Nubs R Us (outfitting a Caracal)

[TseTse]

OK, so i'm in my first 24 hours with a Caracal... not a ton of skill points (im a newb, be nice). Currently working on Engineering IV to get Hardeners. That's a 2d wait.

CURRENT FITTING

3x Malkuth Assault Missiles
2x Malkuth Heavy Missiles
1x 10mn AB
1x Medium Booster
1x Shield Boost Amplifier I
1x Small Sub Screen Stab i (extender)
1x Small Supp Barrier Emit i (extender)
2x Reaction Control Unit I

My next immediate move is to get stronger extenders. I'm 10 short on the CPU to have 2 Large Extenders, but i can have 1 Large + 1 Medium for a total of + 2100 HP and +32 signature radius (the exception would be to piss cash into 2x Large F29 for +3600/50). My main concern here is the sig radius, cuz my newbie understanding is that this increases dmg taken.

The 2 existing extenders combine for +4 signature so that's a +28 on the signature radius which brings it to 145.

Shield HP goes from 3517.5 from 1417.5.

Next Fitting: Option 1

3x Malkuth Assault Missiles
2x Malkuth Heavy Missiles
1x 10mn AB
1x Medium Booster
1x Shield Boost Amplifier I
2x Medium Shield Extender I
2x Reaction Control Unit I

So, is this the right move to make?

For those who want to say "go pure Heavies"... keep in mind that's +50 grid and +12 CPU per replacement (arbalest would be +9). My CPU is maxed with this fitting.

Similarly, those saying "go pure assault," i'd just note that im newb Caracal with low skill levels so if i can get that long range edge then i will. However, i also realize that L2 might be better getting in close (against frigates), so tips and guidance would be great.

Next Fitting: Option II

5x Malkuth Assault Missiles
1x 10mn AB
1x Medium Shield Booster
3x Large Shield Extender I
2x Reaction Control Unit I

6000+ HP

That's a ton of shielding but pure assault... and tossing out the amp for just Booster plus all that extended shielding.

 

[S0C7]

Don't mix weapon types (ie, heavy and standard missles). Stick with one or the other depending on what purpose you want to serve. Heavy missles against frigates are a waste.

 

[Gil]

Go with some assaults if you have to, but I'd drop one or both of those extenders, find an EM hardner and maybe a thermal hardner, and get a target painter.

Then you should be able to drop an RCU for a BCU

 

[Madend]

Your signiture radius isn't too big of a deal for ratting.. you'll take full damage from heavy missiles and their medium turrets won't get any tracking penalties once your radius is 125 or more, and since the caracel has a base signiture radius of 145 that can't be avoided.

By the same token using a target painter will make enemy frigates take more damage from heavy missiles if you go that route.

Personally I'm a big fan of capacitor rechargers+capacitor flux coil for a lot of recharge rate so you can ride the shield boosters longer (or indefinitely), but i don't have direct experience with a caracel so

 

[TseTse]

Next Fitting: Option II

5x Malkuth Assault Missiles
1x 10mn AB
1x Medium Shield Booster
3x Large Shield Extender I
2x Reaction Control Unit I

6000+ HP

I've been using this today and it's been easy-mode.

I could see aiming for stronger recharge or perhaps going back to an amp, but this is working wonders for me so far in L2. We'll see if it continues to hold up.

 

[Ender]

Yeah whats with the assault missiles? Drop that shit.

Drop the AB too, you don't need to worry about range.

And get a clear objective of what you want.

There are only two types of setups, passive and active.. you gotta choose one.


I forgot my carcal setup, but it did some 0.0 spawns. I did a passive shield setup with hardners.

 

[TseTse]

Yeah whats with the assault missiles? Drop that shit.

Drop the AB too, you don't need to worry about range.

And get a clear objective of what you want.

There are only two types of setups, passive and active.. you gotta choose one.


I forgot my carcal setup, but it did some 0.0 spawns. I did a passive shield setup with hardners.

Guys...

