Penumbra, Level 4 Epic Arc

Last edited by DeMichaelCrimson:
Updated Mission Info
Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:29 UTC

Chapter 2 : Blackness Rising

Mission 8 - Meet Sinas

Report to Sinas Egassuo's Chimera in Astoh

Mission 9 - Right Tool for the Job

Faction: Gallente Navy
Mission type: Encounter
Space type: Normal space
Damage dealt: Therm/Kin
Web/Scramble: Web / Scram
Extras: Sensor Dampening
Recommended damage dealing: Therm (best), Kin (secondary)
Data Analyzer and Hacking skill required to complete mission

Single Pocket (2 Groups)

Broadcast Tower Group (44km)

Mixed Fleet with 3 time based reinforcement spawns (every 2 minutes)
Complete Fleet after spawns :

8x Frigate (Federation Praktor Belos, Praktor Harpago)
7x Elite Frigate (Elite Federation Machina, Pelekus, Phalarica, Arcus)
5x Destroyer (Federation Arcus, Pelekus)
10x Cruiser (Federation Praktor Centurion, Praktor Legionarius)
9x Elite Cruiser (Elite Federation Arx, Auxilia, Liburna, Calo, Quadrieris)
5x Battlecruiser (Federation Praktor Bearcus, Federation Calo)
13x Battleship (Federation Covinus, Federation Praktor Phanix, Praktor Praeses, Praktor Polemo, Praktor Hexeris, Praktor Magister)

Tip : Time based spawns happen quickly. All ships will drop Gallente Navy Tags but be forewarned, negative standing hits incured for Aggro / Ship Kill. Expect EWAR from Elite Frigates and Elite Cruisers. Probably a good idea to get help from friends before attacking this group :)

Federation Navy Shipyard Group (63km)

1x Elite Frigate (Elite Federation Manica) Warp Scram
2x Elite Frigate (Elite Federation Matara) Sensor Dampening
5x Elite Destroyer (Elite Federation Arcus)

Blitz = Warp in to 100km range, ignore Broadcast Tower Group and maneuver ship into range to destroy Federation Navy Shipyard Group. Container can not be Hacked with defenders present. Collect the FOF FedNav Identifier Tag to complete the mission.

Mission 10 - The Breakout

Faction: Gallente Navy
Space type: Deadspace
Damage dealt: Therm/Kin
Web/Scramble: N/A
Recommended damage dealing: Therm (best), Kin (secondary)
Recommended ship: Any frig fitted with a probe launcher and code breaker (will also need a weapon and/or drones)
Optional Fit: MWD or AB for the long trek to gate MWD is working
Items Needed: FedNav F.O.F Identifier Tag from Mission 9 (No longer consumed on use)
Need Hacking 3 (Hacking 2 and 2 rigs worked)

Warp In

First, scan down the site. Apparently, the site (Federation Detention Facility) can be in any system in the Aokinen constellation. However, I found it in the first system I looked in which was Uchomida (not low sec). Apparently this site will appear in every system in the constellation now. And it will respawn again if someone complete it before you.

When you warp to the site, the next pocket is reached through the Newly Construction Acceleration gate which is over 90km away. You can't set a bookmark closer, warp out and then warp back in (tried it), but MWD does work. There is a ton of big velds rocks (55k to 120k for a total of 2.5 million) in the room but its all 60km to 115km away. Only one ship can activate and use the gate but the tag is not used up.
I can add here: there is alot of gallente ships that you can kill but you will need help ( They suppose to see you like gallente and not attack you with the Tag, but i killed them all :) )
No agro for chars on the arc, others even with the tag do agro.

Single Pocket

In the next room there are 8 frigs that are very weak and only one or two will actually aggro. Eliminate the frigs and then hacked one of the prison facilities to save the prisoner. You may be able to hack another one before the rest of the prisons self-destruct. What's left are cargo containers with either 10 janitors or 10 generic prisoners. Salvage from the frigs wrecks in unremarkable.

Blitz: buy the Caldari Prisoners of War on contracts.

See comments below for more information:

Mission 11 - Whisper of a Conspiracy

Sinas sends you to a low sec system in Black Rise where he wants you to check out an Ishkone facility and see if they are exchanging prisoners of war with the Gallente.

