Archive:Null-Sec Campus

	EVE University offers a class on:
Introduction to the NullSec Campus

EVE University's Nullsec Campus aims to:

• Establish and maintain a supportive base in NPC nullsec space
• Give students the opportunity to experience living in nullsec and the risks associated with it
• Provide the opportunity to learn to survive
• Practice PvP and PvE nullsec activities

Current Location: PC9-AY at Intaki Commerce Trading Post (top station)

Time: 23/7

Mailing List: UniNSC

Chat Channel: NSC.E-UNI (standard password applies)

Leadership

Campus Manager: Raido Kudonen

Combat Officers: Lanik Solette (USTZ), Peter Rotineque (EUTZ)

Structure Team: Dune Barphsaq, Magic Anninen, Paleo Olduwan

Hangars Team: Magic Anninen, additional position open

Import/Export Team: Captain Galen Wanderson, Dune Barphsaq, EBane Padecain, Stafro

Education Officer: Antei Thantonne

Manufacturing Officer: Mike Eventide

Reimbursement Officers: Dominic Altol (T1), Cat Evergreen (T2)

Joining the Campus

To join the Nullsec Campus, you must:

• Be a member of Eve University
• Join the NSC.E-UNI chat channel.
• Join NSC mailing list: UniNSC
• Join the Nullsec Campus Mumble channel.
• Join the active NSC fleet.
• Set your overview up according to University standards.
• Be willing to have fun and learn.
• Read this WIKI page entirely

You should also read:

• Newpeep’s Guide to NSC Version 3.3
• Check out NSC's Slack

You should also attend or read the following classes:

• The Rookie's Guide To Fleet Ops
• Fleets 101
• Fleets 102
• Fleet Terminology
• Bookmarks
• EVE University Rules of Engagement

And finally, we expect that you will:

• Be respectful, polite, and friendly to our many Syndicate neighbors.
• Follow the EVE University Rules.
• Follow the campus rules.

How to Get to the Campus

Travel Advisory - There be bubbles

• Gatecamps with Bubbles exist everywhere in Null Sec!! Do not fly directly from one gate to another, always use Tactical Bookmarks or bounce off a celestial to avoid them.
• Do not attempt to move to the campus unless you are already accepted into Eve University, blue to the Ivy League alliance or you understand the risk of losing your ship and your pod to pilots from the Ivy League and/or other threats in the area, as we are NBSI everywhere not high sec.
• It is highly recommended that you come to the campus with an Intro to the NSC fleet. They will explain in detail how to travel safely in Null Sec.
• When in doubt, ask in Fleet chat, the NSC.E-Uni chat channel, or in Mumble for advice or an escort. We will help you get to us.

From HQ (Slays), HSC (Amygnon), LSC (Uphallant)

• There are two main routes into the NSC's area of null security space from these locations:
  • Through Harroule (low sec) and MHC-R3 (null sec)
  • Through Reblier (low sec) and 6-CZ49 (null sec)
  • Other routes should be avoided unless you know the area very well. In particular, avoid Orvolle/PF-346.
• Both of the low sec/null sec gates are frequently camped and for your first trip to the NSC you are strongly advised not to attempt to reach the campus unassisted.
• Join the NSC standing fleet and Mumble channel. Ask for intel on the route, and decide whether to use the Harroule or Reblier routes based on that intel.
• Ask for a scout; in many cases, someone will be able to go to your null sec entry system (MHC-R3 or 6-CZ40) to let you know the best time to enter, and provide a guide the rest of the way.
• Set your autopilot destination to your chosen entry system, then "add waypoint" to PC9-AY.
• Be aware that the gates may be bubbled with mobile warp disruptors, and that every neutral in Local is probably actively trying to find and kill you. See the advice below on "Traveling Safely".
• On arrival in PC9-AY, dock at the NSC home station (Intaki Commerce Trading Post) and set your jump clone.
• Welcome to the NSC!

