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FirestormGamingTeam's avatar

My personal favourite is DED farming, this essentially means hitting every high-sec anomaly in a quiet area, in search of Escalations, which is where a site will spawn an Escalation which is normally a DED (Concord) complex such as a 3/10 or 4/10 and in these sites, you can loot Deadspace Items which are often worth hundreds of millions of ISK.

You of course can also get Faction rats (npcs) which spawn at the end of the anomaly and will drop ammo/faction tags and sometimes faction modules, if you run the drone sites you can get Sentient Drones which spawn at the end and drop drone components or AI chips.

Below is a 4/10 Scout outpost video we did, which dropped 300+ Million ISK in loot.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/U3yl9srNit4?feature=oembed

JHenckes's avatar

Mission Running and lots of Loot hahaha.

To give you some context, since I know that my alternative is not one of the most popular: I've been an MMORPG player all my life, and the activities I most enjoy doing in this style of game are quests. I can't see an exclamation mark on the map and I'm off to fulfill the NPC's request hahaha, and this is no different in EVE. When I finished my career missions, Mission Running was released, and you can be sure that I started doing a lot of them for various NPC agents to earn ISKs. Most of them involved combat missions (since that's another thing I really like about the game), so it ended up being a great pastime at this stage of the game. It's not my focus, but carrying out these missions also gives me loyalty points for the NPC corporation, which helps me earn some special items, so knowing this might be a style for other players!

Plus, as an extra, I love looting hahaha. They're often items of little value, but I'm always filling my inventory with loot from enemies in battle. Every now and then some valuable things come along that are worth it, so it's my 2nd most fun ISK profit option that I end up doing even during NPC quests, it's practically a combo!

DU

EXPLORATION
What I focus on to make money is exploration... both because you can earn a lot and because it's relaxing. I sit down looking for data sites and wrecks, discover hidden treasures, and sometimes get interesting loot. To do this, I use a Tengu with cloaking, which is ideal for both speed and scanning capability. For scanning, I use systems with a Core Probe Launcher, which shows me where to explore. I stay cloaked, check for any dangers, and when I feel safe, I go there and grab everything I can.

S

Scanning in Null sec

My favorite and most profitable activity in EVE Online is of course scanning Data/Relic sites. You never know what you'll get - priceless carbon, or an incredibly expensive construction component or a blueprint that allows you to pay for Omega status for a month or two in advance. And the best thing about this activity is that it can be done by both an experienced player with a pumped-up character, and a newbie who has just recently completed training and wants to try it

T

MINING HELL YEAH

There's just something so different about going on fleets on nullsec with your friends while sweating your hands, hoping no one will gank us. If we have a small fleet, our ships combined would have an estimated ISK worth of around 200mil which will be devastating if we lose everything. But the reward is absolutely worth it. And my other favorite ISK-making activity...

Hauling!!

Whenever I haul, I always do it on times with low network traffic, while simultaneously plotting out waypoints and avoiding systems that seem dangeorus thanks to the ingame filters. Contracted couriers make a lot of ISK if done right, and most importantly, I can do stuff in the background if I'm feeling risky, too.

S

My best ISK-making activity had to be farming the Serpentis Narcotic Warehouse 3/10 escalation in the Everyshore region. I did this for about two years as an alpha character, and it netted me about 5 billion total, funding my purchase of a Rattlesnake and other ships, Alpha Injectors, mutaplasmids, and whatever other items caught my eye. I quit because of increasing competition for Serpentis Hideaways and Serpentis Refuges from Gilas and T3Ds that my humble Vexor couldn't compete with. I kept careful logs on what dropped from the the escalations, then uploaded them to the UniWiki to benefit future newbros who discover this source of ISK.

S

Living out of Amamake, I often find myself needing to come up with multiple isk making methods.

Faction War:

Plexing is a decent enough source of income and simple enough, warp to site, finish site, get paid LP, convert LP to items to sell.

Exploration:

Lowsec exploration is actually solid, particularly if using a Stratios, there are many combat anomalies that are reasonably easy to complete and have decent payouts.

Belt Ratting:

Going for those Sila's HIC scrams is a fun side project, haven't found one yet though.

