I got stuck in the L4 big mineral missions and after about 20 trips with the venture I found out the asteroids poppedand I was short 40 ore. Frustrating. Couldn’t use the Skiff because the strip miner crystals don’t work on the mission ores. I’ll just skip them from now on.
Thanks for your guide. Wish CCP would fix the missions.
Instead of going back and forth with the Venture, depending on the system security level, maybe anchor a Giant Secure Container at the site and fill it up, then use a T1 Hauler to transport the Ore when finished…
Or go old school and just jetcan the Ore…
I went back and did another one taking a chance that an modulated strip miner could work without a crystal and it did. Still slow, but with the Skiff’s Ore storage almost 4x the Venture it requires much less back-and-forth.
Just a lot of d scanning.
Even though the “un"modulated strip miner II shows a 34% residue attribute, I didn’t lose any of the mission rock.
An MTU works especially well, again with the caveat that some folks are PvMTUers to pad their killboards.
/msd
I’m still of the opinion that doing Distribution level 3’s (And 2’s when you can pick them up in the same system) in a Wreathe with 50mn MWD and Cap Battery is faster. I get half the corp standing that Unknown Events gets me, and if I can get a storyline in the same corp, I’m golden. You won’t get Unknown events constantly, but I get level 3’s as much as I want.
also, I can run them in the background. When I hear “Docking request accepted” I know it’s time to tab over.
One more:
I’m looking forward to the new ships. I don’t know how critical chance will factor into us doing missions. (No residue, no critical perhaps?)
Incidentally I can tell you why Unknown events gets you more standing. The lavite you mine is used in Incursions, so people accept it, mine it, and fail it. The Dynamic reward system improves the rewards.
@Ribs_Ramone I agree that distribution can be more consistent - with the caveat that there are some very good systems that have multiple L2 mining agents (I’m looking at you Kusomonmon and Aramachi) where you can consistently pull Unknown Events. I also will accept Mercium Belt as filler, as it is a single-rock 6k m3 mission.
With the 50% increase in LP and ISK rewards I still think it’s going to be the best bang for the standings buck. My only issue with distribution is some will fling you a billion jumps away, and if you aren’t careful where you turn in the missions you may get a storyline mission at an agent you don’t necessarily want.
After the expansion drops I’ll do a full work up on the Level 4 mining missions. It seems CCP has made wholesale changes to rock and cloud positioning. HOPEFULLY this means “Not Gneiss At All” now has the rock at 10km instead of 50km.
/msd
Yeah but remember that gankers now warp darn close to you. Although I hated that “slowboat” to the Gneiss asteroid.
Just pick the right distro agent and go to town. I am trying to get to 5.0 corp standing with everyone with a mining level 4 or level 4 sec (Only in null).
But I’m crazy. I’m totally burned out on Exploration and just need something to chillax with while doing other stuff.
I could see using a pioneer instead of a venture in the rat gas mission.
Yep! Pioneer is gonna be a VAST upgrade over Venture for “Like Drones to a Cloud”.
/msd
Your supposed to do the gas ones in a Covetor.
Anyway, Like drones to a cloud. Was 27km, now 10km \o/ and wasn’t this the one with the gas inside a sort of broken asteroid that you couldn’t orbit cos you would get stuck. Well that’s gone so now you can orbit fine.
Cheap chills. Landed 13km from the rock. Can’t remember what it used to be, I had notes but they suck.
Geodite and Gemology before I think you landed 30km from the rock, now 20km.
Why a Covetor? Is it the fastest? How much faster than a venture? A Venture is cheap…
Oh. And can confirm in Nullsec the distance for Not Gneiss is 17 km. And your strip I’d go 15km….
Covetor is by far the fastest gas mining ship. IF you have mining barge V. Otherwise it’s a downgrade from the Prospect. My problem with the barges in missions and in general: they are miserably slow, warp like mud, have zero tank, and are WAY more expensive. They are also like waving a red towel in front of a bull: HERE GANK ME!
Pioneer is now amazing for “Like Drones to a Cloud”. The flight of 4 drones tears up the drone rats like butter. You can fit two DDAs in the lows rather than one. The locking range is 2x the Venture. And it’s FAR cheaper and more flexible than a Covetor.
I’ve run every mission, I’ll post a report soon.
/msd
You have to be really unlucky to get ganged in a barge. An Exhumer maybe but a barge, the guy would have to be really bored. And if you do, it’s a bit of who cares unless you got expensive implants in and you get podded as well.
You can only use Prospect on one of the missions as the other has drones. The idea of Mining Missions is for it to take up the least amount of your attention as possible so having 2 ships to do the job that one can do isn’t ideal.
And all this talk of tank. My tank is a Civilian Shield Booster. That is fine for all level 4’s.
“You can fit two DDAs in the lows rather than one.“ You just don’t need any of this unless your drone skills suck. The rats are pathetic. Go with Covetor and have 3 overdrives in the lows.
Work on your mining barge 5, brah.
Your a bit new to Mining Missions, yeah?
