User:Laura Karpinski/Making ISK

So, you've joined the wonderful world of EVE Online - congratulations! It doesn't take long for new players to realize that EVE Online does not present you with the keys to survival on a silver platter. After giving them a noob ship, a short tutorial, and some helpful starter missions, EVE Online kicks players into the harsh environment of space to fend for themselves. This is one of the aspects of the EVE Online sandbox that is both thrilling and frightening, at the same time.

One of the first lessons that every capsuleer learns is: InterStellar Kredits (ISK) run the universe. Without money, you cannot buy ships, equipment, trade goods, and just about everything else one needs to thrive - or survive.

Fortunately, there are many ways to earn ISK in EVE. This brief guide intends to describe some of the typical options that many EVE players pursue, and to provide some helpful guidance about which ISK-earning careers might be the best fit for your personality and playing style.

PLEX

It is possible, through hard work and perseverance as described below, to earn enough ISK to remove the burden of purchasing your EVE Online subscription using PLEX. PLEX can be purchased using ISK obtained in-game, and used to pay for 30 days of game time.

It is by no means an unattainable sum. Once you've learned some of the techniques described below, you too could be one of the many players who let their EVE pay for itself. Be warned, however - The path to self-sustained gaming nirvana is not for everyone. Many people find that it turns EVE Online into a second job and makes it less enjoyable.

Conversely, you can also purchase PLEX using real-world money, and sell it on the market for ISK. This is completely within the game rules, and many players choose to buy PLEX for some starting capital. If you choose to do this, ensure that you only buy PLEX from a CCP-verified seller.

Choosing a career

Few new capsuleers consider the potential career implications of their racial, bloodline and ancestry selections when establishing their first character. Generally, they select what sounds like the most interesting or fun character background to play.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing for Omega players (with an EVE subscription), however, as no in-game career choice is blocked to any racial faction (Amarr, Gallente, Minmatar or Caldari) or bloodline. Omega characters can learn any skill in the game. On the other hand, Alpha players (with no subscription may find themselves limited by their choice of race, as they each have their own strengths.

Do the starter career mission tracks

Once you've established your character, it is recommended that you play all five of the starter career mission tracks offered: industry, military, exploration, business, and advanced military. These career introduction missions dish out numerous additional skills for free, and each is nicely explained in practice - sometimes with special "civilian" versions of the necessary module so you can try out the mechanic before training the skill needed for the real version of the module in question.

To access these career mission tracks, press the F12 key, then select "Show Career Agents". These introductory missions are entirely optional, but highly recommended because they provide essential skillbooks, ships, and some initial capital, with a relatively minor investment in time. The starter missions also teach you the basics of the principal career options for making money in EVE.

• Industry missions cover the basics of mining, refining and manufacturing of goods.
• Business missions introduce players to EVE's open and comprehensive market system.
• Military missions cover shooting stuff for loot and salvage.
• Exploration missions cover the discovery of valuable sites in EVE space - wormholes, deadspace pockets, and undiscovered archeology sites, among others.
• Advanced Military missions will introduce you to the finer details of EVE combat. These missions are more difficult than those of in the Military career track, and as a result, these should be taken after the other track is completed.

After the five career introductions, each consisting of ten missions, you will be pointed towards the first epic mission arc of EVE, "The Blood-Stained Stars". While a definite challenge for a new player, this 50-mission arc provides some substantial rewards, and is worth finishing. The arc takes you all over the safe empire space and you can freely branch off to do other things, returning to the arc later as you choose. If you decide to pursue this arc, you should read the handy mission guide on our wiki: The Blood-Stained Stars.

Develop a career plan

Once you've been introduced to some of the basics of EVE, and have sampled the starter career mission tracks, you now know enough to begin optimizing your character for one or more ISK-making specialties. It's generally best, at least initially, to get very good at one kind of ISK-generating activity, rather than be not-so-great at a lot of different money-earning ventures. The essential steps for developing your ISK-earning career plan are as follows:

1. Create a concept in your mind of what you want to do in EVE. Don't limit yourself. Make this anything you can imagine, no matter how unlikely or outlandish.
2. Do some Level 1 (and later, more advanced level) missions until you have enough resources to begin doing what you thought of in Step 1.
3. Begin to execute your idea from Step 1.
4. If the idea isn't profitable enough by itself to sustain itself initially, supplement with occasional mission running.
5. Keep developing your idea, evolve it, and figure out ways to make it self-sustaining.
6. If your idea is ultimately not self-sustaining, think of a different concept, and go to Step 2.

