Missions & Complexes

Hello all,
I am looking to get into L4 missions soon.
I am a longtime caldari pilot so i have nearly all the skills i need to fit L4 capable ships.
So here we get to my question. I am looking at a pair of fits that i would run for L4 missions. It would either be a Caldari navy raven or a golem
I have a Navy raven sitting in a hangar from a while ago (totally unfit). I am willing to drop the needed cash to get either of these fits obviously. I ran the numbers and the raven fit is costing 1.7B while the Golem fit is a touch cheaper at around 1.6B

I would love some advice on which of these fits would be better to run, or at least what the benefits of each fit.

Also, I have never run a L4 mission. The highest I have run thus far is L3s. The L3s were fairly easy for me as I have a well fit Drake. However I have heard that L4s are a whole different animal. Any general words of wisdom or advice for running L4s?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-Kane

My advice:
In general, the opinion seems to be that if you're just blitzing missions, the RNI is the better choice, because of more dps. If you're salvaging and looting, the golem is the better choice.

my take is that if you're running missions in caldari space (which is pretty much what i'd expect), you'll be facing the guristas a good chunk of the time. They jam pretty heavily in most l4's. Bastion moded Marauders are immune to projected effects, including ewar (excluding neuts and nos). for this (and some extra effects, like a beefier tank and more range), you trade mobility (you don't really move too much in a bs as it is...just take a gate in, and mjd away from the gate once, so you can see a catalyst swarm coming), and a little bit of dps (assuming you use cruise RNI vs cruise Golem. if you go cruise RNI vs torp golem (because of the extra range in bastion) it's pretty even).

my verdict is golem. oh, and the golem model is way cooler than the basic raven model. and the bastion transformation is sweet.

personally, yes. i use my golem with torps. all the range issues i've been confronted with have been solvable with two mjd jumps. THE ONLY PROBLEM with this is that even with rigor rigs, it's still crap at hitting frigs. because of this, i use my second account as a frig-shredder in a t3 (your ship of choice may vary), and don't use the golem to carry combat drones, and instead pop a MTU and let salvage drones take care of a good chunk of the salvage while i shoot stuff. just keep an eye on the drones: because of the aggro-switch mechanics, sometimes a rat will decide that they're more of a threat than your ship.

The CNR and Golem, if fitted the same, have both the same dps and volley. (984dps and 8080volley for me)

I don't use torps or a MJD. With the cruise, I'd just head into a mission and sit still, if I could. For me, there is no reason to jump around. And now since we have "bastion" sitting still works very well for me. ( of course there are the missions with gates that you have to get to, but eh.)

I used the CNR for a long time, then I finally broke down and got the Golem. I now use the Golem only, whether I salvage or not. Didn't need the bastion module before, and still don't need it now, but I love kicking it in.

I can see where the MJD helps the guys with torps, and the bastion will really help the pilots with lower sp.

-Kirst

The question is do you own a Noctis?

If you do run the CNR.

If you don't Golem can be the better choice.

Rattlesnake gets big fat DPS now missions feel instant.
It might be of interest to you. I'm pulling 1733 DPS with implants.
You will want a Noctis if you go this route as well.

For someone who has never run L4's the SNI can be a good first ship as well.
Mainly due to the cost and tank that are more forgiving if you mess up.

if u have a raven navy already u can use it to great effect with only t2 mods till u get your Golem.

4 bcu
1 signal amp
2 mission spec amps
1 meta 3 shield boost
1 heavy cap injector
2 meta 4 tp
1 mjd
8 t2 cruise launchers with fury and precision
2 rigors
1 flare

its ultra tight on cpu but doable

I'm with you. Bastion golem risks losing your 1B hull if a tree comes down on a cable or something in your area when you have bastion up. Rattlesnake is just as good if not better and also no risk.

