TRS - Fitting Discussion: Incursus Rail Scramkiter

The common fitting meta for Gallente ships tends to focus on blaster fit brawlers. One of the exceptions to that rule is exemplified by this fit:

[Incursus, RailScramkiter]
Damage Control II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
1MN Afterburner II

125mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
125mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Transverse Bulkhead I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

Hobgoblin II x1

Fitting the ship like that is actually pretty easy and can be achieved even with average fitting skills. The main bottleneck is CPU and if you should run out of it, you could use a low-cost CPU implant or downgrade one of the midslot modules to something with lower CPU requirements. I would however not recommend doing that because the range of your tackling modules and the speed increase of the afterburner are instrumental for that ship to function in its intended way.

Another fitting particularity which has to do with the purpose of the ship is the Transverse Bulkhead rig. Like with many Gallente ships, hull hitpoints are the highest buffer you have and this rig increases it further. Fitting the ship with an armour plate and/or resist rig would result in somewhat higher effective hitpoints, but it would decrease the ship's speed which would again be self-defeating.

I have hinted at the intended purpose of the ship a few times now, so let me explain how it works. The most important thing to do at the beginning of a fight is to apply the web and scram. Those two modules should initially be overheated for maximum range. Once you are close enough, do not forget to turn the heat off again because you depend highly on the availability of both. The range you want to stay at is between 7000 and 8000 km. Further away, you risk getting out of scram range, and moving closer means that an opponent can potentially get under the tracking of your guns. You would also run the additional risk of being within range of small energy neutralizers which would put you under a lot of pressure.

At that range you are only slightly above the optimal of your guns, so you will be very good at applying damage. Only artillery cannons, missiles or pulse lasers with Scorch crystals would be able to compete with your damage projection but all three weapon systems would lose out in the DPS race. With 140 DPS at maximum skills, you would even outperform a Retribution or Wolf Assault Frigate. Short range weapons like autocannons or blasters will not even be able to hit you in most cases if you manage to control range effectively. Since you are fit for relatively high speed, you should be able to outmaneuver an opponent even if you are webbed yourself. If your opponent has no web, you are at a definitive advantage.

The main thing that needs a lot of attention is the Ancillary Armor Repairer. It is important to anticipate when you want to run it, and only do so for one cycle, two at most. You need to save capacitor and make sure you do not burn through your charges too quickly. If necessary, overheat the module to gain extra repairs and to accelerate the cycle time. Always remember that armor repairs become effective at the end of their cycle and act accordingly. Your structure buffer should provide you with some margin for error there.

If you need to get out of a fight, move away from the enemy, keep web and scram active and overheat them, overheat your afterburner as well and the armor repairer if necessary. Pay attention to your capacitor though, make sure you always retain enough to run the afterburner and the tackling modules. Eventually you should be able to escape from the point range of your opponent except if they are in a fast afterburner ship themselves.

Alltogether, this ship is cheap, easy to fit and easy to fly.You should avoid confrontations with more than one ship because your DPS tend to be insufficient to deal with several opponents quickly enough, but In frigate duels or in a small gang this is a very effective fighting ship for beginners and experts in frigate PVP.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Shield Coercer

I like fits that are out-of-the-box designs, and while there are quite a few people who would shield-tank some Gallente ships, it is very uncommon to do the same with Amarr ships.

During research for a community feature piece, I went on a public roam with Redemption Road. There I saw an exception to the armor tanking rule for Amarr. Considering that we flew around in nullsec and fought people with considerably heavier ships, this destroyer fit performed surprisingly well in a fleet of just under 20 people:

[Coercer, Shield Tank]
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Fourier Transform Tracking Program

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

Let's look at the good things first.

This ship can reach a very nice 290 DPS and close to 600 volley damage. The Scorch crystals give the ship an optimal range of up to 18km at maximum skills. That range can be surpassed by long-range destroyers like artillery Thrashers or railgun Cormorants, but those ships will have significant disadvantages in tracking. A Thrasher with 280mm artillery will have less optimal as well. That makes the Coercer much better at actually applying its full damage.It comes close to the DPS of a blaster Catalyst but with much longer range.

If you switch to short-range Conflagration crystals, you can even outperform a Catalyst using Neutron Blasters loaded with Null ammunition. Except if it's a full-out gank fit.

