ISK making as alpha

New Citizens Q&A
#1

notice: my writing skills are not great, so if this post sounds like a rant, its not. I just want to learn.

I know a few ways of making ISK, but all of them are low income or boring(mining). I am not very low on ISK, and have enough for me to use at least for a month.

But, 99% of the money I have is from player donations, not saying the donations are bad, instead I am very, very grateful that complete strangers are willing to help me. I just don’t want to live on donations forever, I need to self sustain. so far my wallet is depleting Millions a week, even though I am getting stable income from ratting(about 3-4M an hour).

I am curious about better ways to make ISK, I know NULL and wormhole exploration can earn a lot, but I feel its too dangerous if I don’t have a cloak(and I sucks at finding sites). another idea I am deciding whether I should try Abyssal deal space, but consider that the 20min limit, high fitting cost(20M) and powerful NPCs, I am not sure if I can take the risk. I also tried PVP and FW before, but it is not great(no income).

so what should I do? should I try Abyssal? should I do NULL exploration? wormholes? should I go to NULL sec to mine and rat? should I do PVP and FW? or should I just buy a cruiser and keep ratting in low sec?

edit: I formatted the post and deleted some useless stuff.

#2

Do exploration in lowsec in a T1 frigate like the Heron, you need basically no ISK, and a single good site can net you something like 10M ISK. The most you’ll lose is your heron and your (empty) pod, but the rewards are immense.

Check out this video:

Here’s a sample heron fit (something I whipped up in 5 minutes so probably not optimal but it’s a start):

[Heron, Heron fit]

Damage Control I
Inertial Stabilizers I

Data Analyzer I
Relic Analyzer I
1MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
Cargo Scanner I
Compact Multispectrum Shield Hardener

Core Probe Launcher I
[Empty High slot]
[Empty High slot]

Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I

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#3

thanks! it looks decent, now I just need to train into Caldari ships. but I am still wondering if I should try abyss and NULL sec, or its too risky.

edit: by decent I mean I think I would get a decent income.

#4

Just a couple more things:

Train up your scanning skills, it’ll help you to scan down and hack sites that much quicker so you can make more ISK and keep you safer so you don’t loiter around too long scanning or hacking a site.

A cloak is good, if you have the ISK, fit at least a prototype cloaking device onto your exploration ship. You won’t be able to warp with a proto cloak, but you can hide when you’re stationary and scanning down sites.

TBH I’m not really familiar with abyssals at all, I heard you can do T0 abyssals in a frigate, but I’ve no idea the fit or the skills.

Obviously there’s stable incomes like mission running and mining, so those are always fallbacks if you don’t have a lot of ISK to throw around. A full venture load of ores can net you anywhere from 800k ISK to 2M isk, L1/L2 missions pay like crap but it’s still a stable income source.

#5

There are very few low risk, high income opportunities for Alpha characters - by design. The few that do exist for Omegas, tend to be high skill - both in terms of character skill and player skill.

As an Alpha, you can run highsec combat sites in a Gila that can drop high value loot. You can also run Abyssal content in the same ship up to about level 3 - there is risk, if you make a mistake, you die and Gila fits can be expensive. You will also need to invest in your character - you’ll want maximum skills for the ship and I don’t think that will fit in the 5 million SP you get free - it will probably require some Alpha injectors.

Examples:

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#6

oh thanks! these idea all looks good, except I am trained into Amarr skills the most. I only have a little bit of Gallente and minmatar frigate, and small projectile and hybrid turret. I did trained into small pulse laser specialisation. is there any good use of it? also is it possible to do those high sec or low sec combat/relic/data sites in a exploration/combat frigate? like fit a probe launcher on a attack frigate(executioner) and scan combat sites.

I think it need omega.

oh, it does’t have to be low risk then. I am willing to lose a few frigates or some destroyers, I am still too broke to fly a cruiser, which I heard costs about 100M+ to be a good fitted one.

#7

The problem with lasers will be target disruption if you are in Amarr space. Missiles and drones don’t have that problem. Here is a video showing streamer delonewolf running a Sansha DED 4/10 in a Sunesis that can be flown with Alpha skills although it will take practice to match his piloting skills! You can practice on Singularity.

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#8

I’d say do abyssals, but I like combat and get super bored doing exploration.

low tier abyss is doable in frigates, hatless gaming has an electrical t1 punisher fit that can be done with very low SP. I’d guess it works even better in t0. And then has a few upgrades, slicer/succubus do it even better.

missions are another combat option, but as said lv1/2s pay pretty poorly, lv3s start to pay okay but I think you can do better in abyssals, lv4s is where the pay gets good but that’s omega.

#9

Definitely Exploration into Low-sec or Wormholes. You don’t need a Heron, the Amarrian Magnate you’ll already be able to fly is perfectly adequate.

Exploration Magnate

[Magnate, Exploration]
Inertial Stabilizers II
Inertial Stabilizers II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Data Analyzer I
Relic Analyzer I

Core Probe Launcher I

Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I

Core Scanner Probe I x16

The Abyss is also a steady earner - A Tier 1 Abyssal site should pull 2-3 million ISK.

The rewards are from the various Extractors and Biocaches when you destroy them and loot them (if you are nervous about the clock do the caches, ignore the extractors).

I’d fit up an Omen and have a crack at t Tier 1 Electical Filament - it should run quite smoothly: you get a bonus to capacitor recharge and the penalty is to EM resistances, but that also applies to the NPC rats in there as well: handy since EM is what you are mainly doing with Energy Turrets.
Tier 0 is now also a thing - I’ve not been in there, but they should be easier with lower rewards.