From Boystin (Solitude)

• Set your autopilot destination for PC9-AY.
• Join the NSC standing fleet and Mumble channel. Ask for intel on the route.
• Ask for a scout; in many cases, someone will be able to go to your null sec entry system (Y9G-KS) to let you know the best time to enter, and provide a guide the rest of the way.
• Set your autopilot destination to your chosen entry system, then "add waypoint" to PC9-AY.
• Be aware that the gates may be bubbled with mobile warp disruptors, and that every neutral in Local is probably actively trying to find and kill you. See the advice below on "Traveling Safely".
• On arrival in PC9-AY, dock at the NSC home station (Intaki Commerce Trading Post) and set your jump clone.
• Welcome to the NSC!

Taking the Pod Express

***This can only be done once per year, and so it is recommended to use the other methods*** This method will cost you a new medical clone, but it's safer and faster than traveling.

• Jump into a clean clone (you will lose your implants) and dock in any station with medical/cloning facilities.
• Make sure your clone is up to date.
• Right click your ship and select Leave ship.
• Open the Medical window from the station interface and click Change Station at the bottom.
• A list of available stations will pop up, select PC9-AY. (this list only shows stations where EUNI has an office as well as your starting NPC corp)
• Self destruct by selecting the option in the station menu
• Once the countdown is over, you'll wake up in PC9, and welcome to the NSC.

Campus Rules

If you have a question about the campus rules, contact a Leadership member.

General

• EVE University rules take precedence.
• Members active in the campus must be in the NSC fleet.
• If there is no fleet advertised, form one (See Standing Fleet info below), and put up an advert so others may join.
• Members active in the campus must be in mumble, at least able to listen. (If you are hearing impaired, let us know!)
• If you go AFK for long periods of time or unable to do anything bar station spin please drop fleet.
• Help your fellow campers learn.
• Fly what you can afford to lose.

Diplomatic Concerns

• Do not insult, provoke, or smack talk others. Shoot and kill them, but be polite about it.
• Do not discuss changes to diplomatic relations with the members of any other corporation or alliance unless authorized by management.
• Honor agreed-upon terms of all arranged fights with other corporations and alliances, unless the other party chooses to break these terms first.
• Be sporting about PvP engagements. Follow up with a "good fight" or "gf" in local chat, or some equivalent gesture, regardless of who won.
• Avoid engaging fleets of mixed neutrals and blues.

PvP

• NSC rules of engagement, while in nullsec, are "Not Blue Shoot It" (NBSI).
• Move to a separate fleet mumble channel if you're moving as part of a group more than a few jumps from PC9.
• Any event that results in a killmail or lossmail will have a comment on the killboard as well as have an AAR written about it on the forum.
• Write AARs for all combat actions.
• Loot from the Wrecks of IVY pilots must be returned to the IVY pilot unless he/she says otherwise. All loot from wrecks of those we were fighting belongs to the campus and as such must be put into the Donations container in the Alpha hangar.
• Wartarget loot always belongs to the ILN.

PvE

• PvE loot is the property of the group who agree to rat or run sites together.
• PvE groups should make a sub-Channel for communication during their Ops.

Communication

• Campus communications are "open comms" by default.
• When first entering the campus mumble, please wait before speaking so that you can determine whether a combat situation is under way.
• Open comms are suspended for two reasons usually:
  • Someone calls “Break Break” over mumble, which indicates a new threat or that a fellow unista is in immediate danger. Please allow the pilot to speak.
  • “Combat Comms” is called over mumble. This indicates a fight is underway and non-combat related chatter should pause for the duration.
• Groups of students operating in the local systems may remain in the main campus mumble.
• Whomever is baiting or calls out for assistance from the fleet is the "FC" of that engagement if one has not been determined in advance.
• Operations outside the "local area" as defined above must move to a separate ILN Fleet mumble channel.
• Moving to a separate fleet from the campus is recommended but not required.
• We operate on a "built for purpose" foundation: If an operation or initiative lasts for more than a few minutes, join a separate mumble channel (or fleet as a whole) until you accomplish your goal or disband the initiative. This helps organize our fleet and keep comms clear for those who need it.

What can I do in the campus?

