Ships & Modules

You're tank is failing because with 450 DPS, probably more like 250 DPS at typical mission engagement ranges you're simply killing the NPCs too slowly.

With skills that poor(if you're only getting 450 DPS with 800mms) you really shouldn't be in a battleship and I'm sure most here will agree.

Get yourself in a hurricane and gank your way through level 3s, you'll probably make more isk since you'll lose less performance with a smaller hull/guns due to skills. Once you get your gunnery skills to 4s and 5s try the battleship again.

Why aren't people using arty maelstroms for mission running?

I'm flying raven atm and was thinking about switching to maelstrom for more dps, but low range of auto cannons frightens me.

With a good fitting, you're always able to deal decent damage out to 45km. Considering you'll dish out 800ish dps, your killspeed is your tank. If you onehit the frigs, when they come into range, you'll hardly ever need your drones. You got more action and the missions will complete much quicker.



rob

T2 AC ammo for mission ? Isn't it a bit expensive ?

I've flown a bunch with different ammo types and I used to use faction ammo, but that just gets really expensive really quickly. That said, I am considering going back to it now. The thing is, if you salvage/make enough, you can get 5,000 rounds through the loyalty shop for about 2.4m. The thing I worry about is how fast I go through the stuff. With 8 guns at 20 rounds a minute, you're going through 160 rounds a minute or so. Regular large ammo costs about 160 per unit of Fusion L for me, but you'd pay 480 for each round of faction ammo that you make yourself.

I've never really used T2 because I've always seen it as even more expensive and something that I can't manufacture myself. That said, faction ammo is really good, but you need to weigh your options before using it. If you're running a 1200 mael fit, it's great, but doesn't seem worth it with AC's to me, especially because I can already hit out to 70km so there's no need for barrage. I might try the faction ammo, but I don't see a use for T2. Not in my case anyway.

You can make a Maelstrom cap stable and still have a decent tank if you use 2 boost amps and a deadspace large shield booster.

[Maelstrom, lolfit]
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II

Gist A-Type Large Shield Booster
Shield Boost Amplifier II
Shield Boost Amplifier II
Invulnerability Field II
Invulnerability Field II
Cap Recharger II

800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II
800mm Repeating Artillery II

Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I

Hobgoblin II x5
Hammerhead II x5

Forum ate my post. Short version is:

1. Shield tank it. You have that shield booster bonus for a reason. If you're fighting rats that do EM/Therm damage consider an EM resistance rig to plug the hole

2. If your gunnery skills are poor, use artillery; you'll need it to do decent damage at range. And you will NEED to stay at range, use your drones for frigates, kite everything else as best you can. You'll need a reactor control unit to fit 1400s until you get advanced weapon upgrades, but you'll use all the bonuses it gives you.

I disagree on the prevalent opinions that autocannons are better. I flew the Mael myself a long time before I advanced into faction BS and artillery is superior if you use faction ammo, which is worthwile with 1400's and use manual piloting to reduce transversal.

Mael doesn't offer a falloff bonus and flies like a brick. This reduces your good on- paper DPS to maybe 50% depending on what missions you fly and the NPC type. Don't even try to fly against Guristas with autocannons for example.

For starters you should use 1200's with afterburner fitted. Use it to increase range to the enemy and reduce the transversal by flying away at a straight line (or towards them if you are far away). Ungroup your guns, that way you can spread your DPS to multiple targets and volley frigs at range with 2-3 guns.

As for tank, try using a cap injector. By using your afterburner you mitigate incoming DPS and burst- tanking with your shield booster you should have enough cap to complete every mission.

When your skills get better, upfit to 1400's, by then you should have the hang of it so tracking isn't that much of an issue. You also should have learned all missions by then which start at close range and you can use autocannons there.

If you still are unsure about autocannons vs artillery, make an EFT fit with both weapons and display the DPS graphs. You will notice that autocannons begin to decline in DPS over range very early on and the window where they deliver more real DPS is very small.

And finally, you should work on your skills, maybe you sit too early in this ship. Mael is one of the best BS for missionrunning but it also requires a good deal of manual piloting anc character skills to become really effective.

What a load of dribble.

There's nothing to "learning" Arties. In fact, I started out with them, and I loved them, the shiny high numbers thinking they were great etc. Then I woke up. Sure, half of it boils down to a matter of opinion, and that's fine, but what you state is complete crap.

Arties are crap tracking, nothing more to be said. It's not about "learning" how to use them, they wil always be crap. Getting your angular is all well and good, but you know what? When I can just lock and one shot a frig over 70km every 3.5 seconds, that's nothing to do with "learning" how to use them, that's what we call being effecient. Having to kite? It's a mission, not PvP, there's no skill in mission, or do you try to impress the NPC rats?

What's your fire rate on arties? Without factoring in skills (because lets face it, I doubt OP has much in regards for them) they fire every 40 seconds, while 800s fire every 7.88 seconds. For me, they fire every 3.5 secs. By the time you've fired off your first volley, done your kiting and all that ineffecient crap, I've blown up every frigate in the mission, unless their right on top of me, even then I sometimes hit them, how's that work out with arties?

DPS is higher in ACs, range is perfectly fine (The range on arties isn't needed at all for 99% of missions) there's not as much overkill, a miss doesn't hurt nearly as much, tracking is far better, you 1 shot frigs every few seconds, 2 shot cruisers (7 seconds...how long before you can volly again with your arties?) even against BS's you're more likely to finish one off quicker than it takes your next volly with arties.

I use an AB with AC's also, while you try and state you need to burn away from them, how is that any different to burning to them? Well, you rarely need to actually burn to them for most missions and can instantly start shooting for one.

I used arties, numbers were nice, but waiting for the next alpha isn't. Tracking isn't etc etc. You can impress the rats all you want but me? I'd rather get the mission done ASAP and as effeciently as possible.

If you like arties better, then sure, you're opinion, but that's all it is. Before you try and say use drones for frigates, I've blown the frigates up before the drones even reach them, but hey, even if I didn't, AC's will still kill the rest far far quicker than any drones would.

Opinions are what makes Eve so great, the shear amount of fittings and playstyles etc, but talking rubbish like "you just need to learn how to shoot arties" is just that, rubbish. Like I said, I once had a hard on for arties. If anything, it would be AC's that require a person to have a better understanding of them since close range is more dangerous for the tank etc.

IMO, Arties are a PvP/ganking/numbers/whatever thing, but not for efficient killing in missions.

If anyone is one trick that would be you, you seem incapable of actually being able to read and comprehending something so simple while still repeating your same gibberish. (I better edit to make it simple...You know, the fact that I stated numerous times I used arties for a long time. Also, I'll add I fly mutiple ships using multiple weapon systems in missions, which i far from 1 trick. I won't use arties any more though, since AC's are superior in 99% of missions...why do you use AC's still if arties are?

So go ahead and enlighten me. What's your firing rate with 1400's? You got 10 frigates, 5 cruisers, 5 BS all at 50km range. How long is that going to take you hmm? Excluding locking time.

Those 10 frigates are going to take me around 35 seconds. To down all. You?

Those cruisers will take me 7-14 seconds each. You?

The battleships will take me 20-40 seconds each. You?

P.S, I'm being very generous with the numbers for you.

That's without using my drones btw.