Ships & Modules

I'm looking for three answers here basically,
First, which one would be the fastest for just chugging through these LVL4 missions solo?
Second, is the Kronos viable? I quite like drones and was wondering how this ship compares to the others?
Thirdly, I was wondering which one of these if any could I treat like a mining mission, just pop in start shooting and just kinda steam roll over everything or are these super micro intensive missions? I'm fairly new and just setting up some long term goals. THanks for your replies!

they are all pretty decent, and there are a lot of it depends and nuances to the actual answers.

my personal favorite is the paladin, it does a ton of dps over a ton of range. Being locked into em/therm is something of a disadvantage however in amarr space it does very well. Works pretty well in caldari space outside of gurista missions (although when blitzing those missions it isn't too bad since it does very high base dps).

I also like the kronos, with blasters it can MJD or MWD into a group of enemies and obliterate them. or can do pretty good dps over a good range with rails. Locked to kin/therm damage which is somewhat of a disadvantage but again not a huge one as long as you say in the right areas. Also doesn't really do drones. Has a decent drone bay but only 50 bandwidth so you can drop 2 sentries for help on primary target, or 5 lights/meds to deal with small stuff under the guns.

Golem is good but very generic feeling. pretty much equally good in any space with damage selection on missiles.

Vargur, pretty similar to the golem as it has decent damage selection with projectile ammo. I don't really like it as I figure I might as well fly a machariel though, mach has better dps and speed which are what I want, although the vargur will have better tank and ability to loot. Other people seem to like the vargur a lot though.

as for your questions:
1. depends on what area of space you are in and what npcs you fight most. Overall they should all be pretty competitive
2. Kronos does most of its damage through guns, drone bandwidth/bays are pretty low on marauders.
3. any marauder should be able to warp in and steam roll a mission. With the gun marauders you might want to pay some attention to target speed/transversal. Also if you use short range guns on a marauder you might have to pay more attention to where you are so you can apply the most damage.

If you are looking for long term goals you might want to look at this thread https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=501099&find=unread

I am less than enthused with the Paladin. Vargur is nice. Golem I like a lot, sure missiles have travel time but since you should be using torps anyway that's kind of a non issue.

No experience flying (or rather, sitting) the Kronos. It seems to me, and I may be wrong here, it's easier to shield-fit a Maruarder than armor.

But I am also bias towards projectiles and missiles and shields to begin with.

Q1: Vargur or Paladin. Note though that the vargur isn't that great vs guristas due it's lack of kinetic dmg and guristas default orbits. Paladin only deals em thermal.

Q2: not a drone boat. It's viable but has some quality of life issues. It doesn't omni tank as well as the Vargur or Paladin. It also struggles a bit getting a good operating ranging. Close to mid range is great on marauders due to their tractor beams and short range weapon projection. Kronos comes up a bit shy in the short range projection department. Blasters are viable, but autocannons and pulses are better. Rails are pretty good vs caldari. Blasters are amazing in some missions like damsel in distress, but in general the range requirements coupled with the inferior omni tank keeps the Kronos from being the ideal choice.

Q3: This is subjective of course, but I don't think marauders are very good at this in general. Short range setups require more effort, and managing combat targets, wrecks, individual salvage drones, tracking computers, target painters, tractor beams, etc isn't exactly a mining mission level of management. Its really not worth running a marauder if you don't make use of its ability to loot as you go. However, I'd say the paladin is probably the best option for a hands off approach of the 4. Long range weapons are good at this and beams are a nice choice. You could golem this but the tp management, tp range, and volley counting/losses to do this is meh.

I used blaster Kronos a lot in Gallente space and most of the time range really is not an issue, where you are fighting mostly Serpentis & Angels, and after using it for a while you tend to get hang of where to MJD to or whether to fit an MWD based on specific missions, and there are usually 'good spots' you can put your Kronos in where it will put most of the rats in decent range for your blasters. You do really want the maximum range on your blasters though, and will be using Null ammo a lot, as they tend to give better damage across more ranges. There are times you can use Antimatter or even Void, but these are very specific missions or specific 'stage' in a mission where you'd use them. I would say 90% of time missioning in Kronos you'd be using Null (and shoot stuff that are in 25~45km range). One good thing though is that hybrid reload is 5 seconds, so it's not like changing crystals but easier to bear than reloading missiles or projectiles.

Golem/Vargur I've also used a lot before, and I have a few things to say about each of them.

Golem is a very nice ship, but if you want to use Cruise missiles, I think CNR is just easier with its inherent application bonuses that do not rely on using TP on the target. You should never have range issues on Cruise missiles, and if you rigged your ship for rigors/flares, CNR does easy damage across all ranges without help of a TP, and TP do not have infinite ranges, and they certainly do not reach to the ranges that Cruise Missiles can on CNR or Golem.

