Wormholes

To start with, I love WH space, both for PvE and PvP. However, nullsec (especially in a coalition) definately wins over WH space for quick log on and PvP, or doing big ops that make you feel epic. Taking a look around, I found the sov upgrade "Quantum Flux Generator", which gives a chance of spawning WH's in that system. If I'm reading this right, placing this would increase the chances of WH's spawning in that system, allowing us to PvE in WH space (or sneak in and get occasional PvP), without permanently moving into WH space.

I was wondering if anyone had more information about how these work/whether or not they actually work. I was thinking about getting one of these installed in our space, but if they don't actually work then I would prefer not to waste the money and the time trying to install one.

-Arazel

I have seen this work two ways. Low-level QFGs you probably do get a slight increase in wormhole spawn rates, but it is like taking off from a low base. Consider there are 20,000 or so nullsec systems, and lets assume there are 500 S199's connecting any two random nullsec/lowsec systems, maybe 50 R941's from hisec to low/null, and 500 N432 to C5's (also shared with lowsec), and 200 R943's to C2's and 200 X702's to C3's and 200 Z971's to C1.

You have 1650 ways from any given nullsec system to any other system in EVE (w-space or k-space) split amongst 20,000 nullsec systems and some shared between nullsec and lowsec, or indeed hisec. The chances of landing a connection out of your one QFG-upgraded system are a base of 1650/20,000 under this assumption - or around 1 in 20. If the QFG doubles your percentage, it is 3100/20,000 or around 1 in 7. So you've gone from having a single wormhole in your system every 2 weeks to once every week.

The real maths are not known to me as I am unaware of CCP ever releasing how many N432's, R943's, X702's, etc, there actually are. But the QFG seems, at least when at level 1 and 2, to make no concrete difference in my experience to increasing wormholes present in the system - certainly it's not a license to print money from w-space unlike the Pirate Detection Array and other architecture that observably turns your nullsec backwater into lush farmland where carrier alts graze like fat candy-filled donkeys.

But on the other hand, I saw a Red Alliance system one day with a fully pimped QFG and it had 9 N432's and 4 other wormholes in it. Which is very unusual. Either I was in there on a random lucky day or it really does spawn gratuitous confusion.

I must also note that outliers of chance to exist. In a wormhole I lived in, one particular day, we had an exit to one of each type of w-space system, C1 up to C6, plus out two statics (C3/hisec), plus low and null. Basically, we hit the bonanza - but part of these were inbound, and part transients. So clustering of wormholes in systems does occur.

Similarly, the most wormholes I saw (aside from the time we spawned 50-ish K346's during the bug) in any system was 15. Did it help me make any more money? No. Did I get any ganks? No.

Realistically, I would say the QFG is basically useless when deployed alone. Deploy one in every system in a constellation, especially in dronespace, and I think that you will begin picking up many more transients and outbounds, as my experience is that some constellations seem to attract wormholes more than others - though I expect I will get some wheesing aspergers geek hyperventilating at this observer bias statement.

From what I've heard ancedotally this seems to be about where the truth lies - you need a handful of systems upgraded with them to see any meaningful increase in the number of WH connections you have access to.

There is only one type of direct WH from k-space to a C4 and conventional wisdom is it doesn't actually exist ingame - but even if it does there such a small number of them and such a high number of possibly systems it could be in that you could very literally live in a C4 WH scanning 24x7 for 2-3 years and never see one.

EDIT: Then add onto that, that it would have to be scanned down and initiated warp to from the k-space side to spawn it into C4 space and even if it does exist that makes the chances of one every showing in w-space extremely small.