Role: Artillery Gang
This doctrine saw wide use among such noteworthy PVP crews as Black Legion, Shadow Cartel and Snuffbox. It is used for nullsec and lowsec mid-size fleets with fast tackle and logistics support. It looks like this:[Loki, Arty Armor]
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Turret Concurrence Registry
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst
Tactically, this ship works similarly to a Zealot AHAC in the way how it relies on low signature and heavy armour for defense. The major combat asset of this fit is it's high alpha strike capability at a respectable range. (Up to ~2100 at an optimal of 21km) The Turret Concurrence Registry subsystem helps maximizing that. It also provides a tracking and falloff bonus which are both very useful for artillery cannons. When taking falloff into account, you can achieve engagement ranges of almost 50km. You can even switch to Tremor T2 ammunition and turn this into something of a sniper ship with 78km optimal range, albeit with a significant damage tradeoff. You will lose a good 1000 volley damage.
With high damage ammunition, the optimal range of your artillery cannons is similar to your web range. A very useful trait when considering the horrible tracking of artillery. At closer ranges you should definitely switch to a tracking script for that TC, so always keep one in your cargo hold. Apart from that tracking drawback and lower DPS, the artillery Loki is superiour to the Zealot AHAC fit. It has a staggering advantage in volley damage, it's hitpoints are far above the Zealot too and it's even slightly faster thanks to the Fuel Catalyst.
Just like the other fits, this one is prone to run into CPU problems, but again, you can optimize your fit by using implants or faction modules. If you do so, you open up the possibility to fit heavier artillery like this:
[Loki, Arty Armor Faction]
True Sansha Armor Kinetic Hardener
True Sansha Armor Thermic Hardener
True Sansha Armor Explosive Hardener
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Turret Concurrence Registry
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst
Now you can get a pretty sick alpha strike in excess of 3900 and an optimal range of 28 with 36 falloff added. Thanks to the better resists, you get virtually the same EHP as before even with downgrading the armor plate. Still, this fit needs a +2% powergrid implant to work. This fit also shows the alternative of completely leaving point and tackle to other fleet members and go for even better range or tracking. You keep the web, however, to slow down targets at close range.
The total package comes with a hefty pricetag, but when flown properly with good logi support and even command bonuses from links, a squadron or two of those Lokis will turn into a fighting force that can punch significantly above it's weight.
Special Forces
As the last part of this discussion I want to introduce two more specialized fits. Both are built around 100MN Afterburners instead of 10MN Microwarpdrives. That way you keep signature low during approach or escape and reach similar speeds thanks to the bonus of the Fuel Catalyst subsystem.
The 100MN AB has two major drawbacks when compared with the MWD: First, it's rate of acceleration is a lot slower, so you will need two or more cycles to reach full speed. Second, once you achieve top speed, stopping or even maneuvering is extremely hard. You will have the inertia (and align time) of a freight train while the propulsion is active. Then again, when fighting inside scram range, that 100MN AB can make the difference between being unable to leave before the enemy tacklers are down and being able to pull range because scramblers do not shut down your propulsion module.
The first 100MN AB setup is a variation of the previously discussed heavy tackler:
[Loki, 100mn Armor Webloki]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 100MN Afterburner I
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Projectile Scoping Array
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst
As with all other setups you can optimize here by using faction modules. By now I am sure you can fill in the blanks. As for the rest, this works just like the standard heavy tackler with the considerations for 100MN AB added.
Finally, there is the possibility to use a similar setup as tackler and hunter-killer for black ops gangs by using the Covert Reconfiguration subsystem:
[Loki, BLOPS Webloki]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Warp Disruptor II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 100MN Afterburner I
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Covert Cynosural Field Generator I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst
Because it lacks damage bonuses and a full rack of guns, this ship really is mainly a tackler. Yet again, some potential for optimization by means of faction modules exists here. One should go for better resists then. Because in it's role as hunter-killer this ship needs to move ahead of the Black-Ops gang and act as tempting bait for would-be attackers, so you need to be able to soak some damage while you light your cyno.
Wrapping up
So, this concludes my two part excursion into the realm of expensive "Elite PVP" fittings. If you are a new player, this can offer you an ambitious perspective for training. If you are more experienced, you might already be familiar with T3 gangs, but I hope I could still offer some insight. If you think of joining any of the small to medium gang PVP crews in the game, being able to fly something like this ship will make you a useful asset.
Of course, this was not an exhaustive discussion of Loki configurations. There are several more which are quite viable and widely flown, but this is one specific aspect I have personal experience with and which has been battle-tested. It remains a strong addition to T3 armor gangs or - in the case of the artillery fit - the main combat platform for roaming gangs.
That is until CCP Fozzie and Rise mess around with the T3 subsystems probably later this year. At that point I'll probably have to rewrite this whole thing.
Happy hunting!
Nicely written :-) It helped me a lot an returning player :-)
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