How 2 Krab Part 5: High-Class Sites

Since the removal of hero-dreading as it used to exist, C5 space has been a little bit quiet on the krabbing front. Did people just forget that there’s ISK to be had or did Rorqual Spod go to their heads. With part five I certainly hope to make that a more accessible and well-known option so you too can be ganked by us earn lots of ISK! As with the low-class article there is a reference table of C5 sites which can be found here and there’s a C5/6 dread bookmarking guide here.

The fits described in this article were created before the resistance nerf in April 2020. Post-patch revised fits will be marked with a ++ at the start of each fitting name although screenshots will not always be updated.

Coming to the end of this series I’ve also realised that I am neglecting to cover methods such as Red Giant smartbombing and the like. Those methods are a little more esoteric and if I choose to do so then perhaps there will be a standalone guide in the future. Don’t count on it though. If C5/6 sites aren’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.

Method	Characters Needed	Initial Investment	ISK/hour***
Gas Huffing	1+	10m ISK	~75m ISK
Mining	1+	10m ISK+	Depends on setup/rocks
Planetary Interaction	1+	10m ISK+	~1b / month / account
Data/Relic Sites (C1-3)	1	10m ISK	Variable, <150m ISK
C2 Sites (T3D/Cruiser/BC)	1+	50-60m ISK	~75m ISK
»C5 Wolf Rayet Fleet	3+	350m ISK	~450m ISK
C13 Wolf Rayet Sites	1+	150m ISK	~150m ISK
C3 Sites (Gila/Rattle)	1+	500m ISK	~250m ISK
Abyssal Frigates*	3	~300m ISK	~4-600m ISK
Abyssal Cruisers*	1	1-300m ISK+	~1-300m ISK
»C5 Sites (Nestor/Vargur)**	2/3+	1.6b ISK	~450m ISK
»C5 Sites + Drifter	2/3+	3b ISK	~1b ISK
»C5/6 Dread Sites	2/3+	8-16b ISK	~2-3b ISK
Bonus Article: Triglavian Ships	1+	0.2-2.5b ISK	Variable

*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.

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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.

Perhaps I didn’t paint such a good picture of krabbing in high-class space with that intro. It’s intentional. I’ve always said that the best way to improve content in all of wormhole space is to provide opportunities for both the hunters and their prey. If you’re smart then you shouldn’t die so you have nothing to worry about and you’ll make more money than you need. Come with me and you’ll find a world of pure ISK, little krab.

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Nestors, Snakes, & Leshaks – C5 Space

Have you ever wanted to smash your head into the keyboard from boredom? Do you like watching drones trundle around a Garrison blapping Sleepers? Do you like ISK? If the answer to any one of those questions is yes then Nestors are probably a good choice for you. This Sisters of EVE battleship has bonuses to remote reps, armour tanking, and drones. Luckily, we are using every aspect of that which makes things pretty damn efficient and scalable.

Their unique selling point, however, is the fact that these ships weigh in at 22,250,000kg when fully fit meaning that your dirty krabbing habit won’t compromise the chain unlike Rattlesnakes would. If that point is lost on you then I sincerely suggest you go check out EVE Uni before touching a wormhole again. If you do know what you’re getting into then Rattles and Leshaks are viable options too. The silly amount of DPS that Leshaks do pretty much means that throwing some into the fleet is always going to improve site times.

The fits described in this article are designed for tanking Garrisons, Oruze Osobnyk’s, and Quarantine Areas. Upgrade to either three Nestors (either cheap or expensive fit), or use links if you want to do the other sites.

You can get through sites in about 20-30 minutes depending on skills and setup and you should ideally keep no more than four Nestors in a site. There are diminishing returns on ISK/hr due to drone travel speed and MTU tractor beam, velocity. If you have an excess of pilots then just split off into another site and blitz everything in a system. Interestingly, each of the sites you clear out should respawn in another system in the wormhole region. That’s not exactly confirmed, but most people are pretty sure that the mechanic works that way. Check out this table for a list of sites ordered by ISK per Sleeper EHP. The better the ratio, the faster you can theoretically run them. As with low-class, relic and data are a more difficult, but I’ll include them here for comparison. Generally Strongholds and Garrisons are the easiest to chew through.

