User:Titus tallang/Sandbox/Suicide Ganking 101

Class Information

Do you like not dying in high sec? Alternately, do you like making other people (and yourself) die in high sec? If so, this class is for you. The class educates you about mechanics behind suicide ganking, how to prevent yourself from being on the receiving end of a suicide gank, and, last but not least, about how to gank other people successfully.

General Information

Illustration link for class description on the EVE University forum:

This class aims to educate the attendee about the mechanics and concepts behind suicide ganking, thus attempting to further their knowledge both of how to properly protect themselves against suicide ganks and of how to execute them.

• Duration: ~60 minutes (Lecture), ~15 minutes (Practical)
• Location: Docked (Lecture), Aldrat (Practical)
• Class slides (PDF): http://gdurl.com/jDkc

Class contents:

• What is a suicide gank?
• What makes a ship a gank target?
• Ways to prevent a gank
• CONCORD
• Damage numbers
• What to do when you're being ganked
• Examples of tanked ships
• Long-term consequences of ganking
• How to execute ganks successfully
• Q&A
• Practical

Student requirements:

• Mumble registration and access - make sure you have Mumble sorted out and operational well before the class begins. Use this guide for set-up: http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Mumble
• Access to the Lecture.E-UNI in-game chat channel
• (Practical only) An expendable gank-capable ship
  • A Catalyst or a Thrasher are the recommended ships. All modules used in the linked fits should be available from UNI Alpha hangars for corp members.
  • If the student is incapable or unwilling to use one of the above ships, any ship with a gun can be sufficient - this includes rookie ships.

Notes for the Teacher

Requirements:

• Access to the EVE University public mumble server and appropriate permissions to teach a class
• Access to the Lecture.E-UNI chat channel in-game
• (Practical only) A mining barge capable alt that is engageable for UNI members in high sec as per the current EVE University RoE

To be able to answer students' questions in a correct and complete fashion, it is recommended that the teacher has had at least some practical experience in executing suicide ganks.

Class Contents

Introduction

• Teacher should introduce themselves
  • Include relevant experience
• Go over logistical details of the class
  • Students should be docked during lecture
  • Explain that the practical will include a slight loss in security status
  • Explain the chosen procedure for asking questions
• Remind students that EVE University members may only participate in suicide ganks against certain targets in high security space - refer to the current RoE

What is a suicide gank?

• A suicide gank is illegal aggression in high security space
• The attacker's ship will always be lost to CONCORD (thus "suicide" gank)
• Combat will always be over within 25 seconds of aggression

What makes a good target?

• High loot value
  • On average, 50% of all fitted modules and 50% of cargo hold contents will drop
    • If this value is above the cost of killing the ship, the gank becomes profitable
  • Hull and rigs are destroyed and do not count for this metric
• High kill value
  • Hull and rig cost are included in this
• Known squishy ships
  • High yield mining barges (Covetor and Hulk)
  • Missioning Strategic Cruiser
  • Cargo-fit Orcas

Ways to prevent a gank

• Buffer tanking
  • Balance raw HP and resists
  • Effect of repairers is neglegible and not worth fitting over HP increasing modules
• Travel fit for mission boats
  • Focus on maximizing EHP
  • New Mobile Depots added in Rubicon expansion allow for easy re-fitting in target system
• ECM protection
  • ECM is far more effective at stopping a suicide gank than damage is
  • Protection needs to be well-tanked and should have a high Scan resolution

CONCORD

• CONCORD is the high-sec "police squad"
• CONCORD will only begin engaging after aggression has already happened
• CONCORD response time varies by system security level
• CONCORD can be prepared (by spawning a squad elsewhere in the system) to increase response time

Damage numbers

• Refer to table included in the class slides
• Note the difference between DPS and alpha
• Explain the cost difference between a Destroyer and an Attack Battlecruiser

Tanking against a gank

• Maximize effective hit point buffer
• Re-emphasize that active tanking will not prevent ganks well
• Refer to numbers on class slides for a comparison between passive and active tanking modules

How to react to a gank

• Mention that you can still dock or store your ship in an Orca if you haven't shot back
• Emphasize staying calm
• Mention overheating and refer to the respective class for details
• Emphasize staying calm (again)
• Emphasize that (with the exception of smartbombs) killing a warping pod in high-sec is impossible

Example fittings

• Refer to class slides for example fits
• Contrast EHP of common "wrong" fit against EHP of properly tanked fit

Long-term consequences of suicide ganking

• Security status will be decreased
• Low security status will lead to faction police aggression
  • Emphasize the difference between faction police and CONCORD
• At negative 5 or below security status pilots are freely attackable anywhere
• Kill rights are generated on criminal action
  • Can be made available to others
  • Will trigger a suspect timer on target when used
  • Emphasize that this will have no effect against dedicated -10 alts

How to execute a gank

• Step 1: Scout a target
  • Mention passive targeting and ship scanners
  • Note various kinds of scouting
  • Recommend using inconspicuous ships
• Step 2: Warp to target
  • Mention the possibility of warping at range
• Step 3: Kill target
  • Mention overheating, refer to respective class
• Step 4: Warp pod out
• Step 5: Redock pod
  • Mention using instant redocking bookmarks

Logistics of ganking

• Preparing CONCORD
  • Increased response time if a squad is already somewhere in system
    • Squads despawn at downtime
  • Committing a criminal offense in rookie ships allows economical preparing
  • Undocking a rookie ship while a criminal will also spawn a squad
    • This also works right after a gank attempt to move CONCORD from the location
  • Mention that potential targets can also do this to give themselves CONCORD protection
• Resupplying
  • Orca for quickly hauling multiple hulls at once
  • Freighter (or public freight services) for batch hauls of large amounts
• Bookmarking
  • Having multiple undocking bookmarks
  • Using 'warp at range' to obscure undock location

Example gank fittings

• Refer to class slides for fittings

Practical & wrap-up

• Ask for practical participants to x up before Q&A
• Tank sacrificial barge appropriately (make it killable, but don't make it too easy)