Missions & Complexes

Brutix would be overkill for L2 missions, IMO (and you may not be able to get it into certain gated deadspace pockets as well). I think past a certain point, DPS delivery is less important in L2 missions than agility and tracking (if you're using guns). T1 cruiser hulls work just fine for L2 missions - I really don't think you're going to increase your efficiency all that much by going to T2 hulls or BC hulls. Using a T2/faction fit T1 cruiser hull will blow through L2 missions about as fast as is possible.

I've never really seen the point to mission-running in pimped out ships until you get into the L4 missions. T1 hulls with T2/faction fits work just dandy about 99% of the time. That equation does change in L4 missions, but by then players are usually skilled enough and wealthy enough to use whatever ship they want. (Though even if I were an Eve billionaire, I'd have serious misgivings about dropping a billion ISK on a marauder when I could get a perfectly capable, fully-fitted T1 battleship for about a fourth of the cost.)

fit an AB and your weapon of preference

any cruiser will eat L2's and then ask for more.
as you've mentioned lo/nul ... you might want to go with an AF for it's faster align/warp times

Based on a little handful of missions it seems that actually Thorax might come a little bit ahead of navy exec but that is just an initial impression as the difference is a bit too small to really tell based on the limited dataset I have.

With a 3% hardwire it seems both are capable of one shotting most frigates even with navy thorium within approx ~40..50 km or so.

Problem with drones is that they travel sloooow. I did try Ishkur earlier. With Thorax navy exec you are deleting a frigate every 3-4 seconds. Have also a sensor booster to speed up the locking process a little and reach some far away ones with spike in some missions where the groups are outside of thorax/navy exec default lock range. The exact fits I tried are.

[Thorax, L2_trc]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II

Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
Small C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
F-90 Positional Sensor Subroutines, Scan Resolution Script

250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I

Hornet II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5
Optimal Range Script x1
Tracking Speed Script x1
Targeting Range Script x1
Scan Resolution Script x1
Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M x5000
Spike M x5000
Caldari Navy Thorium Charge M x5000
Nanite Repair Paste x100

[Exequror Navy Issue, L2]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II

Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
F-12 Nonlinear Tracking Processor, Tracking Speed Script
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution Script

250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M
250mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I

Hobgoblin II x5
Optimal Range Script x1
Tracking Speed Script x1
Targeting Range Script x1
Scan Resolution Script x1
Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M x5000
Spike M x5000
Caldari Navy Thorium Charge M x5000
Nanite Repair Paste x100

I have used Geckos on rattlesnakes doing L4 missions in hi sec. They do have issues, especially against small targets. For a start against small stuff they freeze up for few seconds before they start burning towards them and they need good amount of micromanagement because of often picking targets in non-sensible way burning between targets at the opposite ends of the grid.

So I highly doubt that Gecos could offer a better effectivity in L2 mission than just deleting a frigate every 3 seconds with the guns. Especially in these missions with just small number of frigates present.

This is the setup I use to 3/10 DEDs. Works great. Sure lvl 2's would be quick and easy. With good skills, the Orges have a top speed of 3400~ and Hammers have 4500~. With the Omni, both 1-2 shot frig's. Wardens are great for long range stuff.

You can ignore my highs and rigs. They don't really matter, just substitute for what ever works for you .

[Ishtar, Ishtar]

Improved Cloaking Device II
Core Probe Launcher II (Sisters Core Scanner Probe)
Auto Targeting System I
Small Tractor Beam I

Omnidirectional Tracking Link II (Tracking Speed Script)
2x Drone Navigation Computer II
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron
10MN Afterburner II

2x Drone Damage Amplifier II
Shadow Serpentis Armor Thermic Hardener
Shadow Serpentis Armor Kinetic Hardener
Medium Armor Repairer II

2x Medium Sentry Damage Augmentor I

5x Hobgoblin II
5x Warden II
5x Ogre II
5x Hammerhead II


Good luck, hope this helps.

Its not like they are expensive

Gila.

1 meta 4 medium nos.
basic EM amp.

4x heavy missile launchers.
Drone omni.
Drone Nav.
3x DDA.
10 MN AB.
DC
invuln
Large shield booster.
All T2.

2 CPU rigs.
shield extender rig.

Mission specific drones.

433 mil total.

816 max DPS.
666 M/S.
214.5 burst tank last about a min.
76 def sustained.

Cap stable with NOS and Booster off at 69%.

Drones will pop frigs fast and have plenty of speed to reduce flight time.
Use the missiles on the bigger NPC's and those that are furtherest away.

But that is not a Level 2 blitzing setup. This seems to be more suitable for L3's. It is overtanked, has issues applying that on-paper damage to the point Thorax would outperform it in L2's and it's warp speed is too slow, as you spend a lot of time in warp when doing L2's.

Besides, at that price-tag I would rather take Astrate or a T3.

On a related note, perhaps a new challenge would be indeed to come up with something under 500 mil that blitzes L2's and L3's the fastest. Or just skip the zoo and beeline straight to Marachiel ;)

I have done now around 30-40 L2's with these ships. Only problematic one is L2 damsel in distress so far where the spawning elite frigates get under your guns, but they do not point so you can just pop the pleasure hub and moonwalk out with the damsel. One drone L2 was also a bit odd where I had serious problems popping the drones at 20 km until they started burning towards me.

At the end of the day all three platforms are more or less equal which I tested (Brutix, Navy Exec and Thorax). Thorax's tracking bonus seems to cause better quality hits within ~30 km, Navy exec pulls slightly ahead in situations where there are a little more cruisers present as it pops them few seconds faster and Brutix advantage is ability to pop frigates at range with spike in one volley as it has the biggest alpha of them all. With 8% warp speed implant cruisers do 4.5 AU/s and Brutix does 4.2 AU/s.

Recently ran some low caldari missions and quite a few featured spawns 100+km away from each other, so a mwd might be a good idea.

But yes, worm will do it all, sometimes one has to back off a bit in l3s if passive tanked.

It seems to be faster to have a sensor booster, switch script for targeting range and use Spike on 100 km targets with rails. the 250mm ones can reach more or less 100 km with spike and couple of tracking enhancers.