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Al hubbard (talk | contribs) Moved most of the ship details to Industrial, and abbreviated the remaining details. Could use some clean up. |
Breeze one (talk | contribs) →Hauler Tanking: Clean up of typos/broken links, plus a few additions to anti-gank tips |
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An example buffer tank fit would include 1x EM (or Kinetic, against Catalyst damage) Ward Amplifier, 1x Thermic Dissipation Amplifier and 2-3x Medium Shield Extenders. One or two Adaptive Invulnerability Fields can also be used, but remember that requires capacitor to run and has to be restarted after every jump. A Damage Control II will also add a lot of buffer, but requires removing an Expanded Cargohold module. | An example buffer tank fit would include 1x EM (or Kinetic, against Catalyst damage) Ward Amplifier, 1x Thermic Dissipation Amplifier and 2-3x Medium Shield Extenders. One or two Adaptive Invulnerability Fields can also be used, but remember that requires capacitor to run and has to be restarted after every jump. A Damage Control II will also add a lot of buffer, but requires removing an Expanded Cargohold module. | ||
For hauling, passive shield tank skills are key, followed by the ability to use a Damage Control II and Adaptive Invulnerability Field II. After that, armor tanking can be considered, but that takes away cargo space quickly as you burn up low slots with armor plates/hardeners instead of Expanded Cargohold modules. Note that specialized Gallente haulers like the [[Miasmos]], [[Epithal]] or [[Kryos]] are mostly useful for their specialized holds | For hauling, passive shield tank skills are key, followed by the ability to use a Damage Control II and Adaptive Invulnerability Field II. After that, armor tanking can be considered, but that takes away cargo space quickly as you burn up low slots with armor plates/hardeners instead of Expanded Cargohold modules. Note that Tech 2 Deep Space Transports, and specialized Gallente haulers like the [[Miasmos]], [[Epithal]] or [[Kryos]] are mostly useful for their specialized holds which are unaffected by Expanded Cargohold modules. These ships can, and should, be fitted with tanking or agility low slot modules, making armour tanked Deep Space Transports like the [[Impel]] a common sight. | ||
Visibly active tanking (most notably the Adaptive Invulnerability Field) might discourage ganking by the discriminating ganker, but your capacitor will not allow you | Visibly active tanking (most notably the Adaptive Invulnerability Field) might discourage ganking by the discriminating ganker, but your capacitor will not allow you to keep them running at all times. Remember turn them on when you align out of a gate and to turn them off once you are in warp. Turning them back on when you land at your destination gate is optional, but having them active as you land at a busy station like a trade hub is recommended. | ||
The best form of tanking for haulers is not getting caught in the first place. Use the [[Cloak Trick]] wherever possible (always on Deep Space Transports), and consider warp stabilisers as an option if you have fitting slots to spare. | |||
=== Avoiding Ganking === | === Avoiding Ganking === | ||
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When hauling, you should remember the following guidelines to avoid being ganked: | When hauling, you should remember the following guidelines to avoid being ganked: | ||
* Don't fly when wardecced | * Don't fly when wardecced | ||
* Don't fly AFK using the autopilot | * Don't fly AFK using the autopilot | ||
* Fit your hauler well & use the right ship | * Fit your hauler well & use the right ship | ||
* Don't haul expensive cargo in a flimsy ship | * Don't haul expensive cargo in a flimsy ship | ||
* Know your route | * Know your route, and know the most dangerous ganking spots | ||
* Use [[Bookmarks#Instant_Warp-Out|insta-undock bookmarks]] at busy stations | * Use [[Bookmarks#Instant_Warp-Out|insta-undock bookmarks]] at busy stations | ||
* Consider using a contractor | |||
* Other tips and tricks | * Other tips and tricks | ||
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Never fly an industrial ship (especially not freighters/jump freighters loaded with lots of cargo) when your corp is wardecced. | Never fly an industrial ship (especially not freighters/jump freighters loaded with lots of cargo) when your corp is wardecced. | ||
You will become easy prey and will quickly get turned into ashes, together with your expensive cargo. | You will become easy prey and will quickly get turned into ashes, together with your expensive cargo. | ||
If you need to haul during a wardec, drop the wardecced corp temporarily and fly under an NPC corp | If you need to haul during a wardec, drop the wardecced corp temporarily and fly under an NPC corp, or use an out-of corp hauler: [[Creating an Alt Hauler]] | ||
==== AFK Hauling ==== | ==== AFK Hauling ==== | ||
