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Finding the right ship (or ship progression) to solo profession sites in high then low then null...
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Njaava
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#1 - 2013-01-16 01:34:10 UTC
Looking at the forums, I have seen this question asked before, but with the changes to frigates, I'm wondering if the answers are different.

Basically, my hope is to be able to:

1. fly around wherever I want and work rad/mag sites (and maybe grav/ladar). I don't want to be tied down to any one place or region or (ultimately) security level.

2. fly in a frigate if possible. I like being in a fast ship. I'm looking for the completely opposite experience from missioning in my raven (which is fun in it's own way).

3. fly cheap. I don't mind not having the absolute best ship (tengu?). I do want to be succesfull, but I don't need to be top of the line.

I'm pretty invested in the caldari and minmitar ships, but I don't mind training in a different direction at all.

Is all of this doable and profitable? I don't need to make so much that i'm drowning in isk, but I do want to be able to come out ahead.

Thanks in advance.
Duke Atreus
Doomheim
#2 - 2013-01-16 02:33:58 UTC
I think the best bet would be assault frigates, maybe the Ishkur?
Tyberius Franklin
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#3 - 2013-01-16 02:40:29 UTC
The closest thing I can think of to what you want is a Pilgrim. While not a frigate and doesn't get bonuses relevant to your goal, it can support a decent armor tank while having enough drone DPS for profession sites, and with that the ability to change damage types. Using drones leaves highs/mids open for a probe launcher and profession based mods to reduce the need for refitting, which when combined with the ability to covert cloak can be useful when operating outside of highsec.

Obvious downsides would be that it's not terribly tanky, bigger than what you had in mind from the sound of it, and not either of the 2 races you listed. It also has the cost of a T2 cruiser, which while far less than a T3 can still sting when lost.
Zoltan Lazar
#4 - 2013-01-16 03:33:21 UTC
If you want to do everything except the heavy combat sites, you can use a VENTURE! Even its name shows how good it is at exploration. You do have to refit to do each different site, but it can do pretty much all HS sites. (thought some gravs might take a looong time)

Otherwise, a curse/pilgrim is good. Pilgrim is more popular in lowsec, in highsec the cloak isn't needed so curse works. Drones means you can use your slots to fit the exploration modules you want.

If you want to use an AF, a Hawk works well.

Nearly any ship CAN work, it's more a question of how often you want to refit.
Leetha Layne
#5 - 2013-01-16 03:48:52 UTC  |  Edited by: Leetha Layne
Drake is not speedy but versatile.

Also Hurricane.
Njaava
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#6 - 2013-01-16 05:37:44 UTC
Thanks for all the replies!

Pilgrim was the number one choice in similar threads, so it seems that may be the top choice now. I was really hoping to fly in something quicker and cheaper. Will i need much DPS for prof sites in low-sec? Is the idea of running these in a T1 frigate crazy?

Thanks again
Arazel Chainfire
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#7 - 2013-01-16 06:14:34 UTC
Aside from cargohold issues (frigs can't exactly hold much), the ishkur/(whatever that pirate faction caldari/gallente frigate is) could probably do any site in highsec, and possibly in lowsec as well. The new modified tristan (I think that is the new gallente drone frig) or one of the new drone cruisers could probably work well. The reason I'm promoting the drone boats is because drones aren't linked to highslots (dedicated to salvager/probe launcher/cloak (if low/null)) so you can dedicate those highslots to mods that you are going to want for other purposes. Lastly, drones allow you to wander off up to 60km (assuming maxed skills) to help you kite.

All this being said, all the frigs are going to suffer from smaller cargo hold, and weaker tank. If I were doing this (again - yes, I have done this before, in just about every corner of eve), I would go with a pilgrim first due to the covops cloak, or in more secure space (like blue null) I'd use an ishtar or a gila. If I was feeling cheap, I'd use either a myrm if I needed the tank (or the new prophecy this summer, if they do actually modify it like they are talking about) or a vexor/arbitrator if I'm feeling cheap.

-Arazel
Tauranon
Weeesearch
CAStabouts
#8 - 2013-01-16 06:14:54 UTC
Some will, some made my myrmidon rep to stay alive, but then again a frigate may well just speed/sig tank that damage.

You do have to clear the initial guards at least to allow you to open the cans, so you should get a feel for whether a cruiser is actually faster when the killing is accounted for or not, by trying some in the ship you very definately can afford to lose.
Njaava
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#9 - 2013-01-16 06:34:51 UTC
A cruiser seems more and more like the only way to go. It turns out that, at some point, I trained up Gallente frigs and cruisers, so maybe I'll give the new frig a try, and if that fails, move on to cruisers.

One last question (to hijack my own thread), would it be possible/profitable to fly around in low sec looking for ships to scavange? It seems like this would take care of the low cargo hold problem of the frigate, but I'm not sure how much I could expect to find.

Thanks again!
Sgt LoveDragon
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#10 - 2013-01-16 06:53:03 UTC
I'd really be hesitant to use a pilgrim because of the drone dps being meh, and because they are drones. With the new AI changes doing the combat sites in lowsec are going to be a pita. Ishtar you alsoneed to worry about doing the MWD/cloak trick every jump. Lets hope theres no lag or inties.

IMO if you are looking now into cruiser hulls and want to still be able to explore everywhere go for T3. If this is one of your main pastimes in eve it can pay for itself in a week and definatly not more than a month. If you're going caldari / minmatar the Tengu and Loki both do rather well at their exploration roles. Loki is going to handle frigates better whereas tengus wont worry about the tracking disruption shenanigans nowdays and can still hit out to 50km.

I know(T3) that isn't on your criteria for cheap ships but its one i'd have to recommend. Ive flown a non pimped tech2 fit T3 just casually for the last year and a half exploring low/nullsec and its been one of the better investments of my isk in EvE.
dexington
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#11 - 2013-01-16 07:52:41 UTC
Njaava wrote:
Will i need much DPS for prof sites in low-sec? Is the idea of running these in a T1 frigate crazy?

Don't use a T1 frig in low-sec, many sites spawn rats when you try to open containers, which basically means you have to fly with guns and tools (salvager and analyzer or codebreaker). The frigs don't really have the slots you need to fit all the mods, while having enough tank and dps to complete the sites. If you are hell-bent on flying the t1 frig, you can probably complete most / all sites with you are willing to fly back and forth between station and site refitting.

I would use one of the following ships:
Frigs: Ishkur, Worm (not ideal)
Cruiser: Vexor, Gila, Ishtar
Battlecruiser: Myrmidon

Personally i prefer armor tanked drone boats, because it's easy to free up mid slots for analyzer/codebreaker and you don't lose a lot of dps giving up the high slots for a salvager and probe launcher. Eg. a vexor using all lows on tank can still do 315 drone dps at 60km range, with salvager, codebreaker, analyzer and probe launcher fittet.

I personal favorite is the myrmidon, some sites are just easier to complete in a battlecruiser, and with the myrmidon you can fly around with the extra mods in the cargo hold and refit when needed.

I'm a relatively respectable citizen. Multiple felon perhaps, but certainly not dangerous.