Ships & Modules

Hello everyone. I've been trying to do research the last week or 2 on what to go into next for mission running, but I am just reading too many conflicting things. I am looking for something that will be able to run L4's decent until I can pilot a Machariel better.

I have been running an armor tanked Brutix for L3's. However researching ships for L4's I see most are using shield tanks.. Ive got ~700k SP into armor, can fit T2 hardeners. So I'm hoping there's something I can go into that would be an armor tank setup also, anyone have any suggestions? I've read fleet tempest can be alright, anything else? hybrid turret's and projectile turret skills are about equal atm. Training towards T2 projectile weapons currently. Any help would be appreciated!

I'd like to be able to do some L4's solo if possible, I have 2 buddies that I run missions with, so if not soloable yet at least a general start so we can do them as a group. Oh yeah, Tried Megathron out for awhile. Did decent I guess, can't compare it to anything else though. However didn't realize a mission I tried doing had warp scramblers and got popped heh. So instead of rushing back into it, figured I should look at some other choices.

Tough call. Dominix is always a good choice if you have sentry drone skills and stuff + you get some control over the dmg type which is nice.

If drones aren't an option and assuming low sp, ur prolly going to need to make a choice between arty and rails. Autocannons are very nice, but IMO you need a substantial sp investment before they pay off.

Arty may be a good choice if running missions in minmatar or amarr so that you can rotate your dmg type. That being said, arties less paper dps and lack access to decent kinetic dmg. So if you're running missions in gallente or caldari rails are prolly the better choice as you will have more raw dps as well as a better dmg profile against the majority of the rats ull encounter.

Concerning hulls, on the minmatar projectile t1 side, the arty maelstrom (keep guns spilt due to high cycle time and large alpha). Maelstrom is a shield tanker though, so prolly not what ur looking for. The tempest is pretty terrible for pve compared to alternatives. You might also consider running arty on the mach until you have the skills for autos.

Other than that, I'd say because you've already got a mega going, stick with that

MJD 100km sniper.
4 drone damage amp
3 omnitrack
3 drone scope chip
3 drone link augmentor
3 slot tank
Sensor booster
MJD
Tractor beam

800dps garde, 100km optimal, tanks by out range

I would put in another bid for the Ishtar. It is a bit skill intensive but is a highly versitile and nimble ship in either shield or armor fit. Can deliver over 800 dps (3k volley) and can hold copious amounts of drones to switch between.

I dumped my Tengu for a number if Ishtars for anom & sig running in Null and it works great, and can hold its own if a few people show up.

I found that I did as well and decided I liked the massive versatility of the Ishtar over the Tengu that selling it funded a lot of good stuff for multiple Ishatar fits that allowed for me to do more with a single ship.

Look around, either a Sentry armor repper fit or a 100mn AB shield/Ogre fit will do very well in different settings.

The Gila is a nice stepping stone into the Ishtar, I agree on that, but it does have three mayor disadvantages imho. First, it is a pure shield tank, making it almost impossible to fit propulsion plus omnidirectional tracking links (without sacrificing a lot of tank, that is), which you definitely want for sentries. Second, its bonuses are nothing compared to an Ishtar, which favors sentries AND heavies. And third, the Gila favors missiles, while the Ishtar does not favor any weapon type at all, which means you can either use your weapon of choice, or just use your high slots for utility modules like tractor beams, salvagers or remote armor/hull repairers.
I have currently two Ishtars for exploration, and if I was to fit another ship one for a specific region or rat type, I would almost certainly choose another Ishtar over almost every other ship I can currently fly. Dual propulsion, 2-3 DDAs and 2 omnis are hard to beat, although its resistance profile is quite specific for guristas and serpentis rats.