Making ISK in EVE can be tough. Fortunately, one of the easiest ways to make a little spare cash is available to everyone: Agents. You were exposed to several agents in the course of your tutorial, and probably ran a mission or two. Though it starts slow, running missions is a way to get your bankroll, especially once you start getting into the higher levels.

Missions can be fun and offer a wide range of experiences. They can also be last long and give little reward. However, sometimes you are able to get some nice items in missions, especially when you mission is to blast some pesky pirates into oblivion. Those combat oriented quests are called kill-missions and offer the opportunity to hunt NPCs in your private area with some extra cash thrown in.

Missions also earn you Loyalty Points. This is your Frequent Flyer mileage in EVE. Each corporation keeps a separate record of all missions you completed for them. Loyalty Points can then be spent like cash in exchange for items, blueprints or even rare faction ships.

Each agent is described by four parameters: corporation, division, level and quality. It's always better to pick one corporation and work for it. That way you'll accumulate Loyalty Points and your standings (the corporation's view of your character) will increase steadily, giving you access to more profitable missions. Division determines the agent's responsibility. Kill missions are easily obtained from Security, Internal Security, Intelligence and Command division agents. Level determines the difficulty (and reward) of the mission. It also gives an idea of a ship class you need to succeed. Level 1 missions are easily done in a frigate or a destroyer. For Level 2 cruisers work best. You can also use a cruiser for some Level 3 encounters but a Battlecruiser (BC) is strongly recommended. To attempt Level 4 missions you'll need a Battleship with good equipment and strong skills. In return you can easily make 50 million ISK per hour (or more) including salvage and loot from Level 4 missions. The final attribute, quality, determines your cash reward and also slightly influences difficulty. Quality -19 mission will be much less profitable and a bit easier than quality 20 mission of the same level.

If you can't pick the corporation to work for, start with your race's military. That means Amarr Navy, Caldari Navy, Republic Navy or Federation Navy. They offer good rewards and good quality kill missions of all levels. Use the agent finder linked above or watch the video tutorial.

To maximize your profits, make sure you salvage the wrecks. Dedicated mission runners should also consider training the skills below at least to level 4. Once you get to this level, you can start making some serious ISK.

MISSION RUNNING TIPS & TRICKS:

• During a conversation with an agent you can read the description of a mission you're about to receive (the 'more details' dialogue option). Try to avoid missions against other races' navies and rogue drones as there is no bounty on them. You can refuse a mission offer once in 4 hours without fear of losing standings.
• Try to find a system with two or more agents available. That way you'll have a better chance of getting a profitable and enjoyable mission.
• You can scout a new mission type in a cheap, disposable shuttle. That way you can safely check what's waiting for you in the first deadspace location. You'll probably lose the shuttle but NPCs won't fire on your capsule. It's better to lose a 9.000 ISK shuttle than a 10 million ISK cruiser.
• CONCORD can appear in a mission area in high-sec so watch your fire!