Missioning 101

From UniWiki

Contents 1 Class Information 1.1 General Information 1.2 Notes for the Teacher 2 Class Contents 2.1 Introduction 2.2 How to get a mission 2.3 Mission types 2.4 Agents and standings 2.5 Mission running skills 2.6 Running combat missions 2.7 Class Wrap-up

Class Information

This chapter contains the standard information of this class pertaining to scheduling and class contents. The General Information should be sufficient to create a proper class topic for scheduling on the Eve University forum. Additional information relevant to the teacher is listed under Notes for the Teacher.

General Information

Illustration link for class description on the Eve University forum: http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/ScoopIrish/mission_impossible_logo.gif

Mission running is one of the most popular activities in EVE. Though simple to start, missioning requires certain skills and experience to master. This class will describe the basics of effective mission running, and how missions can play an important role in your long-term goals and objectives.

Course title: Missioning 101

'Duration:' 60 minutes

Location: Docked up safely in any station [- be docked in Aldrat if you plan to join us for the optional mission running exercise afterwards]

Class contents: - Mission running fundamentals - Required skills for effective missioning - Strategic mission running - Q&A [- Optional practical exercise]

Student requirements: - Mumble registration and access - make sure you have Mumble sorted out and operational well before the class begins. Use thisguide for set-up: Mumble

- Access to the Class.E-UNI in-game chat channel

[- Optional: A frigate or larger ship, either active armor or active shield tanked, for the practical mission running exercise]

Additional information: This class is a lecture delivered in the Class.E-UNI channel in Mumble, followed by Q&A [and an optional practical exercise]. This class may be recorded for UNI student purposes.

If you have any additional questions, please post them here and I will respond.

You can copy and paste the following BBCode template to create a forum announcement:

[img]http://images.metaservices.microsoft.com/img/tvcards/240/1301_19.jpg[/img]

Mission running is one of the most popular activities in EVE. Though simple to start, missioning requires certain skills and experience to master. This class will describe the basics of effective mission running, and how missions can play an important role in your long-term goals and objectives.

* Instructor: [b]Qato Vollan[/b]
* When: Monday 19 December 2011 20:00 EVE Time
* Location: Docked up safely in a station

[b]Class overview[/b]
* Mission running fundamentals 
* Required skills for effective missioning 
* Strategic mission running 
* Q&A

[b]Student requirements[/b]
* Mumble registration and access - make sure you have Mumble sorted out and operational well before the class begins. Use this guide for set-up: [url=http://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Mumble]Mumble[/url]
* Access to the Class.E-UNI in-game chat channel 

[b]Questions?[/b]  Ask here in this thread.

Notes for the Teacher

Required materials:

• Class.E-UNI chat channel, to receive questions and post relevant links
• Helpful links:
  • EVElopedia missioning guide: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Missions_guide
  • Agent mission types and affecting skills for loyalty points: http://www.evegeek.com/mission.php
  • EVE-Survival mission info: http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=HomePage
  • UniWiki articles about mission running
    • Missions
    • Mission Guide to Aldrat: Mission Guide to Aldrat
    • Agent mission types matrix: Agent mission types
    • Mission hubs: Mission Hubs
    • Loyalty point store skillbooks: Skillbooks from Loyalty Point Stores
    • NPC damage types: NPC Damage Types
  • Agent search links
    • EVE Commander agent search: http://agents.eve-commander.com/
    • EVE Agents: http://eve-agents.com
    • Grismar's Explorer: http://eve.grismar.net/explorer/index.php
    • Turhan Bey's Agent Rangefinder: http://util.eveuniversity.org/Missions/AgentRangefinder/
  • Guides and resources for improving faction standings
    • UniWiki article on gaining faction standings fast: Gaining faction standings fast
    • COSMOS mission locations: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/COSMOS
    • Data Centers locations: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Data_Centers
    • Guide for repairing bad faction standings: http://www.eveonline.com/iNgameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1263174
    • Inter-faction standings effect relationships: http://www.newedenlibrary.net/eon/faction_standings.shtml
    • Relationship of system security and agent quality: http://www.eve-wiki.net/index.php?title=Agent_quality#Agent_level_and_system_security

Class Contents

Introduction

Welcome to Missioning 101, a class on effective mission running!

