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Simeon N'barr
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Posted - 2007.09.05 16:41:00 -
[1]
The purpose of this thread is to discuss the tactics you use when running missions of various levels. Please include information such as ship type, weapon type and fighting style.
For instance, I am currently running level 2 missions in a Caracal with light missiles. I typically fly away from each group of npc's in a straight line trying to keep my range between 35 and 40 km. I think of this as "range tanking" because my missiles are fully effective but most npc's can't hit me unless they are using missiles as well. The advantage is that I usually take very little damage from the npc's. The disadvantages however are the time it takes to fly back to the next group of npcs's and the extra time it takes to loot/salvage since the wrecks are strung out over a large distance.
I'm sure there are better techniques that I could be using. I have just about finished skilling up for a Drake and will be running level 3 missions very soon. I could use some advice on how to best utilize the Drake against the types of enemies found in level 3 missions.
Hopefully some of you experienced pilots out there can help me and other new pilots learn better tactics to use when running missions.
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Koryvarn
Amarr Liberty Rogues
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Posted - 2007.09.05 16:48:00 -
[2]
Well, when I did missions (1-3) in my Amarr laser boats, I'd get the attention of the entire room, and then then head with AB burning away from then. Eventually all the rats would be behind me, so tracking was not an issue, and my beam lasers could demolish then.
In my raven, I tend to just warp in and head for the nearest gate, since I'll destroy everything without a challenge anyway. On missions without gates, I tend to orbit an object just so I'm not sitting still.
Generally, until you're sure with reagrds to what you face, add a celestial object to your bookmarks or overview (station, gate, planet, etc), and stay aligned. If it goes wrong, hit warp and zoom!, you're away within seconds. Has saved my ships many times.
I'd reccomend using heavy missiles with the caracal for at least 1 mission, just to see how they peform - new ships and new missile in one go can easily go wrong.
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Simeon N'barr
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Posted - 2007.09.05 17:21:00 -
[3]
I have seen folks in other threads also mention staying aligned to make warping out easier/quicker. I guess I don't understand this. Do you mean sit dead in space aligned with a celestial object while you fight? Or fly toward said celestial object while you fight? If you are orbiting something or flying toward an objective you obviously will not be able to stay aligned unless I am totally misunderstanding the issue (quite likely).
Thanks for the response and keep them coming!
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Thrus
Caldari United Tactical Operations and Manufacturing Sempiternus
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Posted - 2007.09.05 17:37:00 -
[4]
I tend to use your method of "range tanking" along with being aligned. your tactic is perfect for it, pick an object away from the mob as best you can and generaly fly at it. usualy I fly almost inlign with it, then when i hit warp I'm gone in a second or two.
as to using the drake, for your level 3s the skilling up is it for the ship or the weapons? I would say do the ship first and switch, a 1/2 done drake skilling should still womp a caracal setup when running your level 2s.
When chosing missiles I would try out the heavys as they are good to use aginst curisers that you see. I did my level 2s all in a caracal with heavies and ad little trouble even with crappy resists for a tank.
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Malusonius
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Posted - 2007.09.05 18:21:00 -
[5]
@ Simeon
When people suggest staying "aligned" it is with a celestial object (a station, a planet, an asteroid belt, etc.) and moving in that general direction. Think about what it takes to initiate warp...
1. Align with object. 2. Accelerate to a certain speed.
If you have done neither, by the time you get around to it, you may be dead already (especially true in slow, less agile battleships/battlecruisers). By staying aligned you have already satisfied both conditions and can warp at a moments notice (provided, of course, you aren't being warp scrammed).
Very handy, especially when you're not sure about the mission or you know it's a mission that gives you trouble. |
Simeon N'barr
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Posted - 2007.09.05 20:05:00 -
[6]
Okay, so staying aligned means to align yourself with a celestial object (preferably one away from the bad guys) upon entering the mission zone and generally move toward it. Move fast if you are trying to maintain range or slow if you like the targets close. Got it.
With the Drake, which has an incredible shield tank when properly skilled and fitted, does it make sense to continue with the "range tanking" tactic or should I just let the npc's come to me and kill them as fast as I can? Should I let frigates swarm around me and use drones to fight them while I use missiles on larger targets?
Which brings up another extremely noobish question: How do I tell which npc's are frigates and which are cruisers or battle cruisers? I try "show info" and usually all it calls them is "fighter".
Keep em coming!
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HairOfTheDog
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Posted - 2007.09.05 20:27:00 -
[7]
use the size in the overview to ascertain the frigates. if it's under 200m i use drones, larger size = larger firepower
my 2ISK worth
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Phyridean
Lionsgate Ionic Dispersion
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Posted - 2007.09.05 20:31:00 -
[8]
I use a Drake for lvl 4 missions with the following setup (Only things I've had trouble with are AE Bonus room and Enemies Abound 5 of 5):
Highs: 7x xr-3200 HML (Working on other support skills before devoting the two weeks to T2 missiles) Meds: 3x Large Shield extender IIs, 2x primary rat dmg type active hardeners, 1x secondary dmg type active hardener Lows: 2x Shield Power Relay II, 2x Ballistic Control System II Rigs: 3x Core Defence Field Purger Is
Pretty much all of the tech 2 gear can be swapped out for T1 gear, and even with the abysmal skill level I had when I started using the Drake, this was more than enough for any level 3. You might have to drop one of the LSEs if your fittings get tight.
