Missions & Complexes

One thing to bear in mind: FW mission spaces are visible across the system as soon as you warp to them, so you're effectively scanned down right from the start. A PVP-fit tanky Drake may not be a bad idea - but make sure you've got some mobility as well, because the NPC's will be throwing a hell of a lot of damage at you. And always be ready for war targets or pirates to jump you; you'll be at a disadvantage because you'll be catching fire from the NPC's as well as the hostile player.

The major problem with the Drake, I figure, is actually getting from the agent's system to the mission system without getting jumped by a gate camp in between.

Some people I know like to use cloaky Tengus; others will fly stealth bombers. The missions are all blitzes; often a single target, rarely more than six.

Yeah, stealth bombers are glass cannons. The thing about a faction-warfare mission, though, is that generally there are a limited, small number of targets to kill, usually structures or industrial transports, occasionally a specific battleship.

Generally bomber pilots will fit an afterburner and low-slot modules to crank up speed to at least 1000 m/s, and manually pilot to maintain maximum transverse speed against the NPC's. That works quite well against Gallente (although they'll sensor damp you so badly that you might have to approach within 15km of your target before you can lock on), and probably against Amarr (who will use tracking disruptors, which are useless against stealth bombers). At the sort of transversal speeds you can get with good skills and good fitting, you can move faster than the turrets can turn.

It might be iffy against missile-firing Minmatar and Caldari; Caldari will jam you out with ECM, which will probably have you gnashing your teeth as you try to reacquire your targets, but I shudder to think what it'd be like against the Minmatar, who will be target painting and wiping out the bomber's signature advantage.