How 2 Krab Part 7: Alpha Clones

Welcome to a bit of a different version of How 2 Krab. If you already know everything there is to know about earning ISK in wormholes then this guide probably won’t apply to you. Here, I’m going to try to better explain the exact mechanics of wormhole sites, how you complete them, and (more importantly!) the fits that an alpha clone will need to run them.

If you’re an Omega clone then it would be better for you to check out the rest of this series for more optimal fits. The theorycrafting I’ve done here is designed around being exceptionally tanky, easy to fit, and cheap. I will mention upfront, though, that I designed them with “max alpha” skills in mind. As always, I recommend plugging them into Pyfa with your own skills and comparing against expected damage/neuting. I’ll show you how to do that below, it’s easy!

You can also watch some of this theorycrafting as it was done live on Twitch here.

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

*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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How to Read Pyfa

Seems like a strange place to start on a wormhole guide, doesn’t it? I feel that it’s very important, though, and I’m including it here in order to help show newer players how to calculate if you’re going to survive a site before you ever enter it. This isn’t a full theorycrafting guide or a guide on how to add your character, but it should be enough to at least “read” my fits better and to understand them.

Below, you’ll find the main stats panel shown in Pyfa. Every fit will have details like this and you can easily match them up to what the ship does. Here are descriptions of each numbered section and why it is important.

1. Fitting / drones & cargo / hardpoints. These are simple to understand, as long as the fit isn’t above 100% in any area then things will fit. You can also use the PG/CPU % to easily determine if you’d rather use an implant of 1,2, or 3%
2. Resists. From top to bottom you have shield, armour, and hull resists. Against Sleepers (wormhole enemies) you need these to be balanced if possible. The “EHP” button toggles to zero resists or “raw” HP.
3. Incoming Damage. For the purposes of tank calculation, you can change incoming damage to other profiles such as the Thermal + Kinetic Serpentis. Leave it as omni for my guides.
4. Tank. This shows you how much you can repair per second with resists and damage profile considered. The top number is the maximum and the bottom is the best you can get under current simulated capacitor. If stable, these numbers are the same. From left to right: Passive shield regen, active shield reps, active armour reps, hull reps. “Projected” remote reps onto you will appear here, too.
5. Outgoing DPS. The amount of damage you deal. Right click to factor in reload time.
6. Outgoing Reps. Most useful for logi fit comparison, not so much for solo/duo fits.
7. Capacitor Stats. Shows raw capacitor and how much you have when stable. The right hand side shows capacitor resistance and how much you are stable by in gigajoules per second.
8. Targeting and drones. Normally this isn’t something to consider so much unless you have a long-ranged fit or a drone boat. Note the drone control range and the range at which enemies will orbit you.
9. Capacitor Tooltip. This will show you the effective excessive cap regen that you have. This is the best number to compare to incoming NPC neuts per second.

I highly recommend using Pyfa if anything to at least check your skills in advance (make sure to add and select the right character!). It’s also very useful for fixing the imports of modules which have been updated through tiericide. If you’re not sure how to import fits in that way then check out my short guide.

I would also like to clarify what different types of tank actually mean and their benefits in PvE. This is particularly important because I’ve seen people trying to complete sites in cruisers with 400mm armour plates. That doesn’t work!

• Armour or Shield Buffer – Both are bad options in PvE. If you run out of tank, you either warp off or simply die. (Ancillary rep modules are usually a form of buffer, too)
• Passive Shield Regen – This is distinct from buffer since you use modules which focus on making your shield recharge super fast. Peak regen will be around 25% so if you hit that then you need to think about aligning out. You will usually have close to zero capacitor due to how this works so think about not using any active modules at all.
• Active Armour or Shield Reps – Very simple. You use modules to directly boost shields or armour back up. Shield tanks typically have more DPS and armour tanks will have more control modules such as webs, painters, or tracking computers.
• Remote Rep “Spider Tank” – This needs two or more different ships with remote reps fitted to deal damage and repair each other at the same time. Fleets with dedicated logistics are also viable.
• Tinker Tanking – A very very niche method. To do this you often do not repair each other, but instead, use strong self reps and many remote cap transfers to facilitate the use of such reps.

There are combinations of each of the above that work, but for the most part those are the general principles of tanking to be aware of. Try reading module descriptions in my fits (in-game) and you’ll start to understand why things are done the way they are.

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How to Find Sites (and which to do)

In order to actually find combat sites in wormhole space, it’s as simple as finding any wormhole (by scanning Cosmic Signatures anywhere) and venturing in. Immediately in your probe scanner, you will find ‘green’ signatures/anomalies that you can warp straight to. These are what I typically refer to when I talk about completing sites in any particular wormhole class.

