Into The Abyss I Finally Go

In a week in which CCP has dumped several botters, including a titan, in the high sec system of Yulai as part of the GM Week activities, I decided to dive into the Abyssal Deadspace sites. I don't consider waiting three months after the introduction of the Triglavians of the Into The Abyss expansion too long. I'm just fashionably late.

Last week a new event, Secrets of the Abyss, launched. With the ability to get exclusive Triglavian SKINs and mutaplasmids for ancillary modules as well as skill boosters, now was the time to begin running the new content. None of my testing fits on Singularity could handle tier 3 sites, so I found a Vagabond fit online, downgraded a couple of modules to tech 2, and went shopping.

My Vagabond fit

For the first time, I shelled out the ISK for faction modules and ammunition. I didn't have to spend as much as first appears. When I looked in my journal, I discovered I had 83,000 Thukker loyalty points, so I went to the nearest Thukker station instead of a market hub. I also retrieved large amounts of faction ammunition left over from my sales effort in Bosena. Plus, I had some of the tech 2 modules and an implant sitting around my hangars. Once I gathered everything together, I went to work.

I looked on the market and decided buying filaments off the market was not for me. However, I did have 3 Calm filaments (tier 1) from when CCP handed them out with the introduction of Abyssal sites. I also found one in a data site, so I had four filaments with which to start.

The first weekend's loot

Over the weekend (Friday to Sunday), I ran 20 Abyssal deadspace sites. My initial 4 filaments turned into a cache of 5 Calm (tier 1) filaments, 5 Agitated (tier 2) filaments, 2 Fierce (tier 3) filaments, and 1 Raging (tier 4) filament. I had to look up what Traglavian Survey Databases were. The databases are a trade good one can sell to NPCs at CONCORD and DED stations for 100,000 ISK each. For those unfamiliar with selling to NPC buy orders, look for entries that have over 90 days remaining. I think some people have decided to make a little money by offering 70% in regions without NPC sell orders.

One of the big questions about Abyssal sites when the new content launched was whether the content was worth doing. I did 13 tier 1, 4 tier 2, and 3 tier 3 sites in approximately 4 hours. If the valuation in the UI is close to accurate, I made about 100 million ISK per hour, even taking into account the faction ammunition used and drones lost.

Points after 20 sites

The live event is pretty well put together. If a player just does one Calm and one Agitated site, the player is rewarded with a 24 hour booster (48 hours if Biology V is trained) that grants +12 to all learning attributes. I believe that doing one Calm, one Agitated, and one Fierce site each day guarantees 60 points for the Delve into the Abyss rewards, 15 points for entering the three sites, puts additional points for clearing each room and killing NPCs. Given that I managed to get 528 points running 20 sites, I'm pretty sure that just running those three sites each day will get a player 1000 points total. Just remember that at the end of each room to collect the points earned so you receive additional tasks to earn even more points.

So far, I like the Abyssal content. The artwork is fantastic, the terrain meaningful, and the fights unpredictable. Which is good because that makes the live event more enjoyable. I might not think so after 100 sites, but I find myself wanting to do more. Perhaps when the event is over, I can take the time saved from not clicking buttons on the event UI to take some screenshots. The sites really are that good.