Ships & Modules

which fitting were you using?

and even though you say its not in your budget, using a cyclone is your best bet for learning how to burst shield tank without the much larger ship loss risk.

alternately you can log onto the test server and try everything . many many times.

At work now, but something like this:

High:
8x800m Auto-cannons I
Mid:
Named Large Shield Extender.
Named X-Large Shield Booster.
Mission-specific Hardener
Mission-specific Hardener
Adaptive Invulnerability Field I
100mn Afterburner II
Low:
3xGyrostab II
2xTracking Enhancer II

Still on the fence between Arties and Autos, so I haven't dared make the investment yet.

Unfortunately, the Mael's out of its element in Level 3's; with an artillery fit, you don't have the tracking speed to nail cruisers with a lot of transverse velocity. The Maelstrom's best against battlecruisers and battleships, really; it needs to rely on its drones for frigates and cruisers.

Also, the Maelstrom needs to use a pulse-tank technique - when your shields drop to about 40%, run the booster until they come back up to perhaps 75% or 80%, then cut it off and let your cap recover. And if you're seriously worried about getting capped out, you might want to consider sacrificing a mid-slot for a heavy cap booster, loaded with 800 charges, in case your tactical situation goes into the toilet.

For PVE with an active-tank Mael, go with resists before buffer, always. By that, I mean always go with a shield hardener over a shield extender; boosting your raw shield strength is nice, but pumping up your resistances will have a similar effect plus increase the effective power of your shield booster.

But to be honest, if you can't fit those T2 hardeners yet, park the Maelstrom until you can. That hull is too valuable to put at risk by using an inadequate tank on it.

For what it's worth, here's an intermediate fit that works against the Angel Cartel:

===

[Maelstrom, Autocannon (Angels)]
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Damage Control II

X-Large C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I
Shield Boost Amplifier I
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Explosive Deflection Field II
100MN Afterburner II

800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L
800mm Heavy 'Scout' Repeating Artillery I, Fusion L

Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I


Valkyrie II x5
Warrior II x5
Hobgoblin II x5
===

Once you get Shield Operation to 5, swap the C5-L for a Tech II XL. Swap drones and hardeners depending on the mission adversaries; if you're up against something like the Guristas, you may want to switch out the AB for a fourth hardener, and long-range rats will need artillery.

Shield boost amplifiers? They are quite nice. Hell on CPU though.

If you're having trouble with cap on your setup (which looks fine other than the LSE), swap the LSE for a cap booster. Once you find you don't need it so much, swap again for a shield boost amp. And just like that, you're burst tanking like a champ.

I'm a low SP (5 million) pilot who has been running a Maelstrom in Angel space for a few weeks. With one notable exception, it has been completely smooth sailing. Being low-SP, I have to be a little more careful than some of the other posters, so I always run 3 shield hardeners to help control for the unexpected. I scout each mission on eve survival and fit accordingly, making sure my hardeners match the npc damage and my ammo works against the npc. I have a set of 1400's and a set of 800's, but use the 800's on all but a few missions where the npcs orbit outside 45km. Since you can warp out if things are getting out of hand, generally the only things that are really dangerous in lvl 4 missions are frigates that warp scramble. When attacking a pocket of NPCs, always take out the frigates first before they get inside your guns. I can kill them from 50-60km with my 800's. If any get inside your guns, kill them immediately with your drones. I then work on the dessies, then cruisers/bcs, and kill battleships last. When you are well-tanked, pulsing your shield booster works fine. I can't afford named modules right now. Here is my normal fit:

8 x 800 Heavy "Scout" Repeating Artillery Large Shield Extender II

XL Shield Booster II
Shield Boost Amplifier II (This is what I should have if I get off my tail and train for it)
2 hardeners for the npc primary damage
1 hardener for the npc secondary damage

2 x Gyrostabilizer II
2 x Tracking Enhancer II
Damage Control II

Rigs to Taste...I have 2 CCCs to give a little extra shield boost cap room and an anti-EM

This is my Maelstrom fitting, which I´m currently using in lvl 4 missions:

8x 1400mm Howitzer Artillery I

1x X-large Ancillary Shield Booster
1x Tracking Computer II
4x missionspecific hardeners II

2x Gyrostabilizer II
1x Tracking Enhancer II
1x Co-Prozessor II
1x Damage Control II

3x Large Core Defense Field Extender

Till now, I did not had any problems at all. Cap without the cap boosters lasts only 40 secs though.