Life among the sleepers

Life in a wormhole is quite different that High-Security space...

Not just harder, but more difficult in a different way entirely. There are a lot of risks that EvE players assume and manage when flying in Empire space. Among High-Sec these include rats, gankers, and people scamming in local. These risks are expected, these risks can be managed to the point of inconsequence, these risks do not prepare one for life in a worm hole. "What about null sec then?" one may ask. Well, 0.0 space is a little bit better in that you have to constantly assume that you will lose your ship and everything you are carrying. This will at least get you used to the idea of loss, however even in SOV space you can 9 times out of 10 see your impending doom coming thanks to the local channel.

Wormhole space is a lot like 0.0 space: non-consensual PvP is allowed without repercussion, there is the ability to gas mine, ABC ores are prevalent, and ratting makes you really good ISK (but only if you salvage)
Wormhole space is also unlike 0.0 space: in that you cannot claim sovereignty (so ship construction that requires it), additionally you can control the entrances and the exits of your wormhole to some degree. Really, the main concern when living in a worm hole is the appearance of a new random connection wormhole at some point during the day; and this is where the lack of a local channel is primarily felt. There will be no advanced warning by seeing a new name pop up in chat. If you are lucky, the first indication that you are no longer alone will be either combat probes or a ship appearing on your D-Scan. If you are unlucky, your first hint will be when a Legion or a cov-ops ship pops up on the overview and points you. If you are really really unlucky (IE: stupid and/or lazy) you will notice when you pop up in high-sec in a freshly grown clone.

More often than not the wormhole on the other side will be empty or inactive, however there are times when it isn't and roaming gangs will pour out making you cry carebear tears as they blow up and pod your precious ratting Carrier or mining Hulk. Occasionally you will get a group of players who look at your wormhole and decide that they like it much better than their own. This is really bad news for you because they will send in a transport ship with a tower and fuel and enough defensive modules to make it hard for you to take out. This is why one of the first orders of business should be to build yourself a dreadnaught and a carrier and have the ability to fly them at the same time. This will allow make it easier for you to go and bash their POS down; however if they put up any sort of fight you will be just as dead. Unless you are doing some serious multi-boxing you will need to enlist the support of some friends or a friendly mercenary corporation that you trust because you really do need that support fleet to protect your capital ships. Believe it or not even those powerful capital ships are vulnerable to small T1 cruisers and battle cruisers and it would be really a shame to lose that heavy investment.

Wormholes can be a really good source of income though. The ratting is great ISK if you salvage, the scan sites are all great, and the PI is awesome. With the proper POS setups you can also make everything for yourself  and do not have to exit into High-sec for weeks at a time. Unless you are with a small group, they can get very boring over long stretches of time. EvE is a multiplayer game and it is hard to be in that experience cut off from everyone







Just make sure that you know what you are doing if you go into one alone or go to live in one.