Route can be either entirely high sec or go into low-sec so be careful. Warp to the mish site. Sinas says to check out the telescope. Once you reach about 10km from it, Sinas hacks it for you and you can open it to get the mish item, an Encrypted Data Node.

Mission 12 - Practical Solutions

Mission Type: Courier

Pick up Vira Mikano from an Ishkone Watch station and bring him back to Sinas so he can decrypt the Encrypted Data Node.

Mission 13 - Forewarning

Mission Type: Courier to Deadspace Location (possibly into Low Sec)
Recommended Ship: Very fast frigate or covert ops

Mission ends when you make the drop into the Conference Center.

Hyasyoda path: (next mission -> The Knowledge to Act(Story Arc Branch))
If you did the mission 'An Honorable Betrayal' from the first branch, an Ishkone agent will start a convo window with you telling you to ditch Sinas after you complete the mission. Then you report back to Sinas and he gives you the choice to ditch him or not.

Nugoehuvi path: (next mission -> A Difference of Opinion (Story Arc Branch))
If you didn't do the mission 'An Honorable Betrayal' from the first branch, then report back to Sinas to make the next choice: whether to continue working for Sinas or to return to Katsen Isha in Poinen.
All is decided in the begining of the epic arc you just recieve different msg. here.

Mission 14 - The Knowledge to Act(Story Arc Branch) - (Hyasyoda path)

Mission 14 - A Difference of Opinion (Story Arc Branch) - (Nugoehuvi path)

The story arc branches according to your choice :

If you didn't do the mission 'An Honorable Betrayal' from the first branch, your choices will be

- Home In Peace (leads to 25m ISK reward)
- The Knowledge to Act (leads to 20x Nugoehuvi Synth Blue Pill Boosters reward)

If you did do 'An Honorable Betrayal' from the first branch, your choices will be

- Home In Peace
- Slipping Away (leads to Hyasyoda Mobile Laboratory reward)

Mission 15 - Home In Peace(Story Arc Branch) - (Hyasyoda path and Nugoehuvi path)

Mission Type: Low Sec Courier
Recommended Ship: Hauler/Blockade Runner

Head to Teskanen and pick up ten thousand Caldari POW's(about 5,000m3) and transport them to Malkanen in an effort to end Ishkone's blundering around trying to get their POW's back without making Ishkone look bad.

Mission 15 - Slipping Away(Story Arc Branch) - (Hyasyoda path)

Report to Arikio Kuretsu at Wuos V - Moon 1 - Hyasyoda Corporation Mining Outpost

Mission 15 - Learning by Doing (Story Arc Branch) - (Nugoehuvi path)

Report to Katsen Isha in Poinen

Mission 16 - Across the Line - (Hyasyoda path)

Faction: Nugoeihuvi (Caldari Ships)
Mission type: Encounter
Space type: Normal space (can warp to structures)
Damage dealt: Kin/Therm
Web/Scramble: Nugoeihuvi Elite Frigates warp scram
Recommended damage dealing: Kinetic (best), Thermal (secondary)
Recommended ship: Raven

Spawn on Entry: 1x Battleship (Nugoeihuvi Caretaker, see addendum below original entry)

When you warp to zero, you will be at the edge of the complex near some structures. The BS, cruisers and frigates will be clustered about 150km away, near the mission objective can that you need to pickup. The can is locked until all enemies are dead. The elite cruisers will perma-jam you from a very long range (>125km), and the frigates will both web and scram, but the frigate scram range appears to be more restrictive. DPS from the BS's is quite heavy and they use very long-range torpedoes. If you let the frigates get hold of you, you risk losing your ship. Stay at long range (>125km).

So, how to do the mission solo? In a Raven, it's time to dust off some Dragon FoF missiles and use your ship's range bonuses. Moderately skilled pilots (BS 4, supports at 4) should be able use FoF's from about 200km, more or less. Cross the boundary structures and approach the group until they aggro. The entire group will aggro. Immediately turn around and begin moving away from the group. Keep moving and launch your FoF's (you need an enemy targeting you for them to fire). The FoF's appear to stay on the frigates first, then the cruisers, then the BS's. The enemies will stop chasing you near the boundary structures and turn back toward their original position. Keep firing until the frigates and cruisers are dead. If you stay at long range, you can evade every shot. After the frigates and cruisers are dead, the remaining BS's, even though you can now lock them, will still put out some serious DPS, so be prepared to warp out if you have to. Once they are dead, bookmark the structure near the can, warp to a celestial and then to the bookmark. Grab the can contents (Deteis Family) and you're done.

