Part 1 - Part 2 – Part 3 - Part 4 – Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 – Part 8 – Part 9 – Part 10
Epilogue – Addendum
EVE Forum Thread – Chatsubo OOC Thread – EVElopedia Page
Its been a couple of weeks now since I finished off my guide to the first of EVE’s Epic Mission Arcs and I’ve been getting alot of feedback and questions relating to it. This post is a collation of some of the most useful information that I’ve been recieving. Thanks go out to all those that took the time to document the branches I didn’t follow and those that collected extra information about the missions I did do.
The Bug
First of all I’d like to address the issue of the bug in the arc which has come up and hope that the following (from a post by CCP Big Dumb Object in the forum thread linked above) helps those affected by it:
Originally by: Yirakh
well.. i did exactly that, had a break from eve for about a week and now the mission IS expired. i tried to talk to the next agent (keita eslin), but she wont give me the next mission. can anyone confirm this or tell me what to do to continue other than reporting?
Unfortunately you have fallen prey to a major bug that we are tackling even now. If you fall or have fallen victim to this bug, please petition to:
Gameplay: Agent Mission in Progress
Mention that your Epic Arc has expired. The GMs will be able to re-offer you last mission with minimal effort.Apologies for this issue. We will try to keep everyone informed on the status of this bug.
As of the time of writing this bug has yet to be fixed but if you do encounter it, petitioning, as suggested above, should get the issue resolved and you’ll be able to continue the arc from where you left off.
FAQs
Now to some of the questions that have come up from a few people in the comments here and on the thread over at the EVE forums.
Q: Which Mission has the battleship fleet and is there really a carrier there? Can I tank it in X?
A: I encountered the battleship fleet along with the stolen carrier on Mission 31: Goading the Leader, but as I mentioned in the guide for that mission, its not really around long enough for anyone to have a chance of engaging. However I have since been informed that the opportunity to engage the fleet is during Mission 29, which I glitched out of due to my connection going down. As to what could take it on and the fitting required to tank it I wouldn’t know. Though someone in this thread claimed to take down everything but the carrier in a Drake (he didn’t detail his fittings or skills).
Q: What kind of faction gain does the Epic Arc give.
A: The Arc itself does not give any faction standings at all (A flaw I hope CCP will be remedying in future arcs) though as you do more than 16 missions for the Sisters of EVE in the course of the Arc you do get the opportunity to do Storyline missions for the Sisters which will increase your standing with them (I personally got two storyline missions offered, others report only getting one).
Q: What faction standings are required to participate?
A: I would assume that to actually get the missions from Sister Alitura you would have to have neutral standings (-2.0) or above with the Sisters of EVE just as you would with any faction. However, the Arc does require that you visit the territory of all the major factions so if your standings with any of them are below -5.0 you’re going to have their navies gunning for you along the way somewhere.
Q:Whats the best ship to do it in?
A: personally I did the entire Arc in an assault frigate (Vengeance up to around Mission 42/43, then I lost it in low sec to some station campers, *DoH* Then a Retribution) I have heard that if you try it in a standard T1 frigate the last few missions may give you some trouble, but a cruiser should be sufficient to deal with them, or take some friends along.
The Missing Missions
Many, many thanks to Boris Menace and Ayana Yagon for their diligent efforts to document the branches that I didn’t take, and especially to Boris for filling in some details I missed in the missions that I did take. I’ll go through the other branch (from the first branch point) firs then I’ll add in corrections and extra details for the other missions. The second branch point seems to only determine race of the ships you have supporting you in the penultimate mission and has no effect on the actual objectives and outcomes of the missions following it.
Epic Mission Arc: The Blood-Stained Stars
Chapter 5b: Bag of Blood (Scanning Branch)
The actual choice at the branch point is misleading, this branch does not actually involve any scanning at all. I get the feeling that CCP wanted to include a series of missions which introuced the new scanning mechanic, dropped the idea, and left the reference in the Arc dialogue.
Mission 24b: Bag of Blood
This is a simple courier mission which involves you going to pick up a DNA sample and bringing it back to Sister Alitura.
Mission 25b: Planting the Body
Using the DNA sample obtained in the last mission, the Sisters mock up a body and ask you to plant it in a hideout which is going to get blown up. Destroying the Serpentis rats encountered in this mission is optional, you can just drop the body in the hideout and head back to complete the mission.
If you want the bounties though then fit your ship to resist THERM and KIN damage and to deal out the same (mostly THERM though). You will be sensor damped by the first couple of waves which will reduce your targeting range so be prepared to get up close and personal.
Wave 1 (aggro on approach + sensor damp):
2 x Coreli Watchman
2 x Coreli Patroller
1 x Coreli Safeguard
1 x Coreli Guard
Wave 2 (aggro on approach + sensor damp):
2 x Coreli Patroller
1 x Coreli Watchman
1 x Coreli Defender
1 x Coreli Infanrty
1 x Coreli Protector
Wave 3 (aggro on placement of the body in the hideout):
4 x Coreli Agent
1 x Coreli Chief Spy
Once the body is dumped and the pirates dealt with or evaded, you can return to Sister Alitura to complete.
Mission 26b: Chasing a Nightmare
This mission has you tracking a cruiser drone through an area of deadspace, there’s no combat and you simply have to follow the instructions you’re given throughout. You don’t ever catch up to the drone and its signal is lost after a few hops. Fit an afterburner to speed yourself through the deadspace zones (a MWD won’t work). You’ll eventually lose the drone you’re tracking and can head back to Sister Alitura to complete the mission.
This branch then rejoins the main Arc at Mission 27: Burning Down the Hive (see part 7).
Some details from missions that I had already covered but which I missed out on documenting are as follows:
Mission 13: Lair of the Snakes
Thanks to White Carnation in the comments for picking up these details.
- In the first wave it is the destruction of the Agent which triggers the second wave.
- Wave 3 doesn’t appear untill all of Wave 2 are destroyed.
- The Personnel Transport does not appear until you attack the Cruiser and as noted warps out pretty quickly.
Mission 14: Data Retrieval
A couple of you pointed out in the comments (Chris s. and White Carnation, thanks again) that the can with the item to be retrieved is not tractorable and the contents cannot be picked up whilst there are ships still guarding it.
Mission 26: Tracking the Queen
Mo We in the comments helpfully tells us that there is no other wave, thanks Mo We.
Mission 27: Burning Down the Hive
The Strain Render Alvi drones use warp scramblers so its probably best to deal with them first in case you need to warp out. Thanks to Ciel712 in the comments for this nugget.
Mission 47: Chasing Shadows
According to Boris Menace, the battlecruiser either drains your capacitor or neutralises it, and does not use a target disruptor as originally reported. It would seem that the EWAR icon shown on the overview is incorrect.
As ever the forum threads are still open for questions and comments (links above) or they can be posted in the comments here. Thanks to all who have done so up to now, keep it up.
I realise that I said that I planned to go through all the guides as they were released but as my career has taken a more piratical turn this may no longer be feasible. There is the possibility that I could do them with an alt (this would require a second account, which is currently outside my means) but the way things are going I will probably be unable to complete them with Jmarr as he’s already being shot at by 1.0 station and gate guns, restricting my travel in hi-sec systems somewhat.
I will keep you posted regarding my plans for future guides, and hopefully I’ll be able to juggle my way around to doing at least some of the upcoming Epic Arcs. In any case I’ll be keeping this blog updated with other guides and my adventures in New Eden, so watch this space for more EVE related goodness.
Till next time, good hunting and fly safe.
