I was curious as to which ships you use in crazy ways outside of their intended wheel house?
I run a personal salvaging business using a Hound class Covert Ops ship. I wanted to prevent getting bombarded by NPCs and Players alike with stealth, so I retrofitted this Hound with everything one would need for salvage.
( Note: I enjoy salvaging, it’s not about the money. )
I’m aware ninja salvage is a thing, although I’m aware that looting is strictly taboo especially as a “professional”. I always ask mission runners if they are “Gonna eat that.” when I find where they are located using probes.
What kind of tactical, lucrative or interesting ways do you use your favorite ships?
In the book there’s a lovely chapter written by @Chribba which is, to me at least, was inspirational.
“Players have told me that I’m not playing the game correctly, and I’ve always asked them what the correct way is. It’s amusing how many different “right ways” there are in EVE Online … Nowadays, I’m the standing joke (in a good way) when it comes to pilots having goals to own and fly a titan, because regardless of the specific reason for that pilot to want to do so, he can never do it worse than the carebear Chribba, who turned an alliance warship into the most expensive mining ship … CCP has given us the tools to shape it, but it is up to us to use these tools: the right way or the wrong way, there’s no such way-there’s only your way.”
I find it utterly mind blowing and simultaneously completely awesome that @Chribba chooses to mine using Titans. As far as answering the question in the OP, “What is your favorite alternative way to use a ship?” goes, I figure that this is probably as ‘alternative’ as it’s possible to be in the game and I’m not sure that anyone will ever top this.
While I’ve no ambition to follow his example I have a deep level of respect for him for playing the game the way he wants to. (I’ve also been told that I’m playing the game wrong and in a similar way to @Chribba Idon’t really care that much)
As far as my personal alternative ways to use ships go, I have mined in an Ishtar before now which next to mining using an Avatar seems positively pedestrian.
Praxis fitted with 6 mining lasers II + 5 mining drones II; 7 expanded cargohold II in low slots. In terms of rigs: 2 large cargohold optimisation II, 1 large cargohold optimisation I. Shield extenders, hardeners, amplifiers for tank + 1 microwarpdrive in mid slots. Always pre-aligned, of course.
Almost 11k cargo hold space. Decent mining speed. Something like Procurer, but much more expensive and I guess it works as gank magnet too. However, without mining drones, it could be used by Alpha pilots, so it is an alternative for mining barges.
I used a Tornado with a totally different approach than intended purpose of said ship. The purpose I created the fit was to kill small frigate size and destroyer size ships that get under my guns .
My fit was an armor tanked Tornado , with 100 mn AB , scram , triple web , a large arty gun and the rest of the guns 200 mm small t2 Acs.
I would warp it to celestials or gates at different distances between 50 - 100 km , lock up the frigate or destroyer and only shoot at him first with the large gun . He sees notification of the large gun hit and proceeds to spiral and get under my guns. Once in scram range , he gets scrammed and triple webbed , while the 200 mm small ACs shred him to pieces.
There were a lot of players that felled for this and I had great laughs and fun with it.
I had an alt in a renter corp once just for farming . He had a triple ASB PvP fitted Rattlesnake named “Havens” . Whenever there was a small gang around , I would switch to that and warp it at a haven. The alt had no combat history and it was so easy to bait with it , that until it wasn’t anymore…
I had some success with the combat Exequror, Procurer, Purpoise, Nereus , but none of them even compared to the Tornado I posted above , nobody expected that.
And I guess using interceptors as taxi (travel Ares!) is another ‘alternative use’, but that use may be more common than the intended use of those ships: tackling.
True. It’s main use may be exploration, but the salvage bonuses, large cargo and ability to field 4 salvage drones makes the Imicus a perfect salvage ship. Maybe not a good example of ‘alternative use’.
I once died like that to a FW Stabber . He was AB fit with 2 medium neuts. The neuts f* me up . I was flying an AF iirc. Did not expected a FW Stabber in null…
