I would add that what differentiates the marauders, is the application/projection/mobility they have. Well, mobility is the same, so …
Good Morning;
That’s a fair question, and it pretty much answers why I flew the Vargur least. The Angel bonus pocket was my personal litmus test – subjective, I can’t avoid that. There are maybe a dozen missile and gun turrets averaging 90km’ish off which have to be addressed before switching to the faster cruisers and such if I didn’t want to relocate the boat in the pocket. The Paladin will do this every time, and the Kronos almost as well though its tracking was not as good for when the ‘crowd’ arrived and that would irritate me a bit. The Golem’s missile travel time limited how quickly it can kill at range, though not how well, no argument there and often it became a ‘tank’ vs ‘mob’ test. My Vargur was ac fit; I forget the whys but I was never happy with artillery, possibly tracking but I truly do not recall. The effective Autocannon range performance in that pocket was my issue; my memory claims that at ranges within its scope it was a strong boat.
So that’s it, the Golem didn’t kill fast enough to suit me, the Kronos didn’t kill close enough to suit me, the Vargur didn’t kill far enough to suit me. To address any of these all one has to do is move occasionally.
The change which included shorter Bastion timer was not yet in effect when I gave the boats away (to likely better drivers) and I think would have made a difference in outcome, moot now though. It does make available now options which allow for a more tactical approach, though I still see a timing problem with the Vargur/AC vs the bulk of the mob in that pocket … none if fit with Artillery, though the wrecks would be a bit more scattered and cleanup longer.
Here’s how the boats were (Paladin still) fit if you are curious, as that’s likely germane to the answer. A different approach would have maybe changed things.
[Paladin, Bluebird Glacier]
Core C-Type Large Armor Repairer
Reactive Armor Hardener
Dark Blood Multispectrum Energized Membrane
Dark Blood Multispectrum Energized Membrane
Heat Sink II
Dark Blood Heat Sink
Dark Blood Heat Sink
Large Micro Jump Drive
Tracking Computer II, Tracking Speed Script
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Republic Fleet Large Cap Battery
Mega Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Mega Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Mega Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Mega Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency L
Small Tractor Beam II
Small Tractor Beam II
Salvager II
Bastion Module I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Acolyte II x5
Hobgoblin II x5
Salvage Drone II x5
Blood Radio L x8
Multifrequency L x4
Radio L x4
Standard L x4
Optimal Range Script x2
Tracking Speed Script x2
[Golem, Snowbird Glacier]
Sentient Signal Amplifier
Ballistic Control System II
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Large Micro Jump Drive
Republic Fleet Large Cap Battery
Gist C-Type X-Large Shield Booster
Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Pith C-Type Shield Boost Amplifier
Pithum C-Type EM Shield Amplifier
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Cruise Missile
Cruise Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Cruise Missile
Bastion Module I
Small Tractor Beam II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Large Semiconductor Memory Cell II
Large EM Shield Reinforcer II
Hobgoblin II x5
Hornet II x5
Salvage Drone I x5
Scourge Cruise Missile x2608
[Vargur, Shadows Glacier]
Signal Amplifier II
Tracking Enhancer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Gist B-Type X-Large Shield Booster
Tracking Computer II
Domination Multispectrum Shield Hardener
Imperial Navy Cap Recharger
Republic Fleet Large Cap Battery
800mm Repeating Cannon II, Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot L
800mm Repeating Cannon II, Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot L
800mm Repeating Cannon II, Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot L
800mm Repeating Cannon II, Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot L
Salvager II
Salvager II
Small Tractor Beam II
Bastion Module I
Large EM Shield Reinforcer I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Hornet II x5
Vespa II x5
EMP L x2980
Fusion L x2380
Titanium Sabot L x2500
Optimal Range Script x1
Tracking Speed Script x1
[Kronos, Bitterbread Andwine’s Kronos]
Centus C-Type Large Armor Repairer
Reactive Armor Hardener
Centum C-Type Explosive Energized Membrane
Centum C-Type Multispectrum Energized Membrane
Centum C-Type Multispectrum Energized Membrane
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Sensor Booster II, ECCM Script
Tracking Computer II, Tracking Speed Script
Imperial Navy Cap Recharger
425mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
425mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
425mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
425mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge L
Small Tractor Beam II
Salvager II
Salvager II
Bastion Module I
Large Semiconductor Memory Cell I
Large Semiconductor Memory Cell I
1 Like
The first one is not much different to my paladin. I found it really good to salvage stuff and then contract it to my indy alt. Killing 2 birds with one stone.
Dont listen to this experts.
There is no way a rattle will be better than a marauder for missioning.
I can fly a paladin, vargur and kronos. Max skills. You dont need cap stable crap on your ships.
Allways slap a MWD and MJD together and if someone says it wont fit is because they are overtanking it.
Better invest in a set of implants intead of blinging the ship.
Full t2 fit and implants is the most chilled way to run missions in these gank magnet ships.
Also… Reps are meant to be pulsed and not running 24/7.
My favourite was the Vargur untill recently, now I’m in love with my paladin.
Have fun
1 Like
Lots of votes for Paladin here, it also gets mine.
- Instant application at great range
- Strong tank
- Great dps make being stuck in em/therm a non-issue
- Cargo for about 6 years worth of ammo and 8-10 MTU’s
Very close second is my 3500dps polarized Golem but I still prefer the Pally.
Then again I cherry pick by only taking the 8-10 best missions and declining the rest.
1 Like
Care to share which missions you choose?