This course is designed primarily for capsuleers that want to earn ISK and other rewards from running missions, or for pilots that want to run missions more effectively and efficiently, so that they can achieve more strategic, long-term objectives.

Over the 60 minutes or so, we shall cover a basic introduction to missioning, discuss the essential skills required to do mission running effectively, and explore how running missions can be a valuable way to achieve immense fame and fortune in the game.

(Instructor should then introduce himself or herself - covering relevant experience level and background.)

We have a few ground rules for this class:

• Please put your Mumble settings on "Push to Talk" if you have not already done so.
• Feel free to type any questions in the Class.E-UNI chat channel as we proceed - I will try to answer your questions as they come during the class. [At the end of my lecture, we'll open Mumble for any further questions or general discussion.]
• You should be docked up safely in a station. [Be docked in Aldrat if you intend to participate in the practical exercise.]

Everyone ready? OK, then - let's begin....

How to get a mission

• Talk to an agent in a station for whom you have sufficient standing - if you don't have high enough standings, they won't speak to you. Higher level agents require higher standings with that corporation or faction to "unlock" those agents.
• Read the mission briefing, and either accept, reject or delay
  • If you accept, you will have a time limit to complete the missions, and a bonus if you complete it in a certain time.
  • If you reject, you can do so once every four hours with that agent - if you reject multiple missions in less than four hours, you will take a corporation standing hit
  • If you delay, you can come back to that mission later - it will be held in your Journal until the mission expires in 7 days. There is no penalty for allowing missions to expire, unless you accepted it and did not complete it.
• After completing the mission, open the mission dialogue screen, talk to the agent, and click the mission completed button.
• You will then get rewards, usually ISK and Loyalty Points, and sometimes other benefits: modules, implants, blueprints or other goodies.

Mission types

• Regular mission types - there are four basic mission types:
  • Encounter/kill: Encounters, or kill missions, require flying to a location to destroy ships. There are currently two types of encounter missions: those located in deadspace pockets where you warp to an acceleration gate prior to engaging with the NPCs, and those where you warp directly to a particular engagement.
  • Courier missions: Require moving goods from one station to another. These goods may be specific sealed cargoes or common market commodities.
  • Trade missions: Require providing the agent with goods they request in the mission briefing. These goods need to be purchased (or produced) by the pilot and delivered to a specific destination station.
  • Mining missions: Require delivery of minerals or ore to a certain location.
  • Different types of agents focus on specific mission types: http://www.evegeek.com/mission.php

• Special mission types
  • Career mission tracks: introductory missions for learning aspects of EVE - to access, press F12, then "Show Career Agents" button
  • Storyline missions: After every 16 regular missions completed you will be offered a storyline mission. These will be one of the regular mission types but will differ by having a great impact on your faction as well as corporation standings. The initial 16 missions can be completed for any agent, as long as those agents are aligned with the same faction and are at the same level as each other. The number of missions is not altered or reset by rejecting or failing an accepted mission.
  • Epic Arc missions: Epic mission arcs are a series of branching missions that present the player with choices. These choices will determine how the Epic Arc concludes. These missions also increase your faction standing considerably.
    • Blood-Stained Stars Level 1 epic arc guide: The Blood-Stained Stars
    • EVE-Survival Blood-Stained Stars guide: http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=BloodStainedStars1multi
    • Other epic arcs: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Epic_mission_arcs
  • COSMOS missions: Most of the Cosmos missions may only be done once, but they provide unique rewards and give a significant boost in standings. However, pilots have to find Cosmos agents inside complexes to receive such an offer.
  • Data Center missions: One-time agent mission that will give faction standing in exchange for a number of pirate tags. Data Centers are deadspace locations found at beacons in high-security 'Empire' space. There are twelve Data Centers total with three Data Centers for each of the four major Empire factions, Caldari, Minmatar, Gallente and Amarr. (Amarr share theirs with the Ammatar and have more agents total.)
    • More on Data Center missions: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Data_Centers

