Returning player mining question - raider risk

o/
I returned today from about a 3-4 year break, and thought i would relax by mining, i set off in my 2 accounts (mackinaw and a tech 1 mining barge) and started mining. 20mins later 4 raiders came and took my barges to armour within seconds. I barely had time to warp away, about 20% hull left on both of my ships.

I read about raiders being more powerful now, only after i almost lost my ships. is it impossible now to mine solo in high sec space? I am in orduin 0.8sec with blood raiders at -8.3 something standing (I heard that has something to do with it).
By solo, i mean 2 mining barges with tech 2 fighting drones. Can i fit for more defence (back in 2016 2 medium shield passives were enough) to continue mining or must I have a ship to defend against or just simply run every time?

Thank you

It’s not impossible, but you still shouldn’t do it.

This depends.

If you’re talking about “Raiders” as in the NPCs, sure. It can help.

If you’re talking about “Raiders” as in PVP gankers, then no. They’re just going to gank your mining ship and get Concorded. You won’t really have time to fight back in any major capacity since Concord will kill them.

Thanks for reply, is the better alternative to mine in lower sec? or is mining not that profitable like it used to be?

Do you know the security cut off number these powerful raiders no longer appear?

  • thanks, i meant PvE only

No, you’re more likely to get ganked on the gate the moment you enter Lowsec.

It’s always profitable, depending on what you’re willing to give up for it.

No, NPCs exist in all security levels.

Thanks for your replys i will look to beef up my pve miner in 0.8 sec. have a good evening

I’m still really new to the game but that means I can give you different perspective.

i do some mining but its more for the ore to use blueprints and to sell some.

I’ve mined and made good money even in high sec. Once in 0.8 i got attacked and “died” but that was because I didnt run fast enough not realizing they were NPCs and wouldnt get attached by the cops. Other than that time I’ve never had a problem in high sec.

I’ve been to 0.4 several times for Jaspet and not only survived but didnt encounter any other players. Though once, after some time, some NPCs showed up but i was easily able to warp out taking no damage. I didnt even need to D-scan, though I did after that.

Mining, in the olden days, was a profitable thing to do. You could mine in highsec and eventually graduate to mining in lowsec or even going after mercoxit in null, from time-to-time. Times have changed. Most mining now is done in nullsec using fleets of capital ships (rorquals) - this has pushed the value of minerals down to the point that it is ridiculous to mine as a casual player. Sometimes people mine in highsec AFK, but mostly it is pointless.

CCP is doing some weird stuff right now to rebalance mining, including making it very difficult to rorqual mine in null efficiently while simultaneously making highsec mining much more active (due to NPCs). Until the reblanace is completed, all you will accomplish with highsec mining is very low income with a high chance of losing your ship. After the rebalance (presumably) you will need to be tanked and alert, but you will at least make decent money.

So you need to be more specific than “raiders”.

High sec npc belt spawns will not challenge a barge with drones.

Triglavian invaders (what I suspect you encountered) will melt most barges. Stay aligned to a station, they don’t scramble, and if you’re paying attention you will get away.

As for player suicide gankers, set known ganker corps and alliances to negative standings. Mine in quiet systems, and watch local chat.

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Are you sure those were blood raider NPCs and not roaming triglavians? The triglavians (usually 4 frigates) can deal a lot more damage than pirates. Watch out for emerging conduit anomalies if you don’t have a proper tank fit.

  1. If there is an emerging conduit anomaly in the system - triglavians will be a huge pain in the arse until that anomaly is cleared (it can reappear again after some time). These will melt you if you are AFK - they have a ramping up weapon systems that do more damage the longer they shoot you. But they dont scramble so you can warp away if you are vigilant.

  2. If there is a pirate F.O.B. in the system, then you will see pirate mining fleets that WILL summon protection if provoked (having low standings to them can count as “provoke”). These rats have :diamonds: symbol before their name and are quite vicious - response fleet consists of damage dealers, logibros and tackle. These will persist in the system until FOB is taken down. I think you can check if there is a FOB in your system through the agency or dscan.

I was able to tank and kill 3 Trigs in a solo Procurer, but definitely won’t survive fighting 4 that way.
When an emerging Conduit is cleared, five minutes later another site reappears. In my home grounds there’s virtually always an emerging conduit.
But thanks for the tip.

Might I recommend the Skiff for mining? It has just as much yield as a mackinaw, but will munch on most anything that attacks it. It has strong tank and powerful drones, and will be far more effective vs both NPCs and player assailants alike.

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Thanks all for answers! I have noticed mining is more profitable than it used to be. I tried out a tanky fit just to warp away in time which works.

Lost 2 exumers so far (skiff and mackinaw) due to making coffees and then dogs dinner. I mean come on!

I found the triglavians are very rough for returning players who are not aware they exist (returning from more than 3 years ago). Now i understand, watch your miners! I also tried a gnosis with remote repair and local armour tank with drones. Works very well for afk mining (requires 2 accounts) however not very profitable. I’m going back to L4 missions i think.

Thanks guys, helpful community as always

You should not lose a Skiff to Triglavians if you’re at the computer. A skiff with light drones and a reasonable tank (check Eve University) can absolutely deal with a Triglavian spawn.

If you wanna make coffee or the dog’s dinner, just dock up.

A Mack or Hulk will need to flee, and will have plenty of time to do so, so long as you see them arrive.

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Fix your attitude.

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Don’t go to make or do anything while you mine simple as that.
Wanna go tinkle dock up
Want make coffee dock up
Want me to stop posting on these ridiculous threads ? Dock up
Don’t fit a tank. Don’t use drones. You will notice your attention to the screen rise dramatically.

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Some tank helps to survive the alignment time, though, especially when there’s a bloody Roid in the way slowing you down :wink:
Five trigs on a Retriever can wreak havoc very fast.

Yes if you want to feel a little more secure then fitting a tank would decrease the chances you would take any significant damage.
But if you intend to warp out when they come then it’s not needed provided you see them coming.
I don’t fit any tank shield or armor on my ships because I always see them or here them warp in.
I’m normally flying an orca so I just fleet warp everyone back to the station.
People who fleet with me are advised not to use drones unless killing the lesser npc pirates then recall because I might need to fleet warp everyone out.
The orca stays to kill the trigs and then everyone warps back.
Those who reject the warp do so at their own risk. I’ve had corp members lose ships because they got stuck on a rock. Not sure why as most barges have a 30km ish range.

don’t try to play afk
"i was playing a football match, i decided to make a coffee and then dog dinner, and the opponents scored four goals "…

playing a game is not supposed to be done afk. Because then you are not playing. The computer is.

And the computer isn’t even having fun!

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