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How far can one go single-account in the science biz?

Author
Jungle Missuhs
Doomheim
#1 - 2012-01-04 03:01:10 UTC
Hi all. Long-time lurker, first time poster here. First off, let me thank everyone for the constructive posts I have indulged in over these few months I have been playing EVE. I feel that EVE has one of the most helpful communities around despite the hard-arse reputation and the plethora of trolls.

For my question; I am currently doing small time manufacturing mostly fueled by free wrecks salvaging, courier missions, and spots of trading. I've been told by some helpful players that long-term I need to have several accounts running in order to be successful in this business. Now, don't get me wrong. I love EVE and I probably will have more than one account at some point, but the number of accounts being mentioned (one rather experienced player suggested he ran 10 accounts) are way out of my league, and as a newbie of only ~6 months I don't think it is a good time for me to start another account anyway.

So if you all could address this issue for me: What are the barriers to having one account and doing manufacturing/research/trading? What kind of benefits could I gain from adding an account? And finally: What kind of strategies can I use to make the most of my single account right now and what skills should I avoid as a single account player?

Thanks a million!
Tauranon
Weeesearch
CAStabouts
#2 - 2012-01-04 04:46:49 UTC
You have 3 character slots. You can either buy or train up alts that do very basic things, leaving your main to do the stuff that requires extensive training, and leaving the mains science queues free of things that don't require extensive training, like copying bpc's for invention done with your main.

You can also have the alts strategically located so that you can switch to check markets, update buy orders, whatever.

You can also buy finished (combat or indy) characters for the alt slots if you make a real fist of the business you are in, and no, you don't need 10 accounts to do make enough money to do that.

Lucinda Hamu
Doomheim
#3 - 2012-01-04 08:35:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Lucinda Hamu
Without more alts you struggle to have enough slots etc to do all the things you need to do to maximise profit... i.e. researching, & copying at the same time.

That said, if you are like me, and are not interested in making billions for billions sake, I find 1 character more than enough to research and build small amount of tech 2 stuff. I'm sure if I had 5 accounts producing 5 x the BPCs then I would get richer, quicker, but I'm happy making enough for 1 character.

My main is my Eve Alter ego. I find it odd that people run multiple accounts because it is like having multiple alter egos. Characters just become tools to generate isk. Whats the point? - Perhaps I'm in a minority here but I take pleasure out of seeing how successful I can make my 1 character.
Xearal
Dead's Prostitutes
The Initiative.
#4 - 2012-01-04 08:35:27 UTC
'When you're just starting in industry, having more than 1 account isn't really needed. You will get there eventually when your operation expands beyond waht a single toon can do.

1 character can run 10(11, but the training time required for the 11th slot isn't worth it at the start ) research jobs, and 10 ( see 11th research slot ) manufacturing slots. This is the limit of when a 2nd toon to help out comes in handy.

Until you hit that limit and see your slots being used too much and have stuff 'piling up' waiting to be copied, researched, invented or manufactured, that's when it's time to get a 2nd toon. ( preferably see this coming and get a 2nd one before that, so you can train them up and put them to work when things are getting problematic ).

Access to a high sec POS for Research and Manufacturing will also help immensely, as labs and manufacturing slots on a POS have bonusses to their timers. I've personally only just started training up my 2nd toon for future businesses. Though I have had a 2nd account for a while, training up a toon for Jump Freightering stuff and now getting one ready for helping out with my research and manufacturing.

Running 10 accounts with say, 3 toons each means you can at max run 330 manufacturing and 330 research jobs. While in theory that sounds lovely, I wouldn't even know where to begin filling up so many slots at once. And it would take way too much of my time doing it.

I do recommend you create a 2nd and 3rd toon on your account though, if only to check prices in different regions. Have one in Jita, have one in Amarr and live in metro with your main for instance. That way you can find the good deals and feel the pulse of the markets, allowing you to anticipate on shifts in the market, or make the most profit from your manufactured goods.

Does railgun ammunition come in Hollow Point?

