Getting the Golem
1st March 2012 – 5.16 pmI'm still here. I somehow managed not to rage-quit after yesterday's horrible, horrible attempt to regain some security status by running missions, which failed because of being continually shoved in to shooting drones. I'll probably still try to recover my security status, so I can keep on shooting idiots that throw their ships at me in low-sec empire space, even though I will probably be imprinted with a yellow skull of piracy before long.
At least today's scanning is done in easy-mode. I simply copy the bookmarks Fin has already made of the w-space constellation to my nav-comp. And it looks like I can use them immediately, as my leader is showing what makes her glorious by pointing out that the low-sec exit system is one hop from high-sec and that perhaps I could think about getting a new Golem marauder today. I'm stripped down to my bare pod and following the bookmarks out of the home system, across our neighbouring class 3 system, and out to empire space quicker than a Noctis pilot ejects.
I take my pod to and through high-sec to Jita, the obvious place to get a good deal and ripped off at the same time, giving Fin a small heart attack when she sees the corporate wallet dive almost as hard as my security status as I buy the Golem. I tell her to shield her eyes, because even the ship doesn't cost quite as much as the shield booster I'm about to buy. Thankfully, the wallet can take the stress, even if the capsuleers looking after it can't. I scrimp on the Tech II rig, though, not quite wanting to bankrupt us, and hoping that a basic version will suffice for most Sleeper combat.
All I need now is a name. Fin's great at coming up with quirky names, yet I somehow pass over them all to end up on Perdedor. The common theme to all the suggestions was the idea that we'd only lose this expensive beauty far sooner than it will pay for itself, so I thought I may as well encode it right in to the name. Suitably fitted, and stocked with ammunition and drones, I undock and start heading back towards the low-sec system holding the K162 home.
I don't jump directly in to low-sec, though. I'm not that stupid. In fact, I don't even warp to the final stargate, not wanting to give anyone watching the impression that, at some point, I will be jumping in to the murky space of low-sec. Fin will be flying an escort for me, once she gets back from moving ships around herself, so I hold in the high-sec system, aligning to dock the new Golem to keep myself safe whilst I wait. No, I won't dock, I'll scan. I set my passive scanner running and find an anomaly in the system. I can work on my security status as I wait, and throw the Golem in to trivial combat.
Pop, pop, pop! The rats can take only one volley from my torpedoes before exploding, although these are crappy rats in a high-sec anomaly and I was hardly expecting a fight. The longest wait is the week or so it takes for my massive ship to lock-on to the frigates. And because I'm in a marauder I have a tractor beam and salvagers on-line, which lets me clear up as I shoot, no ship swapping required. This anomaly is cleared and Fin's still a good while away from me yet. I don't suppose I have to stop, though. I head back one system, careful to remain in high-sec, and look for more anomalies.
I find another anomaly in the new system, but it's a bit annoying. The frigates use ECM to jam my systems, a successful cycle having me do nothing but soak up damage and a failed cycle lasting almost long enough for my sluggish targeting systems to get a positive lock on the jamming ships. Almost, but not quite. It takes two consecutive failed cycles, after a few minutes of having little to do but pulse my shield booster, before I rain torpedo doom on the jammers and settle back in to a more comfortable role of Penny the Destroyer. I'm rewarded for my perseverance with the appearance of a Dread Gurista Killer.
The Dread Gurista has a much bigger bounty than the other ships here, which should give me a slightly more than negligible boost to my security status, but it's the loot I'm interested in. What I find in the wreck is quite good, too. The Crystal Delta Low Grade implant I loot looks to be worth a hundred million ISK or so, which is quite the result for a simple high-sec anomaly. It hardly pays for the Golem but it's a step in the right direction. I loot and salvage all the ships here and move on. Or back. Fin's available and getting an ECM boat to the low-sec system.
I dock and sell the loot and salvage I've collected from high-sec anomalies, put the implant up for sale at a reasonable price, and head out to hook up with Fin. She reports the low-sec gate as being clear and I warp to it from the high-sec side. It looks clear here too, so we should be fine. I jump, align, and warp towards the wormhole. We have no problem. I could wait for Fin as a continued escort, but for some reason I don't feel quite so concerned about flying through w-space as I do low-sec. I know where my home is. I guide the Golem across the still-quiet class 3 system and jump through our K162 for my safe return to our tower.
6 Responses to “Getting the Golem”
P.J. As you probably know well the agents were changed last year. You probably want a security agent not a distribution or mining agent. The various Navy and Intelligence agents work well. Unfortunately as you already know those are worked-up for standings. Working from level 1 is quite slow. 0.0 goes much faster. Why don't you get a jump clone and leave it in hisec for such work? It's always good to have several homes in Eve anyway.
Can't stand being in hisec for 24 hours? LOL.
Actually in hisec I don't think yellow skulls matter as much now. Using my alts I see them everywhere. I even see them in my L-4 mission running home systems.
I went to my old security agent, hoping for some good missions, but if the mission is multi-part it can still include mining. That's pretty dumb, if you ask me.
Jump clones don't work from w-space, so I'd need to scan my way out and dock before I could transfer. And I don't think I could stand staying in empire space that long, no. As our static wormhole only lasts sixteen hours, I would need a colleague to scan my way back in too, which makes it even less convenient.
I think I'll end up with a yellow skull sooner or later. I suppose I could live with it.
You only get credit for one rat kill every 15 minutes (whichever has the highest bounty) for any one system. This means missions and anomalies are a bad way to raise your sec status if that is your only goal (since you get no credit for the majority of your kills). You are better off finding a cluster of empty low or 0.0 systems, killing the largest belt rat you find, and then jumping to the next system since you get a new 15 minute timer for each system. Just do a loop through these 3-4 systems (so 15 minutes passes in the original location before you return) and your sec status should rise quickly.
Anders has a good point here, and it's how I always raise my sec status. Get yourself a stealth bomber, and a friend. Or for solo get a tacheon oracle sniper boat and go system to system killing a bs rat in each. I was managing 6-7 security bonuses per 15 min tick with the stealth bombers and a friend in a stealth bomber. If someone came in system we just cloaked up or killed them.
Zandramus
The trick is finding the right systems, and being there alone. W-space should, in theory, give me opportunities, as the exit system can appear anywhere.