How does loot work, where do I get it and what do I do with it?

How do I get Loot?

Loot drops from:

1. Structures in space
2. Ships
3. Containers

What's the difference of looting in high-security space versus low, null or Wormhole Space?

There is a difference in type of the loot that drops as loot - and then the loot that is dropped as part of derived interaction result (ie. salvaging, hacking or archeology).

Generally, the lower the security level of the system, the more valuable the loot (and resources) will be.

Known space (High-sec, low-sec or null-sec) loot

In high-security space you will encounter stuff dropping in the wrecks themselves directly which you can pick up and place directly in your cargo hold:

• Meta 0-4 ship modules
• Metal scraps
• The occasional Faction modules
• Ammunition
• Trade goods, Livestock, Minerals, Insignia, blue print copies etc.

With know space loot you also have derived actions that will produced derived loot:

• Via Salvaging: Salvaged Materials (used for rigs production)
• Via Reprocessing: Minerals (used in producing almost any item, ships, modules etc.).
• Via Hacking: faction items, decryptors, datacores, BP copies, materials, spatial attunement units, skill books and industrial goods.
• Via Archeology: Skill books, BP copies, T1-T2 salvage and spatial attunement units

 

Wormhole loot

In Wormhole space the loot items obtained (directly or derived) varies a bit and people tend to gravitate to focus on sleeper loot for ISK production. One anomaly in a class 5 or 6 wormhole, using capital ships to escalate directly can produce blue loot in the range of 700 million to a billion ISK. Blue loot is used in tech 3 ship production.

Due to the difficulty in such an effort, this is typically done by groups using specialized ships (T3 for tackle, Dreads for DPS, FAX'es for logi and a specialized salvage Legion with T2 salvagers and drones for clearing the field), while gas and ore sites can be completed solo with quite a bit of specializiation - although you can't really classify this as loot in the traditional sense.
Even though hacking and archeology is available in plenty, people tend to leave most of these cans and focus on just 1-2 to increase ISK effeciency.

PVP loot

PVP loot can be a variety of everything really - from junk to bling cargo. Since you can scan ships for a possible 50% loot return, you can know in advance what the wreck will provide but you can also be really unlucky. If a ship carries 50 plex and 50 minerals, you'll have a 50% chanche of either of the two types since each unit is handled as a 50% chance roll. The chance of ending up with 50 minerals is just as good as the chance to get the 50 PLEX.
Tech 2 ship wrecks also provide a bit of T2 salvage, used in T2 production. So clearing a field after a large battle can be useful.

The scanning module is also a proponent for suicide ganking, which is why care has to be taken when transporting your loot to the trade hub.

Suicide ganking is the purpose or art of killing another ship, for less than the cost of your own ship.

What do I do with Loot?

The most commonly used skills for derived loot is also usually based on your preferred game play style, but having all posibilities for derived loot (salvaging, hacking, archeology) in the end will allow you to enjoy several other side-activities, of which all are profitable and very different from traditional mission running or ratting.

Salvaging

If you enjoy running missions, you can increase your ISK income by also salvaging the wrecks for "Salvaged Materials", while turning cheap modules into Minerals via reprocessing and selling off any valuable modules.

Going for ISK effeciency per hour, sometimes means just going straight for the mission objective disregarding all other rats.

Reprocessing

You can use the reprocessing interface to determine the types you can reprocess, or you can use your own filter before adding the modules you want to reprocess. The intention of the iconology (with the markers shown below) is to provide you with an idea of what types cannot be reprocessed, which types can be reproccessed profitably which items are not profitable to reprocess based on market value of the item vs the market value of the end product (ie. the sum of the market value of the minerals).

Reprocessing your vanilla loot, means reducing the cubic metres if ISK you need to transport at the end to a market hub, along with all your other more profitable loot and salvage.




Even reprocessing can be improved upon, and is also worth a guide of its own.

Transporting

Transporting stuff is a big enough question to foster a guide of its own.
Basically you put your stuff in a properly fit transport and fly to a market hub, but more importantly - you do this securely. No point in leaving your mission hub in a hauler and arrive in a pod. You need to actually get the loot there before you can turn it into ISK by selling it.

Once you have reached your market hub, then you can sell your goods and maybe buy new stuff for the ISK your earned from your loot - and then you want to make the trip back to the mission hub using the same methods, while also applying insta-undock bookmarks for added safety.

Selling the loot

Once inside the market hub, you can start to sell of your goods. There is also a few ways to increase the ISK by reducing the taxes (everything takes an effort and ISK in this game) through increasing standings with the station and via skills.
Be mindful of where and how you sell your goods. Some NPC's will buy at a fixed price, while players will generally buy at an increased price (because they need it for production) - and yet some will put up ridiculous market orders in order to validate a scam.
Some items can be viably sold via sell orders to increase profit a bit, while others can be sold off in bulk to market buy orders directly.

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Changelog:
September 18th 2016: Published