Even at level 2 of the Destroyer skill, the tracking bonus of the ship together with the meta level Tracking Enhancer already compensates for the drawback from Scorch. Everything else is an extra bonus. With maximum skills the Pulse Lasers will not reach the tracking of a blaster Catalyst, but it will be better than any other alternative.

It has somewhat decent buffer and resists, and its signature is still very low for a shield-tanked ship. It can also perma-run the Afterburner and maintain a comfortable speed. Together that gives the ship average defensive abilities. There are more flimsy destroyer fits than this one.

Now, let's look at the negative things.

The most glaring problem is, that this ship does not have a point. If you want targets held down, you need to bring tacklers. An opposing FC who pays attention can just wipe the frigates off the field and escape without problems.

The second problematic thing is fitting. The available amount of CPU forces you to use a meta level Tracking Enhancer and Shield Extender. T2 lasers are practically a must, otherwise you wont be able to get the range and DPS out of the ship that makes it work well. Alltogether you will need pretty good fitting and weapon skills for that, so it's not suitable for the really new players.

Last but not least, this ship is not exactly fast. Positioning on the grid is best done by getting warp-ins from the tacklers which you need to have with you anyway.

For comparison, let's have a look at a more standard armor fit Coercer.

[Coercer, Wolfpack Coercer]
Damage Control II
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Tracking Enhancer II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor II

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I
Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

As expected, this ship has a much better tank. About 8500 EHP compared to the 6000 of the shield fit. It is also a lot faster of course, but that speed can only be maintained for short bursts. It has slightly better range and tracking, and it has it's own point.

The one thing where the shield fit excels is damage. With 120 less in DPS and 270 less volley damage, the armor version is not really impressive.

In Conclusion

Would I fly such a shield Coercer in my day-to-day fleets? Most likely not. It is, however a workable and creative fit that doesn't do too bad considering that it goes against common fitting philosophy. As a mid-range DPS platform it performs exceptionally well, and even more so as a short range damage dealer. With its good tracking and damage projection, it is an excellent fit for gatecamps and ganks while still maintaining an average level of survivability.

It is also a cheap ship, so losing one for the sake of flying an experimental gimmick fit is not such a bad tradeoff.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Shield Logi Frigates

In my previous fitting discussion post, I said that I will feature shield logi frigates, and so here we are.

To begin with I have to admit that this is pure theorycrafting. I prefer to write about ships I have some experience with but I have never actually flown a shield logi frigate. I have flown shield logi (Scimitar mostly), but that was in a time before there were frigates available for that role.

I have, however, applied much of the same fitting logic I would apply to the armor versions. That is: Keep your signature low, keep your speed up, maximize buffer and keep your capacitor stable.

When it comes to shield fits, there are two challenges with those goals: Shield ships tend to have pretty high signatures and they tend to have lower hitpoint buffers when compared to armor. Those negative aspects are balanced out by two pretty nice advantages: Shield ships are generally faster and shield transfers become effective at the beginning of the cycle. The latter factor makes it easier to apply your repair cycles correctly.

When it comes to fitting a ship that I am not experienced with, I usually have a look at the EVE University Wiki to check whether they have some example fits there. Unfortunately their suggested shield logi frigate fits are not what I would call optimal. They have a higher signature and lower EHP than the fits I came up with. A rather bad combination, because the higher signature makes it easier to hit you for full damage.

I would still recommend to take a look at their Microwarpdrive fits. They may have their uses despite me being prejudiced against using an MWD for such a ship because of the signature bloom. If your fleet tactics involve crossing some distance and moving fast on the grid, MWD fits might be necessary.
The ship that clearly has the speed advantage is the Minmatar Burst:

[Burst, AB Logi]
Damage Control II
Capacitor Power Relay II
Capacitor Power Relay II

Medium Shield Extender II
1MN Afterburner II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II

Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

With the Burst setup above you will have a lower buffer than any of the armor logi frigates, but you will be significantly faster. The ship is also easier to fit than any armor counterpart because of the lower powergrid needs of shield tank and shield transporters. With good skills you can fit a T2 Afterburner for some extra speed advantage.