Though this approach seems obvious, very few EVE players actually plan their character's career development in this way. Instead, they try everything that comes by, as it becomes available to them, which provides a lot of variety but not any development of expertise (except in a very long run). Or, they get in a rut and start doing the same thing over and over, and eventually lose interest. If mining isn't your thing, don't do it just to earn ISK - try something else. But first, think, develop a plan, start executing the plan, refine the plan as necessary, and then either build on the plan or start over. This approach will produce the best results - in EVE, or in real life!

Industrial careers

Mining and refining

Main article: Mining

Perhaps the easiest way to make an honest wage in EVE Online, mining is simply extracting and selling ore or refined minerals. To be a miner, you only need some basic ship piloting skills, mining skills, refining skills, a suitable ship, and some mining lasers. Travel to one of the many asteroid belts in a system, point your lasers at an asteroid, gather ore, bring it to a station, refine it, sell it - then repeat. The upside to mining is that it produces a fairly predictable income stream, with little (but not zero) risk, especially in high security (0.5 and above) space. The main disadvantage is that mining can be highly repetitive and boring, as asteroids generally do not fight back! You also have to be on guard for can flippers and gankers - players that prey on miners, especially those that have gone "AFK" (away from keyboard).

Average Income:

• Mining Ore <no data>
• Harvesting Ice <no data>
• Harvesting Gas in known-space <no data>
• Harvesting Gas in wormholes:
  • low level gas sites (Barren, Minor, Ordinary, Sizeable, Token): 15-20 M ISK/hour
  • mid-level gas sites (Vital and Bountiful) up-to 30-40 M ISK/hour
  • high-level gas sites (Instrumental and Vital) up-to 50-70 M ISK/hour

Planetary interaction

Main article: Planetary Interaction

Capsuleers can extract planetary resources and produce commodities on all the planets of New Eden. Pilots can run several planets at once, and with the right combination of planets, PI can be quite lucrative.

Average Income:

• High-sec planet: <no data>
• Low-sec planet: <no data>
• Null-sec planet: <no data>
• WH planet: 4-6M per planet per day with daily monitoring

• Hauler – Also a relatively low-risk way to earn ISK, haulers buy low in one location, and sell high in another. To become a hauler, you only need an industrial ship and suitable command skills. Moving goods around in high security space is fairly safe, but hauling in low sec or 0.0 can be extremely risky - and also extremely rewarding. Haulers can also execute player courier contracts on the open market. A low-risk hauler moving non-player corporation goods can earn about 3-5 million in ISK per hour [1] - executing courier contracts or moving goods in low-sec or null sec are potentially an order of magnitude more lucrative, if you don't lose your ship. The career for a hauler can be fairly long, starting with simple industrial ships, then eventually moving to blockade runners and huge freighters. A useful introductory guide for aspiring haulers can be found here:[2]. By the way, a miner/hauler combination can be an extremely powerful duo, and as a result, it's one of the most common main/alt character combos for players who can afford multiple in-game accounts.

• Manufacturer – Almost everything in the EVE universe - ships, modules, ammo, etc. - is created by players, for their own use, or more frequently, for sale to other players. Building items and charging for the value-add can be a very lucrative way to generate ISK. Unfortunately, this career option is one of the hardest to generate large amounts of ISK from, as it is extremely competitive. In addition, many miner/manufacturers undercharge because they do not include the value of the minerals they collected - they tend to think of ore they mined as "free" - so, many common items have very low profit margins, if any at all. However, for those who develop a high degree of manufacturing skills, and who can amass sufficient capital to purchase blueprint originals (BPOs) for high-demand items, this can be a lucrative second career.[3]

• Researcher/Inventor – All advanced items in EVE, of the Tech 2 variety, are made possible by the efforts of players who conduct invention[4] on lower-tech items. The capabilities of Tech 2 items keep them in high demand, so invention can be a rewarding source of ISK. Through research, players can also improve the efficiency of blueprints. Because they improve production time and reduce manufacturing time, blueprints with higher efficiency are valuable to manufacturers - and therefore are another potential source of income.[5] Players can also work with dedicated research agents to "farm" valuable datacores, used in invention - a form of passive income that can produce a reasonable stream of ISK over time.[6] To become a scientist/researcher/inventor, players must invest in science and related skills, and have access to a research facility.

