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Mission Ships

PvE missions have different requirements than do PvP encounters. This page describes a number of ship types and fits that work well in this regard. For a complete description of what "missions" are, and how to approach them, look at the Missions page, or try the Missioning 101 course.

PvE Objectives

You can (usually) run from a mission. This makes survivability a strategic objective, and means that you can use fancy ships and equipment as you do not expect to lose them. (Insurance, however, is always a good idea.)

Each mission has a primary objective, given to you by the mission agent. You should choose your ship and fittings, and plan your tactics, based on this objective. For example, if the mission calls for you to "investigate" an area without necessarily killing any NPCs, you will likely want a faster, more defensive oriented ship and fit. On the other hand, if the objective says "clear the area of pirates", you will want to bring offense to the party.

General Ship Preferences

Security missions are just about killing enemy ships, and you can use any kind of ship that has enough offense to get that done. As an example, I started a character once by training Covert Ops to a high level, for reasons having nothing to do with missions. But then, when I decided to start running security missions with that character, I used a Minmatar Hound stealth bomber. This is a very unusual choice, but I had no problem completing level I and II missions. The point is: it's all about killing enemy ships – don't let somebody else's opinion of what's "best" get in the way of your own preferences, experience and skills.

That said, although any kind of ship can be successful in running missions, because PvE targets come in waves, and because survivability is one of your goals, brawling tactics are generally less effective in missions than are sniping and/or kiting. Faster ships, in particular missile and drone boats, tend to give better support to these kinds of tactics.

Particularly if you are just starting out running missions, you probably want to emphasize speed. Some missions will have surprising twists, or more targets that you expected, and you will want to get some distance to rethink your approach. Mission NPCs will target and chase you ... wherever you go, so you probably want to go for longer range weapons and try to kite your enemies.

Loosely speaking, you want enough defense (armor, shields, speed) to give you time to escape if things go badly. And you want as much offense as you can pile on - because the faster you kill the NPCs, the sooner you get to collect your rewards. Note that each type of enemy does a particular kind of damage. And each enemy is susceptible to a particular kind of damage. This page provides that information, and includes a chart formatted to be copied to your in-game notepad for quick reference. Some enemies also use one or more forms of electronic warfare, though these do not usually require any special refitting.

Missiles and drones are often preferred as mission ship weapons. One reason is range - drones, in particular, can operate at range against larger targets while the ship uses its main weapons to finish off the smaller faster enemies. A second reason is damage selection. Missiles, in particular, can be easily switched on the fly. The same is true of drones if the ship has a drone bay large enough to carry multiple flights.

General Fitting Preferences

Since you do not intend to die, and since missions pay off in various ways, you should be willing to fit your ship with top flight gear.

Dead mission NPCs can be looted. Assuming you want the loot, and that you do not have a friend who will do the looting for you, you will need to fit a salvager or carry a salvage drone or two. (You can also bring two ships, one to complete the mission and one to clean up afterwards - but this is usually not worth the effort until you get to Level IV missions.)

Have a Plan

There are a wide variety of activities available to every EVE player, and most of these require different skills. If you are just starting out, you will find life in EVE much easier if you develop a Skill Plan for your character. The process of deciding which of the many skills to train, and in what order, will help you think through your approach to the game.

If you are planning to do missions, for example, then in terms of ships you may want to consider:

• do you want to train fully in frigates ... e.g., learning frigate skills in each race ... or do you want to move quickly to larger ships?
• do you want to train one or more spaceship skills to Level V?
• how much training time are you willing to allocate to combat and ship handling skills?

In general, missions require lower levels of combat skills that does PvP - because once you can kill the NPCs at a given level, you need no additional power. And, it usually makes sense to train one particular weapons systems (e.g., missiles, drones, projectiles) to a high level and then look for a ship that uses those weapons. Most of the races have a number of drone and missile ships ... which is one of the reasons why these are a popular choice.

