Missions & Complexes

with 3/5 I think the main thing is to watch out for the triggers. I do like the mach for that mission as it works well in brawl range, but not really worth swapping out for. Also this thread has some tips https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=461889&find=unread

also I'd suggest going brawl fit (for the most part just swap to mega pulse) as all the BS spawn in roughly the same place and all the smaller ships will mostly approach you. MJD might work, although I'm not sure as a few cruisers sensor damp.

this is my low skilled mostly cap stable nightmare template. AB is nice for moving to gates or controlling range. you are faster than almost every npc so you can use that advantageously. I'm not very fond of resist rigs, extenders, or cap flux coils. t2 heatsinks work fine.

[Nightmare, pithum]
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Tracking Enhancer II
Damage Control II

Pithum C-Type Medium Shield Booster
Shield Boost Amplifier II
Cap Recharger II
Republic Fleet 100MN Afterburner
Thermal Dissipation Field II
EM Ward Field II
EM Ward Field II

Tachyon Modulated Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Tachyon Modulated Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Tachyon Modulated Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Tachyon Modulated Energy Beam I, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]

Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I

Yeah, room 2 can overwhelm you if you don't prepare for it well enough. When you initially get to room 2, look for the frigates that look like an Atron, they should be called Elite Federation Lixa or Elite Federation Lochos (one appears for each spawn). Shooting at them will trigger the next spawn regardless if you kill the frigate or not, everything else in the spawns are safe to engage and kill without fear of causing a new spawn to show up.

In room three, focus on the Federation Megathrons that you land closest to (3 of them I think at 10Km or less). They will engage you preemptively soon after you land, with or without further provocation. The other two groups, one to the left and another to the right, will ignore you for now. Once the first three battleships are down, you can safely engage the group to the right without getting the group on the left involved. Attacking or moving on the left, I'm pretty sure, will cause the right most to engage you as well, so best leave the left for last. Once you kill the right most group, the three Federation Navy Orions on the left can be (and should be) engaged from range to avoid their large blaster fire. None of the possible frigates in room 3 tackle or use webs, so you can safely ignore them while focusing mainly on the battleships, letting your drones handle the frigs themselves at your leisure.

Besides that, I'd highly recommend taking a look at the link Hasikan Miallok mentioned. Not just for this particular mission, but the remaining ones as well. Mission 4 can be a bit rough in the final room, though not as bad in my opinion as mission 3's second room. Mission 5 can either be rather easy, or very challenging. What tends to make it one or the other relies almost entirely on how much firepower you can bring. You'll be facing Republic Fleet ships (Minmatar Faction) in that mission instead of the Federation Navy ships you've seen in the other missions in Enemies Abound. Thermal damage will work pretty well on most rats in that mission, though the Republic Fleet Darkana's might take a bit to kill as they have 70-80% shield resist for thermal and EM respectively. The spawn waves in that mission are also uniquely time based, set to trigger one after the other in 4 minute intervals, beginning when you actually take the mission's warpgate and land on the other side. This is important to remember, because once you actually enter that mission, the waves will trigger automatically every 4 minutes no matter what else happens, even if you disconnect or have to bail and warp back. Leave for some time and come back, and the one spawn that was there when you first got there will likely be reinforced by several more, and ALL rats in that mission aggro the player the moment you can see them. They won't wait for you to shoot at them or move closer to them. Theoretically, you could ignore them and go straight for the Smuggler's Gate, but I wouldn't recommend that strategy as it will take some time to destroy even with good offense, and likely not before at least two or more additional spawn waves arrive.

Note that each spawn wave is signified by a message in red letters that will appear in local (not by a player, obviously, but it will show up like any other player message) aproximately 10 seconds before that wave shows up, and the same message will repeat for each wave thereafter, good indicator that more targets are on their way. If you have to, for any reason, leave the mission for longer than a minute or two, I'd actually strongly encourage you to play it safe and cancel the mission. That mission has on hand one of the highest volumes of enemy DPS for L4 missions in one room if all waves are permitted to spawn unopposed (around 3000 total from all waves last I checked) and that DPS is touches all four damage types. Loosing some standings and some fifty mill in loot and tags is better than loosing a mission fit battleship. If you can, however, kill rats fast enough and maintain a solid pace, it can feel like a breeze. It will not forgive you if bring too little firepower, and even a Marauder can struggle if the pilot is unprepared for it.

Sorry for the giving you a lot to read, but I can still remember a time for me when these missions could be at times dangerously uneasy and knowing how each one worked is what made them safe to run.

I don't fly laser boats so I don't really know what the range of the Nightmare is, but I do L4's standard with a MJD (in a SNI). Basically any mission can be done with a MJD and then snipe everything from +100km distance...you don't even need a tank or good resistance if you snipe everything. Just hit the MJD module right after warp in and you will be fine.

You can keep the AB fitted to get to gates quickly and keep at the snipe distance when needed.


This is a cheap fit I use for L4s and it works fine. Even more tank then needed, but I like to have a buffer just in case I run into PvP.

[Scorpion Navy Issue, SNI-PvE snipe (140km range)]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Co-Processor II
Damage Control II

Heavy F-RX Prototype Capacitor Boost
X-Large Shield Booster II
Target Painter II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Sensor Booster II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Shield Boost Amplifier II
500MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive

Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II

Large Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer II
Large Anti-Kinetic Screen Reinforcer II
Large Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer II


Hobgoblin II x3
Gecko x1
Hammerhead II x1

Cap Booster 800 x15
Caldari Navy Scourge Cruise Missile x1672

Well besides the overpriced Gecko it's mostly standard T2 stuff, no expensive bling mods.

True, though all of the Pirate battleships' prices have recently plummeted lower than I've seen them in a very long time, and the Rattler has always been the cheapest.

I could buy a Macharial for less than 500M right now...that's CHEAP!

I will stick with my mid slot happy SNI, it's more versatile :> And that hull is still 50% cheaper then a Golem :>

The problem with the SNI is that it gets a decent rate of fire bonus which is then hamstrung by poor missile velocity and a lack of damage application bonuses. Otherwise I love the ship. I'd love my Golem more if it had 5 lows and 8 mids...

Just looking at your fit, don't you find that it's possibly over-tanked and lacking in damage application? Here are a few suggestions for you (take them for what they're worth).

Switch to Fury ammunition. It's only about 40% of the cost and increases your DPS by 21.8%. Switch out to Precision ammunition for Elite cruisers and frigates. Change your rigs to 2x Large Rigor Catalyst II and 1x Large Flare Catalyst II - this will give you the additional damage application required for Fury ammunition as well as ensuring that Precision ammo 1-shots targets. And swap the Target Painter II to a Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron target painter (same damage application - less cap usage and fitting).

As for your mid setup, I still think you're over-tanked and could be running a cap stable fit - but that's just me.