Business careers

While Industrialists specialize in making and moving things, Businesspeople earn ISK by investing capital, liquidity and talents in corporations, markets and infrastructure, and earning returns from their investment.

• Trader – The dynamic and comprehensive player-driven market in EVE provides multiple opportunities for players to earn ISK, without even owning a ship or leaving a station! By investing in trade skills, building up your standings with a owner of the station you plan to trade in, and with a bit of starting capital, players can purchase goods on the market, and then sell them at higher prices. By providing liquidity to the markets, traders can make a good return, although this requires some investigation of market opportunities and vigilance in monitoring your market orders. If you've ever fantasized about making it big as a Wall Street speculator, becoming an EVE trader might be for you. There are several good recorded classes on this topic in the UNI library.[7]

• Contractor - Many goods in New Eden can only be sold by contracts, and you can profit off these. People also put items in contracts to quickly sell them off, at a very cheap price. With some starting capital, and some investing in trade skills, you can look for great deals in contracts, and with careful monitoring of bids, you can flip those items you got for cheap on the open market.

• Corporate Executive – Become your own CEO! By developing Corporate Management skills, players can found their own corporations, recruit other players, and earn ISK from a salary drawn from taxes and fees. At a more advanced level, you can also create a player owned structure (POS) to host valuable research facilities, or you could join an alliance and negotiate to build a lucrative moon mining POS. Being a corporate CEO requires some very advanced skills, and a great amount of capital - either yours or someone else's - and so, this career option usually comes later in most players' EVE experience, if ever. But the entry requirements for starting an EVE corporation are quite low, and since non-player corporations (NPCs) now charge an 11% tax on bounties and mission rewards, starting a small corp of your own might be an attractive option.

• Recruiter - The lifeblood of corporations is literally in the people who join, but many corporations do a poor job of finding the kinds of players they need to thrive as a group. For this reason, you can rent yourself out as a recruiting agency, to search for and pre-qualify potential candidates for your client corporation. To do this requires no in-game skills at all, but you do need to know where to look and how to approach possible candidates. If you routinely peruse the various EVE online forums, or have developed a large network of in-game relationships, becoming a corporate recruiter might become a good source of ISK for you.

• Standings Pusher - Do you have high standings with a faction corporation? Those standings are valuable to player corporations, many of which will pay you for access to them. Mining corporations need high NPC standings for tax-free "perfect" refining, for example. All corporations need some high standings for access to jump clone manufacturing. By focusing your mission-running on selected corporations and developing your social skills, you can then market your standings to the highest bidder.

Exploration careers

Explorers are people that find things, and then make money on what they find. They come in a couple of varieties:

• Explorer/Hacker– Searching wormhole and hidden space for valuable sites, then selling the relics and information you discover, can be a very productive way to generate ISK - and a lot of fun, too. To become an explorer, players must invest in several specialty skills (Astrometrics, Archeology and Hacking), some dedicated equipment (probe launcher, codebreaker modules) and a suitable ship with bonuses for astrometric modules. You must also become an expert at probing[8].

• Salvager – EVE is a place of constant combat, and as a result, there are a lot of wrecked ships left behind after every battle. Finding, collecting and selling items from wrecks can be a great way for players to earn ISK.[9] Many items collected from wrecks are used to produce specialized rigs for ships, and so there is always a strong demand for these items. To become a successful salvager, players must develop salvaging skills (of course), and also sufficient command, electronics and engineering skills to use tractor beams and the salvager module. It is also useful to acquire a destroyer ship and convert it into a dedicated salvage vessel - with their large number of high slots and fairly large cargo bay, destroyers are perfect for this task. You can peruse asteroid belts for wrecks, of course, but the best way to earn a salvage income is to join a mission team and clean up any resulting wrecks, then split the resulting revenue with your teammates.

Path of Explorer

Explorers search hidden places in known and unknown space, data and relic sites; hack and loot containers on site. To find site ship needs to have a Probe Launcher with Core Scanner Probes, to hack sites - data or relic analyzers. During scanning your ship better stay cloaked (especially in WH) hence it needs Cloaking Device.

