Ice harvesting: Difference between revisions

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==== Mining Barges ====

Of the three mining barges, the [[Covetor]] has a bonus to ice mining (4% reduction in cycle time per level of {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}})~~; at Mining Barge V it can mine about 15% more ice than its counterparts~~. ~~However~~, ~~its~~ ore hold ~~is fairly small~~ (7000 m<sup>3</sup>), and will fill up ~~in about ten minutes~~. The [[Procurer]] and the [[Retriever]] have a bonus of 2% each and the same ice mining yield, and each ship has a different strength (the Retriever has a very large ore hold, and the Procurer a very tough tank). As when using these ships for ore mining, the choice depends on your play style. Flying in a dangerous region of space? Use a Procurer. Want to mine for long stretches without returning to a station? Use a Retriever. Want to get the absolute maximum amount of ice you can? Use a Covetor.

Of the three mining barges, only the [[Covetor]] has a role bonus to ice mining (25% reduction in cycle time). All three barges have a 2% per level of {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}}). The [[Covetor]] however, has a fairly small ore hold (7000 m<sup>3</sup>), and will fill up fairly quickly. The [[Procurer]] and the [[Retriever]] have a bonus of 2% each and the same ice mining yield, and each ship has a different strength (the Retriever has a very large ore hold, and the Procurer a very tough tank). While all Barges now use two ice harvesters, the Procurer only has two low slots, while the Covetor and Retriever each have three allowing for an additional harvester upgrade. As when using these ships for ore mining, the choice depends on your play style. Flying in a dangerous region of space? Use a Procurer. Want to mine for long stretches without returning to a station? Use a Retriever. Want to get the absolute maximum amount of ice you can? Use a Covetor.

The other thing to note is that the Covetor, Retriever and Procurer can fit three, two, and one ice miners (respectively), but the Retriever and Procurer have an in-built bonus to cycle times (to arrive at similar overall yields, as above). Therefore, when mining with a Procurer you will have very short cycle times but can only mine one block of ice at a time, whereas a Covetor has much longer cycle times but can mine three blocks of ice at once.

==== Exhumers ====

Exhumers are straight upgrades from their Mining Barge counterparts, and the same reflections hold true for them. One small difference is that both the Skiff and the Mackinaw get a ~~small~~ (1%) reduction to ice harvester cycle time per level of {{sk|Exhumers|icon=yes}} (the Hulk gets a 3% reduction per skill level, ~~like its~~ counterpart the ~~Covetor).~~

Exhumers are straight upgrades from their Mining Barge counterparts, and the same reflections hold true for them. One small difference is that both the [[Skiff]] and the [[Mackinaw]] get a smaller (2%) reduction to ice harvester cycle time per level of {{sk|Exhumers|icon=yes}} (the [[Hulk]] gets a 3% reduction per skill level). The [[skiff]] also gets an additional low slot giving all three Exhumer three low slots, unlike it's Barge counterpart the [[Procurer]]

=== Improving yield ===

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While each bonus may seem small, when taken together they can make a significant difference:

{{example|A beginning ice miner with very basic skills ({{sk|Mining Barge|I}} and {{sk|Ice Harvesting|I}}) fits her [[Covetor]] with three Ice Harvester I modules and goes looking for ice. Once she finds a suitable ice field, each of her ~~three~~ miners can mine a block of ice every 4 minutes and 36 seconds.

{{example|A beginning ice miner with very basic skills ({{sk|Mining Barge|I}} and {{sk|Ice Harvesting|I}}) fits her [[Covetor]] with three Ice Harvester I modules and goes looking for ice. Once she finds a suitable ice field, each of her two miners can mine a block of ice every 2 minutes and 28 seconds.

If she then spends some time training her Mining Barge and Ice Harvesting skills to level IV, she will have lowered her cycle time to 3 minutes and 31 seconds, an improvement of ~~over 20~~%. Wanting to improve her yield further, she installs two Ice Harvest Upgrade modules on her Covetor (with some training to {{sk|Mining Upgrades|IV}}), which drops her cycle time to 3 minutes ~~and 11 seconds~~.

If she then spends some time training her Mining Barge and Ice Harvesting skills to level IV, she will have lowered her cycle time to 2 minutes and 13 seconds, an improvement of about 12%. Wanting to improve her yield further, she installs two Ice Harvest Upgrade modules on her Covetor (with some training to {{sk|Mining Upgrades|IV}}), which drops her cycle time to 2 minutes.

She then upgrades her ship to a [[Hulk]] (with some training to {{sk|Exhumers|IV}}), and installs an Ice Harvester Accelerator rig for good measure, which brings her cycle time down to ~~2 minutes 40~~ seconds. Going for broke, she upgrades all her modules to their Tech 2 variants and trains her skills to level V, dropping her cycle time down to 1 minute 49 seconds, for a total reduction of 60%.}}

She then upgrades her ship to a [[Hulk]] (with some training to {{sk|Exhumers|IV}}), and installs an Ice Harvester Accelerator rig for good measure, which brings her cycle time down to 1 minute and 53 seconds. Going for broke, she upgrades all her modules to their Tech 2 variants, adds a third Ice Harvest Upgrade II and trains her skills to level V, dropping her cycle time down to 1 minute 17 seconds, for a total reduction of 48%.}}

As mining ice often turns into a race, with large number of miners competing to mine as much ice before the belt is emptied, having short cycle times can be an advantage beyond simply mining more ice in a given period of time. This allows you to beat your competition to those last few pieces of ice in a belt (as, if two miners are attempting to mine the same asteroid with only one unit of ice left, whoever finishes their cycle first gets that block of ice, and the other gets nothing). [[Mining#Survey_scanner|Using a survey scanner]] can be very helpful, as you can see how much ice is left in each asteroid.

