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What to expect when doing lvl4 combat missions?
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Emperor Xero
State War Academy
Caldari State
#1 - 2017-04-22 20:05:19 UTC
Hi everyone!

Was hoping I could get some advice flying lvl4 missions. I'm currently in Jita and in the process of building my first ever battleship (Rattlesnake). I haven't played EVE in a long while I was doing some lvl 3 missions in my old drake with some success. I've never done lvl 4 combat/security missions and wondered what surprises I should look out for while flying? My current plan was to warp in and MJD to a long distance and snipe with cruise II's missles and sentries. I hear the MJD's are for the weak and honestly my skill at this game is very much that. I've never encountered any electronic warfare ships yet, but I do know if I get webbed I can MJD out of trouble or so I hope. I'm not even sure if I'll encounter that in lvl 4 missions.

If you guys can offer any tips on what I might face or what I should do if I get in over my head I'm all ears. Thanks very much all!

Cheers!
Yourmoney Mywallet
Doomheim
#2 - 2017-04-22 21:36:13 UTC
I don't personally use MJDs but you can tell whoever told you that they are for the weak to stuff their highly appreciated opinion where the sun don't shine.

You will encounter pretty much all types of electronic warfare: webbers, scrammers, dampers - you name it.

Since you've last played the AI is much more aggressive on drones. Have some spares, both in your drone bay and the hangar of your home station because you'll lose plenty. You should have at least one flight of Lights for pesky frigates that come in close.

Other than that - you can't really go wrong with a rattler.

Welome back.
Buoytender Bob
Ronin Exploration Mission and Mining
#3 - 2017-04-22 22:43:59 UTC
Fit a MJD; it will probably save your ship sometime in the first month. Your concept with a Rattler is good, jump for distance and let the cruise missiles/sentries deal with the NPCs. Always have a flight of light drones available for those pesky elite frigates. Always have EVE survival up and the specific mission well read/triggers learned BEFORE the mission. Depending on fit, fit for faction faced as well a proper drones to use.

Remember the Rattle turns and moves like an fully loaded oil tanker; it is better to jump early or reposition faster as you begin level 4s. Since I usually clear sweep a mission, I find a Marauder does it better. That being said, not much is going to out dps a well fitted Rattlesnake and it tanks wonderfully.

To buck the popular trend, I began to Rage Start instead of Rage Quit.

...and every time I get another piece of Carbon, I know exactly what CCP is getting this Christmas.
Chainsaw Plankton
FaDoyToy
#4 - 2017-04-22 23:03:03 UTC
lv4s are well documented so check it out: http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=MissionReports

MJD is a great tool to get out of trouble. at 100km your long range sentries should be able to hit, and the npcs mostly won't be able to hit back. Also if you get scrammed you can MJD 100km away and warp out.

I'd suggest a gecko for close range brawling. On a rattler it wrecks things, and with some tracking mods in the mids it can 1-2 shot most frigs. If it gets aggro it has a huge tank for a drone so it should be able to make it back to the ship safely. Also sentries have a ton of HP and should be right next to your ship so you can scoop them when they take aggro, should rarely lose drones in a rattler unless you don't pay attention.

@ChainsawPlankto on twitter
Endecroix
Doomheim
#5 - 2017-04-23 08:04:01 UTC
Emperor Xero wrote:
I hear the MJD's ...


I don't know who said that but it's wrong. MJD are very useful for three reasons.

1) To pull range to reduce incoming damage
2) To pull range to ensure transversal is reduced to hit fast moving NPCs
3) Quick movement in a pocket by triangulation onto a gate.

A lot of people run missions on an alt account. Using a MJD jumping to a safe distance and spamming autotarget cruises and dropping sentries and clearing all the NPCs whilst largely afk is a very good strategy for earning easy extra ISK without risk.
Chainsaw Plankton
FaDoyToy
#6 - 2017-04-23 15:32:16 UTC
#4 mjd aggressively into the mission completion group and clear them out with close range high dps weapons for fast mission times. I have a few setups with MWDs and MJDs to get to the spot I need to get to asap.
#5 mjd out of trouble, if an NPC has you pointed you can align out, mjd, and then warp when the point drops. Although at 100km due to the reduction in incoming damage you can probably stabilize and pick off whatever targets remain.