However, if you focus on developing skills for mission running, you will inevitably short change skills needed for other activities ... including such as PvP, exploration, mining and so on. THIS is why it is a good idea to develop a Skill Plan. Such a plan will help you decide which ships you want to use, and the plan can be modified as you gain experience and discover other things that you want to do.

Standard Ships by Mission Level

These are not requirements, but rather general guidelines. You can do Level III missions in a destroyer if you want to, and if your skills and abilities let you pull it off. And, you can bring a battlecruiser to a level I Mission if you want to. Although it seems like massive overkill, if you are coming to missioning later in the game and have well developed skills, and want to go fast, you could use a cruiser for both Levels I and II - or a battlecruiser for the first three levels. (Note that a few missions have special "Ship Restrictions" that limit the type of ship that you may use.)

The ships listed here are not a complete set of all "good" mission ships. But these are ones that players often use. Keep in mind that your skills are a BIG factor here.

Level I

Ship Class: Frigate, Destroyer

Most players start doing missions in a rookie ship via the "Level 0" tutorials. Most players also then move up to a frigate and begin doing PvP and missions at more or less the same time. Each race has six standard frigates, and one or two of these will, with low to moderate skills, easily handle Level I missions. The four listed here are the ones most often mentioned as good mission ships for each race.

Mission Frigates

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
Minmatar Breacher	shield	3 missile	10	365
Amarr Punisher	armor	4 laser	0	355
Gallente Incursus	armor	3 hybrid	5	340
Caldari Kestrel	shield	4 missile	0	325

Arguably, the Breacher is the best of the set. It is the fastest, and its 2 drones allow for a sniping strategy with two launchers in support and one high slot given over to salvaging. However, if your skills limit you to a ship of your own race, any of these will do quite well.

Destroyers

Destroyers fall between Levels I and II. All destroyers have more offense than defense, and all depend on speed rather than armor or shields. As a result, they are somewhat fragile and thus less valuable for mission running. On the other hand, an experienced pilot can make excellent use of a destroyer 's offensive capabilities in Level I, and with good skills, Level II missions. Just keep in mind that these ships cannot handle all that much damage.

The most widely referenced mission destroyer is the Talwar.

Mission Destroyers

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
Minmatar Talwar	shield	missile	0	255

The Talwar's base speed is slower than a frigate, but the destroyer's bonuses allow it to mount a microwarp drive without the usual increase to signature radius. This makes it very fast, and hard to target. Its basic kiting tactic strings out a group of targets, keeps them at range, and finishes them one by one using missiles. The Talwar can be a lot of fun to fly, but if you are serious about missions, you probably want to skip over destroyers and move directly into cruisers.

Level II

Ship Class: Destroyer, Assault Frigate, Cruiser

Cruisers are by far the preferred ship class for Level II missions. Each race has one or two cruisers that will work well in missions; the ones listed here are generally popular.

Notice that there are four different weapons systems represented here, along with drones. Since EVE skills often build on one another, you will find that the choices you make for cruisers will tend to carry over to Battlecruisers and Battleships. So, if you came into the game through Amarr, for example, and have begun to train Laser Turrets, this is the place where you may want to rethink that and switch to some other system. It is NOT required that you make a change ... this is just a good time to stop and think about it.

Mission Cruisers

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
Amarr Omen	armor	5 laser	40	260
Gallente Thorax	armor	5 hybrid	50	240
Caldari Caracal	shield	5 missile	10	230
Amarr Arbitrator	shield	4 any	150	200
Minmatar Rupture	shield or armor	4 projectile	30	210
Gallente Vexor	shield	4 hybrid	125	195 drone

The Vexor and Arbitrator have bonuses to drone hitpoints and damage. The Vexor is one of the most widely used mission ships; the Arbitrator has a larger drone bay, and because it has no bonus to a specific weapon system, it can mount any type … which makes it a good choice if you have not trained in hybrid turrets. (Note that the Arbitrator's bonus to tracking disruption is wasted as it has no effect on NPC targets.)