Other than armor, there is no rig for shield that reduces the amount of capacitor you need for remote repair. That means you need to use Capacitor Control Circuits to achieve cap stability. Still, with the Burst you can get just as comfortably stable as with the armor repair frigates.

Another thing that sets the shield frigates apart from the armor versions is their better scan resolution. The Burst stands out the most in that respect. It gets noticeably faster locks, and it is important to lock fast if you are a logistics pilot.

So how does the Caldari version - the Bantam - compare to this?

[Bantam, AB Logi]
Damage Control II
Capacitor Power Relay II

1MN Afterburner II
Medium Shield Extender II
Cap Recharger II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II

Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster
Small S95a Remote Shield Booster

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

Almost all Caldari ships are natural shield tankers and this one is no exception. Its hitpoint buffer comes close to that of the Inquisitor and its EHP is superiour to the Navitas. Interestingly enough, its buffer is lower than that of the Navitas and it's EHP are worse than the Inquisitor's because of lower resists. Quite nicely balanced.

This ship is just as easy to fit as the Burst. You have slightly lower powergrid but better CPU, but even if you run out of powergrid, you can still downgrade your Shield Extender or Afterburner to a meta 4 version.

The Bantam has the highest signature of all the logi frigates and it is slower than the Burst. That puts it at a disadvantage for avoiding incoming damage. It still manages to outrun any armor logi frigate easily. Do not forget to keep moving within range to the friendlies you want to support. As I wrote in my last post: Always make sure you stay away from the thick of the fighting and always keep your radial speed as high as you can.

Shield fleets tend to be less popular these days, but there are still quite a number of frigate doctrines which use shield fits and take advantage of their high damage and speed. With the Bantam being a very well-rounded ship, and the Burst being the quickest and fastest locking of all logi frigates, those ships are definitely a good addition to any frigate based fleet doctrine.

Too bad that the Bantam was built by the State Bureau for Ridiculous Ship Design.

P.S. As with the other logi frigates, bring a scout drone to get on killmails.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Armor Logi Frigates

Logistic ships are an important backbone of more advanced fleet operations. In the past, there was exactly one T2 hull for each race available to fulfill that role.

Since Retribution we have T1 logistics cruisers and frigates available. That opens the way for pilots to grow into the role of "healers" without having to train up to a T2 ship at first.

For the new pilots who would like to train for that role, the logistics frigates are an ideal entry point. I will feature all four of them, but I will begin with the two armor logi frigates.

The Amarr Inquisitor is the one I have most practical experience with. A good standard fit for that ship looks like this:

[Inquisitor, Logi Standard]
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Cap Recharger II
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer

Small Remote Repair Augmentor I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I

The Inquisitor's drone bay has room for one small drone. Personally I would suggest using a Warrior II because it can be directed at targets quickly to get on killmails. Using a single repair drone or ECM drone is hardly effective.

This ship is quick to train for and easy to fit, but I would suggest training Amarr Frigate and Remote Armor Repair Systems to V as soon as possible. Both skills reduce the amount of capacitor needed by the RR modules. Being cap-stable is important for this ship, as I will explain.

To begin with, you want to be able to run your RR modules permanently if possible. You will also be in need of something to help you survive, because logi ships tend to get primaried often. Apart from a decent tank for a frigate, you will rely on a low signature and speed to avoid incoming damage. That makes the ability to permanently run your afterburner particularly important.

With your extended range for the RR modules, you can stay out of range from the main fight, and you should. Pay special attention to ships with stasis webifiers and energy neutralizers. Both can mean the end of your ship really quickly. Enemies with medium to long range are best dealt with by keeping your radial speed up to challenge the tracking of their guns.

Often fits for this ship will use an anti-explosive rig. Personally I consider the speed-tanking advantage of running your afterburner permanently a better asset in combat than the extra explosive resistance. So I prefer going for three Remote Repair Augmentors to stay comfortably cap-stable with everything running.

The Pseudoelectron Containment Field is chosen above the Internal Force Field array because of the price. If ISK is not an issue, and you are not worried to have a needlessly expensive frigate on your list of losses, by all means, go for the meta 4 version.

Of course you are not only there to avoid damage, but mainly to repair it.

