Re: If You Must Mission In A Battlecruiser

This is in response to a post by ASTRAL DOMINIX. His Harbinger fit will have a hard time running any level 4′s alone. The incoming damage is often at or above 400 dps and medium rep and resists alone aren’t going to get it. I agree with some of the commenters that the Drake can be a great mission boat, but after having run several hundred level 4′s in it and later in a Raven, I learned one very important fact: I can blitz multiple level 3 in a gank fit drake faster than I can run a level 4 [in a Drake].

I’m not going to suggest that you switch to running in a Drake unless you have a specific desire to become a full-time mission runner, and even then I would probably just suggest that you skip the drake and head straight to training for a Raven. I love the utility of these mid-sized ships and prefer to be in a battlecruiser hull if I can.

For example:

• Average Level 4: 5-10 million
  • Payout: 300,000-500,000
  • Bonus: 300,000-500,000
  • Bounties: 1.5-4 million
• Average Level 3: 1.5-3 million
  • Payout: 100,000-200,000
  • Bonus: 100,000-200,000
  • Bounties: 700,000-1,000,000

Then if you fit a drake to run the level 3′s in say, 10-15 minutes each, you can really clean up. It is fairly easy to blitz them for about 10-15 million per hour.

Obligatory Drake Fitting:

[Drake, LVL 3 Blitz Drake]

Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Shield Power Relay II
Photon Scattering Field II
Heat Dissipation Field II
M51 Iterative Shield Regenerator
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II

‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile
‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile
‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile
‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile
‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile
‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile
‘Malkuth’ Heavy Missile Launcher I, Scourge Heavy Missile

Medium Warhead Rigor Catalyst I
Medium Warhead Rigor Catalyst I
Medium Core Defence Field Purger I

Hobgoblin I x5

Fitting Comments:

1. It’s a tight fit CPU-wise. You may end up needing to drop back to named modules for the tank to free up a little more.

2. The shield resits are interchangeable depending on what you are hunting [fit for Sansha].

3. The ‘Arbalest’ heavy missile launchers are expensive [16 million!], but can usually be resold for the same amount when you move up to a bigger/better ship.

4. Tech 2 Launchers are perhaps a bit to tight to fit here. ‘Malkuth’ are used to cut down on CPU requirements.

5. The dual-rigor catalyst rigs are key. They are the equivalent of having two target painters built into every missile you fire.