Frigates (and destroyer-class vessels) will be a smaller red cross than cruisers on your overview and in space.
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Simeon N'barr
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Posted - 2007.09.05 21:02:00 -
[9]
Ahh, the size of the red cross in the overview designates the "size" of the target. The smallest red crosses are frigates and destroyers? And the next size up are cruisers? Do battle cruisers and battleships have even larger crosses? I don't think I have run into any of them yet in level 2 missions. That will certainly make things easier. I had been assuming the size of the cross had something to do with the "importance" of the npc. Thanks, this is good information for us newbies.
Okay, how about some more tactics now?
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Meiyang Lee
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Posted - 2007.09.05 21:41:00 -
[10]
Edited by: Meiyang Lee on 05/09/2007 21:42:14 Being a fairly new pilot myself,
i'm currently running Level 3s in a Myrmidon, tanked fairly heavily (MAR II, set of rat specific energized plates and a 800mm plate) and focussed mostly on my Drone DPS, since the 4 250mm Rails i have don't contribute that much.
But i usually warp in, take a good look around, find the closest group aggro them with the guns (not with the drones) and let them get a bit closer and making sure they're all on me before i launch the drones (usually mediums) and send them on their way. Then pick off the high DPS opposition first (usually the elite cruisers and BCs) and then down the DPS ladder, i make an exception for scrambler frigs as they can really ruin your day should things turn sour. For frigates, especially elite frigs its worth carrying a pack of light drones since their better tracking takes care of them fairly quickly. Assist your drones with your cannons where possible. (tracking on the guns is fairly low, so hit stuff at range, once it starts orbiting your cannons are next to useless)
With the tank currently fitted on my myrmidon i have only rarely needed to warp out, and even then it was usually my own fault. (nothing like aggroing a whole room at once)
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Marine HK4861
Caldari Seoltachd
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Posted - 2007.09.05 23:44:00 -
[11]
Originally by: Simeon N'barr Ahh, the size of the red cross in the overview designates the "size" of the target.
Battleships and industrials have the largest crosses. Cruisers and battlecruisers have medium sized crosses. Frigates and destroyers have the smallest crosses.
Exception to this general rule are rogue drones, in that battleship sized drones have their usual large crosses, but everything else has frigate sized crosses, including the drone cruisers/battlecruisers.
Bear in mind that this is the general hull size. In harder missions you'll find npc interceptors/heavy assault ships, assault ships and the like, but they'll appear as the same size cross on the overview. The only way to tell what they actually are is from experience and looking at the bounties they're worth. The higher the bounty, the more trouble they are to kill.
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Weyoun 1
Gallente Stellar Federation Celestial Federation
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Posted - 2007.09.06 00:16:00 -
[12]
Originally by: Marine HK4861
Originally by: Simeon N'barr Ahh, the size of the red cross in the overview designates the "size" of the target.
Battleships and industrials have the largest crosses. Cruisers and battlecruisers have medium sized crosses. Frigates and destroyers have the smallest crosses.
Exception to this general rule are rogue drones, in that battleship sized drones have their usual large crosses, but everything else has frigate sized crosses, including the drone cruisers/battlecruisers.
Bear in mind that this is the general hull size. In harder missions you'll find npc interceptors/heavy assault ships, assault ships and the like, but they'll appear as the same size cross on the overview. The only way to tell what they actually are is from experience and looking at the bounties they're worth. The higher the bounty, the more trouble they are to kill.
There's a much easier way to determine the class of a certain NPC ship. Take for example Serpentis..
Coreli = frigate (prefix ends with -i) Corelior = destroyer (ends with -ior) Corelum = cruiser (ends with -um) Corelatis = battlecruiser (ends with -atis) Core = battleship (ends with either nothing or with -us)
Coreli Guardian = assault frigate/interceptor Corelum Guardian = heavy assault cruiser
That naming scheme applies to all 5 NPC factions + rogue drones. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Faergardn
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Posted - 2007.09.06 08:56:00 -
[13]
Regarding the question about how you tell what is what, bear in mind that if you select (ie. left click on) a ship in the overview (as a prelude to targetting it, for example) then you get basic information about the selected object in the top of the overview. This includes ship type (frigate, cruiser, battlecruiser, etc) and, perhaps a more significant guide to its threat, the bounty it's worth.
Very handy for quick target selection / threat assessment as you don't have to right-click & info stuff to get at the core details needed to make your choice.
I also keep have the velocity displayed in a column on my overview, and make copious use of pre-saved filters (ie. a combat filter showing only ships, a salvage filter that shows wrecks and cans, a travel filter that shows stargates, etc).
