April 30, 2013

By their 5s shall you know them

So I've run into Eve sayings along the lines of "what distinguishes pilot skills are their 5s".  In other words, what skills are you willing to climb up that skill-point curve to get that last 5%?  As I come up on my one-year anniversary of joining Eve I'm looking at what I need to get into the next range of opportunities, and what I might want to focus on.  So, what's worth taking to 5?

General Philosophy

I'm looking back at things and looking this way in general:
  • If it was interesting enough to want to play with, you want Level 3 just to start (and it's cheap)
  • If it is something you want to be decent at, you want Level 4
  • If it is something that you're going to do under competitive pressure, you want Level 5
  • And of course there are many things you have to run to 4 or 5 just to unlock another tier.

So what do I want to do: I'm primarily Gallente, branching out now to other races starting with Minmatar.  I'm currently on Int/Mem mapping, probably shifting to a more balanced mapping soon.  Things I want to do include:

  • Try out flying shield tanked Minmatar Frigates and Destroyers
  • Try out entry level Gallente logistics (armor)
  • Try out entry level Gallente ewar (damps)
  • Wormhole ready - Strategic cruiser, stealth bomber, probing skills

The Fives

Drones: Drones, Scout Drone Operation
  Arguably I really should have Combat Drone Operation to 5 here too (6d ish)
Electronics: Electronics, Electronics Upgrades
  Probably will want Cloaking 5 if I head for bombers and the like
Engineering: Engineering, Energy Management, Energy Systems Operation, Shield Operation
  I should probably get Energy Grid Upgrades (6d ish) for the fitting
  Shield Management is tougher to call at 10d - am I going to seriously fly shield tank ships or not?
Gunnery: Gunnery, Controlled Bursts, Surgical Strike, Weapon Upgrades, Small Hybrid, Small Projectile, Medium Hybrid
  I should probably get Motion Prediction, Rapid Firing, Sharpshooter, Trajectory Analysis to 5 as a turret user.
Mechanics: Mechanics, Hull Upgrades, Repair Systems
Navigation: Navigation
  I'll need Evasive Manuevering 5 to get into an Interceptor
Science: none
  Astrometrics, Hacking, Archaeology 5 is for their T2 modules, but I'm not seeing that need quite yet
Spaceship Command: Spaceship Command, Gallente Frigate, Gallente Cruiser, Destroyers, Battlecruisers
  Yes, ready for tiericide.  Not feeling it for Gallente Battleship 5
  However, CovOps 5 and Assault Ships 5 are tempting.
  Racial Frigate 5 (All).  Oops, I bought some non-Gallente ships that require this.
Subsystems: When I finally get into a Proteus I expect to have the subsystems to 5, though they aren't there now.

The Fours (selected)

Everything I called out above as on the brink of 5 I have at four currently.
Drones: Drone Sharpshooting at 4, probably should also have Drone Durability and Drone Interfacing to 4.  I don't have access to Sentries at this point, if I get back to missions I probably should.
Electronics: Any ewar I want to use should go to 4 to use T2 modules.
  I haven't really found a need for Targeting 5 and the Multitasking stuff yet.  I'm guessing that's more of a Logi or Capital thing.  Nowadays I suppose any racial Sensor Compensation should be to 4 if you are PVPing.
Engineering: All non-Compensation shield skills are to 4 and may stay there for now.
Gunnery: AWU 4, Weapon Spec skills are to 4 or should be on my plan
Mechanics: Rigging skills for rigs I use (Armor, Hybrid, JuryRig, Projectile), Armor Compensation skills, Armor Honeycombing.  Remote Armor Repair for frigate logistics.
  Hmm, I guess I need Frequency Modulation 3/4 and Sensor Linking 3/4 if I use certificates as a guide
Missing Launcher Operation: I have none to 4, but I'll need to go if I want to play with bombers.  Then a mixture of support skills replicating my gunnery support skills. Is it worth it?  I'm not sure.  As a side bonus I'd have a shorter path to Caldari and Minmatar missile ships.
Navigation: Is there any non-Jump Drive skill that's not worth taking to 4 - I don't see any.
Science: Astrometrics, Astrometric Acquisition/Pinpointing/Rangefinding - all to four or in the plan to get to 4.  I might wimp out on Rangefinding - Rank 8 Ouch!
Spaceship Command: If I want to fly a ship I figure it should be to 4, with the exception of the Gallente Industrial (just moving stuff) the ORE Industrial (Noctis, if I ever use it again), and the Mining Frigate (which was entirely for the Ganked Fleet LOLs)

Lesser skills

Leadership: only Leadership 3 - don't see a need yet
Social: Connections, Negotiation, Security Connections, Social to 3 - I'd do more if I was going to get back into missions I suppose.
Trade: A smattering, nothing higher than 3 other than Trade itself (4).










2 comments:

  1. Just a note: You do not need Cloaking V for Bombers. VI is sufficient for Covert Ops Cloak and Bombers do not have a Locking delay anyway.
    But Cloaking V is useful for Recons.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, I didn't think about the locking delay. Of course you're right since you don't need a lock to fire a bomb.

      That will help me trim down what I do in my current Int/Mem remap before I get back to training ships and guns.

      Delete