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EVE Evolved: Anatomy of a mining op
When EVE Online was first released in 2003, it was designed as a massive universe of competition and conflict between space-faring megacorporations in the distant future. Players bought into the premise completely and soon set about building their own empires and waging wars with neighbours. Corporations ran regular mining operations for resources to build frigates and cruisers for their members, and some of the larger corps co-operatively mined to build the first ever battleships in the game. The mining op has been a staple activity in the game ever since, providing a way for groups to work together on large manufacturing projects or just make some ISK during their down-time. Mining gets a lot of flak for being one of the most boring and least profitable professions in the game, but that's not exactly true. Solo mining can be a great way to spend your downtime while doing other activities, and it ensures that you're online when something exciting happens like a live event, your wormhole system being invaded, or a titan being tackled by your alliance. Co-operative mining ops also offer the social value of bonding with your corpmates when there's nothing else going on. Some players even run dozens of accounts at the same time to turn this ordinarily placid activity into an intensive profit-making activity focused on efficiency and organisation skills. With mining due to make a resurgence in the summer expansion, this edition of EVE Evolved is dedicated to the humble mining operation. I'll take a look at the various options for mining ships, the different haulers available, and the four different areas you can mine in.
EVE Evolved: Mining 101 -- The basics
Although it's not everyone's cup of tea, mining is one of EVE Online's oldest and most easily accessible professions. Sitting down to clear out a few asteroid belts or put a dent in a massive ice asteroid can be a very relaxing way to make ISK. Mining is a very low-activity process that can be done at the same time as other tasks, much in the same way that hauling items for trade or running courier missions can be done in the background. In all the time that the EVE Evolved column has been running, it struck me that I had never really written a guide for mining. Mining can be a good way to make some extra ISK during a lull in corp activity or while you're busy doing other things. Busy EVE players will often set themselves up to mine solo while reading a good book or watching TV. On the other end of the scale, corporations and alliances will sometimes run large co-operative mining operations for war funds or personal profit. Mining as a group is usually a more efficient use of the time of each player in the group and can make a great bonding experience for a corporation. In this week's EVE Evolved, I give a run-down of the basics of mining for new players. I look at the entry-level ship requirements for efficient mining and popular strategies for both solo and group mining.
