A Guide to the Serpentis Faction Ships in Eve Online

The Serpentis corporation did not start out with high ideals. Eve Online players and sometimes governments who purchase their products are not always looking for the most honest path to doing something. Salvador Saparti started the corporation several decades ago with the hopes of marketing to independent traders, less charitable pilots, particularly those who have been on the receiving end of the independent traders who favor their ships call them “pirates.”

Rumors abound that this corporation stays alive because of its dealings with the Gallente Federation. These dealings do little to endear the people of this NPC corporation to the other major factions, especially the Caldari State Corporation, but the Gallente have proven to be a powerful ally and the Serpentis can operate freely throughout the systems of the Federation. The company's home world, Serpentis prime can be found within the Federation.

Players who endear themselves to the Serpentis faction by running appropriate missions (and there are more than a few missions that decrease a player's standing with Serpentis, so Eve Online pilots should pay attention to factions carefully) are the Vindicator, the Vigilant and the Daredevil, according to the Eve Online wiki.

This fast moving frigate can be piloted by people who possess the Gallente Frigates III skill or the Minmatar Frigates III skill. The standard Gallente configuration favors lightning fast turret attacks, while the Minmatar configuration for the Daredevil allows Minmatar pilots to get away from enemies faster or make hit and run attacks. The cargo space allows a pirate, that is an independent trader, to get as much loot as possible.

It's a good idea to upgrade the engines as fast as possible because whether it is an NPC ship or PC ship, someone will eventually take quite an interest in removing you from the worlds of Eve Online.

The Vigilant requires either Gallente Cruisers II or Minmatar Cruisers II skill to pilot properly. The weapon designs favor laser turrets, but its armor plating makes it ideal for enduring longer battles. Most pilots equip the high points with laser turrets and it never hurts to equip ships of Gallente design with all the drones a player can fit into the appropriate slots. The shields and armor should be upgraded for this ship wherever possible.

The Serpentis and the Guardian Angel Cartel decided to base a design on the Gallente Federation's Megathron battleship and pilots familiar with one should be able to figure out the other easily enough. The difference is that the Vindicator provided a bonus to hybrid turret damage and increases hybrid turret tracking. This will cause the player to use different weapons than those suggested on the Megathron. A few lasers are always a good choice for quick damage and don't forget the repair drones. The armor and shields for this ship do not need to be upgraded much from its original configuration.

Many Serpentis ships can be piloted with the appropriate Minmatar skill as well as the appropriate Gallente skill set. It is possible, although not confirmed, that the Federation has been supplying ships to the fledgling Minmatar Republic to help keep their rivals in the Amarr Empire from enslaving the population again. It is possible that the Minmatar Republic is buying ships from the Serpentis shipyards directly to supplement their own ships which often require the navy to use hit and run tactics against opponents.

Whether the Serpentis are aiding the Minmatar out of a sense of ethics or some other less altruistic motive, the Minmatar navy will not give up the Vindicator battleships that have found their way into its fleet any time soon.