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Sites by ISK/EHP

Site Name	ISK/EHP	Total ISK	Site Type
Unsecured Frontier Server Bank*	206	272m	Data
Forgotten Core Information Pen*	206	333m	Relic
Forgotten Core Data Field	198	279m	Relic
Unsecured Frontier Enclave Relay*	178	330m	Data
Core Stronghold*	145	235m	Combat
Core Garrison	143	254m	Combat
Quarantine Area	141	147m	Combat
Oruze Osobnyk	140	165m	Combat

*Exceptionally high DPS

As for a method in running C5’s I have to say it’s stupidly easy. Think C2 sites but bigger and meaner. Shoot everything that isn’t the trigger then finish off the wave and move on, simple. If you see something on d-scan or a new sig appears then just MJD out and live to krab another day. Either that, or set up for PvP and it might just be a fun fight. Running sites can be done with a minimum of two Nestors for a Core Garrison, Oruze Osobnyk, or Quarantine Area and either be prepped for tank refitting or use three Nestors for everything else in C5 space. It helps to use a specific logi channel and set your cap transfers one up-one down.

MJD isn’t as effective as of February 2020 due to sites now scramming them. I will update here after doing some research into all potential changes

For those of you new to high-class site running, know that part way through the site you will notice a structure uncloak. Aggressing this structure in any way will spawn a Drifter to beat your ass so watch out with the smartbombs. Choosing whether to spawn the Drifter or not for 300m ISK of loot is the crux of the “new” escalation system since Sleepless Guardians were removed.

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Fits

All of the fits below can be used in the exact same way by capping each other. You can mix & match Leshaks/Nestors as you see fit if you use the one from part 6. I recommend bringing along your own flavour of refits such as spare EANMs, Drone Navigation Computers, Omnidirectional Tracking Links etc. Just save the Rattles for pulsars and alts with weird skill setups. They’ve been way too expensive for a while now anyway. Do also be sure to try and keep Amarr battleship at least level 4. Level 3 reduces your resists to a point where being alpha’d is possible.

I’ve removed the section below with the Leshak due to the new resist changes (and it wasn’t great anyway!). You now have two options for either a cheap Nestor or a slightly more expensive one. The expensive one can do some C5 sites with two players and the cheap one needs three to safely run combat sites. They should be compatible and the only difference is that the expensive one tanks more and puts out more reps. You can also get away with cheap + cheap + links. I have a great Drekavac for that in part six. Don’t skip on the implants either!

Here are some sample numbers for all-5 skills of Nestor setups in sites. All of these are cap stable and tank the 72GJ/s neuting of a C5 site. Numbers will obviously go up and down dependant on skills or if you bling tank modules.

Setup	Reps	Price (Apr 2020)
Expensive x2	2,117 EHP/s	2.2b ISK
Cheap x2	1,596 EHP/s	1.2b ISK
Cheap x3	3,192 EHP/s	1.8b ISK
Expensive x2 + Links	2,918 EHP/s	2.6b ISK
Cheap x2 + Links	2,163 EHP/s	1.6b ISK
Cheap x3 + Links	4,327 EHP/s	2.2b ISK

2020 Update: Check out part 6 for the Drekavac and Leshak fits.

Passive Solo Garrison Rattlesnake

[Rattlesnake, ++PurgerSnake]

Caldari Navy Shield Power Relay
Caldari Navy Shield Power Relay
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II
Shield Power Relay II

Pithum B-Type EM Ward Amplifier
Pithum B-Type Thermal Dissipation Amplifier
Republic Fleet Shield Recharger
Republic Fleet Shield Recharger
Republic Fleet Shield Recharger
Republic Fleet Shield Recharger
Republic Fleet Large Shield Extender

Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II
Drone Link Augmentor II

Large Core Defense Field Purger II
Large Core Defense Field Purger II
Large Core Defense Field Purger II