Flying AFK using the autopilot is the #1 way that most haulers lose their ships. When you use the autopilot to fly you to your destination, it warps you to 15km from the next gate then you slowly approach the gate at 100-200 m/s. At a minimum, this leaves you exposed for about a minute per gate and gives any potential attacker time to scan your ship, scan your cargo, then get ahead of you and setup a gank party. | Flying AFK using the autopilot is the #1 way that most haulers lose their ships. When you use the autopilot to fly you to your destination, it warps you to 15km from the next gate then you slowly approach the gate at 100-200 m/s (slower in a Freighter). At a minimum, this leaves you exposed for about a minute per gate and gives any potential attacker time to scan your ship, scan your cargo, then get ahead of you and setup a gank party. At worst, it gives you time to be bumped and ganked right there. | ||
If you must fly AFK, know your route, keep your cargo value very low, and fit as much buffer tank as possible. There are areas of space where flying AFK is reasonably safe, but the longer you do it, the higher the chances that someone will notice the pattern and try to take advantage of it. | If you must fly AFK, know your route, keep your cargo value very low, and fit as much buffer tank as possible. There are areas of space where flying AFK is reasonably safe, but the longer you do it, the higher the chances that someone will notice the pattern and try to take advantage of it. | ||
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Blockade runners rely on good bookmarks, crafty use of their Covert Ops Cloak, [[MWD]], and not fitting anything that would increase signature radius (no shield extenders). Due to their use of a covops cloak, well-flown blockade runners can be almost impossible to catch in hi-sec / lo-sec. So they are a good choice for more expensive cargo runs. But they are also very flimsy and can easily be ganked if you leave them uncloaked at a gate. | Blockade runners rely on good bookmarks, crafty use of their Covert Ops Cloak, [[MWD]], and not fitting anything that would increase signature radius (no shield extenders). Due to their use of a covops cloak, well-flown blockade runners can be almost impossible to catch in hi-sec / lo-sec. So they are a good choice for more expensive cargo runs. But they are also very flimsy and can easily be ganked if you leave them uncloaked at a gate. | ||
Deep Space Transports, used in high-security space, | Deep Space Transports, used in high-security space, haul almost exclusively in their Fleet Hanger which is unaffected by expanded cargoholds, so low slots can be used entirely for armor tank, or for shield tanked ships, for ability/speed modules. | ||
Freighters and Jump Freighters have three low slots and can fit any combination of cargohold expanders, nanofiber structures, inertia stabilizers, or reinforced bulkheads. How you fit a freighter depends on what you want to do, but it is strongly recommended to fit reinforced bulkheads whenever possible and to not fit cargohold expanders unless absolutely necessary. | Freighters and Jump Freighters have three low slots and can fit any combination of cargohold expanders, nanofiber structures, inertia stabilizers, or reinforced bulkheads. How you fit a freighter depends on what you want to do, but it is strongly recommended to fit reinforced bulkheads whenever possible and to not fit cargohold expanders unless absolutely necessary, as the expanders will reduce your overall tank substantially. | ||
==== Expensive Cargo ==== | ==== Expensive Cargo ==== | ||
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In the case of a "suicide" gank, the goal of the attacker is to trade their ship for your cargo. They do this by knowing how much ISK they will lose when their ship gets blown up by CONCORD and how much ISK your cargo is worth. Therefore your defense against a profit-minded attacker is to raise their costs while keeping the value of your cargo below the attacker's break-even point. | In the case of a "suicide" gank, the goal of the attacker is to trade their ship for your cargo. They do this by knowing how much ISK they will lose when their ship gets blown up by CONCORD and how much ISK your cargo is worth. Therefore your defense against a profit-minded attacker is to raise their costs while keeping the value of your cargo below the attacker's break-even point. | ||
Consider that a cheap T1 gank ship like the [[Catalyst]] can cost as little as 2m ISK fully fitted. A common rule of thumb (not endorsed here) is: | |||
3M ISK per 1k of EHP* | 3M ISK per 1k of EHP* | ||
This means that if your ship has 8k EHP, you should not be carrying more than 24M ISK worth of cargo and fit modules per trip. The more that you exceed that ISK/EHP value, the more likely you are to get ganked. However, you can often get away with 4M-6M ISK per 1k EHP if you know your route, do not auto-pilot, and know the key risk factors. Another alternative is the 50 million isk maximum collateral for T1 industrial haulers used by | This means that if your ship has 8k EHP, you should not be carrying more than 24M ISK worth of cargo and fit modules per trip. The more that you exceed that ISK/EHP value, the more likely you are to get ganked. However, you can often get away with 4M-6M ISK per 1k EHP if you know your route, do not auto-pilot, and know the key risk factors. | ||
Another alternative is the 50 million isk maximum collateral for T1 industrial haulers used by several hauling corporations. They will haul cargo up to 50,000,000 isk and 17,000 m3 in size using T1 industrial ships. This gives an indication of what they consider to be safe for high sec hauling in that type of ship. | |||
