Missions & Complexes

As a returning player, I am slowly relearning the game and have a question for you mission runners in high sec. Aside from the Navy Drake, what is the next step up for soloing level 4 missions? That is, what ship outperforms a Drake in survivability and firepower?

I found the Raven to be easy mode for most level 4 missions. Even without T2 tank. Seems the logical step up if you can fly a Drake.

I also fly an Apoc (with both T2 guns and tank) and it is doable but Angel missions are super annoying and Guristas are pretty bad too. Everything else is fine though.

Rattlesnake is the ticket. Even if you don't have good great drone skills, missiles alone put out almost as much DPS as a Raven, Navy Raven or Navy Scorpion. It has excellent shield resists, buffer and passive shield recharge. Not too mention that it has 6 lows and 7 mids, so there's a lot you can do with it. A bit more ISK than a Raven, but you can get into a Rattlesnake for less than a Tengu.

Definitely the Raven.

If you're flying a Drake, you already have decent shield and missile skills. Raven or RNI would be the next logical step.
With Cruise Missiles and decent supports, you can hit out to 90km+ (Depending on lock range). You don't even need a massive tank if you're sniping.
Slap a MJD on that ***** and you're clearing room to room pretty fast.

Only problem I have with a Raven is the symmetry.

This makes the most sense, If you already have a Drake then the next obvious step is the Raven. Raven isn't the fastest mission runner but it's dependable and easy to use (it's also boring but that's a personal pov). Once you established an income and got used to the Raven you can always look for other options, would you want to.

Many years ago (the last time I did missions) I ran level 4s in an Ishkur. It was the only time I actually enjoyed mission running.

Mr Epeen

Marauders. Any of them will do the job of lvl4's with ease if fit right (and with good core skills). Golem and Paladin are the dominate ones due to silly ranges and applied DPS.
T3's, specifically the Tengu, are still widely used.
Rattlesnake, and the cheaper option, Domi. Drones are mean.
Navy Raven, and the normal one too.

These are the dominate mission ships you'll see. Others work, but these are the majority.

Which one depends on skills and interest. Personally I use a Paladin. Rattlesnakes are a great choice they fit massive tanks. Domi's require a little more work but being Drones again are easy mode.

Golems are mission eating machines. They're CCP's gift to high sec mission running lurkers.

as for what outperforms a drake, well pretty much anything. As for a logical next step I'd say the raven.

for longer term goals my two favorite ships are the Paladin and Machariel. good combination of DPS, damage selection, Speed, and projection between the two ships.

I checked my numbers on my Raven running SOE and the Rattle expecting to prove you wrong about the missile numbers. Surprise surprise - Rattle does like 20 dps less with cruise II launchers. They don't quite reach as far, but Rattle still can hit 120k easy.

Combined with the drone numbers, if you can manage the drones and have decent skills, not great but passable, Rattle is best.

I used to swear by tengu but since the changes in ship costs, drones etc. it isn't worth it anymore.