Kill rats

• Pirate Factions by Region
• NPC Damage Types
• Info on Cosmic Anomalies

Exploration

• NSC Exploration Bookmark Standard Format
• Scanning & Probing
• Exploring and Exploiting Wormholes
• Recognizing a Good Wormhole

PvP

• UniBombers
• Baiting
• Scanning Down the Opponent

Null-sec PI

• Planetary_Interaction
• Hauling

Missions

• Intaki Syndicate

What to Train and Fly

Ships to bring when starting out

You may bring any ship that you don't mind losing. Here are some useful categories of ships you may want to consider bringing:

• Fast tackler - Great for making bookmarks and for PvP, especially for newbros
• Ewar boats - Moar ewar from all racial categories is a great asset for the campus
• Battlecruiser/Battleship - useful for ratting, PVE sites, and yes, PvP
• Scanning ship - Covops frigates and their T1 equivalents

On your first trip to the campus, it is recommended that you bring a fast, cheap frigate, both for ease of navigation through dangerous space, and to allow you to quickly make bookmarks as you travel. It is fairly easy to bring in additional ships later, please refer to the NSC forum for our Jump Freighter program. Expect to lose lots of ships.

At this time it is not recommended that you bring mining ships or industrials, with the exception of cloaky blockade runners. As the campus becomes more established, mining nullsec ores may become a more reasonable proposition, but at the current time we still have too much hostile activity in our home system for mining to be practical.

Replacement of T1 hulls under the Ship Replacement Program is available, with all the normal rules and regulations, with delivery to PC9-AY one of the available options. You can also move ships from the LSC in Uphallant using the LSC Jump Freighter service.

Recommended skill list

The NSC does not mandate any particular set of skills for flying with us.

However, for maximum enjoyment, we recommend that you have at least the skills to sustain yourself (for example, anomalies, signatures, ratting, or planetary interaction). Mining is not recommended at the NSC, because of the high traffic of our local area of Syndicate.

We also suggest that you be able to fly two or three classes of ships well for at least one race, so that you can engage a variety of targets and effectively participate in fights. Generally, this means the following skills and/or certificates:

• Fitting skills 4+ (Core Fitting Standard Certificate)
• Capacitor skills 4+ (Core Capacitor Standard Certificate)
• Hull Upgrades 4+, for utilizing your lowslots effectively
• Racial Frigate 4+ for at least one race
• Racial Destroyer 4+ for at least one race
• Racial Cruiser 3+ for at least one race
• Weapon skills 4+ for at least one race's weapon line (ideally, T2 weapons)
• Ability to fit T2 armor or shield tank, as preferred by your race
• Electronic warfare skills at 3 for your race's preferred EWAR type

Fleet-Up

EVE University uses the Fleet-Up website to coordinate ship fittings and doctrines across the whole University. NSC specific fits and doctrines are given names that begin with "NSC", for example NSC CruisePhoons. However, many of the other fits and doctrines will also be of interest to NSC pilots. Once you have joined the EVE University Fleet-Up group, you can easily see what ships to train for in the future, which ones you can already fly, and set skill plans to fly something we need.

Prior to October 2015, the NSC ran a separate Fleet-Up group in addition to the main EVE University group. The separate group has now been merged into the EVE University group, and is no longer available.

Fleet-up Doctrines

Once on the main page, go to Doctrines -> EVE University Doctrines to get a list of all active doctrines; NSC doctrines are given names starting with "NSC". You should aim to be able to fly at least one ship from each of the main NSC doctrines.

Another good place to look if you are starting out is the NSC Reshipping doctrine. This is a list of all ships that are kept on contract at PC9-AY, so learning to fly these ships will allow you to have easy access to new ships at a moments notice. The T1 frigates there are almost always useful for any operation.

In addition to those fits, training a Racial Frigate skill to V is very helpful in the NSC, because it opens up Interceptors and Covert Ops. These ships aren't on the Fleet-Up page, but are very helpful for scouting and/or scanning down targets. Racial frigates at V will also help out any of your T1 frigates you use in other fleet ops!

This guide, while having some specific information for the LSC, is still a great primer on the basics of fitting and the different roles in fleets.

Surviving in the NSC

• Read Newpeep’s Guide to NSC Version 3.3

The NSC Standing Fleet

Always join the standing fleet when near the NSC campus, or if you are travelling to the NSC campus. Here is some basic information about the standing fleet, including how to successfully create a standing fleet if one is not up.

