After a few months back in New Eden, one major shift stands out from my time away since 2011: ganking in high-sec has gone from occasional chaos to predictable business. It's not random violence anymore—it's optimized, profit-driven hunting. Which means you need to stop thinking of high-sec as "mostly safe" and start thinking of it as "safe only if you're not worth killing."
This guide distills practical hauling wisdom I've been collecting as I rebuild my instincts. Most of it comes from watching experienced players review catastrophic losses—particularly MarkeeDragon's "Ganked Awards" killboard reviews, which are equal parts hilarious and educational.
If you're new to EVE, returning after years away, or just tired of losing ships you didn't need to lose, these rules will help.
15 Rules for moving cargo without becoming a killmail
Ranked from beginner essentials to veteran tactics.
- Start at the top.
- Rules 1-7 are basic survival—the "don't do obviously dumb things" tier.
- Rules 8-15 get progressively more complex, requiring game knowledge, preparation, or alts.
- New players: focus on mastering the first seven before worrying about the rest.
1. Never autopilot with valuable cargo
Autopilot warps you to 15km from gates instead of 0km, giving gankers extra time to scan your cargo and position their fleet. Always manual-pilot valuable loads, or at minimum use "warp to 0." This is the single easiest mistake to avoid.
2. Don't go AFK in space with cargo
Even stepping away for 30 seconds can give a gank fleet enough time to land on you, scan you, and coordinate an attack. If you need to step away, dock up first. No exceptions.
3. Decide your "max loss" before you undock
Pick a number you can afford to lose without it ruining your week—200 million ISK, 1 billion, whatever matches your wallet. If your cargo is worth more than that, make multiple trips. One mistake shouldn't wipe out your progress.
4. If you can't see what's inside, don't haul it
Some courier contracts hide cargo in containers—sometimes nested inside other containers. If you can't inspect the contents, decline the contract. You can't assess risk if you don't know what you're carrying, and attackers specifically target blind couriers with high-value hidden cargo.
5. Use purpose-built hauling ships
An Orca is a mining support ship, not a cargo truck. A shiny mission-runner isn't a moving van. If you're moving valuables, use ships designed for hauling—preferably with tank fittings appropriate to the cargo value.
6. Assume you're being watched near trade hubs
Jita and other major trade hubs—plus the routes leading to them—are heavily camped by gankers running cargo scanners. If your plan is "maybe no one will notice," you don't have a plan. Fly like someone is watching, because someone usually is.
7. Watch for criminal/suspect flagged ships on grid
If you see ships with red or yellow flashy timers near you—especially multiple ships—that's often a gank fleet positioning for an attack. Dock back up or change your route immediately. Don't wait to see what happens.
8. One trip, one job
Combining multiple contracts or hauling several expensive items at once turns your cargo hold into a jackpot. Keep each trip under your max-loss limit. Boring is safe. Safe keeps you flying, and keeps your wallet in a good shape.
9. Don't sacrifice tank for cargo space
Cargo expanders let you haul more per trip, but they make you easier to kill. Fewer, safer trips beat one exploding trip every time. The time you save isn't worth becoming a softer target.
10. Check your route for known gank systems
Certain systems (like Uedama) are notorious gank chokepoints. Use Dotlan or the in-game map to check recent ship kills along your route. If a system shows heavy activity, consider going around it—even if it adds jumps.
11. If you don't need to move it, don't
Some items can be used or traded without physically hauling them. For example, you can remotely contract skill extractors to characters at their current station. Always ask: does this actually need to be transported?
12. Treat blueprint originals like they're irreplaceable
Blueprint Originals (BPOs) represent long-term value and production capability. Losing one isn't just losing ISK—it's losing future income. If you must move BPOs, haul them in small batches with maximum caution, or use specialized hauling services.
13. Tank your ship based on cargo value
Gankers do math: they calculate whether the cost of losing their ships (to CONCORD) is worth your potential loot drop (which averages ~50% of cargo value). Fit enough EHP that killing you costs more than half your cargo is worth. This makes you unprofitable to gank.
14. Use instant undock bookmarks at busy stations
At major trade hubs, gankers sometimes camp undocks. Create a bookmark 150km+ from the station, then warp to it immediately upon undocking. This gets you off-grid before gankers can lock and scan you.
15. Use a webbing alt to speed up freighter warps
A fast-locking frigate with stasis webifiers (flown by an alt or trusted corpmate) can web your freighter, dramatically reducing its align time and warp entry time. This shrinks the gank window from 20+ seconds to under 10, making you a much harder target. This requires coordination but is standard practice for serious haulers.
Pre-Flight Checklist
Before undocking with cargo:
- Do I know exactly what this cargo is worth? Is it under my max-loss limit?
- Can I see everything I'm hauling? Or am I flying blind?
- Am I using cargo expanders out of laziness? Should I make two trips instead?
- Can I split this load into safer, less tempting shipments?
- Does this cargo actually need to be moved? Or is there a remote option?
During travel:
- Am I on a busy trade route or hub pipeline? (If yes, assume you're being scanned)
- Am I relying on luck instead of preparation?
For high-value cargo:
- Split it into multiple trips if needed
- Fit for tank, not speed or capacity
- Use the right ship for the job
- Don't carry things that don't need to move
Why This Matters
I'm sharing this because I'm rebuilding my EVE instincts from scratch, and practical "veteran brain" knowledge like this is gold. Most of it lives scattered across forums, killboard reviews, and Discord conversations—rarely organized in one place for new or returning players.
Shoutout to MarkeeDragon
Most of what's in this post comes from his "Ganked" killboard reviews, which are basically EVE's version of educational roasting. He walks through real killmails, explains what went wrong, and somehow makes catastrophic loss funny and useful at the same time. If you prefer video to text, his breakdowns are worth watching, and a lot of fun.
Final words
If you know other creators, guides, or unwritten rules worth sharing, please send them my way. I'm building a survival library as I relearn modern EVE, and I'll keep sharing what I find.
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