EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hey all, new pilot here, been playing about 5 weeks. I recently got a Caracal, fitted for Heavy Missiles and showing (in EFT) ~120 DPS, and ~19K EHP. I mowed through level 2s with a destroyer with little problem, and moved to level 3s when I got the Caracal. The first few missions were OK, but this one was an order of magnitude harder. In 4 tries, I've taken out 2 ships total, and limped back to the station with a lot of damage each time. The DPS incoming is ridiculous, and it takes too long to take them out.

I found Eve-survival, and from the comments, it looks like everyone does this mission in a BC or BB. I guess I can see why. So I guess what I'm asking is, is there some fundamental thing I'm missing, or is this just too much mission for me right now?

Other comments I've found basically explain that missions, even though they can have the same level, can have quite a big range of difficulty. Are there any other level 3s (besides the Blockade) which should be avoided by a new player? I'd hate to go back to level 2s, which were fairly easy in the Cormorant, and are kind of a joke in the Caracal (unless, of course, I haven't had the luck to run into the hard level 2s! )

Thanks,

Tat

IMO Blockade can be one of the hardest missions around, especially if you don´t pay close attention to the triggers.
Even a Battlecruiser might get into trouble then.

[Caracal, New Setup 1]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Power Diagnostic System II

Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Thermic Dissipation Field II
Kinetic Deflection Field II

Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile
Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Missile

Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I

You may need an implant (that got a name i cant remember right now) to help with fitting the shield extenders. Having T2 ballistic control might require maxed fittings skills, go named and you should be fine. Be careful when your shield gets low and make sure there is no junk in front of you to stop you from warping.

120 dps is rather low for level 3 missions.
You need ~80 kinetic dps to break the tank of the elite cruisers in the Blockade lvl 3, and as heavy missiles have a bad explosive velocity, you will not deal full damage against them - if you have no skill level in Guided Missile Precision and Target Navigation Prediction, you might even find it impossible to kill those cruisers. But even with those skills it'll take a long time to kill them.

Now, the Blockade is one of, if not the most difficult lvl 3. But with only 120dps, you will have a problem with any mission that has an elite cruiser in it, even if it is otherwise easy. There's a reason why most players use BCs - not only do they tank better, they also deal more damage, which helps breaking those tanks and complete missions much faster.

This is right.
And in order to run lvl 3 missions successfully, you will have to learn about the damage type you have to tank and the one you have to deal. There are plenty of resources out there that will help you learn about it. You will also need to learn about trigger ships, as that might be the difference between facing 15 ships and facing 40.

Then, in your fit, the tank is pretty bad.
In PvE, you are usually in a fight for a long time, so an ancillary booster is usually bad, as you run out of charges before the fight is over and then you have to reload while taking damage, with no shield booster.

And second, as Mara said, don't mix buffer, passive and active tank, choose one.
For a buffer tank, you want shield extenders and extender rigs - but usually you don't want a buffer tank in PvE.
For a passive tank, you want shield extenders, purger rigs and shield power relays
For an active tank, you want a shield booster, shield booster amplifiers, capacitor control rigs and, if you have place, cap rechargers and maybe capacitor flux coils.

Oh, and never use Hornet drones - due to the weird balance of drone damage, it's Warriors against Angels and Hobgoblins against everyone else.

Would a Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I rig be of any use to you? It extends your range by about 15%, at the expense of more CPU.

Another option is to get into a Drake pronto. The extra tank of the Drake along with more launchers should solve your Guristas Blockade issue :)

Thanks for the further responses, Thomas and Mara. The additional details about the drones, and the rig for increasing range are quite helpful.

The mission is over for now (expired today), and I am moving back to level 2s for now, til I can either move up to a BC or get some level 4 skills to fit T2s. I also know to pay more attention to the missions I accept, instead of just taking everything, like level 1s and 2s.

Thanks,

Tat

If you get stuck again hit me up (when im not at war) im sure i could help you out with the dps factor unless you mission in a stupid location :P

IE miles from where one of my mission fit pingus are.

I will probably facepalm later … what is a pingu?