Rattlesnake
OK – I’m running around with the following fit. There are also two sets of stats, one live and one EFT warrior just to give the overall potential for this beastie. And believe you me, it is very much a beast…
5x Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II
1x Utility High slot (drone link aug)
1x Gist-X MWD
2x Pith C-Type Invulnerability Fields
3x Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
1x Mission specific hardener (or Pith C-Type EM Ward Amplifier for omni)
1x Damage Control
2x Sentient Drone Damage Amplifiers
3x CN Ballistic Controls
3x Large Core Defense Shield Extender IIs
2x Augmented Wasps, 5x light drones to taste, 2x Warden IIs
Resists in game 82 EM, 79 Therm, 84 Kin, 87 Explosive. 256k EHP. 45k shields with a passive recharge of 60 per second. DPS is 732 from the wasps and 805 from the RHML using cal navy scourge. 1537 DPS while not reloading.
As far as this fit goes, I am not using any specific implants that affect either shields or missile skills. If you want to use genolutions for example and the 5% skill implants you can easily push 1640 using cal navy ammo and almost 1800 using rage.
If you fit specifically for kinetic using a Pith-C hardener under these circumstances 520k EHP vs kin with a defense of 628 is possible.
While not gank proof, the cost for doing so is pretty prohibitive and you’ll notice that (apart from the MWD) most of the kit is high end, but not bleeding edge to dissuade attackers.
Use: well, warp in and start killing. The rattler has good damage application out to 62km with missiles and with an explosion velocity of 127 and an explosion radius of 100, it eats most frigates and cruisers for breakfast. Your missiles are your primary means of getting rid of them. BCs also melt fairly quickly. Battle ships really require the drones on them as well to take out fast.
The cycle time on the launchers is very quick (they’re not kidding when they say rapid), so don’t be surprised if you chew through the ammo or launch unnecessary volleys, but it isn’t overly expensive LP/Isk wise to convert to faction.
With a low alpha though it’s more like using a high pressure hose than whacking something with a baseball bat. The wardens are there to take out targets close to the edge of your targeting range, and where travel time for the wasps is excessive.
The MWD is really there to ensure quick travel time between gates and to get you close to target quickly. It’s so slow and ponderous that it takes a couple of cycles to get up to speed, but it’s OK for use at over 900m/s.
Now, I can hear people muttering about the cycle time for the launchers. Yep. 35 seconds. But as far as mission running goes, this isn’t much of an issue, especially when one reloads when traveling to gate or getting into range of different NPC groups. Manage it well, and it’s not a problem.
Your tank is sufficient that this fit is extraordinarily forgiving, and with the launchers being so good at taking out frigates, being webbed/scrammed is not a concern. The only issue I can really see with it is the fact that the hull has a bonus for kin and therm damage only. Not a major.
Right now, the price point makes this hull a bargain imho, and with the heavy missile skill being a great intermediary for low to mid skill level players, it is an easy step up from cruiser/BC hulls. Even T2 fit, this ship is extremely good for mission running.
Good range, great application, and with a really good tank to enable you to get out of dodge if you really muck it up, there is a lot to like. Butt ugly it may be, effective it undeniably is.
One addendum to all this, I have nearly max skills with only heavy missile skill spec V to complete (about 3 days away). Due to it requiring good skills in two racial battleship hulls and two weapon systems, I’d consider it fairly skill intensive to get the best performance out of it.
Enjoy.
H
Aggressive Logistics 
P.S A great way to move up from cruiser/BC is to get the heavy missile skill up, and to work on Caldari Battleship and use a Raven/RHML fit for a while. Also surprisingly effective if less tanky.
Short steps and everything you need to use there converts over. Similar use, though less drone DPS. Will also allow you to earn isk while getting the Gallente ship line up as well as honing overall skills.
That is a lot of dollar waiting to happen….. but it’s fun to see
Here’s the paste from pyfa for the record (and for EVE)
[Rattlesnake, Rattlesnake fit]
Damage Control II
Sentient Drone Damage Amplifier
Sentient Drone Damage Amplifier
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Caldari Navy Ballistic Control System
Gist X-Type 500MN Microwarpdrive
Pithum C-Type Adaptive Invulnerability Field
Pithum C-Type Adaptive Invulnerability Field
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Pithum C-Type EM Ward Amplifier
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Inferno Heavy Missile
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Inferno Heavy Missile
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Inferno Heavy Missile
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Inferno Heavy Missile
Rapid Heavy Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Inferno Heavy Missile
Drone Link Augmentor II
Large Core Defense Field Extender II
Large Core Defense Field Extender II
Large Core Defense Field Extender II
‘Augmented’ Wasp x2
Thanks Cheradenine. I purchased the hull, rigs, drones and drone amps, as well as the MWD and launchers. The rest I either built directly and converted to faction using LP, or found during exploration and escalations.
Having been flying ships almost exclusively armor based, this has been a really fun change. Likely post the CNR fit next.
Nice fit. I am so used to using shield relays that I never really thought of an MWD, but that gank/buffer fit has almost no cap usage with the MWD off.
While you get a lot more tank with purgers the extenders give more gank resistance and the tank and DPS is so strong it is not really rats you need to worry about.
The fit I was using had a bit less DPS and buffer, largely because it used 2-3 mids to improve drone damage application, usually adding 2 drone navcomps and a painter. But as you point out the heavies kill frigates quite well and with the MWD you can close effectively, so I can see the advantages of your fit.
I’d go stir crazy without a prop mod tbh. And yes, you can get a stupidly strong active tank with these. But apart from the gank resistance of it, this is really about ease of use, of which flexibility is a part.
It is just sometimes easier to move the entire ship to ensure effectiveness of your weapons than trying to work around their limitations imho.
Had a play with a variant of that fit. Very effective.
DPS is a little lower without the bling and tank is much lower without the bling, T2 rigs and swapping out a shield extender for a drone speed mod, but still goes very nicely.