Not to max yield it doesn’t. You assign single drones to individual rocks. Its fiddly af. If you dont do it that way you’ll waste 4 drone cycles every time a rock pops and spend almost as much time sending the whole group to the next rock. You also have to move the orca a whole fuckload more.
I wasn’t talking about max yield mining. I was talking about least effort mining.
Least effort mode makes it a very poor miner compared to the barges. It still has more than 7hp though so there is that.
do people actually mine in 8.5k EHP ships though? (at least in high-sec; I guess you can go for max yield in null sec where you’re safe). I’d imagine a tank fit skiff/procurer would be better comparisons - i.e. 50k+ in procurer, 90k-ish in skiff (or maybe that’s too cautious?)
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unrelated.
The affirmation was, that covetor had less yield than an orca. This affirmation is wrong, as for cheap fits the covetor has twice the yield.
so now, try to make a correct covetor fit. remember that if it has more yield for the same price and tank on another fit, then the other fit is just better and you are fitting bad.
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Yes, people do.
And not your post but others, no the orca is not broken because it’s yield is terrible compared to barges. If CCP nerf it’s mining ability they are simply responding to a popular whine without any attention to facts. There are other changes that can be done which won’t nerf it’s active mining such as giving it the Gurista’s 2/1 drone treatment that mess with afk mining (which has the most abysmal yield ever)
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oh come on, I am still upset about the removal of the 15 drone domi! stop stealing my drones 
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I don’t remember the EHP, but I use to regularly mine with Hulks in HS and survived more than one gank attempt. And depending on how hard they hit the orca with the nerf bat, I will probably go back to using them.
There is almost always a ship that is viable for your play style, I just enjoy drones. If they make a drone boat that has the same tank and yield as a Hulk as a replacement for the Orca’s mining reduction/removal, I would be in it as fast as I could skill it.
I tend to agree here and I think the point that @Anderson_Geten makes is a good one. I think these changes should they happen, have far more to do with the fact that EVE seems to be sliding towards a situation where ganking is in the ascendency, than some intrinsic design flaw in the Orca.
As someone who mines on a regular basis I think the whole ‘people MUST be cheating thing’ is probably somewhat overstated. I’m sure that there are 'bots operating across New Eden but I’m not convinced at all by the gankers who continually bleat about how terrible this is and how something must be done.
Most of the time when I come across Orcas while mining they’re being flown by multi-boxers rather than AFK pilots or 'bots. I actually have an Orca myself although I choose not to mine in her because I prefer my nippy little Skiff.
In truth, a lot of gankers (maybe the vast majority) utterly despise miners, and especially high security space miners (although, conveniently, they seem to be more than happy to fly exotic attack ships that are the direct result of mining) and this is the starting point for most (or though to be fair, not all) of what they say about mining.
People looking for a directional steer on what should and shouldn’t happen in terms of game and ship changes, and this applies as much to the developers as its does to the rest of us, should filter comments from gankers appropriately.
Just because a person, or even many people say a thing, doesn’t make it true.
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I feel a need to clarify my opinions on the Orca off this, even though it wasn’t directed at me.
I have no issue with measures taken to increase the activeness of Orca mining. It is a low apm activity, and there are ways to increase that apm without nerfing the overall yield of an actively flown Orca, which then impacts on the “Multiboxing a dozen Orca” players.
Multiboxing should not be a standard way to approach any type of gameplay, and it should have a high skill threshold to be effective.
But in no way do I feel the Orca needs any kind of direct nerf. It’s yield is already massively subpar compared to boosted exhumers, which means any multibox orca operation has already accepted massively decreased potential yields in return for the benefits they enjoy.
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If you want to maximize your yield its already pretty damn active (fiddly even), and you still get more m3/s out of a covetor.
My point is people are complaining about people sitting in expensive ass ships operating them in the most inefficient way possible. It’s dumb, and it reminds me a bit of the whitchunt that was the vni changes. Remember when everyone was bitching about vnis? Yeah, I was training fledgling hunters back then. Vnis were food, they tasted good, and I miss them greatly. The nerf was to “combat botting and afk playstyle” but what it really ■■■■■■ up was the food in space. Now they’re bitching about orcas, what will be completely ■■■■■■ over by the inevitable nerfs this time?
The VNI changes were good, change my mind.
These days you can be as effective (or even more effective) in an Ishtar, but these days you cannot afford to die a couple times a day due to paying no attention while ratting and still come out net positive.
Them dying a cpl times a day was good for the game as a whole and absolutely worth the little bit of isk they eek’d out. Change my mind.
I don’t need to change your mind. Dying ships is good. It’s better if it’s Ishtars or Domis though instead of VNIs.
Many fewer of those in space than there were vnis
Which means less inflation. A good thing.
And I still see enough Ishtars in space everywhere if you’re worried you won’t have targets to kill.
Many fewer
I do most of my mining in HS in an Orca. Solo. As has been said before, it is not overpowered, and indeed is not the optimal mining platform in terms of yield. As @Anderson_Geten has explained so eloquently, its appeal for a solo miner/builder is as a good (not excessively good) versatile ship for industry - it can do ok mining, it can do ok hauling. That is why it is an aspirational ship - I worked hard to get myself to the point where I could a) fly one and b) afford one. Anyone who claims it is begging to be used for AFK mining has clearly never mined with one in HS; as others have said, the most AFK you can get away with is nipping to the toilet or getting something to drink.
Also, personally I do not see swarms of multiboxed Orcas in HS. The whole idea is counter-intuitive. Personally, I think multiboxing is a malaise, but it is permitted. But if you are going to multibox miners, you are going to fly a Fleet fitted Orca for boosts and cargo space (and a bit of secondary drone mining) and fly lots of barges/exhumers, because they are a lot cheaper and give much better yield. Funny old thing, that is exactly what I see in happening in HS when multiboxed fleets strip an ice field in short order.
Why do I fly an Orca? It allows me to mine solo at range from my home station. I will not be competitive with fleets, or locally based exhumers, but it allows me to be functional. I can get some ore or ice, and bring it home in relative (though nowhere near guaranteed) safety. I am a more difficult gank target - but gosh, I care not for that culture and I have invested time and ISK in getting that improved safety. I still have to be damned careful, and alert. I can also fit a cruiser in the Ship Bay, so I can park up the Orca and do something non-mining without having to trog home to change ships. Why is it wrong for HS players to aspire to own something balanced but not overpowered like an Orca, but every new player is pushed towards wanting to aspire to a Titan by the marketing?
In brief:
- Orca as a problematic AFK mining ship - ill informed fantasy.
- Orca too powerful as a miner - ignorance.
- Orca too difficult to gank - self entitled nonsense from lazy gankers.
- Orca massive multiboxing problem - if used by multiboxers, usually used as a command ship with lots of exhumers.
So, please, leave my Orca alone. It really is not harming anyone or the game’s economy.
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Exactly. And players that work in fleets with other… individual human beings.
Sorry bro but the AFK mining Orca is anathema to EVE. It’s got to go. Sorry.