Time for a new post since my alliance is under a war dec and our null sec area is in complete chaos. I've lived in several wormhole systems over the years ranging from C1 to C4 with my corp but usually because of play times and other commitments I end up soloing. I'll admit that I almost always have a booster or scout alt when in a wormhole system.
Wormhole living is probably the biggest time commitment most intense activity I've experienced in Eve; you've been warned. However, I found the added effort, risk and reward made it very enjoyable.
In wormhole systems you will lose ships and pods, even more so than any other area of eve space in my opinion, so accept it and don't get upset. This is why you also need a scanning alt logged at a safe in the wormhole system so you can always find exits (anytime I say exit I also include any incoming wormholes) to get back in should you wake up in a station in empire space.
However, if you make the most of your wormhole system you can make a ton of ISK even in a C2 which is what I'll be discussing in this post. I really do suggest a 2 account 2 screen setup as it makes everything so much easier. Do you make more ISK than just missioning on 1 account in high sec? I think the answer is yes but only if you do PI as well and you can scan very quickly which takes practice. Can you make more ISK in a higher rank wormhole? The answer is of course yes but they are harder and having friends helps. Anyone can "solo" in a C1 or C2 to get experience. Can you make more ISK running anomalies in null sec on 1 account? The answer is yes but I find it more boring than running missions. If all you care about is the size of your ISK wallet, go and station trade in Jita. Wormholes are Eve Online at its best in my opinion and they are the most fun I've had since my earliest forays into null in 2007/8. Everything mentioned in this post was carried out between the Rubicon and Proteus patches from 2014-2015 and I believe everything is still applicable.
Good scanning, dscan and logistics skills are the key to living in a wormhole.
Logistics
After losing a couple of POS in a C2 wormhole while I was offline to very persistent pirates I found that a small POS in a wormhole just isn't enough deterrent. Suck it up and use a medium POS or if you have friends get a large POS and make sure it has good shields. In my experience the bad stuff always happens when I can't login for a couple of days and a few guns just don't deter the pirates. Also don't leave ships floating at the POS, they are like leaving candy out for the vermin. Last but not least keep the POS full of fuel and strontium. When you get the chance to get fuel don't just get a week, fill the damn thing and bring in extra, spending a few hours running fuel every 2 months is better than stressing about it every week or day. I've gone weeks without a good exit for getting fuel so having that fuel buffer was a big relief.
Scanning
Every day before you do anything else you need to scan down every signature in your wormhole home. You want to get this done quickly and safely so you need a good scan ship and good skills. I suggest level 4 minimum for the skills. The new changes to make signature ID's persistent really speed this up as well. I keep a bookmark folder of all current signatures with their ID code which makes spotting new ones easy. Before you finish, switch to combat probes and check for other ships in the wormhole. If you have active entrances/exits don't run sites - always assume there is a cloaked ship waiting for you.
If you are serious about this you will need a covert ops scanning frigate. Here are 2 that I currently use.
With my skills the Cheetah gives me a scan strength of 127.3 (you don't want to know how many hours I pored over spreadsheets and formulas to finally work out how all the modules stack...) which makes very short work of scanning signatures.
[Cheetah, Cheetah - WH Prober]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Scan Acquisition Array I
Scan Pinpointing Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
[empty high slot]
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints II
You can go cheaper by using a T2 launcher and 2 T1 gravity rigs like on the Helios fit below with only a slight reduction in scan strength to 112.8. Note the Cheetah isn't inherently better than the Helios, I actually think the Helios is better than the Cheetah as a dedicated scanner and if I ever lose the Cheetah and feel like fitting a maxed scan ship again it will be a Helios.
[Helios, Helios - WH prober - cheap]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Co-Processor I
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Scan Acquisition Array I
Scan Pinpointing Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Scan Rangefinding Array I
Expanded Probe Launcher II, Core Scanner Probe I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Small Gravity Capacitor Upgrade I
Second Account
I suggest you have your second account scout sitting in the ship above with combat probes out the whole time you are running sites so that you know if an uncloaked ship (like a recon) enters the system. Alternatively you could have the second account sitting just outside the POS shields in a booster ship but still have combat probes out.
Combat Anomalies
So hopefully now you have a fully fueled POS and a wormhole with no active entrances. You can now run sites. You'll find lots of opinions about whether to run signatures or anomalies first. It doesn't matter, do what you feel like and have fun.
In a C2 you'll find the following combat anomalies, and my finding is that you'll get almost 15 M ISK for them on average and they only take 15 minutes which equates to ~60 M ISK / hour:
Where is the table option in Blogger?