Industry:

Amamake has a great industrial side to it as well and a great local demand for many products like t2 modules and ammo. A worthwhile endeavor.

PI:

P2->P4 chains are solidly profitable and there are enough Barren/Temperate planets in system to provide for my needs.

R

MINING

I focus on ISK production using a Retriever to extract resources. I mine in both high-sec and low-sec areas. I can mine more passively in high-sec, while in low-sec I join my corporation and it's much more profitable. It's not the most lucrative method in the game, but it allows me to earn a good amount of ISK without too much risk.

Y0EMINENCE's avatar

Station trading and market manipulation yields me high return with my market knowledge.

Buying items at a low price in one station and selling them at a higher price in the same or another station.

Buying up all available stock of a particular item to control the supply, thereby inflating the price. Once prices are high, and selling at a profit.

Manipulating the price of an item upwards by spreading false information or buying lots of it to simulate high demand, then selling off once the price reaches its peak.

Selling items I don't possess by promising to deliver them later, with the hope that their price will decrease. If it does, I buy the items at the lower price to meet my obligations, profiting from the difference. However, there's a risk if prices rise instead, resulting in losses.

Releasing a large amount of an item onto the market to drastically reduce its price, which can be used to harm competitors or to buy back at a lower price later.

orik Kado's avatar

Definitely, it's an excellent approach to the old dilemma of generating ISK. Personally, I believe in focusing on the activity you enjoy the most and optimizing it to maximize benefits without making it boring.

My favorite activity, as many of you may know, is industry. However, I now not only manufacture items on demand but also place small sales orders in the market. While this might not seem particularly interesting to readers, my goal as an industrialist is to ensure that the alliance I belong to always has access to the best prices and a steady supply of goods.

To achieve this, I developed the following strategy:

  1. Identify Popular Items: First, I determine which items have a significant sales volume.

  2. Calculate Costs: Then, I calculate the manufacturing costs and verify the margin I can achieve after deducting station taxes.

  3. Ensure Viability: If the figures look viable, I proceed with production.

  4. Competitive Pricing: Finally, I sell the items at a more competitive price than others available in the market.


I don’t aim for large profit margins but instead focus on high sales volume. This approach encourages a more localized industry, reducing reliance on other players who buy in Jita and import items to sell at significantly higher margins.

In summary, I enjoy producing items and selling them at Jita sell prices within the alliance while still making a profit. This strategy fosters competition, stimulating local industry over importing items from other regions.

Hunter's avatar

This is not the most Effective way to make ISK, but for me the share of relaxation I get from running low tier Abyssal is high and It is kind of addicting, I take my Old friend The Punisher ship and go to a safe and cosy space in high security and spend Hours just popping those Sparkneedles and Blastneedles, try to Manoeuvre and maximise DPS. It is one of my favourite solo activities that you can do in EVE Online after work to get that stress out, here is an example of a run :

https://www.youtube.com/embed/8FUmd83zTNI?feature=oembed

Schadsquatch's avatar

This might seem obvious, but owning and living out of a c5 with a c5 static has made me very space rich. The problem with owning a wormhole farming hole is the risks involved and the initial cost of putting down a Fortizar, other stations, POCOs, defense ships, krabbing ships, pods, etc. I think the initial price tag of everything was around 50b, with much more invested in the 2 years I have lived there. You also do not have asset safety to 'protect' your investments if someone decides to blow up your structures, making investing into a wormhole a VERY risky investment, but the investment is well worth it in the long term.

When we krab our home hole, the isk is still about 200-400m per hour, per toon. This amount of isk dramatically increases when we do not need to use dreads (as we do not need to wait for siege timers). I can easily make a few billion isk in a single night of krabbing in relative safety. There is always the risk of running into rage rollers or the random roaming group, but you usually pay for your krabbing ships in a single evening or across a couple of nights of krabbing.

SA

Abusing the demand for NEW stuff!

