Tools of the trade

Over the weekend I downloaded the new EveHQ and was playing around with getting it setup.  So far I like some aspects of it better than the tools I have been using and some less.

On the plus side, the asset tracker is awesome.  The ability to quickly see where all your stuff is on all your characters is awesome.  The pricing is way off, and I have not dug in enough to see how to make that more accurate.  Same thing with the ability to quickly see you cash balance for all your characters and corporations.

The POS manager looks good, though I have not had a chance to dig into it in depth.

The ship fittings tool is not the greatest, but it does seem to have a nice cap simulator, as well as a damage analysis that I have not checked out.  I hear the fleet manager is pretty sweet, and I also think there is a way to show what pilots can fly what ships, which would be nice for corp fittings.

Overall, I am sure going to spend a few more afternoons playing around with EveHQ and seeing the depth of what is available.

EveHQ can be found here.

So this got me thinking what other "tools" outside of EVE people use.  It has been said many times EVE is really about "flying spreadsheets" and over time I have used my fair share of tools outside of the game to both be better at the game and save time and effort.

The first tool anyone ever introduced me to was Evemon.  Still one of the most essential tools of the game.  Maximizing training time and focusing skills is essential in EVE and Evemon is essential in doing that.  I remember the days before the skills queue and it was essential to make sure you knew the short and long skills you were training for, when they would end and what time to set the alarm for.  Now with the queue its more about overall planning, attribute resets and seeing if those +4 implants in Null are justified.  If you don't know where to find Evemon, I seriously doubt you play eve enough to be reading this blog.

I used to use Ombey's 2D maps all the time, but I have migrated to Dotlan. I mean who does not want to know the number of jumps, the NPC Kills, the Ship kills and Pod kills in pretty much close to real time.  I mean I can tell you right now as I write this blog that someone is clearing my wormhole of anomolies.  I know I have a K162 into my system, since I did not open the static last night.  I also use Dotlan when planning a roam to see where the botters are ratting, and what systems in the area are hot.  Dotlan also offers navigation tools to see what Jump Cal V will get you in terms of additional systems within range.  It also has many other tools I have yet to explore.  Overall I loved Ombey's maps and still have a paper copy of the area near where I live, but really I use Dotlan for almost all my mapping needs now.

Another "new" tool is Staticmapper.  While not 100% accurate due to allowing user input, it is invaluable to anyone living in W-Space. The amount of time this tool has saved me is probably into the days by now.  To be able to jump into a system with 8-10 signatures and pretty much know the statics is awesome.  Sure I might have missed a few routes through K162's and transient wormholes, but not scanning 8-10 sigs looking for the static is very cool.  

While I hate the static nature of missions and anomolies and wish CCP would do something to randomize the triggers, Eve-Survival is a must have for anyone making a living off PvE.

Need to find a locator agent? Want to find the closest L4 agent for a particular NPC?  A quick trip to EVE-Agents.com will help you there.  I have used it often to find the closest locator agent when a war target has come online.  Worth a glance.

Of course, BattleClinic to see if that Ungolas guy in local talking smack is really THAT good.

And probably the last tool I use on a regular basis is Eve Fitting Tool or EFT.  Invaluable in playing with skills and modules, implants, and boosters, fleet boosts and WH effects to see how they will effect a ships performance.

I used to have a copy of Halada's mining guide, but I have long since lost that.  I recently downloaded Volume 1 of the ISK guide and am wading through those 400 pages of information.  I use Eve-Central to check prices, but have almost no knowledge of the true power of that tool so I will not touch on it.

So those are some of the tools I use (not counting the PI charts and stuff from a number of sites).

I would love to hear the tools others are using on a regular basis.

Fly Safe,

Mick