It’s possible we can overlap next weekend (life and lockdowns allowing) if you want to run a fleet or mission out.

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#10

First, you don’t necessarily have to train into any particular ship. For example, the Magnate will work just as well as a heron. If you have any fitting questions, just ask on the forums something like, “does anyone have a fit for x ship for y activity?”

  • Nullsec can actually be quite safe. If you pay attention to local, intel channels, and voice comms, you should have little to worry about while PvE’ing. Moreover, you can make significantly more money. Consider joining a newbro friendly corp such as Brave Newbies or Pandemic Horde.
  • Incursions have a good isk efficiency for newbros (approximately 125mil/hr) and are a social activity. The downside is that there are minimum fits, which will take a day 1 newbro 2-3 months of focused training to be able to fly (and fitted BS’s can be kind of pricey to a newbros). Check out Warp To Me if you want to know more.
  • Abyss ships can get super pricey, but lower tiers don’t require blinged out ships. Moreover, CCP recently released a T0 filament, so it’s never been easier to try out.
  • A lot of people have posted some great newbro/alpha friendly videos on various money making activities. Try doing some youtube searches. Just do be aware that some of them will greatly exaggerate incomes for the views. So, try to keep your expectations in check.
  • Dad Dex makes a bunch of newbro friendly exploration videos. He makes more than just eve content, but he’s definitely worth checking out.

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#11

sorry but the answer is simple:
alpha status is a trial phase to test whether you like the game or not
you like it? suscribe, instead on focusing on isks/h in a skill limited and ships limited status

in other mmos, the trial phase allows you to reach some level but not maximum level. And you suscrbe to access full content
same here

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#12

thanks! after reading these replies, I have little doubt about low sec/WH exploration. however the last few time I went to exploration its a bit boring, so I

when I get a bit more rich from exploration, I might get a cruiser and try to do t1-3 abyssal. I will still try to avoid PVP for now because I think EVE uni have a policy about not to shoot random person.

Warptome and incursions look great, although I feel like I might not be able to handle a 500M battleship(actually cant even afford to buy one). but I might be able to do it soon as I looted plenty of large lasers from ratting.

I like this game a lot but I made a “oath” about never spend any real money in games when I was a kid. and I don’t like breaking an oath.

I would love to do that! but I am in +8:00 GMT, most of the time I only play on weekends and play at 12:00-14:00 GMT. I use to play everyday during the holidays but now physical school is starting for me so I am quite busy.

#13

Yes, of course! “Try” doesn’t mean “farm”.
T1 Cruiser Meta fit, MTU - Level1 (calm) Filaments (for Amarr “Firestorm” and “Electrical” sound decent) and a naked clone.
Some info: https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Abyssal_Deadspace

Have fun!

#14

I don’t really see it as spending money in game if it is just thr subscription. I can agree on the part of spending money for PLEX.

As said, Alpha state is just a ‘trial’ version of the game. It is still better then the old system of only 2 weeks but if you like EVE it is beneficial to go Omega.

You get 100% access to the game and in the mean time you support CCP in creating and maintaining the game.

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#15

Why not try on the test server? You can switch between servers via the launcher. If you characater is old enough, all of the skills and your ISK should be imported on the test server. Everything there (from ships to filaments) cost 100 ISK. And since you are not using your “real” wallet, a few mil from your latest character import should be enough to test stuff.

I’ve tested an Arbitrator for tiers 0, 1 and 2 and figured out Tier 0 (Tranquil) is stupidly easy, Tier 1 (Calm) is quite comfortable as long as you don’t make too many piloting errors and manage your drones well. The rats tend to chew through tech1 drones quite quickly. Faction drones have better HP then T2 drones, but they are expensive.

Tier 2 was a bit too much or my arby, but I don’t want to splurge on a Tier 2 capable ship yet.

Running a few sites on the test server will give you the confidence that you (1) know the sites and because of that (2) won’t lose your ship.

2-4 m per hour can be easily beaten once you get comfortable in Calm sites. I pull about 2.5m out of every site, but I do admit that my Omega skills allow me to use T2 drones and I also use a Tractor Beam to pull wrecks. I tend to be done with a site in between 10-15 minutes, that should give an Alpha character enough leeway to account for worse drones and skills.

#16

if u plan to stay as alpha for long then train for wirm gila and rattlesnake…dont forget to salvage ur site
faction quests give good money in salvages… gallente rat salvages r good money

#17

also abbysal t1 fast money…

#18

okay then, good idea! I will train up my cruiser skills and do it in test servers. I totally forgot about test servers, I actually should have try things out myself on singularity before asking dumb questions on forums.

#19

It’s not dumb to inform yourself one way or another. Forums exist for this purpose and I have not seen you ask dumb questions.

The test server is not the solution to everything. For example, I recently subbed so now I have to wait for the test server to get a new mirror, else I can’t test Omega stuff (in the current mirror I am Alpha). The test server is not actually for us to test our fits, but it’s cool CCP let’s us do that anyway. So treat it as a privilege and not a right that comes with your account.

As an Alpha you should have no issues with Omega status as long as your account was mirrored in the first place. Perhaps someone can tell you when the last mirror was done? I have no clue tbh.

#20

According to people’s replies in this thread:


You can buy PLEX on the test server from the market for a few hundred ISK each and turn yourself into Omega on the test server that way.

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