Skill Discussions

Herro :o

So after getting back into this game a few months ago, I began developing a significant source of income through station trading on alt characters/accounts. Well, now with a few months having gone by, the first of my four trade alts is about to finish training the last of their trade skills. The question I keep trying to figure out is... what's next for them?

Station traders tend to be tied down to their main trading station, so I wouldn't want to take them too far away from it with any regularity. They also have no real need for combat skills, and I obviously have little to no intention of using them for pvp (I have this and other characters for that). I have thought of some ideas as to what to train next: Research, Manufacturing, Freighters, and/or Refining. All of these aren't half-bad ideas, but... well I figured i'd make a post here to ask:

When a specialized alt has effectively completed all of the skills they need for their main purpose, what do you do with them next in regard to skill training?

That is the sort of thing I was thinking about: to try to train something that I don't have at the moment. A hauler of any kind is one of the few things I don't either already have or am developing on another alt. I also specifically was thinking of training in the exact order that you mentioned, or that i'd go for a Blockade Runner, Freighter, and then finally a Jump Freighter. At the same time, some of those other possibilities I mentioned could also help me make more ISK, which is pretty much my #1 priority.

Also, just to clarify, I have several accounts. All of them thus far only have one character on them, and so I have no characters that are sitting around not training any skills. Also I am not planning on selling any of my characters that I have so far created, so that is a non-issue. I am looking for improving my capabilities in general, but especially in regards to making ze monies. :o

Orca <----- is a great hauler for what you are doing!

-snip-

That's exactly why I was thinking of getting it. Another option to take advantage of high standings is to throw up a hisec pos and do research.

Decisions decisions. x_x

just a thought - you can buy up cheap ore to refine and to maximie your refining profit margins you'd also want the extra 5% from standings. ice for example at times even with low refining skills is often sold unrefined for lower than refined value. so from this you would want - a character with both refining skills and good standings and a freighter (bear in mind you will need a way to transfer massive amounts of m3 to your refiner most likely through corp offices). you can make good money shipping around minerals and ice through hisec (and generally rather safe even afk) while youre browsing market prices. i'd take a gander at a refining chart and get a feel for the potential profit margins. more often than not when you find a good deal you'll need a freighter to get all the cheap ore in one or two trips or make a run with multiple stops in one run.

an orca is nice because its corp hangar can't be scanned and can be warp core stabed. but a freighter is... a freighter and can move far more than an orca and has a lot more EHP, if you aren't moving more than a couple bill a freighter isn't worth the effort involved to take down, but always remember the "just for the lulz factor"

edit: oh and if you have multiple accounts you might want to make those "moneymakers" ice miners it's barely any work at all and you can park an alt(s) at the ice field all day, move cargo once every 5 minutes or so and its great "passive" income. i have 3 accounts and almost always have at least one ice miner out while doing other things on the other 2 accounts. i fly covetors so i don't care if she gets blapped, not that i've even gotten blapped in the first place. also you might want to look into PI.

If you can't think of what to do with the trade alt, why not save yourself some money by switching off its training and movinge it into the account of another of your characters? Assumption being the main character will never be online at the same time as the trader.