My EVE

Mission Running as beginner is a valuable source of income, and even later in the game it can be a good way to up your isk in tight spots.

So the question for most advanced beginners is how to make the most out of it.
This guide will not go on about fits as there are enough out there, but it will give a general overview for L4 missions.

Generally L4 Missions can be flown with any battleship. However after some experience the question will arise how to make the most isk in a reasonable amount of time.

In order to achieve this goal a lot of dps, a good isk per ammuniton charge ratio and speed is required.
Considering lower skills two ships come in mind.


The first option is the Rattlesnake.
The faction ship requires two specialitsations but they can be trained fast. Also drone+rocket skills are necessary.
However most necessary skills can be trained in a month or 2. A bonus when going for the Rattlesnake is the fact, that it requires the same skills as a Raven. So while going for a Rattlesnake you can fly a Raven for l4 missions. The Raven is still a solid missioner.
After having required a Rattlesnake you have serveral valuable assets: A wide range of possible fittings, when using big drones 2 instead of 5 are required (so your drone losses will not have such a big impact on your wallet), a high range, a high tank and lots of Dps.
The downside is that it is not the fastest ship out there but for 450 MIll. hull cost, you will get a ship which can take it up at L4 Missions with a marauder, some argue which is even better.


Your second option for effective mission running is a Machariel
The Machariel has one big up, it is the fastest ship out there. However it has 2 downs which make it for beginners a little less interesting: 1. it has a low tank. So knowlegde when to hit and when to run is required, 2. To be effective for L4s it needs 800mm Repeating Cannon II which require some time to skill and are not as commonely used as rocketlaunchers.
The up side as described is its speed. Properly fitted the ship will enable you 2 complete the mission in the fastest amount of time (higher warp, higher ship speed, reasonable Dps).
However the Machariel requires more skills in fitting and gameplay.


The last option is a marauder
If you fly a marauder you get a ship that can do everything and has a whide range of free high slots to fit what ever you want.
The donwside is the high cost in isk and skill. For mission running a marauder is only better when you want to do missions and salvage with one ship. Otherwise the 2 ships named above are at least as good .


General conclusion
The best options for mission running for advanced beginners are in my opinion the 2 first ships named above. The Rattlsnake in my oppinion is a litte more interesting for beginners.
Skilled out both ships make deadly missionrunners with the best value for price ratio.



Tips
Whatever the ship, never fly whithout small drones. They are invaluable to kill small frigates which can web you, slow you and stop you from warping out.

If you are not that skilled always use a damage controler, it is your safety net in sticky situations and can gain you valuable seconds to warp out.



fs Louis Lame

"..."

You can look at
http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=MissionReports
or
http://schildwall.phbv3.de/missionen.html
for mission-specific things like damage, webs, different ships / npc's,...
Always good to look at those things before undocking.