Trying to decide on three ship combo for mission running...

[Xanthus]

What I have so far:

Raven/Drake pilot (it's time to start training missiles again but I'm really on the fence as far as whether to train up heavy missiles for the Drake or Cruise missiles for the Raven...)
Basilisk pilot
Miner (er... this one's not really for missions)

And an undefined pilot that just got done training up learning skills. My first thought was a command ship, but then after I planned it all out in EveMon it was something like 100 days before said character could even sit in say, a Nighthawk. I suppose I could stick her in a HAC so as not to be completely useless until then, but then I thought it might be fun to train an interceptor or Manticore pilot. I really have no idea!

Right now I've been running level 4 missions with my Drake and Basilisk. I have the Drake fitted for passive shield tanking, and it's been able to tank everything indefinitely so far with the help of two shield transfer arrays from the logistics cruiser. The only trouble I've had so far is rats warping in after the initial wave and targeting the Basilisk instead of the Drake. :wacko:

[holyrthnyou]

well for missions, an interceptor pilot wouldn't do you any good, you'd be better off going for the HAC or a second BS pilot , speaking from experience. 2 BS pilots and 1 logistics pilot can run any level 4 mission quickly and without too much danger, hell with good enough skills technically you could run a lvl 5 with that set up (some not all).

upgrading from a drake to a raven is a very nice upgrade especially if you just need to level up a few skills to pilot it well, 6 arbalest cruise launchers ( with appropriate ammo) and 5 Hob 2's or HH 2's really destroy things. ive had no trouble soloing any lvl 4 with my raven, and i'm only at 5.8m sp so i'm not highly skilled yet, T2 tank, and T2 cap modules make things easy.

just my thoughts, hope i helped in some way.

[Tight]

The 100 days for a command ship is worth it in my opinion.

My setup at the moment is 2 BS and 1 support cruiser. I did how ever switch in my friends Damnation. That thing has some awesome Armor link modules. It made the Logistics ship worthless.

Im about 60 days away from running 2 Marauders and the Damnation atm, but i think its worth the wait. :thumbup:

[Xanthus]

If it would make the Basilisk obsolete I could always train my logistics pilot up for a command ship (a good ~79 days but still closer), and could make the new pilot train a Rokh or something.

Any ideas about managing agro? Any skills/devices I could look into? I actually lost a Basilisk after my Drake failed to take out in time several rats scrambling its warp. ;(

EDIT: I was thinking, too, about having my miner train for salvaging. Would that even be worth it, to come in and clean up after missions?

[Tight]

well im a Gallente pilot on all 3 accounts. I use the Oneiros. But as it is now i dont need the Remote Armor reps very often. I use it more for the 10% Tracking Link bonus.
I do run 2 Navy Megas and in 1 High slot i use a Large Remote Armor Rep for the times i need to assist the Logistics if it took aggro and taking to much dmg. More or less a spider tank in a way.

There is no taunt mechanics in EVE. I use to jump in and out if i pulled aggro on my logistics. But i found it better to equip a remote armor rep on both BS's to help out if needed. Usually its fast grinding down 3-4 ships attacking the Logistics then jumping out and in again, after all i have 15 t2 drones going rampage so.

About Salvaging. Its worth it. I think i did 5 or 6 missions today. The salvaging ended up at 57 mil alone. I do have it at lv5. also i have a Destroyer with rigs and the implant.

[Xanthus]

The trouble I have is they scramble my warp, which can make it difficult to get out when I need to. I know there's no taunt mechanism, but I was thinking somewhere along the lines of electronic warfare, if there's anything specific to counter warp scramblers or if I should load the Basilisk up with some sensor disruptors or something so that they have trouble targeting it to begin with.

I'm on a mission right now where I have to go loot some items off some transport ships I killed. But the convoy is so large my Raven can't hold up very long, even being boosted by four shield transfer arrays. I thought about sticking an MWD on my Drake and crossing my fingers, but if they were to scramble me I probably wouldn't make it out alive. I think I may have to nip at their heals for a while or just take it slow and see if my Drake can tank the brunt of it.

[Tight]

mmm Is it ( Unauthorized Military Presence )? Maybe you need to tweak your setup a bit? I use active armor tanking though.. im sure there is something similar with active resist modules for shield tanks as well. I do confess i know nothing about shield tanks but i do know that Ravens are really good mission boats.. i have a friend running lvl4s with one with out Logistics support. ?(

There is also warp stabs, or maybe sensor dampeners? (i dont know much about the dampeners though)

Wish i could help here.. :S

[Xanthus]

It's actually quite funny, my Raven couldn't tank it in an active shield set up but my Drake was just yawning through the entire encounter. Took a while to get in and get what I needed but it got the job done. I think the Raven is just more skill hungry than the Drake, probably need to get some more T2 modules for it.

[Tight]

i think you can be right there.. t2 or faction modules would do it i think.. :thumbup:

[holyrthnyou]

this is the raven setup i use for lvl 4s, and it has tanked and spanked every lvl 4 mission thrown at it including worlds collide, the blockade, the score, buzz kill, and pretty much all of the most difficult ones.
_________________________________________________
change specific damage hardeners for the npc type.

6x 'Arbalest' Cruise Launcher I (Wrath Cruise Missile)
Heavy Diminishing Power System Drain I
Drone Link Augmentor I

Ballistic Deflection Field II
2x Heat Dissipation Field II
Invulnerability Field II
X-Large C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I
Cap Recharger II

2x Ballistic Control System II
2x Capacitor Flux Coil II
Power Diagnostic System II

3x Capacitor Control Circuit I

5x Hammerhead II
___________________________________
[Statistics] against serpentis

Effective HP: 73,053
Tank Ability: 698.42 DPS
Damage Profile - Serpentis (EM: 0.00%, Ex: 0.00%, Ki: 37.85%, Th: 62.15%)
Shield Resists - EM: 30.00%, Ex: 65.00%, Ki: 80.04%, Th: 84.43%
Armor Resists - EM: 50.00%, Ex: 10.00%, Ki: 25.00%, Th: 45.00%

Capacitor: Lasts 3m 30s

Volley Damage: 3,191.35
DPS: 395.91


even with only 3m 30s of cap time ive never run out of cap nor have i ever needed to warp out because my tank failes, just manage aggro per eve-survival and you should have no problems, as for a drake ive never used one in a lvl 4 so im not much help there.