Table of Contents
Loot from DED 3/10 Serpentis Narcotics Warehouse - Updated April 27, 2024
The loot section at the bottom of this article shows that up to 3x Coreli A-Type modules may be dropped. I've gotten four multiple times, and once got six. What that article doesn't tell you is that the total loot value can vary quite a bit, from the minimum of a couple million, up to about 241 million, my record as of April 21, 2024. You'll also occasionally get a Daredevil BPC.
I've used a variety of ships to run these sites…Moa, VNI, Gila, Stratios and Cerberus.
The ship I favor these days is a Cerberus with heavy missiles. I use a Missile Guidance Computer II with a precision script, removing the script for the last room. I use Scourge Fury heavy missiles exclusively for these.
With the Cerberus, burn thru the first room to the Security gate, kill everything but any sentry guns in the second and third room. Put the Precision script back in cargo before entering the last room. Burn straight to the Stronghold and tank everything else. Destroy and loot the Stronghold and get out.
While many ships can run these sites, not all can tank the damage and go straight for the Stronghold. Be careful. If using a Stratios, be sure to kite the rats at 20-25km, and you might have to kill all the rats in the last room.
Loot lately (spring, 2025) can be 150 to 250 million in a DED 3.
DED4/10 Sites
April 24, 2024
The first time I ran one of these was two years ago, and I got little reward. I've stayed away from them naively thinking they were a waste of time. Not true!
The biggest ship you can take is a battlecruiser and T2 variants, excluding T3 cruisers. I've run them in a Gnosis (~160 million), Deimos (Gallene HAC, ~520 million) and a Cerberus (Caldari HAC, ~250 million isk). Fits for each shown below. I prefer the Cerberus…you can't lose with heavy missiles, and there's no problem tanking damage.
You need to deal kinetic or thermal damage for best results. Any drones you deploy might be brutalized, so keep an eye on them and recall as needed. I've not had to resort to the Assault Damage Control module.
The Eve Uni wiki states that the “stolen passkey” you need to enter the second room is consumed on use. I've found that not to be the case. So once you run this for the first time, and steal the passkey from the electronically sealed container, keep it and reuse it next time.
You must kill all the rats in the first room before you can use the acceleration gate to the second room, regardless of whether or not you have the passkey. Having that key does save you the hassle of manually piloting inside the asteroid that contains that container you must loot to get one.
So, assuming you have the passkey, kill all the rats in the first room, enter the second room, turn on all modules, and burn to the Phi-Operation Operator. Kill him, loot the wreck, and warp off. That's it.
My record for loot is 370 million in several Corelum modules plus a few other low value items.
Strategy for Cerberus
Despite the statement above re drones taking damage, the Caldari Navy Hornets have been used for many of these sites and not taken any damage.
In the first room, use Scourge Fury (kinetic) missiles with the precision script. Burn towards the gates while nailing rats. When done, reload Mjolnir Fury missiles and put the precision script in back in cargo.
In the second room, burn toward the Phi-Operaton Protector, put all drones on him, and orbit at 35km. He can't hit you past 30km and you'll take very little damage. When thru his shield with the EM missiles (his shields have zero EM resistance), reload Inferno Fury, take him down, collect the loot, and warp out.