Train FoF missiles up to at least level 2 or 3. I used Dragon FoF (kinetic) and Wrath Cruise (when I could lock). Easy mission if you do it this way. Be sure and salvage as there are top tier Caldari tags in the wrecks.

Alternatively, you could throw on a sensor booster with a targeting range script, and target the dampeners from about 150km. Once they are destroyed the mission is fairly simple. Kite the battleships and throw drones on the frigates. You can warp to the cargo container 150km away, and back to the initial buildings to keep at range. The Battleships with torps generally can hit you from up to 120km. If you stay further than that the mission is a cinch.

Addendum from Corvus Dove (in a Rattlesnake, passive tank fit w/two drone range mods): As of September 2011, this mission seems to have changed. Spawn on arrival is a single BS (Caretaker) @ 160km from inpoint. This is bait to get you to "cross the line" by warping. Don't fall for it, slowboat about 15-30km. Once you cross the line close enough for the jammers (150km from the objective or so), you see:

13x Nugoeihuvi Elite Frigates (Talbu State Wakizashi/Suriage/Shirasay/Shinai) Web, Scramble
4x Nugoeihuvi Elite Cruisers (Talbu State Daimyo/Shugo) Jamming, Defenders
6x Nugoeihuvi Battleship (State Shukuro Shogun/Nagashin) (Kin/therm guns, Thermal missiles, 60-70km orbit)
1x Nugoeihuvi Caretaker (BS from before)(Does not aggro until you attack something)

Not sure if sniping the caretaker triggers the spawn as well.

Start kiting. All but the Caretaker auto-aggro, drones may be deployed but watch them, there seems to be a % chance of target swap to the drones if they severely damage or destroy a a frigate. Interestingly, if their first shot fails to hit a drone, they re-lock you. I suggest using light drones on the frigs, the BS miss them. Further, once all frigates are down, nearly the entire spawn swapped off me and attacked the drones. BRING SPARE DRONES. Target swapping ended for me after all frigates were destroyed. Attempting to put drones on the BS first DID draw aggro from the frigates on the drones.

Once the frigates are down, bring the drones in and warp to the can. This will put the cruisers closer than the battleships you were kiting and gives you a short break from their jammers. Use the chance to do direct fire damage and assign drones on the cruisers, their tank shrugs off FoF if your skills aren't high in them. Once two are destroyed, you should be able to direct fire the remaining two to death.

Once that's done, keep kiting the DPS and kill the battleships. The Caretaker is a DPS monster at close range, and the battleships use thermal missiles. From here, standard stuff.

Blitz: Kill Caretaker and scram frigs, grab family warp. (use alt to agro or very dangerous)

Mission 16 - The Price of Silence - (Nugoehuvi path)

Faction: Caldari (ishukone)
Mission Type: High Sec Encounter
Space type: Deadspace
Damage dealt: Kin/Therm
Recommended damage dealing: Kinetic (best), Thermal (secondary)
Web/Scramble: The Ishukone Watch Hawks might web and warp scramble your ship Rooks and Buzzard heavy Dampening
Recommended Ship: Raven
Objective: Recover the original hard copies of the mission documents from somewhere inside the Ishukone Watch facility

Deadspace entrance guards:
1 Ishukone Watch Commander (battleship)
6 Ishukone Watch Raven (battleship)
4 Ishukone Watch Moa (cruiser)
4 Ishukone Watch Rook (cruiser) damping
2 Ishukone Watch Buzzard (frigate) damping
2 Ishukone Watch Hawk (frigate) can warp scramble you
4 Ishukone Watch Kitsune (frigate)
8 Ishukone Watch Cruise Missile Battery
2 Ishukone Watch Stasis Tower Web

After you kill all the ships you must approach the central building to receive a message.
This completes the mission and spawns a container with 1 Ishukone Operational Reports (0.1 m3).

EVE-Survival : Penumbra4p2

Revision [19862]