However, if you are operating within TP range, with max skills/implants/rigs, you are also within reasonable Torp range or just a MWD pulse away from getting into Torp range. TP bonus on Golem means you can apply Torp damage quite well on most targets, even to cruisers depending on how many TPs you have fit.

Personally I had both CNR & Golem, where CNR was set up for Cruise and Golem was set up for Torps, and I felt that when I was in 'lazy mode', like 'missioning like mining' as you say, I tend to use CNR instead of Golem. It's just very lazy and hassle free, the easiest ship to fly out of all the mission ships I've ever used, and the tank is more than good enough for HS L4.

Vargur I liked quite a bit, but as someone said, you can fly Mach which is faster (not just in moving about, but faster warp as well, which definitely adds up when you do many missions). I consider Vargur as 'lazy Mach', where you have option to go afk for a bio break with bastion+cap stable medium shield booster on. Mach is an awesome ship, but if you go afk on a Mach for a few minutes you are likely to die, because you need to be constantly shooting rats to reduce the incoming damage. Tank is a non-issue for Mach only if you keep shooting because it kills things so fast. But with Vargur you really can go AFK with capstable medium dead space shield booster on, and you shall survive. That's usually a bad idea, but oh well, if that's your thing or if you live/play EVE in an environment where you sometimes need to go AFK (e.g. having a baby in your house, etc), Vargur is more friendly for that sort of thing.


Having said all this though - there is another super lazy ship I can recommend. A pimped Gila. Deadspace fit the whole thing with A-type ABs, medium shield booster and invuls, faction drone damage amps & augmented medium drones, the thing is ridiculous for HS missions. Your medium drones will tear through anything from frigs to battleships in L4 missions, and your sig radius and tank is just too strong for anything to even dent you. Sure the paper DPS is not as much as Marauders, but the damage application of medium drones are just so universal you get good damage on all targets across the board, without ever having to worry about doing anything. All you gotta do is orbit with AB on and let your drones do the work, while you browse other things on the Internet or watch TV or whatever.

Well, just my experience. It all depends on how lazy you want to be and how much you are willing to micro manage to get the best efficiency. But IMHO, uber micromanaging to get the best efficiency out of HS L4 missions are not worth it, because if you are going to pay that much attention, i.e. look at the screen the whole time and manage the ship the whole time, you could be doing PVE in more riskier & higher rewarding spaces. Basically, if you are paying any more attention on HS L4 mission than you would by looking at the local in null or refreshing D-Scan in WH or LS or wherever, than you need to consider whether it's worth it to mission in HS.

Just my two cents. :p

It boils down to the weapon system used more so than the hull itself. In an area or running into missions where hybrids would work for you, given range, rat resists, and such, that would be the Kronos. See blood raiders more often than anyone else, try your luck with a Paladin. Same thing for the Vargur. Golem's kind of a wild card, solid for all and doesn't care for tracking disruption.

Beyond that, it's largely a personal taste sort of thing. Again, the hulls are actually largely indifferent and it usually comes down to what you see sitting in the highs that makes or breaks a Marauder in peoples' eyes.

Best all around probably Golem, free damage type choice and TP bonus. This is hard to beat looking at pure paper stats.


Personally: Paladin (you will hate Angel Cartel missions) other than that best Marauder for me. I really dislike travel time damage types like drones and missiles. Instant crystal swap what is there not to love.

Second Kronos because it is the most bad ass looking hull in the entire game and neutron blaster cannons, what is there not to like? It does not perform badly either!

For regular Level 4 missions in Gallente space:

[Kronos, blaster pimp fit null]
Shadow Serpentis Magnetic Field Stabilizer
Shadow Serpentis Magnetic Field Stabilizer
Shadow Serpentis Magnetic Field Stabilizer
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Core B-Type Large Armor Repairer
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Domination 500MN Microwarpdrive
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800

Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Null L
Bastion Module I
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]

Large Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II
Large Hybrid Burst Aerator II

Warden II x2
Hobgoblin II x5
Salvage Drone I x5
Hobgoblin II x5
Cap Booster 800 x15

I used this one before the refitting nerf and would just refit between MJD and MWD as needed. It is still possible, but takes more time, obviously.

If you think you might prefer railguns during a specific mission just swap blasters to rails, add 2 DLA II and maybe go with MJD for triangulation jumps between gates. Damage-wise you probably should be able to do triangulation jumps almost just as good as with a Paladin if you use 2 Wardens.
Also take a look at damage profiles of Null and Antimatter ammunition and compare them to resistance profiles of mission NPCs.

Golem and t2 cruise missiles will be more economical with 4 lancers