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Best mining barge?
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Strangelove Utama
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#1 - 2014-05-04 07:03:26 UTC  |  Edited by: Strangelove Utama
Hi everyone,

Could somebody please outline the differences between the Retriever, Procurer and Covetor for me? I understand the Covetor can fit more mining lasers, but the others have +yield bonuses to their mining lasers that suggest to me they all mine at the same rate?

Cheers
Dave Stark
#2 - 2014-05-04 07:26:11 UTC
quick and dirty explanation; the covetor mines the most, at the expense of cargo capacity, and tanking ability. the retriever has a massive ore hold because people like to be lazy, and the procurer is something you only buy once, or maybe twice if you really **** some one off because it just isn't worth ganking.
Tau Cabalander
Retirement Retreat
Working Stiffs
#3 - 2014-05-04 11:11:11 UTC
The latest updates are here: [Summer 2014] Mining Barges and Exhumers
But you should also read their recent history.

Dev Blog - CCP Ytterbium - Ship balancing summer (2012) update

CCP Ytterbium wrote:
  • New ORE frig: we want this ship to replace current mining frigates as low barrier of entry vessel, but also fulfill high-end gameplay expectations by providing a very mobile platform for mining in hostile space. Lowest mining output, decent ore bay, little to no resilience.

  • Procurer/Skiff: primarily made for self-defense. Better mining rate than the ORE frig, good ore bay, but capable of having battleship-like EHP.

  • Retriever/Mackinaw: made for self-reliance. Has the largest ore bay, similear to the size of a jet can, second best mining output but less EHP than the procurer mining barge.

  • Covetor/hulk: ore bay is identical to its current cargo hold, little to average EHP, but best mining output. Basically made for group operations when players have industrials and protection to back them up.
Dev Blog - CCP Tallest - Ship Balancing: Mining Barges
CCP Tallest wrote:
In his update blog, Ship balancing summer update, he goes into some details about the barges.

For those of you who didn't read that, here's a quick summary of the mining part of the blog:

  • Current mining frigates are no longer going to be mining frigates.

    • We are going to make a new ORE mining frigate.

    Mining Barges and Exhumers are getting the "tiericide" treatment, where they will have specific roles rather than being a linear progression from worst at mining to best at mining.

  • Procurer and Skiff will have good defence.

    • Retriever and Mackinaw will have large ore holds.

    Covetor and Hulk will have good mining output.

    The goal here is to allow players to choose a barge that fits their specific play style rather than lead them on a journey from the worst barge to the best one.

  • The Covetor and Hulk cater to group mining operations due to their large mining capability, low EHP and storage, forcing them to rely on others to haul and resupply them with mining crystals.

  • The Retriever and Mackinaw are specifically designed for autonomy purposes, as their large ore bays allow their pilot to stay inside an asteroid belt for longer without having to dock.

  • The Procurer and Skiff are made for protection against suicide gank, or NPCs, by giving a large enough buffer to react to incoming attacks, while paying for that with a lower mining yield.

Nalelmir Ahashion
Industrial Management and Engineering
Mouth Trumpet Cavalry
#4 - 2014-05-05 02:54:26 UTC
1. get venture.
2. when you can use procurer.
3. when you can upgrade to skiff.
Ekaterina 'Ghetto' Thurn
Department 10
#5 - 2014-05-05 11:09:16 UTC
Strangelove Utama wrote:
Hi everyone,

Could somebody please outline the differences between the Retriever, Procurer and Covetor for me? I understand the Covetor can fit more mining lasers, but the others have +yield bonuses to their mining lasers that suggest to me they all mine at the same rate?

Cheers


I will outline the choices post 3rd June summer expansion as I see it:

Venture: Starter mining vessel. Also good for gas mining.

'T2 Venture': 'Ninja' mining in low sec and maybe null-sec.

Retriever: Solo mining with large ore hold. Usually suicide ganked fairly easily but you can defend it well if you choose. Alternatively work on the principle that profits made will cover any losses with profit left over.

Mackinaw: Solo mining with large ore hold. An expensive ship so you are advised to fit a solid tank. More easily defendable than the Retriever but still can be suicide ganked.

Skiff: Used more in nullsec really.

Procurer: Solo mining in space where you are more likely to be attacked. Large tank can be fitted which prevents most suicide ganks. 'Jet can' mining primarily. Post 3rd June will be getting increased drone damage etc. Tough cookie.

Covetor: Fleet mining usually with Orca support. Small ore hold.

Hulk: Fleet mining usually with Orca support. Small ore hold. Post 3rd June will be getting increased sub-warp speed & increased mining yield via decreased cycle time.

