Good EVEning!
The Lotek Corporation Standings Improvement Service [LCSIS] is pleased to offer corporation standing increases via fleet mechanics for our clients. All corporations with HS/LS agents are eligible. LS/NS/FW corporation standings negotiated on an individual basis.
Why should you have your standings improved? Reasons include, but are not limited to:
- Lowering Broker Fees at Tradehubs (and Elsewhere)
- Accessing Epic Arcs, L4/L5 Missions, and R&D Agents (for Datacore Farming)
- Stopping NPC Miners from Attacking You on Sight
- Accessing Loyalty Point Stores with Unique or Discounted LP Rewards
I, the Executor of the Lotek Network, serve as the point of contact for this server and personally process all payments to ensure neither our clients nor our runners are âburnedâ.
We use a formula, employing a bit of calculus and based on the standings gain formula provided by CCP, where your fee is directly proportional to the effort we put in: no more, no less, and zero markup regardless of your current or desired standings.
How the Formula Works
Allow me to explain how it works using a slightly simplified but largely accurate example: Suppose the goal is to increase your standing by 1 unit. Starting from 0, weâd charge you 100% of our rate. Starting from -10, it requires exactly half the effort, so weâd charge you exactly half of our rate. Starting from 5.0, it requires exactly twice the effort, so we charge you exactly twice the rate.
The standing gain formula CCP employs yields diminishing returns as your standing increases; therefore, additional effort is required to achieve the same amount of standing gains at higher standing levels than at lower standing levels.
The Formula
The formula we use is as follows:
Where:
- k = a constant used to calibrate the price
- S = Starting Effective Standing
- F = Desired Finish Effective Standing
Click here for a link to a calculator and chart to determine the fee for our service. Calculator/Chart is available as a Google Sheet.
Note: as we run missions, you accumulate ISK and LP - these are yours to keep. You are also welcome to keep any loot and salvage you get your hands on from missions (if applicable)
How it works:
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Join the LCSIS Discord Server and ask to speak with Archer en Tilavine.
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We will create a private Discord channel just for you and our runners (and leadership to monitor things).
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As your standings increase, we use the channel to document standing gains payments both from you the client and from me to the runners. Again, I personally handle all payments between clients and runners. If any issues arise, I handle them personally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Any chance I can get a lower rate?
A. If youâre looking to raise effective standings (ie. used for anything other than broker fee reduction) to a certain value, then a higher Connections level will result in a lower price point. The reason for this is because a lower base standing is required in order to achieve the same effective standing, and less work required of us results in a lower fee. For example to achieve Effective 5.0 with Connections L3 you need 4.32 in base standings, but with L5 you only need 3.75 in base standings to achieve the exact same effective standing. Note that Connections levels take effect retroactively, so you can train it during or after we work; you do not need to train it first before receiving service.
Weâve also been known to strike deals from time to time. Ultimately itâs the runners who do the choose what theyâre willing do and the rates they work for. Feel free to hop on our server and negotiate. Weâre ready and willing to haggle at any time.
Q. Is there a deposit required?
A. Yes - to prevent uninterrupted service, you are encouraged to provide as large of a deposit as possible so we do not need to stop every time to have consumed the deposit in order to receive additional payment to keep on going.
Q. How long does it take for you to grind my standings? Is there a fee for rush jobs?
A. This depends on many, many factors, but typical jobs take a couple of days. It would be best for you to speak with us for a time estimate along with your price quote. If you need a job done within a short amount of time, come speak with us and we might be able to accommodate your rush-request without the need for a rush fee. Rush jobs and rush fees (if required) are negotiated on an individual basis.
Q. Do I have to be in the same system as you or be active in fleet?
A. Nope! Feel free to walk away from the keyboard or do other things while we do the work. Youâre welcome to participate, but this is by no means required nor would it affect payment.
Q. Can I still play the game while my standings are being raised?
A. Absolutely! The only restriction is that you cannot leave fleet or have others join fleet while your standings are being raised- doing so ends the grinding session. Otherwise, youâre welcome to do something else on your computer, or walk away from the keyboard and do something else entirely. Weâll be grinding whether or not you are playing EVE as long as youâre logged in and in a fleet comprised of only you and the grinder.
Q. How do you check standings gain for payment?
A. There are a couple of ways that are acceptable, from screenshots to pushing updates to EVE Skillboard.
Q. Does my Social skill level affect how fast my standings are gained? Do the Social skill levels of the runners affect pricing?
A. Nope and nope!
Iâve confirmed with CCP via support ticket that your Social skill level has zero impact on how quickly your standings are increased, only the Social skill level of the runners.
Also, clients are not charged based on how quickly we increase their standings, only by the amount of standings increased; this means that it is in the runnerâs best interests to increase their Social skill level for both the Clientâs and their own benefit, but otherwise this has no impact on what the client is charged.
Q. What timezone do you operate in?
A. Generally speaking, our runners are available 24/7 (multiple runners may work for you, only one of which will work for you at any given time). You are welcome to leave your fleet open while youâre AFK so we can grind while youâre at school, at work, asleep, etc.
