¶ Null Sec Manual
2SLOW corporation is no longer active. You can use this manual for gaining understanding of null sec life
This is a two section guide for players who seek to join our null sec wing and make their living with the Not Fast But Furious [2SLOW] corporation. The first section of the manual focuses on explaining the requirements and process of joining 2SLOW while the second section is more about explaining you what it is that you can do inside null sec and what are the key services and operation procedures for 2SLOW members. Don”t get scared of the wall of text in here, we do not expect you to memorize the whole manual. It is here simply to be a place for you to refer to in case you end up being lost.
So you feel like that you have tried out everything that high sec space has to offer for you or are you simply looking to find more content in EvE or maybe you just want to get to do some organized PvP? Then null sec space will be the solution for your problems! Life in null sec does not differ much from life in high sec when it comes to basic game mechanisms. Of course there are some new things to be learned but all of it will be easy to learn when you get to use the things in action. Even thou null sec life might seem complicated and scary to you compared to the high sec life it will be as easy or even easier than high sec life once you get to use the things in action. It is all about the learning curve just like it is for the new players who just start out playing eve.
If for some reason the life in null sec does not suit you well then you are always able to return back to the high sec corporations. This guide is assuming that you are joining from a corporation that is already part of SiCO.
In order to get started with your null sec career you need to join the 2SLOW corporation and before you can join it you need to understand a bit more about it.
¶ What is 2SLOW and what do they do?
This corporation is part of a larger null sec alliance called ChaosTheory [KOS] that again belongs to a coalition of different alliances called The Guardians Of The Galaxy [GoTG]. Both 2SLOW and KOS are heavily focusing on the PvP aspect of the game but do also offer a place for miners, manufacturers, explorers and anomalies ratters to operate in. We currently live in a good null sec pocket in the Deklein and Fade regions which allows us to maintain good income between the PvP deployments. 2SLOW is a corporation that was formed from the merging of SEADC and HANKY corporations which were both strong KOS corporations but found out that by joining our resources we could overcome the problems that both of our corporations had been struggling with.
2SLOW has has a heavy focus on PvP and capital ship combat which requires more skill points from the pilots.
To emphasis the focus on PvP the alliance has some mandatory deployments time to time. These deployments are to provide our members pure PvP experience while deploying the whole alliance to siege over a region or to defend our allies. All of our members are expected to join these deployments with at least one character. Between the deployments we return to our home to fatten our wallets.
In addition to the the pure PvP aspect the corporation has a heavy focus on capital ships and capital combat. To aid our members to get into capital ships we have plenty of support programs but in the end it is still a lot of skills to be trained. New members are not required to be able to fly capital ships at the time they join us but they will need to have an active plan for training for them.
The corporation is at war with mercenary corporations for 99.9% of the time. This means that once you join our null wing you will no longer be playing in high-sec space. The only thing that you can’t do in null sec is to run incursions, so if that is your main income source you will need to have an separated alt for incursions or then join the corporation with an alt and run incursions with your main.
¶ Preparations
Now that you have decided that you want to see what the null life is all about it is time to get started. Null sec is all about teamwork and playing together and therefore we require some things from the members that are in our corporation like the alliance requires our corporation to do specific things and meet some goals of theirs. The change in game style is not that dramatic as it might feel and in null sec there are many better ways to earn income than there are in high sec, but you have to understand a few things before you can get in there.
First of all, have a fast look at the section Summary of corporation rules and read them. This will give you a basic idea about what is expected of you and what you can do in null sec without the need to read the whole operating manual section. Besides these rules you will have to follow the alliance rules but the rules of the corporation have been created based on these rules so following them will get you far. If you wish to read more about what it is possible to do inside null sec and what we offer in here you can have a look at the second section of this manual: 2.0 Null sec operating manual. In null sec the most important thing is to play with your corporation and learn from your mistakes and not repeat them.
¶ Recommendations
When joining null sec for the first time you have two different options to choose from.
If you have several characters you can decide to bring one of them into null sec space. This way you can keep on gaining income from high sec just like before while you use the alt inside null sec to do PvP and other null sec stuff. This is probably the easiest way to start out null sec life and it also means that you can dedicate your alt for training null sec skills without the need to alter your skill training on your main. Obviously the downside is that you will need to have two active accounts or at least a multiple character training.
You can also join null sec directly with your main character which requires more training as you want to be able to do several different things with one character (PvP, income, manufacture….). As the corporation also requires you to train towards some specific ship types (capitals and combat doctrines) it might be a good while until you can start or keep on training for your money-making ships.
The goal of this plan is to make sure that the character you are brining in to null sec would be able to fulfill the following tasks:
- To be able to move around in null sec without getting killed – This is done by training for interceptors.
