I was a player quite some time ago, before the alpha/omega clones were implemented. I primarily play solo, and will join a casual corp for chat and to partake in some multiplayer activities occasionally.
I have always primarily been a mission runner, and was able to progress my way up to battleship class ships fairly quickly.
However, this time around, I’m finding funding to be VERY slow. I think what it is is the loot is not worth as much anymore. This is probably a natural progression of the game where the loot at low level is just not in-demand anymore. I remember the implants that you get from special missions, or from loyalty points being worth a lot. Does not seem to be the case anymore.
I was planning to play for some time as an omega player, (Payed for my first month already) but I’m only a week in and already getting discouraged because I may not be able to get in to even level 2 missions anytime soon.
My skills will let me fly a battlecruiser at this point, but I’m having trouble getting a simple cruiser fitted up, and my destroyer just won’t handle level 2s.
It’s frustrating and discouraging to know that I’ve got my skills, I’ve got my agent standing, but I’m going to have to run about 50 more level 1 missions before I can possibly get into something to run level 2s. I think this is going to turn me off of the game well before my second month of omega comes around.
This is more of a feedback message than anything. I don’t remember it being such a grind back when, just to get to level 2 missions.
Perhaps you need a change of scenery; have you thought about hunting for DED Complexes either thru escalations (running anomalies) or by exploration (scanning signatures), or you could also just hunt for Relic/Data sites for a little while when you get hung up on “grinding” missions. Level 1 missions is probably the worst activity you can do if you want to amass wealth.
First of all, go over to the PvE section of the forums. You will find a ton of information there regarding ships, fits, income they provide etc. While tehre also check out other activities such as DED sites, Abyssal space, burner missions and some other stuff.
Loot in missions is almost complete crap unless you have it all set up with an MTU, salvager, etc. and HS salvage is also unfortunately worth crap. The missions income comes from LP, bounties and mission completion, pretty much in that order, not from loot. Again, had over to the PvE section and read up on stuff such as blitzing vs full clears and income forms and amounts it provides for starters.
Why are you unable to do even level 2 sec missions ? Those are perfectly doable with level 3 destroyer and level 3 Tech I weapon skills. they are an absolute breeze in cruisers, cruisers are completely overkill for them. So the problem here is unfortunately 100% on your execution of specific game mechanics rather then anythign else. You will need to provide very specific info, for the specific issues which you are experiencing to obtain help.
Which specific missions, which ships, post your fits, post your relevant skill levels, are you doing these as alpha or omega ? How do you play ? Do you know what a transversal is ? Do you use it ? Do you just hop into a ship that is oversized for mission and land there and not even move just hope to kill everything while standing still ? Do you run out of capacitor ? Do you die from damage as your tank is unable to keep up with it ? Do you die because too many things are firing at you at once ? Are you unable to kill targets due to low DPS or low application ?
All this stuff matters and you need to ask specific questions in order to receive specific answers. Also, battlecruisers are very bad for L2 security missions. Even L3s unless a new and underskileld player or alpha.
Please don’t feel alone, or like you have to suffer by doing endless level 1/2 missions to get enough decent standing with your agent.
When I’m online I can help run missions to give you a boost. What corporation are you doing missions for?
If you type in ‘Elite Alpha’ in the chatroom search box, you’ll find our help channel which does activities like mission running, mining events and so forth for new players. Please feel welcome to join anytime
I suppose what I’m saying is I normally go through this progression:
Frigate > Destroyer > Cruiser > Battlecruiser > Battleship
In the past, I was able to pay for the ships before I reached the skill required, up to cruiser level, then Battlecruiser might take me a little grinding, then a fair grind for Battleship class
Today, I’m already stuck grinding while in a Destroyer, hopefully grind my way to a cruiser soon where I hope to start with lvl 2 missions, then a I expect a long grind to battlecruiser at that point by how things have gone so far. Just showing the difference between back then, and today.
So a lot of what you are explaining here is regarding my familiarity level with the game, and you’re right, I am very, very far from an “Elite” player. I am as casual as they come.
I focus on shield tanking for the most part. The ships I fly are usually slow missile boats. They get slower as I progress through the ships. I’m not an expert “fitter”, but have a decent basic understanding.
Level 1 missions in my destroyer are completed with my eyes closed. Level 2 missions (Tried 2 so far, and maybe I was unlucky and got the hardest ones) I get overwhelmed quickly. Very simply too much damage coming in (Break my shield tank) and not enough going out. I haven’t died yet, I will warp out when I see the writing on the wall that things are not going to end well.
So, understanding that I’m not the most skilled player in the world, my main points are these:
-I’m not doing anything different than I have in the past.
-Progression is much slower today than it was back when, and the bottleneck seems to be income (Yes, when exclusively doing missions, I may need to research some other activities, but remember I’m a VERY casual player, it can’t be too involved, I just don’t have the time for that)
-The difficulty difference between level 1 and 2 is HUGE. I can obliterate my enemies with ease on one, and have little to no chance on the other. This makes for a long grind to get from one level to the next.
I do see what you’re saying, and intend to do some reading on the other activities you mentioned to see if they may fit my style.
Thanks so much for the offer. Part of the reason I’m such a casual player is that I cannot dedicate myself to the game ever. I have a busy family life and I usually game when I have a wee one sleeping beside me. I need to be able to warp out at a moment’s notice to tend to my family. This is why I play mainly solo.
I can actually run level 2’s in a destroyer (thrasher), but it’s tricky. The key is to hit all the small ships in succession quickly before they out-tank you. I use an mwd to fly between each enemy pocket quickly.
I’m currently using a Corax with a shield tank. 6 Light missiles and a salvager. Maybe it’ll be doable once my skills get up a bit more and I can afford some of the better modules. It didn’t seem like I was even close to capable on the two attempts I tried. My shield was down to 1/4 in seconds. I managed to pop one enemy on my first attempt, and none on the second.
after completing all the missions for a school you’ll get enough standings to do level three is for every corporation within that faction that school is a part of
you can do level 4 cargo missions instead if you complete all the Courier agents for a faction
if you complete all the career agents with a faction you want to do missions for and their Ally you should be able to do level 4 missions with both of those factions for cargo guaranteed tell you get up the combat skills
That’s a good point, I suppose I’ve been so focused on security missions, I didn’t think I could do other types of missions too. Now if I can find the system my career missions were in, maybe I’ll go back and do the other ones.
Still though, the point of this thread was that things have changed, and the game seems to be less friendly to new players today than it was in the past. This is feedback for the devs. You want new people coming in, and to stay in. You don’t want them to lose interest in the game before paying for the second month. (Or without paying at all if they never go Omega like I did)