[Cerberus, Twiggy] Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Assault Damage Control II Large Shield Extender II Large Shield Extender II Missile Guidance Computer II 50MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Heavy Missile Launcher II Heavy Missile Launcher II Heavy Missile Launcher II Heavy Missile Launcher II Heavy Missile Launcher II Heavy Missile Launcher II Caldari Navy Hornet x3 Scourge Fury Heavy Missile x2000 Missile Range Script x1 Missile Precision Script x1 Mjolnir Fury Heavy Missile x1500 Inferno Fury Heavy Missile x2000
[Deimos, Phi-Outpost Runner] Assault Damage Control II Dark Blood Explosive Energized Membrane Centum C-Type Medium Armor Repairer Reactive Armor Hardener Multispectrum Energized Membrane II Centum C-Type Medium Armor Repairer Thukker Large Cap Battery 50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive Stasis Webifier II Warp Scrambler II Heavy Ion Blaster II Heavy Ion Blaster II Heavy Ion Blaster II Heavy Ion Blaster II Heavy Ion Blaster II Medium Capacitor Control Circuit II Medium Capacitor Control Circuit II Hammerhead II x3 Caldari Navy Vespa x2 Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M x4310 Void M x4900 Antimatter Charge M x2634
March 8, 2022
Ran my first Serpentis Phi-Outpost today. Tried to enter it with a Tengu, only to find it was not permitted. OK. Went back in a Gnosis. It handled the site readily (fit shown below, hastily put together), but I had to micromanage the drones. Hint - doing thermal damage is best.
I found the site simpler to run than a DED3. The disappointment was in the loot. Only 1.8 million, including a Corelum C-Type Thermal Energized Membrane. Total bounties were about 7.2 million isk. I've never gotten that little out of a DED3 site.
[Gnosis, DED4] Damage Control II Nanofiber Internal Structure II Drone Damage Amplifier II Drone Damage Amplifier II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II 50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive Compact Multispectrum Shield Hardener Warp Scrambler II Large Shield Extender II Large Shield Extender II Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Prototype Cloaking Device I Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Medium Core Defense Field Extender II Medium Core Defense Field Extender II Medium Core Defense Field Extender II Hammerhead II x4 Vespa II x3 Null M x5000
First DED5/10 Site Completed - Serpentis Corporation Hydroponics Site
April 26, 2022
WARNING - The strategy here is specific to this ship. Other ships may require a different tactic!
I first attempted one of these sites a week or so ago in a Tengu. I had a tough time in the first of three rooms, and after getting beat up in the second room, I warped off and gave up. Then I found an excellent YouTube video specific to the Tengu and the Serpentis Corporation Hydroponics Site. I took notes on the suggested strategy and used the suggested fit, with one change. I went with a Gistum A-Type Medium Shield Booster vs the Pithum A-Type he used, as that one required a 3% CPU implant.
I ran a number of Serpentis Dens in a VNI to finally get the escalation, which was in a familiar nearby losec system. The results were excellent - the cap stable fit worked wonderfully. It was almost … relaxing! Came out with 23 million in bounties, and only 49 million in loot, but I also got the Vigilant BPC. You bet I'm going to be looking for more of these.
I carried a Mobile Depot and a covert subsystem so that I could travel cloaky, then refit either in a station or in space to what's shown below.
The strategy is simple but very effective. In the first room, group launchers, use the range script, and kill all battleships first. Then split launchers and put 3 launchers each on battlecruisers and cruisers. When they’re gone, switch to the precision script and put single launchers on frigates.
In the second room, do the same thing.
In the third and last room, ignore everything, including the stasis towers. Go straight for the Sarpati Family Enforcer with grouped launchers and the range script. If you have a hard time finding the enforcer, sort your overview by name! When he's down, bookmark it and warp out. Wait a few minutes and warp to the bookmark and loot the wreck. If you attempt to warp back to the bookmark and get the site popup, then you need to ctrl-space to abort the warp and try again in a bit.
Use your afterburner at all times in all rooms. Use the shield booster and amplifiers as much as you can.
Doing this, you should be able to very comfortably complete this site. I was able to do so readily using only the Scourge Rage missiles. The fit should show 925dps with Scourge Rage HAMs, and is cap stable!
[Tengu, HAMs 5/10] Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II 10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner Gistum A-Type Medium Shield Booster Pith C-Type Shield Boost Amplifier Pith C-Type Kinetic Shield Hardener Pith C-Type Thermal Shield Hardener Missile Guidance Computer II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Medium Rocket Fuel Cache Partition II Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters II Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I Tengu Core - Augmented Graviton Reactor Tengu Defensive - Amplification Node Tengu Offensive - Accelerated Ejection Bay Tengu Propulsion - Chassis Optimization Missile Range Script x1 Missile Precision Script x1 Scourge Javelin Heavy Assault Missile x5000 Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile x5000
Second DED5/10 Site Completed - 601 Million ISK Loot!
