Wormholes

Hello folks, I have my "toes" in two c3's, one of them is a small system just about 15AU end to end, and the other is closer to 35+ AU.

I'm wondering if there's an advantage for a smaller system that gives me 95% dscan coverage. I'm thinking I can identify guests more quickly while ratting away - as an example (as long as I or one of my alts are close to the centre etc.).
Being solo, I have limited ALTs and therefore eyes on wh connections.

That said, when someone comes into a small system, they can see me immediately as well.

Thanks for your feedback!

Thanks. You're right. Therein lies the rub: it is ideal of course to close all holes. But on average there are at least 4 or 5 of them (today there are 8!). That's not trivial and quite risky for a solo with one other alt for hole closing to do (I still want a 3rd alt to be eyes only).

It's a tossup between closing every one of the holes, or closing one or two and paying lots of attention to dscan knowing that most of the system is scan covered. I guess another option is waiting until the system has only 2 or 3 holes including static). Risk vs. Risk.

I'm inclined to think a smaller hole is better when you're solo simply because being able to see everything offers slightly enhanced peace of mind. That said, I don't think it's a big deal either way as a practical matter if you have a POS or citadel in system.

I play as a single toon and don't bother to roll or guard the existing holes when I'm running sigs. Instead, I stay on top of D-Scan looking for probes. Admittedly, somebody can always scan the system before I log on, but I haven't been ambushed yet. However, I NEVER run anoms without closing the holes because it's just too easy to get into the system undetected and surprise me in my combat site. I also watch for new signatures and dock up the moment a new one appears since it may be an incoming wormhole. That's saved me numerous times. None of those safety measures are impacted by the size of the wormhole.

However, if you're just squatting in the hole and don't have a citadel or POS to run to, there are real practical advantages to having a staging spot out of D-sscan range of most of the system.

FYI-POCO bashing as a solo player is a real chore. I lived solo in a C3 and had big plans to kill/replace all the POCOs but gave up after 2, lol. Its a 2 day affair, you really need more than one person shoooting otherwise its hours of boredom and danger. I play with 3 accounts and had all three toons in Armaggedons which worked ok. This approach still took @ 40 minutes or so if i remember correctly. THEN you have to bash it again 24-?? Hours later all the while keeping track of new sigs/holes. Reinforced POCOs' timers show up for all to see so, thats another element of danger. Its like hanging up a giant sign telling the WH community "Gone for now but ill be back at this EXACT time, mkaaay??" :)

As far as rolling holes, most battleships fit with higgs rigs will do the trick. I chose to go the Rolling Victorieux Yacht route which some people scoff at but if you're solo I say fk that, do whatever gets the job done. Its not like rolling holes is fun or anything. 3 toons all in Rolling Yachts can zip up most holes in about ten minutes.

Its best to use a BS with a mass below 100mil before Higgs (200 after) it makes the math much easier. Better to be slightly under than slightly over.

Also yachts are not really worth it any more, at least in my mind. Something like a stabber is faster, cheaper and can fit a probe launcher. Without nullification you are easily caught in either. Hell if you want super cheap fly with an empty pod and use a T1 indy with minimal fitting. They can do the same job and can cost almost nothing (2.6Mil if Pyfa is correct) but they are much slower than a cruiser and the fit is totally gimped to get a 100MN AB on.

As for the OP question.

The advantages and disadvantages swing both ways. Go with which ever WH has better PI ect.

Trying to balance efficiency with risk - a Raven seems like a good solution for me. Both my toons can fly one - so it's a no brainer. Can you please share your fit?

And that idea of taking your chances with poco killing makes total sense. One more reason to have a Citadel nearby!

This particular WH sub forum with its knowledgeable regulars is like having a private WH consulting team. Thanks everyone for great feedback. It is part of what makes this "game" so engrossing.

Here's the fit I use:

[Raven, WH Roller]

'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I

500MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Burst Jammer II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Multispectral ECM II
Multispectral ECM II
Multispectral ECM II

'Arbalest' Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Heavy Missile
'Arbalest' Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Heavy Missile
'Arbalest' Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Heavy Missile
'Arbalest' Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Heavy Missile
'Arbalest' Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher I, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Heavy Missile
Improved Cloaking Device II
Core Probe Launcher I, Core Scanner Probe I

Large Higgs Anchor I
Large Particle Dispersion Augmentor I
Large Particle Dispersion Projector I


As you can see, it's not built to fight - it's designed to be slippery (or as slippery as a battleship can get anyway). The Higgs anchor, 500MN MWD, cloak, and probe launcher are the only "must have" items - though I highly recommend the burst jammer and MJD.

It has a base mass of 99.3M kg. Running the 500MN MWD increase the mass another 50M kg and then the Higgs anchor doubles that, bringing your mass up to a total of 298.6M kg - the max you can push through a 300M kg hole. A few other T1 battleships will work as well, such as the Apocalypse, Megathron, and Tempest. Any of those will work if you have a preference for one. The other T1s have a base mass in excess of 100M kg, which is too much. I'd actually be tempted to go with a Machariel now - it's pricey but the speed and agility would be nice to offset how dog slow the Higgs makes it.

I agree the RHMLs are useless. I only put them in there because I hated to leave the high slots empty. The rigs make the ECMs potentially useful, but you're right - the lock time is too slow for practical value. The times that I've been caught, it was the stabs, MJD and burst jammer that have saved me. I've never had time to get target locks. I like the idea of using smartbombs and an afterburner though, as well as beefing up the tank. I may refit it with those mods at some point.

As for WHs - even when they're fresh, they have a 10% variance in size, which can really screw up your calculations. That means a 2B hole can be as small as 1.8B or as big as 2.2B (or anything in between). My last outbound jump is usually calculated to bring it to 1.8B so that I can jump back bringing the mass to 2.1B. That usually works - but not always due to variance. My typical solo pattern with 1 BS is:

1B - Hot-Hot-Cold-Hot
2B - Hot-Hot-Hot-Hot-Cold-Cold-Cold-Hot

3B and 5B holes only occur in C5 and C6 holes, so that's not something a solo player should ever face.

This !

His method, which is the same as the one we use, will accommodate the possible variance in 2 bil mass holes, and give you a 100% success rate. On a fresh hole that is. If it isn't fresh, we are all just guessing. Sometimes the results can be less than hilarious.