[Covetor, L4 Gas]
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Civilian Shield Booster
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Gas Cloud Harvester II
Gas Cloud Harvester II
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters I
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters II
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters II
Hornet II x2
Republic Fleet Valkyrie x3
Good morning everyone:
In response to the above post, and being new to Mining Missions since 2008…allow me to explain my reasonings. My goal with all my posts in this thread to get the maximum Level 4 mining mission output for the least input. That’s been my MO in every post I have made in this thread since 2018 when I made my first comments.
First of all, you are NEVER SAFE IN EVE. Period. Saying you have to be unlucky to get ganked in a barge is the stupidest statement I’ve heard yet. This is exactly what Safety. does, and if you think they won’t probe down your mission site then you are obviously new to Eve. They never seem to get bored.
That being said, I’m going to tackle the specific example of “Like Drones to a Cloud”. Before yesterday, the best way to complete this mission was a barge or a Venture. Obviously, as I have posted many time before, I favored the Venture. The Covetor is the best and fastest GAS mining ship in New Eden, at 15% better than Venture/Prospect at Mining Barge V. This comes with an investment of around 74m ISK for the hull and gas miners, and a long skill train. OR you could use a cheap, specifically fit Venture with an investment of around 15 million. Less ISK, less skills, more utility.
Yesterday, the Pioneer was released. I give this ship a solid recommendation as part of my Level 4 mining mission fleet. It’s nimble, much tankier than a Venture (or the garbage Covetor @Recycled_Alt posted), and has better drone DPS. It’s still a very low investment in ISK and skills vs Covetor. It’s also perfect for running Level 2 mining missions as you grind your way up. But it also has other use cases: it’s great as a stand-alone gas miner. Interested in scanning for gas sites? Fit up a probe launcher on your Pioneer utility high! Traveling a few jumps to your next mining mission agent? Pioneer has mobility. Belt or anomoly mining? Swap the two DDAs in the lows and install two MLU IIs and off you go. Did I mention the Covetor has a 9k ore bay and the Pioneer 8k?
Again, my goal for everyone here has always been utility, least ISK spent, and risk vs. reward. My current Level 4 mining mission fleet is now one Endurance and one Pioneer. Endurance handles “Cheap Chills”, “Ice Installation”, and “Not Gneiss at All”. Pioneer now handles “Gas Injections” and “Like Drones to a Cloud”. Pioneer also swaps in mining gear to handle “Unknown Events” for grinding standings with new mining corporations.
[Pioneer, L4 Gas Missions]
Gas Cloud Scoop I, II, or Syndicate
Gas Cloud Scoop I, II, or Syndicate
Gas Cloud Scoop I, II, or Syndicate
Salvager I
Medium Shield Extender II
Kinetic Shield Amplifier II
Thermal Shield Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing II
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing II
Small EM Shield Reinforcer II
Acolyte I or Acolyte II x 4
Salvage Drone I x 2
Please do not go AFK while doing “Like Drones to a Cloud”. As recently as September, a HULK was lost in Aufay to NPC cruiser rats while doing this mission. Granted, the fit was not great but it was a LOT more than one Civilian Shield Booster. You absolutely can go AFK briefly in “Gas Injections” as this mission doesn’t spawn rats. As always YOU ARE NEVER SAFE IN EVE!
If you have questions drop a line here or send an Eve Mail
/msd
Don’t listen to this guy, guys ^. OFC you can go AFK in all the L4 missions (talking about hi-sec ofc). That is the whole point. If you have to be AT your keyboard you might as well do something more lucrative.
The pathetic rats won’t kill you as long as you get your drone skillz up.
Civilian Shield Booster for the win.
He is saying my fit is crap but that is exactly what I use. How can it be crap if it works.
Here’s my other fits as well so he can call them garbage but you can actually use them:
Ice
[Retriever, L4 mission - ice]
Ice Harvester Upgrade II
Ice Harvester Upgrade II
Ice Harvester Upgrade II
Civilian Shield Booster
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Ice Harvester II
Ice Harvester II
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Ice Harvester Accelerator I
Hornet II x2
Republic Fleet Valkyrie x3
Ore
[Retriever, L4 mission - ore]
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Civilian Shield Booster
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Strip Miner I
Strip Miner I
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters I
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters II
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters II
Hornet II x2
Republic Fleet Valkyrie x3
That’s it. Those are the 3 ships you need. Garbage, huh? 
Don’t bother swapping drones to match your region. There is a mix of mediums and lights to deal with both frigs and cruisers. Hornets have the most HP to survive the odd rat hitting them and the RF Valks have the best tracking. If your valks hit, they whack. But they often miss. So tracking is king over hitting into thier lowest resist.
I’ve been posting in this thread since 2018. You’ve been here five minutes. I know what I am talking about. This is my primary in-game activity.
/ignore
Personally, I just use two Hulks and a Porpoise to knock them out as fast as possible.
Perfectly fine! These are easy and quick with boosts. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. You can do Retriever (which can solo every mission listed on one platform), Covetor…or heck drone mine with an Orca!
My goal is to create a good setup with minimum investment in skills and ISK. I’ve made my opinion noted: I’m not a huge barge fan. They lack mobility and tank. I’m certainly not putting an undersized prop mod and auxiliary thrusters on a barge. But hey guys….do you!
Fly safe!
I hve noticed the corp standing for level 4’s (In null anyway) have been nerfed making rejecting missions (If you have under 5.0 faction) a bit harder.