Drifter Wormholes
Drifter Wormholes
Overview
Drifter wormholes (Unidentified Wormholes leading to Sentinel, Barbican, Vidette, Conflux, or Redoubt hive systems) represent one of the single largest security risks to corporation Rorqual and capital mining operations. Unlike standard wormhole connections, Drifter holes can spawn directly into active mining systems and allow hostiles quick, unmonitored ingress across vast distances. Before any Industrial Core is activated on a mining grid, all designated Drifter wormholes within the system must be systematically reduced to a Critical ("Crit") mass state or rolled (collapsed) entirely. This document serves as the official FALSE GODS Corporation Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for identifying, pinging, managing, and rolling Drifter wormholes safely.
Operational Objectives
Primary Goal: Reduce target Drifter wormholes to Critical state (<10% remaining mass) immediately upon discovery to restrict heavy hostile fleets from bridging, jumping, or projecting power into home space. Secondary Goal: Ensure total safety of roller pilots, minimizing ship and pod losses through strict ping management, out-hole bookmarking, proper ship fittings, and disciplined mass tracking.
Standing Orders & Mandatory Protocols
All corporation members and pilots operating in home space must strictly adhere to the following standing rules regarding Drifter connections: IMMEDIATE ACTION (NO EXCEPTIONS): All Drifter wormholes found in home space must be brought to Critical Mass (crit) immediately upon discovery prior to high-value industrial deployments. PRIORITY OVERRIDE: If you scan down or identify an active Drifter connection, temporarily pause non-critical individual activities (ratting, mining, local industrial transport), mobilize an approved rolling vessel, bring the connection to critical status, and then resume normal operations. CRIT AND HOLD: Do not leave a Drifter connection un-crit while waiting for others. Unless explicitly instructed by an Operations Director or Fleet Commander (FC) to collapse/close the hole completely, reduce it to Stage 3 (Critically Disrupted), cease rolling, and hold position or report. MANDATORY INTEL REPORTING: The moment the hole reaches critical status, you MUST post an intel report in the corp/alliance intel channels. Include:
1.
* System Name & Nearest Celestial / Grid Bookmark
* Wormhole Signature ID & Type (e.g., S877, V928, B735)
* Status Confirmation: **CRIT COMPLETE**
System Network & Wormhole Signatures
Drifter systems feature specific signature designations based on the destination hive system. Each Drifter hive system acts as a central hub connecting dozens of K-Space systems alongside static C1–C6 wormholes.
| Wormhole Name | K-Space Sig | J-Type Designation | System Effect | Controlling NPC Faction | Hive System Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vidette | V928 | J164710 | Magnetar | Amarr Empire | Sanctified Vidette |
| Redoubt | R259 | J174618 | Wolf-Rayet | Triglavian Collective | Azdaja Redoubt |
| Sentinel | S877 | J055520 | Red Giant | EDENCOM | Sentinel MZ |
| Barbican | B735 | J110145 | Cataclysmic Variable | Minmatar Republic | Liberated Barbican |
| Conflux | C414 | J200727 | Pulsar | Caldari State | Conflux Eyrie |
Network Topography & Mass Properties
Total Connections: Each Drifter hive connects to 50–70 K-Space systems via Jove Observatories, plus 6 static wormholes to J-Space (Z647, D382, O477, Y683, N062, R474). Spawn Mass Allowance: Standard Drifter connections (e.g., S877) spawn at approximately half of their maximum total capacity (~375,000,000 kg remaining capacity upon initial spawn out of a ~750M max base). Maximum Single Jump Mass Limit: 300,000,000 kg (300M kg).
Safety Requirements & Golden Rules
Before initiating any wormhole rolling operation, every pilot must strictly observe these core safety principles:
Golden Rules
Always Roll in an Empty Pod:
1.
* Never fly a rolling ship with implants, hardwires, or expensive clone setups.
* If your ship is tackled by Drifter NPCs or hostile scouts, losing a blank clone costs nothing and enables an immediate home-station respawn.
Create an "Out Hole" Bookmark Inside Immediately:
1.
* As soon as you jump through into the Drifter system, create an OUT HOLE bookmark directly on the wormhole signature.
* If the hole collapses prematurely or mass calculations fail, this bookmark provides your only safe visual reference to attempt an exit. Without it or a probe launcher, your only remaining option is self-destruct.
Always Carry Probes & Scanning Equipment:
1.
