Fitting My Wreathe For My Alpha Clone

I finally finished running the career agents on my alpha clone character and asked myself the question, what next? The last career agent in the last mission offered the helpful advice to look for an agent like him. So I clicked on the "Agent Finder" button and the game presented me with a box that looked something like this:

That's right, I saw two level three agents. Level three agents are better than level one agents, right? Who wants to do stupid level one security missions when I can do level three distribution missions? Besides, the career agents gave me two Wreathes. What's the number one rule of EVE? Don't fly what you cannot afford to lose. I can afford to lose a Wreathe, because I already have a backup. So with the helpful prodding of CCP, I prepared to do distribution missions.

Judging by my blog statistics, I was not the only one thinking that way. since the launch of Ascension, I receive a lot of hits on my "Mastering The Wreathe" post every day. So why not use my own work to start the fitting process?

[Wreathe, Moving Van]
Type-D Restrained Inertial Stabilizers
Type-D Restrained Inertial Stabilizers
Expanded Cargohold I
Expanded Cargohold I
Expanded Cargohold I

10MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
Medium Shield Extender I
Medium Shield Extender I
Thermal Dissipation Amplifier I
EM Ward Amplifier I

Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I

I couldn't go crazy because I only had 6.7 million ISK and a little under 600,000 skill points to work with. Also, in the spirit of the alpha experience (and that pyfa was giving bad numbers), I'm using the numbers from the in-game fitting tool. At an estimated worth of 2.7 million ISK, I think I built a nice little fit.

I left the high slots empty because, expect perhaps a Salvager I, the ship really doesn't require anything in the highs. The low slots are set up for optimal performance for level 3 distribution missions. If I recall correctly, no level 3 Minmatar distribution mission requires more than 4,200 m3 of cargo space, and the fit above will hold 4,939 m3. The fit also makes use of 3 of the 4 Expanded Cargohold Is I received as mission rewards from the career agents. I also picked up one of the inertial stabilizers somewhere along the line, so I only needed to purchase one additional stabilizer.

The mid slots show an effort to maximize the tank of the Wreathe. The meta afterburner is used instead of a micro-warp drive (MWD) in order to fit larger modules. The Wreathe has a major shield resistance hole for electromagnetic (EM) damage, so I purchased an EM Ward Amplifier I. The Thremal Dissipation Amplifier I is present in the fit due to the prevalence of the Catalyst in suicide gank fleets. For my industrial ships, I try to defend against the thermal/kinetic damage the Caldari ships produce.

I should add one important note about the shield tank in this fit. I chose to use shield resistance amplifiers instead of a shield hardener because in case of a gank, the player doesn't need to remember to turn the tank on. The tank is running full out the entire time. All a player needs to do is crash the gate and jump back through to safety, assuming no bumping or tackle is applied by the ganking force.

For rigs, I only filled one of the three slots with a Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I. With only 6.7 million ISK, the 1.7 million ISK cost of buying one took a big chunk out of my wallet. But just adding one increased my warp speed from 4.5 AU/second to 5.4 AU/second, giving the Minmatar hauler a warp speed just a shade slower than an assault frigate (5.5 AU/second). Eventually I will fill all three rig slots, although I may only install one more warp speed rig.

[Wreathe, **Moving Van]
Type-D Restrained Inertial Stabilizers
Type-D Restrained Inertial Stabilizers
Expanded Cargohold I
Expanded Cargohold I
Expanded Cargohold I

10MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Kinetic Deflection Amplifier I
Thermal Dissipation Amplifier I
EM Ward Amplifier I

Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I

Surprisingly enough, one large meta shield extender gives more protection than two basic medium shield extenders. With the slot freed up by using a large shield extender, I added a Kinetic Deflection Amplifier I. I added the module specifically to counter damage from Catalysts.

As an experiment, I ran level 3 distribution missions for one hour using the first fit in this post. Okay, the fit I used only had one inertial stabilizer and four expanded cargoholds, which means for my experiment I ran a sub-optimal fit. The results, however, pleased me.

In a 60 minute time frame, I completed 13 missions. If I run three more missions, I am eligible to receive a faction storyline mission that not only increases my faction standings, but also potentially gives a big payday, like a +3 learning implant, which are selling for over 9 million ISK in Jita. Of course, I could get a level 3 security mission that I can't run, but those are the breaks.

For those 13 missions, I received 1.6 million ISK and 1993 loyalty points. For new players, or those unfamiliar with EVE, loyalty points are a type of secondary currency used to purchase powerful items. The items are not bind on pickup, meaning that the player can turnaround and sell the items on the regular market for ISK, often for a tidy profit.

The above screenshot shows the types of skill hardwirings I can purchase after just one hour of running distribution missions. I can get a full set of Poteque "Prospector" implants that improve all aspects of using probes by 2%.

I don't know if people are doing better in other ways. I highly suspect exploration, especially that done in dangerous space, is much more profitable, both in ISK/hour and fun/hour terms. I do think, though, that I prefer distribution missions to hours of mining.