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→Ice Harvesting Mechanics: Added section about Porpoise/Orca/Rorqual, expanded section about drones. |
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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) is the [[Miasmos]], a Gallente industrial which can transport up to 63,000 m<sup>3</sup> (63 blocks, or about two loads from a [[Mackinaw]]) of ice. 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. | 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) is the [[Miasmos]], a Gallente industrial which can transport up to 63,000 m<sup>3</sup> (63 blocks, or about two loads from a [[Mackinaw]]) of ice. 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 | == Ice harvesting mechanics == | ||
{{main|Mining}} | {{main|Mining}} | ||
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 [[Drones#Mining_Drones|mining drones]] cannot be used. | 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 [[Drones#Mining_Drones|mining drones]] cannot be used. | ||
=== Skills === | === Skills === | ||
{{main|Mining#Skills|Mining skills}} | |||
The core skill for ice mining is the (appropriately named) {{sk|Ice Harvesting|icon=yes}}, which reduces the cycle time of ice mining modules by 5% per level. Train this to level V to use the Tech 2 ice miner. {{sk|Mining Upgrades|icon=yes}} is needed to install mining upgrade modules (which further decrease the cycle time of ice miners). Lastly, the {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}} and/or {{sk|Exhumers|icon=yes}} skills are needed to fly ice mining ships; training higher levels of these skills also decreases the cycle time of ice mining modules (depending on the bonuses of the ship being flown). Since most mining modules are fairly CPU-intensive (and fitting ice mining upgrades only makes this worse), you will probably need to train some [[Mining#Fitting_skills|fitting skills]] to take full advantage of your ice mining ship. | The core skill for ice mining is the (appropriately named) {{sk|Ice Harvesting|icon=yes}}, which reduces the cycle time of ice mining modules by 5% per level. Train this to level V to use the Tech 2 ice miner. {{sk|Mining Upgrades|icon=yes}} is needed to install mining upgrade modules (which further decrease the cycle time of ice miners). Lastly, the {{sk|Mining Barge|icon=yes}} and/or {{sk|Exhumers|icon=yes}} skills are needed to fly ice mining ships; training higher levels of these skills also decreases the cycle time of ice mining modules (depending on the bonuses of the ship being flown). Since most mining modules are fairly CPU-intensive (and fitting ice mining upgrades only makes this worse), you will probably need to train some [[Mining#Fitting_skills|fitting skills]] to take full advantage of your ice mining ship. | ||
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==== Exhumers ==== | ==== 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 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]]. | 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]]. | ||
==== Industrial Command and Capital Industrial Ship ==== | |||
With the release of the [[Ascension]], 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. | |||
=== Drones === | === Drones === | ||
{{main|Drones}} | {{main|Drones#Ice Harvesting Drones|Drones}} | ||
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 m<sup>3</sup> / Mbit/s), so even ships with the maximum amount of bandwidth (125 Mbit/s) are only able to utilize two at a time. This limits use to Exhumers and the {{co|wheat|Covetor}}, which can only field a single drone of this type, the Industrial Command and Capital Industrial Ships, which can use two. | |||
The {{co|wheat|Rorqual}} also has access to the powerful ice-harvesting variant of the Excavator drone. Unlike regular ice harvesting drones, Excavators only require 25 Mbit/s of bandwidth, allowing a {{co|wheat|Rorqual}} to field a full flight of five. Excavators have phenomenal ice harvesting capabilities, with a cycle time more than 100 seconds faster than normal ice harvesting drones, though they also move at half the speed. | |||
=== Improving yield === | === Improving yield === | ||
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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%.}} | 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. | 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. | ||
== References == | |||
<references /> | |||
==Tactics== | ==Tactics== | ||