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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

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.

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.)

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

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.

Each race has a frigate that can, with the proper skills, easily handle Level I missions.

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 more fragile and 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

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 specific bonus to weapons, 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 has no effect on NPC targets.)

The Omen and Thorax are also both widely used. Each mounts five guns and can carry a substantial number of 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 either way, which makes for flexibility in fitting.

Level III

Ship Class: Battle Cruiser, Heavy Assault Cruiser

Mission Battlecruisers

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
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Level IV

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

Mission Battleships

SHIP	TANK	WEAPONS	DRONE BAY	SPEED
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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.