@ChainsawPlankto on twitter
Zarek Kree
Lunatic Legion Holdings
#7 - 2017-04-23 16:32:06 UTC
Even a badly fit Rattlesnake can face tank the vast majority of L4s. Just jump in and kill everything with missiles and a Gecko. If you get into trouble, use the MJD to jump away. You don't need to be all that careful or fancy.
Tam Arai
Mi Pen Rai
#8 - 2017-04-23 16:45:53 UTC
There are many ways to run lv4

- get in the middle of everything and use massive dps to kill everything

-snipe from range

-blitz

-full clear

these will affect your ship choice, rs can do most of them well but fittings will differ

with good skills its quite hard to fail them and its up to you to find the most fun/isk per hour you can
Piugattuk
Litla Sundlaugin
#9 - 2017-04-23 23:16:26 UTC  |  Edited by: Piugattuk
Once upon a time I had a battle cruiser, got scrammed and lost it, at this time just getting back you should definitely fit a MJD lest you have my fate, sure hate for you to lose that rattler.
Chainsaw Plankton
FaDoyToy
#10 - 2017-04-24 00:54:17 UTC
Tam Arai wrote:
There are many ways to run lv4

- get in the middle of everything and use massive dps to kill everything

-snipe from range

-blitz

-full clear

these will affect your ship choice, rs can do most of them well but fittings will differ

with good skills its quite hard to fail them and its up to you to find the most fun/isk per hour you can

I typically use 2 or even 3 of these tactics at once, mainly the get in the middle and dps everything and blitz, High mobility and DPS are key to speedy missions.

Zarek Kree wrote:
Even a badly fit Rattlesnake can face tank the vast majority of L4s. Just jump in and kill everything with missiles and a Gecko. If you get into trouble, use the MJD to jump away. You don't need to be all that careful or fancy.

I love the gecko and use it to clear out ships inside of ~10km or so or when I'm moving. Otherwise I prefer sentry drones as they can hit out very far and don't have to travel to the target, also they deal pure damage types which is pretty good vs most npcs.

@ChainsawPlankto on twitter
Emperor Xero
State War Academy
Caldari State
#11 - 2017-04-24 00:56:17 UTC
I can't say thank you enough for all the advice and help on this thread. Thanks very much all! If you see me flying out there and need some help. I hope to return the favor one day.
Nosum Hseebnrido
Interregnum.
#12 - 2017-04-25 21:48:32 UTC
If you can destroy small ships as first do so, but if you will get point on mission, good advice is to launch any disposable drone because most likely npc frigs will switch 'lock' and start attacking them instead of you, and then you will have window of opportunity to run away safly.
Beside that TP is always way much more better then Web or even two Web's.

http://eveboard.com/pilot/Nosum_Hseebnrido
Alaric Faelen
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#13 - 2017-04-29 14:37:14 UTC
Mostly same advice from me......sniping is king, fit an MJD and long range weapons. You can use less tank because you will simply MJD away from anything that gets close enough to start doing damage.

Don't forget rats warp disrupt you in L4's. I always prioritize frigates the moment they appear.
Use faction or T2 ammo.

IMO, the Rattlesnake is PvE easy mode. You can do L4's just fine without anything more expensive than T2 modules, although splashing the cash on some faction modules will make the process faster.

Simply MJD to a perch, drop sentries, toss missiles, if anything gets too close MJD to a new perch, rinse and repeat. It's not exciting or challenging, but it's effective.

The snake has enough mids that you can treat one or two as utility slots and experiment with different fits. Painters, Omnis, dual prop, MOAR tank......it's such a good ship with low risk tactics that you don't have to have a 'perfect' fit to succeed. Oh, and it makes turret disruption a non-factor and eases the sting of being jammed.
Sylvia Kildare
Kinetic Fury
#14 - 2017-05-05 16:08:57 UTC
Chainsaw Plankton wrote:
#4 mjd aggressively into the mission completion group and clear them out with close range high dps weapons for fast mission times. I have a few setups with MWDs and MJDs to get to the spot I need to get to asap.
#5 mjd out of trouble, if an NPC has you pointed you can align out, mjd, and then warp when the point drops. Although at 100km due to the reduction in incoming damage you can probably stabilize and pick off whatever targets remain.


Re: #4) Amen to that use for the MJD. My most fun moment in L4ing lately has been to MJD both my blaster Kronoses from the warp-in of Dread Pirate Scarlet room 4 directly to the battleship group, bastion up, start webbing/firing Void L x 8 NBC IIs at every battleship or battlecruiser in web range, rinse and repeat x 2 more battleship waves right on top of the same spot, and THEN deal with the cruisers/frigs/sentry guns afterwards (Null L or CN Anti L as needed). it's given that mission new life for me, what a thrill. ;)

Re: #5) only thing is Guristas missions. MJD will not stop you from taking full damage from those damned Guri battleship missiles, though it will get you out of elite frigate points (for a time), at least. Be forewarned, newbs going into Guristas Assault and Guristas room of Worlds Collide. (and Guristas Extravaganza final room with all triggers tripped to a lesser degree)
The Larold
This is an anagram of itself.
#15 - 2017-05-07 00:19:04 UTC
There's something so fundamental that most people here didn't think to warn you:

Capacitor.

You are coming from a Drake. You might have worked your way up through the Caldari missile boats like I did. (Kestrel -> Caracal -> Drake -> Raven -> Golem).

You actually are never forced to manage capacitor while running missions in missile boats all the way up through level 3s.

