Level 4 Missions are no joke! - Dominix fit - Help!

Barnabas_Fresante · February 20, 2019, 12:57am

So I just got enough standing from running level 3s to get my first level 4 mission. I was using a stratios for the level 3s (same ship I use for combat explorations, narcotics warehouses and phi outposts) and level 3s didn’t give me even a bit of a problem. So for the level 4s I did some searching around and I came up with the fit listed below. And I promptly got blasted out of my first mission. Like, I barely made it out before I went into hull. The mission was The Blockade.

My first mistake was not using eve-survival or similar website to give me an idea what the mission dangers were. Honestly, I didn’t expect the difficulty to be such an extreme jump from level 3 to 4. The mission “guide” thing in the upper left hand corner of the screen said “kill X” and so I went straight for that ship, thinking I could just blitz it. Well, apparently that ship was a trigger for the next wave of rats to come in. I quickly got swamped.

Second mistake was not understanding all the mechanics of my own ship and its fitting. For instance, I was planning on using garde IIs and so I didn’t think drone control distance was important. But it didn’t let me have the gardes shoot at something outside their control range even though they had the basic range to shoot that far. I thought control range was simply how far drones could fly away from you?

Third mistake was/is not knowing how to deal with sensor damping/webs. There was a stasis tower that pretty much locked me down from the get-go. Even when I used my MJD, it was still webbing me even from 100km away. Also, 3-4 frigates got close enough that they sensor damped me so that I couldn’t target anything farther than 12km away, which is not good at all. I never ran into this in level 3 missions so I wasn’t ready for this even a little bit.

I’m thinking I might want to keep running level 3s until I get better skills or something, or maybe you can point out where my fit is fail… I can’t fill my high slots because I ran out of CPU (actually I can’t even bring that second drone link augmenter online), yet my CPU management skills are at 5… in general, I have excellent fitting skills, unless there’s a whole bevy of skills I’m not even aware of, so I’m not sure how to improve this. I wouldn’t have enough CPU even if I had level 5 implants…

Anyway, please tear this fit apart. I’m still trying to figure a lot of stuff out as I go, so I don’t mind constructive criticism at all. As long as it is actually constructive And I only ask that if you suggest changes, telling me WHY those changes would be appropriate will really help. Just posting a different fit without explanation isn’t really that helpful. Also, I’d really like to stay with the Dominix seeing as how I already have one! Thanks!

[Dominix, Barnabas Fresante’s Dominix]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Reactive Armor Hardener
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Large Armor Repairer II

100MN Afterburner II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Omnidirectional Tracking Link II
Omnidirectional Tracking Link II
Cap Recharger II

1200mm Artillery Cannon I
1200mm Artillery Cannon I
1200mm Artillery Cannon I
[Empty High slot]
Drone Link Augmentor II
Drone Link Augmentor II

Large Anti-Explosive Pump I
Large Drone Scope Chip I
Large Sentry Damage Augmentor I

Hobgoblin II x5
Garde II x5
Hammerhead I x5

Phased Plasma L x9904

Thanks for the help!

Xuxe_Xu · February 20, 2019, 1:37am

Drones are your main weapons, take off guns until you can activate the other link augmentor.

Personally I prefer buzzy drones rather than sentries, but in any case make sure you’re matching the damage type the drones do most of to the type of ships you are against.

Drone skills to increase damage, control range, and toughness of drones might be handy.

Kite the blockade.

Leah_Crowleymass · February 20, 2019, 2:18am

Your fit is actually not that bad, but a couple of comments.

Swap the EAN and RAH for Kin and Therm active hardeners for Serpentis rats (and go with rat-specific hardeners for other missions). That will go a long way to help raise your resistances more effectively.

Go for Wardens to get more range with your sentries.

But honestly, the best tweak you can make is exactly what is in your post. You did a great job of thinking about what went wrong here and how to do it differently next time. Armed with that knowledge, you’ll do MUCH better your next time out.