Fleet Boss

• Accepting Fleet Boss

If boss is passed to you, either as a result of you volunteering or being "ninja bossed", the Fleet Advert window will pop up on your screen. Verify the Advert settings are correct as specified above and select the the "Submit" button. This will update the Fleet finder with the fact that you are the new boss and allow other pilots to join. Save the fleet setup from the Fleet windows setting menu for future use, if you have not done this before.

• Passing Fleet Boss to Another

If you are ready to leave fleet and are the current boss, you must pass the boss position to another in fleet first. Ask for volunteers in the Fleet Chat and/or Mumble. Make every reasonable effort to pass boss to someone who is active. Once you have your volunteer, make sure that they are safe, as becoming fleet boss will give them a 10-second session timer during which they cannot jump through a gate or dock at a station. Then, pass fleet boss to them by right clicking their name in chat or the fleet window, followed by a left click on "Make Boss".

• Being the Fleet Boss

The main job of the fleet boss is to move people in and out of Fleet/Wing command positions when asked to do so. Also, they are responsible for adding/removing new Wings and Squads as needed. The fleet boss is not the FC, nor in charge of anyone by default.

Setting up the NSC Fleet

If the NSC standing fleet is not active, double check in mumble or the NSC.E-UNI chat channel that the fleet is down. If there is no fleet, follow these instructions to create one.

1. Open the Fleet window via your NeoCom (NeoCom->Social->Fleet)
2. Right click on the four lines on the fleet tab and select "Form Fleet"
   1. If you already have a fleet set up saved, you can now load it by following the next steps, otherwise continue on with Step 3.
      1. Open the Fleet window and click on the four lines to open the Fleet menu.
      2. Select Fleet setups, then select your saved name.
      3. Make sure the message of the day is up to date.
      4. Continue to Step 8
3. Once the fleet is created, right click on the four lines again and select "Set Free-Move"
4. Set up at least two wings each with a full five squads
   1. Don't worry about fleet leadership skill levels and passing boosts; this is the standing fleet, not a dragonslayer.
   2. Add wings by right-clicking on "Fleet" and selecting "Create New Wing"
   3. Add squads by right-clicking on a wing and selecting "Create New Squad"
   4. Wings and squads can be renamed from the defaults, but please keep them both short and pronounceable and make all the names different. The aim is to be able to say things like "bombers move to red squad" and have people form up without confusion.
5. Set the Message of the Day (MOTD) for the fleet.
   1. Click the "Channel Settings" icon in the fleet chat window and Select the "Open Channel Settings Window" option.
   2. In the text box, copy/paste the following then select OK
      

      Welcome to the NSC Standing Fleet.
      When you are in the fleet, make sure you also are in Mumble.
      Drop fleet when you go AFK
      Be advised that bubbles are up in PC9. Use tacticals or bounce of celestials when travelling in Null Sec!!

6. Create the NSC Fleet Advert
   1. Select the "Fleet Finder" tab in the fleet window
   2. Select the "My Advert" tab
   3. Click the "Create Advert" button at the bottom of the window
   4. Set the "Fleet Name" to "NSC Standing Fleet"
   5. Check the "My Corporation" and "My Alliance" check boxes. Also, select "Hide Details in Advert" box at the bottom on the window. Leave everything else as default.
   6. Select the "Submit" button.
7. You can store any fleet setup, whether you created the fleet or not and whether you are fleet boss or not:
   1. In the fleet menu, click the four lines to open the menu.
   2. Click "Store Fleet Setup" option
   3. Enter the name "NSC Fleet" and check the "Include Current Message of the Day Setting" and "Include Current Free-move Setting".
8. Marvel at the greatness of the Fleet you have created and welcome people as they join in.
9. Save the fleet setup from the Fleet windows setting menu for future use.

General Advice

There is a steep learning curve for new players moving into the NSC due to the nearly constant presence of hostile activity. Syndicate is, first and foremost, a PvP environment, so people will be trying to kill you nearly every time you undock. Even the NPC rats can be more formidable opponents than you might expect. You will lose ships, maybe a lot of ships. The advice in this section should help you to minimize your losses.