This changes in level 4's. You'll probably be using some sort of shield or armor repairer. (I'm not too familiar with the Rattler.) You also may be using active hardeners, or target painters / prop mods that require cap.

You'll need to start managing capacitor. Unless you are set up with a super-cap recharging setup (which sacrifices a lot of DPS), you'll need to add cap onto your mental checklist of things to keep an eye on.
Emperor Xero
State War Academy
Caldari State
#16 - 2017-05-07 05:28:41 UTC
.Big apologies all. I didn't fit a MJD after all I'm using a build that I found here on the forums. My rattlesnake fit is this:

[Rattlesnake, New Setup 1]
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II

Gist X-Type Large Shield Booster
Gistum B-Type Adaptive Invulnerability Field
Missile Guidance Computer II, Missile Precision Script
Missile Guidance Computer II, Missile Precision Script
Omnidirectional Tracking Link II, Optimal Range Script
Cap Booster 800 II
Gist B-Type 500MN Microwarpdrive

Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Drone Link Augmentor II

Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst II
Large Warhead Flare Cat II

Garde II x2
Bouncer II x2
1x Gecko
4x hobgoblin II's

I put a cap booster in instead of a Omnidirectional Tracking Link II, Tracking Speed Script. I hope that is okay. I was worried about my cap if I have to mwd far away. Right now according to fitting window this setup gets me 1300dps. My sentry drones max out at 78km for range. I thought it would be longer than that. What do you guys think? Should I switch to a MJD instead?
Without the cap booster I run out of cap at 2.10min I'm guess with MWD on.
Alaric Faelen
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#17 - 2017-05-08 23:14:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Alaric Faelen
MWD is an acceptable alternative to the MJD, in some missions you will want the MWD because gates are far away. Cap pressure depends on how important a cap booster is


The best option of course is to carry a mobile depot. That way you can swap any module at will.
Emperor Xero
State War Academy
Caldari State
#18 - 2017-05-09 15:09:08 UTC
Hi everyone,

Update to my mission 4 happenings. I was offered “RECON 1 of 3” I found out only later that you can just blitz this mission, but I wanted to try out my shiny new 1.1b rattlesnake! Annnnnnnnnnddd……..

I’m terrible. So, check this out. I warp in I get immediate aggro I fire off my MWD and max it out all the while my shield drops by 50% trying to get to a clearing! There isn’t even that many enemies it just takes me forever to reach my max drone range of 80km. Meanwhile I watch my cap suck away at a crazy rate to finally reach 80km from my enemies. I drop sentries and start to shoot. It goes okay I guess I had to eat some 800caps just to warp out because I got into trouble. The biggest problem I’m facing is even with a MWD it takes forever to get to where I need to be to snipe. I’m at 20mil sp and most of my skills are lvl 4 and 5. You can see my ship build above on this thread. I don’t think there is an answer to any of the issues I’m facing though. Just to loot or reach a gate I’ll need to consume a 800 booster so I can actually move. Most of my implants are lvl 3- lvl4 as well.
Inir Ishtori
Perkone
Caldari State
#19 - 2017-05-10 00:08:06 UTC
Emperor Xero wrote:
Hi everyone,

Update to my mission 4 happenings. I was offered “RECON 1 of 3” I found out only later that you can just blitz this mission, but I wanted to try out my shiny new 1.1b rattlesnake! Annnnnnnnnnddd……..

I’m terrible. So, check this out. I warp in I get immediate aggro I fire off my MWD and max it out all the while my shield drops by 50% trying to get to a clearing! There isn’t even that many enemies it just takes me forever to reach my max drone range of 80km. Meanwhile I watch my cap suck away at a crazy rate to finally reach 80km from my enemies. I drop sentries and start to shoot. It goes okay I guess I had to eat some 800caps just to warp out because I got into trouble. The biggest problem I’m facing is even with a MWD it takes forever to get to where I need to be to snipe. I’m at 20mil sp and most of my skills are lvl 4 and 5. You can see my ship build above on this thread. I don’t think there is an answer to any of the issues I’m facing though. Just to loot or reach a gate I’ll need to consume a 800 booster so I can actually move. Most of my implants are lvl 3- lvl4 as well.


If you insist to use a long range weapon plattform, you may also try and learn triangulation jumps with MJD between two gates. This will a) move you out of harms way very often and b)spare you a lot of time and capacitor moving around. Just don't forget to keep your locking range somewhere around 100 km and use appropriate sentries.
Mister Poopypants
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#20 - 2017-05-11 00:57:38 UTC
I admit that I "cheat" while doing lvl 4s by warping in with two Golems (with bastion modules) and a Nighthawk running shield command burst modules. The Golems target NPC battleships with cruise missiles while the Nighthawk targets everything else with heavies. This means most missions will only take a few minutes at most to complete, and most of the time is spent salvaging with a 4th account in a Noctis.
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