Key risk factors (which raise/lower the ISK/EHP calculation): | Key risk factors (which raise/lower the ISK/EHP calculation): | ||
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When you have expensive cargo above 1B to be moved in a freighter, you may want to consider double-wrapping it (create courier contract for some other alt of yours and then create another courier contract from this alt to actual freighter pilot). It will hide the contents of this package (assembled containers give same result), but some gankers tend to gank double wrapped transports without knowing what's inside, so most people (including hauling corporations) consider this will increase the risk, not decrease it. | When you have expensive cargo above 1B to be moved in a freighter, you may want to consider double-wrapping it (create courier contract for some other alt of yours and then create another courier contract from this alt to actual freighter pilot). It will hide the contents of this package (assembled containers give same result), but some gankers tend to gank double wrapped transports without knowing what's inside, so most people (including hauling corporations) consider this will increase the risk, not decrease it. | ||
'''Most Hauling corporations will not accept double wrapped contracts any more, due to them not being able to be sub-contracted between characters - do not do this if you intend to contract out''' | |||
==== Know your route ==== | ==== Know your route ==== | ||
Your best friend as a hauler in high-security space is knowledge of the local terrain. Which systems tend to be camped by gank parties. Which systems see frequent kills of haulers | Your best friend as a hauler in high-security space is knowledge of the local terrain. Which systems tend to be camped by gank parties. Which systems see frequent kills of haulers? Where are you likely to be cargo/ship scanned? What is the security status of the systems along the route? | ||
Scouting, in low-security or null-security space, is a must-do if you are carrying anything expensive, or are not flying a blockade runner. In low-security space, a well-flown blockade runner is almost impossible to catch and it can usually get past most null-sec bubble camps. | Scouting, in low-security or null-security space, is a must-do if you are carrying anything expensive, or are not flying a blockade runner. In low-security space, a well-flown blockade runner is almost impossible to catch and it can usually get past most null-sec bubble camps. | ||
==== Instant undock bookmarks ==== | A useful in-game channel is Gank-Intel where the hauling community often shares info about frequently travelled routes. Asking about the current situation in there before embarking on a high value contract through a dangerous area can be invaluable. | ||
==== Instant dock/undock bookmarks ==== | |||
Busier market hub stations (such as Jita CNAP 4-4) will have people camping the undock 23x7, waiting for you to undock with something shiny in the cargo hold. Your #1 defense against this is to prepare an [[Bookmarks#Instant_Warp-Out|insta-undock bookmark]] ahead of time. | Busier market hub stations (such as Jita CNAP 4-4) will have people camping the undock 23x7, waiting for you to undock with something shiny in the cargo hold. Your #1 defense against this is to prepare an [[Bookmarks#Instant_Warp-Out|insta-undock bookmark]] ahead of time. | ||
A good bookmark will get you off the station undock and out to a safe-spot before anyone has time to lock you, scan you and gank you. They are a must-have for Blockade Runners and rather important for the slower-aligning ships like Orcas and Freighters. | A good bookmark will get you off the station undock and out to a safe-spot before anyone has time to lock you, scan you and gank you. They are a must-have for Blockade Runners and rather important for the slower-aligning ships like Orcas and Freighters. | ||
Instant docks are also essential. Occasionally when auto-docking, the game will place you outside the immediate docking radius, and you will need to slow boat into the docking radius. This is particularly problematic at Jita 4-4, where entering from Perimeter (one of the most common entry systems) will place you at the back of the station if using the "Dock" command. Several gankers make an excellent living from sitting at this area, and picking off lazy Blockade Runner pilots. Setting an Instant-Dock right as you exit the station means you are assured to warp within the docking radius and prevent an easy kill for a ganker. | |||
==== Use a Contractor ==== | |||
The large hauling corporations all use contractor alts to assure op-sec. Essentially this means that one character accepts the contract, then sub-contracts it to the actual hauler, who carries the package, then contracts it back the contractor who then completes the contract. This means that: | |||
* Without scanning every ship, no-one (neither the contract's originator nor anyone watching the contract system) can tell which Character is hauling the package - making ganking a specific contract more difficult | |||
* As the identity (and corporation) of the actual hauler is not known, wardecs are less effective | |||
While not strictly necessary for private haulers, this added security can sometimes be useful | |||
==== Other tips and tricks ==== | ==== Other tips and tricks ==== | ||