Scrapyard Bob
EVE University
Ivy League
#5 - 2012-01-04 09:14:03 UTC
If you base your POS tower out of a major market hub region (Sinq, Forge, Heim, Domain), then it's a bit easier to get datacores / T2 components. You can also use sites like EVE Central, EVE-MarketData and EVE Marketeer to do price checks across regions.

If I had to do just (1) account, I would definitely have all (3) character slots filled. The two secondary characters would be setup with (10) research and (10) manuf slots, along with the skills to do copy slot work and basic T2 production (which usually means level 1 or 2 in a particular datacore skill, sometimes a few side skills). It takes about 30-45 days to train up those Research/Manuf slaves.

The main character would focus on invention jobs and any manufacture which requires advanced skills.

That way you would have (10) invention slots (20) copy slots and (30) manuf slots. If you go with a medium tower and Adv Mobile Labs, you can (I think) get about 18-24 copy slots on a medium tower. You'll want to do your invention/manuf in a station as you probably won't want to fuss with trying to do Invention at AMLs (regular Mobile Labs are fine for Invention, with 5 invention slots per lab).
D Program
#6 - 2012-01-04 09:33:40 UTC
Manufacturing, Research, Invention and Copying can be easily done with one account. I do almost all that with just one account.

If you start mining tho, then you will need AT LEAST two. Mining without Orca bonuses is like programming without color code. You can do it, but it's more like bashing your head against the wall than doing your work efficiently. I myself have currently 3 accounts for mining.

What is this sorcery?

http://www.eve-cost.eu

Zifrian
The Frog Pond
Ribbit.
#7 - 2012-01-04 11:44:57 UTC

  • What are the barriers to having one account and doing manufacturing/research/trading?

  • Skills really. Another account will probably only help you out with moving up skill training times. What I did with one of my alts was utilize the free month offer of a second account plus maybe one month more and train researching skills (metalurgy, research, etc) and production line skills (mass production, etc). Then move that account over to my main. You don't have to do this of course, but an option to get started quickly.

    As far as not having enough slots, you can use your alts for that. There is nothing a second account will get you except another plex to buy. I have mine for mining. Manufacturing slots is just a bonus. Yeah, you can make more isk but you have another account to pay for.

  • What kind of benefits could I gain from adding an account?

  • More manufacturing slots. I invent with Zif and use my others to do things like research, copying (at a pos) and manufacturing. I can invent far more items than I can manufacture.

    Another account could also help with hauling, but I haven't really noticed a massive need for this. Your location might determine that and it'd be nice to have an alt flying a freighter of stuff to and from Jita while you do other things on the main.

  • What kind of strategies can I use to make the most of my single account right now and what skills should I avoid as a single account player?

  • I would find a hub or near a hub to work out of. I would work on getting a POS setup. So for your single account that means working hard on getting faction standing above 5.0, although I suggest 6.0 for more system selection. I would focus on research agent skills so you get datacore income from that as it's very passive and the skills match well with S&I. Accounting and Broker relations are underrated and will save a lot of isk over the longrun. Skills to avoid? I can't think of any heh Oh Ice mining...don't ever train that Big smile

Maximze your Industry Potential! - Download EVE Isk per Hour!

Import CCP's SDE - EVE SDE Database Builder

Patri Andari
Thukker Tribe Antiquities Importer
#8 - 2012-01-04 15:14:14 UTC
You have gotten some very good advice here so I will try to avoid simply repeating what has been said. I will however point out a few considerations for long term strategy.


Standings & Capital

These are things you want to plan for as early as possible.

You need standings to get low taxes on orders and refine. It also helps with things like jump clones and being able to put up towers in the future. Datacores harvesting is a nice source of passive income and almost mandatory if you are going to be competitive with other inventors. You need standings to do this.

Capital is a no brainer. BPOs are a big investment for a new player. You need to plan for a way to generate seed income which will allow you to purchase them as well as base resources used in production.

Now how you tackle these two issues is distinct for each player. I love the sand box. I will suggest an option that I think is optimal but you mileage may vary.

