Warfare & Tactics

It wouldn't be so much a daily cost as much as a constant / active force to implement such measures. Depending on how voracious and aggressive the neighborhood you might never have to buy beyond the initial fleet and just maintain intimidation. But if you experience large roams on a daily basis expect massive replacements on the basis of your own size in measurement. Truthfully, I would use every underhanded tactic in regards to. If you're worried about cost, act cheeply, if you want to keep the bad guy away deny them real fights. Get some EWAR some Logistics, be the most obnoxious thing around. The cost is relative to your fleet doctrine and your member count.

*snerk*

... "policing low-sec"... hee hee hee hee...


Oh wait... you're serious??

You can never fully lock down a low-sec system due to the nature of low-sec mechanics. You cannot erect bubbles so cloaking ships are near impossible to catch... as are most frigates.
You will also need to have access to Heavy Interdictors to catch anything big that might be warp core stabbed... along with a near constant presence of "bloodthirsty" guys itching for a fight.
Then you have to take security status into account as many of your enemies (both present and potential) WILL send in neutrals to scout things out and you WILL have to go GCC and take security hits to clear them out.
etc.
etc.

The only REAL way you can ensure the safety of yourself, your infrastructure, and friendlies in low-sec is through:
- show of force (show your willing to fight),
- trickery (set up traps to establish that even the most defenseless ship flying in your area might be bait),
- reputation (you are good at doing the first two things),
- making sure that everyone knows how to "take care of themselves" (for when they are alone and without support).

And even still, none of this will ensure anything. You might even attract attention and get pirate corps coming at you for giggles (think roving packs of hyenas).

Maybe if you perma hire PL to sit their entire supercap fleet in the 1 LS system forever and RnK to support them with their pirate BS subcaps fleet, also forever, you could do it....
Short of that, move along.

Though I tend to agree with the others in the general outcome;

You can achieve a level of security in a low sec system with a constant presence. That said, if you are too good at what you do, you will attract folk looking to scrap so it becomes a bit of a lure instead of a deterant.

That said, imposing your will on a system or two will 'secure' it to the degree it is securable. Many folk in lowsec are not looking to get molested without consent. The previous advice to just develop a reputation for always packing ewar, logi etc will give you some level of security.


Until your reputation grows to the point where it doesn't anymore.

TL;DR
Don't think it can't be done, just remember nothing is forever.

Merc corps living low sec... Have a name... They are called... "pirates" !

This is actually a very good topic since CCP seems to be moving more acivities to low sec.

How do you secure carebears in lowsec. I think securing the system is easily done by what others have said. Devolop the presence. I do belive though if you hire a bunch of pirates and let them go gcc on anything that comes through the gates you will have most of the problems taken away. Ever hear of sensor boosters.

The problem (as others have said) is keeping a-round the clock security.

Your best bet is to devolop a security force around the activity / particular asset. Then set "guards" on gates to let people know there are GCC instalocking ships that will just shoot you because.

Even frigs and cloakies dont like those.

What do you do when a loan cloaky Arazu or Rapier runs your gate camp and then starts sitting in your system?
Pick one:
[ ] Shut down operations till they leave
[ ] Let the recon pick off undefended carebears
[ ] Try to defend the carebears in space, then wonder why a recon ship just lit a cyno on grid with your defense fleet...

Agreed, its not full proof but lets face it a corp wants to hot drop you a recon getting through is the least of your worries. The question still stands can low sec be secured in any fashion or up to a point? If the answer is no, then the fair assesment would be 0.0 would be safer?

I dunno about that. Buble the gates down, if you have a EU and US time force, your good to go. You dont need a standing fleet sitting on the gate just one keeping eyes with a standing fleet in the vicinity.

Ive seen stations locked down with bubles to the point of logging off was the only activity you could do

Policing a low-sec system is relatively easy on the short term; just set up a remotely competent fleet and it requires extreme bad luck (or a terrible initial choice of a system) for someone to show up you cannot push around.

In the long term, the problem is maintaining presence. Once you have a relatively safe area established, keeping up the policing becomes, to put it mildly, extremely boring. You have to have someone around 24/7, but most of the time they do not get to do any combat, because word is around that you guys will just blow people up if they show up without being nice with you. Even if you paid them, most people would just wander off in a couple of weeks. Combat people tend to want to blow stuff up, not to sit waiting at a safe system.

Another problem is that once word gets around you are doing this, people will show up to bust your safety just because they can, and they know they can get a fight. And since there is always a bigger fish, eventually someone will show up you cannot make go away.

An easier way than to police things continuously, if you want to make low-sec relatively safe for operations, is to establish a local "defense pact" type of thing. Set standings aggressively, trying to put every neutral who frequents to the area either to a NAP or to red to warn your people. Teach people to fly smart and to get the hell out of belts and missions if hostiles or a bunch of unknown neutrals shows up. Do not promise anyone protection, but tell them to fly smart and protect themselves. Gather a group of people interested in pirate hunting and have them move around the area looking for targets if none show up at your home base - not because this is the best way to police anything, but because it gives them practice and keeps them interested.

That won't make low-sec into high-sec, but it will make it livable in a sustainable way.