Shanur
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Posted - 2006.10.17 15:32:00 -
[1]
1. Right now i am a full bore miner. Once i have aquired most of the skills i intend to learn in the foreseeable future i intend to gradually switch to a fighter/recon role with the end goal of flying a covert ops frigate/recon cruiser.
2. In the early stages it can be hard to earn your keep as a pure fighter, especially with no corp backing you up (Most of the lucrative fighter jobs require access to higher level agents, high skills or a corp providing either superior numbers, established 0.0 pressence or mining income). Making an income in mining as a newbie revolves mostly around finding a quiet sector with 2nd (plagio/pyroxeres) or 3rd tier (omber/kernite) ore and mining it dry. It's therefore a lot more accessible until you become able to fly better ships, and fit them out with all the gadgets needed to tank multiple rats as well as hold your own in PvP.
3. To start with, a fighter should go for the fast attack frigate, which also happens to be the cheapest ship after the newbie ship. Later upgrade to the T2 assault frigate (frigate 3), then move up to cruiser. Skip destroyer! while i won't comment on whether it is useless or just misunderstood, it is clear the vessel is very difficult to use effectively. Cruisers are easier to use well. Eventually you can move up to battlecruiser and battleship. As a miner, go for the mining frigate first, possibly supplementing it with the freight frigate to return the ore. I suggest working up the Caldari ship line next so you can work toward the Osprey, which is considered one of the best mining ships in the game. Eventually you'll want a mining barge, but that requires a massive skill investment, especially as the first rank barge is actually worse than a fully decked out Osprey, even with a strip miner equiped.
4. At the beginning the miner makes more money. The demand for minerals is high and the miner provides the supply for it, while level 1 missions and high sec rats offer relatively poor rewards. As you get powerful enough to run level 2 missions the fighter can make more money in secure space. In 0.0 space both roles can be equally lucrative as the bounties on rats are high, the gear they drop is valuable, and the asteroids and ice fields to mine are equally precious.
5a. Ratting. Finding beltrats (npc hostiles mainly patroling asteroid fields) and killing them for the bounty as well as the items they drop. Starts off poor but gets exponentially more rewarding as you get into low sec and 0.0 space.
5b. Missions. With each level mission rewards become more generous, and high standing improves this even more. It takes a while to work up standing to access such NPC's of course, and high level missions are tough enough to require not only a battleship, but some buddies as well, but the pay is well worth it.
5c. Pirating. Although i can't comment on how lucrative it is to fuly dedicate yourself to harassing other players for ransoms or shooting them up for their cargo, especially as due to them establishing themselves almost exclusively in the .4 to .1 range this area is generally avoided like the plague by anyone not into FFA PvP, it is an option. Of course as you will be fighting against human beings, the requirements on your ship will be a lot higher than fighting the relatively simple minded AI of belt rats.
5d. Mercenary work. The best pay for a fighter eventually lies in securing space for combined operations. Providing escort to mining ships or securing space for a corp. The main drawback of this is of course that you will have to look for a corp that is in need of your services as a fighter, and they may require you to already have some capability in that field.
6. Either. This game is remarkably balanced in terms or role needs. Miners need warships for protection and chasing off the competition, while fighters need an economical backbone to provide them the flashy toys they use to shoot stuff up with. |