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 ==== Mining Barges ====
-Of the three mining barges, the [[Covetor]] has a bonus to ice mining (4% reduction in cycle time per level of {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}}); at Mining Barge V it can mine about 15% more ice than its counterparts. However, its ore hold is fairly small (7000&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>), and will fill up in about ten minutes. The [[Procurer]] and the [[Retriever]] have a bonus of 2% each and the same ice mining yield, and each ship has a different strength (the Retriever has a very large ore hold, and the Procurer a very tough tank). As when using these ships for ore mining, the choice depends on your play style. Flying in a dangerous region of space? Use a Procurer. Want to mine for long stretches without returning to a station? Use a Retriever. Want to get the absolute maximum amount of ice you can? Use a Covetor.
+Of the three mining barges, only the [[Covetor]] has a role bonus to ice mining (25% reduction in cycle time). All three barges have a 2% per level of {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}}). The [[Covetor]] however, has a fairly small ore hold (7000&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>), and will fill up fairly quickly. The [[Procurer]] and the [[Retriever]] have a bonus of 2% each and the same ice mining yield, and each ship has a different strength (the Retriever has a very large ore hold, and the Procurer a very tough tank). While all Barges now use two ice harvesters, the Procurer only has two low slots, while the Covetor and Retriever each have three allowing for an additional harvester upgrade. As when using these ships for ore mining, the choice depends on your play style. Flying in a dangerous region of space? Use a Procurer. Want to mine for long stretches without returning to a station? Use a Retriever. Want to get the absolute maximum amount of ice you can? Use a Covetor.
-The other thing to note is that the Covetor, Retriever and Procurer can fit three, two, and one ice miners (respectively), but the Retriever and Procurer have an in-built bonus to cycle times (to arrive at similar overall yields, as above). Therefore, when mining with a Procurer you will have very short cycle times but can only mine one block of ice at a time, whereas a Covetor has much longer cycle times but can mine three blocks of ice at once.
 ==== Exhumers ====
-Exhumers are straight upgrades from their Mining Barge counterparts, and the same reflections hold true for them. One small difference is that both the Skiff and the Mackinaw get a small (1%) reduction to ice harvester cycle time per level of {{sk|Exhumers|icon=yes}} (the Hulk gets a 3% reduction per skill level, like its counterpart the Covetor).
+Exhumers are straight upgrades from their Mining Barge counterparts, and the same reflections hold true for them. One small difference is that both the [[Skiff]] and the [[Mackinaw]] get a smaller (2%) reduction to ice harvester cycle time per level of {{sk|Exhumers|icon=yes}} (the [[Hulk]] gets a 3% reduction per skill level). The [[skiff]] also gets an additional low slot giving all three Exhumer three low slots, unlike it's Barge counterpart the [[Procurer]]
 === Improving yield ===
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 While each bonus may seem small, when taken together they can make a significant difference:
-{{example|A beginning ice miner with very basic skills ({{sk|Mining Barge|I}} and {{sk|Ice Harvesting|I}}) fits her [[Covetor]] with three Ice Harvester I modules and goes looking for ice. Once she finds a suitable ice field, each of her three miners can mine a block of ice every 4 minutes and 36 seconds.
+{{example|A beginning ice miner with very basic skills ({{sk|Mining Barge|I}} and {{sk|Ice Harvesting|I}}) fits her [[Covetor]] with three Ice Harvester I modules and goes looking for ice. Once she finds a suitable ice field, each of her two miners can mine a block of ice every 2 minutes and 28 seconds.
-If she then spends some time training her Mining Barge and Ice Harvesting skills to level IV, she will have lowered her cycle time to 3 minutes and 31 seconds, an improvement of over 20%. Wanting to improve her yield further, she installs two Ice Harvest Upgrade modules on her Covetor (with some training to {{sk|Mining Upgrades|IV}}), which drops her cycle time to 3 minutes and 11 seconds.
+If she then spends some time training her Mining Barge and Ice Harvesting skills to level IV, she will have lowered her cycle time to 2 minutes and 13 seconds, an improvement of about 12%. Wanting to improve her yield further, she installs two Ice Harvest Upgrade modules on her Covetor (with some training to {{sk|Mining Upgrades|IV}}), which drops her cycle time to 2 minutes.
-She then upgrades her ship to a [[Hulk]] (with some training to {{sk|Exhumers|IV}}), and installs an Ice Harvester Accelerator rig for good measure, which brings her cycle time down to 2 minutes 40 seconds. Going for broke, she upgrades all her modules to their Tech 2 variants and trains her skills to level V, dropping her cycle time down to 1 minute 49 seconds, for a total reduction of 60%.}}
+She then upgrades her ship to a [[Hulk]] (with some training to {{sk|Exhumers|IV}}), and installs an Ice Harvester Accelerator rig for good measure, which brings her cycle time down to 1 minute and 53 seconds. Going for broke, she upgrades all her modules to their Tech 2 variants, adds a third Ice Harvest Upgrade II and trains her skills to level V, dropping her cycle time down to 1 minute 17 seconds, for a total reduction of 48%.}}
 As mining ice often turns into a race, with large number of miners competing to mine as much ice before the belt is emptied, having short cycle times can be an advantage beyond simply mining more ice in a given period of time. This allows you to beat your competition to those last few pieces of ice in a belt (as, if two miners are attempting to mine the same asteroid with only one unit of ice left, whoever finishes their cycle first gets that block of ice, and the other gets nothing). [[Mining#Survey_scanner|Using a survey scanner]] can be very helpful, as you can see how much ice is left in each asteroid.