You might feel like you got your butt kicked, but you got away and you learned a lot- that’s exactly what EVE is about. Well done!

o7

Anderson_Geten · February 20, 2019, 2:21am

If you are an alpha, CCP falcon just announced the alphas are to be forbidden from L4s soon.

If you are not alpha, there is a magic word : MJD

You really are lucky to not have been killed in that mission, since there are frigates that point you. Being pointed and webbed = being dead in a small ship.

with dominix you can fit a mjd to GTFO.
I just looked at your fit : don’t fit damage control +reactive armor hardener. Rather fit reactive + adaptive nano plating or EANM if you have spare CPU(drones+ mjd= you should not) ;or even a second emergency repper. (edit : dedicated armor hardener is better, so EANM+kinetic + thermal for serps)
artillery is an … interesting choice for dominix, it shouldhave remaining powergrid and arto doesn’t use cap so … well good. (edit tested and the gain of DPS is very low)
if you need cap, you may be able to fit a large cap battery in the mids.

Also don’t use specific rig for pve.

Anderson_Geten · February 20, 2019, 2:37am

ok so using 350mm prototype railgun is better both for DPs and for fit

something like

this

[Dominix, *Barnabas Fresante’s Dominix]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Reactive Armor Hardener
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Thermal Hardener II
Large Armor Repairer II

100MN Afterburner II
Large Micro Jump Drive
Omnidirectional Tracking Link II
Large Cap Battery II
Cap Recharger II

350mm Prototype Gauss Gun
350mm Prototype Gauss Gun
350mm Prototype Gauss Gun
350mm Prototype Gauss Gun
350mm Prototype Gauss Gun
Drone Link Augmentor II

Large Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Nanobot Accelerator I



Hobgoblin II x5
Warden II x5
Garde II x5

Lead Charge L x400

should deal more DPS and tank a lot more.

Barnabas_Fresante · February 20, 2019, 2:37am

Thanks to all for the replies so far!

Ok, so I figured out why I was running out of CPU. The drone rigs I had on were at the expense of CPU, which I read in the description before I even fit them, but I didn’t realize how much it would affect things and then I forgot about it even when I was having the CPU problems. So now I can have full guns up top alongside the two DLAs. I replaced the rigs (in simulation) with help for my power grid and capacitor.

I’m still trying to sort out acronyms without having to look them up each and every time, but if I’m reading it right, Leah Crowleymass and Anderson Geten’s advice about low slots is someone conflicting? All these modules with names that are 5 and 6 words long get very confusing!!

Leah - thank you so much for the encouragement! I felt very foolish getting blasted out of my first level 4 . . . everyone on the forums always says you’re ship is never in danger and that’s why level 4s are so boring. I just have to keep reminding myself that most people saying that aren’t in the beginning of their career, they’re running blingy faction-fit pirate battleships, etc.

BTW, I’m most definitely Omega. I have 20+ million skill points in this character. The problem is that its all scattered out. For instance, I have maxed everything to run hobgoblins II’s and garde II’s at max, but I just now got my first skill levels in medium and heavy drones, so I’m months away from running the tech II versions of those drones.

Also, I was using arty because it seemed like everywhere I read, people were saying that if you’re not doing missiles, then arty is the mission turret of choice since it didn’t use cap . . . and since the domi doesn’t have any specific weapon bonuses, it didn’t really matter. But I’m totally open to training a different weapon system if arty is not suitable for the dominix.

Also, I want to have a long term goal skill training wise that itsn’t totally opposed to what I’m doing now. I’d love to eventually get into one of those bling-fit rattlesnakes (haha) . . . is the dominix a suitable ship to fly in preparation for that? While I say I want to stay in a domi since I already have one, I do want to be smart and for once get a skill plan and not deviate from it. I think that might be my greatest need at the moment. A certain end goal and then a specific path to get there skill-wise.

Any advice on that, especially as it pertains to using a dominix right now?