This is for L2 missions, mostly against frigates. Assaults missiles actually are BETTER for this, from what i can tell. Likewise, they use a lot less resources which is ideal for a newbie just starting. Heck, i trained up Tactical Shield Manipulation just to be able to have 5 assaults with my setup. Energy is touchy when starting.

The AB is essential for keeping a little distance and is nice for picking up loot (time efficiency).

I will probably change to a more passive setup once i get hardeners trained, but for now... this setup is absolutely raping L2 so far.

 

[Gil]

Against frigates, drones, or other small fast things, you want 5 assault launchers

Against everything else, you want 5 heavy launchers.

Always a target painter

Either a med shield booster or a shield recharger

you NEED TO GET shield hardners,

then use what you need to in the lows...if they're empty fit a BCU or shield recharger.

 

[TseTse]

Currently working on Engineering IV to get Hardeners. That's a 2d wait.

EDIT: actually, i trained cybernetics and tossed in a bunch of implants and it cut the training time down by a lot.

 

[Gil]

you NEED TO GET shield hardners

They reduce the damage taken by a certain damage type. T1 active hardners will increase shield resistance to a given damage type by 50%. You fly caldari, so your resistances are

0% to EM damage
20% to thermal damage
40% to explosive damage
60% to kinetic damage

If they're hitting you with explosive damage, your 1000 shield on that caracal will last almost twice as long as if they hit you with EM. The higher the resistance, the longer your shield will survive their hits.

So...what sort of rats are you killing usually?

 

[TseTse]

They reduce the damage taken by a certain damage type. T1 active hardners will increase shield resistance to a given damage type by 50%. You fly caldari, so your resistances are

0% to EM damage
20% to thermal damage
40% to explosive damage
60% to kinetic damage

If they're hitting you with explosive damage, your 1000 shield on that caracal will last almost twice as long as if they hit you with EM. The higher the resistance, the longer your shield will survive their hits.

So...what sort of rats are you killing usually?

All the L2s so far.

Even without hardeners yet, nothing has really brought my shields below 50% so far. Usually, im at like 80% or higher.

I'll have hardenered by tomorrow, so i can pull 1 extender and place an appropriate hardener based on mission IF i need it. I'm in easy mode right now, and almost wish i went for a stronger propulsion system than these hardeners (to speed up looting ffs).

 

[Gil]

I use 1 EM hardner, 1 invulnerability field (25% hardening to all types), and 1 large extender. I have 3000 shield, and it NEVER goes below 50%, even in a 4/10 complex. I'm sure that if I did any L2 missions they wouldn't even touch my shields.

Most of the reason I use an AB is to collect the cans faster.

 

[Madend]

If you're gonna always run an EM hardener why not train EM Shield Compensation to level 4 and use a passive EM module? Gives you 52.5 em resist at no capacitor cost

 

[Gil]

If you're gonna always run an EM hardener why not train EM Shield Compensation to level 4 and use a passive EM module? Gives you 52.5 em resist at no capacitor cost

because everyone I've spoken to has told me that you can't get that much resistance.

I had the same idea, but my corp mates said you need a faction passive hardner for that to work.

 

[TseTse]

OK, some im now standing 3.10 basically (i.e. Level 3)... just having done L2 missions in my caracal.

With the "interim" setup i used up above, this has been entirely piss-easy mode. Seriously, i feel like i've wasted a good chunk of time even training Hardeners at this point.

I lost 1 caracal when i went AFK. Otherwise, my shields have never gone below like 60% and usually never go below like 80% on any L2 mission ive seen (so far).

If i knew what i know now... id have just started on Tractor beam (Science IV) when i got this setup, instead of worrying about Engi IV and hardeners. Surely the Engi IV will be useful down the road, but for the time being... for somebody just trying to push through L2... it's absolutely unnecessary from what i can tell.

I'm still on the Trial, so i cannot get a Ferox. I have no real need for any upgrades on this caracal... outside those which will make me loot faster and complete missions faster.