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Friday, June 28, 2013

The New Role

Some people have commented on my new fascination with industry.  I wrote in passing that the changes in Odyssey pushed me into this area but I didn't explain why.  I still have a week and a half to go in my experiment but now's a good to look at my decision.

The most important part was the turning of data and relic sites into pure ISK sinks.  Before Odyssey I met my limited cash needs by the bounties I received on rats I killed while either mining or in the exploration sites.  I then collected all the shiny things I gathered and put them in a box for a rainy day.  While the removal of those rats wasn't that big, if I wanted to make ISK from exploration I needed to start selling things.

Once I decided I needed to sell on the market, I then had to decide what kind of player I was.  Was I someone who came in, took all the resources, dump them on the market and then go off to die in glorious balls of fire?  Sounds kind of boring except for the exploding part.  Unfortunately I'm allergic to glorious balls of fire.  I need to petition that some day.

So what's interesting?  Making things.  Gathering resources in order to make things makes some of the tedium more bearable.  Going out and finding my own blueprints, which seem pretty plentiful in Odyssey, is fun.

The complexity of the system is also interesting.  Think of all the things that go into an industrial operation.  Having the proper skills like Accounting and Production Efficiency.  Having the best standings not only in the station you manufacture in but also in the station you sell in as well.  Researching blueprints to reduce wasted materials even further.  Moving the product to market, which can get exciting in low sec.  And I won't get started on tech 2 production because that takes the whole process to another level.

So the result is I am now a low sec carebear with a focus on industry.   I still run around doing most of the things I did before.  I just added a few extra things on my to do list when I log in.

7 comments:

  1. Since I am finding a lot of this BPC's while doing exploration I thought about getting an Alt-Character only for production, trading, and hauling.

    But as I am only a PvP-Guy with no experience in production, what should I train to get at least a little bit of profit in the end?

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    1. Hi,

      What you need for basic efficiency in industry are the following skills :
      - industry (the basic, level V is ideal, as it's reducing manufacturing time, but unlocking access to others needed skills are ok for starting)
      - production efficiency V, the kicker. This is the make or break skill in industry, because every serious producers will have it at V. Without it, a producer is disadvantaged when putting his goods on the market (hubs market). Without this skill, say goodbye to your margin (on some blueprint, you can survive at IV, but most will required V).
      - Mass production IV (and with time V) : for running multiple jobs at once. Followed by advanced mass production up to IV (V if heavy industry take place).
      - Supply Chain Management I-III, for convenience factor (in order to manage production while admiring something in another space). Especially useful if a pos is somewhere in your setup (like a wormhole pos).

      This cover everything you need to work with a basic T1 production chain.
      Then, look on your blueprint to find out which skilks are required (for example, for a basic data interface, like Esoteric Data Interface, you will need a new science skill : Caldari Encryption Methods to lvl I).

      Pro tip : make a spreadsheet before committing to a manufacturing project, else you can be in the red before even starting.

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    2. The only thing I would add to what Jivane wrote is to train Accounting. That helps lower the transaction taxes you pay when you do sell things.

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  2. Make sure to check if found BPCs are worth producing first though. Some of the exploration BPCs actually make you poorer when buying the mats (even with buy orders) the safest bet are the ASBs and the AARs most of the time Target Spectrum breakers are edge cases and the T2 manufactoring thingies (somthingy ship/data interface) are horrible most of the time.

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  3. I'm a bit confused, how have the changes to Data and Relic sites become pure ISK sinks? I don't see how they remove ISK from the system

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    1. He actually explained it: he covered his money needs off the bounties of the rats - not selling, but only storing the items he got. That means, if he continues to play this way, he actually loses money (ammo, sometimes ships), and it's a ISK sink for *his* style of play.

      "if I wanted to make ISK from exploration I needed to start selling things." This pushed him into industry, which this post is about.

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    2. The data and relic sites remove ISK two basic ways. If someone sells the items on the market, then ISK is removed through broker fees and transaction taxes. If someone just immediately uses the items to manufacture things, then there is a small manufacturing charge if you use a NPC station like I do.

      People can probably come up with additional examples, but in short with no bounties, there is no ISK faucet.

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