EVE New Citizens Q&A

You can, but depending on how much isk your cargo is worth it's not always a wise idea

Like an earlier poster, I'm a fan of courier contracts with an appropriate collateral value (cargo value +25%), especially with long distance, large volume and med-high value cargo; that way you get paid either way.

This thread seems to be all over the shop. The OP starts with a tip about scouting with a shuttle carried in your hauler, but doesn't specify whether he is talking about low, hi or null sec. I kind of presume he is talking about hi sec and the problem is suicide gankers. While knowledge is helpful, it is an impossible task to learn the characters involved in suicide ganking in high sec. Scouting and hauling on the same character can be safer in some situations, but it comes with the downside that it is incredibly slow and allows a potential gankers to sight and cargo scan your hauler then get people in position ahead. System stats, particularly in high sec are outdated by the time they becomes available. The gank goes down, the ganker moves on to another system (usually) and then the data stating that the system is dangerous is displayed. There are two exceptions to that rule - Uedama (The Citadel) and Niarja (Domain), always expect gankers to be in those systems.

Other people have weighed in with random hauler advice but haven't clarified what type of space they are talking or the value of the cargo they expect to haul.

A Magnate can be configured to haul a surprising amount, but it is paper thin and will be one shotted before it can get to warp by a fast locking Svipul or Thrasher. I've killed many a cargo frigate on the Ichoriya gate in (low sec) Akidagi, including intercepters. People think adding warp core stabs or agility mods will allow them to slip through the camp, they do not. In high sec it is pure luck, right place, right time. The Magnate relies on moving so fast it never gets cargo scanned, but once spotted it is a gankers dream, never haul more than about 25M Isk of cargo in such a flimsy craft.

A Hecate can only haul maginally more than a Magnate with a better default tank, but comes with a slower align time and a hull price tag that by itself would attract the attention of gankers. Don't ever fit a Hecate as a hauler.

There once was a rule of thumb with a T1 hauler to never haul more than 100M of cargo. I've regularly hauled more than that, you usually get lucky, but I've twice lost them to ganks too. The threshold seems lower nowadays, perhaps 50M, but can't be guaranteed. I once suicide ganked a 25M Badger with a Tornado because my corp was running a competition to kill haulers.

The safest method of avoiding suicide ganking in hi sec is to use a Blockade Runner such as a Crane, the cloaky one which is immune to cargo scanning. Always use the cloak, even when empty, I've twice had gank attempts made against my Crane. Both times my Crane was hauling something valuable into Jita. But the ganker didn't know that and fired blind. Both times I survived (in hull), because I fit a proper shield tank and usually a DC. You can haul up to 12.5K cargo in a Crane or about 8K with a DC, always fit a DC if you are hauling something valuable\important, even if that means you have to make 2 or more trips. If you need a lot more cargo space, use a Deep Space Transport such as the Bustard, which needs the same skill set but can haul 65K without compromising the massive tank. However, use a prototype cloak and the MWD trick with this ship.

When fitting a shield tank to a hauler, use Medium Shield Extenders and Resistance Amps particularly EM ones, don't waste a mid with a Small Extender because that is all you can fit. Don't use hardeners or shield boosters. You won't have the hardeners running when you need them especially if you use a cloak and with shield boosters you will be lucky to get to use them before it's over. Don't waste a mid on a prop mod when you are just hauling gate to gate. Always fit a DC to a hauler and accept the cargo limitation, unless you really don't care if you lose it.

Some random final advice:
1. Use docking bookmarks at trade hubs, so you can instantly dock on landing, rather than warp to station, land short and have to slow boat in the last 1 or 2 kms.
2. Move valuable stuff at off peak hours, particularly around downtime.
3. If you think you might have been cargo scanned, warp to a station, dock up and take a break for 30 minutes before continuing your journey. Switch to a different character if you must keep playing.
4. Never autopilot even when empty.

Spamming cargo rigs will give a ship more hold space to drop loot when its popped. Spamming armor rigs will at least protect what paltry amount of cargo you have from anything, but if you want to go that route, you buy the tanky ships already, like Sigil, and you should be hauling enough value to make it worth it. Spamming warp speed rigs? Ah, now there's a promising endeavor. You can cross hub routes quickly and you always drop out of warp like an inty. You can't tank as much so you should take less value, but if you're not able to buy enough value anyway, its a good way to speed up those hauls.

The only thing a spammed magnate has over a sigil is being a smaller ship, for faster warp speed and align times, but you can have equal align and better warp speed in a sigil with istabs and warp speed rigs, with a bigger cargohold and much more passive tank.

If you want frigate like speeds, there's enough slots on a sigil to be the same thing with more ehp. Dont bet on your bare frigate tank to keep you from dying to instalockers.

I've really no clue what others are doing to cause themselves to be the constant target of gankers. I mean, you must really be making a lot of enemies, if you are already taking standard precautions. Otherwise, you must be making yourself an easy target.

I've been in EvE over 7 years now, and I've lost one hauler in a hisec gank because of a mistake I instantly recognized when I made it, but it was already too late to correct (warped to station Jita 4-4 in a Blockade Runner, instead of using my insta-dock bookmarks, because I got distracted).

I've never encountered the fabled "insta-locking" gate-camp. They may exist, but my experience suggests they are incredibly rare. Gate camps in general seem rare, especially in nulsec. I've more often run into roaming fleets than gate-camps. Btw, it is quite the feeling to jump a gate only to find yourself in the middle of a >100 combat ship fleet ... and warp away because they are as surprised as you are, or because they were already in combat with another fleet.

I've had a freighter bumped twice by Machariels, but then let go both times. I've even accidentally gone into lowsec two jumps from Rens with that freighter, and successfully slow-boated back to the gate (I probably should have warped to planet and back).

One of my alts pilots a Bestower exclusively, and has never had any issues. Same for using a Magnate, which is perfect for up to level 3 courier missions.

In fact, recently I was hauling >26 billion ISK in a Bestower. No problems. Of course, it was a short trip, through well-known low-population space that I had previously scouted. Oh, and I did have two active wardecs ... but I knew the war-targets were never in that part of the map. Was I nervous? Sure, you bet! But I knew and accepted the risk of losing it all.

Two thoughts that come to mind: Make sure you have the "usual suspects" set to low standing, and your overview setup to easily spot them. Example: CODE., Marmite, Goons, etc. I also have other "regulars" listed for the areas I commonly travel. If I get nervous, I dock at the nearest random station and drop some cargo, and continue, especially on long trips.

If you get ganked, realize you screwed-up, and figure out what you did what you did wrong ... or ask for help.