Hammer And Anvil

I don't spend all of my time in Eve Online figuring out ways to build tech 2 ships.  Sometimes I run level 4 missions.  I especially like the rogue drone missions because they give out so many minerals I need to make tech 2 ships.

When I search the Internet looking for fits for my Maelstrom, auto-cannon fits without propulsion mods seem really popular.  But since I always dual-box PvE situations in Eve, I'm developing another tactical doctrine for running level 4 missions.  The concept involves fitting out a battleship (currently a Maelstrom) with artillery because I like to reach out to 90 klicks and hit other ships.  Of course, artillery fit battleships are vulnerable to fast ships like frigates and destroyers.  That's where my second ship, and auto-cannon fit Hurricane comes in.  If a small ship like a frigate or cruiser is able to survive traversing the Maelstrom's kill zone, the Hurricane is usually able to take out the pesky ships rather rapidly.

This tactic works really well on missions when the ships land right next to frigates fit with webbers and scrams.  The Maelstrom enters the deadspace area, draws all the aggro, and then the Hurricane, combined with the gang's ten drones, makes short work of the offending rats.  This tactic also frees up the Maelstrom's guns to take out more distant targets (like stasis towers) that pose a longer term threat to the successful completion of the mission.

I've been working on the tactic because this weekend Wandering Rose, my industrial pilot who also pilots my battlecruisers, will finish up learning Medium Autocannon Specialization to 3 and I'll be able to outfit the Hurricane with tech 2 guns.  At the same time, I need to finally decide which tech 2 guns to buy for my Maelstrom since Rosewalker can now use large tech 2 autocannons and artillery.  With the success of these tactics I'm leaning toward fitting artillery and then purchasing autocannons later on to experiment with.

I know that most people find missions boring.  But between spending a lot of time involved in industrial activities and playing RIFT, I'm not burned out doing them and actually look forward to doing missions like The Blockade and can't wait to finally get to do a level 4 version of Worlds Collide.  Besides that, I get to play around with gang compositions trying to figure out how ships fit together best.  Figuring stuff out is always fun.