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Lowsec exploration vs L4 missioning: Which is potentially more profitable?
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Hakaimono
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#1 - 2012-07-20 05:52:39 UTC
Normally I run L4s in a t2 fitted Maelstrom. My BS skill is at 5 and I have roughly 23 mil SP. I make a decent amount of money, but it gets a bit redundant, so I tried my hand in exploration.
Highsec was too easy and didn't yield much ISK, but its nice practice for beginners.
After I got the hang of it, I went into lowsec and tried that out. It seems I'm still not profitting as much as L4s, but being still new to this, I could be missing something.

So what I ask is, will I make more money in lowsec than mission running or will I have to go to null.
If I have to go to null, what's a good Minmatar ship against Guristas?

P.S. I realize I made a similar post previously, but I felt I wasn't specific enough and since then I've learned a few things.
Backfire Kitty
Planned Obsolescence.
#2 - 2012-07-20 07:38:03 UTC
L4 = steady income
exploration = its random
Vain Eldritch
Pandemic Horde Inc.
Pandemic Horde
#3 - 2012-07-20 07:38:41 UTC
I found the same as you - efficiently run L4's were > lo-sec exploration - but I didn't stick at it long and didn't do much research, I just dived in, so I too am probably missing something... *bookmarks thread*.

Also, fit your Maelstrom with 1400 artillery and play the 1812 Overture.

*BOOM*

Big smile

Androgynous Caldari Cross-dresser
Caitlyn Tufy
Perkone
Caldari State
#4 - 2012-07-20 10:33:23 UTC  |  Edited by: Caitlyn Tufy
Backfire Kitty wrote:
L4 = steady income
exploration = its random


This. With L4, you can get X money investing X hours reliably (+/- a bit, depending on which missions you get, but the variation is minor). With Exploration, you can go days, even weeks with nothing to show, then hit a jackpot that waaaaay outpays anything an L4 could offer you.

Usually, I fall back on L4s when I need emergency funds here and now, reliably. Beyond that, exploration is way more fun.
Zhilia Mann
Tide Way Out Productions
#5 - 2012-07-20 13:16:28 UTC
Caitlyn Tufy wrote:
Usually, I fall back on L4s when I need emergency funds here and now, reliably. Beyond that, exploration is way more fun.


This. Though I haven't had to fall back to L4s for a very long time.
St Mio
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
#6 - 2012-07-20 13:30:53 UTC
Level 4s = Flipping burgers at McDonalds
Highsec exploration = Playing a slot machine
Lowsec exploration = Playing a slot machine on the wrong side of town
Nullsec exploration = Playing a slot machine on the wrong side of town with a lot of angry mobsters moving in your general direction
Mining = People doing redundant work that could be done by machines instead, just to keep them busy and out of trouble so they can cash in their social welfare check

Smile
Emperor Salazar
Remote Soviet Industries
Insidious Empire
#7 - 2012-07-20 13:50:47 UTC
St Mio wrote:

Nullsec exploration = Playing a slot machine on the wrong side of town with a lot of angry mobsters moving in your general direction


CANT PULL LEVER FAST ENOUGH
Traejun DiSanctis
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#8 - 2012-07-20 17:13:10 UTC
Backfire Kitty wrote:
L4 = steady income
exploration = its random


This.

Missions are the tortoise, Exploration is the hare.
Jinserai
East Indies Teabagging Company
#9 - 2012-07-20 17:54:44 UTC
Easy question. If you're like me, you make more money doing exploring. After one mission that I've seen 50 times before, I give up and hop in my exploration ship to keep from /wrists.
Flurk Hellbron
Science and Trade Institute
Caldari State
#10 - 2012-07-20 20:51:37 UTC
Go shoot some in a WH.
Terrsio Lenkhanz
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#11 - 2012-07-21 13:50:39 UTC
"Potentially" lowsec exploration is more profitable. You could potentially get multiple combat sites in a row that drop deadspace loot. You could also potentially run multiple sites and just get crappy loot. The more you explore the more potential for profit there is. I hate seeing threads where people give up on exploration after 2 hours because they don't hit the loot piñata they see either people have found.
Paikis
Vapour Holdings
#12 - 2012-07-21 14:00:11 UTC
The potential for profit in exploration is much higher than level 4 missions.

The reality though is somewhat harder to define. You might get lucky (like I did) and your first exploration site escalates into a DED plex and you walk out with a 600mil EANM, followed by another one that gets you a 150mil implant. That was a good day. but it was over a week before I got anything worth more than 50mil after that.

Mixed in with all the uber loot worth hundreds of millions of ISK, is all the crap loot. The large numbers of shield transporters, EM armour hardeners and other modules which are worth less than 10mil simply because they aren't used much, but they drop a lot.
Emperor Salazar
Remote Soviet Industries
Insidious Empire
#13 - 2012-07-21 14:17:53 UTC
Deadspace shield transporters are getting buffed, based on sisi at least.

My horde may have value some day.
Powie XIII
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#14 - 2012-07-21 14:37:41 UTC
Emperor Salazar wrote:
Deadspace shield transporters are getting buffed, based on sisi at least.

My horde may have value some day.


You don't say...

“They see me trollin', they hatin'”
Nuela
WoT Misfits
#15 - 2012-07-21 16:31:56 UTC  |  Edited by: Nuela
Hakaimono wrote:
Normally I run L4s in a t2 fitted Maelstrom. My BS skill is at 5 and I have roughly 23 mil SP. I make a decent amount of money, but it gets a bit redundant, so I tried my hand in exploration.
Highsec was too easy and didn't yield much ISK, but its nice practice for beginners.
After I got the hang of it, I went into lowsec and tried that out. It seems I'm still not profitting as much as L4s, but being still new to this, I could be missing something.

So what I ask is, will I make more money in lowsec than mission running or will I have to go to null.
If I have to go to null, what's a good Minmatar ship against Guristas?

P.S. I realize I made a similar post previously, but I felt I wasn't specific enough and since then I've learned a few things.



I have done them both, quite extensively.

For me, lvl 4's beat low sec exploration hands down when all things are considered.

However, lvl4's (for me) even beat wormholes, pre-nerfed incursions, null sec exploration etc after all things considered. However, this toon is a Goddess of lvl 4 missions and so your mileage may vary.
Nuela
WoT Misfits
#16 - 2012-07-21 16:34:45 UTC
Also, ignore "random number generator is random" people. Many people are just not mathematical enough to understand that you can get an average profitability off a RNG over time.