After I moved to Curse I followed the lead of my CEO and started ratting in a shield Tornado fitted with 800mm Repeating Cannon II's using Fusion L. It worked well and handled everything that the rats in Curse could throw at it.
I can remember only two occasions I had to warp out due to getting precariously low into shield, both times were because I was webbed and my speed was insufficent to deflect any of the incoming dps. T5, as it was named, was a solid ratting ship for my local rats and I'd still be using it today if I hadn't seen an alliance mate using a Gila and witnessed the utter devastation the two medium drones that ship can field did.
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| Sleek and sexy, the reborn Gila. |
Ship Fit
The Gila is a great Caldari/Gallente crossed cruiser with a specific role bonus to medium combat drones (500% bonus to damage and hitpoints) so whilst you'll have some form of missile weapon these will be your secondary attack method with medium drones being primary.
[Angel Gila]
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher, Caldari Navy Scourge Heavy Assault Missile
Salvager II [OFFLINE]
10mn Afterburner II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Federation Navy Omnidirectional Tracking Link
Pithum C-Type EM Ward Amplifier
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Medium Core Defense Field Extender II
Medium Anti-Kinetic Screen Reinforcer II
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer II
6 x Valkyrie II
2 x Hammerhead II
2 x Infiltrator II
When I bought this it would have cost me a little over 500m ISK for the ship and all the modules/rigs in Jita but as I horde most of the modules I had already and I only had to buy the rigs and Deadspace/Faction modules and a new supply of missiles.
Defensive
Damage is reasonable and the tank is designed to be around the same level with resists (rounded up) of 74/69/77/72 and total EHP of 54,300. This is good and subsequent flight tests have shown this to be more than enough to deal with the Angel rats of Curse and the one rat who nearly killed my ship is not something you see everyday and would face with assistance anyway.
Offensive
The HAM's provide only 215 dps out to a range of 20.2km with Caldari Navy Scourge, this goes up to 253 dps at 16.8km if I use T2 Scourge Rage but the majority of my damage comes from the two medium drones I can deploy.
I use Valkyries as these are perfect to hit the resistance hole (explosive) that Angel rats have and the two (thanks to the Gila Role Bonus) put out a magnificent 549 dps. Other drones do more or less the same damage but not being explosive these aren't as good against the rats.
Upgrades?
Improvements could always be made, I could use more Faction or Deadspace modules but I don't see the point. I have a half billion ISK ship that does a single job and does it very well, incoming dps is killed off quickly and the HAM's mean any frigates that do get close can be removed without shifting the fire of the drones from the larger targets.
Any improvements from 'bling' would be negligible and just add to the risk should the ship be lost.
Usage
Using this ship is simple, warp to belt/anom and deploy drones. Lock up largest targets and then let the drones loose on them. Any frigates or cruisers that come within missile range but haven't been engaged by the drones are attacked with HAMs.
Rise, repeat until all targets are dead, move to next belt.
Most of the time I move off the warp in point under normal speed but should I get a convoy or larger than normal battleship group (4+) I will orbit an asteroid or ship at range with my afterburner active. This helps lower the incoming dps so I can avoid having to warp out.
Conclusion
The Gila is a beast of a ratting ship, a little expensive but worth the extra ISK for the hull. The drones really eat Angel ships and each belt can be cleared in a a minute or two. A couple of anoms I've tried were much simpler than using my old Tornado and I'll seriously consider doing anything up to 7/10 in the Gila without support (obviously managing the spawns).
T5 has been retired but will not be ignored. I've already moved 1400mm Howitzers to replace the 800mm's so I can use it as a long range PvP ship.
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