoms are available in your star system… and try not to be too disappointed if you don’t find one. They do drift in, and out, of a system with great frequency. In most cases, there is a standing agreement between corps and system governors on who can mine where, so check with your corp first if you’re not sure but you can sometimes hop over a system or two to harvest what is in that system.
One exception of note — if you are lucky enough to be in a corp that has existing mine fracking operations, there is a chance that you will be able to hop out of station and not have to go any further than a few hundred kilometers off the station to mine what we affectionately call “moon goo”, although it’s not even remotely close to being a goo at all as it’s still a rock.
I have no idea why they call it goo, so don’t even ask.
The same principles apply with the ABC’s, but the final product is metals and elements very rarely found anywhere else (if at all).
So, now you have how to find what you’re mining, and you already know about the value and what it’s generally used for, but what about watching your back?
Being in null-sec, chances are you have joined a corp that is part of a much larger alliance… perhaps even a coalition. They will have set up a broadcast channel that acts a bit like a neighbourhood watch. If a hostile, or numerous hostiles, are spotted their movement is reported as well as fleet make-up and if they like to cyno others in a maneuver affectionately nicknamed “The Hot Drop” as hotdroppers. There is also software you can install called “N.E.A.R.2”, but usually a sharp eye on both your intel channel and an ear in your Standing Fleet will alert you to hostiles quickly enough for you to get someplace safe and out of reach. Using all three makes you a miner that is hard to catch indeed.
The third rule is to fly a ship that can handle hostiles if they happen to catch you, whether those are pirates or hostile capsuleers of other alliances, and hold against an onslaught but is still quick enough to escape once you have that opening. The favourite of miners everywhere is the entry level procurer, or the more advanced (and tougher) skiff. Your corp and alliance will have tips on what outfitting you will need to survive… listen to them and fit your ship accordingly. What fit works best depends on what section of null you’re in and what the prevailing pirate (affectionately… or not so affectionately… nicknamed “rats”) is.
This is just a brief lecture on that. There are numerous other things to keep in mind, but for someone new to null-sec, and mining in null, this should keep you alive and the ISK rolling in steadily.
Staring at Asteroids 