Q. What is your refund policy?
A. If at any point you choose to discontinue our service, the remainder of your deposit for services not rendered will be returned to you in full. Refunds for services properly rendered are determined on a case by case basis.
Q. Do you guys charge me if you go over my desired finish standing?
A. Of course not. Enjoy the bonus!
Q. Do you guys offer faction standing grinding?
A. Not at this time. Weâve come up with a flat-rate model that works consistently well for all factions that looks promising so far, and are putting together a waiting list of clients interested in beta testing the service. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please contact me! You will, of course, be given a discount over the fees we will charge when weâre ready to announce and offer the service to the general public.
Q. What are the Tradehub Corporations?
A. From largest to smallest tradehub:
- Jita - Caldari Navy
- Amarr - Emperor Family
- Dodixie - Federation Navy
- Rens - Brutor Tribe
- Hek - Boundless Creations
- Thera - The Sancturary
Q. Which Corps or Factions do I need Minimum Standings With to Begin The Epic Arcs?
A. By Epic Arc, the corps/factions and their minimum standings are
- Sisters of EVE âThe Blood-Stained Starsâ: Sisters of EVE corp OR faction (0 effective standing)
- Amarr Empire âRight to Ruleâ: Ministry of Internal Order OR Amarr faction (5 effective standing)
- Caldari State âPenumbraâ: Expert Distribution OR Caldari faction (5 effective standing)
- Gallente Federation âSyndicationâ: Impetus OR Gallente faction (5 effective standing)
- Minmatar Republic âWildfireâ: Brutor Tribe OR Minmatar faction (5 effective standing)
- Angel Cartel âAngel Soundâ Three Entry Points (3 effective standing with any of them)
- Dominations OR Angel faction
- Republic Security Services OR Minmatar faction
- Amarry Navy OR Amarr faction
- Guristas Pirates âSmash and Grabâ Three Entry Points (3 effective standing with any of them)
- Federation Intelligence Office OR Gallente faction
- Ytiri OR Caldari faction
- Guristas corp OR faction
Q. What are the R&D Corporations?
A. By Faction:
- Amarr Empire:
- Carthum Conglomerate
- Viziam
- Caldari State
- Kaalakiota Corporation
- Ishukone Corporation
- Lai Dai Corporation
- Gallente Federation
- CreoDron
- Roden Shipyards
- Duvolle Laboratories
- Minmatar Republic
- Core Complexion Inc
- Boundless Creation
- Thukker Tribe - Thukker Mix
- Khanid Kingdom - Khanid Innovation
- Ammatar Mandate - Nefantar Miner Association
Q. What corporations do the NPC Miners belong to?
A. The NPC miners may belong to any of the following corporations, arranged by faction:
- Amarr Empire
- Ducia Foundry
- Joint Harvesting
- HZO Refinery
- Caldari State
- Deep Core Mining Inc.
- Poksu Mineral Group
- Minedrill
- Gallente Federation
- Astral Mining Inc.
- Material Acquisition
- Allotek Industries
- Minmatar Republic
- Minmatar Mining Corporation
- Vherokior Tribe
- Thukker Tribe: Thukker Mix
- Sanshaâs Nation: True Creations
- Blood Raider Covenant: Blood Raiders
- Guristas Pirates: Guristas Production
- Angel Cartel: Salvation Angels
Q. What do you mean by âaccessing Loyalty Point stores with unique or discounted LP rewardsâ ?
A. Regarding Unique LP rewards: Not all corporations in the same faction offer the same LP rewards. Thereâs certainly a lot of overlap to be sure, but you may require standings with two or more corporations in the same faction to get all of the available LP rewards for that faction. Also, some rewards are categorically unique to a faction (or possibly even a corp entirely). For example: SOE faction ships will only be made available from SOE faction corporations - in this regard they are unique.
Regarding discounting LP rewards: some corporations offer the same LP store rewards as other corporations but at a lower cost. Worth doing your research to see if you can find such a corp, or at least see if such a corp exists for a particular item you might be interested in.
Q. It appears your competitor is attempting to come back from the dead - how do your prices compare?
A. Our competitor uses a bracket system, which we have found to overcharge the customer in the majority of brackets, grossly underpays employees in a few others. This is why we use a calculus-derived, effort-based calculator (based on CCPâs published standings gain formula) where the price exactly proportional to the amount of effort required to raise the standings, with zero markup involved regardless of start or finish standings. This ensures that clients are charged a fair price and our employees are paid fair wages for the effort involved for each and every single job.
How does this translate into pricing? Weâve found our model to be cheaper at almost all start and finish standings compared to our competitors. We are cheaper for all jobs whose starting standing is 1.0 or greater, and the vast majority of jobs whose starting standing is 0.0. For example, at the time of writing, to raise a client from 0 to 5 we are 99 million cheaper, from 0 to 6 we are 129 million cheaper, and from 0 to 7 we are 200 million cheaper. Also, our competitor does not offer pricing for jobs whose starting (and possibly finish) standing is below 0.0, but we do (and itâs dirt cheap, too)!
For more information, join the LCSIS Discord Server and speak with me, Lotek Executor Archer en Tilavine, or one of our Standing Grinder Leads.
P.S. Weâre hiring! .