Leah_Crowleymass · February 20, 2019, 3:08am

Sorry, man- we get in our own language sometimes, sorry about that

EANM= Energized Adaptive Nanomembrane
RAH= Reactive Armor Hardener
MJD=Micro Jump Drive

Anderson’s and my advice is pretty similar, he is just dropping a DDA (drone damage amplifier) for another hardener. Totally depends on if you want more tank or gank, as they say. There is no hard, fast rule for fitting- it depends on your skills, comfort level, and how you like to play. Play with different ideas, and you’ll find what you like and what works for you.

This is not necessarily wrong, but might not be working as well as it could be for you, given Anderson’s fit has 5 guns and yours only has 3.

I would highly recommend you get to know how to use PYFA, since you seem like an analytical fellow, I think you’d have a lot of fun learning more about how to fit out your ship and work with some of these trade-offs we’re talking about.

https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/PYFA

Dude, not at all- The Blockade is a rough one to pull as your first L4. Mess up those spawns, and anybody can get overwhelmed there. Like I say, you got away and asked all the right questions, so you’re doing an awesome job! Get to know EVE Survival and PYFA, and you’ll be rocking L4s while watching Netflix like the rest of us vets in no time!

Barnabas_Fresante · February 20, 2019, 3:19am

That’s the dream!!

Haha. Anyway, does PYFA offer more than the in game fitting and comparison tool or something? I figured when the fitting simulator got added into the actual game, third party sites wouldn’t really be necessary…

Leah_Crowleymass · February 20, 2019, 3:21am

Oh, yeah man- it’s a totally different tool and offers a TON more information. Personally, I find it a lot easier to use as well, particularly when comparing modules and trying different things.

You can also move fits into and out of EVE, so it’s a pretty seamless thing.

Fluffy_Moe · February 20, 2019, 3:31am

Hi

Different people have different playstyles, so you will get different opinions, but since you asked …

Dump the arties completely and totally, at least for the fitting process.
Switch your cap recharger to a Large Cap Battery, PB acid or faction, don’t use the T2 cause of the PG reqs.
Switch your AB to either compact if you need more CPU / PG, or Monoprepellant for more cap. Whatever you feel you need more.
Switch out your armor rep. The T2 is a resource hog, a huge one at that, go at least faction that uses less cap while retainign same HP/s or more HP/s.
Dump the damage control and stick either another Adaptive Energized in it, or a Drone Enhancer.
Dump one of your tracking links, the Domi already has tracking hull bonus, shouldn’t need it.
Replace the removed tracking link with a flight navigation computer.
Replace sentries, Gardes with Ogres, get hammerheads and Vespas. Use Vespas default on small targets, hammerheads if thermal damage is required. Ogres default on large targets.
If you can afford it, switch your T2 DDAs for faction, between switching sentries to Ogres and the DDAs to faction you will gain a huge chunk of extra DPS. When switching to Ogres you migth wanna look at faction ones, up to you and your wallet.
Dump all your rigs and replace with 1x Nano Accelerator, 1x Auxiliary Nanopump and 1x eitehr cap recharger or cap volume rig, whichever will give you more cap stability.
Fit 2x medium remote armor reps in your highs, they don’t have to be T2, T1s will do, as resource efficient as you can. Faction and purple naturally will be superior, but wallet … So whatever you can afford but T2s unnecessary and resource hogs. Use on your drones when they need it.
Fit 1x Remote hull repairer, at least a small one, medium better, again stay with jsut T1. its jsut there to rep your drones after combat so you don’t have to dock up to do it.
Fit autocannons in last 2 spots, best tracking you can so you can use them to take out small targets at short / point blank range.
Keep the RAH. It a very good module.
If you do want to refit between every mission, which personally I hate and don’t do, then dump the RAH and EANM and go with rat specific hardeners. If not then keep them, you are fine.
If your drones keep getting too much agro, dump the autocannons and fit NOSes. Mobs hate Nosses and you will pick up the agro a bit from them, but not always.
You can also fit 1 or 2 drone link augmentors, instead of the ACs, if you top out on CPU remember you can use T1s for lower reqs.
Forget ligth drones completely. You have so much tracking just use mediums for frigs and small targets, especially if you also get them a drone flight computer.