I prefer a 4 TP Golem over a 3 TP CNR. The Golem is a tad more expensive to fit, but has easier fitting requirements, is easier to tank, can loot/salvage and doesn't require expensive rigs/modules.

fittings here: https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=4450779

With a ship that has 7 meds you really don't need so much expensive modules for tanking. Since you never run L4s before my recommendation is go relatively cheap & always use a bit more tank than the one you think is enough, till you get a feeling for each L4 mission. After that you can make proper adjustments and optimize your tank to possibly gain in other areas (dps,drones,utility). Keep the Pith A's though, make tasks easier and are not expensive.

Also if you are using that afterburner to gain speed (due to mission requirments) & not for tanking (I don't see why would you in an RNI or any other BS for that matter) then on at least half the missions you really don't need a propulsion mod. To the ones you do need one you will gain more & finish faster with a Microwarpdrive by pulsing it at the right time. Now here is a module worth going expensive. Go for a Domination\Republic Fleet 100mn MWD, best value for money IMO. Use a Tech II Invulnerability Field and a Pithum B or C type Medium Shield Booster instead. As for Ballistic Controls, if you are using 3 go all Faction, if 4 then use 2 Faction & 2 Tech IIs.

I don't know your play style and how you like to micromanage\apply your dps but here are some things I honestly believe after years of blitzing\running L4s make PvE more efficient. By efficient I don't mean isk\per hour only but also isk\effort.

- Use Cruise and not Torpedos. Range is King.
- Use light drones for all frigate size ships. Your main weapon (missiles) should never have to be forced to fire on a frigate.

This way you limit the use of Target painters. That's a good thing. Having to make 2-4 clicks for each valid target adds too much hassle to your experience. I am really not a fan of the one-shot Fury mission ship. I prefer to change to precisions and use only 1 target painter (if needed) to take out cruisers.

Some will argue the extra loading time but it really depends on the situation. If your tank is adequate you can make that extra reload time meaningless. Focus your Furys to the Battleships & after you take them all out switch to precisions and take out the cruisers. Besides that at least 40% of the pitate cruisers are getting one-shotted with precision + 1 target painter, the ones that do not, while it would take more shots (1-2 more shots max) than with a multiple Target Painted Fury setup you gain in other areas like more free med slots (since you are not wasting them for multiple target painters) to use for other modules like a sensor booster with locking time script, more tank if you need one, drone navigations for your heavy drones or omnis for your sentries.

At the same time your light drones are taking care of the frigates. If you happen to finish frigates faster than the other hulls you can then launch your heavies and assist in taking out the cruisers & battleships (heavies really make a difference here) seriously with the new changes I don't use medium drones to any mission. At the end you will get the feeling that more or less you finish the same mission with both ways at the same time but with less effort in the case of the precision + 1 target painter setup. Unless you consider drone management a hassle (personally i find their use quite effortless while offering so much)

As for ships my humble opinion is that the indeed amazing Marauders are for ppl that only have one account & still want to salvage. I can justify the cost in this case. If you have 2 accounts you will have a noticeable peace of mind running missions with a Noctis & cheaper Faction BS like the RNI & even better my favourite Fleet Typhoon (love on first sight). The Performance\Price ratio of this ship is unbeatable.

But if you decide to run missions on an expensive ship\setup, do youself a favor and go to a 0.8 and above security system. That doesn't mean you will be immune to ganking, but the likeliness of one happening is greatly reduced.

I went from the Navy Raven to the Rattlesnake about a year and a half ago and never looked back. I went from the Rattlesnake to the Golem right before Bastion came out. I fly them both now, depending on if I want to loot and salvage the mission or not. So Gurista's Extravaganza/Recon 1 I just bomb thought in the Rattle for bounties and LP, but Gone Berserk/Damsel I do in the Golem because the loot and salvage is both good, and not inconvenient.

Feel free to message me in game and I will share a couple different fits with you.

I know you asked about the Navy Raven, but post Kronos you are mush better off putting your Isk elsewhere if you don't mind the training.