Combat Piloting?

[Maelstrom]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I've never been good at combat piloting, and so I'm practising. Right now I'm practising with a Gitano, to learn better ship handling and weapons use. The thing is, I need a reference as to where a mediocre to decent pilot should be with the ship and setup I use. What mission price range and npc level I should be able to handle at the least and the most.

I fly a Gitano with
2 Barrager III
2 Moonstalker
1 Debilitater Turret
Ripper Mines

I use max shield (6) and a MK II armor upgrade.

I just took on a neverending horde of Bounty Hunters in Bering, to give you all an Idea of my limit right now. I killed a few, but mostly tried avoiding fire and setting up missile launches without jousting. The fight lasted about ten minutes, a bit more, and then I was out of shield and nanobots, mines, and missiles and had to cruise out. They were level 11 and 12 Bounty Hunter Veterans in Barracudas. I could avoid the fire of four while still dealing damage easily enough. When the count got to six I was doing very little damage, but still holding my own well enough. Whenever the count reached more than six all I could really do is dodge and drop mines.

I really need to know what the norms are here for combat, and what level of skill is required to be a moderate to decent pvp pilot. I'd appreciate any help, advice, or comments, thanks.

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