April 27, 2022, updated January 10, 2023
This was another escalation from running Serpentis Den combat anomalies all in hisec, using a VNI. This one was also in a nearby losec system (0.3). As I was finishing the second room, several people showed up in local, and I could occasionally see a Vargur and Arazu on dscan. As I finished the site, I saw they had combat probes out. Pressure! As I was heading toward the last acceleration gate, the Vargur showed up 45km away. I had to decide to run, fight, or just keep heading to the gate. He warped away, then warped back as I was still heading to the gate. I kept heading to the gate and completed the last room. The Vargur did not follow me.
I warped out after killing the boss, then warped between safes a couple times, then finally back to the Sarpati Family Enforcer wreck, by which time they'd left the system.
God's Holy Trousers! 518 million isk est value loot!
On January 10, 2023, I find that a signature for one of these sites I scanned down last night is still there. I sip my first cup of coffee, and complete the site, getting 601 million. Four of the five modules in that total were identical to the picture above. The fifth was just slightly different. The difference in value appears to be merely due to fluctuations in estimated value. Still, a neat accomplishment first thing this morning!
Fit Update and Record Loot from Serpentis Hydroponics 5/10 Site
September 18, 2022
Note that despite this post being in an escalations section, most of the time I find these sites by scanning.
For some time, I've run these sites in a Tengu with a covert ops cloak. The reduction in DPS from the earlier fit is minimal. These sites can still be easily completed. You're cap stable, and can run the afterburner, shield booster, shield hardeners, and missile guidance computer full time, and should do that. Use Scourge Rage missiles exclusively.
Today I got a record 573 million in loot from one of these sites, scanned down in low sec.
The fit…
[Tengu, 5] Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II 10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner Gistum A-Type Medium Shield Booster Pith C-Type Shield Boost Amplifier Pith C-Type Kinetic Shield Hardener Pith C-Type Thermal Shield Hardener Missile Guidance Computer II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher Medium Rocket Fuel Cache Partition II Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters II Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I Tengu Core - Augmented Graviton Reactor Tengu Defensive - Covert Reconfiguration Tengu Offensive - Accelerated Ejection Bay Tengu Propulsion - Chassis Optimization Scourge Javelin Heavy Assault Missile x5000 Missile Range Script x1 Missile Precision Script x1 Sisters Combat Scanner Probe x16 Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile x5000 Sisters Core Scanner Probe x16
Notes on Tengu Missile Improvements
April 28, 2022
Today I bought 11 large skill injectors, and applied all skill points to missile related skills. This brought DPS w/Sourge Rage Missiles to 1000.2 unheated, 1176.7 heated, and a range of 48km with the range script. That's 75dps higher unheated, and a range increase of 6km. I'll get another 2% damage when Warhead Upgrades V completes. There were also improvements to missile velocity and rate of fire.
Core Runner Exile Distribution Base and an Escalation
June 6, 2022
I've only just snapped to these Serpentis chemical sites being something I could handle. Recently a corp mate completed a Chemical Lab, and let me have the cans that required a data analyzer. I picked up a Neurotoxin Recovery skill book (~25 million isk), and a BPO among other things.
Today I ran a Core Runner Exile Distribution Base, which spawned in the same losec system as that Chemical Lab yesterday. I used a Tengu, and took a booster or two for good measure. Loot included another BPO, several BPCs, a Neurotoxin Control skill book (~25 million isk) and I can't recall what else. I had to be on my game, even with about 1000 DPS and boosters. I had to make generous use of the cap booster.
