in null, you need :
This guide is great- and I haven’t found this level of detail in other location. One area I’m struggling is what to buy with LP. I realize the market is constantly changing- and that people may not want to share their BEST secrets. But I’m currently making about 400 isk per LP - so ANY tips to get that higher would be greatly appreciated.
Hey @Complex_Math - hopefully Anderson’s link was helpful? That site is a super reference for LP conversion.
When you’re using the site and have found the Corp you’re gaining LP for I find it useful to sort by ‘isk/lp’ and then take a look at the ‘5% Volume’ column. Obviously items with more ‘isk/lp’ are better but if they don’t sell through quickly you may not see that isk very fast, sometimes it’s a wise choice to go for the items with less ‘isk/lp’ but that are selling more often.
Thanks. The link was very helpful.
I’m really bad at making isk in this game, I’m hoping the level 4 missions will be appropriate for someone with my skill level.
Nice fits 
Thanks @Mark_Octavius - can’t take all the credit though there are lots of solid references out there for fits and fitting discussions.
My current High Sec mining mission fleet and the missions I use them for are listed below.
L4 Gas Venture
• Gas Injections
• Like Drones to a Cloud
L4 Ice Retriever (w/Medium Ice Harvester Accelerator I)
• Cheap Chills
• Ice Installation
L4 Ore Retriever
• Not Gneiss at All
L4 Ore Porpoise
• Arisite Envy
• Feeding the Giant
• Geodite and Gemology
As a general rule I will regularly decline the ‘Mother Lode’ mission and on the off chance I get it twice in a row I will just go do something else while waiting out the cool down on the penalty for declining a mission twice in four hours.
For the Null-sec missions when you’re not Blue to the regulars in the area it is most definitely NOT a ‘safe’ place to be AFK mining. Constant D-Scanning and looking for Combat Probes is the key to survival. If the Combat Probes get close (say 4au) then it’s time to start your exit strategy.
It’s also super helpful to have some warp-to pings around the Stations in case of Bubbles.
Null-sec missions is very profitable, fly there and make them.
My current High Sec mining mission fleet and the missions I use them for are listed below.
L4 Gas Venture
• Gas Injections
• Like Drones to a Cloud
L4 Ice Retriever (w/Medium Ice Harvester Accelerator I)
• Cheap Chills
• Ice Installation
L4 Ore Retriever
• Not Gneiss at All
L4 Ore Porpoise
• Arisite Envy
• Feeding the Giant
• Geodite and Gemology
As a general rule I will regularly decline the ‘Mother Lode’ mission and on the off chance I get it twice in a row I will just go do something else while waiting out the cool down on the penalty for declining a mission twice in four hours.
For the Null-sec missions when you’re not Blue to the regulars in the area it is most definitely NOT a ‘safe’ place to be AFK mining. Constant D-Scanning and looking for Combat Probes is the key to survival. If the Combat Probes get close (say 4au) then it’s time to start your exit strategy.
It’s also super helpful to have some warp-to pings around the Stations in case of Bubbles.
My current High Sec mining mission fleet and the missions I use them for are listed below.
L4 Gas Venture
• Gas Injections
• Like Drones to a Cloud
L4 Ice Retriever (w/Medium Ice Harvester Accelerator I)
• Cheap Chills
• Ice Installation
L4 Ore Retriever
• Not Gneiss at All
L4 Ore Porpoise
• Arisite Envy
• Feeding the Giant
• Geodite and Gemology
As a general rule I will regularly decline the ‘Mother Lode’ mission and on the off chance I get it twice in a row I will just go do something else while waiting out the cool down on the penalty for declining a mission twice in four hours.
For the Null-sec missions when you’re not Blue to the regulars in the area it is most definitely NOT a ‘safe’ place to be AFK mining. Constant D-Scanning and looking for Combat Probes is the key to survival. If the Combat Probes get close (say 4au) then it’s time to start your exit strategy.
It’s also super helpful to have some warp-to pings around the Stations in case of Bubbles.
