Help me plan my future

[FOG|Adrenaline]

Ok, I've been playing ~4 weeks now and I'm starting to get a grasp on some concepts although I still have a ton to learn, especially considering I haven't done any PVP yet. Based on Cuda's thread, I have all the necessary skills to be a PVP Tackler, I will be purchasing and setting up my Rifter by the end of today.

What I'm trying to figure out is where to head from here. I've been doing lots and lots of Courier missions. They work well for me b/c I can run EVE at work, but I obviously can't spend too much time focusing on it, so getting a mission, hitting autopilot, then coming back 10 minutes later is a good setup for me. I'm currently running Level 2 missions but will be on Level 3 soon. I trained Caldari Industrial so that I could get a ship with a large cargo hold for the L3 Courier missions. Everything is fine and dandy until a Storyline mission comes up requiring me to kill. I lost my Destroyer yesterday even though I was being really careful and ready to jump away at a moments notice. I think I need something more powerful to be able to survive these missions. The obvious answer seems to be using a Cruiser, but I'm not sure exactly what to do. I was planning to go Minmatar for any higher level ships, but most of my skills are based around Caldari ships (Hybrid Turrets, shields, etc...)

Any advice on what direction to head? I think Minmatar uses Projectile Turrets, but do I need small or medium for Cruisers? Should I go towards something other that Cruisers? Should I go a completely different direction b/c it will help more in PVP?

My basic concept is to continue doing these Courier missions b/c I can make decent money at them and run them almost all day long from work, but to also continue my PVP career and progress in that area. It seems like I can help in PVP right now as a Tackler, so I was gonna focus on whats needed for Missions more right now.

I guess the short question that I'm asking is, what ships should I be heading towards and what weapons/support skills will I need to drive them effectively?

Posting my current skills below just in case it helps anyone. Any advice on what direction to head (and why) would be very helpful. I'm open to anything.

Thanks!

Skills
Electronics
Electronic Warfare - L1
Electronics - L4
Electronics Upgrades - L1
Propulsion Jamming - L1

Engineering
Energy Grid Upgrades - L2
Energy Systems Operation - L1
Engineering Rank - L2
Shield Compensation - L2
Shield Operation - L3
Shield Upgrades - L2

Gunnery
Gunnery - L5
Sharpshooter - L1
Small Hybrid Turret - L5
Small Projectile Turret - L1
Weapon Upgrades - L1

Learning
Analytical Mind - L4
Eidetic Memory - L3
Empathy - L4
Instant Recall - L4
Iron Will - L4
Learning - L4
Spatial Awareness - L4

Mechanic
Hull Upgrades - L1
Mechanic - L1
Repair Systems - L1

Missile Launcher Operation
Missile Bombardment - L2
Missile Launcher - L4
Rapid Launch - L3
Rockets - L4
Standard Missiles - L3

Navigation
Afterburner - L4
High Speed Manuevering - L1
Navigation - L4

Science
Cybernetics - L1
Science - L3

Social
Connections - L3
Negotiation - L2
Social - L3

Spaceship Command
Caldari Frigate - L3
Caldari Industrial - L1
Destroyers - L1
Minmatar Cruiser - L1
Minmatar Frigate - L4
Spaceship Command - L4

 

[Phalanx]

you have small hybrid 5? took me a week... and i barely use it.

most ships' descriptions will give you a hint on what weapons to use. ie. "5% bonus to large hybrid turret damage per level" could be found on a gallente battleship (small sized guns = frigate/destroyer sized ships, medium guns = cruiser/battlecruisers, large guns = battleships)

some of the fitting skills you should look for are electronics, engineering, weapons upgrades. they'll let you fit bigger/better/more modules on all of your ships.

gunnery skills to look for include rapid firing, sharpshooting, motion prediction. these skills will aid every and any gun you will ever fit so you won't need to worry about figuring out which race's guns you want to continue on first.

interceptors are among the most used PVP ships and can be found in every battle, because they are so good at tackling. They are also among the easiest t2 ships to get into. i would recommend that as an immediate short term plan

ok i have to finish my work now

 

[FOG|Adrenaline]

you have small hybrid 5? took me a week... and i barely use it.

Started Caldari and had that automatically. I haven't trained any L5 skills yet, the ones I have I started with.

Thanks for all the info, much appreciated!

 

[Brontez]

Need moar combat skills.

See here http://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404562

 

[NAT Mav]

One strategy that is helpful for skill training is to have one long skill to use when you're offline. Keep it going while you're logged off, and train shorter skills while you are online. It really helps break the monotony of training one skill for a week or more.

 

[FOG|Adrenaline]

Need moar combat skills.

See here http://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404562

I had read that before but it was a bit over my head at that time as I was still needing way too many really basic stuff. I went through several sections and picked up: Long Range Targetting, Signature Analysis, Targetting, Motion Prediction, Rapid Firing, Energy Management, and Medium Projectile

I'm gonna go through that post too and see what I might have missed.

Thanks!