Salvaging, Catalyst fitting

Time to revisit the Catalyst. Had I known then what I do now the destroyer would have received some love but unless I want to fly an Eris, which is highly unlikely, this particular vessel will only face the aftermath of conflicts. Yet the Catalyst has overcome its status as a giveaway ship because they make one of the best salvagers.

For those just starting out, I would suggest blitzing the lower level missions and ignoring salvaging and even looting. Instead find the niche that leads to a win-win scenario. Often times a mission runner will ask salvage hungry newbies to tag along level 4 missions, or vice versa. The salvager gains a sizable sum of ISK per hour from wrecks, a small portion of bounties, standing with the corp and agent. In return you split the proceeds to a prearranged ratio and everybody goes home happy.

A typical Catalyst fit for salvaging would look like this:

• Lows
• Expanded Cargohold II x3
• Mids
• Cap Recharger II
• 1MN Afterburner I
• Highs
• Small Tractor Beam I x3
• Salvager I x5
• Rigs
• Small Capacitor Control Circuit I x3 (or Small Salvage Tackle I)

Cap recharge intensive fit is for people like me who are lazy, unwilling to stagger modules when capacitor runs low, or those who wish to transform their Catalysts from/to other roles. Small Salvage Tackle I rigs will improve the chance to successfully salvage a wreck by 10% so if you want more tractor beams in the high slots, these rigs will compensate by increasing your chances.

Further reading: EVElopedia has a detailed salvaging guide.

Level 3, Myrmidon fitting

University of Calle's mysterious doorbell dashing expert, Blaster Babe, donated a hefty sum to Dax Jr. 'for being a good person,' adding I should buy something fancy. Since one of my current goals is to raise standing with Federation Intelligence Office to 8.0 for jump clones, the natural choice was upgrading the Vexor to a battlecruiser class ship.

In honor of Blaster Babe, I shall name all my Myrmidons after her(him).

My first BB Myrmidon burnt brightly when it got stuck in an asteroid during a mission. Dax Jr. got bored with railguns at the time and loaded six blasters which was ultimately the undoing of the ship as it got swarmed by rats while trying to fire blasters at short range. Note: do not use blasters for missions unless flying a Proteus. In hind sight, I should have petitioned the loss for reimbursement: the ship kept bumping into the asteroid while accelerating to warp and I wasn't able to manually stop it because 'the ship was engaged in warp.' Another note: avoid collidable objects unless flying a Proteus.

I've experimented with various fittings but settled for below setup.

Level 3 mission fitting:

• Lows
• Meta Adaptive Nano Membrane
• Meta Mission Specific Hardener (switch EM/Kinetic)
• Meta Thermic Hardener
• Medium Armor Repairer II x2
• Damage Control II
• Mids
• 10MN Afterburner I
• Cap Recharger II x4
• Highs
• Drone Link Augmentor I
• Meta 200mm Railgun x5
• Rigs
• Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
• Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I x2
• Drones
• Hammerhead II x5
• Hobgoblin II x5
• Valkyrie II x5

Even with low skills, this setup will run cap stable meaning all the modules, including two armor repairers, can be turned on during the entire mission. With moderate kiting it is over tanked but better safe than sorry. For certain mercenary missions in which rats pour all types of damage, fitting an Explosive Hardener is advised. Stacking two meta Adaptive Nano Membranes is encouraged for those with decent Armor Compensation skills which in turn allows for the replacement of a DCU.

Gallente mission runners will find that a number of faction ships, such as Amarr, take longer to bring down. This is because hybrid ammos and Gallente drones only deal kinetic and thermal damage. Amarr Drone Specialization enables EM damage drones while Minmatar Drone Specialization provides access to explosive damage drones. Use them accordingly as you do for armor protection.

Looting and salvaging should be delegated to a Catalyst in order to save time.

Running level 4 missions is possible with the addition of Ogres but it can take hours to complete a single mission therefore it is better to either blitz them or grind level 3's until getting the Dominix.

Long live Blaster Babe!

Level 2, Vexor fitting

Today Dax Jr. made the big leap to level 2 missions. The friendly folks of my NPC corp were sharing ship fittings and exchanging advice, consulting the wisdom of players who were rolling their alts. Many were surprised that I was flying in a Thorax doing level 1 missions. Since my standing was abysmal the only choice was to grind small frigates to smithereens. I was shone with a ray of hope in the form of a skill. "Train Connections to three. That should do it." When Connections did reach 3, a level 2 agent with -19 quality became accessible. No thank you.

