If I had absolutely no money, I’d run a set of career agent missions (preferably Gallente because, iirc, they give you a Tristan). Then I’d buy a Tristan, and go run Serpentis hideaways for their escalation -the Serpentis narcotics warehouse (or the other DED 3/10’s). Of course, the average loot drop is significantly more modest, but, iirc, the most I pulled out of one of those was 400mil. An alpha in a kiting tristan runs them rather slowly, but he can run them.
And do note that there are multiples structures/ships that have a chance to drop faction goodies. Usually, only the warehouse at the end drops good stuff, but I’ve had the other things occasionally drop loot for me as well. So, I like to bookmark the start, and then go back through so that I can hit every room (the site has 2 branching paths that you can take). And do note that the link above has links to all the sites that will tell you what rats/structures have a chance of dropping goodies.
Anyway, DED 3/10’s also spawn as combat sigs, which you can scan down. But, you might have problems scanning them down if you have crappy scanning skills or are an alpha, and you will have more problems with site competitors. Like I said, the kiting Tristan runs it pretty slow. So, even though running a bunch of hideaways just to get the escalation isn’t the quickest way to get a crack at a DED 3/10, it is significantly more likely to result in you being able to finish the site without a competitor showing up. Of course, given Eve’s current player population, this might not be as big of a deal as it usually is.
Regardless, this method can quickly earn you enough money to move on to other things, such as the abyss, incursions, or a faster ship for running combat exploration sites.
I don’t remember the exact fit I used to use, but this is a good starting point, and is alpha freindly. I know for a fact that you don’t need a MWD for the Serpentis variants of sites, but the other variants might have ships that move faster. In fact, I would probably avoid Angel Repurposed Outposts (Minmatar space). They definitely have faster moving frigates and Target Painters, so you might have trouble with those. Regardless, swap out the drones for the type that deals the best damage against what you are fighting. Some people might also prefer fitting for an increased drone control and targeting range. But I decided to design the fit for speed. ~40k damage projection is sufficient, the 3 second align time (requires Evasive Maneuvering and Spaceship Command IV) will help you find sites faster and make you harder to blap if you’re rolling heavy with loot, and the increased movement speed will help you burn through the DED sites a little bit faster. Moreover, as mentioned previously, you need to be able to outrun the fastest frigates that those sites will through at you. It shouldn’t be a problem for older characters, but newbros might be lacking in skills that increase their speed (i.e. Navigation and Acceleration Control). The autotargeting system will move you up on the agro table, which can help keep agro on you, and off your drones. But, depending on skills, you might not have the cap to run it. Regardless, it will increase you number of locked targets by one even when it is turned off, it’s dirt cheap, has virtually no fitting cost, and you have the high slots to spare. So, might as well fit it. To use the ship, orbit a structure/object at ~35k with prop mod on, and start by killing ships with EWAR and any frigs that might get close enough to start applying damage to you. You do not have to worry about webs or warp disruption in any of the sites. So your biggest threat is probably bouncing into a structure (which can help things catch up to you and apply damage to you). So pay attention to your ships orbit, and change what you’re orbiting if necessary. You might also want to set up a GTFO/Pod saver tab, so that you can quickly warp out if things start getting hairy.
DED 3/10 Tristan - 6mil isk
[Tristan, Tristan]
Damage Control II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
1MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
Small Azeotropic Restrained Shield Extender
Compact Multispectrum Shield Hardener
Auto Targeting System I
[Empty High slot]
[Empty High slot]
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Hornet II x5
And to any newbros that might see this. Ignore any suggestions to buy plex. You’d be denying yourself knowledge and experience, and will likely spend the isk poorly and/or turn yourself into a loot pinata. You cannot microtransaction your way to success in Eve.
P.S. You can actually run all 12 sets of career agent missions (3 sets per empire) on the same character once. So there is no need to roll a new character to run it again. CCP has been talking about condensing them down to one set in one systems, but haven’t done so yet. I wonder if they’re worried that player populations in other areas might suffer if the newbros all start off in one spot. Regardless, career agent missions also have the added benefit of helping you gain standings rather quickly. If you know what you’re doing, and come prepared, you can blitz through an entire set in about 2 hours.
Also, don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose.