With Proteus launching on Tuesday, I have to make a decision over the weekend. What ship do I use to replace my Hound when I'm mining. The Hound is a nice ship that's served me well as a scout in low sec, but with combat recons getting the d-scan immunity, I think I may need a tougher ship. My first line of defense when mining is mining while aligned, but with the d-scan immunity, low sec will get a little bit more dangerous. Not that much, really, but enough to worry about. I finish training the last of my Tengu skills to V today, so here are my options:
Tengu. Not really my first choice, but the Tengu does offer PvE possibilities. Also, I'm pretty sure ships would peel off to have a chance at a tech 3 cruiser. On the plus side, the ship shield tanks, which is what I'm most comfortable doing. Add in heavy missiles and I should have the ability to kite. Or at least run away once the mining barge has escaped. The major drawback is cost. Do I really want to use a ship worth close to a billion ISK to protect a 25 million ISK barge?
Stratios. The Sisters of EVE cruiser also offers PvE possibilities. With a built-in probing bonus, sizable cargo hold, lasers as primary armament and drone bonuses, I could use the ship to run off on long exploration trips when I'm not mining. The negative is that I'm not experienced with drone boats and I haven't armor tanked in years. I'd need a shakedown cruise or two before actually using the ship in low sec.
Falcon. I suspect to see a lot of Rooks flying around low sec once Proteus launches. What's the best way to counter ECM? More ECM. While training a Griffin alt is a possibility, the Falcon looks like the better option. The only problem is the firepower. Can a Falcon drive off NPC battleships? I don't like warping off due to NPCs and I'm afraid the Falcon can't do the job on the PvE front.
Rapier. I already own a Rapier, I'm just waiting for the revamp to fit the missile launchers. I have used Bellicose to run complexes in low sec in the past, so I think the Rapier can provide the DPS needed to battle the belt rats. I think with its web bonuses that the Rapier can hold an enemy at a distance, but I'm not sure. All I need is to drive off an interloper. If the enemy warps off, mission accomplished. The Rapier is possibly a good choice for mining escort duty.
Arazu. If I want to kill rather than scare, then the Arazu is possibly a better choice. Web and scram bonuses (did I mention I have Recon Ships trained to V?) plus sensor dampening? The only downside I can see is DPS against battleships, but the ship definitely looks viable against smaller rats.
Pilgrim. A ship that may prove the flavor of the month with the changes the Amarr force recon ship will see on Tuesday. The ship has energy vampire and neutralizer bonuses as well as a drone bonus. The ship probably doesn't have the ability to stand up to NPC battlships, but I think a player may face a surprise if I decloak in one of these.
Those are the six ships I'm looking at. I'm sure someone will suggest buying them all. I probably should, because unpredictablility is a good thing. But I still need to figure out which one will work best.
Stick with the Hound. It's much cheaper and less likely to become the primary target over the barge.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell: each of your options is worth 10+ times your Procurer.
ReplyDeleteChoose
whatever ship you like to fight of NPCs and maybe Mordus spawns. If my
Procurer with a set of 5 Hornet EC-300 won't break enemies lock I'd
eject my capsule and warp away instead of risking a PVE focused
expensive ship to save it. Once they see you flying a 300+M ISK ship
you'll find yourself on several watchlists. Keep it cheap.
The question I ask is how much neutral activity do you have in your low sec system? Do you really need to change at all?
ReplyDeleteFalcon is the scariest (other than a well put together assault tengu) and most likely to create a situation where you can disengage both ships.
ReplyDeleteYep. The reason you use a Proc to mine is because you can afford to lose it. It makes no sense whatsoever to risk an overly expensive ship to guard a cheap one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, using a PVE ship is just plain foolish - you want to have a PVP ship, which can also easily tank the NPC spawns.
I suggest using a BS. The Domi is probably the best choice, given cost, and ability to support multiple flights of different-sized drones for damage, while simultaneously fitting a decent tank, remote reppers (to support your Proc tank) and/or large neuts (which keep just about everyone outside of web/tackle range).
With the changes to combat recons, they will indeed be a PITA, but they are still only cruisers and no match for a properly fit and flown Domi.
I would agree with keeping it cheap - stick with the bomber or go it alone. Depending on how tricky (logistically) it is to replace, a 25m miner could be included in the "cost of doing business" column.
ReplyDelete