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How 2 Krab Part 2: Hacking & Planetary Interaction

Part two here we go! This time the focus is on making ISK with Data and Relic sites with a side dish of Planetary Interaction. If that isn’t what you’re here for then go ahead and click on the appropriate title in the table below for the article on that method.

MethodCharacters NeededInitial InvestmentISK/hour***
Gas Huffing1+10m ISK~75m ISK
Mining1+10m ISK+Depends on setup/rocks
»Planetary Interaction1+10m ISK+~1b / month / account
»Data/Relic Sites (C1-3)110m ISKVariable, <150m ISK
C2 Sites (T3D/Cruiser/BC)1+50-60m ISK~75m ISK
C5 Wolf Rayet Fleet3+350m ISK~450m ISK
C13 Wolf Rayet Sites1+150m ISK~150m ISK
C3 Sites (Gila/Rattle)1+500m ISK~250m ISK
Abyssal Frigates*3~300m ISK~4-600m ISK
Abyssal Cruisers*11-300m ISK+~1-300m ISK
C5 Sites (Nestor/Vargur)**2/3+1.6b ISK~450m ISK
C5 Sites + Drifter2/3+3b ISK~1b ISK
C5/6 Dread Sites2/3+8-16b ISK~2-3b ISK
Bonus Article: Triglavian Ships1+0.2-2.5b ISKVariable

*Abyssal sites included as they’re easily done inside your wormhole
**C4 sites can be ran using these methods for less ISK
***These are rough numbers. You can often earn more with better skills, more investment, luck etc.


If the words ‘static’ and ‘probe launcher’ seem foreign then you best start with EVE Uni first. As before, this is also not a replacement for Rykkis Guide (or Karr’s updated version). Instead, it is more of a complementary piece that explains how to actually use the numbers found in that sheet. If you’re in a rush then skim through for the key bold text and reference tables.


Data & Relic Sites

Scanning down this kind of site in wormhole space can be very lucrative if you get the right drops. By that same token you could easily come away with next to nothing if you get unlucky. At least we don’t have loot spew any more! If you’re new then go look that up for a laugh.


Method

The objective of hacking either a data or a relic site is that you take an analyser specific to the site, activate it on the structures there and complete the minigame. Repeat for each ‘can’. Of course it isn’t quite as simple as that, though, is it. Like minesweeper, there is seemingly more than meets the eye in the minigame. Do note, though, that you will only find the easy pirate sites in C1-C3 wormholes and they will be named after the pirate organisation. Anything C4 and above or one named Perimeter…/Frontier… is just a sleeper site with some bonus loot caches.

For starters, here’s the board with all elements labelled. Image credit to EVE Uni and their fantastic wiki page:

If you’ve never done this before then the general idea is that you want to click to step through each node in search of the system core. There are defensive subsystems that try to block you and positive utilities that will help you. It’s a simple game to understand with a few niche tips and tricks to really get the most out of it.

One of these is the commonly quoted ‘Rule of Six’. I’m not 100% sure if it comes originally from Crasskitty, but she has an excellent video on the topic. The rule of six is such that if any “safe spot” has a defensive subsystem then the core must be one jump away. A safe spot looks like the image on the right, essentially any node with six others surrounding it. The tactic is to plot a route through each of these safe spots, looking for a defensive subsystem. If you don’t find one then start branching off and checking out places where your little minesweeper distance notification is 1 (the numbers that pop up are the distance to anything, good or bad). It’s also worth noting that the most likely system core location is about as far from your start point as possible; go check over there.

As you travel along, make that you don’t just attack everything see instantly, nor should you uncover the shiny white ‘cache’ nodes which may conceal defences. If you run into a Firewall or Antivirus Node (high defence and high attack nodes) then just go around. You should only destroy these if you’ve exhausted all other routes. The exception to this rule is the *shudders* Restoration Node. For each turn they are active, they will heal other subsystems significantly, kill them straight away. The Virus Suppressor is another particularly nasty one as it will reduce your virus strength, making your attacks not dissimilar to a wet noodle. If you have any utilities when you find this, use em.


The Blackglass Attack

If you got this far then let me introduce you to your two new best friends, the Neural Lace ‘Blackglass’ Net Intrusion 920-40, and the Zeugma Integrated Analyzer.

Name a more iconic duo, I’ll wait

The Blackglass implant costs roughly 50m ISK and is rather special in that it behaves rather differently to almost any other implant in the game by having a drawback. It will increase your data analyser strength by 20 and decrease your coherence (health) by 40.

