Ecliptic Rift

Overview

Everything starts with biochemical gas clouds. Mykoserocin clouds get used for the weakest (and only legal) variety, synth boosters, while cytoserocin clouds get used for standard, strong, and improved boosters. These clouds reside in ladar sites, particularly in null sec but also in some limited high/low sec regions. Harvesting this gas requires you to train one level of Gas Harvesting for each harvesting module you want to equip. Note that specialized mining ships like barges and exhumers cannot use these modules. Generally, you should use a tanked cruiser or battlecruiser for this activity. Mining bonuses don’t generally apply, though those from mining command links (e.g. on the Orca and Rorqual) do.

The Syndicate produces a faction version that has lower fitting requirements but does not mine any faster. It only requires 26 tf of CPU (reduced from 60 tf for the stock tech I version or 70 tf for the tech II). The Gas Cloud Harvester II, however, pulls 20 m³ every 40 seconds instead of 10 m³ every 30 seconds, giving 50% better yield. It also requires 5 MW of powergrid (instead of 2 MW) and the rank 1 skill Gas Gloud Harvesting trained to V (instead of I). No other factions have specialized gas harvesters available.

The Syndicate harvester arose out of a joint research project undertaken by dozens of Station owners across the region. The residents and industrialists of Syndicate appreciated, more than most, the latent potential of the underground booster industry. Although their modified harvesters offered no improvements in yield, they were easier for newer pilots to fit. Their investment in more accessible harvesting technology paid off, when eventually the empires quietly backpedalled and legalized the production and sale of Synth boosters.

Note that some ladar sites actually contain facilities and NPCs rather than gas clouds. These sites provide the blueprints, reactions, and sometimes skillbooks needed for the production post.

Once you’ve acquired gas, you’ll need a reaction and a blueprint to actually produce the booster. Using a biochemical silo and reactor array, you react the gas with water (or other materials, depending on the quality of booster to produce) to produce a pure version of the booster. Producing the final booster requires cutting the pure booster with megacyte in a drug lab at a low-security starbase.

While customs officials will not like standard boosters or better in high-security space, the market administrators don’t mind. So you can either sell the boosters at a market hub (assuming you can smuggle it successfully there) or via alternate methods, including direct trades or in low-security space.

References

• EVE Evolved: Combat boosters – description of each booster’s effect
• Combat booster manufacturing – excellent overview from EVE Wiki (eve-wiki.net)
• Boosters Part 2: The Secrets of the Drug Cartels – older overview by Kirith Kodachi
• Getting high on your own supply – dev blog detailing changes in Apocrypha
• Meanwhile, back in the exploration bunker – slightly older dev blog about synth boosters
• Booster production – support page explanation

Image credit nick_russill

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