Ships & Modules

I am currently in a Phoon and sitting here until all of my training is complete for Drones, elctronics, etc. I have had my eye on the Rattlesnake but before I start the2 plus month training for that beast I would like some helpful input before I begin.
I am basically running missions atm, not pvp'ing until my skill que is beyond laughable, as I said, I'm new. No stranger to pvp as in an 8 year vet of WOW, I understand the concepyt of endgame gear specific to pvp instead of pve. So I'm looking at my gear, ships/fittings,etc.
So far I notice I like missiles over guns. I also prefer to shield tank over armor. Of course drones are awesome and a must so a little drone dependent, little buggers are awesome. I noticed the stats on the Rattlesnake are pleasing to my eye. I watched a shield tank Rattle go headsup with an armageddon a few days ago. Rattle let the Arm bang away, not even firing back. When his shield got to 20% he Energy Vamped the Arm and Shield Boosted to 100% in a few seconds. After a while the Arm left, it was useless. Anyway that was awesome, and seeing the Rattlesnake do this was what I sort of had in mind as what I wanted. I would just like some input if there is a better drone ship, 4 or more laucher shield tank than the Rattlesnake?
Thanks in advance.

I wouldnt pvp in either a raven or rattlesnake.
They are both more suited to PVE.

The rattle will work very well for missions.

The Raven is just plain poop at PVP and as soon as you enter low or null sec with the rattle intel channels will light up and you will soon be dead.

If you’re looking at PvE as a means to an end for eventual PvP, Rattler isn’t the route as your already in a good PvP platform in the Phoon. The Rattler also doesn’t work too well with torps, which you will likely have for said Phoon, so you invest in cruise which are crap for pew. I like and use the Rattler myself when there is a lull in my activities, but it’s a relaxing mission runner at best

Machariel is likely your best path and the other Min battleships while you work up to it. Projectiles are used on a wide variety of strong PvP ships

Failing that, if you’re investing in drones, Domi is a good PvE and PvP ship

Two birds with one stone missiles are not, at least at BS level as the Drake cannot be ignored, even if you do need to take a shower after using. You can take the Cane route though, so your conscience will be clear

If you are in a Phoon, I would say get into a Maelstrom as it has basically the same systems as a Machariel, which you would get next. Once you get your support skills to where the Mael performs well a Mach is vastly superior.


If you are set on missiles, the best route would be to train up Caldari aiming for a Tengu going through Drake and Raven.

As for PvP, it might be best to buy a few rifters and get used to it that way before risking a large expensive ship.

If you like the look of the Rattlesnake then train for it and fly it when you do missions/Incursions/whatever. However, if you want to learn PvP, start small. PvP in Eve is nothing like PvP in WoW.

Start off small as you will lose lots of ships before you really get the feeling and the skill to take stuff down. Then experiment with different ships you have the SP to fly and find one that suits your play style. If then you are feeling confident and flush then buy a PvP Rattlesnake and have some fun. Solo is pretty dead theses days, you can find the odd fight but its hard. Small to medium gang is still around but its not as easy to find a good fight as it used to be. Large gang and SuperCap warfare is prevalent at the moment but it doesn't mean it cant be fun, especially if the gangs are evenly matched and there isn't much lag.

Best thing to do is to find a good corp to train you or to join something like RvB or Eve Uni.

Recommended progression if you like missiles/shields:

Kestrels - These are cheap, and commonly underestimated, but can stand up against some of the more widely-used combat frigs if you're setup properly. I'd spend some solid time in these while you learn the basics of PVP mechanics and whatnot. They're also ok at PVE (Although I never really spent much time on level 1 missions, so I wouldn't know )

Caracals - Not the king of cruisers, but they have their roles, in both PVP and PVE. For PVP, it's common to go with a web + assault missile fit to tear down frigates quickly. For missions, most people use a similar fit to tear through L2's quickly.

Drake - This is where missile/shield ships really shine. This little awesome thing can field an amazing tank, and if you're skilled properly, can also dish out moderate DPS, which can be projected to a good distance with missiles. Almost any shield fleet welcomes Drakes for PVP, and they can also be used solo since they're fairly cheap and versatile. You will spend a lot of time in these, as they're probably the best Shield/missile PVP ship before getting into t2/t3. For PVE, these can run most deadspace complexes fairly easy, and will do L3's like they're nothing. For L4's, though, I'd upgrade to a battleship:

Raven (PVE) - As the above posters noted, these really aren't special for PVP, but are the logical progression from the Drake if you're killing rats. They aren't really any different from a drake, except for more DPS and tanking abilities.

Pimped BS of your choice (PVE) - If you ever do missions long enough to afford one of these, you don't need me to tell you what you want. Rattlesnakes are decent, as are Golems and CNRs. Everyone has varying opinions on which ones are the best, but I'm sure you'll make up your mind long before you're able to afford one.

Now, if you're really rich, and willing to lose some money on PVP, you'll want a Tengu. These are a step up from the Drake for PVP purposes, the downside being that they cost about 400,000,000 more than a Drake (Up to a few billion more if you splurge on really rare modules.) They are nasty in combat though, especially with the proper implants and fleet links. They're fast, they have lots of capacitor, they have high resists, they have solid dps with good range, and they can be customized with different subsystems. Basically, a modular Drake on steroids.

As above posters said, missiles and shields don't really have much options when it comes to battleships, for PVP at least, which is why you'll be using Drakes so much.

But anyway, you're far, far away from most of that stuff, especially if you're only a month in. Stick to Kestrels and Caracals for the moment.