Missions: Difference between revisions

A '''mission''' is a task offered by a non-player character to a player which requires the player to accomplish a set of objectives in exchange for a set of rewards. The NPC is called "the agent" and he or she describes the task and specifies the rewards for its completion.  

There are three basic types of missions that are immediately available to new players: {{color|#cee686|Security}} given by security agents, {{color|#cee686|Mining}} given by mining agents, and {{color|#cee686|Distribution}} given by distribution agents.  

'''[[Security missions]]''' are combat-focused. The job is usually to kill pirates, retrieve stolen goods or to destroy strategic targets. These missions have the highest rewards but they are also slower and involve a risk of dying. (Note that a Security mission will occasionally ask you to transport something to another station, or to fly out and mine some ore. See [[#Declining_Missions|declining missions]] if you are unable or unwilling to do these tasks.)

'''[[Distribution missions]]''' require shipping cargo from one station to another. Except for some L1 missions Distribution missions never require combat unless you are sent into low/null-sec space, in which case you may encounter PvP combat on the way to your destination. Distribution missions are the fastest mission type to run so they are sometimes used for fast standings gains.

*'''Level 2''' While Mining and Distribution may be run in frigates, Security is designed for [[Cruiser|cruiser]] hulls. You are expected to improve your abilities and learn how to [[Fitting_Guidelines|fit out new ships]].

These mission types are not regularly availiable and are bound by conditions you need to fulfil before they are offered to you.

All common mission agents have a name, a Level, and a Division. "Level" describes the general difficulty level of the mission that the agent will offer you and can range from 1 to 5; it also affects the standings you need to reach in order for this agent to give you missions.  "Division" determines what type of mission - security (combat), distribution (hauling), or mining - you will be offered. <ref name="inferno15">https://community.eveonline.com/updates/patchnotes.asp?patchlogID=226</ref>

<div style="margin:0; margin-right:100px; margin-left:100px">{{ important note box | Be aware: security missions can make your standings go up with one faction and simultaneously down with another. Repairing poor standings is hard work, so it is very much recommended that you don't accept missions against empire factions too lightly. }}</div>

Being paid with ISK is clear-cut, however new missioneers often forget about Loyalty points they gain whilst running missions. Loyalty Points (LP) are a currency that you receive from the corporation whose agent gives you a mission. These points can be used to buy things at the corporation's store. LP (plus a certain amount of ISK and/or particular items) can be exchanged for valuable items in the LP store of the mission agent's corporation. For some players it is more profitable to accumulate LP in order to exchange them for goods which can then be sold than it is to kill, loot and salvage in security missions. See [[Loyalty Points]] for more details on what to do with LP.

There are four skills that improve your standings. These skills neve apply simultaneously.

* {{sk|Negotiation}} - 5% additional isk pay per skill level for agent missions.

Successful mission runs give you ISK and Security missions can also give you loot. They also give you standing with the agent that gave you the mission, the agent's corporation and the agent's faction. In addition they give you LP that can be redeemed for items in the corporation's store. The corporation you gain LP for is important.

Nearly every station has at least one agent, and there are many duplications in terms of standings and items offered for sale. So if you want to improve your standing with Gallente and you want to buy equipment to improve your mining, then Astral Mining is one of the corporations you would want to consider. Since there are many Astral Mining agents in Gallente space, choosing this corporation will not restrict your choice of star systems all that much.  

NPCs in missions tend to be very predictable in their setups. For example, Gallente and Serpentis use only Kinetic and Thermal damage against you and are most susceptible to Kinetic and Thermal damage themselves; when they use any form of [[EWAR]], it's always sensor dampening. It helps quite a bit if you set up your ship to deal damage that NPCs are vulnerable to and defend against what they will throw at you. Check out [[NPC damage types]] for a full description and a handy chart that you can keep in your Neocon Notebook.