Eve: selecting a mission hub

Some thoughts now on selecting a long term mission running hub in Eve.

Security level

The three big choices are null sec, low sec or high sec. Null sec missions are mostly given by pirate factions and offer some really nice faction rewards in their loyalty point stores. However the pirate stations are open to anyone and they tend to be more dangerous than sovereign space since neutrals and enemies may dock there.

Low sec contains some of the better agents including all level 5s. It's extremely risky solo. Low sec is primarily the domain and hunting grounds of small pirate gangs and you will stick out like a sore thumb if you run missions, even if there's a gang of you.

High sec is "safe space" which suits my purposes best because my pve fit is different from a pvp fit and I want to be able to run these missions solo.

Within high sec security rating varies from 0.5 to 1.0 and the lower the security rating the better the mission you get. Each 0.1 of security standing equates to about 5-10 levels of agent quality. So I'm really looking for a 0.5 security system.

Faction

I've developed my character with Caldari/Amarr loyalties. I could have gone Gallente/Minmatar but that would mean no autopiloting to Jita which would be inconvenient. I'll stay in Caldari or Amarr space and shoot Gallente and Minmatar in my missions.

Another option if I were starting over would be cherry picking my missions so I just kill drones and pirates avoiding losing faction. It would mean a lot of travelling to new agents and bookkeeping about whether my 4 hour lockout has expired on an agent so I can start using him again. In retrospect I wish I'd done that, I afk autopilot a lot and it's annoying to find I've lost a ship because it veered into Gallente space.

OK so I've narrowed it down to 0.5 Caldari or Amarr space.

Mission level and type

I'm looking for level 4s for now. Level 5s are too hard alone and the lower level ones aren't sufficiently rewarding.

I'd rather run kill missions than anything else and checking this handy chart I can see that there are 4 mission types offering over 90% kill missions: Command, Internal Security, Security and Surveillance.

I'm looking for Command, Internal Security, Security and Surveillance level 4s in Caldari or Amarr space.

Loyalty point to isk conversion

One of the key factors in the profitability of mission running is how much isk you get per loyalty point. You can generally make more money spending your LPs on something rarer than the ubiquitous implants.

I want the corporation I run missions for to offer something rare and valuable in its store.

Don't send me to low sec!

This one's a personal preference - it's very inconvenient being sent to low sec. So if I get offered a mission in low sec I'll refuse it but you can only refuse one mission per 4 hours without taking a standings hit.

So 1) I need a base with other suitable level 4 agents nearby in case I lockout one agent and 2) my ideal system is a 0.5 or 0.6 with no adjoining low sec systems (since most missions are only one jump or no jumps).


Proximity of storyline agents


Another factor is how close the storyline agent is that you will be sent to every 16 missions and how useful his corporation's loyalty points are. I haven't found any method of discovering this information other than playing Eve. It clearly would be a pain to have to jump 4 jumps and/or have to go to low sec to get your storyline missions.

So now I know roughly what I want the next step is to search Eve Agents for suitable agents. I decide to check out the Amarr region as it's more remote and uncrowded than Caldari which appeals to me. I set filter to level 4, no Storyline agents, no Faction Warfare agents and Faction=Amarr then looked through my dataset ones that matched my criteria.


Amongst those that jump out at me is:

Momabah Pindan, a 4,-17 agent of the Royal Khanid Navy in Palas (0.5). His quality is low but he's miles away from any low sec and the faction store has some nice items including armour repairers.


Khanid is super quiet, borders Querious and Delve which is not where player corps famous for suicide ganking live these days. Might be a nice peaceful place to run lucrative level 4s.


Summary of useful links:

Mission types (proportions of courier, kill, mining or trade)
Region maps
Agent finder
What's for sale at the loyalty store?
Eve Survival level 4 mission guides