Myself and some friends would like to startup an industrial corp in hisec and ultimately make some isk and have fun doing so.
We like the idea of having a citadel, so we wanted to see how viable it would be having a research based raitaru in hisec, doing research on BPO’s for profit. I will boil down the questions in a list format so there’s some structure here:
1: What are the benefits of having a player owned citadel (Raitaru or athanor) and doing your jobs there instead of doing them at a NPC station?
2: If we also wanted to do ice mining/refinery along with our research, would it be best to have a Raitaru or an Athanor (if hypothetically we could only afford one citadel).
3: Does the system cost index still take into account when performing research or manufacturing jobs?
(if so, then the assumption would be to place your citadel in that system?).
4: What other methods of isk making could we do other than the aforementioned research and ice mining/refining with our new citadel?
5: Are we missing out on staying in hisec instead of having our operations in low or null?
You save some time. But that saved timed comes at a rather big cost and risk. You have to spend fuel (around 130M per month for a Research Raitaru) and you run the risk of losing your research progress should someone decide to destroy your structure.
Athanor as it has reprocessing bonuses.
Of course, that’s the entire point of it.
Moon mining. The Athanor does not offer any other ISK making possibilities without getting ever deeper into the rabbit hole of owning more structures, which also do not make money.
Yes and not really. You can make money just fine in high sec with a little bit less hassle than in low/null. If you own a structure, you are subject to the same attack hassles as in low/null. Unless you are part of a bigger group that knows how to defend itself against attackers and who own the place, you would not even be able to get your structures or other operations running in the first place.
The job cost for research is based on a parameter called “process time value” - basically, the longer the job takes, the more you pay. If you are researching BPOs that will have market value - i.e. capital prints that require months for higher levels, the difference in cost between an NPC station with no bonuses and a Raitaru with T1 rig bonuses can be huge.
You can rent rather than own - organizations like ICU (I Choose You) and TTC (Tranquility Tradeing Consortium) are relatively low risk and conveniently located near trade hubs but the system cost index will be high because a lot of players use them.
Your own structure will represent a capital cost of around 2 billion now that cores are required and your research lab will consume 7 fuel blocks per hour - roughly 100 million ISK/month at current prices. If you install additional service modules the fuel cost will be higher. The structure will also expose you to war declarations. A private high power Raitaru in a backwater system probably won’t be an attractive target but it is a risk you accept if you own a structure.
I personally don’t believe using NPC stations for industry is viable any longer if you are interested in profits - your choice will be rent in someone else’s structure or build your own. Both options have risks and benefits. You need to decide which path to follow.
Honnestly, with the core needed costing around 800M isk and the fact that the drop rate in case of destruction is 100% sure, don’t anchor any station if you are only two people to defend it. You will lose it soon or later.
Better join a bigger corporation & alliance and be able to defend it with numbers in case of attack.