… and can’t seem to find any. All of the usual suspects, as I can see it, have no drone bay.
I’m currently running a Nereus but it’s big bro, the Viator, has no drone bay.
Is there anything stronger, hauler-wise, out there with a drone bay?
that’s not how eve works.
You define a role, then you find the best ship for that role.
Haulers have a role : they can move volume through space. However they have no fighting capability.
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You can use an orca that way but I’d always recommend using scouts and webbing it into warp etc
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Try a carrier?
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The only hauling ship, with drones, that i know of, is the 4k cargo hurricane… which isn’t actually a hauler. Using secure cans, expander IIs and rigs, you can squeeze 4k of cargo into a hurricane with a big, fat shieldbuffer, turrets and even drones.
You have a job, then you find the ship that’s the best to abuse for the job. That’s why i have been using high speed, cloaky interceptors with long range weaponry turrets; or cloaky, combat probing hero tackle interceptors with tracking disrupter and points. Many years ago.
Don’t just take a ship you know is meant for the job. Take the job, and find the ship that does it best. Knowing the art of fitting ships definitely helps. I wouldn’t use a hauler to move several stacks of stuff within 4k, despite haulers being meant to move 4k.
There’s better options for that, like the cargocane.
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Perhaps the better question is…
Why do feel the need to have drones on your hauler?
What is your desired purpose? Are you trying to mine AFK using the drones and a large cargo bay? Next step would be an orca or porpose.
Are you trying to bait people into attacking you? You may be stuck with the one hauler and need to branch out into mining ships.
Do you want the drones for defense? Skip this idea and switch to a hauler that can move faster or can cloak.
Battlefield salvage? Switch to a noctis.
So why do you want a hauler with drones?
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I guess I’m looking for a good all-rounder to run transport missions with. So, with the Nereus, I’ve found the drones a godsend for:
a) dealing with rats
b) doing a little salvage when the rats are wrecks
Longer term, I’m thinking of doing some more hauling outside of missions. Maybe to move my own stuff for trading or ores from mining to another system that pays out better than the one I’m currently in.
But I do take the point that a one-size-fits-all might be the wrong way to look at this game. Still learning the ropes 
Awesome, I’ll check that one out. On paper, sounds pretty good. And I’m thinking with a name like ‘hurricane’ it’s not going to be super slow like the retriever I use for mining!
Yes, eve is not a “one size fits all” game. some ships are more flexible than others, but every ship has its limitations. once you figure out what the roll you want the ship to fill is, you want to find the right ship to perform that job as efficiently as possible.
for transport missions, what lvl of mission are you doing? I find that for lvl 1 and 2 missions even a hauler is overkill, you are better off with an exploration frigate and some cargo expanders. not only is it cheaper, but its MUCH faster. for 3’s and 4’s use an industrial. you should not be taking these ships into combat, so their dps is irrelevant. (but tank shouldn’t be ignored on any ship)
for combat missions, use a combat ship, afaik there aren’t any missions in game that will give you a combat mission that ALSO required more cargo-space than an appropriate combat ship could carry.
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I remember the good times, where in my home system at the local anomaly thing, people were in awe about how my cargo cane went so ■■■■■■■ fast (relatively speaking), zipping through the first room towards the gate to the second.
Little did they know, CCP removed the mwd restrictions from deadspace pockets.
In local…
A: "damn, you’re fast!"
B: "is it parasol?"
A: "yeah!"
B: “he’s fast!”
I’ll never forget this proud moment, despite cheating a little with the mwd. I still had velocity implants in, though, and always had a fast hurricane, or 10mn AB rifter to help shooting the rats.
Nostalgia. I’ll go back to bed.
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@Bjorn_Tyrson, so far level 1 only - I’m just starting out in hauling after a couple of months doing nothing much else but mining. And that’s a good point on the overkill.
I’ve found with the SOE Epic Arc missions, most of which involve transport so far, the drones have been handy for the ratting. With the limited tank, I have had to warp in and warp out again quite a bit with a couple of the missions, dumping hobgoblins to deal with the rats, and then leaving them to pick up later. But I’m sure were I to have used a more combat-friendly ship on those particular missions, the warping in and out could have been curtailed.
Which brings us back to the no one-size-fits all.
I’ve really appreciated all your thoughts - loads to go on here.
If I remember correctly. The entire soe arc can be quite easily completed in a destroyer. There might be one curiour mission that required more cargo space. Buf just carry a couple cargo expanders with you and swap them in for that one mission. (And even then I don’t remember actually needing them. But it’s been a while which is why I said “maybe”)
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Hint for future hauling.
I did distribution missions in some backwater lowsec system. Works pretty well for raising standings quickly. I’ve used the magnate, which, when you fill the lows with expander IIs, and use expander rigs, pushes this flying hole to a nice 1600m² Ccargospace.
Maybe you’ll need it some day.
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Not sure why no one has mentioned it yet, but the Orca is a rather good hauler and has both a drone bay and drone bonuses. It’s an unusual ship but it technically hits the points in the OP.
this. for distribution missions :
- L1-L2 = magnate with inertial stabs in cargo. You don’t want to fight in a hauler ship. I think 400m³ is enough for one mission
- L3-L4 = fast hauler with cargohold rigs, buffer shield, mix of cargohold/inertial stabs in low (and maybe even a dc ?) also get a fat hauler for the 8 000 m³ missions. I think my wreathe can hold it .
- storyline = fat hauler because you may require big volume. Also to get more minerals for “material for war preparation”.
IF you have a combat mission
- decline it. You lose 0.01 faction standing, which you get back quickly if you do storyline. Also you have one free decline every 4h
- use a dedicated combat ship. You may need one for storyline anyhow.
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why are you telling me this? i did the lvl3s in the magnate as well, iirc, but it’s been a while, so i might be wrong.
anyway, why do you intentionally try to ruin the game for others, by telling them how to do this stuff? you’re not helping, you’re making things more boring. i did not ask you for “help”, no one here asked for this “help” afaict, so would you mind not throwing it into people’s faces like that?
cheers!
“this” means "this is what you should listen"
Don’t get aggressive for no reason.
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i’m tired, so i will just respond just once, explaining my reasoning.
what you’re doing is the equivalent of a person trying to “help” his friend, who is sitting next to him trying to play a game he didn’t play yet, but you’ve played through. that person, “you”, can not ever stop telling his friend what comes next, and how to deal with it, completely ruining the game for him. if you have never experiences such people, then you’re lucky.
that’s what you do with this. you shove your “help” into people’s faces, without actually caring if they might not rather want to play by themselves, even if it means failing. failing is a part of learning, and learning how to beat a game can be fun and satisfying. your unasked for “help” ruins it.
good night.
you are uselessly aggressive and over thinking.
get some rest and stop trying to guess what I want to do when you don’t know me.
I did only agree with YOUR “tips” and added my experience, just like you did. If you think I am shoving my help into your anus, so are you.
Aggression is hardly ever useless, in my experience. If it doesn’t work then usually it’s only because you didn’t use enough of it.
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