Jump Cloning in EVE Online

If you’ve been playing EVE Online for any length of time then you’ve likely encountered the concept of using what’s called “jump clones,” but like myself you may not know exactly what they’re for or how to get started using them.

Misconceptions

First of all it’s important to note that a jump clone has absolutely nothing to do with your medical clone. A medical clone is a back-up copy of your skills for in-case you get your pod blown up. A medical clone is typically only for preserving your skills should your character die. A jump clone is used for an entirely different set of reasons which we’ll go into later.

You should also note that jump clones are not just for moving around quickly and moving from one to another doesn’t destroy the body you just left. For the longest time I thought this was the case and so never bothered to even consider using jump clones. Having been corrected by browsing the forums I’ve found that jump clones are actually quite handy and are well worth the investment.

Uses

The primary use for jump clones is to move about the EVE universe rapidly. It’s much like a fast transit system in any other game except that you can only use it once every 24 hours so before you jump clone to the other side of the universe, make sure you’ve taken care of everything.

The second use comes from the fact that a jump clone is not destroyed when you leave it meaning that all your implants remain intact. For example let’s say your active clone is using +5 stat boosting implants to speed skill training. When you transfer your consciousness into one of your jump clones, your previously active clone becomes a jump clone and you can return to it after the 24 hour wait period. When you do, you’ll find that your implants are intact. This is true for all your clones, so each jump clone can have a different set of implants for different tasks (one for ore mining and one for ice mining for instance). This means you won’t need to create a whole new character just to use a different set of implants. You can actually have six different sets on one character through the use of jump clones.

How to Get a Jump Clone

In order to install a jump clone you’re going to need a combination of standings, skills, money, and facilities available to you. First and foremost is the location. You need to be at a station with a medical facility at which you have an 8.0 or higher standing. This might end up being rather challenging as even grinding missions for months will only get you so far in the standings department. A good way around this is to check and see if your corporation has really good standings with anyone and if so, install a clone at their closest station with the correct facilities. Don’t worry if it’s inconveniently located, you can always move your clone later. Once you’re at a station with the right standings and facilities, make sure you have the skill Infomorph Psychology trained to level one. This will grant you one jump clone. Each skill level grants you one more for a total of 5 jump clones plus your default active clone allowing you six implant sets. If your skill level is where it needs to be then select the medical facilities icon to open the related window and click on the “Jump Clones” tab. At the bottom will be two buttons one of which should say “Install Clone.” Clicking this button brings up a dialog box that informs you you’ll need 100,000 ISK to install the jump clone. Just click yes, the money will be deducted from your account and you have your jump clone. Once it’s ready to go you can move it simply by jumping into it taking it where you want it to go and then jumping back to another clone. To jump between clones you must pause any current skill training, but you can resume it as soon as the jump is complete and your jump clone will remain where you left it perfectly fine without needing the right standings or the appropriate facilities.

Conclusion

Jump clones are a powerful tool for use in the EVE universe and one well worth investing in, especially as a more experienced player who does different things in different parts of the universe. If you have need of extra implant sets or rapid transit I suggest you include at least one jump clone in your N3rd C0rn3r.