* Ensure your ship has a fitted Core Probe Launcher (or mobile depot with one in cargo) and a full set of probes.
Cloaking Capability Recommended:
1.
* A Covert Ops Cloaking Device or standard prototype cloak allows you to wait out Drifter NPC spawns or hostile camps safely on grid.
Understanding Wormhole Mass States
Every wormhole possesses a maximum total mass capacity and an individual jump mass limit. As ships pass through, their mass is deducted from the wormhole's remaining allowance.
| NPC Unit | Location | Threat Level | Key Mechanics & EWAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo / Artemis Tyrannos | K-Space / Drifter WHs | Critical | Overshield, 750k HP Doomsday superweapon, 1,300 DPS Omni damage, 3,500 m/s speed. |
| Autothysian Lancer | Jove Observatories | Medium | Non-hostile unless aggressed or approached within 50km near observatories. Will pod capsuleers if aggressed. |
| Arithmos Tyrannos | C5/C6 Capital Escalations | Extremely High | 200 GJ/s Neuts, 4-point Warp Scramble, high tank, no Doomsday. |
| Hikanta / Ladon / Mynos | Drifter Hive Sites | Critical | Mynos Scrambles at 11km (shuts down MWD/MJD); Ladon Webs; Strategos commands capital assets in Nexus Point. |
Grid Engagement Rules
If Drifter NPCs land or spawn on grid: If Cloaked: Cloak immediately, align out, and wait for them to burn off grid. If Uncloaked: Do NOT approach the wormhole directly while Drifters camp it. Warp away to your 10,000 km safe ping, wait for them to reposition, or utilize a cloak.
Aggro Clearing Protocol
If you accidentally trigger aggression from Autothysian Lancers or roaming Drifters across a system: Dock at the local station/structure immediately. Board a standard, cheap T1 frigate (do not use a corvette or pod). Warp to the Jove Observatory / Drifter grid and allow the Lancers/Drifters to destroy the empty frigate. Destruction of a player-owned frigate resets your character's entry in their system-wide aggression table.
Step-by-Step Rolling Procedure
Step 1: Create a 10,000 km Safe Ping
Never warp directly to a Drifter wormhole from an in-system celestial or gate. Hostiles or Drifters can easily catch you on warp-in. Board a fast interceptor, covert ops frigate, or fast shuttle. Warp toward the wormhole at 100 km. Pass through/past the wormhole and burn 10,000 km or more straight past it on the exact opposite side of your warp-in trajectory. Save a bookmark named PING - WH Safe [10k km].
Step 2: Warp Alignment & Approach
Warp from your celestial or station directly to your 10,000 km Safe Ping. From the Safe Ping, right-click the wormhole bookmark and select Warp to 85 km (or align toward it while cloaked). By warping from the opposite vector via the ping, you land within jump range while bypassing potential Drifter camp bubbles and direct warp-in angles.
Step 3: Jump and Inside Setup
Jump Immediately: The grid inside the Drifter system is usually safer than lingering outside. Bookmark Inside: Instantly create an OUT HOLE - [System Name] bookmark on the inside signature. Check Grid: If Drifter NPCs or hostiles are present on the inside grid, activate your cloak immediately and hold position until clear.
Step 4: Execute Mass Passes
Using the calculated mass of your chosen roller ship (see Ship Mass Table below), execute controlled Hot (propulsion module ON) and Cold (propulsion module OFF) passes.
Ship Fits & Mass Specifications
The primary approved rolling hulls are the Megathron (Heavy Roller), Sigil (Precision/Budget Roller), and Heavy Interdictor (HIC Precision Roller).
| ALWAYS DO | NEVER DO |
|---|---|
| Roll in a completely empty clone/pod. Create a 10,000 km+ Safe Ping on opposite side of warp-in. Create an "Out Hole" bookmark immediately upon jumping inside. Jump immediately upon landing within range. Use a Sigil or HIC for final precision mass reduction. Track polarization timers using standard UI elements. | Warp directly to a wormhole at 0 km or 10 km from a celestial. Ignore active polarization timers. Assume published wormhole mass numbers are 100% exact (always account for ±10%). Go AFK while sitting on a wormhole grid. Roll without probes or scan capability fitted/in cargo. Roll using high-value implants or capital hulls. |
External Tools & Alliance Resources
WHCalc Wormhole Mass Calculator: https://whcalc.vtxg.org/ — Interactive tool for calculating precise Hot/Cold pass combinations. Anoik Wormhole Database: https://anoik.is/wormholes — Comprehensive reference for Drifter hole mass limits, statics, and effects. Visual Rolling Guide: Learning to EVE: Wormhole Rolling — Diagrams and entry-level rolling physics.
