I really like the “new” moon mining mechanics CCP introduced in 2017. Oh sorry, did I mention I took a nine year hiatus from EVE? Well, there you have it. To me this way of mining moons is new.
Back all those years the talk had always been about how to make the process of extracting resources from moons more accessible and enjoyable for players. When I ran Alliance POS operations with a friend of mine I recall just flying around with a Freighter and collecting non descript items from a POS module’s inventory. It was a bit like shifting inventory items between heroes in Baldur’s Gate in 1998: a boring nuisance but somehow necessary.
Still, basically it was free stuff. You really didn’t have to do anything to get it but it was worth a lot.
The Lifeblood update changed all that in 2017 when with the emerging Upwell structures you got access to a specific station module called a Moon Drill. But it didn’t end there, because CCP really managed to introduce a game mechanic where players in internet spaceships were needed to extract, haul, reprocess and then sell the stuff. I know, at the end of the day it’s “just” the old mining mechanics but I find the changes still refreshing and engaging.
On the one hand it’s fun to have another chance of mining ore, because basically that’s what I like to do. And on the other hand it provides another opportunity for group play. Ah, and the relative safety of the Upwell nearby gives plenty of room for experimenting with various mining barge or exhumer fittings in order to fine tune them for “lunar” purposes and maybe give your hauler alt a break and put him into a Venture for a change.
This mechanic, along with a funny thing called a mining ledger, also makes it more attractive to structure Alliance income around moon taxes. In other words, it gives the higher-ups nice toys to play around with so they don’t exclusively have to rely on renters or corporation taxation. After all, the Alliance giveth, the Alliance taketh. But I think it’s okay as long as it’s transparent. And intransparency was what always made space landlords and renting out space to others a shady, dodgy thing.
And after all this war that’s going on in the North is all about ending space renting and bringing the afk empires down, right? Right? Yeah, see? Everything turns out fine in the end. Or something…
And all this of course is known to your enemies and it sure draws them towards the moon goo like moths to the fire. That’s why it’s not all happening according to plan. To your plan I mean…
Sometimes the quiet and peace can be a bit “rocky”, pun intended. That’s because you can literally look up moons and the rarity of their stuff on sites like DOTLAN and part of intel gathering always included keeping track of the amount of cynos and this “new” thing called ADM in the industrial hub systems of any given nullsec alliance. The thing is, moon minerals are so dense and heavy you sooner or later need the “big guys” to haul the stuff, be it a Rorqual or a Jumpfreighter. You know people keep track of these two factors when gangs start to show up just when moon chunks are being worked on.
Then the fun starts. Ever baited them with a nos-scram-webbing pack of Mackinaws?
An ode to joy: Miners with claws.
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