Warp disruption bubbles are a fact of life in Nullsec. This is not a bad thing! They will affect all players indiscriminately unless their ship type allows them to ignore them. Used effectively, they can be another tool in your repertoire for PvP regardless of who anchored them. Also remember to utilize tactical bookmarks to avoid unintentionally landing in them, the NSC has public tacticals at most jump gates in Syndicate around PC9 for your use.

Because of bubbles, pod killing is a much more frequent occurrence in Nullsec than in High Sec or Low Sec space. Try to utilize jump clones to segregate your high implant learning clones from your fleet / hero tackle / whelp clones. Dune Barphsaq currently runs an implant replacement plan where he will replace two +3 implants for free +3 implant pair replacement if you are podded in a Quick Response Fleet (QRF) or scheduled fleet.

Read the Guides

Read the Surviving Nullsec Guide, read Newpeep’s Guide to NSC Version 3.3 (which supersedes the still excellent but slightly outdated I'm Here - Now what), plus the following do's and dont's.

Campus DO'S

1. Always stay in NSC Mumble when active, even if docked. Your friends may need your help.
2. If you see NB (Not Blue) ships on grid, stay calm. If you are cloaked from exiting a gate, report what you see clearly and concisely. For example, "Tinman on A-Z gate in 5-Top. 7 Neutrals on gate. 4 Battlecruisers, 1 HAC, 2 frigates" is much more helpful than "15 Neutrals with me in 5-Top! Hurricane, Hurricane, Drake, Zealot, Stilleto, Jaguar, Hurricane." The former gives a concise report to fellow campers about the relative strength of their fleet composition, while the later rambles on and while precise, is hard to follow and process mentally.
3. If you haven't set up your overview, you must do so before going out to camp. If your overview is not properly set up, you might find yourself engaging inappropriate targets, taking fire from ships that don't even show up, or other equally disastrous outcomes. Pay special attention to the Pod Saver tab and learn how to use it. See the Overview Guide for information about how to configure your overview.
4. Ratting, while relatively lucrative, can be very dangerous. Make sure other campers know where you're ratting. Keep an eye on local, rat aligned. Talk to your fellow campers. If they are in the adjacent systems, share intel about neutrals passing through. If campers are in the same system, be aware of what everybody is flying. If you get ambushed in a belt, explain what is happening in a calm tone, what kind of ships are attacking you, how many, and where you are. Put a "w" in fleet chat so your fleetmates can easily warp to you. Consider that if the enemy has superior forces to what the NSC can bring, the wisest course of action may not be for everybody to warp in and get themselves killed. You should tell us what we are up against and let us decide for ourselves whether to intervene.
5. Follow the Surviving Nullsec guide to bookmarks, and create bookmarks for PC9-AY (our home system) and 6-CZ49 (closest low-sec entry) ASAP. You may have to bookmark in 6-CZ49 in a fast frigate or wait until the local there are AFK or out of system. During campus downtime, create bookmarks in other nearby systems and systems you frequently roam.
6. When creating shared bookmarks, stick to this standard so that they can be understood quickly by everyone.

Campus DONT'S

1. Go AFK uncloaked in space. You will die, either from non blues or because The Management decides to use you for target practice.
2. Go AFK cloaked in space while in fleet. You may die if someone accidentally warps to you and decloaks your ship.
3. Smack talk in local. Jibber jabber with them all you want outside of combat, but we don't smack talk at Camp and nor is it permitted by the Uni. Remember, the Camp is a place to learn how to live in Null. Many people you see out there may be a future corporation for you or your fellow Unista. Negative standings are simply for Rules of Engagement purposes, and plenty of corporations/alliances with negative standings to the Uni openly recruit from us. Don't be the guy/gal who ruins it for everyone.
4. Warp to bubbled gates and celestial locations in PC9 unless you are trying to catch someone who may be headed there. The camp has several bubbles at the stations, sun, and gates designed to catch enemy fleets and unawares travelers. These bubbles can also catch you, which would be most humiliating for yourself. Warp to your tactical first, then to the gate/celestial so you can avoid the bubble.
5. Berate and belittle your fellow campers. We are all here to have fun and learn, nobody likes to be picked on. There will be zero tolerance for this.
6. Log/return from AFK and warp to the first voice you hear in a fight. That may be a great way to land right next to a juicy kill, a great way to get yourself killed, or a great way to land right next to your friendly scout and decloak him. Wait for a break in comms and ask for directions, ask in fleet chat, or warp to someone you are POSITIVE is engaged in combat and needs help. For example:

