My three suns

The w-space system holding our mobile tower is now a minimum of two wormholes deep, making it more awkward to enter from and exit to k-space. Although having a static high-sec exit is remarkably convenient for coming and going, once the system is cleared of sites of local Sleeper interest there is often little to do but wait until more sites spawn. Or, as we tended to do, pack up the tower and find a new system. With our deeper claimed system we by necessity uncover a greater number of wormholes that lead to other w-space systems, offering many more opportunities for destruction and profit.

Whilst certainly the case that in our previous w-space systems, with static exits, we found adjacent w-space systems, we tended to leave them alone. The logistics to plunder a remote system require scanning for sites in the second system, getting a small fleet in to eradicate any Sleeper presence, and sweeping all the loot in to our holds, all whilst needing to maintain the integrity of the connecting wormhole as battleships are sent through the mass-limited anomalies. It all seems rather involved compared to running sites locally. But now that we have found a prime system two systems deep for our mobile tower, necessity has made the same logistics common operations.

Preserving the integrity of wormholes is a standard concern, the mass of ships sent to and fro tracked, as is the natural life of the wormhole. Instead of committing every capsuleer to the encounter, a battleship fleet is sent ahead for combat, afterwards followed by a specialist ship, normally a frigate-sized hull, to salvage, analyse, or hack, and to return profit to the tower for later hauling. Other corporations sometimes claim a system as their own but, unlike us, they are clearly wrong. Even so, if a POS is present in the system, careful watch is kept on the directional scanner for hostile ships. The overall threat is not much greater than running sites in our own w-space system. Our neighbours could wake up, of course, but we can easily escape down the rabbit hole.

Although we are careful to maintain wormhole integrity, the same instability we try to avoid can be turned to our advantage. Entering an occupied system, clearing the high-profit sites of Sleepers and loot, then destabilising the wormhole is almost the perfect crime. We don't even need to collapse a wormhole to make good our escape. Pushing the anomaly so that the passage of a couple of battleships will destabilise it entirely is good enough, as it ensures only a small fleet can follow us back, and even then the pursuers may be on a one-way jump.

Visiting other w-space systems also offers tourist benefits. Wormholes appear and dissipate, different systems connecting to our own regularly. We can choose whether we want to visit a black hole or pulsar system, and if we would rather decrypt databanks or uncover artefacts in archeological sites. The background nebulae and stellar objects change every day, without us having to travel more than a couple of systems away, providing for some marvellous sights. I am even able to pilot a Catalyst by starlight by starlight by starlight, if only to make EVE Monkey envious. W-space life is rich, at the moment.

Posted in Gaming |
Tags: catalyst, eve online, mmorpg, penny ibramovic, scanning, sleepers, w-space