The main challenge for the beginning logistics pilot will be to time their repairs properly. Because armor repair becomes effective only at the end of the cycle, you need to be proactive. Keep as many friendlies as possible on your watchlist and pre-locked. Start repairing once they take damage. Do not wait until they enter armor or your reps could be too late. Especially in frigate fleets one missed cycle can mean the the difference between exploding and surviving.

For those who do not have Amarr Frigate trained, the Navitas is an alternative.

This weird-looking fish-like ship has one less low slot but an extra mid. This means a less effective tank, but on the other hand you gain a bit more versatility. You can fit an ECCM in the extra mid to protect yourself against electronic warfare, or you could provide some EWAR support like in this example:

[Navitas, TD Logi]
400mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
Cap Recharger II
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script

Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer
Small 'Solace' Remote Armor Repairer

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I
Small Remote Repair Augmentor I

The main problem with the Navitas is it's powergrid. Even with maximum skills you will need a rig or an implant to fit propulsion, three reppers and a 400mm plate. Even with a Tungsten Plate you will have too little powergrid, so better use that rig and fit a T2 plate if you have enough CPU with your skills. Because you are forced to use a powergrid rig, you will have a much harder time to get this ship cap-stable. Only with maximum skills in Afterburner and Fuel Conservation in addition to others that's achievable.

Personally I find that the Navitas is a bit broken in that respect. With maximum skills this fit should be possible without a rig. It's only 0.75 that's missing!

In total you end up with more hitpoint buffer, but still a good 1000EHP less than the Inquisitor because of lower resists. The signature of the Navitas is slightly higher, but it is also faster than the Amarr ship. Together those factors balance each other out nicely.

Just like the Inquisitor, the Navitas has space for one drone. Again, I'd suggest a Warrior II.for the killmails.

This concludes the first part of logistics frigates discussion. The next time I will deal with the shield versions: The Burst and the Bantam.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Scram-Kite Kestrel

I had something bigger in development, but it's been a busy week of frigate combat and I have flown something I never sat in before: A Kestrel. Now, I have been active in EVE for more than five years, but I was never really a Caldari sort of guy. I guess everyone who starts as Caldari will get a Kestrel during the tutorials, but I never did. I did promise last time that I'd do something newbie friendly, and this was a new ship for me too, so here we are.

For my first Kestrel experience I got into a small gang of three with my alliance mates Zerkova Bluecrown and Julianus Soter. Credit for the fit goes to Zerkova Bluecrown.

[Kestrel, Small Gang Kestrel]
Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II

Medium Subordinate Screen Stabilizer I
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II,Mjolnir Rage Rocket

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I

The whole package is pretty easy to train for and to fit. On my 25mill skillpoint character I still have some CPU and powergrid left over. If you have better skills you can opt for more T2 modules.

The first one to upgrade would be the warp scrambler. The more range you get there, the better. The reason for that lies with the tactic for flying this ship: This Kestrel is used in a way that people generally call scram-kiting. That means you keep at the edge of your warp scrambler range and shut down the opponent's microwarpdrive and slow them down further with the web.

With your opponent held down, you maintain a tight orbit at your best speed and let loose with rockets. It is a good idea to set your default orbit for that ship to 8000 if you don't want to be manually piloting all the time. The missile velocity bonus of the ship will allow you to out-range blaster fit frigates easily. You don't even need perfect missile and frigate skills to fight effectively inside your scram range. Even frigates fit with railguns or artillery will be forced to fight in their falloff range, and since you can easily maintain your top speed of around 1km/s, they will have trouble applying damage if they can't web you.

Obviously, this tactic works best against brawlers that rely on MWD to close range. Atrons and Merlins come to mind as ships that are often fitted like that.

You can even engage ships with heavier firepower. Despite the shield tank your signature remains rather low which also helps with avoiding damage. In it's virgin flight with me at the helm, this ship survived a fight against an MWD fit gank catalyst. (I was at 95% structure by the end of the fight, but I won). Ships you should be wary of are those which are very likely to use webs themselves. Caldari Navy Hookbills, for example, should be avoided on 1v1 fights. Energy neutralizers can be a problem too if you don't manage to get out of their range quickly enough, but at least you can keep shooting at them without capacitor.

