I am currently Omega and running a Rattlesnake but would like to try something different for level 4 missions. I know Rattles are supposed to be the best but I want some variety. What other ships are y’all running them with?
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Try anything you’re skilled in honestly, it should be about fun per hour not isk.
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I completely agree, I have really only done missile boats so something different would be fun. I have never tried it with projectiles though I think that Amarr ships might be kind of fun though I do not know how well they would hold up. Trig would be awesome though I think that could get quite pricey.
This why I am hoping others might have some interesting ships and fits I could look at and try something new.
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Depends on where your at, that should slightly help you pick a ship. Minmatar are great nearly anywhere but against kinetic eats, ■■■■ ammo for it.
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i’ve never found 4’s super engaging so I’ve run them maybe a couple dozen times only. Those runs have been in sentry domi and cruise raven. both are low risk as you stay far away from the rats DPS, both are relatively slow to kill rats and clear missions. I know some pilots fly only blitzable missions and burner missions but i’m not one of 'em
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If you want to use rails I propose either the Navy Mega or Vindicator. I used to fly the Rattler but I found the NM or Vindi a little more fun. Disclaimer, I fly in Gallente space.
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Marauders all work well to but the price tag is pretty high. Paladin is nice, beam lasers with a MJD to keep range works great.
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If you have skills for a rattle then maybe try a domi for drones or an Armageddon for missiles?
Level 4’s are probably not the most lucrative solo highsec pve activity, I think Emerging Conduits still hold that title even though CCP has nerfed them repeatedly in recent months. I prefer a passive Rattlesnake with rapid lights for EC’s, good combination of 8 min clear times and semi afk boredom for respectable isk and loot drops.
Triglavian Invasions and pirate FOB’s are also great but you need a minimum of 3 players for ether a FOB or a minor Conduit or to kill the patrols roaming invasion systems.
For FOB’s I like RR Domis and for Invasions I prefer RR Leshaks.
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I use Barghest for lvl 4 Security mission, it’s a fun and fast ship to make missions, no waste of missiles due to the special trait of the ship, and since her missiles are multiplied by 1.5 it has an output even better then Golem, for sure not a cheap ship for the fitting i admit that but you can make alot of isks anyway. consider that it basically 3 hits battleships, 1 hit cruiser/battlecruiser t1, 2 hit cruiser/battlecruiser t2 so it’s really really fast to clear missions.
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They are. Lasers ftw.
They hold up fine. Amarr ships generally armor tank.
Armageddon has a drone bonus and uses missiles, Apocalype is a gunboat and does range ok (beam lasers), Abaddon is also a gunboat and has been called ‘the golden brick’ it is slow but fairly tough.
Amarr battleships do benefit notably from using T2 guns and ammo with them. Alphas can’t use T2 Large guns, but they can use faction Large guns which can now use T2 ammo (faction guns might be a bit expensive, though…)
The Nightmare - while actually a pirate battleship and not technically Amarr but it kinda is anyway - is fun. It has a nice bonus to afterburner speed, so is fast for a battleship. It is shield-tanked, so the shield skills you have for rattlesnake will be useful. It has a damage bonus to it’s guns so it’s 4 are like 8. and it looks like a giant spiky B-wing…so that must mean it has to be good, right?
EDIT: Managing transversal is pretty important with lasers. It is satesfying to melt things, but of course you gotta hit 'em. Happy zapping!
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MJD+MWD armour tanked Machariel should be pretty okay for a change of pace if you are going to fly vs Angels. It needs some ISK investment and a bit of experience, though.
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With Amarr Laser gunboats you got one of two ways;
Sniper using Beam lasers, with this you want to keep your range, so having MJD and MWD is a must, having Sentry Drones also a must as they will be nice and close for pulling when you need to jump to your next sniper spot, and also engage targets as soon as deployed.
Main focus would be to get good targeting range and optimal ranges. Tanking isn’t a major as you should be melting anything that even tried to get into their weapon range.
Optimal should be around the 70km with MultiFreq.
Brawler with Pulse Lasers, with this you want tank and tracking. Propulsion is only needed to get into range or to get to objective. You’ll find you’ll want a good tank fit, but also a high tracking or target modifier to ensure weapon hits, this will be by Tracking Computers with Tracking Scripts (and optional range script to engage targets further out as you close range), Target Painters (increase Target Sig), Web/etc (to slow target down).
If you know you’ll be facing frigate and drones it would recommended to use Dual Pulse Lasers over the others, yes it does less damage per hit, but they tend to have a higher ROF and Tracking, which when combined with TC, TP and/or Webs will provide more hits on target and better chances of high damage types (Penerating, Critical, Smashing etc…).
As for Tank depends on personal play style, high resistance passive or active (reduce damage taken), active Tanking (armour Repair or shield boosting, single or dual), if in Battleships speed tanking isn’t really a thing, as most other lower class ships will always run you down.
And of course Drones, always have a good supply and mix of drones, if facing Cruisers or below light drones I tend to find better, for one these are fast, small and hard to hit, ideal against these ships.
Going Medium or Heavy is only really good against slow movers, BattleCruiser and above, against Cruisers and below these drones tend to be eaten with the new RAT AI.
I find having a mix of two drone types helps due to the dual damage output, Amarr Drones with others is good as the Amarr Drones will do massive damage against unprotected EM shield damage (100% damage), which helps kill NPC shield fast. And once shields down the EM damage is a small bonus to the primary armour damaging drone (Explosive, Thermal or Kinetic).
As noted above under sniper, sentries is a must for sniper battleships, and a good mix of light drones to handle any really fast frigates or drones that manage to get under your beams. Just remember is anything gets under 30km, switch to light drones or jump to new location.
ALso as for turrets, always check Factional turrets, as some you’ll find will have benefits to areas you might like in your play style.
Things like of course reduced CPU or Powergrid, but the REAL benefits you’re looking for are increases to ROF, Optimal Range, reduced CAP use, better Tracking, or a mix of these, so always look for the best you can afford.
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um…thanks, Dragofire…
do love the dual rep RHML/Drone Arma fit for lvl4 missioning.
with twin geckos and mix of light/medium drones out
Before they nerfed it I used to use a Vexor Navy Issue. As this no longer has the drone carrying or bandwidth capacity that it used to, I now use an Ishtar instead. Works just as well as the VNI did but obviously requires decent drone skills .
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