• Mission levels
  • Missions are organized by levels 1-5, with 1 being relatively easy and 5 being very difficult. Level 1-4 missions can be soloed with the right ships and fittings - level 5 require a team of players to complete successfully.
  • Generally, you will fly the following kinds of ships in these mission levels:
    • Level 1: Frigate, Destroyer, or anything reasonably fast
    • Level 2: Cruiser, or an Assault Frigate, Destroyer, or Battlecruiser
    • Level 3: Battlecruiser, Heavy Assault Cruiser, or you could try one in an AF, BS, CS, Recon
    • Level 4: Battleship, Command Ship, or try it in a Battlecruiser, HAC, Combat Recon
    • Level 5: Group of players, the more firepower the better
  • Higher level missions can take much more time to complete - while most level 1 missions take only a few minutes, some level 4 missions can take more than an hour!

• Mission rewards
  • Reward for finishing mission: a payment of ISK for completing the mission. This varies by type and level - level 1 mission rewards can be just a few thousand ISK, while level 4 missions pay several hundred thousand ISK.
  • Time bonus: if you complete the mission within a certain time limit, you will receive a bonus, usually ISK and sometimes other items such as modules, implants or blueprint copies.
  • Bounties: for missions with NPCs, you will be paid bounties for those ships - this can rival the payout for the mission itself sometimes!
  • Loyalty points - you can receive points that can be redeemed in that corporation's Loyalty Store for special items and ships
  • Storyline rewards - besides giving you a big faction standing increase, you will sometimes receive special faction items for storyline missions, depending on the difficulty level.
  • Wreck loot and salvage - don't forget that you can loot and salvage wrecks in encounter missions, too - be sure to bookmark a wreck and don't turn it in to the agent as completed until you finish salvaging.

Agents and standings

• Agent characteristics
  • Agents are classified by Division, Level and Quality
    • Division: the department in which the agent works for that corporation - this determines the types of missions provided by that agent: http://www.evegeek.com/mission.php
    • Level: Level 1-5 - this determines the difficulty of missions provided
    • Quality: -20 to +20 - this partly determines the amount of mission rewards you will receive for successfully completing a mission
    • Both Quality and Level determine the standings you need with that corporation or faction to "unlock" and be able to talk with that agent: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Missions_guide#Agent_Divisions

• Finding an agent
  • First of all, have a goal for working with certain agents or corporations
    • Perfect refine - 6.67 or higher standing required
    • Reducing transaction fees, manufacturing or research costs
    • Jump clone access (8.0 or higher) - be sure to check that your target corp offers medical services!
    • POS set up (requires standings equal to empire system security rating in high sec)
  • Use your in-game Character Sheet to see your current faction and corporation standings, and to see what agents are available
    • Click on the Character Sheet in the NeoCom
    • Select Standings, select "Show Info" for a corporation, click on Agents tab, select the division
    • Agents will be divided into those available to you and those not yet available
  • Use the available mission guides and finder tools
    • Mission Guide to Aldrat: Mission Guide to Aldrat
    • EVE Commander agent search: http://agents.eve-commander.com/
    • EVE Agents: http://eve-agents.com
    • Grismar's Explorer: http://eve.grismar.net/explorer/index.php
    • Turhan Bey's Agent Rangefinder: http://util.eveuniversity.org/Missions/AgentRangefinder/
  • Use the in-game map
    • F10, Star Map tab, Stars tab, My information section, select "My available agents"
    • Each system will be highlighted by the number of agents available to you in that system