The DPS on this ship looks low when compared to turret-based ships, but that can be misleading. After all, with your opponent scrammed and webbed, you will apply close to full damage all the time even while you orbit at full speed to avoid incoming fire. While an Incursus or Merlin will do more DPS on paper, they will graze or miss ever so often if there is any significant transversal or radial motion going on. Even in comparison to blaster frigates, a maximum DPS of ~130 and volley damage up to ~340 is still pretty respectable. Since the Kestrel has a damage bonus for all light missiles and rockets, you get the added bonus of selectable damage type. I have used Mjolnir Rockets here, but you should choose the ones that best exploit your opponent's weakness. Because missile damage relies a lot on signature, shield tanked ships are the best targets to engage. Hence the Mjolnir Rockets in this example: They exploit the weakness in EM resistance which shield tankers tend to have.

All together, this is a very solid fit and a fun ship to fly for new pilots and more experienced PVPers alike.

Fly deadly.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Legion Black-Ops Logi

I'm on a bit of a roll here with the "elite PVP" stuff, so bear with me for a bit. Next time I'll do something for the newbies again.

Many people consider the Legion the red-headed stepchild of the T3 ships. It's not great at PVE when compared to the Tengu. It lacks the DPS potential of the Proteus and often people will favour Loki support rather than Legion.

But there is one specialization where the Legion really holds the field undisputed: Armor black-ops logistics.

Logistics with black-ops gangs is a difficult thing, and that's why it is rarely used. You could have logistics on the field already before you drop your black-ops gang, but more often than not, that wont be the case. So if you want logi support for your hotdrop, the only possibility you have is to commit a T3 ship with a covert ops subsystem. Outside of the Etana Alliance Tournament price ship, no other alternatives exist.

So when you fly an armor black-ops gang, there are really only two possibilities for logistic T3 ships: The Proteus and the Legion.

To be honest, I only mention the Proteus here because it technically offers the possibility of an armour repair subsystem. In reality, you should never use a Proteus as a remote repair platform. It will be inferiour to the Legion in every way when set up like that. EHP, speed, signature, capacitor ... you name it. The Legion will always beat the Proteus. If you are going to bring Proteus hulls to your black-ops gang, then fit them for DPS and tackle, never for logistics.

The Legion, however, does work perfectly in that role:

[Legion, BLOPS Logi]
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Thermic Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II

Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400
ECCM - Radar II
10MN Microwarpdrive II

Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Remote Repair Augmentor I

Legion Propulsion - Wake Limiter
Legion Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Legion Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Legion Electronics - Dissolution Sequencer
Legion Engineering - Capacitor Regeneration Matrix

I'll start with the subsystems. The Covert Reconfiguration is the obligatory thing here, otherwise your Legion wont be able to jump through a black-ops bridge. The Adaptive Augmenter is another one you just have to choose because it has the remote repair bonus. Unfortunately, it does not have the range bonus you would usually see on logistics ships, and that brings up the issue of propulsion.

Normally a logistics ship would be fitted with an afterburner to keep it's signature low, but this ship will be forced to close range quickly with targets it needs to repair. To get at least some reduction of the resulting signature bloom during that approach, the Wake Limiter is used.

The Dissolution Sequencer is an obvious choice to increase you sensor strength so you are less vulnerable to jamming. The Tactical Targeting Network can be a good alternative because it increases your scan resolution, resulting in faster locks and defense against Sensor Dampeners. Because both subsystems offer similar stats and the same slot layout, you can switch them in the hangar depending on what you are facing in terms of enemy EWAR.

Finally, the Capacitor Regeneration Matrix is a good choice because of it's namesake capacitor regeneration and the additional low slot.

While we are on the subject of capacitor. Obviously cap is essential for a logistics ship to offer some resistance against neuting and to keep remote repair modules running. A Capacitor Booster is therefore a good choice here. Even without the cap booster, this Legion has the potential to perma-run two reppers as long as the MWD is turned off. For as long as you have charges, you can run four of them and maintain cap stability. The fifth comes in when incoming damage becomes really heavy. Under such pressure, you could load an 800 booster charge for one cycle (you wont be able to fit more) and run all reppers cap stable for the 12 seconds cycle time. If you are not neuted, you can run all reppers long enough to coast through one recharge cycle of the cap booster.