Hacking requires some certain skills, read more http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Hacking_101

Average income

• high-sec, low-sec, null-sec: <low>, up-to 1M per site
• WH pirate data sites: up-to 5-8M ISK per site
• WH pirate relic sites: 10-60M ISK per site
• WH sleeper data/relic sites: up-to 1M ISK per site - not recommended as this is a low reward for relatively high risk hacking in WH
• Sleeper Cache sites: 100-300 M ISK per site - to be confirmed
• Ghost sites: 30-60 M ISK per site, reported cases with up to few hundred M ISK per site.

Hacking in Known Space

Entry level - very basic; required ships: T1 FR

All sites in known space are relatively easy to hack and can be done with T1 frigate and T1 data/relic analyzers. Possible Fit:

• Low slots - does not really matter, you can put Interia stabilizer for quicker alignment or armor resist/plate modules
• Mid slots
  • 5MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive - for quick navigation on site to move from one can to another
  • Data Analyzer I - to hack data containers
  • Relyc Analyzer I - to hack relic containers
  • Shield Extender or Hardener - for better safety
• High slots
  • Core Probe Launcher I - for searching signatures
  • Prototype Cloaking Device - to stay invisible during system scanning
• Rigs
  • Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I - to increase virus coherence hacking data cans
  • Small Emission Scope Sharpener I - to increase virus coherence hacking data cans
• Core Scanner Probe I x8
• Vespa EC-600 x1 - use in case if you are ganked, this gives small chance to run away when ganked.

Hacking in Unknown Space

Hacking in WH space involves standard/serious risks associated with any activity in WH, but is MUCH more profitable.

• It requires better hacking skills (ability to resolve mini-game puzzle) as well as game skills in archaeology and hacking.
• You want to complete hacking in WH space as quick as possible and only focus on cans that do have something valuable, hence need to equip "Cargo Scanner I" and check containers before hacking
• WH sites can still be hacked in T1 frigate, though requires specialization:
  • one ship for hacking data sites with 2 Small Emission Scope Sharpener I rigs
  • another for hacking relic sites with 2 Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I rigs
• When skills/budget permits, it is recommended to use Astero or even better T2 CovOps frigate
• It is still possible to hack cans with Level one of analyzers, but serious dedicated players better train skills (archaeology and hacking) to level 5 and use T2 version of analyzers.
• Put Warp Core Stabilizer in to low module so you can warp-off the site when ganked (earlier or later you will be): you won't be able to survive any attack in hacking ship, your best bet is to escape. WCS - help a lot.

Possible Fit:

• Low slots
  • Warp Core Stabilizer I
  • Warp Core Stabilizer I
  • Warp Core Stabilizer I
• Mid slots
  • 5MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive
  • Data Analyzer I (or II)
  • Relyc Analyzer I (or II)
  • Cargo Scanner I
• High slots
  • Core Probe Launcher I
  • Cover Ops Cloaking Device
• Rigs
  • Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I
  • Small Emission Scope Sharpener I
• Core Scanner Probe I x8
• Vespa EC-600 x1

Day trippers (players who don't leave in WH, but come into WH for hacking) usually need to do much more scanning, hence would benefit more by equipping Sister Core Probe Launcher and using Sisters Core Scanner Probes.

Hacking of relic sites is more profitable, comparatively to data sites. If you have luxury to skip data sites, replace Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I by another Small Emission Scope Sharpener I

Hacking of Sleeper Cache sites (?)

Ships required: Stratios, T2 analyzers

Hacking of Ghost sites

Very rare advanced exploration site. Site has 4 cans, organised in a square. Usually 1 can has a name different from 3 others; start hacking from THAT can, usually it has the best loot. Traditionally site gives 30-60M ISK, reported cases with loot up to few hundred million ISKs (not sure if that's true though).

VERY DANGEROUS.

• Timer, i'm not joking: have a timer set for 2 minutes
• T2 analyzers, rigs that bonus hacking
• Good skills in hacking mini-game

Strategy:

• You can run site in T1 scanning frigate; start timer on initiating warp. Running site in T1 frigate minimises loss if you are blown up. Use it for the very first try.
• You can run site in a cloak ship (T2 Cov Ops frigate, Astero, or Stratios); warp to site cloaked, plan your actions, approach can you think is the best; Start timer when you decloak on site. Cloak ship will give you higher hacking speed, and chances to hack more cans until timer expires
• Warp of from the site once you finish another can and have not much time left to hack one more can: rats will spawn at 2-10 after you decloak or initiate warp, they WILL NEUT (more than -100GJ/s) and KILL you (more than 1000dps).
• If you start hacking can, but warp-off without completed hacking, the can will be blown up and apply damage to you (which neither frigate can survive, more than 10k explosive damage - to be confirmed)
• Don't scan cargo, just hack (you don't have time)
• Fit you ship with modules that increase velocity (MVD, Nanofiber) and decrease align time (inertial stabilisers)

Notice: It is possible to hack all 4 cans in 2 minutes. It is hard though: don't be greedy and warp of if you have any can left, but less than 30 seconds.

