Ice harvesting: Difference between revisions

Unlike the various [[Mining|ore mining]] tools, ice harvesting tools always harvest one block of ice (with a volume of 1000 {{m3}}) per cycle; because of this, the best method of harvesting ice more efficiently is to decrease the ice harvesters' cycle times.

{{expansion past|The [[Expansions#Odyssey|Odyssey expansion]] (June 2013) changed ice mining considerably. Before the expansion, ice belts were permanent features in a system, with thousands of ice asteroids spread over hundreds of kilometers. This was changed to much smaller (10-20 ice asteroids each with 50-200 units of ice) dynamic belts which disappear once mined out, and then respawn four hours later.}}

Ice belts can be found in every region of New Eden, but only in specific systems,<ref>[https://evemaps.dotlan.net/ dotlan]</ref> and each system contains 1-3 ice belts. Ice belts disappear once mined out, and then respawn 6 hours later.<ref>[https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/patch-notes-version-19-08 Patch Notes - Version 19.08]</ref> This timer does not work across downtime; there is always an ice belt after downtime - a new one or the leftovers of a not finished one before the downtime. Also unlike [[Asteroids and ore#Asteroid belts|asteroid belts]], ice belts are a type of [[Cosmic Anomaly]], meaning that they will appear in a different location in the star system every time they respawn, and can be found using a ship's onboard scanner, though they do not require [[Probe scanning|scan probes]] to find.

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! [[File:Logo_faction_amarr_empire.png|36pxpx|link=]][[File:mineral_helium_isotopes.png|32px|Helium Isotopes]]<br>Helium Isotopes

! [[File:Logo_faction_caldari_state.png|36pxpx|link=]][[File:mineral_nitrogen_isotopes.png|32px|Nitrogen Isotopes]]<br>Nitrogen Isotopes

! [[File:Logo_faction_gallente_federation.png|36pxpx|link=]][[File:mineral_oxygen_isotopes.png|32px|Oxygen Isotopes]]<br>Oxygen Isotopes

! [[File:Logo_faction_minmatar_republic.png|36pxpx|link=]][[File:mineral_hydrogen_isotopes.png|32px|Hydrogen Isotopes]]<br>Hydrogen Isotopes

Like asteroid ore, unrefined ice takes up a large amount of space and can therefore be time-consuming to transport. The best sub-capital ship for transporting ice (and ore) are the [[Miasmos]], a Gallente hauler which can transport up to 63,000&nbsp;{{m3}} (63 blocks, about two loads from a minimally-skilled [[Mackinaw]], or less than 1.5 loads at max [[Exhumer]] skills) of ice, and the [[Kryos]], another Gallente hauler which got a dedicated ice hold (max. 45,000&nbsp;{{m3}}) in a 2021 update. If you need to haul even larger quantities, it may be worth training to fly a [[freighter]] (which can hold over ten times as much), or to ship the ice by courier contract.

Ice can also be compressed in [[Upwell structures]] with active Standup Reprocessing Facilities, or by a [[Rorqual]] with an active Industrial Core. Compressed ice takes up only 100&nbsp;{{m3}} per block, and like compressed ore, compressing ice does not change its reprocessing yield.

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Ice mining works in much the same way as [[mining|ore mining]]: equip a ship with ice mining modules, approach and target an ice asteroid, and activate the mining module. At the ''end'' of each cycle, one unit of ice will be deposited in your ship's cargo or ore hold (despite its name, the ore hold can hold ice too). However (unlike ore mining) ice mining modules can only be fit on [[Mining Barges]] and [[Exhumers]], and the asteroid [[Drones#Mining Drones|mining drones]] cannot be used. Specialized [[Drones#Ice Harvesting Drones|ice harvesting drones]] must be used, which also come in T1, T2, Augmented, and Excavator flavors, and also use their own skills: {{Sk|Ice Harvesting Drone Operation}}, and {{Sk|Ice Harvesting Drone Specialization}}.

All three barges have a 2% reduction in Ice Harvester duration per level of {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}}. As with standard mining, each hull is suited for a different style of mining, but none have any particular focus in harvesting ice resources. For example, the [[Covetor]] has an extra role bonus to ice mining yield (25% reduction in cycle time and activation cost) and 5% bonus to range, the only one with such a bonus amongst the three barges, but however it also has a fairly small ore hold (7000&nbsp;{{m3}}), 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). 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.

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 its Barge counterpart the [[Procurer]].

With the release of the [[Expansions#Ascension|]] update, the [[Orca]], [[Rorqual]], and the newly-introduced [[Porpoise]] all have bonuses to ice harvesting drone cycle time. As a result, these ships have become viable ice harvesting platforms post-Ascension.

Ice harvesting drones do exist, and are in fact the only way for the {{co|wheat|Porpoise}}, {{co|wheat|Orca}}, and {{co|wheat|Rorqual}} to harvest ice. However, ice harvesting drones use considerably more bandwidth and drone bay space than their ore mining counterparts (50 vs 5 Mbits/s / {{m3}}), so most ships can only field a single drone of this type and the Rorqual, with the maximum amount of bandwidth (125 Mbit/s) can only utilize two at a time.

In contrast with ore mining, all ice mining modules mine exactly one unit (1000&nbsp;{{m3}}) of ice per cycle; therefore, the only way to increase your mining efficiency is to decrease your modules' cycle time. This can be done by training skills (see above), installing more advanced [[ORE Basic Ship and Skill Guide#Ice miners|ice mining]] and [[ORE Basic Ship and Skill Guide#Mining laser upgrades and ice harvester upgrades|mining upgrade modules]], fitting [[ORE Basic Ship and Skill Guide#Ice harvester accelerator|Ice Harvester Accelerator]] rigs, flying more advanced ships (Exhumers instead of Mining Barges), or using [[implants]] (the IH-100x Inherent Implants 'Yeti' Ice Harvesting series). Additionally, if you are in a fleet, you can receive further bonuses through [[Mining yield#Command Bursts|Command bursts]].

* [https://evemaps.dotlan.net/system/Ardallabien Ardallabien]

* [https://evemaps.dotlan.net/system/Mercomesie Mercomesie]

* [https://evemaps.dotlan.net/system/Miroitem Miroitem]

* [https://evemaps.dotlan.net/system/Emolgranla Emolgranla]

* [https://evemaps.dotlan.net/system/Gedugaue Gedugaue]

* [https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/mining-foreman-revolution Mining Foreman Revolution], dev blog detailing mining changes in [[Expansions#Ascension|Ascension]]