Ships & Modules

Fit cap booster.

hm... unless You're running L4 missions I'd suggest You use a battlecruiser (for L3 missions) or even a normal cruiser for everything below L3.

If You actually run L4 missions, the standard cap charges are cheap enough, they won't kill Your wallet.

Other than that, watch Your mission triggers, You'll need far less tank if You don't aggro the whole pocket at once (once You use the Golem it won't matter tho).

Dont forget cap booster allows you to fit more gank which allows you to kill stuff faster which means you'll need to tank less for a shorter time :)

Last time I set-up a new mission station (setting up close to the Alliance I was in at the time's hub) I set up a buy order in the appropriate station while I was assembling ships, ammo and so forth.
The order was for (IIRC) four thousand Cap Booster 800s and I certainly wasn't offering a brilliant price - it was a while ago so I can't say for certain but I think I was bidding around 2k/unit, eight million ISK for the complete order.
Eight million shouldn't break the bank if you're flying a Mael', and even on the worst missions (L4s at least), with fairly poor negotiation skills shouldn't take more than a day or so to cover - and you won't get through 4k charges in a day.

The order was approximately 95% filled by the time I launched my first mission for the agent a couple of days later and I've probably still got over 3k in that station.

Considering how many rounds of EMP, Phased Plasma and Fusion L I got through during my stay there I would suggest that the boosters were one of my lowest expenses

That's probably closer to an "endgame" fit - but stepping down the shield booster, the AB, and the gyros to T2 (or maybe a M4 shield booster in case of fitting issues) should hopefully give the OP something to start with, upgrading the booster and gyros to faction as he/she earns the ISK to invest.

(The Dread Guristas booster is a nice first faction mod; performance equal to the Caldari Navy XLSB, at a relative sixty-percent discount.)

The Maelstrom's not designed to go fast, really; the prop mod (AB or MWD) should be thought of as something to fit on a situational basis, only when you know you've got long subwarp travel stretches ahead of you, much like the hardeners should be swapped depending on the mission. If you're willing to sacrifice speed, you can easily field a setup that will tank over a thousand DPS in bursts, which should be long enough for you to clear some DPS off the field and let your cap recover.

Mael needs cap booster to function well.

I don't consider the amount of pimpage that excessive or misplaced, if that's what you are referring to. T2 should work OK, of course.

Edit:



This is not true. (moar edit: but feel free to inject your Maelstrom if that works for you )

Don't forget drones.....lights for those frigs that get through.


I used a fit similar to the above with great success. Eventually though I went to T2 ACs.

Oh and if you use the Cap Boosters than don't use CCC rigs. Fit some damage or shield rigs.

I will never understand why anyone uses artillery in missions.

Artillery are fun in missions .They are like bam bam down.bam bam down ship.