That is what I think

erg_cz · February 20, 2019, 8:55am

It is a good idea to use tool for purpose, it was designed for. Dominix has unique bonus - sentry drone SNIPING battleship. So you just LMJD 100 km away from target and still apply max DPS of instant damage cause your drones aer still in their optimal. Take a look here . You will find the Dominix fit, where you have about 100 km optimal for curators and bouncers and well over 100 km optimal for wardens. You need almost no tank cause range is your tank.
Blockade is special because of damping cruisers. Kill those first. Your drones are able to target and kill NPC even if you are jammed. As do auto targeting missiles on let say Praxis (newbie friendly rattlesnake-like BS).

Solstice_Projekt · February 20, 2019, 10:52am

No joke? I know you’re a noob, but that doesn’t actually stop you from running lvl3s in a long range destroyer. Wait, that sounds impossible? It isn’t! Is it actually challenging though, will you have to warp out a lot? ■■■■ yeah, but it’s awesome when you’re not a pre-defined loser who requires winning/success to keep playing!

Don’t listen to the people who tell you that you should run lvl4s in battleships. These people are boring and don’t care about having fun, they only care about making isk.

If you properly want to learn how to fly and fit your ship, spend a week trying to figure out how to fit a destroyer for long range to run lvl3s. That way you learn FAR MORE and spend much less isk losing ships compared to battleships! (remember to insure to platinum level!)

When you’ve mastered that, proceed doing lvl4s in a battlecruiser. On your own.

It’s far more fun and engaging that way.

Captain_C0ld · February 20, 2019, 1:05pm

Wasn’t that just for the courier missions due to the many courier bots?

Dravick_Afterthought · February 20, 2019, 1:33pm

Here’s my Dominix fit, for sniping at 160 km. I’ve used it for all my level 4 and Gala activities and haven’t lost a ship yet, and only 2 drones altogether. For Lvl 4’s warp in from the gate, MJD out (first dropping scouts to deal with any Sentries), then MWD to 160 km, stop, drop either Wardens or Bouncers, and kill anything that comes into range - the only thing that can touch you is Sentry drones, hence dropping the scouts to deal with them first. I had a similar ‘scaled-down’ (100 km) VNI fit which did all my Lvl 3’s - leading one corps-mate to comment that “that’s the wierdest fit I’ve ever seen”. Fair enough, but both the VNI and the Domi fits work well for me in PvE.

[Dominix, Long-range sniper]
Damage Control II
N-JM Compact Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer
N-JM Compact Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Overdrive Injector System II

500MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Sensor Booster II
Explosive Deflection Field II
Kinetic Deflection Field II
Large Micro Jump Drive

Drone Link Augmentor II
Drone Link Augmentor II
Drone Link Augmentor I
Drone Link Augmentor I
1400mm ‘Scout’ Artillery I
1400mm ‘Scout’ Artillery I

Large Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Large Drone Scope Chip I
Large Drone Control Range Augmentor I

Hornet II x3
Vespa II x2
Valkyrie II x2
Warden II x5
Salvage Drone I x4
Bouncer II x5
Warrior II x2
Hornet EC-300 x5

Titanium Sabot L x630
Fusion L x570
Phased Plasma L x622
EMP L x736
Targeting Range Script x1
Scan Resolution Script x1
Nanite Repair Paste x60
Expanded Cargohold II x1

The shield-hardeners get swapped around depending on the enemy, the fit here is for Gala sites. If any drones or frigates get too close, I pull-in the Sentries and drop some light scouts to deal with them, reverting to Sentries once they’re gone.

HTH

Leiron · February 20, 2019, 10:08pm

You’ve got it pretty much figured out by your own reasoning good sir.
You’ve also gotten a log of good advice.

My first recommendation is to get the Dominix Navy Issue - more everything and easier to fit lazily for L4.

Second use the ships bonuses as you’ve no doubt read a dozen times over by now. Sentries and Hybrids. While certainly she can get right in the nitty gritty there are better ships for that style of play, yet this is a versatile ship and can do a lot. Even out your skills more so for this ship if they are not already there. MJD is a must for sniping and the Warden II give you the best range.

