Sevastian Liao
DreamWeaver Inc.
32
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Posted - 2012.06.12 09:53:00 -
[1] - Quote
If you viewed everything in terms of ISK/hour and called everything that doesn't make the maximum possible ISK/hour a waste of time, then a large majority of the players are silly sods wasting our lives away in EVE for not getting tech moons in null and then joining in the market mainpulation to become obscenely rich. That's a one - dimensional way of looking at gameplay, which ignores so many other possible factors when selecting a profession. When you consider what profession you wish to take, consider:
- What you enjoy doing
- How long and how hard are you able (or want to) focus on the game
- How much time investment you want to put in for training skills, reading up, and so forth
- How much do you like flying with a fleet, as opposed to going at it solo
- How well can you afford potential losses in your gameplay
- Your future goals in the game, and how well your profession relates to said goal
...And so much more. I'm not saying that you shouldn't take into account ISK/hour, mind - But do take the time to consider other factors that will affect your enjoyment of gameplay as well.
For instance, you are considering whether or not to have another account to do Orca boosting / hauling for your mining Hulk on your main. You should consider the pros:
- Sharply increased mining yield
- Convenience of having a specialized ship to carry the large amounts of ore you'll be mining
- Being able to train skills on two separate characters at the same time
As well as the cons:
- Hassle of having to manage two (or more) windows at the same time
- Having to pay for two separate accounts
- Long skill training times
- Large initial capital investment to obtain the ship hull, modules, probably additional implants, etc
The opportunity costs, maybe:
- Instead of training for an Orca, you could have trained for another max yield Hulk pilot, and gotten more yield overall from 2 Hulks instead of Hulk + Orca
- Instead of training for another Indy pilot, you could have trained a PvE pilot to do missions for variety
- Instead of training for another carebear pilot, you could have trained a PvP pilot and have some fun shooting at other pilots
- Instead of getting another account in the first place, you keep your focus/capital invested in your main, and have him advance at a faster rate, as well as saving your ISK/money for other things instead.
Same goes for deciding whether or not to take the plunge into null sec. Consider other potentially far more important factors other than just ISK/hour. Is getting into null sec sov wars my goal in the game? Can I handle the risk of always being vulnerable / having a large chunk of my assets at risk, all the time? Will my new corp have other demands of me, like having a requirement to hop into a combat ship and fleet up for fights?
So - It depends. Take two, have a good look at your options, consider factors that could directly affect your profitability (such as risk of loss from operating in dangerous areas), and even those that may not, but could affect whether you find your in - game time fun or a chore (such as having a montly quota of ore to mine/ ISK to contribute / Call To Arms to answer), and then only figure out what's best for you to do.
Also, I personally produced ammo at 10-20% profit margins above mineral sell costs with PE 4, so it bears reminding that general advice isn't as useful as one would think. Which is the beauty of a sandbox. Nothing's set in stone, you model your gameplay to suit whatever unique circumstances you find yourself faced with. Have fun! |