Curator II x2
Gecko x1
Hornet EC-300 x5
Wasp I x2


Zainou 'Gnome' Shield Management SM-703
Zainou 'Gnome' Shield Operation SP-903


Scourge Fury Heavy Missile x10125
Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile x5000
Ballistic Control System II x3
Drone Damage Amplifier II x3

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Tips and Advice

• The Drifter structure spawns on wave three of some sites. You can bypass this by leaving one non-trigger open until you want to leave. This will stop people from spawning it on you early.
• The Nestor can have some mids swapped out for application to improve site times.
• Ignore all current signatures in your probe window to more easily see when a new one pops up.
• Use a logi channel to handle cap chains and always watch list everyone.
• Always use an MTU to gather loot and remember to drop it early. Packrat versions are worth it.
• You can bring any extra armour battleships that you like once two or three Nestors are on grid as long as they have enough buffer and resists.
• Bookmark the Talocan structures in a C5 and warp in at 10km for a slightly more efficient clear.
• I have some additional commentary on these fits here on Reddit.

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How 2 Drifter

Honestly the Drifter is the easiest thing ever. You can find his stats in Rykki’s guide, but for reference they look a little like this:

The DPS isn’t so bad, but having that much neuting means that if you choose to take him on within the site then you need at least three Nestors and should refit to add scram/point/web. His new behaviour means that he will switch targets throughout the fight rather than sticking to the largest signature target. There won’t be a doomsday, but he does try to warp away at 25% armour. Once he tries that warp he won’t try again.

Because of that weird quirk of target selection it also means that you’re free to bring a selection of extra ships just to finish him off quicker. My corp members have taken to cheapo Attack Battlecruisers just to get the job done quicker if we’re in the static. Whichever way you go about it, do try and have some damage selection in order to hit those resist holes.

The other way you can kill Mr Drifter easily with any kind of Citadel set up. The trick is to anchor an Astrahus (or similar) on grid with a POCO. You can bubble the warpin if you like, but he’ll eventually end up there just chilling out. You now need to warp a frigate with lots of mids over to him and then promptly back to the citadel to tether. The Drifter should follow and start shooting your structure. This frees the frigate to double scram and web while you beat him down with Standup missiles. That’s a free 300m ISK thank you very much. This has since been patched out.

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Tips and Advice

• There are occasions where the Drifter will switch target so watch out. It will usually be to another large-sig ship.
• Don’t sit at range with your frigate and think you’re good. You’ll be one shot.
• Clean them out of your wormhole ASAP unless you want corp members to die in Mastadons and rollers.
• You have about 6-7 seconds to warp while he’s on grid before you are locked and scrammed.

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Wildcard: Marauders

Ignore what I’ve said below! (though the cheap fit will still work). Check out part 8 for 14 C5 running Marauder fits. They’re genuinely amazing now!

Because at least three people have said to me “but what about the Vargur”, I felt the need to include at least a small section here detailing how it’s not only possible but also a bad idea. For the truly solo players with no friends, though, this is a viable way to make ISK and a decent use of an otherwise rare ship class.

I’ll be presenting my old Vargur fit here if only because I have experience running it and know that it works. Back before I had actually useful alts, my tactic used to be Vargur + Purger Rattle in the Lazerhawks static. Granted I might have only gotten away with it thanks to the LZHX ticker. Fitting rules generally apply and you can make a Paladin work just as well by matching tank, application, capacitor, and DPS.

I’ve now updated the below fit for post-Surgical Strike. I’ve tried to keep it as cheap as possible and one way of doing that was taking off a damage mod. It’ll still be… ok. This will run you about 2.6b ISK, although you can do Garrisons for turbo cheap if you do it like in this picture. That one is 2b and will come down to 1.7b without the smartbombs. Problem is that you need those expensive 7.5km smartbombs to effectively kill off the RR frigate wave. Run it in a red giant, perhaps?