At this point Dax Jr. was nearing his 1.6mil SP mark, which meant the 100% bonus to training time would soon end. Worried that I might somehow gimp Dax Jr. if I didn't make a prudent decision, I googled 'learning 4/3 or 4/4.' In case you're wondering, that's basic learning skill/advanced learning skill.

To summarize my long search, the majority opinion was 4/4 ASAP within the 1.6mil SP bonus time frame. Those who are blessed with the virtue of patience will only have to wait for nine days to get their learning skills to 4/4. Not I, not the power-leveling gamer who would rather sacrifice sleep than fall behind. Ironicly, I have fallen behind just by training other useful skills ahead of the learning skills to enable my character to do something fun. Better late than never. Better now than later. EVEMon neatly arranaged the order of skills that I planned on training by minimizing the total time needed to learn them. For learning skills order matters.

In the meantime I could repeat level 1 missions to gain standing. To make it a little less boring, I bought a Vexor for the added drone damage bonus. Things went down really fast and so did my interest. I wasn't sure how I would fare level 2 missions but it had to be more challening than this. Federal Intelligence Office, the corp I am currently working for, displayed a quality 6 agent just four jumps away in its agent tab. Without any hesitation, I pack some modules and ammo then set off.

My first level 2 mission was Recon 1/3. The first wave was easily dispatched but the second wave caught me off guard. I was alarmed at the firepower the rats unleashed as they surrounded me. If it wasn't for the Damage Control Unit, I wouldn't have been able to warp out in time. The Vexor wasn't able to withstand the gauntlet and I found myself warping out a once again. The fitting couldn't get any better so I must be doing something wrong. I had grown smug by running level 1 missions in a cruiser, underestimating  PvE difficulty. Those serpentis cruisers had more range, nearly double my turret damage, and some even put dampeners on me. Getting close was not an option. In order to avoid being swarmed or shot, my only strategy was to kite them and let the Hammerheads do the job. Never had I imagined spending hours on a single encounter mission. Maybe Recon is just one of those tough missions, or perhaps I'm not ready for level 2 yet. I do enjoy the new challenge it brings though.

Below are two types of fittings for missions:

1. Mission specific resistance setup

• Lows
• Named Damage Control Unit
• Medium Armor Repairer (auto repeat off)
• N-Type  Hardener
• N-Type  Hardener
• Mids
• 10MN Afterburner
• Named Capacitor Recharger x2
• Highs
• Dual 150mm Railgun x4
• Small Tractor Beam
• Drones
• Hammerhead x5

2. Omni tank steup for missions with all types of damage

• Lows
• Named Damage Control Unit
• Medium Armor Repairer (auto repeat off)
• Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane
• 800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates
• Mids
• 10MN Afterburner
• Named Capacitor Recharger x2
• Highs
• Dual 150mm Railgun x4
• Small Tractor Beam
• Drones
• Hammerhead x5

It is beneficial to fit a Damage Control Unit instead of stacking two Energized Adaptive Nano Membranes. Here's why.

1. Stats are penalized when stacking two EANM.
2. Fitting a DCU gives resistance bonuses to shield, armor, and hull.

I'll follow up on the fitting if I can improve on above setups.

Meet Dronicus

For the last couple of days, Dax Jr. has been roaming Gallente space searching for the right agent. There was this Internal Security agent in Haine who gave me lucrative offers and acceptable rewards. The catch is Haine is low-sec. My Thorax got a good pelting from an Omen Navy Issue pilot and his tech2 Hobgoblins near a gate, barely surviving the encounter with 60% hull. Setting autopilot in low-sec and going afk will never happen again. Learning my lesson the hard way, I drag out the local channel and constantly keep an eye out for pilots with low security standing.

My mission running came to a halt when a deep space pocket encounter was commissioned. Cheating on level one with a cruiser caught up as I could not access the acceleration gate. All my assets were kept at a station 11 jumps away so I carefully made my way back to high-sec. After deciding on the Imicus as the frigate of choice, I began fitting the little bugger with modules, some of which had to be bought at the market. On my way to pick up two Drone Navigation Computers, I discovered a Surveillance agent whose quality is 19 - and she's in high-sec. If only I had studied all the agent types before setting off to Haine. Oh well, I packed everything and began the exodus.

