Science & Industry

Mining crystals seem to use pretty much the same mechanic as T2 laser crystals, and are consumed significantly faster than T1 laser crystals. (Seeing as T1 lasers are infinite-use...)

The copy time for one run of a T1 laser crystal BPO is similar to that for any other ammunition, but the mining crystal BPO isn't. That doesn't mean that the mining crystal BPO necessarily needs to be changed, but asking why there's a difference is hardly a stupid question.

Wall of text I know. I have been doing some theory crafting on this exact topic and figured I would share what I've some up with. It is a work in progress so let me know if I am out right wrong somewhere.

CCP isn't going to change the copy time. The copy time reflects the value of the crystals so raising/lowering something like copy speed would affect the item cost. Instead increase your chances of invention success and copy speeds.

Are you using an implant to increase copy speed? You should have one if you do alot of invention (3% 20M, 5% 120M). The 5% implant would save you 36 hours per 720 hour period (1 month) per possible research job. So if you can run 9 research jobs at a time you save 324 hours per month (4.5 additional full run arkonor crystal bpc's). Or you can look at it as the implant saving you isk on fuel costs (5% more research time would be roughly 22.5M per month).

I don't think the problem is with the copy times but your success rate with invention. From the numbers you posted a 30% success rate seems rather low based on tests with some of the invention calculators. Do you have related skills to at minimum 4? Are you using T1 crystals meta 0 or the T2 crystals (meta 5)? Using a meta 5 item brings the success chance up to 74.9%. Is the extra 26.9% worth it? See below.

Here is a break down of what should be happening. (Note I do round many values).


Blueprint copies
Using a POS (Large Caldari) and 3 Advanced mobile labs:

• Each slot has 720 hours available per 30 day month.
• 76 hours (pos 0.65 multiplyer) per max run bpc.
• +5% implant saves 36 hours per month per slot.
• 76 hours per full bpo run out of 756 hours (720h + 36h) yields 9.94 full run bpc's per month, per slot, using POS with 0.65 multiplyer and 5% copy implant.
• 90 full run BPC's will be created on an account with 9 research slots (adv lab ops III).
• Research would use 1/3 of 3 advanced mobile labs, which would use 25% POS cpu (1,800) 16% POS power (360,000). So the 9 slots per month used would use up 9% POS Cpu, Figuring 10% of POS resources and a monthly cost of 450M for fuel this comes out to 45M per month for this research run.
• Invention would be 200 minutes (POS .50 multiplyer) per invention, or 12.5 days. Using the 2 invention slots on the 3 labs this comes down to 2 days, or roughly 8% of the 3 labs invention slot avability per month.

So 1 character, 9 research slots per month using a 5% implant would yield 90 full run BPC's.


Invention
Using level 4 encryption and datacore skills, and T2 arkonor crystals (meta 5, max of meta 4) we have a 74.9% chance of success. Assuming bad luck or bad math (don't have the formula atm to calculate this) lets assume a 44% success rate, or 40 10 run T2 bpc's.

Manufacturing & Market.
Assuming the following (using jita prices and rounding):

• Arkonor mining crystal I 150,000 isk
• Arkonor mining crystal II 1,500,000 isk
• Datacore - laser physics: 192,000 isk
• Datacore - Electronic Engineering: 200,000 isk
• Nocxium 613isk

Using T2 crystals and implant.
Total invention yield will be 400 arkonor mining crystals II (40 BPC's of 10 runs).

• Invention costs: -135,000,000. (-1,500,000 each, assuming you buy the 90 T2 crystals)
• Datacore costs: -105,840,000 ( -1,176,000 per attempt of 90)
• material costs: -127,556,000 (-318,890 x 400 to manufacture each T2 per crystal)
• POS costs: -45,000,000 (monthly POS usage based on power/cpu).
• Total costs: -413,396,000
• Market value: 600,000,000 (1,500,000 per crystal of 400).
• Net profit: 186,604,000 (466,510 per crystal).

*Note - Using T2 arkonor crystals you manufactur yourself will save you 466,510 per invention attempt, in this case 41,985,900.

Using T1 crystals, and your 30% success rate, no implant.

• 720 hours per month. 9 research slots, 76 hours per max run bpc.
• 9 full run BPC's per month for a total of 81 BPC's.
• 24.3 10 run T2 BPC's using your 30% succes rate.

• Total outcome will be 240 arkonor mining crystals II.
• Invention costs: -12,150,000 (81 bpcs * 150,000)
• Datacore costs: -94,527,000
• material costs: -76,533,600 (-318,890 x 240 to manufacture each T2 per crystal)
• POS costs: -45,000,000 (monthly POS usage based on power/cpu).
• Total costs: - 228,210,600
• Market value: 360,000,000 (1,500,000 per crystal).
• Net profit: 131,789,400 (549,122 per crystal)

So the difference between using the T2 crystals over T1, as well as the implant and at least level 4 to the 3 skills yields 54M more isk. If you use your own T2 crystals with invention this jumps to 95M isk profit from 10% POS usage.


And sure if you're manufacturing them for personal use you don't really need to worry about (just manufacturing cost) but I really don't know how someone could use 440 mining crystals (with an average life of 10 hours) for their personal use. This amount would last you nearly 3 years.

Glad to help. Yeah I had no idea about using higher level meta items until checking out the different invention tools online. It seriously increases the success rate. wish i had looked into it before spending months training up a bunch of useless bpo's.

Oh the implants are (slot 8). I know they are sold by Kallakiota corp's LP store (5%: 79,375LP / 31,750,000. 3% 10,875LP / 4,350,000).

Zainou 'Beancounter' Science SC-805 5% copy speed, Jita price: 129M

Zainou 'Beancounter' Science SC-803 3% copy speed, Jita price: 17M

Any item with a meta level over 4 will just be capped off at 4. So using a faction meta 9 item for example would cap at the meta 4 limit. So generally use meta 4 when you can (but with mining crystals you have meta 0, or meta 5, no in between.).

Since you and I look related I can supoply with you all the mining crystal bpc's for any crystal whenever you like but for a small fee of course.