[dorinn]

here´s a write up from someone that has done way to many level 4 missions on a raven hope it does not get messed up.

Level 4 mission running Guide aimed at Ravens
Written by Dorinn
Most likely riddled with spelling errors but it´s a decent guide anyways.

The ship of choice for low sp mission runners is the Raven for the simple reson that´s it is the least sp intensive and requires the least amount of attention to such things as tracking and range as well as being able to do all damage types
Basic rules of level 4 missions
Use the right damage type for the rat type in question.

Harden for the Rats in question, when you start do not omni tank it´s a lot more expensive and isn't any better.

Missions : 4 can be used to check the damage and what should be tanked in the mission but beware a lot of the info is out of date,

Know the dynamics of the missions if there are any, looking missions up on eve-o forums before you do them the first time is a excellent idea but do note that the forum has a fair share of retards that need to be ignored

Start out slow, only agro one pack at a time and be ready to warp out, people that say level 4 missions are trivial usually have been doing them for a long time and know exactly what to expect and what they can handle, while you learn what you can handle don´t rush.

When you are using a T2 Xl booster to tank or any non gist booster(will be covered later), lag is you worst enemy, The booster can kill your cap quickly if it doesn't respond properly.
Starting out: The mods you should be able to use when you first start are :
Cruise missiles
T2 Power diagnostic systems
T2 XL shield booster (the best named is sufficient)
T1 hardeners(named)
T1 shield boost amplifiers

Skills that help:
Shield compensation (Rank 2) pref lvl 4 not worth taking any higher
Weapon upgrades (Rank 2) : pref lvl 5 required for Advanced Weapon upgrades which you will eventually need.
Energy system operation (rank 1)
Energy system management (rank 3)
The assorted missile support skills

The starting setup:
When you begin running level 4 missions, your tank should be your first priority. My advice is to start with in line with this. extremely important that you rather go for a overkill tank at first as loosing a Battleship early in missions and being forced to do level 3 missions sucks hard

High slots:6x cruise launchers as good as you can afford, 2x nossies ( they do help and the cap they give you can save you, as well as reducing the chance that npc´s repair.)

Mid slots: T2 Xl Shield booster or best named 1x shield boost amplifier 4x Hardeners
This tank is extremely overkill but its better to be on the safe side when you start doing these missions and once you gain experience should be adjusted to what ever you prefer

Low slots: 5 x T2 PDS / 3x T2 PDS 2x BCS / 2x T2 PDS 3x BCS
Rigs; you can do with out them but 3x CCC rigs are a huge sustainability upgrade with no downside. How ever there are other options depending on play style
Drones; I always use 5x hammerheads T1 they´re enough dps to kill off all frigs that have to die, but I do advice not to use them versus angels as they are highly resistant to thermal.

Picking the right agent: When you start running level 4 missions picking a agent in the correct system is very important, the difference between agents in high sec can be over 2k lp for the hardest missions.
What you need to look for is two things, the highest quality of agent with the lowest security status you find, the difference between each stage of security is 10% so doing missions for a higher quality agent in 0.9 will be slower then a lower quality agent in 0.5.
When you select a agent you need to be sure on how far you will go, if you are willing to enter low sec or even 0.0. If your only planing to do missions in high sec make sure that there is no low sec system in close proximity to your agent or you will eventually get a mission there that you ether have to turn down or risk doing.

Note: Low sec is usually more dangerous then 0.0, that´s the reson why it´s empty, in 0,0 usually you will know who your enemies are and who are your friends when in low sec the amount of pirates and wannabie pvpers mean that you might not know everyone that moves through the area..

Missions to Avoid / Missions with nasty bugs / issues
Caldari navy missions not worth the time to do are:

Silence the informant - difficult takes, takes to long, no bounties to speak of

Enemies Abound the mission series – not worth it for several reasons, number 1 is that these are extremely difficult missions and the pay out is shit, they have drone agro issues and alot of frigs that no longer orbit inside smart bomb range. + they lower your standings with the Minmatar and the Gallente.

Worlds Collide – Drone agro issues but has a nice mix of Battleships and battle cruisers with low amounts of frigs and cruisers, also overseers that can spawn on eather the guristas or serpentis side can drop faction loot.

Angel Extravaganza- Drone agro issues on the first Stage , does have a nice amount of battleships, bonus level extremely difficult and not worth the trouble while the Battle station can drop faction loot, angels only have a few mods that are high priced and you would need to get one of those to make it worth while. It´s the ugly brother of Gurista extravaganza.

