Crime & Punishment

Yeah, what the title says, basically.

(I've been away for a loooong-ass time, but came back recently.)

Once upon a time ago --when Siebestor males still looked liked pointy-headed cartoon freaks, let alone before Suspect/Weapons/Limited Engagement flags-- Tarryn was a ninja-salvager. Although he didn't get many "bites," he got his share of hate and tears, and learned how to probe and synergise DScan + probe (<---arguably the most important thing to learn how to do in busy systems, IME) .

In time, Tarryn --admittedly, a little bit of a carebear at heart-- got into exploration, before CCP utterly ruined that, too.

(They'd already ruined ninja-salvaging by then as a way for a new-ish character actually making "legitimate" money without the awful tedium of mining and/or low-tier missioning, although it had paid for my first cov-ops/Sisters equipment and bear-killer Hurricane several times over by that time, so I can't complain too much.)

So yeah, I'm now thinking of getting back into ninja-salvaging.

In a word:

What's changed?

What ships and fit-outs do current-meta-experienced ninjas favour, and why?

(I've heard/read it implied that the Ishkur is something of "go-to" now. Cool and fun ship, but it seems a little small --IE, relatively little/no neuting-power for breaking missioners' active tanks. I'm thinking of a Sacrilege or HAM + Neut Legion, or HAM/Neut Nighthawk, myself. Two free highslots in the 'Hawk plus total beast-tank if things go pear-shaped! Plus I've the most skills in shields and missiles, sooooo....yeah.)

Is it still worth doing?

How have the new mechanics affected you, and how have you adapted to same?

Please note:

By "Soloist," I mean actually solo --just you and your own ship/s, not you + small logi-alt army.

I don't begrudge others doing that, and those who make it work have my respect on general principle (not least of all because it can make for some hilarious "come back from near-death" stories/tears), but that sort of thing has never sat well with me.

Cheers and thanks, C&P <3

I don't really consider ninja salvaging all that viable. What does work is probing down MTUs and blowing them up while taunting their owners. Sometimes they will shoot you.

Anything hard to hit with neuts and drones can do the job.

Yeah, that's what I've been hearing/reading, too

Everyone just goes to blap the MTUs (they're pretty easy to probe out, by the way) and let the "social engineering" do its work.

It's been done a few times, the ones I've heard of did it by using a tactic called hyperdunking and only needed a few people; CCP ruled it ok in January last year, and changed it to an exploit/patched it out in Octoberish last year. It involved a Bowhead freighter, a shitton of gank ships and a good bumper.

As far as ship types go, well you're going to want to use something that inspires confidence in your target.

I love, LOVE the Sacrilege... it's one of my most favorite ships for all around face-melting. Same with the HAM Legion, just sexy.
The problem is that both of these ships should inspire caution at the least, if not outright fear in any right minded mission runner who spots them lingering in their pocket.

You're going to spook the fish.

Smaller ships tend to give the impression that they will be easier to beat, so it's often a good idea to go with them.
Personally I recommend the incursus, the fed navy comet, the enyo or the ishkur... they've all got their merits.

The incursus is probably the weakest of the bunch as it has the least dps and no utility high slot, BUT it boasts an insane active tank when dual repped. This gives you a lot of wiggle room for screw ups, but it has a hard time with some tanks. Also, it's very cheap. Best used against battlecruisers and cruisers.

The Fed Navy Comet boasts a much higher dps, more drones and the ability to pack a small neut. It's also faster, but lacks the tank of either of the assault frigates. I really like this ship a lot. It can and will kill a battleship, you just have to be choosy about what you try to pick on with it.

The Enyo packs the hardest punch of the lot in this group, but only has a single unbonused drone to work with. It has a beastly tank, which makes it really nice for taking on ships that don't have bonused drones. Can easily crack open many battleship tanks and even some marauders.

Finally, the Ishkur. It has less DPS than the Enyo but it gains versatility in exchange. The two full flights of bonused light drones it can pack can either be employed to melt enemy drones with lightning speed, or to allow you to do harm to a secondary target from a distance. Like the Enyo it has a superb tank as well and can pack a small neut. Simply put, this thing is my favorite ship ever for this type of activity.

These guys aren't the only ships good for the job either. If missiles/shields are your thing then by all means go try it out with a Hawk or Hookbill. Or even a Vengeance maybe. I prefer the Gallente frigates for this work due to their combination of high dps, heavy tank and low signature radius.

Find a lure that works for you and go with it.
Happy fishing.
o7

I need to try out the Navy Maulus and Astero for this line of work.
Thanks for the tip Mike.
The Stratios I tend to use for going through scaryspace to get at bunnies who think they might be safe on the other side of it...
Also for gatecrashing PIRAT camps so I can get at the tender vittles that are beyond them. It's kinda fun to see them get all excited when I come plowing through, but they generally aren't up for chasing me the twenty odd jumps I'm usually going.

While both the Stratios and VNI are both pretty solid ships I do kind of try to stick to Feyd's principals of speed and signature tanking oversized foes. I've found it can work fairly effectively.

While the Strat and VNI can boast some serious damage output, they also are a great deal easier to hit and harm than their smaller counterparts. When dealing with potential space veal that signature radius can make or break you due to the sheer DPS some of them can output.

IF I can get a Kronos to aggress me for example I'd rather be in something tiny and able to use transverse velocity to get under their guns than in something that's likely to get blapped out of the sky before it gets a chance to engage. Unlike other forms of PVP in this case the victim gets to dictate the range in which the engagement occurs. I've literally had to fly over 200km to just be able to get into scram range of a target before and it was maddening. If said bear hadn't been belligerent, russian, and dumber than a bag full of hammers I would never have reached him.

Speed is your friend. Being hard to hit is your f*ck buddy.

I might just have to steal this quote form time to time my friend!

Being that salvaging is usually worth diddly and squat, and also doesn't even get you that suspect flag or anything... then yeah. I gotta agree with you Zappity. Salvaging CAN net results for picking a fight, but it's unlikely, and you walk away with what amounts to the contents of the change they keep in their ashtray.

I honestly don't ever bother with it as it's hard enough to get someone to do more than give you the carebear stare even when you are suspect.

Peeps are sensitive about their wallets though, so when you mosey in and take the lion's share of the monetary gain from a mission it helps make em more testy than they'd otherwise be. This is kind of why I like the missions with tags in them. They can really add up and the bear knows it. Metal scraps can be enough in some cases, but I kind of like getting paid for my time if the intended dance partner gets cold feet.

Haven't encountered them yet. Most bears don't like anything that interferes with their isk/hr ratio so I haven't encountered one yet. Looking forward to it though, as i am wondering the very same thing.