Further reading: http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Hacking_101, http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Ghost_Site, http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Limited_Sleeper_Cache, http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Limited_Sleeper_Cache

Combat careers

Military specialists earn their income from becoming very, very good at one thing: blowing stuff up. Since EVE is a universe populated by players interested in developing their power and influence, there is always a demand for military might.

• Mission Runner – One of the first ways that every player makes ISK in EVE is by executing assigned missions assigned by agents in non-player corporations, or by running through deadspace complexes[10]. Mission running is worthy of an extensive guide all by itself, so we won't belabor all aspects of this career option here. Suffice it to say that to earn real ISK as a mission-runner, players must invest in larger ships and develop the skills to fly them, so that they can earn access to higher level agents, higher level missions and the much higher levels of rewards that come with them. Invaluable resources for finding agents and missions include EVE-Agents[11] and Grismar's Guide[12]. The UNI library also includes several very useful recorded classes on successful mission running.[13] And don't forget the very useful Missions.E-UNI channel available to all EVE University members - many players form teams for running higher-level missions together there. There are also non-repeatable COSMOS missions, that give you modules worth hundreds of millions of ISK, but beware, they are harder than your average missions!

• Ratter – Hunting and killing NPC pirates (a.k.a. "rats") can earn some ISK. But frankly, this is not the most lucrative way to earn money in EVE. Still, as a supplemental source of income, ratting can be fun, and a great way to refine some combat skills. To be a ratter, players only need to develop some combat skills and have a suitably outfitted fighting ship. High-sec rats are relatively easy to kill, and they spawn most frequently in asteroid belts - low-sec rats are a little tougher, but ratting in low-sec space is riskier because real-player pirates, who are infinitely more dangerous, also lurk there. Player beware!

• Mercenary – If you can develop very high levels of combat skills, you can make a decent living by hiring your guns out to corporations that can use you for fighting pirates or war targets. Mercenaries are typically hired by large corporations who want something done without their name being all over it. A mercenary could also be a hired guard for miners, an extra hand in a full scale war, or an escort through low sec areas, among other duties. If you are serious about being a mercenary, joining a dedicated mercenary corporation is a good idea, as the one thing you need more than anything else as a "merc" is contacts. Be wary of courier assignments ending in low sec areas - they may actually be an ambush set up by a crafty pirate.

• Bounty Hunter – Many players that pursue outlaw careers (more on this later) have bounties assigned to them. Players can hunt down these characters using locator agents[14] and intelligence gathered from other players, and collect the bounties. While this sounds like an exciting career, it is really very difficult to execute. You must have extremely high combat skills, a powerful ship, and a lot of luck - you must also have the element of surprise. For this reason, bounty hunting, when it occurs, is usually a venture of opportunity, rather than of planning.

Path of Warrior

Running Security missions (L1 - L4) (?)

Entry level - basic; required ships:

• L1 missions - T1 destroyers
• L2 - T1 cruisers
• L3 - T1 battlecruisers
• L4 - T1 or faction battleships

Average income

• L1 - 1M per hour (?)
• L2 - 2-4 M ISK per hour (?)
• L3 - 5-10 M ISK per hour (?)
• L4 - 30 - 200 M ISK per hour (very dependent on skills, fit, type of missions, LP conversion)

Other benefits: help boosting standings with factions Drawbacks: could negatively impact standings with 'other' factions References: http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Missions, http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=MissionReports

Killing rats in asteroid belts

High sec

Entry level - basic; required ships: T1 frigate, literally any.

Asteroid belts rats in high sec are usually really weak and can be killed in any frigate. Destroyers do better, but don't think seriously about making ISKs buy killing asteroid rats in high-sec: the profit is REALLY low.

