Science & Industry

So, there has been a debate amongst my corp. on what the most efficient setup is when you have both a mining main character and alt. Now it has already been established that using an Orca for hauling isn't really viable unless you have 4 or more miners in the fleet getting boosts.

This leaves using two miners and benefiting from the basic fleet bonuses. Now the question is, which exhumer setup is more efficient? A mackinaw with a hulk or a mackinaw with a mackinaw. When using the mackinaw with hulk combination, it forces you to make more trips to the station per time spent but you gain an additional laser.

Whereas, with a mackinaw and mackinaw combination, you make less trips to the station per time spent but you lose 1 laser. Has anyone played around with this at all and if so, which did they find more efficient per the time spent? Which combination brought in more ore?

WHO is providing that bonus ??? Why not a hauler or an Orca ?

Back and forth to station is the biggest ISK/hour killer in mining, period.

When using just two accounts, since the update with the exhumer cargoholds being increased, the viability of using an orca and an exhumer while dual boxing is no longer as productive as using two exhumers,

Again, please refer to the following:
is it worth it using an orca

Personally, Hulks should be used only if you have a dedicated hauler that can keep up, and the hauler can not fly a mining barge. You should not use an Orca as a dedicated hauler unless you already have 4 or more exhumers otherwise the group would benefit more from that pilot just giving mind link boosts from an exhumer.

So a fleet without a dedicated hauler before you add an Orca.
MACK + MACK + MACK + MACK (Orca Pilot)

or a fleet with a dedicated hauler before you add a Orca
HULK + HULK + HULK + HULK (Orca Pilot) + HAULER

or minimum fleet to include an Orca
HULK + HULK + HULK + HULK + Orca

Edited my previous post instead.

Just freakin' mine already or do something else ingame if you are looking for the most efficient ISK.

You choice of Mack or Hulks here is only a matter of less than 2 M ISK per day depending.

So in other words, you don't know which combination is more efficient... but that 1 combination brings in 2M more. Well that definitely doesn't answer the question. Don't bother answering unless you read the question first.

You should know this,
One of the mining ship pilots can have the leadership skills and give fllet bonuses. You lose the bonus of the ganklinks, but the leadership bonus (up to 10% yield with implant) can still be applied by one of the pilots in a mining ship. Not an OCRA boost, but certainly worthwhile.

Considering the Mack will hold almost as much as an itty 5, might as well haul with the Mack, and it can mine while waiting for a full load. Keep in mind though that Mack HULK combo will fill the Mack very fast. Two macks without OCRA boost should take a good 20 minutes to fill on their own. That is only 3 trips to station per hour. Not a lot of lost mining time. If there is no station you can drop a couple enormous freight containers at a safe spot and drop ore there. at 250,000m3 per can they will hold a lot, and can be picked up with a freighter later. I say drop them at a safe spot as they can be stolen from, just like a jetcan.

Jetcan mining is point less as a jetcan only holds 27,500m3 while a mack holds 35,000m3.

Personally I have 4 accounts and run 3 HULKS and an ORCA, I find the convenience is well worth the slight loss in yield. I know the numbers say I should be running 4 Macks, or 2 Hulks and 2 Macks, but the ORCA makes logistics so much easier.

That's true. There is still a bit of a boost from the leadership skills themselves, not just by using the ganglinks. I have perfect leadership skills on my main so I'd be gaining something from that.