1. 📖 The Basics — What You’re Mining
Fullerene Gases (unique to wormholes)
- Used in Tech III production (strategic cruisers, subsystems, and components).
- Found in wormhole gas sites (“Fullerite C50 Cloud”, etc.).
Categories:
- Common gases: C50, C60, C70, C72 (moderate ISK/hr).
- Rare gases: C320, C540 (jackpot sites, extremely high value).
Where They Spawn
- C1–C3 wormholes: mostly C50, C60, C70, C72.
- C4–C6 wormholes: chance for C320 and C540 (the big money).
- Gas sites appear as Cosmic Signatures, must be scanned down with probes.
2. 🚢 Ships & Fittings
Entry Level
- Venture
- +2 warp core strength.
- Can fit 2 gas harvesters.
- Cheap and expendable.
Cloaky Ninja Mining
- Prospect (Expedition Frigate)
- Covert Ops cloak → warp cloaked, hide from hunters.
- 2–3 gas harvesters.
- Good agility, hard to catch.
- Endurance
- Can cloak (but not Covert Ops).
- Specializes in ice, but can gas mine.
- Less used for wormholes.
Fleet Options
- Porpoise
- Can fit gas compressor.
- Provides boosts.
- Cheaper and smaller than Orca → wormhole friendly.
- Orca
- Can enter wormholes but very risky target.
- Usually not worth the risk unless defended.
3. ⚙️ Advanced Fittings
Prospect Ninja Gas Mining Fit (example):
- High: 2x Gas Cloud Harvester II
- Mid: 5MN MWD, Scan Res Booster, Shield Extender
- Low: Inertial Stabilizers / Nanofibers
- Utility: Covert Ops Cloak, Core Probe Launcher
- Rigs: Small Core Defense Extender rigs
- Cargo: Mobile Depot (optional for refits), Probes, Nanite Paste
Key idea → Survive first, profit second. A dead miner mines nothing.
4. 🛡️ Survival Tactics
- Cloak Discipline → Warp cloaked whenever not harvesting. Drop cloak only when locking the cloud.
- D-Scan → Constantly check. Set to 1 AU while in site to catch hunters entering.
- Safe Bookmarks → Create safe spots between celestials, always mine aligned.
- Rolling Holes → Corps often collapse unwanted wormholes to control entry routes.
- Scout Alt → Park at wormhole entrances to warn of incoming hunters.
5. ⚔️ Site Mechanics & Sleeper Spawns
- Most wormhole gas sites are empty at first.
- After a set timer (usually 15–20 minutes after first warp-in), Sleeper NPCs spawn (frigates, cruisers, or worse).
- These rats will shred Ventures/Prospects quickly.
- Advanced tactic:
- Enter site, bookmark the gas cloud, and warp out.
- Wait for sleepers to spawn, then clear them with combat ships or accept that the site is lost.
- Return to mine once safe.
⚠️ Many solo gas miners simply harvest until sleepers spawn, then warp off. Cloaky ninja miners treat every trip as “get what you can before rats or hunters arrive.”
6. 💰 ISK Potential
Common Gases (C50, C60, C70, C72)
- ~20–50m ISK/hour solo in Venture/Prospect.
- Abundant, lower risk.
Rare Gases (C320, C540)
- 200–500m ISK/hour possible.
- Extremely valuable but rare.
- Attract hunters like bees to honey — expect PvP.
7. 📦 Logistics & Compression
- Gas is bulky → you’ll fill your cargo fast.
- Use Porpoise with Gas Compressor to compress on-site → more efficient hauling.
- Stage in a wormhole citadel (Astrahus/Raitaru) or high-sec station near static exit.
- Haul with cloaky haulers (Blockade Runners) or DSTs.
8. 👥 Solo vs Fleet Gas Mining
- Solo Ninja Mining → Prospect or Venture, quick hit-and-run, minimal investment, lower risk.
- Fleet Ops → Porpoise/Orca with boosts, Skiffs/Procurers or cloaky Prospects for harvest, scouts for defense. Big yields but require coordination and bring risk of being rolled into or hunted.
9. 🚀 Path for Serious Gas Miners
- Start with a Venture in high-sec gas or C1–C2 wormholes.
- Train into Prospect for covert ops ninja mining.
- Join a wormhole corp with infrastructure to run Porpoise-supported gas ops.
- Focus on C320/C540 hunting — where the real ISK lies.
- Scale into Tech III industry, refining your own gas into polymers and components for even greater profit.
✅ Summary
Wormhole gas mining is one of the highest ISK/hour activities in the game when you find rare gases. Success comes from:
- Cloaky ships (Prospect/Endurance)
- Constant vigilance (D-scan, scouts, safes)
- Knowledge of spawn timers and when to cut losses
- Compression and hauling strategy
Think of it as ninja looting in space: quick strikes, silent exits, and never staying long enough for hunters or sleepers to catch you.