One thing I have noticed during my travels throughout highsec space is just how quiet it is, there could be over 100 people in local, and not a single word is uttered between those players. This makes me sad, so I like to encourage discourse where possible.
Sometimes, however, opening your mouth can be more trouble than it’s worth.
In the system of Inaro I had found an abandoned Gecko, a very expensive drone just lying out there in the cold dark of space. It wasn’t long before multiple people piped-up in local to claim ownership of the drone. This exchange in local was accompanied by 2 seperate private convos from each of the claimants.
Pix Severus > o/
Katakuna Katotekushi > hey
Katakuna Katotekushi > you won’t believe it, but it’s from my friend’s rattle
Katakuna Katotekushi > can i have it back and give it to him?
Katakuna Katotekushi > he forgot it after he ran away to the station
Pix Severus > nice try friend, but there is no way to know for certain it was your friend’s drone
Pix Severus > have a nice day!ChikaPika > Please,return my gecko
ChikaPika > its my boyfriend account
ChikaPika > and i cant lose 1 of his gecko
Pix Severus > this is literally the 2nd private convo from someone lying, saying its theirs
Pix Severus > i applaud your efforts though, have a nice day!
I almost had cause to believe Katakuna when he said it was his friend’s drone, that was until ChikaPika convoed me saying it was actually her boyfriend’s drone, and then I quickly remembered what kind of game EVE Online is. Needless to say neither party had put a good enough case forward, and I confiscated the drone for my own personal use.
Shortly after leaving Inaro, I received the following notification, which I treated as the last desperate measure of a scammer who couldn’t get her own way.
I had only been passing through Inaro while on my way to one of my favourite MTU hunting grounds, and as luck would have it, I found another abandoned Gecko later on that night in my destination system of Lanngisi. The following day I found yet another Gecko in the system of Amygnon. There were no further claimants.
Upon arriving in the system of Aufay one night, my D-scan lit-up with the familiar sight of a Mobile Tractor Unit. Whilst probing it down, it became apparent that this MTU wasn’t abandoned, but was accompanied by a Hulk. Unusally, both the MTU and the mining ship were nowhere near an asteroid belt, which is where you’d expect such a ship to operate, so out of interest I decided to take a look.
After warping to the MTU’s signature, I found myself some 30k away from the MTU and the miner, inside a Mining Mission. The miner quickly scooped the MTU and began negotiations.
Menodian > how much do u want
Pix Severus > its ok, i dont hurt miners
Pix Severus > i just hunt down abandoned mtus
Menodian > okay ty
Pix Severus > have a nice day sir
The miner had instantly assumed I was there to hunt him and wasted no time in offering me a ransom, which I declined. I was only there for the MTU, and since it had been scooped, there was nothing left of interest to me. In hindsight I could have perhaps taken this a little further and tried to convince him to let me have his MTU.
At this point, the miner warped away and docked at a nearby station, and shortly afterwards opened a private convo with me.
Menodian > if got a noob question
Pix Severus > ok
Menodian > how did you find me :O
Pix Severus > i fit a probe launcher to my ship, and used combat probes, mobile tractor units are very easy to scan down
Menodian > okay thanks m8
Menodian > i’m worried the wil gank me lol
Pix Severus > you fly a hulk yes?
Menodian > yes
Pix Severus > consider using a skiff instead, most gankers tend to avoid those because they have huge ehp
Menodian > okay ill buy one and sell my hulk
Pix Severus > hulks have better yield, but are very weak
Pix Severus > and make sure to put a tank on the skiff
Menodian > okay
Pix Severus > the reason most miners die though is because they mine afk, which gives gankers lots of time to kill, mining can be tricky these days
Menodian > yeah i no i lost a hulk already lol
Menodian > brb diner time thanks m8 for advice
Pix Severus > np, feel free to chat anytime o/
It would seem, then, that the miner had chosen to mine inside of Mining Missions for the purpose of avoiding gankers, not a bad idea, but as you can see it won’t stop people from probing you down regardless. In EVE Online, the best advice is always free, if you ever have any questions about the game, follow Menodian’s example above.
Unfortunately Menodian chose not to follow my advice, and instead began mining using Retrievers, weak and easily gankable mining vessels, of which he has lost a few already.
That just about wraps up this edition of Vocal Local, if you see me in space, give me a wave. o/
MTU Hunter 