Skill Discussions

Probly depends on what you see yourself flying.
If cost/loss is an issue, then HIC V puts you in a very important ship, with good skills, for less $ loss.
I think the skill bonus is MORE effective for these ships than it is for BLOPS.


BLOPS is a skill where you need fleet support and several pilots have to be on the same page.
I'm sure that level V is noticeable to pilots who actually use BLOPS, but their ships is not meant for primary DPS or primary tank. Except for the Widow, I don't think the skill adds AS MUCH to the ship over all.
If you don't see that in your near future, move on to something else.
If you're just (s)killing time, it's as good as anything to have done and over with.

Thanks for the input, I guess with this map it's only 51 days for both of them to V, and I think the extra range on the Blops might be useful some days. So I guess finishing it up is a good idea since the next Map will be for all the Cap crap (back to mem/intel for a 330 days to finish).

In the larger picture I guess it's better to do it now and possibly not need it, than need it later and have to waste 20 extra days to train it.

Thanks Tau, I was working on apparently really old information on the Blops. :D

Finished Grav 5 awhile ago (Cap tractor beam II, don't ask, at the time it seemed relevant) so my main though was, Is 5% bonus to Warp Disruption Field scramble range worth it?

<-- Hopeless flip flopper

I disagree with the ".. should be a prerequisite..." - That's a null fleet-ops only type mindset.

You seem to forget about wormhole uses where those Jump Drives are pretty worthless. I also know plenty of carrier pilots who don't have that at 5 and haul stuff around readily enough in their private carriers.

As for the skills: Yes I have both at 5 - "old school" style training on BOPs... It's not really important anymore.

HIC 5 ... Nice to have but, as you point out, Graviton Physics is better to get that T2 fitted. It does add range to infinipoint and bubbles but with Graviton giving T2, it's not as important/valuable as it once was. Just "nice to have".

So if it's just a choice between just those 2, I'd say go with HIC 5 but if there are other options - look at them closer.

JDC means nothing for carrier and dread pilots doing escalations in w-space.

As with HIC's 5 - it's only potentially nice to have being as a huge number of capitals are "stuck" in w-space and will never leave.

Carriers trained to 4 exceed every other jump ship's range in the game. None of them trained to 5 can match it so it's not needed to keep up with capital fleets even outside of w-space.

As you say, many null groups do require it -- lots of them want carrier pilots up to 5's and into supers eventually vs staying in capitals but plenty of null pilots don't have that skill for their personal carrier uses being as 13 jump range is far enough.

Don't get me wrong about it not being a good idea, especially for BOP's at the 3.5ly range but there are a lot of pilots who have no use for taking an extra month of training just as a "prereq" that won't add value to how they operate.

Besides, having a "new skill" that prevents you from flying due to instantly being a prereq to *ALL* jump capable capitals would be pretty rank and rude. Best to just remove the skill entirely at that point and make all ships max range base-line vs such a stunt.

I can fly it I just never have, been in a Sin, Panther and Redeemer so I imagine it won't be long till I find myself in a Widow as well.

Anyways I am finishing up HIC V in 15 days and then dropping Blop V in, figure I might as well as it's much easier to train that with my work schedule than something I might have to add on to every two days.

And if I ever get around to flying a Widow it'll be a bonus.

+1 to Mocam here. I have Graviton Physics V but HIC IV and have never felt the need to max the HIC skill. No one has ever even asked me if I have HIC V, as long as I can field the T2 bubble, they are satisfied.