When it comes to the charges, note that the Navy versions have less volume, so you'll be able to fit more into your cargohold, and when it comes to the 400 charges, you can fit three instead of 2 into your cap booster.

When using 400s, you will even be able to run three reppers together with your MWD. That can come in handy if you need to get transversal up (keeping in mind that your signature will increase) or if you need to reposition yourself quickly on the field while still repairing someone. A situation where you need to keep up with a fast ship that is under attack comes to mind.

The ECCM can be run permanently without any problems, together with the Dissolution Sequencer it will provide quite good defense against jamming. If ECM is not an issue, you could fit a target painter for killmail whoring instead.

You could also go for a tankier version with three Trimark Armour Pump rigs. On max skills you gain about 14K EHP, but you would lose the continued use of one remote armor repairer. Basically everything I said above about how many reppers you can have running cap stable will be minus one. It's a question of preference, but if you fight enemies with high-alpha doctrines, the extra buffer can be a life-saver when your ship is primaried.

Some people really like to pimp their T3 ships. I'm not a fan of it if it's not strictly necessary. You shouldn't have any significant problems fitting this ship, but you can knock yourself out with Faction and Deadspace stuff or T2 rigs to give it even more tank than the 104K (118K with three trimarks) EHP it can already have with max skills.

Everything considered, the Legion offers a viable option to have logistics support for armor hotdrops. I myself have flown that configuration to great effect during such operations. Also, it's a damn sexy looking ship.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Armour Loki Part 2

On this second installment of my Armour Loki discussion I want to start out with a fit that is more of a backbone for a combat fleet rather than support.

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!

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Armour Loki Part 1

In the previous few fitting discussions, I have focused on ships that were easy for new players to train into. This time I want to go for something more advanced. Full-on "elite PVP" material: A Strategic Cruiser. More specifically the Minmatar Loki in an armour configuration.

I will begin with a disclaimer: The fits I will discuss are meant for lowsec and nullsec gangs because that's the thing I have experience with. I imagine that the wormhole meta is different. I also heard they are using armour tanked Lokis in incursion fleets. I wont be talking about any of this. Neither will I take coalition level fleet engagements into account. I'm focusing on small and medium gang PVP tactics here.

Because this is about a Tech 3 ship, subsystems play a role in fitting. Rather than discussing each and every one of them, I will mention how the specific ones I choose are useful for the fit. Even though I am restricting myself to one specific fitting concept, there are still enough variations for this ship, so the whole thing will be two parts.

Now let's get started.


Basic Building Blocks:

For all the setups, I consider it fine to use the same set of rigs. It can be argued that one fit or the other could be optimized by changing rigs, but there is one rig setup which I consider the mean standard of all the armor fits I am going to discuss:

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

In addition to that you will need the following subsystems to assemble all possible combinations I will be discussing in both parts:

Loki Defensive - Adaptive Augmenter
Loki Electronics - Immobility Drivers
Loki Engineering - Power Core Multiplier
Loki Offensive - Projectile Scoping Array
Loki Offensive - Covert Reconfiguration
Loki Offensive - Turret Concurrence Registry
Loki Propulsion - Chassis Optimization
Loki Propulsion - Fuel Catalyst

You wont need all of them if you only want to fly one sort of Loki all the time, but this is a T3 ship. The cool thing about it is that you can change the way it works by switching subsystems.

Now let's look at the first concept:


Role: Heavy Tackle and Support

[Loki, Armor Webloki]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Armor Kinetic Hardener II
Armor Thermic Hardener II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II

Warp Disruptor II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I

425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm 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 - Chassis Optimization

Fits similar to this one are in wide use as heavy tackler. Implants or faction modules can significantly increase the tanking ability here. Using CPU friendly faction modules can free up CPU for more resistance like this:

[Loki, Armor Webloki Faction]
Federation Navy Armor Thermic Hardener
Federation Navy Armor Kinetic Hardener
Federation Navy Armor Explosive Hardener
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Warp Disruptor II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I

425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm 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 - Chassis Optimization

I am using Federation Navy here because I have FW LP for them. In case you are not with the Gallente Militia, the True Sansha or Shadow Serpentis variants are usually a lot cheaper and have the same stats. Alternatively a CPU implant can be used to achieve similar results. If you are not flying in nullsec that much, I'd recommend going with the implant. Both options free up CPU to use a triple hardener setup in the low slots and then add an EANM. Alternatively you can fit a Gyrostabilizer, Tracking Enhancer or a Signal Amplifier. Effectively you gain an extra lowslot. Mind you, even with implants and faction modules, this ship is hard to fit. You will need good fitting skills, but then again, you wouldn't be flying a T3 if you hadn't? Right?

