[Venture, Venture alpha]
Miner I
Miner I
Salvager I
Survey Scanner I
Medium Shield Extender I
1MN Afterburner I
Damage Control I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Thermal Shield Reinforcer I
Hobgoblin I x2
Mining frigates are primarily intended for gathering resources rather than combat. As such, this ship’s turret hardpoints are used for mining lasers rather than weaponry, leaving it unarmed. For self-defense in asteroid belts, or for missions where destroying ships is required in addition to mining ore, it is highly recommended to train for the use of Drones. Otherwise, if you find yourself forced into combat, your best option is to simply run away.
The Venture uses two Miner I in its high slots.
Its role bonus makes them as effective as four Miners would be on most other ships,
and training the Mining Frigate skill higher can improve that further. Note that mined ore
will go into the venture’s 5000 m3 ore hold, rather than its 50 m3 main cargo bay.
It also mounts a Survey Scanner I in a mid slot,
which you can use to view the amount of ore remaining in nearby asteroids,
so that you will know when your current asteroid is nearly depleted
and which others have the largest amount of ore (and thus the most uninterrupted mining time).
This fit uses a Medium Shield Extender I in one of the mid slots to give it additional shield HP,
providing it more time to react and escape in case of attack.
It also fits a Damage Control I in a low slot to increase its resistance to damage.
The Venture also includes two Hobgoblin I drones to defend itself against weak NPC pirates.
Remember to recall your drones before warping, or if they begin taking damage from enemy fire.
To use the combat drones, you will need to train the skills Drones III and Light Drone Operation I.
We recommend you use some of the skill points from the Mini Skill Injector
given in the tutorial to train these skills, as they will be useful in many ships.
You will need to purchase a skillbook from the Market to learn Light Drone Operation.
The 1MN Afterburner I provides your ship with additional speed. This makes it quicker to
fly between asteroids, and helps in evading hostile targets.
The Salvager I allows you to salvage any Wrecks you come across for valuable materials.
It is not part of the primary purpose of this ship, but can provide some side income
when the opportunity arises.
Rigs are passive modifications to a ship, trading off one attribute against another. Unlike modules, rigs cannot be removed without being destroyed. As a starter fit, this fit makes limited use of rigging, since many “optimal” rigs are often relatively expensive and may be difficult to find near your starter station.
This fit uses two Small EM Shield Reinforcer I and one Small Thermal Shield Reinforcer I
to improve the damage resistance of its shields.
The Venture is a mining frigate. As such, it should primarily be looking through asteroid belts and ore Anomalies for valuable rocks, harvesting them, and selling the ore or using it for industry, while avoiding combat whenever possible.
Simply fly your ship within range (10km) of an asteroid and activate your mining lasers. You can split them between asteroids or focus them on a single rock as you desire.
In systems of 0.8 security or lower, NPC pirates will appear in the asteroid belts. Your shields allow you to sustain fire from weaker rats for some time, but it is probably best to simply find a different asteroid belt, until you’ve trained in the use of Combat Drones which can destroy the attackers for you.
As always, if incoming damage is proving too much for your ship and you’re beginning to take structure damage, warp out.
The above fit should be usable with starting skills unless otherwise noted, and it uses relatively cheap and widely-available modules.
As you accumulate skill points and ISK, you will be able to fit more potent modules to your ship, increasing its effectiveness. These modules may not be readily available outside of trade hubs, but it can be worth the trip.
We recommend working towards the following improved fit:
[Venture, Venture alpha+]
Miner II
Miner II
Survey Scanner II
Medium Azeotropic Restrained Shield Extender
5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Thermal Shield Reinforcer I
Hobgoblin I x2
The improved fit will require the training of the following skills to use all installed equipment:
Mining Level IVShield Upgrades Level IVMining Upgrades Level IVDrones Level IIILight Drone Operation Level IThe improved fit uses a 5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive rather than an Afterburner.
An MWD takes a large amount of capacitor to run,
and causes a large increase to your ship’s signature radius,
meaning that unlike the Afterburner, it is not useful for evading enemy fire.
However, it provides a massively increased speed bonus.
You should activate the MWD only when moving to a new position, and disable it once you have arrived.
Once you have the skills to use them, you should fill your Drone Bay with Combat Drones.
Hobgoblin I drones have the most damage output, while Warrior I drones have the most speed.
The improved fit uses a Mining Laser Upgrade II in place of the Damage Control.
This weakens the Venture’s defenses, but increases its ore intake.
Additionally, it replaces one Anti-EM rig with a Small Core Defense Field Extender I,
for more overall shield HP at the cost of some vulnerability to EM damage.
The improved fit no longer mounts the Salvager, as the enhancements to its mining lasers consume the CPU that would be required.
Nearly every module has been improved to a “meta” version, requiring less fitting space and granting improved effectiveness, but costing more ISK and/or being less widely available, or a t2 version, which costs more ISK, requires more skillpoints, and is harder to fit:
Miner IIMedium Shield Extender IISurvey Scanner II