Ships & Modules

My first attempt at a Maelstrom fit for running level 4 missions. All together I've played, and trained my chars in EVE, around 2-3 months, so keep in mind my skills are not really good at all - I've focused on getting Engi 5, Electronics 5, lots and lots of Gunnery skills, shield skills, and the relevant stuff for battleships, plus a little bit of trading/random other skills I needed for initial moneymaking.

High:
8 x 800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I (using Fleet ammo accoring to mission)

Med:
Dread Guristas X-Large Shield Booster
Caldari Navy Shield Boost Amplifier
100MN Afterburner II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Explosive Deflection Field II (changed according to mission)
Kinetic Deflection Field II (changed according to mission)

Low:
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Internal Force Field Array I (Meta 4 Damage Conrol I)

Rigs:
Large Capacitor Conrol Circuit I
Large Capacitor Conrol Circuit I
Large Capacitor Conrol Circuit I

The fitting is giving me 580 DPS from guns, which doesnt feel overwhelming, but I guess thats down to my skills. I've done 2 level 4 missions in it so far, one being Angel Extravaganza, which went fine (didnt attempt bonus room). My drones (using 4xHammerhead I) absolutely suck at 45 DPS, simply dont have the drone skills yet for them to do any nice impact - and thus it takes ages to kill frigates that do get too close. Ive also tried the fit with artillery, but that got me into trouble, it seems many rats, including BS rats, like to orbit very close.

The fit above is giving me optimal range of 3300 and falloff of 29km, but I seem to be able to hit rats out to 40km for some reason.

For slot 6-10 implants Im running power output bonus, turret track speed, capacitor bonus, shield recharge and large projectile turret damage bonus (all are of the cheapish versions, but I figured it all counts, and the power output was needed for the arty fit I attempted earlier).

Any suggestions on how I can improve the fit for level 4 missions are very much welcome, and I'm sorry if I made some kind of blatant fitting errors that will hurt the eyes of any veterans - In no way was it my intention to make your day worse.

I don't fly a Mael, but...

A boat with a RoF bonus fitted with 8 autocannons burns through ammo fast. And your DPS is low due to your skills, which means you're going to spend quite some time with the guns blazing. Using faction ammo is going to make a huge hole in your profits.


Optimal + 2*Falloff is the maximum range at which you could conceivably hit something. Optimal + Falloff is the range at which you have a 50% miss chance. The chance is nonlinear, however. The hit chance drops off very rapidly in the second falloff.

Also use light drones for frigates, mediums do more DPS but lights apply their DPS MUCH better versus frigs. Mediums you would let loose on the cruisers and above.

get drone skills up fast especially Drone Interfacing (20% damage per level) but get T2 drones asap - as you will get missions where you are webbed and scrammed....trigger the wrong wave and it'll all be an annoying loss and those light drones could have got you out of it !!

I'd also be tempted (just me) to rip out the CCC rigs and put damage related ones in.....swap out the Boost amp for a cap booster and definitely RF gyros.....ok weird logic but you shouldn't need to boost too much and you get a boost bonus anyway......speed and DPS are your tank. Fit some 3 or 5% damage implants and some shield ones if you wish.....as you increase your gunnery skills you should be getting nearer 750-800 DPS with guns alone and T1 ammo.

I used one for a few weeks and that was (ish) the fit I used but been doing lvl 4s for ages....now moved on to a Mach which is much more fun

Yes you can use faction ammo to increase your DPS but it's damn expensive with autocannons.

I used 1200mm arty on my maelstrom, but in retrospect I see that 800s might have been better, at least in some missions.

Your fit looks decent, but you really should switch that DCU for a TE. 2 TE 3 gyros is how your low slots should look, without doubt. Getting RF gyros is the first place I would put some money, you get a fair bit of extra dps.
Obviously get T2 guns as soon as possible. Don't use faction ammo, too expensive with AC.

I'm not a fan of cap boosting in missions, but that is certainly an option.

I would also recommend squeezing in a sensor booster with scan res script if possible. Most lvl 4s have a lot of cruisers and frigates too, locking them in a battleship takes time. You should not need the invul field. Booster, boost amp, 2 mission specific hardeners should be enough tank. Pimp when you can and want. If possible, upgrade your rigs to t2 as far as possible and if you are comfortable with your tank, see if you can squeeze in a falloff rig or something. The less tank you have, the more applied dps you can get, and the faster you will run missions.

As for drones, I used to carry 7 meds and 6 light. You can only use 5 at a time, of course, the extra are in case some of your drones get popped before you can have them return. Use lights for frigates, meds for cruisers and battleships.

So, 2 TE 1 TC is better then 2 TC 1 TE ?

A flight of Light drones, preferably T2 light drones asap.

Hi guys, it is my first post here. I fly a Maelstrom for almost 8 months now and I'd like to give a few extra recommendations.

First of all FORGET the X-Large shield Booster + Heavy capacitor booster combo. Use a X-large ASB - it repairs more, uses almost no cap, frees all 'Large Core Defense Capacitor Safeguard' rig slots, a mid slot and about 2000 powergrid (good for damage rigs). It is a total no-brainer. Just do not forget to set auto-reload Off.

For the freed mid slot you can use a SEBO or an extra TC or 3rd active hardener. Personally I use the SEBO for the easier missions and an extra hardener for the 'harder' ones. At my skill points (20 million) I have no problem at all clearing the bonus room in Angel Extravaganza and killing everything in the Recon 1/3 mission - which are basically the 2 hardest level 4 missions.

Also for the majority of the missions I use 1200mm scout artilleries since they mostly require long range. For the frigates there are always Hobgoblins II. Also when dealing with Angels, Valkyries II seem to work even better than Warriors II.