The fighting tactic for this ship is pretty straightforward: Due to the bonus of the Immobility Driver subsystem, your warp disruptor and your two webs have more or less the same range (1km longer for the warp disruptor on maximum skills). Your job is to lock a target, point them and put two webs on them. If you have more than one such Loki you can spread webs between primary and secondary targets. That will bring even faster ships to a near standstill. That makes them easier to hit, and prevents them from burning for gates or stations. Your defensive potential helps you to stay afloat once you have someone tackled. Ideally long enough for friendly logi reps land and for friendly DPS ships to blow your target to pieces.

With almost 16K armor hitpoints and above 100K EHP you should be able to hold out for a moment or two. The Adaptive Augmenter subsystem provides you with increased resistances, so make sure you have that subsystem skill trained high. The Microwarpdrive should be used no longer than necessary to get in range with your target. The Chassis Optimization gives you some extra speed to help with that. Once you have them, they wont be going anywhere fast. Pulse your MWD if they somehow manage to pull range anyway.

With high DPS ammo your optimal+falloff will be below 20, so your web and point actually reach further than the Autocannons. If you want to apply some meaningful damage I would recommend getting as close as 15km. That still keeps you out of web and scram range of ships with no bonus for those. Alternatively you can load Depleted Uranium or Barrage for longer range and less DPS. Depleted Uranium has a tracking bonus, but significantly lower DPS. Barrage has more damage and longer range, but also a tracking penalty. The Projectile Scoping Array very much favours autocannons because it has bonuses to rate-of-fire and falloff range, so I would personally always go for the highest DPS.

There is the possibility to make this thing even tankier - and slower - which doesn't necessarily defeat it's purpose and function at all. Consider this fit:

[Loki, Double Plate Armor Webloki]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Kinetic Plating II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II

J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive 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 - Chassis Optimization

Again, you can improve on resistance with CPU implants or faction modules that use lower CPU. Still, even with this vanilla setup you can reach 140K EHP and more than 22K armor hitpoints. Your weapon range will be slightly reduced, as will DPS. Volley damage suffers quite a bit, but you are not flying this ship to become top damage dealer on the killmail, you are flying it to make sure there will be killmails.


Up next?

In the second part of this fitting discussion I will focus first on artillery fits that are more for actual fighting, and then end it all with some special fits like a version for Black Ops drops and a 100MN Afterburner setup.

Fly deadly.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Poor man's ArmorHAC

I promised last time that I will discuss something else than a brawler ship and during recent fleet operations in armor cruiser gangs, I was reminded of the staple ArmorHAC. This successful small to medium gang Zealot-based fleet concept became famous for it's good performance and because of this classic piece of FC raging.

So what's the ArmorHAC all about:

[Zealot, ArmorHAC]
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Tracking Enhancer II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Armor Thermic Hardener II

Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
Warp Disruptor II
Stasis Webifier II

Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Anti-EM Pump I

The concept behind this fit is simple yet effective. With Scorch and the Tracking Enhancer your optimal range becomes 30km and more. That makes this an ideal setup to fight at gates. On a non-regional gate anything that jumps through into your gang will be in optimal range and therefore take full damage. Likewise, if you jump into an enemy you can be pretty sure that you can engage them right away except if they are sitting far off in sniper ships.

Your defense relies on heavy buffer and resistance, and a very low signature for a cruiser sized ship. That is why this ship is flown with afterburners: To keep the signature low. That low signature results in longer lock times for the enemy and a reduction in incoming damage because it makes tracking harder. Also missile damage is affected negatively by low signature and that means an ArmorHAC gang can engage turret and missile ships equally well if speed can be maintained. They are vulnerable against excessive missile bombardment though.