- To be able to fly the entry-level ships that are used in alliance PvP fleets
- To have a solid way of making income – This is done by training for Vexor Navy issue (PvE) and PI skills. Optionally mining skills.
- Understand the very basics of null sec mechanisms – So that you don’t get killed because you have never heard of them
¶ Ships and skills
It is easy for a new player to jump in to null sec life and obtain basics frigates that can be used in fleets. However if these ships are the only ships you are able to fly then you might have some problems getting income in null as there are no missions and the rats in the mining fields are a lot harder than the ones in high sec fields. For this reason we will give you out an example skill training plan which will ensure you that you are both able to attend fleets in null sec as well as get proper income.
The ships that we recommend for you are also the optimal ships to be trained for when aiming to train for the advanced null sec ships that are used in the null sec fleets. The default training que has everything that you need to train for in order to be able to attend 99% of fleets in null sec and ensure that you always have a way of making isk in null sec.
¶ Skill Plan
The skill plan includes skill sets that will allow you to fly different doctrine ships. Each doctrine ship is designed to fulfill the roles mentioned earlier of this section which allows you to live a full life inside null sec and to fulfill your own and alliance goals.
Priority 1 (Interceptors): The very first ship that you should train for when aiming to join null sec is the interceptors. You can train for any of the 4 different racial interceptors but if you do not prefer any over the other then our recommendation for the ship to train for is the Claw (Minmatar). Interceptors are both valid ships for almost every PvP fleets going out and are the best possible way for traveling around in space.
Priority 2 (Caracal or Ospray): The second ship you should aim to train for is the Caracal. This ship works as a entry level ship for the advanced KOS PvP doctrines and is a second step from our high sec Drake doctrine. In case you prefer to play as a logistics pilot you can train for a Ospray fit instead of the caracal.
Priority 3 (Vexor Navy Issue or Procurer): This ship is what will secure your income in null sec. It is used for running anomalies that grants you a secure way of making isk as there are always anomalies up in null sec. It is just like running missions but without the mission agents handling missions for you. The ship we have selected for this role is the: Navy vexor. The navy vexor is one of the best ships you can use to rat in null sec in case you are not able to use more advanced ships. The training for this ship is extremely fast and it will grant you an stable and good way to make money in null sec.
If you already have trained for an equal or better ship than this then you can skip this priority ship. However we strongly recommend that you train for it if you still lack a ship that you could use in null sec to run anomalies as it simply is awesome.
In case you prefer mining over ratting you can skip the vexor training and train for a procurer or a skiff. You will be able to mine high end ore, ice and moon goo in null sec space that will secure your income.
Priority 4 (Planetary Interactions): These skills will allow you to install complex PI setups and allow you to make some isk 24/7 even when you are not playing. If you have no clue what PI is then have a look at it and ask around in the coalition to find out about it. Training these skills to level 4 will grant you a nice income without doing basically anything and they will also help out your corporation and the alliance.
After you have trained for the previous skills you have no reason why you could not live a 100% efficient life in null sec. After you are done with the core skills keep on training for the more advanced ships. If you are unsure what to train for you can seek help from the corporation or look at the basic doctrines we have in here and pick the one you like the most.
Once you have entered null sec space and have lived there for a while you will together with the corporation leadership doctrine the most optimal capital ship skill plan for you.
¶ Funds, assets and knowledge
We recommend that you would have at least 200 mil of liquid isk (isk in your wallet that you can use) before you advance to null sec. You will lose some ships depending on how good you understand the game mechanisms in null and how many unlucky ganks you will get on you (yes it happens but it is almost always avoidable if you keep your eyes open).
Life in null sec is pretty much like life during high sec wars; in most cases there are only friendly players in local list but time to time neutral payers our hostiles show up and this is when you need to be aware and awake so that you don”t lose your shit for nothing. You will also need isk to buy doctrine fits to join the null sec pvp fleets (that are mandatory to be joined up to some degree). There are some cheap fits that you can use as well as the primary doctrines that require more training and isk. All of this will be explained to you in the operating manual and the older members of the corporation will help you to get started.
Understanding standings
Unlike in high sec in null you will need to know who is your ally and who is your enemy as there are no mechanisms that would prevent any players from engaging you or vise versa. How you will identify different players is done by standings. The Alliance has set standings to tons of other alliances that they have formed a coalition with, just similar what we have in Silent Coalition but at a larger scale!
Once a player/corporation or alliance has been set a standing by either you, your corporation or by your alliance all of those players will have a small icon on them! With these icons you can determine if the player is your friend or not!