Low sec

Entry level - basic; required ships: T1 destroyer.

This is probably the first more-or-less serious type of income for a new pilot. It comes with a danger though: rats get a bit stronger, periodically you meet BC. But bigger danger comes from other pilots, looking for PvP.

• Recommended ship: Algos.
• Recommended fit:
  • High slot - blasters with Antimatter, the more powerful you can fit - the better
  • Mid slot - MWD + Medium Shield Extender + Invulnerability Field
  • Low slot - 2 DDA (Drone Damage Amplifiers) and Co-Processor (you will be limited by CPU)
  • Rigs - 3 x Small Core Defense Field Purger I
  • Drones - 5 x Hobgoblin I (upgrade to 'Integrated' Hobgoblin drones once get more experience/confidence, this will increase your DPS and income per hour)

Strategy: warp to the asteroid belt, turn on MWD and approach the toughest rat, after that turn off the MWD and orbit it at 500m, kill it with drones and blasters.

You can vary ship, but Gallente with drones are probably the BEST ships in game for PvE and Algos is one of the most cheapest and effective ships for killing rats in low sec.

Your income will be from bounties, loot (some modules are ok to sell), soldier tags - rare but expensive item to sell (20-25M ISK per item, but dropped really rarely).

The best low sec rats to kill are the Clone Soldier Negotiators, they drop tags worth over 20M ISK, they only spawn in 0.1 security systems.

Survival tip: try to run rats in a quiet system, preferably empty. When you see new pilot in local, check DScan and if it comes closer to you - warp away. Be quick, otherwise you can die in less than 20-30 seconds.

Nul sec (validate fit)

Entry level - still basic; required ships: T1 cruiser

Training required to fly any T1 cruiser with decent support skills is 1-2 days, hence entry level considered as 'basic'.

In nul-sec astroid belts rats are even more tough, but income is even better. You do need to have stronger ship (destroyers in hands of non-very skilled pilot just die). Optionally, you could use T2/T3/faction destroyers, but they are expensive. At the same time T1 cruisers do well

• Recommended ship: Vexor.
• Recommended fit:
  • High slot - railguns with Antimatter, the more powerful you can fit - the better. Railguns has lower dps, but Vexor is not as quick as Algos so even with lower DPS you benefit from been able to shoot from bigger distance.
  • Mid slot - AB + Omnidirectional Tracking Link, Cap Recharger, Cap Battery
  • Low slot - 2 DDA (Drone Damage Amplifiers), Damage Control, Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane, Medium Armor Repairer
  • Rigs - 2 x Medium Capacitor Control Unit (2 should be enough, what is 3rd rig?)
  • Drones - 5 x Hammerhead I (upgrade to 'Integrated' Hammerhead drones once get more experience/confidence, this will increase your DPS and income per hour)

Asteroid belt rats in null-sec don't drop soldier tags, but have high enough bounty and ok modules to earn 25+ M ISK per hour.

Survival tip: same as for low-sec ratting.

Once get more experience/confidence - upgrade to VNI, consider using heavy drones, put 1-2 Nanofiber modules to low module to speed up - you will be limited not only by dps, but by align and warp time.

Average income

• high sec - 1-3 M ISK per hour (?)
• low sec - 10-20 M ISK per hour (?)
• null sec - 25+ M ISK per hour (depends on the security level: the lower security the harder rats the higher income)

Running combat anomalies (?)

Entry level - basic; required ships:

• high sec - T1 destroyers
• low sec - T1 cruisers (Vexor), navy cruisers (Vexor Navy Issue), pirate frigates (Worm)
• null sec - T1 BC, pirate/T2 cruisers, T3 cruisers, BS

Average income

• high sec - <no data>
• low sec - <no data>
• null sec - <no data> (depends on the security level: the lower security the harder rats the higher income)

Further reading: http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=AnomalyReports

Killing sleepers in WH (?)

Killed Sleepers drops blue loot: quite expensive items that are bought by NPCs. It is not used for production of any items materials, but still is a good way to earn ISKs.

Also profitable is salvaging wrecks that are used in modules production. Salvaging is less time-efficient in terms of ISK/hour type of income, but very often is a good addition to Blue Loot.

