EVE New Citizens Q&A

I am been mining in high sec for some time and while it is lucrative i am searching for ways to expand my income from minning.

I use this alt to mine Dense and concentrated Vespar and my PvP alt to jet can-haul. Regarding skills, i am a fully capable hulk pilot just waiting for drone 5 and exhumer 5 to get a near perfect yield and my refining skill are optimal. I am training so trade skill at the moment to lower taxes.

I am interested in any tips you might give me. The things that i would like to know are :

- Is there a fast way to calculate profit margins? I am not sure if Vespar is the best ore to mine, depite it's very high volumes of demand. A calculator, spread sheet or tips about the best ore to mind would help a great deal.

- Is low sec mining worth the try. As a PvP pilot on my main, i know the risks and surival procedures. But i know that doing lowsec mining will cost me some hulks over time. Is Low sec mining worth the potential risk of loosing an hulk?

- I am mining not too far from Dodi hub. i have a few spots, but any tips on good mining spots are welcome, though i doubt anyone would give them away.

- I am training a 3 rd alt to pilot an hulk to double my yied capacity. But i am aslo thinking about using an orca for yield boost and saving so travels with it's great hauling capacity. Is using an orca+hulk a good idea or should i just go for 2 Hulks?

Any advice is appreciated.

I wrote a calculator just for this... see the link in my signature below. the main page ranks rocks by how profitable thay are to mine. Manufacturing can give you ectra 3 to 40 % income over minerals... see building page. You do need to research blue prints and have production eff skill to 5 to benefit from manufacture tho.

Edit... yes orca is a good choice. It can boost mining yield as well as prevent can flippong as you can mine directly into it.

1) The question about how much you like mining is the more important, especially if you are investing in multiple accounts to do it. I like mining. I ******* hate running missions and only do it to gain standing for my industrialists. So - doing what's fun for you counts the most.

2) The other thing for me - is that I also hate doing any one thing for any extended period of time. So - doing different things, such as mining - helps break up things up so that I don't burn out.

3) Mining very much benefits from team operations. So - the more accounts you can manage - the more money YOU the person can make. However - there is a point of diminishing returns (3 accounts isn't it) where you are spending more and more money to train and equip characters but are able to make use of them less and less per account as the number of accounts you have begins to exceed your ability to manage them. That is to say - managing one ship in space is a lot easier than managing six ships - so that even though you will mine much more with six than you would with one - you will not mine SIX times as much.

4) There are after market calculators that help with figuring out yields and profits but I don't use them so I can't recommend one.

5) Lo Sec is worth visiting - as a training exercise in local security. You can make use of the same procedures you HAVE to use down in Lo Sec up in Hi Sec to keep you more secure. You don't have to use them all - but - learning what they are and getting a lot of practice in using them to keep you safe from people who are constantly trying to blow you up - will give you more options that you are skilled in using when you return to Hi Sec mining. If you do this - take a small, cheap ship to learn in, like a Mining Frigate or Mining Cruiser - or possibly a Procuror. Start out with just one ore two people - but don't be alt -tabbing between them ... that's a good way to get killed. You want at least to be able to see both accounts at the same time. If you can't do that - just use one account.

6) There are people who love low sec mining and are big advocates for it. I am not one of those people. For the most part - while you can mine in Lo Sec and not lose ships (I have) it is one giant pain in the ass. Every single time someone comes into not your grid - but the system - you have to pay attention to them and try to figure out what they're doing. DScanning for Combat Scanner probes is a way of life. Every time you think someone is a threat - you need to start taking measures to deal with them BEFORE they are actually coming after you - or they'll get you. All of that interferes with making money. Yes - there is better ore in Lo Sec but for the most part - you could make enough extra money in Hi Sec that you can just buy the minerals you would get for less than it would cost you in time and effort to mine them yourself down in Lo Sec.

7) If you do want to give it a try ...

a) Find an out of the way .1, .2 or .3 system with no one in it. Don't try it in a .4 border system ... that's just asking for trouble.
b) Train for and acquire a Blockade Runner which can haul your miners (if they are small) down there, the Prorator has a good capacity ... that's what I use ... but I can't speak for the others. This ship will also let you haul what you mine out of Lo Sec.
c) Having a Cover Ops scout and paying attention to the map stats on ships in space, ships destroyed, pods destroyed etc. can also help.

8) Personally ... I'd really like to go back down to Lo Sec and do some more mining - BUT - it's not about going down there to make money - it's about the fun of trying to do something in a challenging environment. I've got other things going on right now though so ... *shrug* who knows when or if that will ever happen ...

9) No. I'm not going to tell you where MY good mining spots are. But - again - look at the map. You can get a lot of information on systems from that map and the fewer people in a system - the more asteroids for you.

10) Also - you want to be running missions for the corporations whose stations you use.

11) With your 3rd Account - go with Two Hulks. The orca helps - but it doesn't Double your output. The more other miners you have - the more the Orca helps but for supporting one Hulk - especially since the Orca Pilot must be a qualified Exhumer pilot any way - you're better off with the second Hulk.

12) But what you can do - is to put your PVP guy in an industrial and have him haul for the Hulks. Everyone should have an industrial, as they're just to handy not to have one - and the skill time is trivial if you don't max it out. The only reason for not doing that - is if the PVP guy doesn't operate near the miners. If you really wanted to - you could train the PVP guy to fly the Orca ... but that's a hell of a lot of training coming out of his PVP career.

And yes i am running level 4's on my pvp toon and yes it's more than enough isks for my needs. I am doing this alt for explore other ways to make isks to add some diversity.