| 10
Commandments for Mission Runners
Before you put your ship and its
expensive mods in harm's way, there are a few
important points to consider. I have compiled
a list of these considerations which, if observed,
will go a long way to helping you survive EVE
Online missions at all levels. Believe me; I have
made every mistake there is with regard to missions,
and I have lost a lot of ships and isk in the
process. I am now a very successful mission runner
who solos level 4 missions, and I make a lot of
isk. In publishing this guide, I am hoping you
readers will be able to circumvent the mistakes
I made getting to this point, and improve your
game play.
Before accepting the mission:
1. Gather intelligence. You can read the details
of the mission on Chepe
Nolon's excellent EVE Survival pages and at
other non-IGB websites. Get prepared for the mission
before accepting the mission. Check the last update
of your intel to be sure it is up to date. Your
corpmates may also be able to bring you up to
date, so don't be shy in asking their advice.
2. Prepare your ship. Find out what
damage types to tank, what to expect and what
damage type to use. Fit and arm your ship accordingly.
Carry plenty of ammunition for each weapon type
you use. It is better to have way too much than
not enough. Don't forget to load your drone bay,
and match your drones to the damage type needed
for the mission.
3. Logistics. Move your salvager
and hauler ships to the mission system. Don't
waste time hopping between systems when you can
prepare in advance of accepting the mission. Only
when you are satisfied that you are fully prepared
should you accept the mission and start the clock
ticking. Be sure to adequately insure your ship.
4. Beware of game changes. Be extra
careful when returning to a mission after a game
patch or update; your ship survivability, damage
output and many other factors may have changed.
Always familiarize yourself with game changes
which will affect the performance of your ship
and her equipment.
During the mission:
5. Aggression. Pay careful attention
to any mission information you may have with regard
to aggression. Some mission pockets will not aggress
you on warp-in, some will. Take care not to aggress
the entire pocket if it can be avoided. A general
tip is to target and fire on one ship, then wait
to see which rats aggress you; you then target
that group and that group only until you have
destroyed it. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes, having
gang members or releasing drones may also trigger
mass aggression - do the research and you won't
get any nasty surprises.
6. Align. Until you are confident
that you can survive a mission pocket, remain
aligned with a distant object in case you need
to warp out fast. Be aware of any warp-scrambling
rats and target them as a priority. Take no unnecessary
risks. There is no shame in warping out to survive
- he who survives lives to fight another day!
7. Priorities targets. Follow mission
intel guidelines on target priorities - where
available. The general rule is to target jammers,
scramblers and damper rats first; otherwise kill
cruisers and battlecruisers, then battleships
and finally any surviving frigates. In level 3
and 4 missions however, when engaging distant
target groups, it may be wise to attack frigates
first - until they close within 10km and begin
to orbit you. Frigates are much easier to track
and hit during their approach run, but their high
orbital velocity makes them very hard to hit when
up close - especially if you are in a battleship.
Disengage any frigates which close to within 10km
and select a bigger or more distant target. Small
combat (scout) drones can easily tackle fast frigates,
so if you have them - use them. Medium drones
are good for slower frigates and cruisers on up.
I personally do not use large combat drones in
level 4 missions; I find them too slow and cumbersome.
8. Know your ship. Be aware of the
capabilities and limitations of your ship. Study
her performance, resists and damage outputs until
you are confident of her capabilities - and importantly,
of her limitations too. You need a good idea of
how long you have to escape, should the need arise.
Judging these things accurately can be the difference
between surviving with your ship intact, or going
home in your escape pod.
9. Bookmark each pocket. Be sure
to bookmark each pocket so you can return to the
position after you have closed the mission. There
are few things worse than losing several million
isk worth of loot and salvage because you forgot
to bookmark their locations. On very long missions,
it may be advisable to loot/salvage each pocket
in turn, or maybe two at a time - to avoid timeouts
resulting in loss of loot. The loot may well be
worth more than the time reward for early mission
completion.
After the mission:
10. Always salvage and loot. There are millions
of isk worth of loot and salvage left over at
the end of a successful mission. Learn the salvaging
skills and fit a ship for the purpose of looting
and salvaging; destroyers adapt well for this
purpose, due to their speed and high number of
turrets. They are capable of fitting a useful
array of tractor beams and salvagers. I personally
use a 5 tractor to 3 salvager setup, which serves
me well. A dedicated salvage ship will save a
lot of time when cleaning up after missions -
a jetcan can be towed along using one of the tractor
beams. Once finished, bookmark the jetcan and
return in your hauler to collect it. |