Name / Times Run / Average Million ISK / kill order
Perimeter Checkpoint / 24 / 14.6 / F, S, C, F, BS
Perimeter Hangar / 24 / 14.9 / F, C, BS, C, BS
Sleeper Data Sanctuary / 12 / 14.7 / F, S, C, F, BS
Ruins of Enclave Cohort 27 / 16 / 13.7 / F-1, BS, F, C, BS
F = Frigate, C = Cruiser, BS = Battleship, S = Sentry
F-1 = all frigates but one
I've successfully run these in several ships including the 2 below. Notice no bling, it's not needed and you will lose them at some point to pirates. You need to pay attention to kill order so the waves don't overwhelm you.
In the Cerberus heavy assault cruiser you just warp in, drop a Mobile Tractor Unit and then close fast and hammer the rats while hitting dscan constantly of course. Start with Javelin missiles and switch to Rage when you've closed range. I just checked my combat log and I never lost this ship. I tried a Heavy Missile version and while it was easier because I didn't have to close the distance to the ships, it took longer to bring down the BS. This HAM fit is faster overall, and more fun.
[Cerberus, Cerberus HAM T2 for C2 WH]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
10MN Afterburner II
Medium Shield Booster II
Cap Recharger II
EM Ward Field II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Medium Warhead Rigor Catalyst I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Hobgoblin II x3
To mix things up a bit I tried a few Gila pirate cruiser fits and settled on this one. Warp in, drop MTU, set orbit and exterminate the rats while hitting dscan. Use Precision missiles and switch to Fury for BS. The combination of Light Missiles and Drones is even better than the Cerberus BUT it is more costly. Luckily I never lost it.
[Gila, Gila for WH C2 Solo Passive RLML AB]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
Beta Reactor Control: Shield Power Relay I
10MN Afterburner II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
EM Ward Amplifier II
Thermic Dissipation Amplifier II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Light Missile
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Light Missile
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Light Missile
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Light Missile
Small Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Core Defense Field Purger II
Medium Core Defense Field Purger II
Medium Core Defense Field Purger II
Hammerhead II x2
Hammerhead II x2
Valkyrie II x2
Valkyrie II x2
Vespa EC-600 x2
Gas Anomalies
You should also activate the gas sites even if you aren't going to suck the gas and then come back 15-30 minutes later and shoot the rat frigates. They don't give much but it's something and can easily be done using either of the combat ships above.
Name / Times Run / Average Million ISK / Gas worth huffing
Minor Perimeter Reservoir / 2 / 0.8 / C50
Token Perimeter Reservoir / 8 / 1.7 / none
Barren Perimeter Reservoir / 5 / 2.1 / C72
Ordinary Perimeter Reservoir / 5 / 0 / C72
Sizeable Perimeter Reservoir / 3 / 1.8 / C50
You can then huff the gas if you want. I used the Venture fit below - I did lose at least one so it's good they are cheap.
[Venture, ORE Venture - WH Gas - Cloak & ECCM]
Damage Control II
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Conjunctive Magnetometric ECCM Scanning Array I
Conjunctive Magnetometric ECCM Scanning Array I
Gas Cloud Harvester II
Gas Cloud Harvester II
Improved Cloaking Device II
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Hornet EC-300 x2
Ore Anomalies
Just like with the gas sites you should also activate the ore sites even if you aren't going to mine the ore and then come back 15-30 minutes later and shoot the rat frigates. They give more than gas sites and can easily be done using either of the combat ships above. I didn't mine any ore because it just takes too long and you are a sitting duck the whole time.
Name / Times Run / Average Million ISK
Common Perimeter Deposit / 4 / 5.1
Ordinary Perimeter Deposit / 2 / 7.9
Uncommon Core Deposit / 1 / 0.6
Isolated Core Deposit / 2 / 0.6
Unexceptional Frontier Deposit / 3 / 0.5
Data and Relic Signatures
For data and relic sites things get a little tougher. You either need to fit a ship that can hack the cans as well as fight (like a Tengu which I have used and lost in a WH) or have a second account or friend. If you have a second account scout which I highly recommend it makes it easier. The reason is that after you've killed all the rats you can't just warp out and switch ships, if you do the site despawns - this has happened to me. What I do is clear the sites with the combat ships above, then warp in the cloaked scout at 100 km and uncloak (important - if you don't the site despawns). Then warp the combat ship back to the POS, switch to a dedicated hacking ship and warp back to the site. Warp the scout back to the safe or just cloak it. Finish the site in the hacking ship. I've found this to be faster than a hybrid ship unless the hybrid ship is a Tengu which will run you 500-800 M ISK all told. I prefer the dedicated cheaper ship option.
They take me about 30 minutes total each so the ISK is slightly better than running combat anomalies.
