thats what I am afraid of....
PVE will possibly turn out to be EZ mode and if so that's really lame

I want the PvE drones to harvest tears from each and every Dust merc

Drones should be ridiculously OP!!

thats what I am afraid of....
PVE will possibly turn out to be EZ mode and if so that's really lame

I want the PvE drones to harvest tears from each and every Dust merc

Drones should be ridiculously OP!!

If PvE really ends up a safe haven for the n00bs of Dust ... then CCP don't waste your time on it
I always forget I'm one of few players that prefers a challenge to a crutch

Level 1-5 missions, like in EVE.

Level 1(Very Easy, balanced for use with MLT/STD gear): Drone Extermination.

Light Drones are easy to destroy(~100HP, mostly armor), and don't do much damage, but move a surprising speeds. They use small blasters. There will be a lot of these drones, and they attack as a swarm.
+1000 ISK for kill.

Medium Drones are fairly common, use weapons that resemble ours in function, can take a few hits (~450HP, mostly armor), and regenerate their armor very quickly(15 HP/s). Their attack strategies are highly predictable, and wont provide too much of a challenge so long as they are taken out before they can get close.
+2500 ISK for kill.

Heavy Drones are few, but they provide a challenge to combat. They use weapons that resemble HAV turrets in function, and can take massive amounts of damage (~3000HP, ALL armor). They move very slow, and cause massive damage to anyone that gets near them.
+15000 ISK for kill.

Logistics Drones are small, hard to hit because of their speed, and 2-3 of them always accompany a Heavy Drone, but only take 1 shot to destroy. Their only purpose is to repair the Heavy Drone(+30 HP/s per drone), so taking these out first will greatly increase your chances of success.
+2000 ISK for kill.

The objective of this game type is to completely wipe out a drone infestation. You will be paid according to how many drones you destroy, and whether or not you complete the objective. You will have a team of up to 6 mercenaries, and 36 reserve clones for your team to use. Payout: 150-400K ISK.

Level 2 (Easy, balanced for use with STD level gear): Pirate Raid

You only get 1 clone, the objective is to defend a ship that is being boarded by pirates from getting taken over. There are 30 pirates, all using random MLT/STD gear. Your team consists of up to 6 mercenaries. Killing more pirates increases payout(+5000 ISK per kill), you must not lose, or you don't get paid. Payout: 300-700K ISK.

Level 3 (Average, balanced for use with ADV level gear): Pirate Attack

You only get 1 clone. The objective is to clear out a pirate base by either killing all the pirates (60 pirates) or destroying their Life-Support. To destroy the life support, you must capture 3 points spread throughout the base to open a door. Being the core is the life support room, simply destroy the devices inside to win. Your team consists of 4-12 mercenaries. You get paid 1,000,000 ISK upon completion, but if you don't complete the objective, you get 5000 ISK for every kill you perform.

Level 4 (Hard, balnved for use with ADV/PRO level gear): Sansha Incursion

Light Slaves:
These use high Damage (x2 damage Scrambler Rifles with purplish blue beams) Lasers at long ranges, but are slow, and only have about 200HP(mostly shield, 50 HP/s regen). They have little to no tactics, and will march blindly at the players.
They should be taken out first, as their damage can destroy an entire squad if they are able to. They will sometimes throw flux grenades when they get within range.
+10000 ISK per kill

Heavy Slaves:
Medium Damage Laser users. However, they have a lot of Shield HP(~1100HP, mostly shield, 25 HP/s regen), and use cover, throw grenades, and generally work as a team. They will usually stay in groups of 3-4, but they can get separated sometimes.
A challenge for a single mercenary, but as long as your team stays together, you can survive. They carry heavy Laser AV weapons, that can down most vehicles very quickly.
+20000 ISk per kill

The objective of the game would likely be to survive as long as possible while whatever colony you are being hired to protect evacuates as many people as they can. You would be paid according to how many 'true slaves' you destroy, and how long your team is able to survive the onslaught (+50K ISK per minute, up to 15 minutes).
The only win condition is to destroy all the slaves(200 slaves), but thus is exceedingly hard, because your team of 6 only has a reserve of 30 clones. However, if you do win, you get a massive payout of 15,000,000 ISK.

Level 5(Very Hard, balanced for use with PRO/OFC level gear): Sleeper Intel

Only for the most foolhardy of mercs!

Light Sleeper Drone:
~700HP, all armor. They unguided rockets as their main form of attack, but can be found with secondary lasers. They move quickly, and usually stay in groups of 2. They can drain your HP for their own use if they get close enough.Can easily wipe out your entire squad.
+20000 ISK per kill.

Medium Sleeper Drone:
~1600HP, all armor. They typically use large, high damage lasers as their main form of attack, but have been noted to use small guided missiles as well. They typically stay in groups of 2, and can move faster than their size would suggest. They can drain your HP for their own use if they get close enough. Can easily wipe out your entire squad.
+50000 ISK per kill.

Heavy Sleeper Drone:
~4000 HP, all armor. They are usually noted to use many small guided missiles as their main form of attack. Despite their size, they move at an average speed. They are usually never seen in groups. They can drain your HP for their own use if they get close enough. Can easily wipe out an entire squad.
+125000 ISK per kill.

The objective of this gamemode is to infiltrate a Sleeper Site, and retrieve a Sleeper Database deep within the site, then escape the site with the Database. Completion of the objective yeilds 50,000,000 ISK. Due to their advanced scanners and the nature of wormhole space, your team is limited to 6 mercenaries, and modules and equipment such as cloaks and scanners are rendered inoperable within the site.

As much as I like Fizzer's idea it should be more eve like, insteadof the levels all being one mission type, the levels should be variations of difficulty for those missions.

I'm not sure easy Sansha's and Sleeper Missions missions should exist. Maybe easy Pirate missions would be good, but Sleepers and Sansha Slaves should never be easy to do.

C1 wormholes, scout incursion sited, and non incursion sansha rats. Those npcs aren'talwaysas tough as they can be.

thanks for the info posted here, it looks like the CPM and DEV's are staying
a mile a way from this thread... so not much progress on their side yet

Its a video game. its not real. if you want a challenge playing video games is not it. I love how all you people act like being good a a video game means something.

Its a video game. its not real. if you want a challenge playing video games is not it. I love how all you people act like being good a a video game means something.