• Bobby says, "Tengu is burning for the gate, Omen is receiving reps."
  • Bobby may be engaged, or he may be sitting on-grid at a tactical watching the fight cloaked.
  • Bobby will not be happy if you warp to him when he is not in the fight, which at a minimum burns his tactical and may de-cloak him and get him killed.
• Tommy says, "Scram, web on Tengu. Someone get secondary point, he's burning me down."
  • Tommy is probably going to die unless he gets help. Warp to him if you want to be a hero and save the day. If you do, announce on comms that you are doing so and maybe you'll get help.
  • Tommy may die before you land and/or your fleet may scatter, meaning you just warped into a hornets nest with nobody around to help. Prepare to warp to safety using your podsaver and carefully prepared bookmarks.

Our Neighborhood

Knowing your surroundings is essential for survival in nullsec, and the NSC is no exception.

File:V1.7 2016.02.28.png

Nullsec Campus Background and Overview

On September 26th, 2012 at 23:00, a handful of brave, perhaps foolhardy Unistas, perceiving that the Uni lacked adequate opportunities to experience nullsec life, followed a gibbering madman named Tinman Spectacular into the hinterlands of Syndicate, pitched their tents and settled in for the long haul.

For a long while, the Campus was run mostly by a tight-knit handful of Unistas, and control eventually passed to stoic campus leader, Media Assassin. In the summer of 2013, Media Assassin left the University, citing stale PvP opportunities in Syndicate. Timdogg Ambramotte was selected as the successor. In October 2013 Timdogg moved on to another corp, with Abetorix Lincoln taking over as the campus manager. In January 2014 Abe turned over the Campus Manager job to Fargofargone.

In November 2014, taking advantage of Ineluctable vacating the PC9 pocket in favour of the larger VV- pocket, the NSC relocated from EZA to PC9. Various local facilities were installed, including an industry office in T22 and control of POCOs for ease of PI. In December, shortly after the move, Fargo was replaced by Grygr Anzomi as the NSC Manager. In July 2015, Grygr stepped back and Bora Vyvorant took over as NSC Manager.

The NSC is a grassroots, student run initiative, which welcomes all Ivy League members who meet our basic requirements to join. We operate in an environment of intense PvP activity, and anyone who wants to join us should be ready and willing to engage in combat with other players on a regular basis.

PvE activities, such as ratting, exploration, manufacturing, and planetary interaction are available, and quite lucrative when compared to high and low sec space. Mining and Ice mining is possible in the pocket, but you must exercise extreme caution while doing so.

You may have been told that nullsec is too difficult or dangerous for new players. The members of Nullsec Campus do not believe this, and welcome very new players in their ranks. If you are very new, it is recommended that you attend or listen to any classes related to PvP as soon as possible, and focus your skill training on core and PvP specific skills. No activities of the Nullsec Campus will be restricted by player age or experience. Just prepare yourself to get exploded frequently, and don't beat yourself up about it when it happens.

Campus Services

We offer a number of services to campus members. All services are funded by donations and PVP loot. All of these are explained in further detail here

• Jump Freighter Transport
  • Free shipments between PC9-AY and Jita for campus members.
  • Follow instructions here.

• Module Rebuy
  • Buy expensive faction, deadspace, or officer loot for discounted prices from item exchange contracts.
  • Follow instructions here.

• Instant Reshipping
  • Buy recommended fittings directly from corporate contracts; they will be instantly delivered to your hangar.
  • Prices set to Jita prices plus 10% for overhead and transportation.
  • See corporation fittings in-game; fittings starting with "NSC" are campus fittings.
  • Further information can be found here.

• Space Communism Hangars
  • Use hangars to refit your ship in emergencies or combat situations, free of charge.
  • If you don't yet have permission to use the access-controlled hangars, ask a Hangar Officer or other Unista.
  • Use the hangars sparingly; they are not meant to subsidize your own purchases.
  • In general, you should be paying for your own ships and modules and bringing them down here. Use our jump freighter service and buy from Jita. Remember the SRP for when you lose your ship. You are responsible for keeping a healthy supply of ships and modules you enjoy ready to fly at your own expense.
  • Abuse of the hangars may result in disciplinary action.

