This mission brief is written as much to convey the effect the Tech 1 Cruiser changes have had on this Epic Arc as it is to advertise the existence of the arc itself. In the case of the Sisters of Eve mission arc, “Epic” refers to the length, rather than the difficulty of the content. This mission arc is actually geared very much toward new pilots even if it’s not adequately pointed to in-game.
If you’re a returning pilot who has forgotten about it, skip to the TL;DR section at the bottom for highlights. If you’re a newbie concerned about loss mitigation or just someone looking for something to do, read on for the details. I have tried to keep this feature shorter than my usual fare to save you time but still cover all the important points. This arc is covered elsewhere but in painstaking detail. My coverage here is really all you need to know not to lose a ship and to get through it. Given the ease of these missions you could spend as much time reading about the arc as you do flying it.
WHY WASTE YOUR TIME
The payouts for these missions are very low by most standards but they are in line with what you’d be earning at the skill level you’re expected to run it. It’s a lot of flying around and a lot of storyline. It will probably take a few hours to run. The big payout is the no penalty 7% bonus to the Empire faction of your choice. If your social skills are fully trained it’s an 8.75% bonus. Keep in mind this is faction reputation which is usually much more time consuming to build, and normally carries penalties with other factions. If you’re very concerned about this arc and insist on seeing full coverage of every step you can find this on the EVE-University page. My take is it’s really not necessary if you skim the details below. If you can get through Level 2 combat missions you can do this arc.
WHAT YOU NEED TO RUN IT
You can run it in any ship, but given the balance, I’d run it in a Combat Cruiser. I recently ran through the arc again to ensure it still worked and test it with the new Caracal which cut through it like a hot knife. I used the setup below and had no trouble at all. You might have a little difficulty cracking Dagan’s shield tank on the last mission if your skills are mediocre, but at no time did I dip below even half shields.
SoE Epic Arc Caracal
Highs
5 x Prototype ‘Arbalest’ Rapid Light MIssile Launcher II
Mids
2 x Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
10MN Afterburner I
Medium Shield Booster II
Medium Capacitor Battery II
Lows
3 x Ballistic Control System II
Damage Control II
Drones
2 x Hornet II
Rigs
2 x Medium Core Defense Field Extender
Medium Bay Loading Accelerator
I highly recommend equipping your cruiser with whatever frigate-killing, cruiser sized weapons it gets bonuses for. I’m referring specifically to Dual Autocannons and Railguns, Quad Lasers, Rapid Light Missile Launchers and the like. The vast majority of your targets will be Frigate and drone sized, and being able to destroy them in rapid succession will speed your missions. Heavier weapons are slower firing and generally overkill. The drones helped a little with the last mission, but I didn’t deploy them much other than that.
While my alt is well skilled, I’m convinced you can run this on Tech 1 or low meta gear without much trouble. You will encounter everything up to carriers, but you are only actually asked to fight frigates and the occasional cruiser. I used standard Scourge Light missiles. If you’re concerned about your DPS output, you could bring a few hundred rounds of your selected faction ammunition for dealing with Dagan’s tank.
This is as close to a theme park set of missions as you’ll find in EVE. If you have jump clones, you may want to park one with your cruiser and plenty of ammunition at the SoE station in Arnon where it all begins.
SUMMARY NOTES
Regarding Faction standings, there is a branch selection between “Tracking the Queen” and “Bag of Blood.” Tracking the Queen involves shooting Mordu’s Legion ships which may accrue the normal faction rewards and penalties associated with that action. I ran Bag of Blood to avoid finding out since the Mordu’s are on good terms with the Caldari State. You will end up shooting a number of pirate faction ships during these missions. If you’re very concerned about standing loss with anyone you can check the Faction Chart to see who your actions will anger. Running these missions will also likely grant you a faction mission for the Sisters of Eve with the same type of faction interactions.
As for the Sisters of Eve, they are a minor faction that mainly concern themselves with humanitarian efforts. If you wish to look into regular mission running with them, their limited LP store does contain a few unique items including faction scan probes and launchers along with the Virtue Implant set. If you’re into Exploration or want to sell Exploration gear this is the faction to build.
Regarding the actual mission running, the new mission overviews under your nav panel make following the arc very easy. The arc does require you to visit every empire’s space, so you should ensure your effective standings with them are all above -5 or you will be shot at. Despite all this, the arc does not require any travel in low security space. Some targets do use EWAR on you but all go down very easily. This is a very “safe” set of missions.
You will also be contacted by several individuals vying for your attention near the end of the arc. These windows can be closed with no penalty, as they are merely pandering. You will make a decision regarding which Empire Faction you want your reputation boost with when accepting a mission near the end and it will be obvious you are doing so when the decision is presented. There are no surprises here.
TL;DR
The action starts with Sister Alitura at Arnon IX – Moon 3 – Sisters of EVE Bureau. The arc is unchanged despite the cruiser Tiericide making it even easier than before. You can still run it every three months, and the 7% empire faction boost is still nice for avoiding going kill on sight from other nefarious deeds, or getting you closer to that POS launch in a safer neighborhood. Still no lowsec, still no nullsec.
This article originally appeared on TheMittani.com, written by Saiphas Cain.
