Deadspace Complexes



The “Dungeons” of EVE Online


Between all the movement, trading, killing, and skill gaining in EVE there is
one thing that seems to be lacking; traditional dungeons. EVE Online offers it’s
“counter” to the traditional dungeon in the form of scattered Complexes
throughout the galaxy. These Complexes are static areas that come filled with
various different pirates and rogue drones to challenge players and still offer
decent loot and cash.


Finding and Entering a Complex


Before even starting out to investigate these locations of importance, you’ll
want to make sure that you have Complexes enabled in your overview. Complexes
are marked only in the overview and there is no way to reach them unless you
have them actively set on your list so you can see them. Complexes show up on
the overview as an upwards pointing arrow.

Another key factor in going out around space looking for Complexes, is that
they are not in every system. Very few systems in fact have Complexes within
them, and you will have to look long and hard to find them. Thankfully, we here
at TenTonHammer are not complete jerks (though we try!) and have located a
valuable link that details a large number of Complexes and their locations! You
can find the Complex listing site href="http://eve.grismar.net/explorer/index.php">here at Grismar’s site.

There is yet another piece of information you’ll want to confirm before
running any Complex, and that is whether or not your ship can be used in that
specific level of Complex. Complexes are leveled 1 to 10, with each level
representing an increase in challenge. Level 1 through 4 Complexes have certain
“requirements” for what ships you can bring in with you, while anything 5 or
higher has no limit (though you will likely need a good group of pals to handle
those ones).

Once again, since we are such nice people over here at TenTonHammer, here is
a list of Complex restrictions:



































Complex Level

Useable
Ships*

1/10

Frigates

2/10

Frigates, Destroyers

3/10

Cruisers, Frigates, Destroyers

4/10

Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

5/10

Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

6/10

Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

7/10

Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

8/10

Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

9/10

Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

10/10

Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates,
Destroyers

*Note: All ships include their
Tech II Counterparts.


The Basics


As for how complexes work, they are all accessible via Acceleration Gates.
These Gates “warp” you into Deadspace and the Complex itself. It is important to
note that inside these Complexes you cannot use Micro Warp Drives, but you can
still warp out to safety (unless of course you are being jammed by pesky
pirates). Afterburners will function normally in the confines of Deadspace, so
it is preferential to equip them before making the journey.

Most Complexes are multi-tiered and have several gates that you will need to
go through to reach the end. Gates can be “activated” when you get within 2500m
of them, and once active they will move you to the next level of the Complex. It
should be noted that most Gates cannot be activated while there are active
enemies in the Tier that you are in. There are even some Gates that require a
key, passcard, or cipher to be opened. The Complex keys are held by semi-rare
spawns called Deadspace Overseers. Be warned, there will likely be a race of
players to kill the Overseer in populated systems… this is followed up by angry
fights in the local chat… so be sure to loot the Overseer and get the key so you
can be the one bragging!

There are different types of Complexes, but they can be highly generalized
into two categories; Rogue Drone Complexes and Pirate Complexes. There are few
differences between the two types of Complexes, but it is the only real distinct
difference in the types of Complexes that exist.

Both types of Deadspace Complexes (Pirate or Drone) have special cargo
containers within them, usually denoted in red as opposed to the usual white
diamond for cargo containers. Special Deadspace cargo containers usually hold
precious items like Overseer Effects that can be sold to C.O.N.C.O.R.D. for a
decent sum of ISK depending on their level. Special cargo containers often have
a chance to hold named faction items or special blueprints.


Rogue Drone Complexes


Rogue Drone Complexes are (believe it or not) filled with Rogue Drones that
usually come in swarms of 5 to 10 per pull. While individually, most drones are
nothing more then a nuisance; the fact that they attack in swarms makes dealing
with them extremely annoying and sometimes even difficult. There are several
different types of Rogue Drones such as the ultra-fast Ripper drone, or the
missile armed Demolisher Drone, each with their own weapons and armor
resistances. Unlike pirate ships, Drones do not give a bounty after being
killed; and instead drop Compounds that can be refined into precious minerals.

The following are examples of some commonly encountered Drones:










Drone
Examples

Ripper Drones – Extremely fast drones that
will web you down and decrease your speed. This drone comes in and orbits
at about 1000m out making tracking and targeting a pain for most weaponry.
It is best to target these drones before any other and while in optimal
firing range.

Demolisher Drones – A sturdy drone that
utilizes Bloodclaw light missiles as its primary form of attack. Found as
the “boss” of lower level Complexes (2/10), it is later found in packs and
can prove to be damaging to ships not outfitted to handle the Kinetic
damage that the missiles deal.

Render & Splinter Drones ¬¬– While not
able to deal large amounts of damage; Render and Splinter drones are able
to take large amounts of punishment and are highly resistant to EM and
Thermal weaponry (laser users beware!).


Pirate Complexes


Pirate Complexes are filled with assorted types of Pirate ships, most of
which are named branded pirates. A few examples of name branded pirates would be
the Centus division of Sanscha’s Nation, or the Corpii division of the Blood
Raiders. Name branded pirates have a chance to drop superior loot then most
random spawn pirates that you find patrolling asteroid belts. While similar in
difficulty to normal pirates, name branded pirates have higher bounties on their
heads.

Most Pirate Complexes will require you to kill an Overseer to progress deeper
in (most Rogue Drone Complexes do not have keys), and these enemies are usually
camped by other players who collect the dropped keys. The Overseers also have a
decent chance of dropping faction items that relate to their faction (True
Sanscha Lasers, Dark Blood Crystals, etc, etc) and faction related Blueprints.

Another key factor in dealing with Pirate Complexes is to note the various
structures you will encounter within. Most Pirate structures have a chance to
drop some decent loot once they are destroyed, so it is suggested to kill
everything in sight even though you may get nothing… We like carnage here at
TenTonHammer… even reckless destruction of pirate space buildings!

As a recap of Complexes…

Complexes are good for killing time between short-run training switches and PvP; they give you the opportunity to collect large amounts of
equipment, pirate bounties, and even minerals (in the form of refined Drone
Compounds). The small chance to find faction item is reason enough to go poking
around the Complexes of EVE, as these items are the “Best of the Best”.

So if the sound of mining lasers haunts your sleep and you can’t stop
thinking about that awesome markup you’re making off of selling narcotics to the
Sisters of EVE, it might just be time to consider doing some complexes. Start
off with a low level complex (1,2,3 / 10) to get used to them, and from there
start getting a group of friends together in your quest to find some “Phat
Loot”!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EVE Online Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Jeff joined the Ten Ton Hammer team in 2004 covering EverQuest II, and he's had his hands on just about every PC online and multiplayer game he could since.

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