Missions & Complexes

I need help making sure I am training on the right path for doing level 4s. Furthermore, I wish to make sure the ship choices I have made are acceptable.

Recently I came back to EvE, and found my old level 4 mission boats unacceptable. My old Gila and Dominix are too frustrating to play in the current iteration of EvE.

Current missioning goals:

1) Get into a BC that can run 3s solo, and support a friend who runs 4s when he's around.

2) Get into a HAC, and do the same as above.

3) Get into a BS that can solo 4s.

I've chosen Amarr as my focus on ships to start. I know that this will limit my missions for soloing, but I have accepted that issue and can work around it.

EvEboard skills (Eveboard is down at the time of writing this.)

This character is very focused on drones and Industry, but has some shooty skills. I don't like drones anymore and am dropping them as my primary source of damage in missions. I don't want missiles, either. These are personal opinions, and unlikely to change.

The BC I've chosen is the Harbinger. Here is my proposed setup:

[Harbinger, 3s]
Medium Armor Repairer II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Optical Tracking Computer I, Tracking Speed Script
Cap Recharger II
Optical Tracking Computer I, Optimal Range Script

Heavy Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Multifrequency M
Heavy Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Multifrequency M
Heavy Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Multifrequency M
Heavy Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Multifrequency M
Heavy Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Multifrequency M
Heavy Modulated Pulse Energy Beam I, Multifrequency M
[Empty High Slot]

Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I

+some light drones

Obligatory "Change the hardeners as necessary" goes here.

I'll visit a HAC and BS fits when I'm much closer to them, but that won't be for a while.

Questions:

1) Is this ship and are my skills viable for level 3s solo? (Amarr BCs III will be completed in under 24 hours of writing this.)

2) Is this ship and are my skills viable for supporting in a level 4? (Read: Can I hit frigates and cruisers while also not getting blown up if I get targeted by the mission Battleships?)

3) I am currently mapped for mem/int with 2 remaps available. I plan to finish up a few skills (~4 days) and then remap for per/wil, and focus on my ship and shooty skills. Is there anything I absolutely need to train while mem/int before the remap?

4) Do you think I should work towards a BS or a HAC after I get my BC skills situated?

In addition to these questions, I would be very accepting of any advice on what to train and fit regarding missioning. I am an experienced missioner, so I know all the basics (change fittings, read the mission reports on eve survival, don't shoot triggers, etc.), but I am unfamiliar with turret ships and while I understand the concept of things like "tracking" I don't yet know "Is it enough?" and "Is it too much?" Also I am new to BCs and have never flown a HAC. Advice will be welcomed.

My domi is not available because of personal preferences. I understand this will put me back at not running 4s solo. This is fine for me.



Drone boats are out for me. Again, this is because of my preference, not because they don't do enough damage. Same for missiles. I'm going to use turrets now.

I get around 1050 - 1100 dps from a 425mm railgun II hyperion, since its dronebay was drastically reconceived and it was brought down from an 8 gun boat to a 6 gun boat.

Missions go nicely, punctuated by the odd frustrating outbreak of application issues (which would require me to reconsider fits and target management very carefully in the future - its a tricky boat to optimise on a per mission basis).

Note that the best way to play it seems to be as a 425mm rail+sentryboat, so in a lot of ways it plays like a clumsy dominix - ie its pretty hard to avoid 125mbit bandwidth battleships when considering the "good" mission runners.

I've tried using it as a blasterboat for ratting which was fun, but it took a great deal of course micro, which was taking my attention off local, which ultimately would cause me to lose if it I persisted. I'd expect it to run out of cap trying that in missions. It could however melt a npc battleship when at optimal.

---

I'd hazard a guess that you really want to be a mach pilot, so gunnery secondaries, minmatar battleship, large projectiles and then the specs are what you want to do - you'll reuse your gallente batlteship skill on the mach.

You should be able to do level 3's solo. I would recommend more training before you do level 4's. Also doing level 3's will allow you to get practice and make far less costly mistakes,



I wouldn't recommend it. The obvious one you don't have is Repair Systems to 5 but that's not the big thing. You're gunnery skills are lacking to the point you're not doing sufficient DPS. You might be able to MJD and do this but it's going to be painful with your lack of DPS.


Repair systems 5, Cybernetics 5 (If you want +5 implants), and consider Ladar sensor Compensation to 4. I'm in a hurry for work so I could have missed something.



I would go for an Apoc, Navy Apoc and once your skills are high a Paladin.

THIS!!!
xDDDD Well I cannot hold back anymore, I need to confess.

Some guys may remember me from the bastion discussion that I've never liked the idea to stop a marauder.