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Jaketh Ivanes
Amarr Do Or Die And Live Or Try
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Posted - 2007.09.06 09:32:00 -
[14]
My tactic for running lvl 4's, is usually just sit and tank.
I use drones to kill frigs/interceptors and cruisers. I sometimes use the "parallel travel system" to assist on particular tough cruisers.
I fly a Navy Poc and use Mega Beams. So far, the only missions i avoid, are the Enemies Abound.
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Sokot
Gallente Brute Force Algorithm
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Posted - 2007.09.06 10:04:00 -
[15]
When doing lvl3`s and 4`s I tend to stick to Ishtar or Dominix, depending on the faction I`m fighting. The key element to my strategy is to set up a wicked tank, preferably one that permaruns at least one repper (med for Ishtar, large for Domi), small or no guns (for dealing with scramming frigs) and drone range mods. Once you have this, at warp in, get good distance 80+km, stop, drop sentries and start working your way up from frigates to the larger ships. This way you can keep control of the aggro, take out any scrammers at a comfy range, and when they start getting closer, pull in the sentries, wait for aggro, orbit an object, turn on the repper and release the ogre II`s. This takes a while, but with good drone skills you won`t miss the extra dps from guns as your tank more than makes up for it...
I generally spend about 90-120 mins for lvl 4 Assault vs Serp in my Ishtar, including looting and salvaging the whole lot. And provided you get rid of the scrammers and webbers first, I can afk that mission after about 15 mins of directed fire at first. "He was quite mad and knew it very well, but being mad he did not care" |
Carniflex
Caldari Fallout Research Fallout Project
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Posted - 2007.09.06 10:35:00 -
[16]
Tackiks in missions ?
Jump in. Tank whats shoot's at me and kill em all. Just sitting on top of gate or traveling towards next gate if it's far. Ships - me and my alt in CNR's one with torps and another with cruise. Thats then lev 4 missions. Sometimes I use medium shield boost drones on each other if I dont need to use light attack drones on small stuff.
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Dinslan
Minmatar
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Posted - 2007.09.06 10:42:00 -
[17]
For level 3 missions I use range tanking in a Arty fitting Cyclone. Trying to avoid additional spawns too. By running away I reduce tracking issues.
When most of the enemies are dead, I'll switch to 'bearing down' where I'll afterburner towards ships I'm trying to kill. As I am usually a little bit faster than them I will get under their optimal orbit range and they'll run DIRECTLY away, because they are going away from me they have no transverse velocity, so no tracking issues. Also if you set the camera to be set around your target you get some impressive views of your big nasty ship looming over them.
For level 2 missions I use a fast passive tanked Rifter. With the afterburner on, simply choose a target, orbit at 1km, fire about 3-6 volleys and they pop, then repeat as needed. As this is both speed tanking and passive tanking you are pretty safe. This also has the advantage of being very fun.
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Heartcarver
X Bane X
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Posted - 2007.09.06 17:45:00 -
[18]
I use an Abaddon. Most missions, I just warp in, and shoot everything before they get close to me. There are a few missions I constantly run away while shooting, such as blockade. It helps to keep distance from the second wave of sanshas which involve 8-10 very high resist tracking disrupting ships... which take forever to kill when theres 8 disrupters on u.
Of course I turn down EA (for standings reasons) and Guristas... mostly because they are too irritating to kill.
"The point of war isn't to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his" |
cyboman
Caldari Mafia Italiana
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Posted - 2007.09.06 17:56:00 -
[19]
1) Locator agent on above names. 2) Study info on ships and tatics. 3) *** 4) Win.
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Roy Gordon
Caldari The Star Wolves Aunni Ti Tsuun Consortium
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Posted - 2007.09.07 16:43:00 -
[20]
Generally, if your using the right ship for the right missions you should just be able to jump in, switch on your hardeners and blow away the rats. It helps having decent mods fitted and knowing exactly what type of ammo to use against each rat type. That which does not kill us makes us stronger. The Universe is ruled by three basic principles- Matter, Energy and Enlightened Self-Interest! |
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Andrue
Amarr
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Posted - 2007.09.08 11:09:00 -
[21]
It depends on the ship, obviously.
With my NH it goes something like this: * Pop all and any of the following immediately: - Pith Assassin, Despoiler, Saboteur, Murderer, Nullifier
* Pop any frigs that are over 40km away (basically those that will insta-pop)
* Pop HACs
* Start popping anything within 30km bigger than a frig. Prioritise BS.
TBH this is mostly about speed given that my NH's tank is never at risk. -- (Battle hardened industrialist)
[Brackley, UK]
My budgie can say "ploppy bottom". You have been warned. |
Carniflex
Caldari Fallout Research Fallout Project
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Posted - 2007.09.08 16:21:00 -
[22]
Originally by: cyboman 1) Locator agent on above names. 2) Study info on ships and tatics. 3) *** 4) Win.
People in low sec use usually affordable setups and people in hi sec are usually using setups for what you need silly amount of firepower to kill before concord arrives. So good luck with that
Ofc it's worth if you manage to find officer fitted CNR and can jump in those approx 15 battleships so that he wont jump out before you pop him.
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