- Excellent – These players are your coalition allies. They will never pose a threat to you nor should you engage on them.
- Good standing – These are blue players that you should not shoot at. However they are not to be blindly trusted.
- Bad and Terrible standings – These are your set enemies and they are likely to engage you the first chance they get.
- Neutral standing (no standing set) – These players are likely to be enemy scouts or random players looking for fight. You should treat them as your enemies.
¶ Understanding basic mechanisms
The final recommendation is the basic understanding of few game mechanisms. These mechanism include stuff that you use in your everyday common life in null sec. Here are a couple of videos with short explanation of the things you should be aware of when seeking to join life in null sec:
¶ Locking speed and taxi interceptors
All information from your client to EVE servers are transferred over packets that are sent over with “ticks”. These ticks happen each second and all the actions you have performed in the second before the tick is sent are only happening on the server when the tick is sent to the server. For this reason it is possible to make almost “unlockable” ships that are used for traveling around.
The basic idea with “unlockable” taxi ships is that your ship is already in warp before the hostile is able to send over the “lock ship” with the server tick. In order to achieve this your ship has to align and warp in less than two seconds as on the third second the scram command will hit the server and you are stuck.
Keep in mind that you can still be locked by players with very low latency to the server and a “insta lock fit” or killed by smartbombs.
¶ Instant undocking and docking bookmarks
When you are warping to a target you do not always land right next to it. This mainly plays a role only when you are warping to a station in a slow and fragile ship. If your ship lands outside of the docking range of the station you will have to slowboat towards the station which leaves your ship vulnerable.
This mechanic is mainly exploited by high sec war decers and gankers, mainly at trade hubs. If you are moving valuable cargo or otherwise just not paying attention you can easily be killed while docking or undocking from stations.
¶ Warp Bubbles
The major difference for traveling in high sec and null sec is the ability to launch war bubbles in null sec. These bubbles will prevent you from warping and sometimes can manipulate your warp paths. Interceptors are the only ships that are able to warp out from a warp bubble which is why they are very suefull for traveling around. In any other cases you will have to slowburn out of a bubble or optionally if bubbled at a gate take the gate again and jump back where you came from.
¶ Moving to your new home
- After you get the invitation sent to you do not accept it right away! You have to be located in the best possible place so that you have as little high sec traveling to do while in the null sec corporation and as little null sec traveling to do while in the high sec corporations. For this reason after you have received the invitation:
- Ask a 2SLOW member what the current staging system in null sec is and set it as your destination. Buy a interceptor and move to the last high sec system on the route to your new home.
- The route several low security jumps before you enter the first null sec system. This means that for half of the way you do not need to worry about warp bubbles and your greatest dangers are smartbombs.
- If you hesitate or are unsure what route to use or when to move in, ask for help. We can either scout for you or tell you the safest way to get in and help you understand the intel channels.
- Change your route settings to prefer the shortest route – in null sec you always want to prefer the fastest route as there are no “safe routes”.
- After you have located yourself in the last high sec system along the route accept the invite and start to make your way in.
¶ Traveling Options
You are now ready to move to your new home. Start to make your way to your new home station and use intel channels to find out about any possible threats.
¶ Using a taxi
Using a taxi – One of the safest travel methods in null sec is to use a “taxi“. A taxi is a interceptor that is fitted to align in less than 2 seconds which makes it very hard to be locked before it warps away. Due to how server ticks works in EVE only ships that are specifically fitted as “instant lockers” are able to catch these taxi ships (most often Svipuls are used for this). The second way to kill a taxi ceptor is to use smart bombs as a gate but as this requires battleships they are rather rare (expect at final low sec gates towards high sec). As the interceptors are also immune to warp bubbles they can easily travel around null sec without getting caught in bubbles or getting killed by gate campers.
You can find all our primary locations from the corporation MOTD
¶ Using a shuttle
Using a shuttle – If you are unable to fly the interceptors the second safest way to get to null sec with your implants in your head is by using a shuttle. The only reason why the shuttle is more vulnerable than the interceptor is that the shuttle is not immune to warp bubbles!
¶ Medical clone jump
The another method to get to null is to set your medical clone to one of our null stations and self destruction. Keep in mind that you are only able to remotely change your medical station once per 365 days but this might just be the time to do it.
- Open your medical facility window while docked up
- Click on change station
- Select a corporation office, preferably he staging system station
- Click on self destruct
Set your medical clone to the alliance staging system! – You can find the current staging system from the corporation MOTD. Open the medical clone service and set the station you are in as your home station. This is super important as when you get killed you will start from the null sec station instead of your high sec station.
