Ricand Michelliaos
Estrale Frontiers
Project Wildfire
1
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Posted - 2011.12.30 07:08:00 -
[1] - Quote
Hey there,
I have Run Missions in both a Drake and a Raven, and I can tell you I've never lost a Drake while mission running. The Raven I lost was due to poor skills (capped out while running a booster, lol), however, so it's due to pilot ineptitude and not the ship's fault. Here are a few highlights of the pros and cons of each ship:
Drakes are generally Passive Tanked, meaning that they will rely on The fact that Shields recharge over time. Ravens are Active tanked, meaning that you have to strap on a Shield booster and use cap to rep shields. This means you have to manage cap, because if the mission gets hairy and you've gotta warp out, you need to have enough cap to initiate warp. If you train your Cap and shield skills enough, it eventually becomes less of a problem. I've seen Passive Ravens...they aren't as usable as an active.
Drakes use Heavy Missiles, which are cruiser sized. They can hit most hull sizes for decent damage. With good skills and Faction or T2 missiles, you can down most ships with a few volleys. Ravens use Cruise missiles, which are battleship sized. They have trouble hitting the smaller ships, and often don't do as much damage to small ships. Bigger ships are no problem, and, if you have any problems with Frigates or such, you have drones around to help (in both cases, Raven just has a bigger drone bay for larger drones).
Drakes are smaller and therefore More agile- they align quicker and move quicker. Good for the "OH CRAP!" moments. Ravens are bigger and take a while to align, which means you'll need to stay prealigned or start warp as soon as your shields start even hinting at breaking. The difference here is negligible, as it still takes a short while for a Drake to align and warp.
For me, it has been easier to fly a Drake. While usually they do missions much slower, they are a lot easier to maintain and usually don't have as many cap problems for new players. I won't put down Raven pilots, Ravens are VERY useful for Level 4 missions.
If you like the way the Drake works, you may consider it's big brother the Nighthawk, which has similar (but better) boosts, or the Tengu, which I'll cover in a moment. If you favor the raven, look into a Golem or a CNR. (I have never flown a Golem, but I hear they are quite capable mission runners- they were almost literally built for it. I do own a CNR, however. It's a good ship)
While it is more skill intensive, you may consider a Tengu for Level fours. They are pricier and require several skills at level 5 just to be competent at flying them, but once you are, they are very easy to use- just remember two things: Always be moving, and shoot the small things first. I currently run level fours in a Tengu, and I have made a substantial amount more than my Drake days. (This is mostly because of the speed at which I can complete a mission in a Tengu vs. a Drake)
In the end, it comes down to your personal preference. Drakes are cheap and easy to train for, but don't do as much DPS and don't have as big of a tank as a Raven. Ravens are pricer and require more skills, but they have that DPS and Tank the Drake doesn't. because you stated you're crunched for time, I'd start off with a Drake and skill for a Raven. If you follow the Eve Survival guide to missions ( http://eve-survival.org/wikka.php?wakka=MissionReports ), you will generally get a feel for which is better for what. They recommend ships based on mission, have in depth guides on how to go about each mission, and forewarn you about certain obstacles other players faced.
I hope this helps, sorry it's so wordy. |