The Omen and Thorax are also both widely used. Each mounts five guns and can carry a flight and a few more drones. The Caracal is light on drones, but its five missile launchers are good for kiting. The Rupture is slow, but it has the most defense and can be tanked for either shields or armor, which makes for flexibility in fitting.

Level III

Ship Class: Battlecruiser, Heavy Assault Cruiser

Battlecruisers are the most popular Level III mission ships. Each race has three standard battlecruisers. One of these will be a high offense, low defense assault ship. One will use the race's primary weapons system, and one will use an "unusual" weapons system. (For example the Hurricane uses standard Minmatar projectile weapons, while the Cyclone is bonused for missiles.)

Any of the non-assault boat battlecruisers are viable for missions. The Drake is one of the most popular ships in EVE, but the choice of the others is somewhat arbitrary and was made here to emphasize different weapons systems.

Mission Battlecruisers

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
Minmatar Hurricane	shield	6 projectile	40	180
Amarr Harbinger	armor	6 laser	75	175
Caldari Drake	shield	6 missile	25	150
Gallente Myrmidon	armor or shield	4 any	200	145

The Myrmidon is a drone ship. It is not bonused for a particular type of weapon, and it can be tanked either way … which allows great flexibility in fitting. The Myrmidon can carry large, mixed flights of drones, which is especially useful in mission running. The Drake is one of the most widely used ships in the game. It's dps is smaller than the Hurricane's, but it can mount a better tank. The Harbinger, too, is popular. It is a very balanced ship - rather fast with a very good tank, six lasers, and a substantial drone bay.

Depending on your preferred style of play, any of these ships will do well in Level III missions.

Level IV

Ship Class: Heavy Assault Cruiser, Battlecruiser, Battleship, Marauder

The battleship is the primary choice for Level IV missions. The missions are considerably harder than they were at earlier levels. They involve larger numbers of more difficult enemies, and players are advised to have developed their basic combat and ship handling skills before they proceed. Evelopedia has a good article on fitting ships for Level IV missions.

Mission Battleships

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
Caldari Raven	shield	6 missile	75	113
Amarr Apocalypse	armor	8 laser	75	113
Gallente Dominix	armor	6 any	375	109
Amarr Armageddon	armor	5 any	375	100
Minmatar Maelstrom	shield	8 projectile	100	94

The Raven and Dominix are arguably the two most popular Level IV mission ships. Fitted with cruise missiles and a strong shield tank, the Raven is fast enough to use kiting as a tactic. The Dominix has bonuses to drone damage and range, and carries multiple flights of various sizes. It has no weapons system bonuses and can be fitted with up to six turrets, though usually a few guns are sacrificed for utility fittings.

While not as popular, the Armageddon has the same drone bay capacity as the Dominix. It lacks the drone range bonus, however, having instead a bonus for energy neutralizers and vampires. In this regard it can also function as a PvP e-war platform.

The Apocalypse and Maelstrom provide massive offense via eight turrets. Both have good tanks, and both have roles in PvP fleets as long range damage dealers.

Level V

Level V missions require a fleet of ships and are beyond the scope of this page. See the Mission Fleet page for more information.

Advanced Ships

If you are using advanced ships, you know that advanced piloting is heavily dependent on skills and ship fitting, and you don't need much advice. For those who might be thinking about training their skills to these higher levels, here are some representative mission ships.

Mission Destroyers

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED	CLASS	LEVEL
Caldari Hawk	shield	missile	0	273	assault frigate	II
Caldari Hawk	shield	missile	0	273	assault frigate	II
Caldari Hawk	shield	missile	0	273	assault frigate	II
Caldari Hawk	shield	missile	0	273	assault frigate	II
Caldari Hawk	shield	missile	0	273	assault frigate	II

The Hawk is representative of Assault Frigates, generally well-rounded ships with good speed and defense.