Short answer:
- Don’t go to Uedama if you are so risk averse that a <1% chance of being ganked is too high for you, or
- Don’t be a solo Freighter pilot that wants to through Uedama
Long answer:
No matter what activity we choose to do in game, the ability to do it effectively comes down to risk management; and whether to do it at all, comes down to how much risk needs to be managed v the perceived reward in doing so.
However, no matter how much risk management is applied, risk will never be 0.
In general, the best thing you can do as a Freighter pilot is realise that no solo ganker out there can gank you*. For a gank to be successful against you, it needs preparation, organisation and multiple characters.
So if you are going to manage risk, then the best approach is to also make use of the benefit of group play.
However, since this thread specifically narrows it to “solo freighter in Uedama”:
Assess the Risk:
- Before even undocking: utilise all of the available data sources to get an idea of the risk:
-
ESI System Kills: https://esi.evetech.net/latest/universe/system_kills/?datasource=tranquility
** Uedama is system ID: 30002768
** This is cached between updates and records the number of kills in the system in the last hour
** Any ship killed (by other players or NPCs) will show in the stats
** If the number is high, but zkillboard doesn’t show many kills, then assume gankers are active and not posting their kills - RISK HIGH
** If the number is low and there are no/few pod kills, then the risk is lower -
zkillboard: Uedama | System | zKillboard
** This should not be the first one you look at. Use this, to help add information to the previous stat and adjust the risk rating based on the two values together -
Same approach for systems leading to and exiting from Uedama on your route (ie. check for nearby gank activity, not just Uedama)
-
Dotlan route planner: Route Planner - DOTLAN :: EveMaps
** This provides quick links to each system in the route and makes gathering/filtering the information more efficient -
Eve gate check: EVE - Check before you jump!
** Same as above, but it is dependent on killmails being public and posted. So it is useful, but only as part of collecting information from everywhere
- Chat channels to also gather information in:
- Gankintel
- Antiganking
- Haulers (not spefifically not notifying about ganking, but posts do occur there)
- Standings:
-
Positive standings for antigankers
** Set known antigankers in your timezone to blue. If when you are scouting, you see them in Uedama or nearby, ask them directly if there is any gank activity -
Negative standings for gankers
** Set known gankers/corps/alliances to red, so you will see them more easily when you scout
** Check zkillboard ganked list and idenfity suicide point characters in your timezone over the last couple of weeks and set them red also. These characters might change regularly, so recheck this every could of weeks
- Locator agents:
- They are still useful and if you run them on particular gankers active in your timezone, you can then get in system and see if they are actually online or not
Risk Management
This totally depends on how risk averse you are.
Given that you have decided to fly a freighter solo, then understand that you’ve basically decided to fly a freighter with the least amount of risk management possible.
If you get ganked, because you didn’t manage any of the risk identified in step 1, then suck it up. That’s your fault.
However, if you “need” to fly solo and through Uedama and there is ganking going on:
-
Wait for someone else to be ganked first and then go through Udeama while the gankers are on their criminal timer
** Some multi-boxers have multiple fleets that they can login, so either you should have identified multiple active fleets when assessing the risk, or you have a gap in the timing, following a gank, before the next fleet is logged in and ready - go then -
I don’t know - make a friend? (even antigankers that you see online) It’s a funny concept, but works. Being as ready to prepare and organise as the gankers do, gives you a huge advantage
-
Re-organise your in game time to do something else, since being solo is placing your own articificlal limits on your ability to manage risk. That’s a choice you’ve made yourself. It’s not forced on you.
-
Make yourself a less desirable target
** There is no guarantee that you will be safe, but if you are a less worthy target than someone else, that’s good for you.
** Don’t overload cargo value, use maximum tank possible -
Run the gauntlet, understanding that most freighters actually get through Uedama just fine. The incidence of freighters being ganked is extremely low compared to the number of movements each hour.
The risk will never be 0 and it never should be. You can still be ganked, but gathering information and then making decisions for your own safety on the basis of that information does help drive the risk down from the low level it begins at.
There are many players that haul effectively and very safely, every single day in highsec. Anyone can do it, although choosing to be a solo freighter pilot is choosing a risky way to haul.
* For anyone that might want to object - this thread is about highsec and specifically Uedama. If you can’t understand that, then maybe go take a nap