Most recently I have been making a lot of ISK off of making and selling the new Breacher skillbooks and Cenotaphs. With a few logistics tricks and running a buyback within my alliance I am able to very effectively turn a near 50% profit margin, all with only needing to take 5 gates per trip. Within my alliance I buy Encrypted Infomorphs in Wicked Creek for Jita buy, then with our courier service I move those to Jita, then I bridge my Viator fully expanded to Turnur, and gate into Zarzakh. The trick in Zarzakh is you are able to be cloaked while trading your infomorphs, making the Viator the PERFECT ship. With full expanded rigs and lows you can fit enough infomorphs for a Cenotaph, and 6 skillbooks, totaling about 7 billion isk for what is currently 12.5billion on Jita sell orders. So far I have managed to sell 3 full Cenotaph sets, my first for 21 billion, second for 18 billion and third most recently for 16 billion. In addition to that due to some weird market behaviour I managed to buy 12 skillbooks for less then 500 million and resell them for between 1.5 and 2.5 billion each.
The introduction at downtime tonight will likely vastly change this market, none of us know how much the supply of Encrypted Infomorphs will change, or if there will be other nerfs or buffs to deathless ships.

Rixx Javix's avatar

The Art of ISK Making

I hesitated to write this one because it is so obscure and isn't for everyone. But I decided to write it up anyway, on the off chance someone sees it, or is inspired by it, to create something of their own.

For the past fourteen years or more, my primary ISK making activity has been creating Alliance Logos and other community graphics. I have no idea how many of these I've created over the years but my best estimate is somewhere in the 1,200+ range. From the beginning I've charged a flat and reasonable rate which hasn't changed at all. And I do not ask for any payment until the project is finished and the client is happy with the results.

Over the years I've had to start and stop accepting these projects for various reasons, the most common of which have been from being overwhelmed. In some cases I've even been so overwhelmed that I lost track of some projects and failed to deliver. Which is not something I can accept, being a pretty staunch perfectionist. So these days I do not promote the service at all and only take on referrals and word of mouth projects. This has served me much better over the past few years, especially now that AI seems to have taken over the vast majority of Alliance logo creation. Sadly.

A few selections of my work:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rixxjavix/albums/72157655778037801/

I literally do not have any other income streams. Providing this service over the years has given me the opportunity to simply focus on PvP and running A Band Apart and Stay Frosty. I only loot the wrecks I kill solo and prefer to let my Alliance mates loot the wrecks we get together.

This is how I make ISK.

Jaques Ufaltred's avatar

Planetary Industries

Even as a terminal alpha clone, free omega comes up often enough for this to be a good recommendation for every player. Even in hisec, with single planet P2 production colonies, you can make at least a few million almost completely passively per planet per cycle. I do mine on 3 days. When the free (or vastly discounted) omega offers come up, I use the opportunity to export my PI, giving me a nice lump sum bonus to play with. Here is a typical colony setup I use.

Luka Zaharin's avatar

LOOOTING!

I'm a big lootgoblin. As a newbie I lived off wrecks for a long time and until today, the most satisfying way to gain ISK for me is looting. I perfected my technique over the time and know how to adapt to different situations in different parts of space by now. It is certainly not the most effective way to gain income, but it is a lot of fun and I often find good stuff in more or less abandoned wrecks.

A while ago I even wrote a little story for my bio. Whoever remembers the old Sotiyo in Tama will recognize the station I am talking about 😊

As black as night the infinity of space. I'm sitting in a Reaper, my eyes focussed on the jump gate. Now’s the moment; the Arazu decloaks as a heavy transporter appears. I align my ship and wait for the end. The engines roar as my ship jumps to warp. Even in the pod I can feel the acceleration. Seconds later I reach the remains of the shredded hauler. A few quick commands and my cargo hold begins to fill up. Alarms ring in my ears, I'm locked! I see the mighty cruiser’s weapon turrets rotate as they try to lock on to me and accelerate my ship again. The first hits graze my shields, but the Reaper is already going into warp. A gentle tremor goes through the ship as the protective force fields of the Space Detroit activate around it. I have escaped with my loot... this time. Satisfied, I empty my cargo hold and turn my eyes back to the stargate.

Jaques Ufaltred's avatar

I definitely have not saved every single metal scrap I have ever collected in my entire EVE career. And I certainly do not have several Billion isk worth of rat loot in my item hangar. And I most assuredly do not have an entire station container devoted to faction or deadspace drops.