You also have the option of scanning the wormhole cosmic signatures to find Sleeper data and relic sites. A good rule of thumb is that they are always about one class higher in terms of difficulty, but can have good rewards if you choose to complete them. Some them require specific triggers such as hacking cans. For that reason, and for the purposes of checking triggers, I recommend reading through Rykkis Guide below.

Rykki’s Guide

I’ve also gone ahead and created some tables here of preferred sites split by Anomaly or Signature. Read from the top down for the “best” sites to complete. When you actually complete the sites, it’s as simple as burning around and killing all of the Sleeper enemies to pick up their loot (no bounties!). Using a Mobile Tractor Unit is very handy, and make sure you don’t kill the last of the trigger enemies per wave or you will bring another wave early.

While completing these combat sites, you should always be checking your directional scanner for new hostiles. If you’re new, then be sure to check Rykki’s Guide for the Sleepers and prioritise targets other than the last one of those. Usually, this means clearing neuts or heavy DPS as soon as possible. Some Sleepers also remote repair each other and if can tank the wave easily then those are a good first target.

The sites below are limited to C1, C2, and C3 space because they are some of the most newbro friendly, and in the case of C3 sites, the best ISK/hr with little investment. C4 sites aren’t worth your time without a long ranged battleship fleet, and C5/C6 sites start to become the kind of thing that you really do need to be Omega to effectively do.

Salvaging and Selling the Loot

A quick note on this in case you didn’t already know. Sleeper “blue loot” is sold to NPCs; you can easily determine these as they will be flat amount of ISK available in seemingly random stations. The main trade hub in Amarr, for example, has NPC buy orders for it.

Salvage is also particularly worthwhile in wormholes. It isn’t what it used to be, but if you can easily do it, it’s worth running a salvaging ship over once you’re done with the site and it’s safe enough to do so.

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Best Anomalies (C1-C3)

Anomaly Name	ISK/EHP	Total ISK	Class
The Oruze Construct	150	44.5m	C3
Fortification Frontier Stronghold	147	41.1m	C3
Solar Cell	123	55.2m	C3
Outpost Frontier Stronghold**	100	45.1m	C3
The Line*	106	12m	C1
Perimeter Hangar	74	15.6m	C2
The Ruins of Enclave Cohort 27	58	15.6m	C2
Perimeter Camp*	79	10.4m	C1
Phase Catalyst Node	70	9m	C1
Perimeter Ambush Point	66	8.6m	C1
Perimeter Checkpoint	53	12.9m	C2
Sleeper Data Signature Sanctuary	46	11.6m	C2

Best Signatures (C1-C3)

Data/Relic Signature Name	ISK/EHP	Total ISK	Class
Forgotten Frontier Quarantine Outpost	153	79.4m	C3
Unsecured Frontier Receiver	150	72.2m	C3
Unsecured Frontier Database**	176	88.4m	C3
Unsecured Perimeter Transponder Farm	68	26.7m	C2
Forgotten Perimeter Habitation Coils	65	25.4m	C2
Forgotten Perimeter Gateway	65	19.2m	C2
Forgotten Frontier Recursive Depot**	179	92.5m	C3
Unsecured Perimeter Amplifier*	114	10.2m	C1
Forgotten Perimeter Power Array*	84	9.2m	C1
Unsecured Perimeter Comms Relay	54	20.2m	C2
Forgotten Perimeter Coronation Platform*	72	12.8m	C1
Unsecured Perimeter Information Center*	74	11.8m	C1

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Alpha Clone C1 & C2 Fits

C1 and C2 sites are naturally some of the easiest wormhole content in the game. For that reason I can definitely recommend them to someone with very low SP. All it takes is some decent battlecruiser skills and the ability to read which triggers to not shoot until last. Additionally, none of these sites scram, making it easy to think about aligning out if you get low and need to warp.

That said, here are a number of fits which I’ve designed to keep cheap and easy to fly. They’re biased towards drone/missile setups since those really are the best at most PvE content due to application and ease of use. I personally did my very first C2 sites in a passive tanked autocannon Hurricane slowly burning around sites and I don’t recommend it.

The DPS and neuts you’re going to want to tank for these are as follows. Be sure to check the fits against your skills. If it’s just a tiny bit lower then try it anyway and you should be fine. Feel free to also upgrade the weapons to T2 or drones to faction at your leisure.