Right hand of Zazzamatza – low profit, a relic of the pre torp nerf times with hard to kill cruisers that do shit loads of damage, how ever if you are feeling lucky Zor rarely drops a implant worth a decent amount but it´s rare.

New missions with Spawning waves - these can be nasty but I have only done them in a pimped out navy raven so i am not fit to give advice the difficulty, the wave spawning Rat usually stands out in it´s pack, f.x being the highest bounty Battleship or being the odd one out in a 4 battleship pack.
Also one hint if it´s a gurista mission. Kill the HAC´s first, Dire pith xxxxx, they jamm at a alarming rate and can easily keep you jammed for 1min + of you are unlucky and there are 4 of them.
Vengeance – last npc has a bad ass tank as well as 4 turrets dealing Emp dmg in last stage that are out of range, requires a afterburner to catch up with the last npc to reduce the power of defender missiles / nossage to weaken his tank

Gurista extravaganza: This mission is the money maker, buy the diamond tag for access to the bonus level, that level alone has netted me 600million + in loot sold, you only need to get lucky once and score a Invulnerability field and the extra effort has paid off.
The bonus stage consists of 6 Battleships 5 battle cruisers some destroyers and 2 sentries and the overseers house (the name escapes me at this moment), Start by killing the two Sentries, they do emp and you wont be tanked for that damage only kin / thermal.

Once they are dead 3-4 volleys each you have two choices, you can go for the battle cruisers and battleships or straight for the building, if you are unsure if your tank will hold i´d start with the Building and get the loot saving valuable time if your tank doesn't hold or you can´t be arsed to kill the rats. Note that this mission will take a while when your using cruise missiles but it´s worth 30mill in bounties alone so it´s very much worth it.

Hints
Know if the system you plan on mission running in is lagged, if so consider doing the mission at a later time if possible.
Warning: Saila, Aramachi, Motsu and Laah tend to be lagged so starting some where else might be a good idea even if the best agent is in aramachi.

While using a cruise missiles, defender missiles do affect your dps, this is quite massive vs Guristas and sansha so try to get as close to the rats as possible while shooting at them,

Alot of frigates web, but only elite frigates warp scramble (doesn't apply to mission specific rats, (mercs, drones)). The elite name tag for each faction is Angels- Arch angel, Guristas – dire, pithi Sansha – Loyal , Serpentis – guardian Blood raiders – Elder

If a mission has a only battleships and only a few of them at that, weaken your tank and swapping to torps is a excellent idea and will speed up things, but do note that in missions with a large amount of cruisers torps will be out performed by Cruise missiles.

To speed up salvaging and looting missions, bookmark each pocket while moving through and turn in the mission then return to these bookmarks on something small and agile with lots of high slots and space to loot and salvage (Destroyers and the exequror are ideal for this), using tractor beams and a micro warp drive helps to speed up things

Salvaging is very much worth it when you are starting up, how ever the factions are not equal Angels, Blood raiders and Sansha are the most profitable to salvage (Cap rig components and Speed rig components).

Loyalty points
The extra currency you get from missions, from which you get offers that have requirements in exchange for items or isk, my estamate is that atleast 60% of offers are simply not worth it, Connection books ,+3 implants , pirate implants (0.0 only) and faction ships are the best pay out,

Optimal Skills / Equipment
T2 hardeners
T2 Ballistic control system
Missile support skills at lvl 3-4
Good drone skills, Drone interfacing and combat drone operation at lvl 4
Appropriate Connection skills at lvl 5 and negotiation at lvl 4-5

The Gist booster: Is the single biggest upgrade you can get, the extreme cap efficiency makes them much less vulnerable to lag and I personally would rather get a gist booster then a navy raven or any other module. Even if in raw hp/s they aren't as good the cap efficiency makes up for it.

Crystal implants: A set of low grade crystals with out a omega implant is approx 18% boost bonus which with a gist booster makes a shield boost amplifier overkill for all missions except Angel extravaganza bonus stage if you are only agro one group at a time.


Why Cruise missiles over torps: fitting and speed, when you start doing missions fitting siege launchers along with a t2 tank is extremely difficult and will most likely require fitting mods.
This trade off is not worth it due to the fact that torps do worse dps to cruiser size rats than Cruise missiles and unless you can get away with using target painters.