EVE New Citizens Q&A

I've been flying a Drake for my level 3 missions and I just opened my level 4 missions tonight. I can pretty solo any level 3 mission right now and I do have a hard time on some of the missions where there are faction ships involved like the Amarr high armor repair ships. I've been working on a lot of module skills and been trying to increase them to a higher level recently, so my skills do seem a bit low still. Most modules I use are still the t1 variant as I do not have the skills to use most t2 modules still. I'm unsure if I should be working on getting into t2s in my drake first, or start skill training to get into my next ship.

Now my problem is I'm not sure what I should be shooting for next. I'd assume it's a BS like the Raven, but I have also noticed while browsing through the different types of ships in the market that there are A LOT of different subcategories of ships! Like I said my main goal is missioning and being able to solo level 4 missions. I doubt I'll be able to solo level 5 missions anytime soon, or if that's even possible. I'm just looking for a ship progression guide on what I should be shooting for next after my drake right now to eventually be able to solo any level 4 mission by myself if needed. I'm not sure if there are going to be 1-3 other ships inbetween my drake and whatever ship I will be working towards, or if it's a step by step progression. I was just hoping you guys would be able to help me set a plan in motion =)

Yeah I've only been playing this game for about a month now, so I wasn't sure if I was jumping into a BS too soon. I've heard the Tengu is a good ship, but it must be fitted properly. I do like how versatile the ship is though with the sub systems.

I know in the long run I want to focus mainly on missions. Later down the road I'll dwell into pvp more, but as for now missions and incursions I hear are good isk makers. I mission in Gallente space so I do see Guristas every once in a while.

Would I essentially be going from Drake to one of the options you have listed above?

If your pure PVE go for a Caldari Navy Raven or a Golem but dont pimp them to much as you will get suicided in high sec.
If you want to PVe plus a mix of exploring plex running eve pvp'ing to a lesser extent get a Tengu.

Tengu is pretty much the swiss army knife of ships in the eve world, tbh if you buying a CNR (caldari navy raven) then a tengu really isnt that much more expensive plus you don't really have to pimp it to do lvl 4 missions (standard t2 fit will be fine).

You can fit a tengu that will do most lvl 4's for around 450-500 mil give or take 25 mil last time I checked the CNR cost 500-550mil (long time ago since I flew one so the price might be different). CNR will probably do missions slightly faster but the tengu can be used for multiple roles.

If you want a fit for either CNR or tengu for missioning drop me a mail in game and I will send you some.

I went the Caldari route for my Missioning char (and it was a good choice). I got into my first Drake when I was about 17 days old, got a good Passive tank T1 fit from a corp mate and breezed through L3s in it. I opened up L4s and tried a few in my Drake, found I could do most of them if I was careful with Triggers, although a bit slow. After about a month, I finally trained up my skills to get into a Cruise Missile Raven, fitted one out and started with an 'easy' L3 mission just to get the hang of it. I came back to the station in structure, pulled out my Drake and finished off the mission. It was 3 months before I undocked my Raven again.

The point is the Drake is a Passive Tank monster and very easy for a new player to get into. It kinda spoils you for other ships. The Drake can just weather the storm, soak up an insane amount of damage while slowly gnawing away at the enemy. In time I found I could do all L4 missions in a Drake (slowly) and rarely was I dropping below 90% shields. Eventually you do have to move on and the Raven is the logical next step, but you need good Active Tank, Drone and Missile skills to fly it properly. It's strength is in clearing the enemy out fast before your tank gets broken. You will find your shield at 30% within a couple of minutes of starting the mission and you will be worrying whether you can remove enough of the incoming DPS before you run out of Cap Booster charges.

Why move from Drake to Raven if you can do the L4s in a Drake? Well take the bigger L4 missions - Worlds Collide, Guristas Extravaganza and Angels Extravaganza, 4 hours in a Drake with having to stop halfway through to salvage the first half. 80 minutes in a Raven, 60 minutes in a CNR, including looting and salvaging.

Once you are competent in a Raven, the next skill step is either the Tengu or Golem. However, they take a long time to train and in the meantime, you can move into the Raven Navy Issue (CNR) which gives you better stats all round and an extra launcher hardpoint. At that point I'd advise buying a Gist X-type X-Large Shield Booster, it makes a huge difference, but costs more than the ship. Only then did I get the secure tank feeling that I used to experience in the Drake. But you really need to be competent in the basic Raven before undocking that. Make the move to speed things up and reduce the stress, not because you can't complete the mission in the basic Raven.

Train another race.

There is nothing in Caldari after Drake.

I went the Drake - Raven - CNR - Cruise Golem - Torp Golem - Tengu - Torp Golem path
The space you mission in makes a big difference in the ships to fly.
A torp golem in caldari (guristas) space is **** - everything orbits too far away.
A torp golem in minnie (angels) space is pure heaven - nice and close

So to me, that also will affect your decision.

i love my torp golem and frankly, v's angels, any other missile ship is a letdown. The tengu (all my skills at V) was a letdown. I got used to the massive dps of the golem. Thats not to say the Tengu is bad, far from it.

Just got to use the right ship for the right job,for the right enemy.

So for me the decision would be, is staying PVE - go down the BS path, if perhaps you will pvp, then the tengu path.

*cough* Falcon, Scorpion, Basilisk are all excellent ships. Caldari suck, but not THAT much