You are now set asset wise for your new life in null sec. However after you have moved yourself to null sec follows the most important step in your move: 1.5 Registering to mandatory services
You are obligated to register to the KOS services! If you skip this part your character will show up in our systems and we will have to spend our time to figure out why you are not registered.
¶ Null Sec Operating Manual 2SLOW Procedures
There are many things to do in null sec so we are going to cover only the basics in here and help you to get started. At best the content in null sec can grant you access to riches and fame and boost the content of your gameplay. At worse if you do not know what you are doing and do not follow the rules you keep losing ships and are left out from the coalition fleets. As null sec is all about teamwork you are required to join fleets and help out other members. The CEO and officers will track your progress and make sure that you understand what is required from you and that you fulfill the alliance requirements. What is most important is that you openly ask when you have questions and learn from your mistakes and in time null sec will be as easy as 123.
¶ Sovereignty space
What separates null sec space from High, Low and wormhole space is that it can be owned by the actual alliances living in there. There are two different types of null sec space; sovereignty null sec (sov null) and NPC owned null sec space. The NPC null-sec is similar to the other systems in eve and it can”t be owned by the alliances. There are several benefits and game mechanisms that only works in sov space which makes the systems worth fighting for. To fight off hostile threats when defending their own space or when assaulting hostile space is what drives the null sec alliances to constantly develop their strategies and assets. The sov mechanism in eve is an extremely complicated systems and in this guide we will only cover the general things and try to explain why and how an individual player can affect the system.
The full work of the sov system is explained fairly well in the CCP sov tutorial video that is linked above. So if you are not into reading you can try to learn the most of the sov structure system by watching that video and participating in fleets.
¶ Entosis Link – The sov laser
Aegis patch in eve introduced the largest null sec changes since the sov system release. The key module for sov system is a high sec module called Entosis Link. This item is used to defend and siege sov structures such as Outposts (player build and owned stations), territorial claim units (that determines who owns the system) and Infrastructure Hubs (that can be used to upgrade the systems). The module itself has several effects on the ships that is using it for example it increases the mass of the ship greatly and disallows all docking and warping activities.
Instead of shooting at the sov structures like it was in the old sov mechanism in the pre Aegis EVE the Entosis link is used on sov structures to change their statuses. Likewise an Entosis Link is used to defend the same structures from attacks. Only one link has effect on the structure at the same time, meaning having more than one link from the defending or attacking force will have no effects on the timers or force of the Entosis Link.
When the item is used on a structure the defending alliance will receive a message about an possible attack on a structure. The first cycle of the hostile Entosis link is a warm up cycle and it will not effect on the status of the structure. After the first warmup cycle the actual capture cycle starts and if it is the structure will enter its next state. If a defender arrives and uses its own entosis link on the same structure that the attacker is siegeing then the siege progress will pause until either of the links are offlined (or the ships killed). This means that a single solo pilot is able to siege or defend sov structures without a need of massive fleet!
The following video will explain the usage of entosis links.
¶ Sovereignty upgrades and Indexes
There are several benefits for owning to sov as an alliance. Besides of the great fact that the POS fuel usage is reduced for all of the POS structures that are anchored within alliance sov space there are several things that are only possible while holding the sov space. To install system upgrades the alliance has to anchor a Infrastructure Hub in to the system. Once anchored several different upgrades can be installed on the system. There is a huge variety of different sov upgrades so in here we will only cover the basics so that you get an idea why its worth of owning the sov space
¶ Jump Bridges
To anchor jump bridges the system has to have an proper upgrade in it. The usage of jump bridges is covered in a later section
¶ Combat Upgrades
These upgrades makes the combat anomalies to instantly respawn once cleaner out! This makes it possible for the PvE pilots to constantly farm out the re-spawning anomalies without the need of waiting for them to naturally spawn
¶ Industry upgrades
Similar to the combat anomalies there is an upgrade that constantly makes mining anomalies to respawn. Once the system has a high enough industry index it can constantly spawn insanely large asteroid anomalies that contains more ore than a normal high sec player could ever image.
¶ Super capital Upgrades
To build supers and titans you will need a supercapital assembly array. If the system is not upgraded with a upgrade that makes it possible to anchor these systems then there is no way to build a super or a titan. In other words if you want to go big, you need sov.
¶ Indexes and Entosis link
Each system has 3 different Indexes that are related to the different activities that are done in the system. The higher the level of the index is the longer it takes for an attacker to complete the Entosis Link cycle on a structure. For this reasons alliances wants to keep all of the 3 indexes as high as possible at all times to allow more time for the defending of the structures during the invulnerability window. This is also the reason why the alliance has mining and ratting operations to raise these indexes. Also the work of an individual person will increase / maintain the indexes of that system but obviously its not as effective.