søndag 29. mars 2015

Choose a wormhole home; Part 1

On a regular basis I do a tiny overall look on wormholespace and try to make up a somewhat subjective opinion on what kind of home would give us the optimal fun in game. And I felt with the recent changes that have happened (and also seeing how it has played out) it was time to do it again. But this time I will make it avaiable to all of you aswell. So here we go:

Part 1: Choosing a static

When choosing a wormhole your first desicion should always be what kind of static you want. The static is what will be your main source of interaction and activity unless you are determined to exclude yourself from other players. This has become increasingly harder to do after Hyperion expansion and if exclusion is a goal in itself you may also consider renting a system in 0.0.

Furthermore I have not considered roaming wormholes in this overview as that is not something that is dependable and consistent contribution to your daily activity.

I have divided this overview in three groups. How you pew your pew, how you make your isk and how you fuel your towers. Fuel will be a continual needed ingrediant even with the new structures coming up so its a vital element to evaluate.

Do you have a different experience with one of these static? Let me know in the comments below. 

(part 2 is now avaiable here)

Static PVP PVE Logistic
HS Yeah not entirely sure what kind of PVP ability you get from a HS static. Wardecs I guess? Safety is the first that comes to mind with a HS static. Usually these wormholes make a good base for industry as you get easy access to hauling and altering market exits. Anoms in HS is usually not wort talking to much about as its usually the low end sites in all shapes and forms. Easy
LS This would be the primary exit type for lowsec roams. Ability to roll it also makes for diversity.
  • Lowsec roams
Lowsec has racial gas sites for making booster gas. Also you may come across some decent DED sites. In addition you got the occasional ghost sites There are enough lowsec exits one jump from a HS to not make this a issue
NS Nullsec roams. Very powerfull for nullsec guerilla warfare. Especially with sov 5.0 coming the summer 2015 this will be an attractive static to have for those who love the nullsec skirmishes. Important to notice however a nullsec static doesn't allow for Capital ships to transverse so some fights might escalate above what you will be able to handle.
  • Small ship nullsec roam
A nullsec static gives somewhat limited PVE abilities. Mostly you will be able to do nullsec exploration sites and DED sites but be limited to subcapital ships to run them. Can be more challenging as you have to depend on other chains for a HS exit. Worst case you black ops jump a cloaky hauler through the gatecamps to a exit close to lowsec.
C1 Unless you are lucky and find a offline POS this is not a good static for PVE. C1 usually leads to HS aswell so see my points on a HS exit further up.
  • Usual HS chain
Possible solo sites but a c2 or c3 static give better soloable content. Usually easy due to high amount of HS
C2 This is where you first start to talk about the option of  wormhole-pvp. All C2 systems have dual static. One to known space (most often HS) and one to another wormholeclass. For small gang wormhole hunting this is by many considered as a premium static due to possible long stretching chains with a diversity of content. Currently a lot of C2's have become increasingly active with smaller groups as seen by this graph.
  • Chains to known space and wormholespace
  • Easy HS
  • Decent soloable anoms
  • Nullsec data sites
  • Possible group content in the wormholechain.
Usually easy due to high amount of HS
C3 C3's themself does seldom offer a lot of pvp as they are primarily used for solofarming, industry or staging. Depending on the static it has itself. 50% of C3 lead to lowsec so having a c3 static usually means you get easy lowsec roam ability.
I have also heard from people living in them or having them as static that roaming wormholes has been an increasing occurance in c3's. This open options but not on a dependable level.
  • Usually leads to lowsec (see up)
  • Easy soloable content
  • Also see lowsec static further up
Usually easy due to high amount of LS/HS
C4 Ahh. Yes. The c4 static. I may be a bit partial on this as we currently have this in our home, but what connections this bring. Since Hyperion brought the second static a c4 static opens up a world of opportunity. Considering about 50% (finger in the air number) of the c4's you connect to have another c4 static you usually end up with a huge chain leading to all sorts of classes. Yes every night we have everything from c1-c6 in our c4 chain. Depending on how deep our scouts go. Considering several other groups have moved to c4's with different statics you usually find someone to fight several times a week. Sometimes you get to gank someone. Other times you get ganked yourself. And sometimes theres a proper fight. Right now a static c4 is the optimal static for diversity and activity. Again. You get almost every aspect of wormholespace except the capital escalation option for c5 and c6.So everything from solo to big groups get iskmaking opportunities. Usually easy due to high amount of HS further down in the chain.
C5 There used to be a joke about the endless c5-c5 highway. After living in a c5-c5 ourself for a bit it wasnt such a funny joke anymore. Occasionally you get a big group in your chain but mostly you have to go into null for fights. Looking at the killboard from the big groups living in c5's it seem like this is still the case. Long down the chain or out to null to find fights. This is where you start seeing the big isk. For a group of 4+ these sites can be easily run and generate a very good income. If your homesystem is a c5/6 in addition you can bring in 1+ capital to escalate. And then you have the c320. Thats just raw isk in itself that you can pick up for free. The four battleships that spawn is easy to solo and adds another 100 mill to the value of the site. This is probably the most challenging in regards to the logistic aspect. Your chains never has the promise of a kspace like the c1-4 statics have. You mostly depend on finding a roaming direct HS or you find a 5-1,2,4 down the chain. From experience you really never struggle with logistic but are more dependant on making use of good opportunities that come along.
C6 The Nostalgia. Havent we all watched Clarion Call and dreamt about the glorious battles of fame and fortune? The sacking of TLC, the invasion of Noho. But right now the land of C6 is a barren wasteland. What was once the pinnacle of wormholespace has now turned to a series of empty wormholes. Only sign of life is the single towers belonging to the russian farmers called "w-space citizen". Occasionally you will connect to former great block who still struggle through survival with fat wallets and inactive members. No, right now a C6 static offers little but another connection. Another dot on the line towards the next wormhole. Maybe you are lucky and get a connection to null or lowsec, but the glory of days yonder has past to legends. Yes right now a c6 static is a good place to farm. Noone is rolling for c6's so little chance of ganks unless someone is coming through a chain. Actually logistic with a static c6 is easier than in with a static c5. This is mostly due to the low number of c6 wormholes and how easy it is to roll to a 6-2 or 6-1 if you really need a HS.