The Blockade, Level 4

Last edited by AntihristPripravnik
Fri, 12 Dec 2014 22:52 UTC

Faction: Angel Cartel
Mission type: Encounter
Space type: Normal space (no gate, can be warped 0-100km)
Damage dealt: Exp/kin/therm, heavy Explosive torps
Webbing: Stasis tower in the first spawn.
Web/scramble: Some elite frigates may web or scramble.
Recommended damage dealing: Explosive, Kinetic
Recommended ship classes: Battleship, Command Ship, Strategic Cruiser, HAC
Video: http://youtu.be/CjC6VxveOo4 , Raven T2 fit

Warning: mixed reports on EM or Explosive Torps by some rats.

Single pocket

As with all Blockades the mission starts with one tight group including a stasis tower, followed by 4 additional waves of rats, triggered by certain ships. The waves are picked randomly out of a pool of several types of waves. The trigger ship is hard to document as it varies with the type of wave you get. The waves spawn in groups so you should observe the spawns you get and try to spot a unique battleship in one of the groups. This is most likely the trigger.

Initial Spawn

You warp in approx 30km from this one. Aggro on warp in from all and immediate web.

1x Starbase Stasis Tower
4x Destroyer (Gistior Trasher)
4x Battleship (Gist Throne), Explosive torpedoes
1x Battleship (Gist Malakim/Gist Nephilim), TRIGGER

Following waves

Variant 1 (3 groups 45-85 km away)

2x Interceptor (Arch Gistii Ruffian/Nomad), Web/scramble
2x Destroyer (Gistior Defacer)
2x HAC (Arch Gistum Phalanx), Thermal Damage
3x HAC (Arch Gistum Smasher), Target painter
2x Battlecruiser (Gistatis Praefectus)
3x Battleship (Gist War General)
1x Battleship (Gist Nephilim/Malakim), TRIGGER

Variant 2 (2 Groups 50 and 90 km away)

Gist Malakim is in the closest group with just a Gistior Seizer as a wingman.

1x Destroyer (Gistior Seizer)
1x Battleship (Gist Malakim/Gist Throne), Not the trigger!
1x/2x Interceptor (Arch Gistii Ruffian), Web/scramble
2x Battleship (Gist War General)
1x Battleship (Gist Malakim/Nephilim), TRIGGER

Variant 3 (2 Groups 75 and 90km away)

3x Destroyer (Gistior Shatterers)
3x HAC (Arch Gistum Smashers), Painter
1x Battleship (Gist Malakim), EM torpedoes, TRIGGER
3x Battlecruiser (Gistatis Legionnaire)
3x Battleship (Gist Warlords)

Fourth and Final wave

The trigger ship here triggers mission completion upon destruction.

Variant 1

3x Interceptor (Arch Gistii Outlaw), Web/Scramble
4x Battleship (Gist Throne/Gist Malakim), Explosive torps
1x Battleship (Gist Seraphim), TRIGGER

Variant 2 (very rare)

4x Interceptor (Arch Gistii Rogue), Web/scramble
4x Battleship (Gist Malakim)
1x Battleship (Gist Seraphim), TRIGGER
1x Battleship (Domination Commander)

Video

This video shows you how it's done in a domi
http://youtu.be/CjC6VxveOo4

Tactics and notes

1. Kosh Maranek reports: Was able to maintain range favourable to the optimal range of my Maelstrom. Used Titanium Sabot for targets between 50 - 100 km and then EMP for targets under 50 km. Since everything aggross as soon as it spawns use that to your advantage specially when in a gunboat. Pick off smaller vessels first and then take out BS's. Didn't take many hits, except the Seraphim has cruise missiles that hit me at 130km, Malakim and Saints have Exp torpedoes that started hitting around 70 - 75km. With 2 EXP hardeners damage from the Exp Torps should be minimal especially if shield tanking.

2. Tactic for LongRange Ships (at least 80km locking/firing range): Warp mission to 70, make bookmark. Kill the stasis tower first, then spawns as they come (begin with small ships, some of them web/scramble!), slowboat away from the Stargate while doing it (kiting the spawns!). If NPCs are coming too close, warp to one of the structures in the pocket which should be more than 150km away until then. Again kill the spawns while kiting them, if needed warp to your bookmark. Repeat. This way the mission is doable with a minimum tank (300 dps angel specific tank is enough if you kill real fast). Tested in Navy Dominix w. Sentries+Rails -> ~25 Minutes with my Skills (far from perfect). For sure doable in below 20 Minutes in a Marauder/Faction BS and max Skills. Do at your own Risk!

Bounty Value: About 21Mill ISK without Corporation Tax deducted.
Salvage: Large portions of Alloyed Tritanium Bars ; Armor Plates ; Burned Logic Circuit ; Tripped Power Circuit and some minor others.
Large spaceport at the very bottom of the map drops general commodities.

CategoryMissions
CategoryLevel4

Comments [Hide comments/form]

Navy Raven
3x Explosive Hardeners, 1x Kinetic Hardener
Easy

-- KieWit (2008-06-15 01:02:07)

Just got a faction spawn at the end of the mission. Basically you get the usual final wave, plus one additional Domination BS, mine was 3,75 million bounty. Dropped 1000 Arch Angel ammo, but I imagine it could theoretically drop some very nice loot. I've never heard of a faction spawn at the end of the Blockade, so it may be an Empyrean Age feature. Pic: http://jupix.info/kuvia/eve/dominationboss.jpg

-- ItsJupix (2008-06-16 05:34:56)

Indeed there is faction BS in the last spawn. But it was Gist Domination Commander (600k bounty) and dropped nothing.

