EVE Evolved: Corporate Infiltration for fun and profit, part 2
Planning the dirty deed:
Once you're in the corp, you absolutely must plan your heist or assault carefully. A rushed or poorly organised job can undo all the effort you'll have gone to thus far in finding a target, getting a character ready and getting into the corp. Resist the urge to impulsively steal the first thing you can. Instead, scope out all the available opportunities for theft and draw up a plan to capitalise on as much of it as possible at one time. Try to learn what's stored in the corp hangers from corp-mates, see what you can get access to and what roles you can get assigned. If using multiple vectors, try to get them in place to steal as much as possible at once or to perform a theft and an assault on corp ships at the same time.
In addition to hanger access, another valuable role you might be able to acquire is the config starbase equipment. If the corp has a starbase, this role will let you unanchor certan POS modules and even shut down the POS's force field. Modules such as labs, corp hangers, silos and ship hangers can then be blown up and looted. The most important part of a plan will be the timing. If your target is a player or ship, watching their movements for a time will give you clues about their habits. For hanger thefts or starbase heists, choosing a time when the CEO and directors are all offline means they can't revoke your roles while you do the deed.
Execution with style:
When the moment arrives and all your careful planning pays off, there's nothing left to do but deliver the killing blow with style. It's not enough to just steal the contents of a corp hanger or gank a freighter, you absolutely have to rub it in their faces. But there's a particular style of rubbing it in that most good thefts lack and it's the reason they fail to remain memorable to anyone that wasn't directly involved. Insulting your victim is unprofessional and just poor sportsmanship. When the heist or attack occurs, the victim should be left shocked and in awe of what has just happened. A well-made video detailing the heist adds a little more polish to the operation and dumps a little public humiliation on the target corp.
The classic way to add some professional polish to a heist is to start the operation using a codeword delivered over the corp channel or the corp's voice server. Another of my favourites is to include subtle clues that you're a spy in your name, then pointing out that they let someone with the name "I'mgoingto GankyourCEO" into their corp. Every member of the infiltration squad simultaneously posting your organisation's catchphrase to the corp channel or corp mails can also have a good effect, making corp-mates wonder what is going on. As cheesy as it sounds in an evil villain kind of way, it's actions like these that leave the victims feeling they've been hit by a professional team. It's like EVE's equivalent of the mafia just came knocking on their door. The Guiding Hand Social Club's level of signature style is something special to be aimed for.
Summary:
When successful, corporate infiltration is an almost surgical strike and its perpetrators are the spy-master anti-heroes everyone wants to be. There's a reason that the EVE community looks down on bottom-feeding contracts scammers but looks up to the spying elite. Corporate infiltration is not a way to get some easy ganks or a quick couple of million ISK. But for those with a silver tongue, a sharp mind and some dedication, it delivers untold rewards.
Brendan "Nyphur" Drain is an early veteran of EVE Online and writer of the weekly EVE Evolved column here at massively.com. The column covers anything and everything relating to EVE Online, from in-depth guides to speculative opinion pieces. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at brendan.drain AT weblogsinc DOT com.