* continue running courier missions.
Train social skills that will make them more profitable for you and that increase standings at a higher rate. (Social, Negotiations, Connections and Distribution Connections) You will earn valuable faction standings that will help with all the things discussed above and is a (conservative) source of income. Faction standings will come fast and once high enough could allow you access to all the agents in a given faction even the ones you never worked for.

*train at least some weapon skills
Even if you never plan to PVP, as a new player you will be less efficient if you can not do security missions. Unless you plan on getting a loan which is possible ( I guess) you will find courier missions may not bring home enough bacon and some of your storyline missions generated by couriers will require you to blow something up. So while you are doing the Fed Ex thing, skill up for a battlecruiser,

I suggest a Drake. It is not the best isk maker in the game but it is the most efficient ship for generating isk with minimal skills dedicated to it. It will take you all the way into level 4 missions better than any other ship in its class. By the time you have the skills to use a Drake effectively, your courier missions should have opened up all level 3 agents in your given faction.

You now have a steady foundation to generate capital and standings for your main and future alts.

HTH






Patri

Be careful what you think, for your thoughts become your words. Be careful what you say, for your words become your actions. Be careful what you do, for your actions become your character. And character is everything. - author unknown

Skorpynekomimi
#9 - 2012-01-04 19:52:18 UTC
I have a workaround planned for the thing of needing more than one account and only being able to train one character at once.

Essentially, I buy a plex, buddy myself a second account, and use the plex to authorise it. Then I start that toon off on an intensive training course over the three months that gives me (60 day power of two trial, 30 day plex), then contract them to my main account as a second character as the time expires.
The account can be re-used to do the same thing for a third character, or picked up as an alt account when you I start being able to plex it regularly.

Economic PVP

Revolution Rising
Last-Light Holdings
#10 - 2012-01-05 06:29:49 UTC
Yeah I now have 5 toons over 3 accounts specifically for this reason.

1 toon you are basically limited by the 10 job slots for R&D as well as the 10 slots for manufacture.

I use 3 of my 5 toons in empire. Leaving me 2 toons for 0.0 operations.

2 R&D people and a copy job gimp in empire. That allows me enough to run a large tower in empire on my own.

I couldn't do that with 1 person, and the other issue with 1 person like this is either you need to run a small tower which you'll find isn't an option due to cpu and power limitations, or join up with people who can be trusted with your blueprints (good luck finding that).

Basically, for R&D you need more toons. It's ridiculous I agree, but there it is...

.

Sam Redshift
PCG Enterprises
#11 - 2012-01-05 13:14:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Sam Redshift
Scrapyard Bob wrote:
The two secondary characters would be setup with (10) research and (10) manuf slots, along with the skills to do copy slot work and basic T2 production (which usually means level 1 or 2 in a particular datacore skill, sometimes a few side skills). It takes about 30-45 days to train up those Research/Manuf slaves.


Apologies for smuggeling in another question in OPs thread Big smile
I would have expected it is more time-consuming to get the alts up for manufacturing/research. Can anyone explain what the basic skill list for the two toons should include to be efficient?
Thanks in advance, Sam
Scrapyard Bob
EVE University
Ivy League
#12 - 2012-01-05 13:24:50 UTC
Minimum skills for a copy/research slave (off the top of my head):

Advanced Laboratory Operation IV (10 slots)
Metallurgy IV (faster ME research, somewhat optional)
Scientific Networking (need at least level 1, but 3 is better)

Some BPO research requires that you know particular skills (some even require Metallurgy V). Plus you'll probably want the 3% or 5% faster copy time implant, which means training Cybernetics.

For a manuf alt:

Industry V (faster production times, past 4 is optional I think)
Production Efficiency V (waste)
Advanced Mass Production IV (10 slots)
Supply Chain Management (remote manuf management of jobs)

If you're making T2 items, your manuf alt will frequently have to have datacore skills for the item in question trained to 1/2/3, and sometimes other auxiliary skills. You can see these by looking at the BPO details (check contracts or the market window).