Gate camps

A gate camp or gatecamp is created when pilots gather to stay at or near ("camp") a gate, in the hope that potential targets will jump in through the gate and be unable to escape.

Gatecamps vary in scale from a handful of pilots to relatively large fleets, and in duration from a minute's pause during a small gang roam to rolling, multi-day, cross-timezone lockdowns imposed by large nullsec alliances for strategic reasons. Groups gatecamp for a variety of reasons: sometimes to trap particular targets, sometimes in the hope that a particular bottleneck gate will deliver lucrative kills, and sometimes to generate Content for pilots with nothing better to do.

The exact mechanics and tactics involved in gatecamping depend on whether the camp is in highsec, lowsec, or nullsec. Wormholes can also be camped using techniques similar to those used for nullsec gates.

Offensive gatecamp

• All ships stay within jump range of the gate, ready to pursue an enemy or move on.
• Sacrifices depth and effectiveness for high mobility and flexibility.

An offensive gatecamp is usually imposed quite briefly by a fleet or small gang during a longer roam. Typically, battlecruisers and larger ships stay tucked into the gate at 0m, and cruisers and smaller craft orbiting the gate between 1000-2000m. Fleet interceptors and destroyers specifically fitted for fast locking can sit at 0m with 0m/s speed with MWDs on in order to quickly give chase to hostiles jumping through.

Offensive gatecamps allow the fleet to remain mobile, able to jump through the gate in pursuit of an enemy.

Defensive gatecamp

• Fleet is spread out around the gate at optimal attack ranges.
• Useful for defensive or ambush purposes.
• Sacrifices mobility for combat effectiveness.
• Drones are out

A defensive gatecamp is better prepared for targets that jump in, but is less ready for its own members to jump out. The fleet will set up with tacklers orbiting at 1000-2000m and all other craft spread in a sphere around the gate at their optimal ranges. This puts EW and snipers in their best positions, spreads the fleet out and puts the fleet at 100% effectiveness for range. Fleet interceptors and destroyers specifically fitted for fast locking can sit at 0m with 0m/s speed with fleet drones (if deployed) assigned to them.

It is not suited for mobility however, since many ships will need to a tactical bookmark or a celestial object and then back in order to jump through the gate. This type of gatecamp is useful when you know the enemy is coming to you.

Smartbombing gatecamp

Smartbombing gatecamp

A special form of gatecamping utilises Smartbombs as a way to deal damage to enemy ships when they either land in a bubble or directly at the gate. Smartbombing gatecamps are only viable in nullsec and lowsec; in highsec a neutral non-target ship is almost certain to wind up being hit, which will draw CONCORD down on the smartbomber. Battleships are commonly used, as they can fit a high number of smartbombs and can tank the gateguns in lowsec.

As can be seen in the picture, smartbombs at the gate are usually set up at >6250m, so they do not overlap with the gate. Any ship warping to a gate will have a short period between landing and jumping the gate. This time is utilised by the smartbombing ship(s) to deal damage.

Smartbombing gatecamps pose a particular risk to pods: in a normal gatecamp in lowsec space, a pod can normally warp out scot free after a ship loss, but smartbombs can damage and destroy a pod quickly before this happens.

Hostile gatecamp

A Low-Sec gate camp.

Hostile gatecamps are common throughout New Eden. Pipes from high security space going into low security space are some of the most common routes that are camped. There are multiple types of gatecamps to be on the lookout for, a few include:

• Highsec war target gatecamps
• Lowsec to highsec routes
• Nullsec gatecamps with bubbles

Dealing with hostile gatecamps

• Always ask whether "eyes" (someone in the system that can see what is going on) are available in an intel channel or in voice comms before jumping into a system you may suspect is being camped.
• If you are asked to check for a gatecamp, create a safe within directional-scan range of the gate so you can scan it for combat ships. If you are pressured for time and have no safe, see if there are any non-threatening celestial (moons are good) within d-scan range of the gate which you can warp to at 100 to scan the gate. Report your findings in the appropriate intel channel. Relay information on the camp's fleet composition if possible. You can use a tool such as dscan.info to pass on information about large numbers of ships on scan at once.
• While waiting for intel, never sit on grid on the opposite gate. Always wait for intel in a safe, or (better) while bouncing between multiple safes.
• Some gatecamps keep their own eyes on the other side to prepare for people jumping through. Check the Local chat channel (which you should in any case always watch like a hawk while in potentially-hostile space): if no one else is in the system with you, you are not being watched. If there are other people, one of them might be sitting in a cloaked ship watching the route.
• If you cannot get eyes on a camp and it is safe to assume the gate is camped, try to take an alternate route.
• If you do jump through into a gate camp, hold your cloak and stay as calm as possible (you have a full minute of gate cloak), then quickly burn back to the gate and jump though. Make sure you activate and overheat all your hardeners and prop mods!
• A tactically-astute gatecamp will have one or more members avoid aggressing and jump through to the other side, to catch you after you burn back to the gate, but they won't be as well-prepared as the people on the main camp side, and you might escape them.
• Only attempt to warp away after jumping in, rather than burning back to the gate, if you are in something small and fast with a low align time. Some gatecamps have a tackle that can insta-lock.

