Jump drives
Most capital ships, the largest ships in New Eden, are too large to use the stargates that smaller ships use. Instead of using stargates, these ships have a built-in "jump drive" that they can use to teleport to a cynosural field in a different system. A small number of ships have jump drives even though they are small enough to use stargates.
Jump Drives
Jump drives are not modules. They are built into the hull of the ship. All ships that contain a jump drive require the Jump Drive Operation skill to pilot. The following classes of ship contain jump drives:
- Dreadnoughts
- Carriers
- Supercarriers
- Titans
- Jump Freighters
- Black Ops Battleships
- Capital Industrial Ships
Unlike stargates, which are free to use, jump drives require fuel. The jump drive comes with a special fuel bay which can only store fuel for the jump drive. The fuel required depends on the race that constructed that drive, and can be produced by refining ice mined in that race's territory. The respective fuel type for each race is:
| Amarr | Helium isotopes |
| Caldari | Nitrogen isotopes |
| Gallente | Oxygen isotopes |
| Minmatar | Hydrogen isotopes |
| ORE | Oxygen isotopes |
The fuel cost for each jump does not depend on the number of stargate jumps to the destination. It depends on the distance between the two systems in space (measured in light-years). Each jump drive has a maximum jump range, and consumes a certain amount of fuel per light-year. The maximum jump range is extended by the skill Jump Drive Calibration (20% increase per level), and the fuel consumption is reduced by the skill Jump Fuel Conservation (10% reduction per level). Jump freighters also have their required fuel reduced by the skill required to fly them. These three skills make a huge difference to the base figures, as shown in the table. Jump ranges used to be significantly longer (3.5 - 6.5 ly base ranges) but were shortened during the October 2014 Phoebe release as part of an effort to reduce long range power projection in nullsec.
| Ship type | Base Range | Max Skills Range | Fuel per ly | Fuel bay (m3) | Fuel bay (units) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreadnought | 2.5 ly | 5 ly | 1500 units | 8 000 | 80 000 |
| Carrier | 2.5 ly | 5 ly | 1500 units | 3 000 | 30 000 |
| Supercarrier | 2.5 ly | 5 ly | 1500 units | 5 000 | 50 000 |
| Titan | 2.5 ly | 5 ly | 1500 units | 60 000 | 600 000 |
| Jump Freighter | 5 ly | 10 ly | 4400 units | 10 000 | 100 000 |
| Black Ops Battleship | 5 ly | 8 ly | 450 units | 1 250 | 12 500 |
| Capital Industrial Ship | 2.5 ly | 5 ly | 1500 units | 10 000 | 100 000 |
Finally, activating a ship's jump drive consumes 95% of the energy in its capacitor (reduced by 5% per level of Jump Drive Operation), so the above mentioned ships are relatively weak just after jumping. Capital ships making multiple jumps are often fit with cap rechargers and capacitor power relays (a travel fit) to reduce the amount of time between jumps.
Cynosural Fields
Cynosure (say "SIGH no sure") is a little-used word. It means a guide, or a person or thing that draws attention towards itself. It was once the name of the North Star, making it a very appropriate name to give to the cynosural fields of New Eden.
In order to jump, a jump drive must first lock onto a cynosural field, or "cyno", at its destination. These fields can be produced either by the Cynosural Field Generator modules, or the Cynosural Generator Array, which can be anchored at a POS. The module can only generate a cynosural field in systems with a security of 0.4 or below (low-sec or null-sec), and the array can only be anchored in sovereign nullsec. If a ship can't use a stargate, it cannot enter high security space. It is also impossible to produce a cynosural field in wormhole space.
The Field Generator module requires the 
Cynosural Field Theory skill to operate. For a ship to activate the module, it must have 500 units (200 m3) of liquid ozone in its cargohold, which is consumed when the module is activated. The amount of fuel required to "light a cyno" is reduced by 10% for every level of Cynosural Field Theory the user has. The cynosural field stays active for 10 minutes, during which time the ship generating the field is unable to move, dock, or eject its pilot. (Other systems still work as normal.) It's dangerous enough to be immobile in lowsec, but it gets worse: when the cyno is active, it appears on the system overview, so that anybody in the system can warp to its location. It also appears on the universe map. As a result, most ships that light a cyno are expendable frigates. The Tech 2 Force Recon cruisers get an 80% reduction to the cost of lighting a cyno, and are only rendered immobile for 5 minutes, but they're expensive ships for lighting a cyno.
The cynosural field generated by the Cynosural Generator Array is always active. The array must be anchored at a starbase by a member of the alliance that has claimed sovereignty over the system, and has also installed the Cynosural Navigation upgrade. Remember that students of Eve University are forbidden to PvE in sovereign nullsec.
Once the cyno is lit, a capital ship in the same fleet as the ship lighting it (or in the same alliance, in the case of the array) can right-click on the pilot lighting the cyno and select "Jump" to jump to the field.