-- FussyOneere (2008-06-21 05:07:49)

Didn't do too well in a Drake. Tanked it easily, but didn't deal enough damage. My missile skills are... Lacking, though.

-- AsdayXyfu (2008-07-06 11:45:42)

Blitz: Kill trigger in every spawn (complete mission objectives asking you to "Kill their high-ranking officers")
IDK if it ever doable in L4, but I think it not worth trying. Bounty+loot+salvage worth way more than mission reward.

-- TontoAuri (2008-07-31 18:10:00)

This was a little dicey with a t2 sentry dominix. The extra EM damage from the last group of 4 thrones (4!) was a bit tough without an EM hardener. Once I escaped, no thanks to the scramblers, I refitted, and they couldn't pop the light drones I had left behind.

There might be a trick to easily add some extra tanking ability by dumping some t1 light drones. The Thrones couldn't kill them all, but the Seraphim was able to damage them. So, when I came back refitted, they didn't even target me, they were just circling the light drones left behind.

-- KismetEer (2008-08-16 16:41:22)

First wave after initial spawn I had no Ruffians/Smashers.. Haunters and Nomads.. target painters, no web/scram.
Final Spawn - Got Gisti Hijackers which Scram. and 4 BS Gisti Thrones

-- LordMortus (2008-09-09 12:55:08)

EM torps can't be confirmed on Thrones, they shoot Bane exp torps!

Wave 2 came with 5 Gist Warlords, impossible to determine Trigger in such a case...

Still quite easy in CNR.

-- DaFlox (2008-09-20 05:11:01)

In the final wave Gist Seraphim had a lot of EM damage with turrets and not with torpedoes/missiles. He was firing exp cruise missiles with the range of 150km

-- DainusG (2008-10-13 03:34:38)

this was easily tanked in domi with active hardeners.
Didnt get the domination spawn but meh.
For the heaviest dps i just had to burst my second LARII.

I didnt even move.

-- ForTorn (2009-04-20 21:31:13)

Completed in a Tempest Fleet. Gist Thrones from first wave did not fire explosive torps; only Gist War Generals did. I did not see em torps nor a faction spawn.
Unless you have high dps (like 500+), I would advise to keep moving as the explosive torpedo's can hurt. I didn't have to as my deadspace complex armor repper kept things under control.

18m+ bounty; salvage and loot somewhat disappointing.

-- RagnaValdr (2009-04-27 17:49:55)

My experience so far with aggro has been that the last ship to enter the encounter space gets all aggro from subsequent spawns. I usually warp in with Raven at 100km, bring in the sentry Dominix behind it at 30km. All spawns after the first one will target the Dominix, which is 30km further away than the Raven. If the ship with aggro warps out, aggro shifts to other ships & drones still in the encounter space seemingly randomly.

-- MaraRinn (2009-05-10 22:34:01)

Had initial group of 5 X Malakim and 4 X Thrashers

-- TotalNewbie (2009-06-13 10:07:38)

A Raven warped in at 30k then slowly crawl away dumping payload at spawns will walk through this mission with pretty much ease. Explosive and Kinetic shield hardeners tanked about everything thrown, and 5 medium Hammerheads had no problem dropping the smaller aggros.
Aggregate Bounties: 16.7 mill ISK

-- ExileZero (2009-09-14 01:30:42)

Video of Golem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_GdM62sgL4

-- GreenGimp (2009-11-03 05:13:39)

Crazy easy in a Raven, LSB II, 2x T1 Shield boost amps, Exp Invuln Invuln T2 hardeners.

Dish out explosive damage, keep an eye on where the trigger is, orbit the warpin beacon at 500m, and everything's in tractor beam range.

The only trouble I had was with the HACs. I always have trouble with those, I don't know what's going on, anyone got any tips on how to take those out?

-- AsdayXyfu (2009-12-07 06:03:18)

Very easy in a Drake. Took me 1hr 23mins with 311 dps and a tank with 3 hardeners, 1 invuln field II and 2x LSE.

-- ThaThanka (2010-03-07 15:36:04)

I had a Initial spawn of 4x Gist Malakim. There was no way to determine the trigger.

-- PaseShifter (2010-07-01 09:02:55)

After reviewing the log from right before advancing to the Fourth Pocket, I came to realize the Malakim never shot EM missiles at any point. This was supported by the lack of missiles being shot FROM it.

-- SidKid (2010-08-27 18:55:09)

Done in a Navy Dominix (Sentries+Rails) in around 25minutes (and my skills are far from perfect). Since you can warp inside the mission, just warp to 100 (make bookmark!), kill the spawns as they approach you with Sentries and Rails. If they come closer than 30km, just warp to an object in the mission that is 150km away -> repeat. Doable this way with almost no tank needed (I think I killed 3 entire spawns before they had down even the shields..., after that just cycle 1 repper occasionally). Always shoot frigs first, as some scramble and if they catch you with a no-tank-fit this way, life gets hard. ^^

-- SyzGre (2010-09-26 00:05:39)

With new Expansion variations, this mission is now more tactful to warp in at 70k/100k, hammer and lure them out, then warp back in to 0m and pull them the other way.
Aggregate Bounties: 20mill ISK

-- ExileZero (2010-11-01 20:27:16)

My second spawn was a varient 1 without a Gist Nephilim/Malakim, I just had four Warlords all the same bounty, flying in a way I didn't see a difference.

-- TheHuffarunier (2011-04-23 14:53:06)

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