EVE New Citizens Q&A

I get irritated when people don't know this.

1. If you mine every rock in a belt, you will get 1st day rocks in that belt after DT. There will be exactly the same number of rocks, same number of each type, and in exactly the same places, but they will be as small as they can ever get.

2. Small rocks are usually not worth mining at all if you use Crystals. T2 crystal takes damage every time the Strip Miner is turned on. Small rocks mean the on/off cycle is very short. Lot's of damage mining small rocks.

3. A corollary that took me three years to prove to my satisfaction, is that, If you mine every rock of one ore type, say all of the Veldspar, the next day all of the Veldspar will be 1st day. If no one mines out the other types they will re-spawn normally, either the same size, or larger.

The point I'm trying to make is that you may get some personal satisfaction out of clearing a belt, but if you want to mine that belt again, after DT, it will be a waste of your time, unless you are flying a Venture.

So, if you find a belt that only has a few rocks in it, and none of them are concentrates, I suggest that you look for another belt.

There are 3 rock sizes, 1st day (smallest), 2nd day (medium sized), and 3rd day (full sized).

I am sure that there will be people who dispute these findings, for one reason or another, or just don't care.

All I can tell you is that I have been a successful miner for 5 years, largely because I lived by these rules. The information has proven valuable to my alliance, but I was actually paid to do most of the research.

You are absolutely correct. I have not done definitive research but it is something that I noticed. I have done my fair share of mining both ways. The only belts worth flipping like that are in Null Sec Sov Space. And they require a iHub.

Regardless of how rocks are (re)spawning there's sooooo much ore being basically "wasted" in universe. Nobody mines in lowsec except really really desolated dead end systems where you can secure few gates up the pipe so even if somebody would go there you will know about it soon enough to dock your fleet. Belts in lowsec could be just empty beacons and nobody would even flinch about it. And if you have any illusions about bringing backup crew to secure your op I dare you to fraps it because I don't believe you can grind more then few rocks before OMGWTFBBQ locals will show up on grid. And there's no way they will go away defeated, at best you will be able to retreat your miners to safety but mining op will be finished.

It can be every time, if you're unlucky. It's a percent-based chance. You could get 5 damaging cycles in a row, then get 10 that aren't. It may average out, it can definitely be each time on occasion.

Even though I've spent a lot of time mining in HiSec (yes, it's true), I never really bothered to pay attention to the mechanics behind spawn rates because they never mattered to me. I was usually in a 0.5 with 20 belts in 2 in Local so it was never exactly relevant to me.

I do think it's high time that HiSec ores became more limited. Maybe not necessarily types, but the amount of rocks and the sizes of those rocks. Would be a good conflict driver with logical lore reasons behind it.

Need more competition, need more conflict drivers.

Indy guys are already somewhat dispersed from the hubs due to the industry changes... time to shake up mining a bit so people have more reason to conflict with eachother.

I believe you are mistaken. If what you suggest is true, there would be very little difference in crystal life. Try mining a belt of small rocks and see how long your crystals last. Then try mining a Spodzilla. I've had crystals last more than 3 days when mining Spodzillas.

Think of it this way: Which is easier for a programmer? Count 5 cycles or count Off to On transitions?

I only use T2 crystals. I do not use survey scanners because they are a waste of time, an unnecessary complication, and a waste of a mid slot. If I am going to mine a rock, I mine it all.

Suppose you mine in a system with 9 belts in it, and you mine every day. If you wipe out your own favorite belt, it won't be worth mining the next day. For your competition or for you.

I've done a lot of work for the New Order, but now I'm in retirement. What I want to see conflict between mining corps fighting over scarce resources.

Unfortunately, for one miner, a belt lasts about 4 hours and provides about 100 million ISK. Minimum belts required would be 6, and it wouldn't work in a system where there were other miners.