To Salvage or not to Salvage

Started playing eve after a few years again and was planing on doing some level 4 missions in high sec. After reading posts I’m confused as to if I should loot and salvage or not. I’ve been searching the webs for more advise but there’s very little current information, most of it being 5+ years old. So if I’m dualboxing, should I just set both ships for dps and blaze through as many missions as quickly as I can or have one for salvage? Or should I complete with 2 dps ships and then go back and salvage?

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Salvage prices are higher than they have been in years due to Upwell structure rigs:

https://www.adam4eve.eu/price_chart.php?regionID=10000002&groupID=754

That said, you probably are better off just blitzing still. Someone who actually runs missions should confirm, but I don’t think even a doubling in salvage prices has made it worth your time if you are playing the ISK/h game.

The simplest is to just figure it out yourself. Run a few missions as fast as you can, and then run a few killing and salvaging everything and compare.

You could also see if Pro-Synergy is still in business as a alternative strategy to monetize your salvage:

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Testing myself would help but it would take a while with mission variety and worth (plus I need to grind a lvl 3 agent before I can get the lvl 4 I want), so just wanted to know if someone out there already had the info to help me plan ahead :slight_smile:

With the variety of missions there are undoubtedly some missions worth salvaging and looting. However, I only loot the missions which are against empire factions (tags) and anomic agents; I only salvage in wormhole space.

If I were in your shoes I would just fit both chars for DPS and blitz.

Blazing will net you more in the long run. Salvaging is nice for an occasional break.

AFK salvaging with salvage drones is still viable option, when you go make yourself a supper, IMHO.

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There are a lot of variables, but here’s what I do.

    1. Run a mission, full clear, with one toon
    1. Come back with same toon to loot/salvage in a Noctis
    1. Reprocess most of the junk loot
    1. Build and use/sell rigs from the salvage

The Noctis can blaze through the salvaging, so time is less of an issue. But, there are more variables here, like are you monitoring your LP? If so, blitzing that extra mission might make more than salvaging and selling the rigs.

I’m not sure there is one right answer here, as it will depend on the mission mix and how you run/build/sell things, location, market, etc.

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If you have the option of coming back with an Alt, here’s what I’d recommend.

As you enter the mission, drop a Mobile Tractor Unit (MTU). Probably worth carrying a couple of them if there’s several rooms to the mission. Bookmark each one so you can get back once the mission space collapses.

Then come back with your salvage ship, which can at this point be any ship with a couple high slots and 25m3 of drone space. Send out a wing of Salvage Drones, and press F. They will “aggressively” start salvaging any “legal” wreck in range. Just means they won’t go after yellow wrecks unless you specifically tell them to. If you want to salvage yourself as well, that’s fine. Otherwise just AFK for a few and let the drones do all the work.

The only down side is that fleetmates cannot scoop the MTU. So you have to come back for them yourself.

If you don’t mind slowing your pace just a little… You can salvage while you mission (assuming your mission boat has an extra 25m3 drone space). Clear out the Frigates first, and then let the Salvage drones fly around while you kill off the bigger stuff. I send them out about halfway through the room, that way the MTU has had time to gather up a pile of wrecks first.

It may not be the most profitable thing in the universe, but selling off the pile of salvage after a day of missions does make a pretty sizeable impact on the wallet.

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Thanks for all the replies!

What I think I’ll do is at first just blaze though them and once I have a good sense of the missions again, try some of your suggestions. I"m sure there are some missions that are more convenient to salvage then others, so I’ll probably end up with a mix of blazing missions and ones I’ll stop and salvage.

Basically, the answer to my question I get from your responses is that it’s just ALMOST worth salvaging :smiley:

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Unfortunately it is illegal in highsec.

o/

What now?

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I like salvaging. Ammo gets reprocessed in station before it goes anywhere (at 0 cost). I use my shuttle, a viator, to stop at my blueprint/manufacturing hub and drop off the reprocessed ores and parts (circuit boards, etc) that can be used to build other stuff. And (recently) the rest I am taking out to my country store, throwing into a storage unit, and when a part is of sufficient quantity, I will put it up for sale, at x1.85 (or +350 isk, whichever is higher) of the nearest major trade depot price. I use LP to make ammo to sell or use, usually.

I run one ship, one of my pimped navy battlecruisers, for the missions, but find that on the longer missions, the loot and wrecks can start to disappear, which CCP does after little over an hour sometimes. So I’ve started running a couple of rooms, going back to clear with the noctis before completing the mission. Yea it takes time, but I’m not in a race.

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Yeah, what now?

Salvaging isn’t illegal. Unless you’re just talking about some CODE anti-gank permit nonsense.

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Fixed that for you :wink:

How can salvaging not be worth it? Drop a MTU, shoot everything and then collect what your MTU dragged in whilst you were busy.

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because the time it takes is too high.

I’m firmly on the side of no salvage. Nullsec has so many high end BS wrecks to salvage the prices just can’t compete in highsec.

You get way more isk running another mission than slowing down to salvage. Also I mostly blitz so there aren’t even enough wrecks on most missions to make it anywhere near worthwhile.

If you are running a faction kill mission in a marauder it’s probably worth salvaging the BS wrecks but that’s about it, and of course loot all wrecks for the tags.

Magnus : " How can salvaging not be worth it? Drop a MTU, shoot everything and then collect what your MTU dragged in whilst you were busy."

we are talking about salvaging, not looting. Salvaging takes time, and time is money. If you earn less money, during the time you spent in salvaging, than doing anything else (another mission, explo, trading, mining etc), then salvaging is not worth being done

Are you not listening to what I’m saying? Take what was salvaged while you were busy shooting. You’re doing two things at once.

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looting, and salvaging too, take more time than shooting