Now data sites are definitely a bit ‘meh’, but there’s a way around that. With the combined Zeugma analyzer you can use this bonus in relic sites, too. A properly fit Astero or Cov-Ops with this setup will blitz any hacking task with 60 strength and 110 coherence. Throw in the Poteque ‘Prospector’ Environmental Analysis EY-1005 too for 10 more health if you want to min-max. This is also great for me since I’ll get a nicer killmail when I pod you 😉


Tips and Advice

  • Always keep at range 2,500m from the can. If there’s anything spooky on dscan you can always cloak up.
  • You get two attempts unless it is a Ghost Site. Failing the second destroys the can, and loot.
  • If you are trying to hack a Ghost Site, check out the Eve Uni guide first.
  • Bring a cargo scanner, unless you just want practice then a piece of Carbon is not good loot.
  • The Small Memetic Algorithm Bank & Small Emission Scope Sharpener rigs are useful to have. Two T1 rigs = one T2 rig.
  • If there aren’t many ‘safe spots’ in the rule of six then stick to the edges.
  • Always pick up good utilities as soon as you see them.
  • Usually you can afford to use the repair utility immediately on pickup.
  • Keep checking dscan…. That should be obvious
  • Relative value of site seems to be (descending): Ghost Data Sites > Crystal Quarry Relic > Science Relic > Other Relic > Other Data (Someone confirm if possible)

Resources

EVE Uni Hacking & Hacking 101 Guide
EVE Uni Ghost Sites
CCP’s old hacking guide (featuring loot spew!)
Crasskitty’s rule of six guide
Reload’s hacking guide


Planetary Interaction (PI)

Oh boy here we go, the ‘easiest’ way to make ISK in the game, yet to me this is like interfacing with the Matrix. In all seriousness, PI doesn’t seem too bad at all once you start reading into it and I hope I can get that across here. Just don’t expect to learn it all from me, some of the other guides I’ve read are 5,000 words+ and I don’t plan on making this into a Planetary Interaction blog any time soon.


Method

I can wholeheartedly recommend that if you want to get started with PI then do what I did and find a simple video to go through the general process on a simple planet. I particularly like the one below by PhilsTech:


For a more in-depth dive into what makes PI tick then check out the EVE Uni video lecture here:


If you don’t have time for the videos then the quick and dirty guide is to start by only producing P1 materials based on whatever is plentiful and sells well. It doesn’t hurt to see if you like it before committing to a massive setup. EvePlanets is an excellent site to start with if you want to find out all the possible options in your chosen system. I’m also quite a fan of using EveHelper to check the prices in a trade hub super fast once you know what you can make.

You’ll then need to place down a command centre appropriate for the planet and pop the heads into areas worth mining. You can see those with the scan tool and if you’re only concerned about processing one material then just look for deep red sections. You can then set up a chain of factories which process the mined materials and send it to a spaceport. Give it a day and repeat to pick up your 6-7m ISK each time. If you really need the XXL size written guide then check out EVE Uni. There are so many other guides out there that I won’t be linking to. Give it a Google search and there are dozens of lengthy descriptions.


Tips and Advice

  • With a simple setup, keep your silos and factories close together, longer links cost more resources.
  • Stick to the Epithal, no point risking a DST or blockade runner for such a simple task.
  • You can place command centres down and set things up just by being undocked, no need to visit the customs office unless you’re picking up the materials.
  • Other players will deplete planetary resources just like an asteroid belt. Make sure there is enough of what you want in system when viewing the planet.
  • In more complex setups watch out for large radius planets that add to the link length.
  • PI alts are easy to train into and you can make all three characters on your account able to do their own PI.
  • Alpha accounts can not do PI.
  • Start small with P0/P1, PI is tedious and you can burn yourself out on it.

Resources

EVE-Webtools – Pretty good tool with system checker
EveHelper.tk – Similar to EvePlanets, shows market prices
Alysii’s PI Scheme – Really funky interface, similar to EvePlanets
Adam4EVE Tools – Lots of different tools for all manner of PI and market tasks
EVE Uni PI Tools – Various PI tools
EVE-PI – Great web-based planner
EVE Planetary Planner – Downloadable planner
Steve Ronuken’s Fuzzworks PI Tools
EVE PI Android App
Meph’s Magical PI Setups for the Interminably Lazy
EVE Uni Planetary Interaction
Fazenda’s PI Tool – Another tool similar to EvePlanets

« Part 1: Mining | Part 3: Low-Class Sites »

Published inEVE OnlineGuidesHow 2 Krab

14 Comments

  1. Evel Evel

    Wh pi? How are.you.supposed to get it once pi is done

    • What do you mean? I’m talking about living in a wormhole, you treat it like any other system.

  2. Chance Acharn Chance Acharn

    1b per account, is that assuming all 3 characters are doing it… or is that per character?

    • Assuming all three characters are doing it 🙂

      • Grelo Grelo

        Whats the point of doing it if it gives less ISK than Omega costs (unless our main is on this acc and also has PI).

        • A few reasons:

          – It’s a game and some people might actually quite enjoy their PI setups and feeling of accomplishment
          – People might want the resources for their own industrial supply chain to build other things
          – People may do it with multiple characters to make enough ISK passively
          – It’s easy and doesn’t require you to be at the computer or anything while ISK is created

          EVE as a game is not entirely about making ISK. I would also suggest that making money to buy your Omega each month is detrimental to your own gameplay.

  3. Marti Thernan Marti Thernan

    The url for the eveplantes directs to wrong site – the url ends with .space

  4. Nevermind Nevermind

    Great article! Another fun exploration activity can also be ninja-ing (or jedi-ing) certain C5 data/relic sites. Especially the jedi-ing of Unsecured Frontier Server Bank’s can be done in comparatively cheap T1 explorer fits.

      • While I am not the poster of that comment, this is done by orbiting a gas site with a sig tanking afterburner Prospect. You can then just ignore the Sleepers entirely. There are a few guides if you search for “EVE Online Jedi Huffing”

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