Five Years In EVE

Today is the fifth anniversary of the day I started my first EVE Online account.  As I do every year, it's time to take a look back at the last twelve months, what I did and didn't accomplish, and make plans for the next year.

In game, I didn't do much.  For the first time, I didn't get in on a kill in a year.  I did manage to lose a another Procurer, but otherwise I had a pretty uneventful year in game.  I did explore a bit in NPC null sec and bookmarked a few constellations in The Great Wildlands.  I basically stopped mining over the past two months following the changes to the Procurer combined with someone trying his best to turn my Procurer into disassociated pixels.  Trying to stay alive got harder, so I switched to doing something less dangerous.  Luckily, I still have a lot of minerals.

I did a deployment to Domain to grind Sisters of EVE loyalty points around the time of Rubicon's launch.  I did a grind to get enough LP for 2 Astero and 2 Stratios.  That was a mistake.  Not only did I wind up not getting either of the ships, but I missed out on the events in my Metropolis low sec home.  Drama must have happened because all of my blues moved away.  I may wind up using some of the LP on implants instead.

How did I do on the goals I set for myself?  Not too bad.

9.9 or Bust! - I finally accomplished a goal I originally set back in 2011.  That's right, I got faction on one character up to 9.9 with the Minmatar and got the 2-run Tempest Fleet Issue BPC.  Along the way I also picked up a 2-run Stabber Fleet Issue BPC and a 2-run Republic Fleet Firetail BPC.  I have a second character than is eligible for another Firetail BPC now, which I should probably pick up before I forget.

Ships - For last year I set a reasonably easy goal for myself.  I wanted to get both of the Minmatar command ships, but if I could only get one, I'd get a Claymore.  That's what I did.  The warp speed changes made battlecruisers too slow and I really don't want to fly anything larger than a cruiser anymore.  But I got the Claymore before that happened.

Also, I am no longer limited to flying Minmatar and ORE ships anymore.  The changes to the Destroyer and Battlecruiser skills guaranteed I would anyway, but I also have the weapons skills for all tech 1 and tech 2 frigates plus the missile skills for Caldari ships up to battlecruiser.  Did I mention I can fly a Falcon now?

I should add I did fail on learning to fly Caldari battleships.  But then again, they are too slow after the warp speed changes, so no big loss.

Industry - I pretty much failed on this one.  All I manufactured last year was ammunition and nanite repair paste.  No modules like I planned.  I have plenty of blueprint copies for both the BPCs found in exploration and tech 2 modules, but I never made anything.  I did make some tech 2 ammunition which I am selling now, but that doesn't really count.

I should add that I did do quite a bit of planetary interaction in low sec over the past twelve months.  I actually shut down my colonies because my production of nanite repair paste was outpacing my sales.  A couple of years ago I thought that customs offices in low sec were death traps.  Now, they are something to approach with care, but nothing really dangerous if done correctly.  I've come a long ways in my attitudes.

Low Sec Missions - I stated I wanted to run a level 4 security mission in low sec.  I failed.  Maybe one of these days, but I got distracted.

That covers the past.  But what about the future?  What do I want to do for the next twelve months?

Industry - Yes, this is at the top of the list.  I definitely want to start selling modules.  With the changes to the industry interface manufacturing is a lot easier.  And if I'm making things, that will get me mining again.  Mining in low sec is interesting.  Currently, I keep between 300-350 million ISK in sell orders on the market.  I wonder if I could get that up around 750 million ISK, not including ships.  Something to shoot for.

As part of the effort, I want to establish a good datacore farm.  I want the ability to use level 4 R&D agents for all major factions.  I'm almost there, but then I also need to get my third character trained to work with the agents.  Currently she has a very limited number of science skills trained to level 4.  That I want to change.  A farm with 15 level 4 agents is the goal by the end of the year. 

I also want to get my PI colonies back online.  I think I can work part-time on making nanite control paste, but I should have enough capacity to support a tech 2 building plan as well.  I just have to figure out the best way to do that.

I also might start selling in a high sec system.  I've had that idea for a couple of years.  Perhaps this is the time.  But that's a really optional goal that I probably won't do.  But I'll list it here for extra credit.

Exploration - I'm making this a separate category from industry, although I think exploration is related.  I basically stopped doing exploration following the changes in Odyssey.  I'd like to get back to doing it an hour or two a week.  Now that the loot spew mechanic is gone, perhaps I won't get shot at as much.  No one got me, but I did escape in half structure once.

Expand Into Molden Heath (a tiny bit) - My main characters are both Vherokior, which means their tribal home is in Molden Heath.  I already sell in the low sec market in Bosena.  Perhaps this is the year I improve my standings with my home tribe.  The climb from 4.08 to 6.67 isn't that high.  Any new activity apart from the standings grind in the region is a bonus.

Ships - I always have to have a section on ships.  This year on Wandering Rose I want her to learn the skills to fly a Prospect so I can take her out and do some mercoxit mining in NPC null sec.  For Rosewalker, I not only want him to finish learning to fly all the battleships for the non-Minmatar factions (including learning the weapons), but I'd like to see him gain the highest level of mastery in all logistics ships.

What ships do I actually want to acquire?  I want the Astero and Stratios from the Sisters of EVE, and all of the recon ships.  Oh, and a Scimitar.  That is not going to happen, but I can dream, right?

After last year's modest targets, I've put together a rather longer list for the upcoming year.  I know I'm not going to achieve all of my goals, but if I ever feel a little bored, I have this list to fall back on.