Two questions:
I haven’t done any mining missions in ages (since I had ~5 or 6M SP, so when I was a newbie). Or any mining at all, tbh. What kind of ISK/hour can one expect for these?
Also:
Just as a helpful note, try declining two in a row while having the agent’s info window open, showing your standings. You’ll be surprised at how little standings you lose when you do this. If that’s the only instance where you would turn the mission down, you’ll find you can safely turn it down and not hurt your standings at all.
Hey @Tatanka_Startamer there’s a little blurb about income in the OP up there somewhere:
Income
• If you are near the keyboard and dock as soon as the ice/gas/ore is mined out, you can do about 3 missions an hour. In High-Sec, a mission gives 1.8M ISK and 4.5K LP on average and depending on whose Loyalty Points you’re getting this can convert into over 40M/hour. In NPC nullsec, working for a Pirate Faction you can get up to 80M/hour.
Thanks! It’s been long enough since that was posted, I forgot about it.
Hello everyone!
Wanted to post a few quick notes and advice to enhance this thread, I got a really nice Eve mail today from a thread browser who wanted to get involved in Level 4 mining missions.
The main questions involved ship selection. For instance, this gentleman wanted to use a Prospect for doing some of the missions, especially the gas mining ones. Remember, the gas harvesting Level 4s are 4250m3, perfect for a Venture. Also recall that “Like Drones to a Cloud” has drones that must be killed. You will need tank and spank, something a Prospect cannot provide. Of course, a Prospect is perfectly fine for “Gas Injections”, but honestly, the Venture is fine. The other missions will also spawn random system rats so you will need some offense.
You can literally do everything in this thread handily with one Endurance and one Venture. The Endurance can literally mine ice and rocks (with drones) almost at Procurer yield levels. Simply swap the mining gear before undocking. The Endurance is far more agile and adaptable than a Procurer. I always decline the big ore missions and stick to gas, ice, and “Not Gneiss at All” (21k).
If you haven’t discovered the Endurance, please take a look. It’s one of the most versatile small ships in Eve. It can tank, spank, haul a metric crapload of ore (especially compressed), is fast, and can (kind of) warp cloaked…making it VERY hard to catch. You can run L1 missions and even clear cosmic anomalies (especially Drone Assembly - veldspar baby) with drones and mine out the ore in almost complete safety, all on one platform. Keep in mind Mining Frigate is exactly HALF the train of Mining Barge. I have two Endurance that I bought off the market the day it was released, making them two of the very first ever produced, and they have paid for themselves handily, without really ever being threatened.
FYI the single best use I have found for the Prospect - SCF (small cargo freighter) - fit up two Inertia Stabs, two Cargo Expanders, and hyperspatial rigs. You get a fast, cloaky cargo boat that can haul around 300m3 of bulk cargo and 10k m3 of gas, ore, or ice. - in almost total safety.
If anyone wants to discuss L4 mining, expedition frigs, or Eve in general I’m always available in game!
Have a great day and #besafe
/msd
Prospects are mostly useful for mining gas in WHs after other ships have cleared the sleepers… or for 20 minutes until the sleepers spawn and then gtfo when ninja huffing far from home/your combat ships.
But yeah, in relation to mining missions, that lack of a drone bay does suck. Great write-up on the glories of the Endurance. All 3 mining frigates are wonderful little ships. 
you want to play the game but don’t want to play the game…
can you play football without touching the ball?
can you play the guitar without touching the strings?
can you play counterstrike without pressing any key?..
I’m actually finding on my basically new toon that its saying it would take over 2 months to train into the Endurance where as I can train into the Retriever in about 17 days? So with the lower training time on the barge with the starting skills given as I don’t think I trianed any mining skills before this, since the Endurance requires Mining Frigate 5 and Electronic Uprgrades 5 that is what is making it take longer to train then a mining barge. So with a lower training time for mining barges is there any reason to do the endurance instead?
What are the endurance recommended fits, and are the miniing barge fits still as recommended above?
Thank you 
The Endurance is an exploration frigate, not a mining frigate.