• C1 (all sites) – 225 DPS, 18 GJ/s neuting (with more in “The Line”)
• C2 (anomalies) – 425 DPS, 10 GJ/s neuting
• C2 (relic & data) – 600 DPS, 22 GJ/s neuting

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C1

The below fits don’t need a huge amount of explanation and out of all of them, I’d probably fly the Gnosis since it’s so damn cheap. The Drake offers a shield option, though, and the Myrmidon has an MWD if you feel that moving around on grid a lot is necessary. Almost anything works in these sites though as long as you meet the requirements above.

With any and all of my fits you should also bring along some appropriate drugs in the cargo. A Hardshell II and a Standard Exile will go a long way in stopping you from dying if things get hairy in almost any fit. It will eat into your profit margins to keep chugging them, but it’s better to survive with a small ISK loss than to lose the entire ship.

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C2

So how do you step it up from here to C2s? It’s 200 more DPS for anomalies and 400 more to complete all content including data/relic. This can be done quite well in many ships, but I’d like to show off three of my recommendations here.

The first two are very simple; a Drake that can complete any C2 anomaly, and a Praxis with much more DPS that can complete any C2 site at all. The Praxis is just over twice the price of the Drake, but you get a lot more out of it with the ability to clear more sites with more DPS. Neither fit has a prop mod, so you’re just going to be sitting around spewing missiles out at Sleepers. If you specifically want to land on the other side of the site then you can easily do that by bookmarking a structure and rewarping.

The last fit is much more interesting. It’s a Cyclone that breaks the rules and uses cap boosters in PvE. You only have 9-10 of them and are barely stable, especially with the MWD on. The tradeoff is that you can get 622 DPS as an alpha or 789 DPS with all 5 skills. My test run on an alpha character managed to do a Perimeter Hangar in about 6 minutes or so and used 0.02m ISK worth of cap boosters (4). I highly suggest using this if you want a more active method of PvE similar to flying in the abyss. It’s also the fastest overall bar a T2 fit Praxis.

Any old abyssal or C3 Gila fit will also work, but keep in mind that you’re paying a lot more for something you don’t need.

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Alpha Clone C3 Fits

Now this is where things get difficult. As an alpha clone in wormhole space, you’ll find that tanking the DPS and neuts of many C3 sites to be particularly difficult. I’ve already mentioned in previous tech 3 cruiser guides that you can do them easily with a 400 DPS tank if you sig tank, but I wouldn’t want to throw that at newbros and call it a day. Instead, I’ve focused here on trying to make sure that you can easily run the sites without too much trouble.

As before, here are the DPS and neut values to tank. Compare these to your fits in Pyfa.

• C3 Anomalies – 815 DPS, ~20 GJ/s
• C3 Data/Relic – 1,400 DPS, 44 GJ/s (some are easier)

The Praxis fit below is the one that I’m most likely to recommend to a solo alpha clone wanting to run sites. It’s about as entry-level as I can make it without either over engineering the tank, blinging it into ISK oblivion, or otherwise. It uses some cheap implants that aren’t completely necessary, but they will improve the time you have piloting this Praxis. Same as many other alpha fits in how you use it. Warp in, shoot Sleepers, and rep. The tank is technically slightly lower than what you need for a couple of waves; you can fix this with Standard Exile, Hardshell II, or just a bit of overheating.

The other thing I can suggest for running C3 sites is an unorthodox version of a Dominx pair. This will need a second pilot, but you can scale it up and keep bringing more to add onto the chain as necessary. It’s a tinker shield tank fitted in a particular way to get around Alpha Clone drone limitations. By squeezing two Drone Link Augmentors on, you get the range up to a respectable 80km for one. A shield fit also means 3x Drone Damage Amplifiers compared to zero or one that you would have on an alpha armour fit. I tried it, and running a battleship with 250 DPS just isn’t cool. To fly these, you should warp in together and send cap to each other while running your local shield boosters. Be sure to stay within range.

A more common way to do this as I’ve already said would be with remote reps, but if you really want to go down that route, then my best suggestion would be to use the cheaper version of my Part 5 Nestor. It all fits easily and those Nestors will allow alpha clones to run most, if not all content if in a pair and being careful with cap. They’re about 520m ISK each and will enable the ability to bring along any third armour battleship that you want. My only change would be to drop one medium rep for a Drone Link Augmentor I and to drop the plate for a Reactive Armour Hardener.

That’s it for now about alpha clones. If I can think of any reliable and unique ways to complete C5 or C6 sites as an alpha clone then I will update this guide, but I doubt that. It’s just so much DPS and neut pressure that guides for fleets of under five people start to become a little pointless. My recommendation would be to stick to Wolf Rayets and use my T3C fits and similar. C4 sites are, as ever, annoying to do due to the 1-200km spawns. I do not recommend them.

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