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Making my megathron work
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Sharil
Doomheim
#1 - 2012-07-11 02:45:27 UTC
Hey,

I need help. I recently acquired a megathron and spent some isk to get it properly fitted for mission running the best I can. I've done my research on battleclinic and through friends/corpmates to get the active armor tank going, and it can handle damage really well. Actually, it can take a serious beating. I've taken it on a few L3s and the tank is running quite well.

But the tank is not the problem.

I'm having trouble with ships that are too small or too fast that are able to get inside my optimal. My drones don't seem to be able to hurt anything. I tried ogres, and they're too slow and didn't really hurt anything. Then I tried hammerheads, same deal. A corpmate advised me to try hobgoblins, so I'll try those next.

The optimal on my mega's guns is 56km with thorium charges, and 34km (or so) with antimatter. Anything that gets inside that range is untouchable by me, and free to pound on my tank for as long as it wants.

The mega is so slow and sluggish that I can't shake those smaller ships.

It's annoying because I would like to run these missions swiftly and confidently. But all I've run into is frustration and disappointment.

If any of you have any advice at all, please help me.

Thanks,
S.
Ron Maudieu
#2 - 2012-07-11 03:01:42 UTC
I would recommend trying to fit either a 100MN afterburner as well as a flight of hobgoblins IIs. The afterburner might hurt your cap a bit, but it will give you a little more time to burn away so you can keep your targets at optimal.

I'm assuming you are already using a tracking computer, so the only other option that I would recommend would be a webifier. They only have a 10km range, but it will most likely slow down cruisers and destroyers enough to actually be hit. I hope this helps.
Fynen
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#3 - 2012-07-11 03:02:12 UTC
Uhm... what to start with.... lets see.

In the lv3 missions every battleship should be able to handle the tanking part without breaking a sweat. If thats a problem, the player does not know what he's actually doing.

Because in lv3 little ships are the most common enemy the battleship isn't actually all that usefull in them. As you have seen, you need something to kill of the 'small fry', not something that shoots with a huge cannon at a small bird without hitting that bird, the one next to it or anything moving at all... i would suggest a cruiser or - perhaps - a battlecruiser to do those.

Even if you skill for some time and your drones actually are doing well enough then, a megathron would still be a lot slower than smaller ships to do lv3 missions with.

Now, if you start doing lv4 missions, thats a very different beast. There, the small fry gets killed either when it starts to fly directly towards you (i.e. no velocity to the side, even your big guns can alpha them) or you send out light drones, set them to attack a frig and forget about them while killing one huge battleship after another. At least, thats what should happen with a little experience in lv4 and a few skills.

How do you do it at home? Say, theres a fly, do you go and grab a baseball bat to kill it? Or even a shotgun? ;-)
Mina Sebiestar
Minmatar Inner Space Conglomerate
#4 - 2012-07-11 03:43:22 UTC
2 tracking computers both scripted for tracking speed should give your rails some life but they will still struggle to hit small stuff...try engaging at range and try to get rid of small stuff first so they cant establish orbit speed.

Flight of t2 small drones are crucial for anything small that beat your gun tracking.

You choke behind a smile a fake behind the fear

Because >>I is too hard
Shameless Avenger
Can Preachers of Kador
#5 - 2012-07-11 04:03:48 UTC
OP... Skill up the drones, upgrade to tech II drones (Hobglobins II FTW) and fit the drone dmg augmentator thingy.

That might take time. Till then, mwd or ab, keep distance and snipe frigates with iridium. They usually insta-pop. But once they are close, u need the drones.

PS: Until you master killing lvl 3 frigates, do not attempt level 4 with web/scram rats.

"This is the Ninja. He will scan you down; he will salvage your wrecks and there shall be no aggro"
Marsan
#6 - 2012-07-11 04:05:48 UTC
For lvl 3s I'd look at:

- Using a battlecruiser
- light drones
- tracking computers /w scripts and Tracking Enhancers
- Motion Prediction skill
- webs
- target painters
- Using cruiser scale weapons
- Smartbombs

Former forum cheerleader CCP, now just a grumpy small portion of the community.
Velarra
#7 - 2012-07-11 05:51:56 UTC
Shameless Avenger wrote:
PS: Until you master killing lvl 3 frigates, do not attempt level 4 with web/scram rats.


L3's will include scram / web.
Marc Callan
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#8 - 2012-07-11 11:33:31 UTC
Yeah, basically each level of mission has its "sweet spot" ship for running it. L1's are for frigates and destroyers, L2's for cruisers, L3's for battlecruisers, and L4's for battleships.

A Megathron would be overtanked for L3's, generally, so you could sacrifice some tank for a drone damage mod - that plus T2 lights and mediums will do very nicely against frigates and cruisers. Make sure you've got Drone Interfacing to 3, at least - Drone Interfacing will give you a 20% boost to drone damage for each level, and even without the drone damage module, T2 Hobgoblin lights will absolutely shred NPC frigates in short order, and T2 Hammerheads mediums will tear up NPC cruisers nicely (except for the most elite variants, which can sometimes tank Hammerheads, but a T2 drone damage mod will probably help break that).