... I'll see myself out.

Luka Zaharin's avatar

I totally do not understand what you mean! xD

That's one of the things I really dislike in many other games, the limited inventory space. I usually sell the good stuff for ISK, but I just pile the T2 mods in my home station and neighbouring systems and have a refit wherever I dock. Don't waste anything that could be useful again, it does not hurt you in it's container!

Kane Carnifex's avatar

Currently the newest plan?Selling Mercenary Dens to Brave

On patch day I traveled over to Zarzakh and bought around 12 BPOs which is around 1,2 b total. The price to cook one is around ~20m but you could also research the BPOs to get a little bit more profit. Also keep in mind with BPOs also comes BPCs, which ofc is more profit.

I now have 150 Dens which I produced for ~3 b.

If i would sell them for 30m i would end up with a little bit less than 300m profit.
For like +5m i could make it 1,05 b and would still be like Jita sell.
This would include the buycosts for the BPOs.

Additionally on top the BPC goes currently for ~5 m in Jita.
My BPO ,I copy from, is already 5% / 10% and it doesn't cost much to make BPCs.
The matter here is time, so 7 bpc for 11 Hours and my poor skills xD

Also it looks like these things aren't the tankiest ones so why not have a second just to be safe.

So gathering it up took me roughly 2 Hours to get the BPOs back to my home.
From there you start to get the materials to get your production up running.

And if you have some slots left why not researching xD
This doesn't cost that much time.

And since we are in Brave we can't be that greedy and ask for

50m ~3,3b Profit
60m ~4,8b Profit
In PR- is selling it for 100m piece ~ 10,8b Profit.

But as said we are Brave so we want to enable our beginners to try new stuff.
Also Duty. is recruiting, which is Brave :P 

Bla bla bla taxes bla bla bla... always have a buffer :)

F

My favorite activity for earning ISK in EVE Online is definitely market trading. There's something incredibly satisfying about playing with New Eden’s dynamic economy, buying goods at a low price in one region and selling them for a profit in another. I enjoy analyzing trends, spotting opportunities, and capitalizing on price fluctuations to maximize earnings.

One of the most engaging aspects of trading is that it requires a mix of skills: patience, knowledge of the most efficient trade routes, and sometimes the willingness to take risks by traveling through dangerous territories to reach the most profitable markets. It’s not just a way to make ISK but also a strategic challenge that keeps you constantly alert.

Trading also allows me to interact indirectly with the community, influencing local markets and responding to the supply and demand created by other players. It’s not an activity that makes you rich overnight, but with the right effort and a good dose of cunning, it can be incredibly rewarding and profitable.

CommanderA9's avatar

Big money! Big prizes! I love it!

Almost all of my income comes from Incursion-running. I got started in 2013, and I’ve pretty much never stopped. It’s been my one go-to activity (aside from running Agency events) for the last decade, and it continues to this day. No matter what I do in EVE Online, I always come back to Incursions. I even gave up null-sec to go back to incursions, and I’ve loved it since day one. Truth be told, I’ve made more money running high-sec Incursions than I did flying a supercarrier in a null-sec alliance.

Incursions are high-end player-versus-environment sites wherein fleets engage Sansha’s Nation forces across different types of scenarios. Some call for dropping special ore in a refinery to trigger an explosive chain reaction. Others call for evacuating civilians caught in the crossfire. The toughest sites pit you against notorious “battle towers” which must be removed for CONCORD to retake control of the region. Once the site is complete, each fleet member is paid a fixed amount across the fleet. Loyalty Points are awarded after the mothership is taken out. Good fleets and communities will find ways to efficiently maximize their execution to increase their payouts. The best fleets can rake in $200,000,000-$300,000,000 per hour. In a single afternoon, a given pilot can make enough money to fund their PLEX investments. Incursions have the advantage of relative consistency and interest from largely stable communities that fly regularly. Fleets consist of anywhere between 10 and 40 pilots, with leadership boosts, logistical support, and specific roles.