[Vargur, ++Ticker Tanking 2020]

Republic Fleet Gyrostabilizer
Republic Fleet Gyrostabilizer
Capacitor Flux Coil II
Capacitor Flux Coil II
Capacitor Flux Coil II

Pith C-Type X-Large Shield Booster
Dread Guristas Shield Boost Amplifier
Pithum C-Type Adaptive Invulnerability Shield Hardener
Republic Fleet Large Cap Battery
Republic Fleet Large Cap Battery
Large Micro Jump Drive

Imperial Navy Large EMP Smartbomb
800mm Repeating Cannon II
Bastion Module I
800mm Repeating Cannon II
800mm Repeating Cannon II
Imperial Navy Large EMP Smartbomb
800mm Repeating Cannon II
Ammatar Navy Heavy Energy Nosferatu

Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit II


Hobgoblin II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5
Hornet II x5


Eifyr and Co. 'Gunslinger' Motion Prediction MR-701
Eifyr and Co. 'Gunslinger' Surgical Strike SS-901
Eifyr and Co. 'Gunslinger' Large Projectile Turret LP-1001

Agency 'Hardshell' TB5 Dose II


Barrage L x5000
Hail L x5000
Nanite Repair Paste x300
Republic Fleet EMP L x8000
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma L x12000
Sisters Core Scanner Probe x8
Scan Resolution Script x2
Targeting Range Script x2
Optimal Range Script x1
Tracking Speed Script x1
Standard Blue Pill Booster x2
Standard Mindflood Booster x2
Co-Processor II x2
Capacitor Power Relay II x3
Cap Recharger II x2
Improved Cloaking Device II x1
Ammatar Navy Heavy Energy Nosferatu x2
Power Diagnostic System II x2
Core Probe Launcher I x1
Shield Boost Amplifier II x1
Adaptive Invulnerability Shield Hardener II x1
Heavy Stasis Grappler II x1
Stasis Webifier II x1
Republic Fleet Target Painter x1
Tracking Computer II x1
Warp Core Stabilizer I x5
Warp Disruptor II x1
Warp Scrambler II x1

Yes. I used to fly with all that in the cargo. Here’s a killmail from three years ago where I forgot to refit to cap and wondered why I couldn’t activate my MJD. Please don’t buy this. It’s fun for about 20 minutes until you realise that it is going to take 10 hours of gank-free krabbing to break even. It’s not even particularly effective any more since Bastion gives a weapon timer and prevents refitting!

Something I should have mentioned previously is that if you run a Garrison then you need to bookmark 10km from the Talocan structure and warp there. You then MJD towards the spatial rift for the final wave to kill the Sleepers 70km away.

if you ignore all my advice not to do this then at least plug it into Pyfa. To simulate the highest expected neuting you’ll want to project 2x T2 Heavy Neut and 1x Compact Heavy Neut. This will hit your simulated fit for 72.9GJ/s which is similar to what you need to resist in sites as a worst case. You should also pack Hardshell, Blue Pill, and Mindflood in case.. problems arise.

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T3 Destroyers – C5/6 Wolf Rayet Sites

One of the easiest and most accessible ways to get into high-class wormhole PvE is to start with a fleet of Confessors or Svipuls. It’s a little different to the C13 krabbing discussed in my low-class article since you actually need to run with logi instead of self tanks. I’ve seen both Augorors and Guardians used on separate occasions and your choice there depends on if you want to kill the drifter or not. Bringing a jump dessie for links and emergency GTFO button is a nice bonus, too.

To avoid rehashing everything I’ve already said for sites in general, you run these in the same way that you might PvP with them. Warp to the site together with 2-3 logi and get to work chopping up Sleepers while not sitting at 0m/s like a lemon. I recommend checking out Vulfpeck for an up to date list of effective fits exclusive to this type of wormhole. Because I’m also not a fan of pointlessly reinventing the wheel, you can find the Vulfpeck Confessor below. I’ve modified their Guardian to remove the 400mm plates though. Please don’t put frigate plates on cruisers, people…

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It should go without saying that PvP fits are just fine, too. If you have some lying around that haven’t been used in a while then drop them into a Wolf Rayet for PvE and see how you get on. You may be pleasantly surprised and could have the edge on someone who drops on you, depending on your fits of course.

2020 Update: Triglavian Ships

As mentioned in part 6 of this guide, the Kikimora does a decent job in Wolf Rayets as long as you don’t get alpha’d. The fits below should do the job, but if you have a large enough fleet then there’s honestly no point. These are best used by ramping up damage on large targets while the rest of the fleet shreds other, smaller Sleepers.

