EVE New Citizens Q&A

Well, i had been playing for 3 weeks the game, as i posted i am totally hooked, the information than anyone can gather through internet is amazing (there are so many useful websites!), but i am at a crossroad right now. This is quite a long post, so consider yourself warned!

As i got more invested in the game, i decided to purchase another training slot, to try out different stuff. I like mah railguns, but there is more stuff i wanted to try out, like missiles, that people say they are the awesomesauce for pve.

So i created a caldari alt, she is right now 150k skillpoints behind this one, but i didn't train willy nilly like i did with this one, so when it comes to cruisers, she has close to the same ability to fly them, or atleast on SP spent, only a few support skills mostly because they weren't needed for the fit i am using for the caracal (but i am training towards a drake now).

So when i got the caracal, i started doing LvL2 missions, they were fairly easy for the most part. At the same time, i tried the thorax for LvL2 missions, as my powergrid was lacking, i used dual 150mm. The caracal was definitly outperforming it, mostly because at the optimal range with antimatter ammo, the dual 150mm railguns are horrible at tracking.

But then i got powergrid IV, and tried out the 200mm. And boy, now the thorax fit i am using basically outperforms vastly the caracal fit. The biggest problem for the caracal, are the rapid light missile launchers ammo. In missions where you fight independent pockets of reds it is fine, but when you need to reload, the dps drops a lot.

Meanwhile the thorax needs to be at shorter range if i am using antimatter, but i can reload easilly, the extra 3 drones matters too, since they can poke fairly decently frigates that get too close for my 200mm rain of death (the 200mm one shots/two shot most stuff at level 2 missions btw, and cruisers burn in very few volleys), and against everything else their DPS is decent. Also, the active armor tanking had proved to be way more useful when it comes to fairly long fights, where the caracal needs to warp out, mostly not because she cannot withstand damage, but due to the DPS constraints noted above where enemies will start piling up, and you would get damaged while reloading if you do not warp out.

Did i get this right ? Hybrids (and i guess, most turrets) outperfom missiles if you have the powergrid to fit the pretty stuff, or is it caracal bad fitting problem ? or maybe it is just when it comes to cruisers department? It is true that the caracal gets easier to use, since it is mostly lock targets, shoot and forget, while i need to be more focused with the thorax, but that's one of the beauties imho. Here are the fittings:

Thorax

Rail meta 4 200mm x 5

Cap recharger I x 2
Tracking computer I with tracking script

Magnetic field stabilizer II x2
Medium armor repairer
Energized adaptive nano membrane I
Prototype armor kinetic hardener I

Medium capacitor control unit I x2
Medium hybrid collision Accelerator

I know, i don't have the afterburner yet, i am already training power grid V to be able to fit it

Caracal

Arbalest RLML x5

Adaptive Invulnerability field I x2
Large shield extender x2
Experimental Microwarpdrive 10mn

Ballistic control system II x4

Launcher rig Rigor I x2
Launcher rig Thrusters I



I know i should choose shields depending on the enemies, but money doesn't drop from sky, and i am not entirely sure i want to invest in missiles yet ;), maybe later on as a more "relaxed" kind of missioning where i do not care as much.

I had read that droneboats are better for missions, i will later on try them out, getting the ishtar, but right now i am loving my snipy thorax, something about ship with big guns get me .

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So here is my other doubt, in a week or so, i will have many of the support and damage skills atleast at III or IV for both characters, so i can get most of the lvl II stuff outside of weapons, i am thinking in my next step, lvl 3 missions:

Which one would be a better investment, talos or drake ? I ask this, because i am guessing that weapon "brackets" (small, medium, large) are a different game on their own. And i am wondering if the talos wouldn't suffer a lot from frigates at lvl3, or i shouldn't worry about it ? I know the drake can fit some rigor/flare, and target painter, so i am sure they wouldn't be a problem except probably a lower DPS against big fat cruisers/battleships, where the talos can put its gun to work.

Thank you guys in advance!

Thank you for the answer, i guess it is because it has more HPs, mediums and more drones ?

For the length of my short Eve life I tried pretty much all ship niches and by far for missions I prefer:
1. Drones - > saves lots of trouble with tracking, hitting targets and dps.
2. Missile - > Always hit the target, if u get jammed use auto-target missile and problem solved.

Best of two worlds? Rattlesnake\Gila use both drones and missiles.

I used to abuse caracal with RLML on L1\2 to grind standings total overkill vs frigs.. 40km range and loads of damage.

Thank you guys for the insight. Yes i was noticing yesterday that i was using most of the time iridium ammo with the thorax, except when something got close enough for antimatter.... to matter (yeah i know, horrible pun).

I will try out the caracal with heavy missile launchers and Heavy assault missile launchers before fully deciding, i want to have some stable cash maker to pay for all the testing. But i am starting to like the drones, so maybe the brutix/myrm is more for me. This game has too many options! :D

So, i had been doing some research, and most people point out that myrmidon/dominix are used as passive shield tanks, is it recommended ? Also, people tend to use arty on them, for the cap, but i guess i could still play them with railguns right ?

Yeah, i know this is stuff i can learn by playing, but i don't want to spend the cash willy nilly. I am probably getting a drake for my caldari char, since it looks like a good investment, and take time to train drones in this character.