After several versions I finally settled on this dedicated Data and Relic Site Can Hacker. It is rigged and fitted to handle both data and relic cans and travel between them quickly. It has 2 warp core stabilizers and a cov ops rig so if you are jumped in a site you can get away unless the pirate has a high alpha strike - which I learned the hard way - ahem! It is also perfect for running the newly spawning null sec sites that are appearing in wormholes.
[Cheetah, Cheetah - WH Site Runner - cheap with WCS AB Expanded]
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
1MN Afterburner II
Cargo Scanner II
Relic Analyzer II
Data Analyzer II
Expanded Probe Launcher I, Combat Scanner Probe I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Salvager II
Small Memetic Algorithm Bank I
Small Emission Scope Sharpener I
Data Sig Name / Times Run / Average Million ISK / kill order
Unsecured Perimeter Transponder Farm / 7 / 45.3 / C, F, F-escort, F, C-watchman, C, BS, F, C
Unsecured Perimeter Communications Relay / 11 / 31.4 / BS, C, BS, F, BS
Relic Sig Name / Times Run / Average Million ISK
Forgotten Perimeter Habitation Coils / 5 / 30.3
Forgotten Perimeter Gateway / 5 / 21.4
Salvaging
Salvaging is essential in a C2. Use a mobile tractor unit while doing the sites. A Noctis is perfectly good but overkill if you are using an MTU and honestly not much faster than the destroyer fit below. Its also much more expensive should you lose it.
Use this cheap Cormorant destroyer salvager to swoop in and mop up quickly after the fact. I fitted all the destroyers to compare and the Cormorant is slightly better than the Catalyst (more cargo - which isn't needed in a WH but isn't cap stable).
[Cormorant, Cormorant Salvager for WH with WCS]
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
'Halcyon' Core Equalizer I
Eutectic Compact Cap Recharger
Eutectic Compact Cap Recharger
Eutectic Compact Cap Recharger
Salvager II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Auto Targeting System I
Small Salvage Tackle I
Small Salvage Tackle I
Small Salvage Tackle I
Null Sec Data/Relic Signatures
Null sec data/relic signatures now show up in wormholes which for me was very welcome as the data/relic null sec sites don't have rats and can be run in the Cheetah hacker fit above. I haven't collated all the info for them yet, but when I do I'll post my results.
Ghost Site - Covert Research Facilities
I only came across 1 of these in all my time in the wormhole, a Superior Guristas Covert Research Facility. I was prepared with the Gnosis ship fit below. I scanned all the containers, 3 had blueprint copies, I hacked 2 and looted them before the rats exploded everything.
This Gnosis handled the ghost site admirably with 38% armor left before I warped out. In less than 5 minutes I had a 'Yurt' and a 'Wetu' Mobile Depot BPC and 28 Covert Research Tools worth ~151 M ISK at the time.
[Gnosis, Gnosis for Ghost Sites]
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
800mm Steel Plates II
500MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive
Cargo Scanner II
Data Analyzer II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Improved Cloaking Device II
Core Probe Launcher II, Core Scanner Probe I
Small Remote Hull Repairer II /OFFLINE
Small Remote Armor Repairer II
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
Medium Memetic Algorithm Bank I
Medium Memetic Algorithm Bank I
Planetary Interaction
To make the most of your wormhole I suggest you train Planetary Interaction on your main and also your 2 alts (and the alts of your second scout account if you have one). Wormhole planets are the equivalent of the best null sec planets. I setup my alts to extract the raw P0 materials for Robotics and convert to P1. Each alt had a hauler (below) to haul the product when needed back to the POS. I then had 1 alt with a factory setup to combine everything and produce P3 Robotics. About 30 minutes every day of resetting extractors and hauling when needed gave me an easy 1.5 billion ISK / month income. I'm sure this can be improved upon but it worked for me.
Here is my wormhole PI hauler. The low slot WCS have no effect on the PI hauling capacity and basically make you immune to anything but a bubble. You just need enough buffer to survive until you can get into warp. I've survived decloaking pirates several times in this fit. Luckily none had a bubble! Notice the probe launcher? Every ship in a wormhole should have one if possible.
[Epithal, Epithal for WH PI]
Warp Core Stabilizer I
Warp Core Stabilizer I
Warp Core Stabilizer I
Warp Core Stabilizer I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Medium F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Medium F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Medium F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Prototype Cloaking Device I
Core Probe Launcher I, Core Scanner Probe I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Wrapping up
The new dscan invisible Recons have made wormhole living quite a lot more risky than it was so you will lose even more ships. I decided at that point that it was time to move out of my wormhole and do more in null. However, you can still make a ton of ISK if you are smart and careful.
I'm sure I've forgotten something but this should give you a good start. Good luck!
