A new Cormorant for more efficient salvaging
3rd December 2008 – 3.08 pm'Ah, Cadet Ibramovic. You're looking chipper today!' My Minmatar agent was happy to see me as always. Although her second sentence may have been only in my imagination it would have been rude not to comment.
'Thank you, I'm feeling pretty good. I have just bought and fitted a new ship specifically for salvaging.' After being reminded of the utility of separating mission running and clearing up the wrecks it seemed foolish not to spend a bit of ISK to recreate the successful set-up I had back when I was running missions in Caldari space.
'Oh, really', my agent says. 'Tell me all about it.' I find that if I don't mentally add these second sentences the conversation tends to stall.
'It will be my pleasure! I'll take a seat for this, it will probably be long-winded. I bought myself a Cormorant, because it has eight high slots that can be equipped with many tractor beams and salvagers for the quick collection and salvaging of the wrecks. I have a Cormorant back in Caldari space somewhere, which I didn't bring when I moved because it was a bit inconvenient at the time. I can't remember what the rest of the fittings are on my other salvaging vessel, but my time spent in New Eden is again showing me how I am picking up experience even when it isn't immediately obvious.
'I may not know the best set-up for a salvager, but I know that the salvager modules themselves are a considerable drain on the ship's capacitor, as is the micro-warp drive in one of the mid slots. I also don't know the full extent of the modules available on the market, but my experience has shown me that if I have a need for a certain type of module there is a good chance that it exists, I just have to find it.
'The single low slot of the Cormorant was easy to fill, selecting a expanded cargohold, allowing for more intact equipment to be looted from wrecks before my hold becomes full. That leaves some mid slots to fill. I don't need any offensive or, hopefully, defensive capabilities on a ship that should be picking through empty hulls long after the battle is over, so I can focus on the salvaging capabilities. With the drain on the capacitor from the salvaging modules I could use some optimisation of the ship's capacitor.
'My direct experience is knowing that there are ways to boost the capacitor directly or to decrease its recharge rate, which I have gained from either looting modules from wrecks or having fitted a similar set-up in the past. I think a passive set-up would be preferable, so I start looking at the market for cap rechargers. I know that there are low slot fittings that would help, but the single low slot on my ship is used. I need mid slot fittings. This is where I draw on my experience of the market.
'I know the type of fitting I am looking for, so it is simply a matter of looking through all the options available to find a mid slot fitting that decreases the recharge rate of a ship's capacitor, and it is only a short time before I have found the exact unit. I buy three to fill up the mid slots and my cap recharge rate drops significantly, hopefully allowing for continuous use of the tractor beams and salvager modules, with some MWD use in-between.
'On top of that, my training experience means that I don't have to worry about CPU or power plant drain when fitting all of these modules. I have gained enough skills in the time since last fitting a Cormorant that I know how to equip all the modules without draining all of the ship's power.' It can be difficult to see direct progress in EVE Online because of the long duration of training and the slight incremental gains at each level of skill training, but it is times like this where it is useful to reflect on the positive changes that have occurred.
I can tell my agent is enthralled with my wondrous tale of buying and fitting a new ship. She is leant back in her chair savouring every word, eyes closed to avoid distractions of the physical world as I weave my tale. 'And that's why I'm so chipper! I can fit my Kestrel, Chewy Centre, to be a purely combat vessel and clean the battlefield afterwards with the Cormorant Life Imitates Art.'
My agent stirs, 'So are you saying, in a long-winded way, that you'd like some work? Good, because I have just the job for you.' It's terribly exciting, getting ready for battle and looking forwards to taking Life Imitates Art out in to space to rip systems out of wrecked ships. I am on the edge of my seat as my agent pulls the mission file out, wondering how many enemies I'll be asked to engage and destroy, how many wrecks I'll be able to salvage from!
'Here we are, 'Save the Trees'. I need you to deliver some seeds to another system. It needs to be done quickly, are you up for the task?' Oh, sure, a courier mission is just what I was after. In fact, I hope this is a three-part courier mission so that my hour of preparation and millions of ISK feels well-spent.
Maybe my agent wasn't listening when I told her about my new salvaging ship after all.
4 Responses to “A new Cormorant for more efficient salvaging”
Personally, I prefer the Thrasher for dedicated salvaging. Faster and more cargo space. :)
I'd need to train in the use of Minmatar frigates before I could pilot a Thrasher, though. Of course, had I realised I was moving to Minmatar space, and not Amarr space, I would be able to fly one by now.
I'll keep the Thrasher in mind when I inevitably do something stupid and get my Cormorant blown up. Thanks!
BTW, if needing to gain standings quickly in Minmatar space, doing some level 1/2 COSMOS missions may help (as will datacenters) - it'll mean moving up to the Minmatar cosmos constellation temporarily but you can get quick standings gains. Have a look on eve-wiki for cosmos to get an idea of where to start - but I've gained more standing in 2 days than I would by missioning in 3 weeks...
I'll check that out, thanks for the tip!