• Standings
  • You build standings at 3 levels: agent, faction and corp
    • Agent: such standings only work for a single agent. Every time a mission is completed you receive personal standings with the agent who offered it to you as well.
    • Corporation: these are your personal standings toward an NPC corporation, and not your own corporation standing toward another NPC. Corporations contain numerous agents and by increasing standings with them you will be able to access more agents inside them. Such standings may be augmented by missions.
    • Faction: faction standings remain the most general but most difficult type of relationship to increase. Each faction possesses numbers of corporations inside it, so if you raise your faction standings you will be able to access all corporations linked to it. Faction standings may only be augmented by storyline, COSMOS, or Epic Arc missions.
  • You can raise standings by running missions for lower-level agents that you can access solo, or by teaming up with another player who has higher standings and sharing the standings increase.
  • The general formula for the amount of standings increase you will receive is: 10-(10-[Current_Standings]) * (1-([%modification]/100)) - translated: the closer to a perfect "10" you are, the less the amount of standings increase.
  • Note that you can also take a standings hit with some factions if you accept missions that require you to destroy ships of an opposing faction. If you do not want your standings to go down with an enemy faction, do not accept those missions.
  • Note also that completing missions with one faction will affect standings with other factions. This table shows the degree to which completing a mission for one faction affects your standings with other factions: http://www.newedenlibrary.net/eon/faction_standings.shtml
    • Training Diplomacy skill will reduce the impact of bad standings with opposing factions
    • Guide for repairing bad faction standings: http://www.eveonline.com/iNgameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1263174

Mission running skills

• Social skills are the mission-runner's best friend: Social, Connections, Criminal Connections, Diplomacy, and Negotiation.
  • The Social skill is the base skill for all the other Social Skills and must be trained to level III before you can train the others. As well as being the base skill, the Social skill improves the standing gains you receive for each mission you complete. Each trained level gives a 5% bonus to the base mission standing increase.
  • Connections improves standings with friendly entities (i.e. those with whom you have a positive standing) - each level trained in gives a 4% bonus to effective standing.
  • Diplomacy improves standings with hostile entities (i.e. those to whom you have a negative standing) - each level trained in gives a 4% bonus to effective standing.
  • Criminal Connections skill improves relations with criminal NPCs (i.e. those with low CONCORD standing). Each level trained in gives a 4% bonus to effective standing.
  • Negotiation skill improves pay for agent missions by 5% per level - but it achieves this indirectly by altering the agent's effective quality.

• The three Divisional Connections skills improve your LP gain by 5% per level when working for agents in the related corporation divisions. Each agent division can be affected by two different Connections skills, thus the amount of LP gained will increase by 50% if both are trained to level five. See this table: http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Missions_guide#Divisional_Connection_Skills

• Fast Talk improves the pilot's effective Security Status increases, with each level trained giving a 5% bonus to effective Security Rating.

Running combat missions

• Importance of mission preparation
  • Use EVE-Survival.org to determine the types of NPC enemies you will encounter
  • Fit the appropriate weapons and tank modules to deal with those enemies
  • Fit an active tank (armor or shield) that can be sustained for a long time (i.e., you are cap stable)
    • NPC damage types: NPC Damage Types

• When you fly into a mission room
  • Make sure your modules are activated!
  • Take a breath - is anyone targeting or attacking you yet? If so, kill them first.
  • Take stock of the situation - where are the NPC groupings?
  • Pick a grouping, kill the tackling frigates and cruisers first - use drones, missiles or small guns
  • Watch for aggression ("aggro") from multiple groups - be prepared to warp out if necessary
  • Set your drones to "passive" and "focus fire" - guide them to the targets you wish to kill

• Other dangers for mission runners
  • Gankers - beware! Some suicide gankers like to scan down and hang out by deadspace acceleration gates. If you are flying a shiny faction-fitted missioning ship, use your directional scanner, keep your defensive mods on, warp to the gate at a distance, and be prepared for anything.
  • Ninja salvagers - best to ignore them; they may taunt you to try to get you to aggress them

Class Wrap-up

• Thanks for attending this class!
  • If you liked the class, please send me 1 ISK with a comment.
  • I would appreciate any feedback from people on how to improve the class - send me an EVE mail with your suggestions.
• Questions ?