Between those two sites, these were the blueprints -
- Synth Exile Booster Reaction Formula BPO
- Improved Exile Booster Reaction Formula BPO
- Standard Exile Booster BPC - 50 runs x3
[Tengu, Simulated Tengu Fitting] Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Damage Control II 10MN Afterburner II Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Caldari Navy Warp Scrambler Stasis Webifier II Large Shield Booster II Medium F-RX Compact Capacitor Booster Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Sisters Expanded Probe Launcher Medium Core Defense Field Extender II Medium Warhead Calefaction Catalyst II Tengu Core - Augmented Graviton Reactor Tengu Defensive - Covert Reconfiguration Tengu Offensive - Accelerated Ejection Bay Tengu Propulsion - Chassis Optimization Nanite Repair Paste x54 Cap Booster 200 x15 Data Analyzer II x1 Sisters Combat Scanner Probe x16 Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile x5000
A Disappointing Escalation
June 7, 2022
I didn't notice till this morning, but completing that site yesterday gave me an escalation to an unrated drone site, Mare Sargassum, in hisec. That one looked really attractive, but was disappointing. What this article doesn't tell you about the four parts of the escalation is that they are not automatic, i.e. you will not necessarily get all parts even if you successfully complete one.
What I also didn't realize is that each part of this escalation could be in a different system, not just the last one that is mentioned. I ran the first part easily. Then got the second part as a separate escalation in my Neocom, in a lower rated hisec system. That one was also completed easily, but there was no third or fourth escalation.
The good news is that I experienced something new and came out undamaged. The bad news is it was not as lucrative as it could have been. Besides about 300 thousand isk in bounties, I got only 5 million in drone components.
And here I was really prepared for this one. Carried the right damage dealing drones (thermal and EM), took a couple boosters to enhance turret and drone damage, and handled those first two parts easily. Better luck next time.
I used a VNI for this. My default drone launch group was Acolyte II x2, and Hobgoblin II x3.
[Vexor Navy Issue, Simulated Vexor Navy Issue Fitting] Medium Armor Repairer II Drone Damage Amplifier II Drone Damage Amplifier II Drone Damage Amplifier II Medium Armor Repairer II Damage Control II Cap Recharger II Cap Recharger II 50MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive Drone Navigation Computer II 200mm Railgun II 200mm Railgun II 200mm Railgun II Improved Cloaking Device II Medium Thermal Armor Reinforcer I Medium Kinetic Armor Reinforcer I Medium Hybrid Collision Accelerator I Hobgoblin II x9 Hammerhead II x7 Acolyte II x7 Infiltrator I x5 Antimatter Charge M x5000
First Angel's DED5 - Angel's Red Light District
June 21, 2022
A corp mate tipped me off to this one. Don't know if he got it by scanning or thru an escalation. I had to warp off multiple times, and got within a hair's breath of losing the Tengu in the last room. I had to call in a buddy, who made short work of the worst rats.
I don't yet have a strategy for this site, but I can say that a Tengu is not the best ship for it. This pic of the loot is missing something of pretty low value.
Fit used focused on explosive resists - 84%. Not enough. The target painting battleships were overwhelming for the Tengu. Note that the Domination module was dropped by the boss in the first room.
[Tengu, Trebuchet III] Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II Ballistic Control System II 10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner Gistum A-Type Medium Shield Booster Pith C-Type Shield Boost Amplifier Domination Explosive Shield Amplifier Explosive Shield Hardener II Missile Guidance Computer II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II Covert Ops Cloaking Device II Medium Rocket Fuel Cache Partition II Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters II Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I Tengu Core - Augmented Graviton Reactor Tengu Defensive - Covert Reconfiguration Tengu Offensive - Accelerated Ejection Bay Tengu Propulsion - Chassis Optimization Missile Range Script x1 Missile Precision Script x1 Scourge Javelin Heavy Assault Missile x4958 Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile x7920 Pith C-Type Kinetic Shield Hardener x1 Ballistic Control System II x1 Pith C-Type Thermal Shield Hardener x1