Sleepers can be found in wormhole in:

• regular combat sites, aka "green sites"
• sleeper data and relic signatures, require scanning

Signature Sleepers are usually more strong and tough, than combat sites. All sleepers often switch 'primaries', kill drones, web, scram and do other things which make this type of business quite dangerous. It is not rare case when even VERY experienced players lose T3 cruisers to sleepers. At the same time, this can be very efficiently and safely run solo. Further reading:

• http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Sleeper
• http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Category:Wormhole_Sites - check site you want to warp to

For most effective sleepers site run, it is recommended to use faction or T2 ammo, T2/augmented drones. They are more expensive, but decreasing time required to run site they eventually are more profitable.

C1 (?)

Entry level - intermediate; required ships: T1 CR

C2

Recommended Fit:

• Vexor
  • High slot: Railguns with Antimatter (though, sometimes you need to switch ammo to longer range); disable 1 or 2 guns if you need CPU or PGD for other modules - your main damage-dealers are drones
  • Middle slot: Adaptive Invulnerability Field II, 3 Large Shield Extender II
  • Low slot: 3-5 x Power Shield Relay II, 2-0 x Drone Damage Amplifier II the more tough site, the more PSR you should use. Start with 5 PSR modules, replace them with DDA as feel confident
  • Rigs: Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
  • Drones: 5 x Hammedhead II, 5 x Hobgoblin II (use smaller drones for frigates and towers)
  • Average Income: 40-60M ISK/hour.
• Drake
  • Post fit if you used one
  • Average Income: 80-100M ISK/hour (please confirm)
• Myrmidon
  • Myrmidon fit is below in C3 section

C3

Recommended Fit:

• Myrmidon
  • High slot: Artillery with EMP charges (though, sometimes you need to switch ammo to longer range one or to ); disable 1 or 2 guns if you need CPU or PGD for other modules - your main damage-dealers are drones
  • Middle slot: EM Ward Amplifier II, 4 x Large Shield Extender II
  • Low slot: 4-6 x Power Shield Relay II, 2-0 x Drone Damage Amplifier II. Start with 6 PSR modules, replace them with DDA as feel confident
  • Rigs: Medium Core Defense Field Purger I (better T2 variant)
  • Drones: 4 x Sentries (mainly for towers), 5 x Hammerhead II, 5 x Hobgoblin II (use smaller drones for frigates); optionally use Heave drones instead of sentries, then to hit towers use small drones.
  • Average Income: 60-100M ISK/hour.
• Gila
  • High slot: Rapid Light Missile Launcher II with Fury, Precision, or faction light missiles
  • Middle slot: EM Ward Amplifier II, Thermal Dissipation Amplifier II, Kinectic Deflection Amplifier, 3 x Large Shield Extender II
  • Low slot: 0-3 x Power Shield Relay II, 3-0 x Drone Damage Amplifier II. Start with 3 PSR modules, replace them with DDA as feel confident
  • Rigs: Medium Core Defense Field Purger II (don't be cheap: Gila deserves T2 rigs)
  • Drones: 2 x Hammerheads II, rest are up-to you; once get more reach, replace them with Augmented Hammerhead
  • Average Income: 120-160M ISK/hour.
• RattleSnake
  • High slot: Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II with Fury, Precision, or faction light missiles
  • Middle slot: Pithum C-Type EM Ward Amplifier, Pithum B-Type Thermal Dissipation Amplifier, Kinectic Deflection Amplifier, 2 x Large Shield Extender II, 2 x Shield Recharger II
  • Low slot: 4-6 x Power Shield Relay II, 1-0 x Drone Damage Amplifier II, 1-0 Ballistic Control Unit II. Start with 6 PSR modules, replace them with DDA/BCU as feel confident
  • Rigs: Medium Core Defense Field Purger II (don't be cheap: Gila deserves T2 rigs)
  • Drones: 1 x Gecko, rest are up-to you
  • Average Income: 180-220M ISK/hour.

C4 (?)

Entry level - advanced; required ships: faction bling BS

C5 (?)

Entry level - advanced; required ships: faction bling BS

C6 (?)

Entry level - no data, requires group and expensive ship

Exploiting environmental effects of certain wormholes can have a significant influence on what ships can be used to run the combat sites in particular in higher class wormholes. For instance, it is possible for a logistics supported fleet of armor destroyers to run combat sites in a C6 wormhole with the Wolf-Rayet effect.