I’ve flown with a myriad of groups over the years, but the one commonality between all of them is that everyone is out for the same thing: money, killing targets, completing sites, and having fun while doing it. I can’t ever recall a time when a fleet has been compromised by an insider threat. If someone were to undermine the fleet, everyone (including the perpetrator) would not be paid. The communities do a great job of policing themselves as well. Anyone caught slacking off is typically removed from the fleet, and with high demand to get into the fleets, members are ready to step up usually at a moment’s notice. Waitlists can sometimes keep a pilot waiting for a few hours.

Every community has a different doctrine and standards, but most require a battleship, Nestor, or T2 Logistics cruiser with well-developed skills. EVE Rookies, Three Letter Acronym, and Warp To Me are just a few of a number of communities which fly Incursions and have their doors open to newcomers.

The best way to get involved with the incursion communities is to check out the Content – Incursions default channel, as well as the “Incursion Public” channel which provides a list of all active communities across all time zones.

Incursions require some refined and developed skills, and the startup costs can be steep, but a pilot will make all of the investment back in due time, especially if they volunteer for various fleet roles and pursue multiple ship types (i.e., logistics and combat ships).

Personally, I’ve been flying Incursions since Summer 2013. I was once a fleet commander for the Ditanian Fleet, and I have flown as both Shields and Armor, along with Logistics, Drone Control, and Combat. Flying Incursions and interacting with the communities have helped me earn my special callsign “Steak Sauce,” saw me sing Pavarotti’s “Ave Maria” and Kung Fury’s “True Survivor,” and even led me to get accepted into TEST Alliance. Through Incursions, I help fund my corporation’s operations. The joke amongst my corporation is that the tax revenue I bring in from Incursions is enough to find several corporate-level operations alone! It even got to the point that when the alliance executor realized just how much money my corporation was making off my Incursion taxes, he exempted me from null-sec call-to-arms fleets so I could keep the revenue stream flowing!

I feel like Incursions fit my role as protector of high-sec space, resisting Sansha’s invasion, keeping people safe, and making a lot of money while doing so. Incursions keep me flying with friends. They help me make a lot of ISK, and they keep me logging into the game and helping to protect this great universe we all call home.

L

Ah, making ISK in EVE Online—there are so many ways to go about it, but my favorite has to be exploration. There's just something thrilling about venturing into the unknown, scanning down cosmic signatures, and never knowing what kind of loot you'll stumble upon. Whether it’s data sites, relic sites, or wormhole exploration, the sense of discovery keeps it exciting.

I particularly enjoy relic sites in null-sec space. They can be risky with all the PvP lurking around, but the payoff is worth it. Plus, sneaking through dangerous territory in a nimble ship like a Tengu or an Astero gives an adrenaline rush you just don’t get from other ISK-making activities.

What I love most about exploration is the freedom. You’re not tied to any one location, you can make your own route, and the ISK can vary wildly—sometimes you hit a jackpot, other times it’s slim pickings, but that unpredictability keeps me hooked.

Of course, there’s always the excitement of running into other explorers or even pirates. It’s not just about the ISK; it’s about the adventure. And hey, nothing beats the feeling of returning to a station with a cargo hold full of loot

S

Video Script: The Blueprint Run – A Nervous Shuttle Ride to ISK Success

[Opening Scene]

Background music swells. Show an iconic shot of Jita 4-4 station with ships buzzing around. Cut to a Caldari shuttle undocking.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“EVE Online is full of ways to make ISK, but nothing quite matches the thrill—and the nerves—of transporting high-value goods through hostile space. Today, I’m sharing my favorite ISK-making activity: blueprint trading. It’s not the fastest or most efficient method, but it’s one of the most exhilarating—and profitable—ways I’ve ever earned ISK. Let me take you on a journey between Jita and Vale of the Silent, where I turned a tidy profit trafficking improved blue pill blueprint copies.”

[Scene 1: The Setup – Why Blueprint Trading?]

Visual: A player browsing the Jita market interface, selecting blueprint copies.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“My journey starts in the bustling trade hub of Jita, where I purchase blueprint copies for improved blue pills. These are in high demand for their utility in boosting shield tanking in PvP—and they come with a decent markup in null-sec. Each copy costs me about 30 million ISK in Jita, and I can resell them for 45 million ISK in Vale of the Silent. That’s a 15 million ISK profit per copy!”