The only thing your Mega's rails will reliably hit without major tracking support will be battlecruisers - but if you can get a battlecruiser within optimal range, you'll slag it in short order.

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." - Kurt Vonnegurt
Alayna Le'line
#9 - 2012-07-11 11:48:08 UTC
Fynen wrote:
How do you do it at home? Say, theres a fly, do you go and grab a baseball bat to kill it? Or even a shotgun? ;-)


I nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure! ;)

Velarra wrote:
Shameless Avenger wrote:
PS: Until you master killing lvl 3 frigates, do not attempt level 4 with web/scram rats.


L3's will include scram / web.


Web? Yes, though that shouldn't really bother most Battleships. But scram? Very very rarely.
CorInaXeraL
The Dresdeneers
#10 - 2012-07-11 14:02:33 UTC
As has been mentioned, you would be better off in a battlecruiser fielding medium guns. The enemies you'll run into will simply be too small/too agile for the larger guns to track effectively, unless you're fast to target and snipe them off at range when traversal is low.

If you are dead set on staying in the Mega, the best advice I can give is *shudder* equip medium guns and light/medium drones.

But then the Megathron gods might nuke you.

A Myrm would probably shine brightest, in your case. Plenty of drones, no gun bonuses mean whatever guns you can fit to order, and there are setups for the Myrm that make it a beast in the durability field. If drones are not your strong point, consider the Brutix.
Sharil
Doomheim
#11 - 2012-07-11 15:34:38 UTC
Thank you all for your responses.

And you've confirmed my suspicion that I'm bringing a bazooka to a machine gun fight. I'm going to go with the advice to get into a BC for L3s. It seems to be the most logical progression for mission running. My thorax was fine for L2s and a Myrmidon for L3s makes the most sense.

I can't thank you all for your input. Each post was valuable and thoughtful.

Many thanks,
S.

o7
Marc Callan
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2012-07-11 15:45:43 UTC
Sharil wrote:
Thank you all for your responses.

And you've confirmed my suspicion that I'm bringing a bazooka to a machine gun fight. I'm going to go with the advice to get into a BC for L3s. It seems to be the most logical progression for mission running. My thorax was fine for L2s and a Myrmidon for L3s makes the most sense.

I can't thank you all for your input. Each post was valuable and thoughtful.

Many thanks,
S.

o7


Wear it in good health! I have fond memories of flying L3's in a MWD/dual-MAR Myrmidon.

Just be aware that your flying habits have to be tailored to the ship you fly; the Myrmidon's bonuses improve its drones' tank and gank both, so when you qualify for L4's and get back into the Mega, be aware that you'll be trading drone durability and firepower for hybrid gun bonuses.

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." - Kurt Vonnegurt
Sharil
Doomheim
#13 - 2012-07-11 16:04:25 UTC
Marc Callan wrote:
Sharil wrote:
Thank you all for your responses.

And you've confirmed my suspicion that I'm bringing a bazooka to a machine gun fight. I'm going to go with the advice to get into a BC for L3s. It seems to be the most logical progression for mission running. My thorax was fine for L2s and a Myrmidon for L3s makes the most sense.

I can't thank you all for your input. Each post was valuable and thoughtful.

Many thanks,
S.

o7


Wear it in good health! I have fond memories of flying L3's in a MWD/dual-MAR Myrmidon.

Just be aware that your flying habits have to be tailored to the ship you fly; the Myrmidon's bonuses improve its drones' tank and gank both, so when you qualify for L4's and get back into the Mega, be aware that you'll be trading drone durability and firepower for hybrid gun bonuses.


Also a good point. Do you think a Brutix would better prepare my mindset for L4s in my mega?
CorInaXeraL
The Dresdeneers
#14 - 2012-07-11 16:12:14 UTC
I think...just approach each ship as it's own platform. The Myrm is a fun ship to fly. Enjoy it, but also don't fly it like a Mega, or a Brutix, or a Domi...and do the same with the others. Just like you wouldn't fly the Brutix like a Thorax, and a Thorax like an Incursus.

If I'm feeling gun-happy, I get my gunship. If I'm feeling calm and laid back, I get my drone ship. If I want small and agile, I hunt out my cruisers, HACs or a middle-of-the-road Battlecruiser. Each one is different.
Cage Man
Fusion Enterprises Ltd
Pandemic Horde
#15 - 2012-07-11 22:47:24 UTC
Have you tried putting some webs in place of the tracking computers? But as said, BS don't do well in lvl3's.
Kisogo Magellin
Kostura RnD
#16 - 2012-07-12 06:29:35 UTC
Why are you running lv3s in a BS. Get a BC. Problem solved.

._.
Hakaimono
Native Freshfood
Minmatar Republic
#17 - 2012-07-12 07:24:05 UTC
Drone boats = Myrm then Domi
Gun boats = Brutix then Mega

Whichever BC is more effective and comfortable for you, follow with the corresponding BS for L4s. Focus what skills you train and it'll make life easier.
Regardless, get those tech 2 hobgoblins for the frigs.