The Complete Miner's Guide by Halada
26Version 2.2
5. Crystals
There are many misconceptions about mining crystals, as to how they work and if they
truly are worth it. To make the matter worse, when you do a show info on your laser,
the information is not so clearly displayed, and the EVE-O database has false
information... We will set the record straight right now!
There are T1 and T2 mining crystals for every ore in the game. However the crystals for
mining Mercoxit work differently than the rest, and they will be covered in section 10 of
this guide where Mercoxit mining will covered in details. You should know there are no
crystals for ice mining, so don't try to look for them
Skills you will need for high-end 0.0 ore (Bistot, Arkonor, Crokite, Gneiss, Mercoxit ): Refining 5, Refinery Efficiency 5, Metallurgy 4, Ore processing 3/, , Industry I, Science 3
Skills you will need for basic empireore (Veldspar, Scordite, Pyroxeres, Plagiocase): Refining 4, Industry I ,Ore processing 3/4, Science 3
Skills you will need for high-end low-sec ore (Dark Ochre, Spodumain, Hedbergite, ): Refining 5, Refinery Efficiency 4, Metallurgy 3, Industry I ,Ore processing 3/4, Science 3
Skills you will need for low-sec ore (Kernite, Omber, Jaspet, Hemorphite): Refining 5, Industry I ,Ore processing 3/4, Science 3
Before Revelations, all crystals had the same pre-requisites, that is, the ones high-end
0.0 ore crystals need. This discouraged many casual miners, as the training for those is
as long as for the Covetor... CCP responded by changing those pre-requisite skills
depending of the class of ore you mine... whether you want to train for them or not is
your decision.
How they work is quite simple: they are inserted in the T2 variants of strip miners, or
the MDCM2 which can be fitted on any ship. Simply put, the T1 version of a crystal will
increase the base yield of the laser by 62,5%, while the T2 version of the crystal will
increase the base yield by 75%. However, the actual increase to your yield isn't 62,5% or
75%, as the T2 variants of mining lasers have a lower base yield than their T1
counterparts. Nevertheless, crystals do bring an advantage, as we will see now.
As we've seen earlier, mining lasers or strip miners which use crystals have a lower base
yield than their counterparts. They WILL work without crystals, the yield will however be
considerably lower than their T1 counterpart without crystals, so don't be stupid and
use the T1 versions until you can use crystals.