Skill Discussions

First of all, don't start out with that shiny of a Raven Navy issue on your first try. I'd suggest getting used to them in the Raven, and then moving up to a Navy Raven without that much bling. If you want to fit the bling raven in the background, that's fine, but get used to the missions in something much cheaper. There's a couple reasons for this: one, as a new player in a shiny ship you're a very obvious target for gankers, and two, there are missions where you can get yourself into trouble even as an experienced player with high skills. (Lost two Navy Ravens a few years ago myself).

Now with all of that said, absolutely yes train missile skills. You've got the T2 cruise skills now, which is good, but I'd focus on the skills for the missile control certificate; rapid launch, guided missile precision, etc. You'll also want to train some more of the other shield skills. It's going to be easier to get into a missile boat for you right now then it will be to get into a drone boat, so I'd focus on missiles and shields right now. After that I'd go for drones; again, starting with support skills and then doing the T2 sentries.

Thanks FightingMoose!

Indeed it makes sense to start first with missile boat before start trying the Rattlesnake. And with a cheaper setup too. I forgot to link the Raven setup Im gonna try, and will be the first one ofc since its cheaper and I first need to get used to level 4 missions.
The ship is the raven I used 2 months ago, but with a better setup now.
Gonna focus on raise missile skills first then, and the other shileds.

Very much appreciated ;)

Lets take a closer look at your fitting options for the CNR:


Hi slots are easy (use mission specific ammo):

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
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Scourge Fury Cruise Missile

With Rigors in your rigs and maybe a TP you should be able to use Furies effectively against most targets. Bring a small stack of Precision missiles to help your drones fight spider drones and other small stuff if needed.


Low slots are easy too, more or less:

Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Damage Controll II

CN BSC are not so much needed because of their better damage boost but because of their low fitting costs. If you have enough CPU you should switch one of the CN BSC for a regular BSC II to save some isk (dps drop would only be minimal).
My suggestion for the 5th slot is a DCU II. It gives a nice boost to your tank which might be a good idea since you are new to this ship.
A Signal Amplifier is not really needed imho. Your targeting range without it is 90km which is enough for most missions especially considering that most NPC fly closer to you while you fight them and their friends anyway. (And if you are salvaging your missions in a Noctis you'll notice that it's a good idea to keep the wrecks in a distance of 82km or so (that's with the ORE Industrial skill at L4 afair).


Mid slots is where you need to make your main choices (and it will probably predetermine what you want/need in your rigs):

1st you need 1-3 slots for an active shield tank (a passive shield tank doesn't really work on a CNR).
Some people use an undersized shield tank mod here (typically deadspace) and usually keep it running all the time. Very often these people will also fit rigs for cap improvement. The CNR you linked in your OP follow this fitting philosophy.
Others (me among them) use an X-Large ShieldBooster (typically deadspace) usually together with a Cap Booster and sometimes with a shield boost amplifier. These people typically fit rigors and flares in their rigs.

Then you need 3 slots for shield hardeners. I'd suggest to go for 3 mission specific hardeners ... 2 hardener for the the main damage type, 1 hardener for the secondary damage type. Check the price for Dread Guristas hardeners. They are as effective as CN hardeners but usually cost considerably less. I would suggest to not use a CN or deadspace Adaptive Invuln because of the cost and because it is not really needed (however, there are a few missions where an omni tank would be more convenient).

A prop mod is debateable. It's convienient, but i think it's not needed. Not fitting a prop mod gives you more flexibility with regard to your fitting. And most missions have your targets in range anyway (with some exceptions, especially the 1st pocket in Worlds Collide)

For the 7th slot I'd recommend a Target Painter or ECCM if you are going against Guristas.

DreadGuristas EM Ward Field
DreadGuristas EM Ward Field
DreadGuristas Thermic Dissipation Field
Caldari Navy Shield Boost Amplifier
Heavy Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Pith C-Type X-Large Shield Booster
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron

Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst II
Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst II
Large Warhead Flare Catalyst II


With a fitting like this (and appropriate skills) you look at 1000 dps or so @90km and an impressive tank (actually it might be considered overtanked a bit).

And last not least use available information about the missions you are about to run: http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=MissionReports (especially knowing the triggers is really helpful for aggro management).

I highly recommend the SNI until you are ready for Rattlesnake.

I am usually in favor of DPS-tanking to do L4s but the best way to do them is knowledge-tanking, really.

Reading your OP I cannot shake the feeling that this is your hole.
No matter how good your fit or your skills, L4s CAN be dangerous if one does not pay attention to triggers and whatnot (not saying it can´t be done, I often enough do it myself, just that this is for "advanced" players).

