Missions & Complexes

on my main character, I've tried multiple things to run lvl 4's, but none of them worked adequately; Drake seems too fragile and too low DPS to use, and after retribution (i ASSUME) it won't be an option anyway, a raven had the same issue, WAY too little tank, even less DPS than my drake, an apoc was okay for sansha missions, but any other faction broke my tank just a bit too much (not to mention most resisted EM damage way too much), and an abaddon had the same issues, with added cap problems even.
Now, taking into account what I know about retribution, meaning drones will get aggro'd, and my disliking for most gallente ships, I decided to try out minmatar ships. I'm aiming for a Maelstrom, with a full T2 fit (guns meta 4) available in about a month. With an Autocannon fit, i'd get about 345 DPS, 1569 alpha WITH CURRENT SKILLS, NONE OF WHICH INVOLVE LARGE AUTOCANNON SPECIFIC SKILLS. It utilizes an X-large booster II with SBA II, giving me 816 shield boost per cycle (again, with current skills, ship bonus and a shield skill or two will be added to this)

I would use autocannons without an afterburner (although I could possibly drop a tracking computer for an ab), it seems like a really good fit to me, not expecting artillery guns to do any better. If this Maelstrom goes well, I would probably look into going to a machariel later, when I got T2 guns and the elite shield tanking+gun specific certificates.
(To note: most, if not all missions will be run in amarr space, which is different from where i've done missions before, meaning gallente space. I don't expect myself to be able to tank the missions at all yet, nor do I expect to immediately be able to solo all of them.)

TL;DR: Which projectile turret would be better to fit on a Maelstrom, and later possible a Machariel, to run lvl 4 missions?

(PS: http://eve.battleclinic.com/loadout/60316-Maelstrom-mealstrom-mission-runner.html <---- This is the fit I am going to use in the case of AC's)

Your best bet is to post your fits. I don't think its a skill issue, i think you are probably fitting your BS's to be as cap stable as possible. As an example, a Raven will absolutely out DPS and tank a drake and you should see a difference in mission times even with T1 cruise launchers. I have use a mach with meta 4 ac's and it still works extremely well and is something you should aim for.. but as said, show fits and we can advise... otherwise you going to get trolled like above Happy to help out in game also..

When I do the occasional mission out of boredom on my Mach, I would never use anything other than 800 ACs. Much of what the previous posters have said is also correct, you should cap inject when XL boosting. You're not going into the mission as a tank but as a dmg dealer, so fit as such with enough tank to overcome the maximum dps output for a short period of time. You'll see that as you kill everything much faster, there is much less need to tank, your dps is your tank.

Minmatar BSs are very skill intensive. If you can mission in Angel space, I suggest you do it.

Show us your cap stable perma XLSB running battulship fit then. Especially the one doing 800-900 dps and tanking 400-500 dps.

That Mael fit looks OK to me, but I would use semiconductor rigs instead of CC (the ones that give cap amount instead of recharge speed). You don't need to perma-run an XLSB on a Mael, you just need it to run long enough for you to melt everything with your AC's.

But if you're having problems with the Raven, Apoc and Abaddon then I would say you're either not ready for L4's skill-wise, or simply not doing it right. It's about more than just the ship type or fit. All of those ships you mention can run L4's no problem.

My guess would be you have over looked one thing every level 4 mission runner needs. Drones! There are many fits that get a lot of extra DPS from drones. the rest need them to take out frigates and cruisers. large guns just do not kill frigs fast even if they can hit them. once they get under you guns they can cause big problems.

An 800MM AC Mael can melt most level 4 missions. I used one for ages and it did well even with low skills. As others have said, if you are trying to fit cap stable you are doing it wrong.

Fit an X-large shield booster. if you only spend the isk for one faction or dead space mod this should be it. Pair it with a shield boost amp and pulse the booster only when you need it. If you have problems with running out of cap while needing to boost more drop the boost amp for a cap booster. you can inject enough cap to almost perma run you X-large boost.

Next is you shield hardeners. Forget invulnerability Fields. Rat specific hardeners are all you need. Each rat type deals two damage types. With the exception of mercenaries, and Minmatar Faction ships. If you can get your rat specific resists to over 80% you need very little boost to keep up with incoming DPS.

DPS not only makes for a better tank, dead NPC's do no damage, but you will also benefit from faster completion times increasing your isk/hr. For get cap mods, a mission fit with cap mods is a fail fit. With the exception of a cap booster while you are still learning. Once you get the hang of it you can even drop that. Fit 2-3 gyros in your low slots. The added DPS gives you more benefit than any other module. However if your skills are low you may need some tracking mods. A fourth gyro adds nice damage but the stacking penalties get so bad you are better off fitting something else. Even a drone damage mod is a good choice. Or a power diagnostic or reactor control if you need help with the fitting due to low skills.

Fitting skills are the most important skills you can train. Any skill that affects power grid, capacitor, shield, or CPU you should get to 5 as soon as possible. this are low rank skills and only take a few days even taking them to 5. Weapon upgrades 5 and advanced weapon upgrades 4 is a must. these reduce the CPU and Power grid your guns use when fitted. Without them you will run out of CPU or power grid before you fit all the mods you need. These guns take a lot of CPU and power grid. these skills even at 5% and 2% per level will free up a lot CPU and Power grid you need for your tank.

You also want to get all your gunnery support skills to at least 4. There are several, perhaps you are missing some without even knowing it. they are;
-controlled bursts
-Motion prediction
-Rapid firing
-Sharp shooter
-Surgical strike
-Trajectory analysis
Even though gunnery 4 is the highest prerequisite for these you should also get that to 5 ASAP. Having all these skills trained to level 3 is better than having only a couple to 4 and missing the rest.

Every thing I have mentioned are very basic skills with low training times. But you do not need to wait until you have them all to run level 4 missions. But missions will get much easier once you do have them. When starting out only train skills to 4. the only skills you should take to 5 before getting all the basics to 3 or 4 are the ones you need for prerequisites for other skills. The ones you do need to 5 early are all rank 1 skills and only take a day or so to train to 5.

If you think spending 1 or 2 days training a skill to 5 seems long. Wait until later in the game when some skills take 30-60 days to train to 5. I believe some of the Titan skills take over 90 days to train from 4 to 5. But then again those ships also take 3 months to build.

You are new and EVE is an epic game. Do not try to rush into things before you are ready. You will just lose the expensive ships you worked so hard to get. Be patient and learn as much as you can about one ship class before moving on to the next. Battle ships are not better than frigates. they just fit different roles. a small group of frigates can easily take down an urber battleship as the battleship guns just can not hit them. If you do not believe me try running a level 2 or 3 mission in a battleship. they are easy to tank but you can't hit the small ships those missions are full of.

Oh, also, I want to mention again
I AM TALKING ABOUT MY MAIN, THIS IS AN ALT, an alt I made once for trading even, but I discarded it's use quickly :P

...Sounds about okay yeah xD

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/32/maelg.jpg

T1 rigs, T2/T1 modules, T1 ammo, no implants. Can AB for 13 minutes or MWD for ~1.5 minutes. :P