I’ve tried my Paladin. I’m only Marauders IV, so it suffers at distance. Only EM and thermal but, as you’ve said, who cares!? 5k volley with Confl, 93km optimal with Scorch. With two tracking computers equipped with the tracking sped scripts, I can fit frigs at close distance, no need to deploy drones. It can snipe, it can brawl. I wouldn’t;t bring my Vergur into a close-quarter knife fight. With Paladin, I’m no longer afraid of doing so. 4mins of cap, but I usually do 1-2 cycles, if ever.
The combo of MJD and MWD is like chips and fish, Bonney and Clyde, sex and violence, mum and dad (in this precise order). You MUST have a MJD, as you MUST immediately jump away from the beacon if you want to increase your chances against gankers. And you should have a MWD, if you’re flying gated missions or need to pick something from a warehouse 50km away.
I cannot agree more with ‘Better invest in a set of implants intead of blinging the ship.’. I only fit T2 which really doesn’t make you an attractive target to gank. And I go with the full set of high-grade asklepians. Also makes burner missions trivial.
5 Likes
I would choose either a pvp one, so i don’t get ganked xD
My personal yays and nays running missions in Amarr space. Probably missing one or two.
The nays aren’t even that bad, but as I prefer missions with good loot and bounty, minimal travelling and acceleration gate fuckery there are a few I like to stay away from as they either aren’t on par with the others or just take too long to complete.
I just keep declining until I get one of the yays.
This is so true. If you’re trying to get respectable clear times in level 4 missions you really need the ability to use MWD and MJD as circumstances require, sometimes both in the same mission. Fitting one or the other is often impractical, and between Golem and Paladin the Pally is the best ship for fitting both of these modules because the Golem really needs 6-7 of it’s mid slots for tank and dps application against the smaller targets that the Paladin can easily one-shot.
There are tons of missions that require you to move to acceleration gates 10-30 km away from the warp-in or that have cans with mission-critical loot in them outside of tractor range. Your options are either some combination of slow boating and making multiple jumps with the MJD which is a pain in the ass, or turn on an MWD and get there in a fraction of the time.
You could swap out MWD and MJD depending on the mission like some people do for mission specific hardeners but who has time for that. Not me.
[Two-Slot Tank Because Everything Melts]
Mega Pulse Laser II - Scorch/Conflag
Mega Pulse Laser II - Scorch/Conflag
Mega Pulse Laser II - Scorch/Conflag
Mega Pulse Laser II - Scorch/Conflag
Drone Link Augmentor II
Drone Link Augmentor II
Small Tractor Unit II
Bastion Module II
Tracking Computer II - Speed/Range Script
Tracking Computer II - Speed/Range Script
500MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Large Micro Jump Drive
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Imperial Navy Heat Sink
Capacitor Power Relay II
Reactive Armor Hardener
Large Armor Repairer II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Warrior II x 15
Conflagration x 20
Scorch x 20
Mobile Tractor Unit x 10
- Excellent application of 2500 dps out to 50km and 1600 dps to 100km and beyond
- Split guns into 2 groups so you aren’t overkilling everything and wasting dps
- Cap stable enough™ with MWD and MJD off
- Instant damage application, ammo switching and reloads
- RAH is better than any other single tank mod you can put on it
- 100km drone range really helps clear the room of frigates and destroyers
- MWD and MJD gives you so many options for range control
- Did I mention Instant damage application, ammo switching and reloads? A lot of people underestimate the significance of this and it results in markedly faster clear times compared to the Golem.
- Costs less than 2b
2 Likes
I’d go with paladin just because of turrets providing instant damage being easier to work with than missiles.
No need to remember or count how many vollies it takes to take out a cruiser, and then stop firing and switch before the target dies.
Quality of life for using the thing for the desired purpose is highly important!
Also, the crowns and swords skin is sexier than any of the golem’s skins.
Thanks for the replies guys. I decided against training marauders any time soon and I was kinda put off by the bastion timer after thinking how tedious it might become. I decided to just get into a Leshak in the end because it is much less SP and is a great ship.
rattlesnake as it is a tanky ship(big shields) and also clears out escalations fast.
Do you go and grab the Noctis after each mission or do a bunch and then map the most efficient route to each? I’ve just been carrying salvage drones with the PVE fitted ship and limiting the loot I take to the most valuable. I trained up for the Noctis but haven’t figured out how to make it more useful than just carrying drones.
Using an MTU at each room (and bookmarking the MTU’s location) is the most efficient way.
Every 3-5 missions, swtich to the salaver and go clear out the salvage bookmarks.
Even with a T1 destroyer and 5 salvagers, salvaging goes a lot faster than with the salvage drones. A super squishy fast warping hyperspatial rigged noctis is a slight overall increase in isk/hr from the salvage, but it is a fairly large investment compared to a t1 destroyer with one salv rig and two hyperspatial rigs.
1 Like
You pick the Paladin. Golem is better in that it is not damage type locked. However, it applies horribly against smaller rats.
With the Paladin, you MJD and snipe frigates and destroyers.
Hi Verdant. Yes, that is what I do. I reprocess the loot, and sell the salvage. All of it except the metal scraps. Prices fluctuate, and if I don’t like them for certain items, I hold off for a week or until they’re more attractive (I only sell/reprocess once a week).
I should also mention that I only do one L4 mission per day; that’s quite enough for me, and I just enjoy using the Noctis as a tractor and salvager.
I don’t use an MTU because they are often targeted in our mission hub, and elsewhere.
Golem better resists and missiles have drawbacks but apply a little to everything. And it just looks way better haha
Agree. They are easy targets for griefers and take up a lot of cargo space.
1 Like