Extravagant

Settling in the end for just upgrading to a Tech II Medium Armour Repairer I took the plunge last night and continued to do level 3 agent missions. I had an easy start to the night when I was dispatched to take down three frigates and one cruiser, followed by a courier run that was no problem for my speedy Atron. Skipping a request to "Silence The Informant" (the longest, hardest level 3 rogue drone mission? I think not) I was offered the deadspace glory of Serpentis Extravaganza. As I dropped out of warp amidst a sea of cruisers I rather regretted accepting it.

An hour and a half later I was several million Isk richer, down three medium drones and a whack of Antimatter ammo and rather pleased with myself indeed. The first level required careful approach of the enemy group by group, which proved challenging enough for me at the time. I soon got the hang of it though, getting more and more confident as my blasters and drones tore through the varied selection of cruisers (high, medium and low bounty versions) and frigates. I was warned about the second level, so arriving in the middle of half a dozen turrets and a cruiser rat wasn't as shocking as it could have been. As all the turrets were in range, I had to fight a risky battle of capacitor energy versus DOT (damage over time). Thankfully my blasters and drones did the job fast enough to allow me triumph. Without my 4800+ units of armour though, I'd have been a bit screwed! The final stage was nice and quiet by comparison, despite the large number of enemy ships to dispatch.

A particle accelerator and shield sphere in level 3 deadspace.

The entire task took over an hour and a half, putting the forty five minute bonus time (for a lot of cigarettes) laughably out of reach. However, it was good fun and much more rewarding than level 2 missions. The next step will be to succeed in more of the properly tough missions whilst I begin training up for my lovely little Ares interceptor.