For hours I flew around in my pod picking up my ships and items from Trossere. Someone in the NPC corp channel noticed me doing this and asked why I wasn't in a ship. Pod travel just seemed hilarious knowing that it's safe in high-sec. Not perfectly safe, but 'whoever-shoots-me-down-will-lose-a-lot-more-than-I-do-for-sure' safe.

Finally I am ready to set off in my new frigate which I aptly christen Dronicus. She has not reached her full potential yet, but for fun's sake another trial and error is worth this cheap piece of fit. Here it is. I've already thought of improvements below.

A viable alternative would be fitting a Drone Link Augmentor in the high slot and a Sensor Booster on the medium slot. Assuming that basic requirements are met, an Imicus will be able to target enemies at a safe distance of 50km 46.86km(longer if you've got better skills), deploy three drones, and watch the fireworks go off without having to fire a single charge. Low slot modules can be exchanged with a Damage Control Unit and an Overdrive Injector System, freeing up the powergrid for an Afterburner. EHP will actually rise to 1,715 while mobility is boosted to 843m/s. The best part being, of course, that the capacitor runs permanently. The longer I looked at this fit, the more I liked it. So below is my new fit.

I leave you with a screenshot of my trusty Dronicus docking in after a day of hard work. Fly safe.

Thorax on a mission

As hinted on my last post - a new ship. Voila!
 

 
Now that I have it in my possession, the Thorax doesn't look as good as I thought it would be. Nonetheless I am grateful for finally owning a vessel I can bare to glimpse. Great motivation to play. Many Gallente ships have Greek names such as Thorax, Ares, and Eris. Thorax means chest plate, but the ship's notoriety for being a glass cannon makes it sound quite ironic.
 

 
The reason I hurried to fly the Thorax despite my low skill points was because I couldn't stand staring at the Catalyst anymore, and my habit of wanting to breeze through a given level of missions in superior equipment. In this case the only thing that seems to have improved is the size of the ship. Hull upgrades were only at level 2 when I was fitting Normandy JR2(a la Mass Effect), therefore my options for passive tanking were energized plates, not membranes.

Even though the DPS is dreadful I am happy with the results I saw on chapter 6 of The Blood-Stained Stars. The roar of medium turrets is menacing, unlike its small counterpart for frigates which sound like firecrackers. Meanwhile I've decided to concentrate on drone skills and by the weekend my DPS should increase significantly when I pick up Drone Interfacing. Gunnery will follow shortly. The first few days training learning skills put off a great deal of interest in the game but I am glad that those days are behind me even if they're not over yet.

Hopefully I'll become a better pilot by the time I am ready to move on to the next ship.

Catalyst mission fitting

The latter part of chapter two was a challenge to both DPS and tanking capabilities, opening my eyes to optimizing ship fitting. The first step I took was to see what others have done in the past. Almost everyone agreed that the high slots should be fully fit with 125mm railguns; however people had their preferences for mids and lows. I did this:

My main concern was capacitor recharge rate. When operating eight 125mm railguns you plainly see them sucking power and it needs to be addressed if armor tanking is considered.

High slots: DPS increased from 43.6 to 66.2 meaning I can now do 34.1% more damage per second than my previous fit.

Medium slots: I faced a dilemma removing an afterburner but decided to anyway. The idea of losing capacitor running time on an AB deemed inefficient. The small shield extender could always be replaced but I would have to train my engineering skill to level 4 in order to meet the power grid requirements. Capacitor regenerator speaks for itself.

Low slots: Small armor repairer II can compensate 80 HP on every tick, and is backed up by a PDS and CPR for extra running time.

This fitting took hours because it was the first time I actually tried optimizing a ship. Dozens of jumps were made for the acquisition of modules since the best prices are usually several jumps away. I am currently on chapter three of the mission arc. So far my shields haven't dropped and armor was intact. Yet to see how long my Catalyst can withstand punishment. Will follow up on my next post.

The original posting date(on my other blog) of above was two weeks ago. Now my catalyst serves as a salvage ship. Through trial and error, I have learned that it is better to passive/speed tank T1 frigates and destroyers. Tech 1 small ships simply do not have the kind of capacitor to keep repair modules running and expect to survive waves of rats. At this point, I'd suggest fitting mission specific armor hardeners or energized plates(membranes), the best damage control unit available, and an overdrive injector. Damage control units are pretty much mandatory.

Destroyers are a dead end.