Jump Bridges
Of all the ships with jump drives, Titans alone are able to fit a special module called the Jump Portal Generator. This allows them to transport other ships to a cynosural field, even if the other ships do not have jump drives of their own. Using the module requires the Jump Portal Generation skill. The Titan must first be within jump range of a cyno lit by a member of the fleet. Once the cyno is lit, the Titan pilot can create a jump bridge (the "Bridge" option is right next to the "Jump" option), which behaves something like a temporary stargate for the other ships in their fleet. The jump bridge stays open for one minute, and immobilizes the Titan holding it open. The act of opening the bridge costs 500 units of Strontium Clathrates, and when ships jump across the bridge, they consume fuel from the Titan's fuel bay. When the Titan opens the bridge, it does not automatically jump through.
Covert Cynosural Fields
The Covert Cynosural Field Generator is a module similar to the regular Cynosural Field Generator, but it can only be fit to Black Ops Battleships, as well as all ships that can fit a Covert Ops Cloaking Device:
- Blockade Runners
- Covert Ops Frigates
- Stealth Bombers
- Force Recon Cruisers
- Strategic Cruisers (with the appropriate subsystem)
The module generates a covert cynosural field, which is different to the normal cynosural field in a few important ways.
- Activating the module requires the Cynosural Field Theory skill to be trained to V.
- The field does not appear on the overview of everyone in the system (although it still shows up when probed or scanned for).
- The fuel cost and duration are a tenth of that of a normal cynosural field.
- The module can be used even in sovereign nullsec systems which contain cyno-jamming arrays.
The module still immobilizes the ship generating the field. When the module is used by a Force Recon Cruiser, the covert cyno (and immobilization) lasts only 30 seconds.
Only one class of ship has a jump drive capable of locking onto covert cynosural fields: the Black Ops Battleship. Luckily, this class of ship can also fit a Covert Jump Portal Generator (requiring Jump Portal Generation), which creates a covert jump bridge to the battleship's destination. Any ship fitted with a Covert Ops Cloaking Device (Covert Ops, Stealth Bombers, Force Recons, Blockade Runners, and T3 cruisers with the Covert Reconfiguration subsystem installed) can jump across the bridge, as long as it is in the same fleet as the ship opening the bridge. The bridge lasts for 20 seconds, and ships jumping through consume fuel from the fuel bay of the Black Ops ship. The bridge allows groups of stealthy ships to sneak behind enemy lines.
Jump Fatigue
As of the October 2014 Phoebe release, travelling using a Jump Drive, Jump Portal, Jump Bridge, Covert Jump Drive or Covert Jump Portal causes fatigue to capsuleers and a delay is required between successive jumps. This delay is determined by the jump fatigue mechanic. Jump fatigue is presented as a time value, indicating the time it will take to decay to zero, and can accumulate to a maximum of 30 days. It decays in real time, whether logged in or not. Jump fatigue is recalculated after every jump.
- Jump fatigue has a minimum value of 10 x (1 + (LY just travelled)) minutes
- Otherwise, the existing jump fatigue is multiplied by (1+*LY just travelled)
During each jump (and before jump fatigue is recalculated) a Jump Reactivation Timer also appears. While this is active, the ship cannot travel by jump drive, jump bridge or jump portal.
- The JRT has a minimum value of (1+(LY just jumped) in minutes
- Otherwise, the JRT is one tenth of the pilot's Jump Fatigue value (before the jump fatigue is recalculated for this jump)
In practice this means that ships can typically jump around once per hour (more if jumps are shorter) without accumulating Jump Fatigue, but more frequent jumping will rapidly build fatigue. Jump freighters and other industrial ships will be able to maintain more frequent jumps; on the order of four per hour.
For example, if a carrier wants to travel a long distance by making 5 ly jumps:
- Before the first jump, the pilot has JRT:0m and JF:0m
- After the first jump, the pilot has JRT:6m and JF:60m
- After waiting 6m for the JRT to decay, the pilot has JRT:0m and JF:54m
- After the second jump, the pilot has JRT:6m and JF:5h24m
- After waiting 6m for the JRT to decay, the pilot has JRT:0m and JF:5h18m
- After the third jump, the pilot has JRT:32m24s and JF:31h48m
- After waiting for 33m for the JRT to decay, the pilot has JRT:0m and JF:31h15m
- After the fourth jump, the pilot has JRT:3h10m and JF:7d22h8m
- After waiting for 3h10m for the JRT to decay, the pilot has JRT:0m and JF:7d18h58m
- After the fifth jump, the pilot has JRT:19h5m and JF:30d (because JF caps at 30d)
Two groups of ships have special considerations:
- Black Ops Battleships and the covert cloaking ships they bridge gain a 50% reduction to effective distance jumped when calculating fatigue.
- Jump Freighters, Capital Industrial Ships, Deep Space Transports and Blockade Runners gain a 90% reduction to effective distance travelled when calculating fatigue.