Bubbled gatecamps

You will only find these kind of gatecamps in nullsec. Some of the techniques used for lowsec gatecamps can be applied to these. The difficulty with nullsec camps is that multiple gates in the system can be camped using drag bubbles, and you could potentially be camped from your warp to the gate as well as after your jump through the gate.

As you can see from the image, warping in on the axis of the bubble will drag you into it, catching you off of the gate, making you a very easy target. Remember, though: bubbles prevent you from warping, but they will not deactivate prop mods, so you can still overheat your propulsion and try to burn out of them.

If you are planning any travel in nullsec it is worth reading up on bubble mechanics. A rule of thumb in nullsec is to do everything possible to avoid warping directly from gate to gate in any system which is not entirely empty or filled only with confirmed allies.

Like smartbombs, bubbles pose a particular risk to pods: after a ship loss, a pod in a bubble cannot warp away, and must slowly move out of the bubble, with no propulsion module to assist. This is one of the main reasons why pilots flying in nullsec are advised to use clones with either no implants or only inexpensive implants.

Using a bounce

A "bounce" is a bookmark used to counter drag and catch bubbles. It allows you to warp to a gate off of the axis that bubble is placed on, so that you will land near the gate instead of the bubble, then warp from the bounce to the gate and jump.

The reason why bubbles pull you out of warp like this is because when you warp EVE draws an invisible line between you and your destination, the line also extends beyond your target location by about 90km. When there's a bubble on that line, even the extra 90km, the game says "You've been caught in a bubble!" and warps you to the bubble instead of your target. That's what makes it possible for the bubble to "drag" you past the gate. By warping to a bounce you (ideally) avoid letting this happen.

If no bookmarks are available, a pilot can bounce from a celestial in-space that allows the player to route around likely bubble alignments. Other nicknames for bounce bookmarks are "ping" and "tac" (strictly speaking "tactical bookmarks" is a larger category including other types of bookmark).

• Some players have bounces for most systems in their corp bookmarks depending on what corp they are in. Use these if you have them.
• If you do not have corp bookmarks you will have to set up a bounce later on when the gate is not being camped and the system is clear of hostiles and neutrals.
• If you need to get through and you have no bounces you can use a nearby moon, planet, belt, or Customs Office as a bounce as these are usually off of the axis of any bubbles. Try to use a celestial closest to your target gate.
• D-scan is your friend: make sure to know how many bubbles are on the gate before you commit to using a celestial as a bounce.

Setting up a Bounce

Setting up a bounce is simple. When the system you would like to create a bounce is clear, warp to your target gate. If you land in a bubble, just burn back to the gate. Once you are on the gate burn above or below the gate at least 150km off (200km+ is preferable) and set a bookmark. You will now be able to use this bounce and safely avoid bubbles.

To do this quickly, use a small, fast ship, such as an interceptor or fast T1 frigate, fitted with a MWD.

Third Party Websites

Several third party websites are useful for scouting ahead along your path.

1. Use https://eve-gatecheck.space/eve/ to check your route before and during your journey. This tool will scout your route using ZKillboard and identify any Gatecamps along the route, coloring the camped system in red. If Smartbombs, Interdictors or Heavy Interdictors are present on the kill reports for the Gatecamp it will post a large warning for that system. Since this website pulls from ZKillboard it can be delayed for 15-30 minutes in reporting a new Gatecamp.

2. Interrogate each system along your route individually using https://zkillboard.com. This is the method that gives you the most up to date details about a system, however is the most labor and time intensive.

3. Map your route using https://evemaps.dotlan.net/route. This tool will provide you intel along your route, including recent ship and pod kills, but not immediately identifying a Gatecamp like the first link above. This tool updates hourly, so will not identify a newly camped system.