FALSE GODS Operational Directive
Before any scheduled moon mining, industrial fleet, or Rorqual deployment: Fleet Scout/Roller Verification: Designated rollers must scan out all active Drifter signatures in the target system. Crit or Close Standard: Every Drifter hole must be reduced to Critical or Collapsed Completely. Fleet Hold Directive: Rorquals and Orcas SHALL NOT activate Industrial Cores or undock heavy capital assets until completion is explicitly confirmed by the Operations Director in the Moon Operations corp/alliance channel. Remember: An unrolled Drifter hole is an open highway directly into our home space. Spending 10 extra minutes to crit or close a connection protects billions in alliance and corp assets.
Making a Drifter BM with Probes
An alternative method to setting up a Drifter WH Bookmark you can use to land on the hole within 5k is to set up bookmarks using your scan probes. Any boat with a T2 cloak and probe launcher can be used. Core probes work best because you can shrink them to .25 AU around you, which will help greatly. Combats can be used in a pinch, but Cores work best.
After the first time you do this, future setups get substantially easier to do.
Step 1:
Scan the wormhole, launch your probes and warp to the signature at 0 while cloaked.
If it's already bookmarked, just warp to the bookmark after you launch your probes. Don't forget to stay cloaked. Launch them before you make your way to the "Unidentified Wormhole" signature.
Step 2:
Open your Probe Scanner window, set your probes to .25 AU, and center them on yourself.
It's the button to the left of the "Analyze" button that looks like a bunch of white ellipses. The closest one to the Analyze button is "Center Current Formation Around my Ship". Once centered, you hold CTRL and scroll your mouse wheel down a few times. It's quite a few clicks, so give it 3-4 good scrolls down to start. This will move all the probes closer to the center probe while maintaining the current formation. At this point you can manually travel off the warp in so as not to potentially get bumped off your cloak, but do not warp away. Travelling directly upwards a few KM is enough.
Step 3:
Hit analyze and check your overview for your probes. The goal is to get them around 10,000 KM to 11,000KM from your position. If they don't show up on the overview after you hit scan, repeat the last part of Step 2, get your probes closer and double check that they are centered.
Step 4:
Once you can see your probes on the overview somewhere around 10,000-11,000 KM, go back to your Probe Scanner window and select "Save Formation" (the white ellipse buttons again).
This only needs to be done one time, you can skip this the next times you do it. You simply launch, center, and load formation. I label mine "10k" to remember the distance.
Step 5:
Find the probe directly behind the WH, right click and save that location. This BM only gets used once, so saving it in a corp/alliance shared folder isn't recommended, or at least make a 4 hour expiration to keep things tidy. Once you have made your BM, warp to it immediately.
Step 6:
Go back to your probe scanner, and without adjusting anything else, re-center the probes on yourself. This time we are going to count the clicks when we shrink the probes again.
Hold CTRL + and click your mouse wheel down 9 or 10 times. At this range each click is roughly 500km, and we are aiming to get to ~3,500 KM. Hit Analyze and you should see your probes again on the overview. Find the probe directly above you this time and bookmark that one. Save your probe formation once again. This is the BM you're going to use to bounce off of to get back to the Drifter hole, usually called a Perch.
Step 7:
The Drifter hole should be on grid with you still from your new bookmarks. You should be able to warp to the wormhole itself from your perch @ 70km to land within 5k of the hole.
You can test it simply by warping to the hole at 70km, but be prepared to either jump in right away or burn away and cloak if Drifters show up. Don't forget you can just jump in and out of the wormhole to avoid them if you test in a cov ops boat. Drifters are only on the outside.
Notes:
If you have probe formations saved already, Steps 2 - 6 become significantly faster and easier to do since you no longer have to count your mouse clicks. If it works on the one Drifter WH, it'll work on them all, just make sure to always use the probe directly behind the hole first.
You can use this same trick to create a probe formation for making tacticals. Launch probes, center on self, and analyze. Now you can make BM's above, below and around a stargate, station or other points of interest without having to burn in all directions.