Ships & Modules

Opinion on the Bellicose from a respected but now retired blogger: http://jestertrek.blogspot.ca/2012/12/fit-of-week-missile-pvp-bellicose.html.

The main advantage is that it leverages existing skills - allowing you to spend time training higher levels rather than new skills. In the long run it doesn't matter - you will eventually cross train for all 4 factions.

If you do fly the Bellicose, try to fit a target painter - it will make it a lot easier to kill frigates with medium weapons.

Ah but you miss the point. In many ways the Ishtar is a significantly better drones ship than the Gila.
The Gila bonuses medium drones only, while the Ishtar bonuses all sizes of drones to one degree or another.
The Gila cannot use sentry drones and in many cases those are superior to the mediums that the Gila can use, no wait while they travel to a target. Using the Ishtar I can and do kill targets before the drones from a Gila could even get to them.
The Gila has a very limited drones bay which further limits your choices in a mission, while the Ishtar has one of the largest drones bays in the game giving you many options that the Gila simply cannot offer.
And the list goes on.

There is nothing wrong with the Gila, it is a capable ship that serves people well and many enjoy flying it me included.
With regards to their use as mission ships one could make a strong case that either of these 2 excellent ships is the "best", when in reality and setting aside the personal preferences or dislikes they are for all practical purposes equal they just have different strengths and weaknesses.

Although I fly both my preference is for the Ishtar for larger drones bay which gives more flexibility, but primarily because of the sentry drones.

The difference between the dirt cheap again Myrmidon at 50m and the Gila at 270m is a freighterload of skillpoints.


The Myrm

• is armortanked - aka only active
• has a single damage bonus - it needs pretty good drone skills
• can bring about three flights of drones (2 sentry sets or a sentry+meds+2lights)
• is dirt cheap

The Gila

• is shieldtanked - passive or active both work well due to resist bonus
• has most of its damage inbuilt into the hull in the form of the MASSIVE drone damage bonus
• can bring five flights of drones
• has a missile damage type bonus indipendant of weapon size - use RLML
• goes faster
• aligns faster
• locks faster
• locks farther
• doesn't look like a Rorschach test

The Ishtar will see your 4 flights of medium drones and a few measly lights then raise it.
If I want I can carry 1 flight of every races medium drones as well and still have 175m3 of unused drones bay space and that equates to a flexibility that the Gila simply cannot match.

Or in a more normal mission load out I can carry two full flights of sentry drones, a full flight of mediums, a full flight of lights and still have room left for a few maint bots or whatever else I want to carry. Again this offers a flexibility in missions that you cannot and never will be able to match with the Gila.



You have a valid point that the Gila's missiles offer more flexible damage types. But then the superior flexibility in drones load outs made possible by the larger drones bay virtually nullifies this advantage.

Missiles versus armor skills are about equal so that one is a non-object.
The Ishtar require Gal cruiser to 5 and HAC skills.
The Gila requires both Gal AND Caldari cruiser to 5.
So in the end and for new pilots the skills required to maximize either ships abilities are about equal.

The Gila does not bonus a drones speed, that is affected by skills, rigs, modules and implants so your supposed drones speed advantage is a complete non-issue since all of those things can be applied to the Ishtar as well.

Again the Gila does not bonus the drones tracking or speed capabilities so the Gila has no advantage. Any advantage you have or think you have are based solely on skills, rigs, modules and implants and all of those would affect the Ishtar as well.

Again you have a vaild point the Gila has a faster base speed 195 versus 185. Again the Ishtar's larger drones bay renders this advantage almost meaningless, while you are running off to a target I simply launch sentry drones and commence to kick ass.

The Ishtar has a utility high as well. At least I think that is what they would call it, last night when running some missions with a corp mate mine had 3 auto cannon and remote armor rep in the highs so perhaps this is not as much of an advantage for the Gila as you think it is.

The only real advantage the Gila has is in drones durability. At maxed skills and using the same modules and rigs the total hit points is essentially the same, the Gila concentrates those hit points into 2 drones while the Ishtar spreads them out over 5. Again the larger drones bay and the flexibility that offers renders even this advantage virtually worthless. As an example while your mediums are taking damage running to a target the Ishtar's sentries are already shooting at the targets and those sentries have more hit points than your mediums.

As I said in my last post neither is better, they have different strengths and weaknesses and it is up to the pilot to decide which is better for them. I fly both, I like both of them and I am glad I have both, but if I was forced to choose just one I would take the Ishtar simply because of the greater flexibility that large drones bay offers.

I ran some level 1 missions in my Raven and found it boring but in your case that is not that far of. You basically shoot flies with a minigun.
Yes that works and you will kill the flies but a minigun, really?

Here's a hint, that monster of pirate ship that used to be terrible for a decade will be able to handle a lot more difficult situations.

So.... what is a good mission fit for that ship....oh, what's its name .... the Gila? Great thread, BTW

Thanks!
Lantyss

The Gila gets pretty exciting when you do level 4s with it.

Eh?

The Tristan is massively OP for Lvl 1s. 3 x DDA with 5 x Hob II = utter Lvl 1 carnage. Speed tank 4tehwin.

Wasn't Ishtar nerfed recently?