" They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out. " Rick. " Find out what ? " Abraham. " They're screwing with the wrong people. " Rick. Season four.   ' The Walking Dead. ' .
Nalelmir Ahashion
Industrial Management and Engineering
Mouth Trumpet Cavalry
#6 - 2014-05-05 13:21:29 UTC
nononononon

Skiff won't be solo nullsec more...

Skiff will get:
1. 100m3 drone bay = 5 salvage drones + 5 mining drones + 5 medium drones > epic combo.
2. 3rd low slot = 2 Mining laser upgrades + Damage control.
3. agile faster then other mining ships.
4. 30 more cpu.
5. bigger cap! due to shorter cycle times you'll need more cap on your barrage.

miners should use the skiff more... give it a go :P
Voyager Arran
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#7 - 2014-05-05 13:38:31 UTC  |  Edited by: Voyager Arran
Covetors and Hulks mine the fastest but have small ore bays. If you are by yourself, you will actually lose efficiency because of how much time you will have to spend warping back to station and offloading. They are also gank magnets because of their poor tanks. They are the best ships when mining as part of a fleet that will handle your hauling and knows how to protect itself, but the worst choice for anything else. If you are in a solo Hulk anywhere with significant player activity, someone is going to kill you.

Retrievers and Mackinaws mine pretty well and have the largest ore bays, meaning they require less babysitting than the other haulers and lose less mining time dropping off their loads. When fitted well, they are also reasonably resistant to gank attempts (you can make a Mackinaw live through a pair of T2 Catalysts without completely gimping your yield). If you are by yourself and not mining in a 0.5 next to a major market hub or in James315's back yard, they are probably the best choice.

Procurers and Skiffs are indestructible little bricks that nobody will ever bother ganking unless you've done something to personally **** them off. They don't have the cargo capacity of a Mackinaw but you can pretty much always tab back in to find your Skiff where you left it. They are very popular in fleets with Orca support to handle their ore, since they mine almost as well as a Hulk and it means you will basically never lose a ship to gankers without having to babysit rock-suckers.
Katherine Raven
ALTA Industries
Intergalactic Conservation Movement
#8 - 2014-05-07 17:58:36 UTC
Skiff or go home. More accurately Skiff or be subject to ganking.

Play with EFT, compare how much tank you can get on a Mack, and how much you can get on a Skiff. Then factor in that a Skiff is cheaper, and after the changes will be fairly capable of defending itself. Yes you sacrifice ore hold, but in exchange you become VERY difficult to gank.

You of course can still be ganked, anything can be ganked, but it becomes very expensive and irritating to do so. If you do get ganked in a skiff, you can feel smug when you see your loss mail and how many guys were on it. Keep your head down, don't be a **** in local, and unless someone has a vendetta against you, gankers will probably leave you alone.
Steve Ronuken
Fuzzwork Enterprises
Vote Steve Ronuken for CSM
#9 - 2014-05-07 18:04:51 UTC
If you can find a 'safe' system, and have support, Covetors and hulks are the way to go, after the summer patch.

They'll have a yield around 30% higher. So with 4+ people, stick 3+ in miners, and one in a hauler (With 3, it's a little more complicated, and depends on the boosts you'd get from someone in an orca. Often worth it)

your tank is a lot weaker though.

Woo! CSM XI!

Fuzzwork Enterprises

Twitter: @fuzzysteve on Twitter
James Nikolas Tesla
Tesla Holdings
#10 - 2014-05-08 08:20:42 UTC
Strangelove Utama wrote:
Hi everyone,

Could somebody please outline the differences between the Retriever, Procurer and Covetor for me? I understand the Covetor can fit more mining lasers, but the others have +yield bonuses to their mining lasers that suggest to me they all mine at the same rate?

Cheers

That is only true for unskilled unfitted mining barges.

CODE is just a bunch of pirates; smart, organized pirates. It doesn't help to rage at them because that is exactly what they want. Dust yourself off and get back on your feet, you don't even have to talk to them.
Quadpush
Doomheim
#11 - 2014-05-09 11:18:16 UTC
I stopped my choice on skiff for following reasons:
1. Suicide gankers don't even bother.
2. Ore hold is enough for 3-4 cycles (depending on your skills).
3. Yeild is not much lower than other barges.

Why I don't use hulk:
1. Expensive ganker magnet.
2. You have to empty your ore hold every 2 minutes if you have high skills & boost. With several mining ships it is a nightmare.

If you want to mine in hisec, get yourself a hauler (freighter is 1 month train) and think about training your own orca (perfect orca is several months train).