The Suitcase Carrier

The old mantra in Eve is to trust no one. In general, that's how I operate in this game. I trust fleet members and corp mates, but less so with my ships and isk. Everyone has a breaking point in terms of where they can be tempted to steal.

When it comes to moving my gear across the universe, a Carrier seemed like the only good option for me. I've trusted corp mates before with no problem, but I also don't like to be a burden. The "Suitcase" Carrier is a fitting optimized to be jump-ready as soon as possible, and you can pack in a fair amount of ships via the ship maintenance bay, which holds 1,000,000 m3. That maintenance bay is an interesting cargohold because the ships need to be assembled to go in there. This means that you can fit 30+ fitted frigates in there, or only about 4 battlecruisers. Its your call, but there are a lot of options.

First Cyno I lit

With the action in Delve over the past couple weeks, I decided it was time to get my suitcase carrier operational. I trained up a quick cyno alt and fitted the Thanatos to the gills with capacitor mods.

[Thanatos, Suitcase]

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Capital Armor Repairer I
Capacitor Flux Coil II
Capacitor Flux Coil II

Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II

Heavy Energy Neutralizer II
Heavy Energy Neutralizer II
Heavy Energy Neutralizer II
Large Proton Smartbomb II
Large Proton Smartbomb II

Large Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Large Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Large Semiconductor Memory Cell I



The actual moving of the carrier is detailed extremely well by The Eve Altruist. I looked over his guide extensively before I actually fired up the cyno for my first move. There are a few quick points I'd emphasize for the trip though. If you're moving through lowsec, you likely won't be aggroed on station if you're above -5.0 sec status. If someone does try some funny business, you get station gun support. I'd say this trend was true for the cyno alts too, but its not. I've popped plenty of cyno alts for no reason other than I was bored. It will happen; you will lose the occasional Kestrel.

Cynoing into the Docking Ring

Also, you can cyno directly into docking range many times. On the above picture, the cyno alt had 5km clearance in all directions, and I cynoed the Carrier inside the undock. As long as your careful with an offlined Salvager I (which gives the 5km bubble on the tactical overlay), you can usually get into instant docking range.

The last big thing I'd recommend is to plan the trip carefully before you get moving. Use Dotlan's Jump Planner. Its a great application. It gives you a lot of choice in what system you want to jump into, especially with regards to cynoing to stations. Also, pack plenty of jump fuel. You wouldn't want to click the "Jump To" button only to find you can't make the trip. And lastly, try to keep a low profile. I have always kept my Thanatos docked until the second I'm ready to make the jump. Make sure the fleet is up and the cyno is lit before you undock and press jump.

In the end, I'd recommend the Suitcase Carrier for anyone with 2+ accounts and the means to do so. Its very self sufficient, and when done right, there is very minimal risk. Essentially, it operates the same way as a jump freighter, but it has much smaller cargo holds. On the positive side, its not entirely defenseless. Far from it. Plus, you've always got that fun toy in the background in case a hotdrop situation comes up. You can't do that with a jump freighter ;-)