• NSC Implant Replacement Program
  • Replacement of up to two +3 Learning Implants per day
  • Loss must be within 5 jumps of PC9-AY within Syndicate, or on an official NSC roam with an AAR where a loss occurred ANYWHERE in 0.0 space. Sorry, lose a pod in low-sec, and you're out of luck.
  • Must have less than 6 months time in Uni and never held, or currently hold, the Graduate title.
  • Less than 15M SP excluding Industry and Mining skills (e-honor on that).
  • To claim your prize, fill out this form.
  • (Original post here)

• Fleet Up
  • Online fleet fitting tool showing campus pilot abilities for FC's and out of game ship fits.
  • Follow the Link to become a member. Please set your character as "Public to Group(s)" so that we can see what you can fly.

Interesting Links

• Interdiction 101 syllabus contains detailed information on the use of Mobile Warp Disruptors, Interdictors, and HICs.
• Surviving Nullsec A generalized wiki entry on how to survive trips through Nullsec, and thrive should you choose to live there.
• The Altruist's Syndicate Article A regional travel guide from gentleman pirate Azual Skoll.

A Note from Tinman

Wow, if you’ve made it this far you must be considering checking out the NSC. Great! Now, you may be asking yourself “Why should I join the NSC instead of XYZ Campus, Tinman Spectacular?”

Obviously I’m biased towards this, but when I say NPC Null is an easier PvP training ground than High-sec, Low-sec, or W-space I mean it … truly. In Syndicate, you do not have to worry about many nuanced game rules and mechanics that can make PvP in other parts of New Eden incredibly difficult.

1. No need to worry about neutral support on/off grid in 0.0 like you have to worry in low or high security space, if someone wants to be cheesy with that you find it and kill it, no silly repercussions from game mechanics. (Concord, Gate guns, Security Status, neutral interference due to crime-watch)
2. Fights will happen without regard to gate/station guns. You won’t see pirates playing Crime watch games to bait half your fleet into attacking them immediately preceding a KOS cool down, forcing the other half to sit-out or risk damage for silly NPC guns.
3. Lack of extremely lucrative Faction Warfare sites. You can make decent ISK in Syndicate if you want, but not as easily or readily as you can in FW. If you see a ship in space, you can be sure it’s probably there to fight, or facilitate someone’s fight. No ambiguity there.
4. No complicated W-Space mechanics. Look, I like wormholes, they're different, but they are challenging and require more than just SP. They require significant game knowledge about wormhole mechanics, sleeper mechanics, POS mechanics ... it's hard by gosh! (I'd encourage everyone to check out the Uni WHC or some other Worm-hole corp at some point though.)
5. NBSI … period. No need to worry about corporation standings, security status, or any of that other stuff. If it’s on your overview, you can shoot it. A second is a lifetime in PvP, do you really want to use that second debating whether attacking a -5-to-the-corp, positive-sec-status frigate on gate is a good idea while you’re nervous as all get-out about timing your MWD cycles? (Assuming you set up your overview to hide blues.)
6. Low-value ships. Syndicate sees more low-value ships per fight than any other area of space. Because folks here fight so much, they simply can’t afford to lose 200M ISK cruisers, 800M ISK Tech-3s, and billion ISK bling ships. Sure, you’ll see a good amount of those ships, but not like you do in low-sec where there are no threats of bubbles and bombs, or high-sec where there is almost no threat for capsuleers well versed in the nuances of “crime watch” and other game mechanics.

So come down, check it out. I will say that 0.0 is not for everyone. In fact, I’d say the majority of you reading this who try it won’t like it. But if you are willing to try it as a day-one newb or a 20M SP bear you’ll at least be able to say “been there, done that.” And when you're done here, you can move on to other parts of the Uni or even another corp entirely, and have an incredible skill-set to bring to the table based solely around navigating, surviving, and thriving in some of the harshest space New Eden has to offer. (And not ridiculously complicated and confusing game mechanics.)