Manufacturing
T1 Manufacturing
Introduction
In the EvE universe, most items are manufactured by player characters and traded in a relatively free way in the marketplace. Students of economics will note that these markets are neither perfect nor efficient in the technical senses; volumes of many items are low enough that the market can be manipulated (and is), and supply of materials and modules is partly provided by loot drops in missions, which can be adjusted without warning by the game developers. Similarly, the developers may adjust the requirements for a manufacturing process, or increase the availability of ore, or otherwise mess in the sandbox. So it's not a bad proxy for real life at that. (All these interventions have happened within the 90 days prior to this writing.)
Nonetheless, manufacturing and selling items can provide interest and ISK profit for the careful and canny player. The player must be aware, however, that there are plenty of items which actually destroy value -- that is, there are a great number of T1 items, modules especially, that are worth less than the cost of manufacture. There are many more items which can be sold at a profit, but only in a limited volume in certain markets. Manufacture in these cases may simply be an alternative to hauling stuff between markets.
Skills
The following skills are useful or required for T1 production. Most or all of these will be needed for T2/T3 production as well.
Advanced Mass Production
- Attribute: Mem/Int (8x)
- Prerequisites: Mass Production V, Industry III
Further training in the operation of multiple factories. Ability to run 1 additional manufacturing job per skill level.
Industry
Allows basic operation of factories. 4% reduction in manufacturing time per skill level.
- Attribute: Mem/Int (1x)
- Prerequisites: none
For T1 manufacturing, you will need to train this to level III in order to train the follow-up skills. Beyond that, this skill has no special purpose other then reducing the amount of time it takes you to manufacture an item. The reduction in time is useful in that it reduces fees paid for the manufacturing slot, but slot fees are generally fairly cheap and won't affect your bottom line except on low-end items.
Mass Production
Allows the operation of multiple factories. Ability to run 1 additional manufacturing job per level.
- Attribute: Mem/Int (2x)
- Prerequisites: Industry III
Production Efficiency
Skill at efficiently using factories. 4% reduction per skill level to the material requirements needed for production.* Attribute: Mem/Int (3x)
- Prerequisites: Industry III
If you are just production ammo for your own use, training this skill to level III or IV is all that is needed as you won't care about an extra 8-12% waste. But for the profit-minded industrialist, training this skill to level V is a very strong recommendation.
Supply Chain Management
Proficiency at starting manufacturing jobs remotely. Each level increases the distance at which jobs can be created. Level 1 allows for range within the same solar system, Level 2 extends that range to systems within 5 jumps, and each subsequent level then doubles it. Level 5 allows for full regional range.
- Attribute: Mem/Int (3x)
- Prerequisites: Mass Production IV, Industry III
This skill is more of a convenience skill then a must-have for a budding industrialist. The current NPC cost is 6.75M ISK, but it allows you to manage your production lines for a distance. If you invest in this skill, training to level III or maybe level IV would offer the most flexibility.