Average income

• C1 holes - 20-50 M ISK/hour (?)
• C2 holes - 30-60 M ISK/hour (?)
• C3 holes - 100-200 M ISK/hour
• C4 holes - no data
• C5 holes - 180-250 M ISK/hour
• C6 holes - no data

Further reading: http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Wormholes

Safety hints

• First thing to do in a new WH - save BM to 'exit'; once scouted - create a 'safety' BM.
• Keep D-scanning CONSTANTLY, you should hit 'scan' button (use shortcut) each 5-10 seconds; if you see something on dscan allign to safety bookmark, pull drones, warp off. Do not pick-up MTU, you will have time to do this later.
• Keep mobile depot, probe launcher and 8 probes in your cargo: you will need them in case if you hole dies or collapses for any reason
• Keep also Cloak device in you cargo and Warp Core Stabilizers: use them travelling to WH and back home, replace by 'proper modules' (see above) before running sites. This shenanigan with modules takes 2-3 minutes, but greatly increases your survivability: it is better to spend 3 more minutes fitting back and forth other than lose your loot and ship after few hour of running sites

Incursion (?)

<to be edited>

Entry level - intermediate; required ships: faction bling BS. Can't be done solo.

Faction Warfare (?)

<to be edited>

Other benefits: help boosting standings with factions, good source of PvP content Drawbacks: could negatively impact standings with 'other' factions

Outlaw Careers

In the EVE sandbox, there are people who play nice and pursue honorable careers - and then there are those who do not. Both styles of play are allowed. In fact, EVE is one place where crime does indeed pay - and pretty well, too.

• Can Flipper - perhaps the easiest entry-level way to get into a life of crime in EVE is to simply steal from miners who are "jetcanning", where miners jettison their collected ore into unsecured cargo containers for later retrieval. Can flippers only have to get within 2,500 meters of a jetcan, then grab the contents. Miners are generally in weaker ships, with poor defenses and few weapons, and there is usually little they can do to stop this theft. Further, if the miner fights back, then the can flipper may simply destroy the miner, and then loot the poor victim.

• Pirate – Do you like the idea of combat for personal profit? Then the life of a pirate might be for you. Pirates specialize in player-versus-player (PvP) skills, so that they can attack and pillage players (mostly haulers) in low security space, or capture them and ransom their ship or pod for money.[15] Successful pirates must also have good scanning and probing skills, and the best ones hunt in packs. Joining a piracy corporation is therefore an attractive option for the aspiring space buccaneer.

• Scammer/Thief – If you have ever fantasized about being a high-stakes confidence man, EVE provides you with lots of options for becoming a professional scammer - tricking players into giving you ISK or luring them into traps for profit. Some of these scams are simple - mislabeling contracts on the market and selling items for far more then they are worth, for example. But some are far more elaborate and dangerous - issuing an attractive courier contract into low-sec or null-sec space, for example, for the sole purpose of tricking a hauler into an ambush. Another form of scam is the corporate raider, who gains entry into a corporation, earns a director level position, and then uses that position to steal everything - including the corporation itself!

• Assassin/Suicide Ganker - If you initiate an unprovoked attack on a ship in high-security space (0.5 or higher), then CONCORD will destroy your ship. But losing a ship might be a small price to pay if you pick the right target - a nice fat freighter or a faction ship laden with high priced modules, for example. By working with teammates, who can loot the victim after your suicide attack, you can earn enormous rewards. This comes at a cost to your security status and grants kill rights though, which may severely impact your ability to operate in highsec. A judicious ganker should be able to easily afford security tags, while an indiscriminate one may have to rat or live with the consequences. An excellent explanation of the dynamics of suicide ganking can be found in a recorded class in the UNI library, called "The Dark Side of EVE".[16]

• Drug Dealer - There are illegal substance abusers in the EVE universe - and this includes many pilots. Booster drugs can temporarily increase certain capabilities, and though illegal in Empire space, they are in demand. And where there are buyers, there is a market - one that a disreputable drug dealer can fill, and for decent profit, at moderate risk.

Metagame Careers

Most MMOs frown on providing out-of-game services for in-game payment. Allowing any exceptions is seen as a slippery slope that ends with real money trading of in-game currency. EVE Online broke this convention by allowing players to exchange a very specific list of things for ISK. These include forum signature art, graphic and website design, website hosting and teamspeak/Mumble server rental. If you have graphic artist talent, or technical support ability, you can earn ISK for your EVE characters by providing these services to other EVE players.