Missions & Complexes

Disclaimer: This be a forum alt, please don't infer anything from his (lack of) skillpoints. Thanks!

Good day!

As the title mentioned.

I am currently preparing to tackle L4 missions and have done some reading on the ships and fittings that I think suits my playstyle. From these I have acquired three ships - a standard Apocalypse, a standard Raven and a Scorpion Navy Issue, plus the necessary fittings.

My issue - being in Asia, my latency hovers at near-unacceptable rate. I may lag, or worst case scenario I may experience random DC. Therefore, if I choose to do L4 which of these ships/fittings would allow me to do so safely (strong tank, preferably cap-stable, or at least strong enough to hold until I reconnect?)

[Apocalypse, PvE]

Heat Sink II x 3
Armor EM Hardener II
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Large "Accomodation" Vestment Reconstructor I x 2

Cap Recharger II x 3
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range

Mega Modulated Energy Beam I x 8, Multi L

Large Capacitor Control Circuit I x 2
Large Auxiliary Nano Pump I

[Raven, PvE]

Ballistic Control System II x 3
Power Diagnostic System II x 2

Adaptive Invulnerability Field II x 3
Shield Boost Amplifier II
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron
X-Large C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I

"Arbalest" Cruise Missile Launcher I x 6 (Inferno Fury)
Drone Link Augmentor I

Large Capacitor Control Circuit I x 3

[Navy Issue Scorpion, PvE]

Ballistic Control System II x 4

Adaptive Invulnerability Field II x 2
Shield Boost Amplifier II x 2
Cap Recharger II x 2
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron
X-Large C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I

"Arbalest" Cruise Missile Launcher I x 6 (Inferno Fury)
Drone Link Augmentor I

Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst I x 2
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I

Additional info - all the above fits will carry Tech 2 drones (Hammerhead, Hobgoblin)

I am missioning in Amarr space, but somehow my L3 agents always sent me against Guristas, Minnie and Mercenaries. So I would also appreciate an omni-tank advise.

Thank you for your time and feedback.

For all three fits, no they're not cap-stable IF you have everything running. The Apoc comes closest IIRC (at work now, can't access Eve atm) if you don't run the second repairer - even then it would last about 5-6 mins.

I can't use Tech 2 heavy pulses yet, so I'm going to have to stick with beams for now.

I'm thinking the same thing about the Scorpion Navy Issue - and maybe switch to the Apoc if Sansha/Blood missions come up. But goshdarnit, I can't make up my mind!

SNI: Although I'll do it a little different.


This is a small set up with some upgrade option to work to and some coments on your own set up.

SNI

Ballistic Control System II x 4 [Upgrade to Caldari Navy BCU]

Adaptive Invulnerability Field II x 2
Shield Boost Amplifier II x 1
Cap Booster II (800 )
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron x 2 [When possible uograde to Republic target painter]
X-large Shield booster II [Upgrade -> Faction -> DED space when possible]
[Final slot] depends on skill could be an extra hardner or a AB


"Arbalest" Cruise Missile Launcher I x 6 (Inferno Fury) {You're not going to shoot Fury missiles wit T1 launchers, make it Caldari Navy}
Drone Link Augmentor I [maybe you want to try out the new drone damage mod, haven't done that my self yet, so it might not fit, but it's intresting to try out]

Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst I x 2
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I

One little advice: don't bother with cap stable battleships, they usually suck. My CNR can last a wee bit longer than a minute if it runs everything. You know how many times I ran out of cap? Um... let me remember, it was sometime last year... :p

agreed, however with the OP's connection issues, going for a capstable tank seems more like necessity than laziness or over-cautiousness. Given that, the above poster is right. A ship that has enough cap to perma-run an XL booster is way overtanked, and will suck. However, if you're willing to shell out a reasonable amount of isk, you can get a sufficient perma-tank without losing too much performance.

First, I would definitely recommend the scorp navy issue. The resistance bonus combined with its faction-ship base shield hp will definitely come in handy. I think the first thing to fit your build around is to choose a shield booster. Since you want cap stability, and you'll have high resistances, I would recommend a deadspace Large (not XL) shield booster. Pith B-type large would probably be a nice balance between performance and cost. Pith boosters boost more than gist, so you'll get the lower cap use of a large, but won't be losing too much on your shield-hp/sec compared to using an XL booster. I wouldn't go any lower than a DG/CN large booster.

For the rest of your build I would then add the following, with highest priority first.

6 arbalest/t2 cruise launchers. Don't waste money on faction.
At least 3 ballistic control units.
at least 1, preferably 2 warhead rigor rigs
cap stability
at least 3 active shield hardeners (invulns vs mission specific is up to you, and varies by mission anyway)
shield boost amp
prop mod?
target painters? Long cycle time, and require applying to each rat, I hate using these.

Things to pimp out, in order:

Shield booster - for these mods, isk translates very well into performance. If you want a huge perma-boosting tank, consider gist XL boosters or dual pith medium boosters (expensive). (Anecdotally, Golem's with medium A-type boosters can use 3 slots for target painters and still maintain a very strong perma-tank, just because the booster itself is so good)

Shield hardeners - faction hardeners are cheap and really save your ass in the CPU department, although with a faction ship and no XL booster, you may have plenty of CPU. Deadspace shield hardeners make huge improvements in your tank relative to the isk they cost. Faction/deadspace invulns may be prohibitively expensive, but if you have one, they are VERY nice. They are significantly better than t2, and you can leave it on for every mission.

Ballistic control units: People swear by the extra 2% damage on them, but personally I think they're overpriced. Fit one at most for the damage only. They save some decent cpu as well, but there are usually other ways you can make that up without shelling out 150 million.

MWD. If you have an extra midslot, a mwd can be quite nice for certain missions. If you shell out a moderate amount of isk you can get one that doesn't have too bad a capacitor penalty.

Boost amp - upgrading this shouldn't be too high a priority, unless you see it as a key way to save cpu. The extra boost amount isn't too significant for the price of these, at least last time i checked. They can be helpful because the faction ones don't require a lvl 5 skill. If you have one lying around though, by all means use it.

Three small advices:
1) don't do omni tanks on raven and navy scorp
2) fit signal amplifier on the raven in place of one pds
3) fit nos instead of drone link, I used to fit drone link, but I think nos is more usefull

Well, I had dc issuesonce and I know how fast a lvl4 can kill you when you rely on micro management although I always managed to stay alive. If you want to fit 1x specific mission hardener you can also fit 3x because you have to switch them anyway and they are way more efficient (try it for yourself, take them with you in the cargohold, so no real "stress" to switch them).

Don't forget to switch cruise missile types like the hardeners for the specific pirates ;)