Here is my generic fit. With a mission fit I opt to use named large hybrids and factional ammo. I can swap my LPs on the cheap and I prefer anti and thorium for range specifics. You can certainly swap the bling armor repairer for a TII - but running a set of Askelpians I don’t need much of a tank.
I did add the faction rat specific hardeners, or you can always use an EANM and 1 hardener for your specific mission. I carry a mobile depot to refit on the fly and the mods I carry in the hanger speak for themselves as to why they are with me. This is a cap stable fit for me and by changing the hardeners I can park her fat butt on any mission and go take a nap if I wanted. Also with a fit like this I can pop every frig, destroyer, cruiser, battlecruisers and a lot of the BS at range and before my shield even changes color on most missions.

[Dominix Navy Issue, [PDTS]]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Federation Navy Armor Kinetic Hardener
Federation Navy Armor Thermal Hardener
Corpus A-Type Large Armor Repairer

Large Micro Jump Drive
Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Federation Navy Omnidirectional Tracking Link
Federation Navy Omnidirectional Tracking Link
Target Painter II

425mm Prototype Gauss Gun
Drone Link Augmentor II
425mm Prototype Gauss Gun
Drone Link Augmentor II
425mm Prototype Gauss Gun
425mm Prototype Gauss Gun

Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit II
Large Auxiliary Nano Pump I

Warrior II x10
Warden II x5
Vespa II x10
Ogre II x5

Federation Navy Antimatter Charge L x1500
Scan Resolution Script x1
Nanite Repair Paste x200
Federation Navy Thorium Charge L x1500
Targeting Range Script x1
Damage Control II x1
Sensor Booster II x1
Shadow Serpentis 500MN Microwarpdrive x1
Capacitor Power Relay II x1
Corpum C-Type Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane x1
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II x2
Large Ancillary Armor Repairer x1
Drone Damage Amplifier II x1

Cheers

Barnabas_Fresante · February 21, 2019, 12:09am

Ok thank you all so much for all the good advice and thoughtful replies! I put together a fit taking advice from several fits listed above that is sort of a sniper fit but I max out at 100km targeting range and 93km drone control range. Between switching to wardens, getting a better tank, switching to hybrids, changing my rigs to get rid of the cpu penalties … and learning more about how to approach the mission itself, I was able to go back into that first mission and clear it without ever being in serious trouble. I’ve run a few more missions and I know they’re taking a lot longer to finish than they will when I get more knowledgeable and better skills (both skill points and pilot experience). But despite how long they’ve taken, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these missions as now I feel like I can start adapting and honing and getting a better idea of where I want to take my skill plan in the future.

Also, I was presented with what I believe is classified as a burner mission. Team something or other where I have to kill an Enyo. After a single google search I decided to leave it alone. But if I tried it out, would an ishkur work? Any fitting suggestions for that task or particular suggestions or expectations for the mission itself?

Thanks again, guys!

Leah_Crowleymass · February 21, 2019, 12:56am

My advice is to skip these for now. These look innocent, but there is a very good reason why you can decline these without penalty- they require good skills (I mean experience, not just trained) and very specific fits. Here’s a guide to them complete with fittings and advice:

Leiron · February 21, 2019, 2:15am

Burner missions are a whole new creature. They are all unique and require specific ships, modules, and pvp style tactics. Test them on the test server before you try them to perfect your tactics and only after you read up on them. There’s a lot of great tutorials on these forums which are easy to find. Cheers mate, and if you have any questions or need assistance while in Gallente space by all means send me an in game mail on this character and we can go through certain missions together.

Cheers,

Leiron

Geo_Eclipse_Oksaras · February 21, 2019, 4:45am

ALL level 4’s and 5’s.

also OP, welcome to Level 4 lol.

Quor_Dresden · February 21, 2019, 2:53pm

Grats OP on level 4s. Looks like you got some good advice already. I did the long range warden fits for a long time till I got my Kronos.

I just started burner missions, it will take a lot of skills, study, and cost a lot of isk. If you just reached level 4s I would skip them for a while.