I'm the guy who likes the sound of shield alarm ringing all the time (in a ST ship) :P
I kill the triggers first.
With my Vargur, I did this all the time. Tear things apart...
An then, one day, I mjded right in the middle of npcs in the last room of dread pirate scarlett, and started to kill trigger blood ships in order to spawn more BS'.
When I noticed that my cap was running out, I found out that I needed to mjd away. Simple! :D
And then I took an arrow in the knee (just missed to stop bastion cycle, and another one kicked in). With absolutely no cap left!
My common missioning started to turn into nightmare.
*Sweating*
Overheated my shield hardener and booster.
First, a couple seconds later, shield hardener went off.
My remaining shield depleted fast
Still in bastion
*More sweating*
I don't use damage control (never used one on Vargur in any of my missions anyway)
Then I heard an armor alarm :P
Bastion cycle is in the middle (30 sec left)
*Moar Sweating...*
Still shooting npc's from smallest to largest.. popping them one by one, and my mobile tractor beam structure is pulling wrecks one by one.
A spark in the cap, boosted shield once, but unable to turn on hardener.
That shield also depleted fast
*Extreme sweating*
Then I took another arrow in the knee: Hull alarms ringing!
*Heart attack goes here*
Bastion cycle is around 45th second.
Still popping npcs.
Boosted once more.
Structure is ~10%
Vargur is burning like a hotel fire which was caused by a smoke left on a bed...
Bastion cycle finished.
Shield depleted.
*Heart attack at its fullest*
Activated MJD
As soon as I succeeded pressing mjd, a joyful glimpse on my face turned into frown while reading letters: "E J E C T E D"
Story ends

My hard-earned Vargur's structure was collapsing in front of my eyes. Explosions, debris and wreck left-overs spreading all over the area... I managed to recover my tape that used to held my shield plane with main structure together for years :P

I warped away with my little egg, while hearing the heavy metal tracks coming out from nearby blood raiders' ships.

*Edited the first post, must read at the end*
Vargur is just my personal preference. Using tractor beams and drone range mods at highs... I like this ship. Served me for years.

Another thing is that I use mjd to get into things, not going away from them :P

First, I will say drones still work for missions. Not totally AFK drones like you used to be able to do but plenty of Domis, ishtar, and thannys ratting and missioning away with sentries. Not wanting to use them does limit your selection a bit.

Second, with the cruise missile changes if I didn't want to use drones I would undoubtedly use a Navy Raven, or maybe a typhoon. You not wanting to use them or drones is basically going to limit your damage types.

Third, if you are in the realm of gunboats, lasers or hybrids will limit your ability to do missions outside of the proper rat type at the speed you otherwise would. Projectiles do too, but are much more selectable in damage, but not as good as the "pure" damage selection that comes from missiles or drones.

Note, everyone just about is telling you to use a battleship, but you really don't have to. I have never met a non epic arc level 4 that couldn't be ran in a tech 1 cruiser, much less a tech 2 cruiser. Now, there certainly is an issue about speed that might well be worthwhile to consider as chewing thru level 4 missions in a Cerberus or a Sacralige is almost undoubtedly going to take longer than a well fit battleship would. The same is more or less true of battlecruisers/command ships. While I think the nighthawk is a great ship for missions, I don't see the absolution or damnation really having the mission completion time of say a navy geddon.

Of course you can use the formerly tier 3 battlecruisers, I have done a fair bit of missioning in a Naga and Talos and I have found them both to be excellent at it, due to the ability to move very fast and apply solid damage from long range. This makes them work great against the serpentis who don't have missiles and move quite slow, but you absolutely must kill the tackle frigs and web towers before they can get to you. I nearly lost a Naga by accidentally warping in at 0 on The Blockade l4, you need to warp to 100km and blap that web tower right off. It is much more risky to use them, but I find it kinda fun.

If none of that seems appealing to you, then I think just focusing on battleship skills is reasonable. The Navy Apoc, Paladin, and Nightmare are all great laser boats if you are still wanting to use lasers, and the Maelstrom, Machariel, and Vargur are probably the best all around choices.

I guess that makes sense with projectiles since you're always working in falloff. For my Paladin there is no reason I would want to be closer than 70km and many reasons I don't want to.

I used to love my Machariel but I got spoiled with ships that require much less piloting.

You do realise the Navy Domi was never changed and works just like the old Domi you are used to from the past ?

I really just need to say this for you to consider.

You are a returning player, and you basically need to start fresh as a mission runner.
It seems to me that you would want to train for the BEST mission approach possible instead of starting with a ship that has limits and drawbacks.
EM specific damage and cap sucking guns are not the 'top line' weapon of choice for missioners.
Amarr have great ships, and I love them. Nightmare, Pally, are 2 great ships all in all, but they require excellent skills to shine, and they still will never be #1 for missions.

Food for thought.