Thursday, August 20, 2009

Projectiles or Missiles?

I've decided that I don't want another capital ship for Derranna yet. Instead I want to continue her training into a combat pilot for various reasons. She already has a decent amount of skills in navigation, shield tanking, and armour tanking (all tech 2) and she has good core competency skills for power grid and cap etc, but she has the firepower of a 2 month old newb (and that's being generous). So really I'm at a clean slate for her.

Now, the first impulse is that since she is Minmatar and flies those ships that projectiles would be the starting point. But I'm strongly considering getting her up for a Stealth Bomber pilot training first which implies missile training. Both complete skill plans are about 100+ days long with the missile one a bit shorter due to being able to avoid rockets, light missiles, and cruise missiles (I added heavy and heavy assaults to the plan FYI) while the Large tech II projectiles would require all the smaller weapons to be well trained as well.

If I go for missiles, then my recon and possible HACs will not benefit much. If I got for projectiles, my dream of dual stealth bombers has to be put on hold. Gah.

So before I make a decision and buy a whack of skillbooks, I want the peanut gallery to chip in their opinions.

Projectiles or Missiles? Or both concurrently?


  1. missiles could be good to start of with.
    Huginn is a missile hybrid, Ussually I got 3 HML and 3 autocannons and missiles tend to be the bulk of my damage, simply because of range issues. Artillery isn't feasible on huginn because of grid issues with them.
    And you end up with a typhoon you could use for missions and pvp quite well. The torps are great for pvp, mix in some RR and you got a nice gang ship.
    Definately have to train projectiles eventually as well but if it's not your main and you want dual bomber, missiles is a good choice to go first =)
    By the time you're done with the missiles and projectiles training, a projectile buff might have happened(one can dream...)

  2. I would say get up to medium projectile weapons T2, and leave large projectiles at level IV. Large projectiles aren't terrifically useful, especially in PVP - however, missiles become amazingly useful as soon as you start looking at the matari ships that aren't using medium or small autocannons.

    So, I would say concurrently train for medium t2 projectiles and missiles, with an emphasis on heavy missiles and torpedoes.

  3. If you're going Minmatar you'll need to train both anyway. Their vaunted (by CCP, anyway) "versatility" with the split weapon systems means ya gotta train both.

    Artie's got issues, for sure, but AC's are still pretty decent, in pve and pvp both. Missiles are awesome for pve, but until you get all the "proper" support skills up, they have a hard time putting the hurt on.

    Although, with the "Crash" booster apparently being upgraded a little in today's patch, that will help missiles a lot also. (Crash reduces your explosion radius on your missiles, and it's being given a bigger reduction amount today.)

    For myself, I'd lean toward doing them both, but focusing more on the guns in the beginning.

  4. Anonymous1:31 pm

    PVE or PVP? Nothing feels quite like a Stabber with T2 ACs in PVP, but if you're going PVE, why train Minmatar ships at all? Caldari or Gallente are pretty much the way to go.

  5. Train up your hull tanking skills.


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