On-Screen Text:* Blueprint Trading: High margins, minimal cargo space.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“The best part? These blueprints take up almost no cargo space, meaning I can stack my shuttle full of them for maximum profit while keeping a low profile. But there’s a catch: getting to Vale means passing through null-sec, where danger lurks in every system.”

[Scene 2: The Journey – Tension in Every Jump]

Visual: A Caldari shuttle warping between stargates, interspersed with shots of the map showing the route from Jita to Vale.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“With my cargo loaded, I board my trusty Caldari shuttle. Why a shuttle? It’s fast, agile, and harder to catch than larger ships, making it ideal for running the gauntlet through dangerous space. Still, every jump feels like an eternity when you’re carrying millions in potential profit.”

On-Screen Text:* Key Tip: Use a shuttle or covert ops ship for low-profile runs.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“Along the way, I set my destination manually, avoiding highly camped gates and systems. I spam ‘warp-to’ as soon as I land on a gate, keeping my ship moving to avoid player traps. I also stay aligned to celestial objects to minimize reaction time if someone shows up in Local.”

[Scene 3: The Challenges – Thrills and Risks]

Visual: A tense moment as a gate camp appears on D-Scan, but the shuttle warps away in time.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“The most nerve-wracking moments come in null-sec, where there’s no Concord to protect you. On one run, I landed on a gate just as a gate camp appeared on D-Scan. My heart was pounding as I hit warp and barely escaped. In EVE, adrenaline is just another part of doing business.”

On-Screen Text:* D-Scan is your best friend—use it constantly!

Narrator (Voiceover):

“Pro tip: Always check your route for player activity. Use D-Scan religiously and keep an eye on Local chat. If you see a spike in players, consider holding at a safe spot or rerouting entirely.”

[Scene 4: The Payoff – Sweet ISK Rewards]

Visual: The shuttle docking at a station in Vale of the Silent. The blueprints are listed on the market.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“After what feels like hours, I finally dock in Vale of the Silent. I unload the blueprints and list them on the local market for 45 million ISK each. Within hours, they sell out, and I’ve turned a modest investment into a tidy profit.”

On-Screen Text: Profit: 15M ISK per blueprint copy.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“Since these blueprints are consumable and always in demand, I know I can rinse and repeat this process as long as my nerves—and the market—hold out.”

[Scene 5: Why I Love This Activity]

Visual: A montage of ships warping, docking, and the market interface showing ISK gains.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“Blueprint trading is my favorite ISK-making activity because it combines strategy, market savvy, and just the right amount of risk. It’s not about brute force or grinding; it’s about smart planning, quick decision-making, and mastering the art of staying under the radar.”

On-Screen Text: Why I love it: Strategy, profit, and adrenaline.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“Plus, the profit margin is incredible for the effort. You’re not grinding for hours; you’re leveraging the market and your piloting skills to create value. It’s ISK-making with a side of adrenaline, and for me, there’s nothing better.”

[Scene 6: Tips for Aspiring Blueprint Traders]

Visual: A quick list of tips on-screen with a Caldari shuttle flying in the background.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“If you’re thinking about trying blueprint trading, here are my top tips:

1. Start with low-risk routes and smaller investments.

2. Use fast, agile ships like shuttles or covert ops frigates.

3. Always scout your route and avoid high-traffic systems.

4. Check market trends to ensure your cargo will sell for a profit.

5. Stay calm under pressure—panic warping can get you killed.”

[Closing Scene]

Background music swells. Show a dramatic shot of the Caldari shuttle jumping through a gate into safety.

Narrator (Voiceover):

“EVE Online is a game where risk and reward go hand in hand. Whether you’re a blueprint trader, a miner, or a mission runner, the journey is just as important as the destination. So, grab your shuttle, plan your route, and take the leap. You might just find your own ISK-making adventure.”

Text on Screen:* “Fly safe and trade smart, Capsuleers!”

[End Screen]

Show the EVE Online logo, your character name, and a call to action: “What’s your favorite way to make ISK? Let us know in the comments!”

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