I'd recommend watching this:

Zaqq's L4 Raven/Navy Issue Fit

I ran with the first fit and it worked well

The fit you posted will work fine, But yopu have the skills for T2 launchers, use them, meta 4 are about the same price, and do less damage. I would also drop at least 1 CCC rig for a rigor rig, rigors make your missiles hit the smaller targets much harder. if you need the extra tank to feel comfortable, that is fine, it will just slow you down a bit. However, many players will tell you a semi conductor memory cell rig will do you better than CCC rigs, especially when running an X-large booster.

I run my raven with 2 rigors and a flare, I can one volley destroyers, and most cruisers, and even manage to hit elite frigs with precision missiles. killing rats faster means you do not need to tank them as long, once you are comfortable, they are definitely the way to go. Do not be afraid to use precision missiles, they have much lower paper DPS, but anything smaller than a battlecruiser, they hit harder than fury, or even normal cruise, when fighting battlecruisers I find precision missiles hit almost the same as fury, only battleships take full damage from fury missiles. I even run with guided missile precision (slot 8) , and Target navigation prediction (slot 9), implants. The +3% ones are only about 20 mil, and make a big difference. My Raven not only does over 1000 DPS, but has great damage application, it can even kill elite frigates without needing drones, the drones just make it a little faster.

Faction and ded modules will make you much more efficient in time, but do not start out using them until you are comfortable, and have a lower risk of losing your ship. losing a Raven hurts a lot more when it has a billion isk worth of modules fitted.

Your missile skills need some work,

Guided Missile Precision > currently 2
Missile Bombardment > currently 4
Missile Projection >currently 3
Rapid Launch > currently 3
Target Navigation Prediction > currently 3
Warhead Upgrades > currently 3
Since you have cruise missiles 5 and specialization 2, get it to 4. Its a great damage increase for the training time, and get caldari battleship to at least 4.
And for god sakes, dump the meta 4 launchers, you can use t2, So use them. THEY DO MORE DAMAGE, EVEN WITHOUT T2 AMMO.
Your shield skills also need some work. Lvl 4 missions are very demanding on your tank, only one shield skill to 5 will leave you with a weak tank. At the very least you need to be using full T2 tank before you even think of flying level 4 missions.

You will also need capacitor management > currently at 4, at 5 ASAP.

Lvl 4 missions are not easy when you are fairly new, you should be able to complete them with your current skills, but you will be very slow, and any mistakes could cost you your ship. At this point you will make isk a lot faster running level 3 missions with a drake. Get your support skills up first, they will help you equally with a drake. Drake has an amazing tank, but dropping so tank for more gank will let you complete lvl 3 missions much faster. Do not use a battleship for lvl 3 missions, they have no issues doing them, but are very slow due to having issues hitting the smaller ships. A well skilled drake can even run level 4 missions, however it will be slow.

The only reason to be running level 4 missions at this point is for the challenge, and there will be some you can not handle. With your current skills level 3 missions will still give you a higher isk/hr. If you are completing 4-5 level 3 missions per hour, you can expect most level 4 missions to take you about 1 hour, with the most difficult ones taking up to 2 hours. When I started level 4 missions, the hard ones were taking me 2-3 hours. I was not ready, and lost a lot of ships. When you get good at level 4 missions, you should be completing 3-4 of them per hour, the hard ones taking 20-30 minutes.

Listen to Bugsy he gave you great advice.

Kinda confused here. What do you mean with full T2 tank?

Most T2 modules require certain skills at level 5 to use them, check the prerqusites. Full T2 tank, is being able to fit the T2 version of every tank module you use.

That last fit you posted looks very good for starting out level 4 missions. Except I would not use all 4 damage types for hardeners, each rat type generally does 2 damage types. Fpr example guirstas only do kenetic and thermal, so fitting an EM, or Explosive hardener is a wasted slot when fighting them. there is nothing wrong with OMNI tanking (balanced resists) it is just less efficient. I generally fit two rat specific hardeners, and a invulnerability field, or with the Raven having an extra mid slot now, 4 rat specific hardeners. Survival is key at the beginning, don't worry about fast completion times until you get comfortable running them. Faster completion times requires dropping tank for more DPS, but doing so before you are ready can cost you your ship.

Isk does not seem to be an issue for you, so I assume you want to run level 4 missions for the challenge. Just take your time, and read the guides on sites like EVE survival, knowing what rats trigger the next wave can make the difference between doing the whole missions with out warping out, or getting overwhelmed and losing your ship. it will also tell you what damage types to tank, what the best damage type to use is, and what groups to agro first. It really does make that much of a difference. Speed will come with time, you can tweek your fit to suit your play style, then trade out T2 modules for faction or DED once you find the fit that works best for your play style.