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Dread Krabbing – C5/C6 Space

Are you ready kids because here’s the secret. The final part of the final guide on how to make ISK and the reason why everyone thinks all wormholers are rich. In all honesty I was dreading writing this section for so long since it means making all the screenshots and not accidentally labelling one with the wrong site. Having a good public source out there to refer to is something I’ve wanted for a while, though. Outside of the occasional Youtube video there doesn’t seem to be much available unless you do your own testing and I hope to change that.

The main advice I have to give is to just stick to C5 space at the moment with the ~512 potential holes you have to choose from. Class 6 is a little more hotly contested with just ~113 available. For an entire universe of krabs hungry for ISK that really isn’t so much when you think about it and many of them are already populated by the likes of Hard Knocks, Lazerhawks, Inner Hell, and No Vacancies.

What I describe below is also just one way to run sites. Dual dread, solo dread, and Rorqual setups are other methods that I have seen used. Whichever way you go about it you should keep things cheap and know that eventually you’re gonna lose out. It might as well be before your insurance expires.

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Method

For starters, you’re going to want a turret-fit dread. Naglfars are generally great but running with a Phoenix isn’t exactly optimal. The reason is because half of what you’re going to be doing is ensuring good positioning to blap battleships before they even hit orbit, just like in the old days. Do also be aware that warping capitals in will spawn four Upgraded Avengers with 1.2k DPS and -75GJ/s of neuting each.

The way you do this is by first setting up bookmarks using the images below. I don’t have every site here but most should work. You’re going to want to use a Zephyr to get into position since it’s the only ship that Sleepers will not shoot, saving the trouble of getting decloaked. Once you have the bookmarks ready, you should warp two cap gun dreads and one HAW dread into site and slow to ~9m/s before you siege.

The cap gun dreads now shoot each Sleeper battleship while they burn away to reach orbit, hitting the triggers quickly. If battleships do reach orbit then hit them with a the HAW dread. All dreadnoughts should be running their smartbombs to kill off frigates and the HAW guns need to kill off cruisers. Kill the Drifter once you have him pointed. Easy

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Bookmarking Guide

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Fits

The fits I’m providing here are perhaps not the best in the world, but they are cheap and easy to replace. Each of them has capital sized guns fitted as an example. Do make sure to bring a set of HAWs, though, or you’ll just be stuck in site. You’ll also want to pack some additional goodies such as expanded cargoholds, webs and heavy warp disruptors for the Drifter. These should also always be ran with T2 Siege for the extra damage to kill battleships before they get a chance to orbit. Finding krabs with Siege Module I’s is just sad. Fits have not been changed since the resist nerf, just use a mobile depot and refit with a Damage Control II instead of a damage mod if you start dying. Use your DPS to tank and kill the site fast instead!

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Tips and Advice

• As with Nestors you should ignore all sigs and watch for new ones.
• Don’t panic if a sig pops up. The only way you are getting out is by krabbing harder and finishing sooner.
• Bring appropriate drugs, refits, and tracking-bonused ammo just in-case.
• Once you warp and bookmark a site you have four days to complete it before it respawns.
• If completing a site after downtime you need to pre-warp it before sending the dreads in.
• Set slightly different dread default warps and land them 1-2km apart to save from bumping.
• Double click backwards in space to slow down quicker than a simple Ctrl+Space.
• Don’t be salty if you get tackled….

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Resources

Rykkis Guide (or Karr’s updated version)
3 Dreads 1 Cycle
This Guide

« Part 4: The Abyss | Part 6: Triglavian Ships »

And with that, I can conclude an insane amount of work. What started as an attempt to teach my newer corp members how to krab has turned into an extremely comprehensive list of ways to earn ISK in wormhole space. I had initially intended to write this up as a single article believe it or not. I may still do so actually so keep an eye out for the concise fits and tips megaguide if I get around to it.

If anything changes then please do let me know either on Twitter or here in the comments. I’ll be happy to update to reflect new changes or to write a standalone addition if a new krabbing method pops up.