The third midslot is pretty much up to your preferences. Many people fit target painters there to increase their chance to hit by increasing enemy signature. Others like to use a Sensor Booster for increased lock speed. Personally I like the web because it works well if a brawler tries to get under your guns.

The typical ArmorHAC gang will be supported by suitable logistics ships and - if you have enough ISK to burn and high skilled pilots - Armor fit Lokis with long-range webs. The latter are particularly useful against the main weakness of this setup which is kiting ships. Once an enemy gang can get outside optimal range, you wont be able to chase them down again. On the other hand, that usually means you can warp out and escape them.

To fly and fit a ship like that, high fitting skills are needed, and training the HAC skill is also not something that is done in a few days. On top of that, a Zealot hull is not what you'd call cheap. So I thought about possibilities for similarly effective setups that can be done with lower skills and hulls that are more affordable for the pilot on a budget.

The obvious first ship to look at would be the Omen. After all, the Zealot is based on that hull. So let's see whether an Omen can work as a "poor man's ArmorHAC":

[Omen, Poormans ArmorHAC]
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Tracking Enhancer II
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II

Warp Disruptor II
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script

Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M

Medium Anti-EM Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Well, let's compare: The signature of the Omen is actually lower than that of the Zealot, so that's a good thing. Of course - being a T1 ship - it also has substantially lower armor resistance and one less low slot. In terms of absolute armor hitpoint buffer we get close to the Zealot. With the above setup a Zealot will be a bit above 101K armor hitpoints, the Omen gets around 97K. The main drawback here lies with the turrets. Because the Omen lacks the optimal range bonus of the Zealot, our engagement range will be reduced by a good 10K. A Tracking Computer like in the setup above brings you closer to the Zealot's range but not quite there. Also the damage output of the Omen lies significantly below the Zealot. On the other hand, the Omen can use drones, so we can actually push our DPS beyond what the Zealot would achieve when adding a mixed flight of light and medium drones. Another thing is speed. You will need to maintain transversal speed to help avoiding damage, and while the Zealot can run it's afterburner permanently, the Omen can't. That puts it at a disadvantage here.

So how about alternatives? Let's look at the other race that typically uses armor tanks. How about a Thorax with railguns?

[Thorax, Armorrailrax]
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Tracking Enhancer II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
Warp Disruptor II
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script

200mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
200mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Anti-Explosive Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Because of the lower powergrid, we wont be able to fit a 1600mm plate with those guns, so the hitpoint buffer of the Thorax is below that of the Omen. The armor resists are spread differently and end up being slightly weaker, so in the end this ship has a good 8K less EHP compared to the Amarr T1 counterpart. It's signature lies between the Zealot and the Omen which is still OK.

Now for the good part: The Thorax almost reaches the DPS of the Zealot and has more than the Omen. When it comes to volley damage it exceeds both ships, achieving a maximum above 900. It's optimal range is close to the Omen, and with falloff added it will shoot farther than both Amarr ships. Because you will be in falloff range, you wont achieve full damage at such ranges, but at least you can still hit. In addition to that, the Thorax can actually control a full flight of medium drones, and that makes it better in DPS than either of the other two. So under the bottom line, the Thorax is the best damage dealer at ranges around 20K. That damage potential suffers from very poor tracking though. Because you are using tracking computers, you can actually mix and match scripts if you are closer to an enemy, but even with two tracking speed scripts you wont be as good as the lasers. With the lighter armor plate, the Thorax comes out on top when you look at speed, but just like the Omen it can not permanently run all modules and keep the afterburner active.

Let's consider an alternative for this particular ship:

[Thorax, Armorrailrax Dual150]
1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Damage Control II
Tracking Enhancer II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
Warp Disruptor II
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script

Dual 150mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M

Medium Anti-Explosive Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Here it gets interesting. Now we reach an armor buffer above both the Omen and the Zealot. Because of lower resists, this ship still wont have the EHP of a Zealot but it does exceed the EHP of the Omen setup above. Tracking is now closer to both ships, but we do sacrifice a significant amount of range. Optimal + falloff together will be just under the optimal range of the Zealot. Despite achieving higher DPS than the Omen and better volley damage than both Amarr ships on paper, again you wont do all of that damage at the same range that the lasers turrets can achieve. Still, at ranges of 12K you will outgun both ships, and that is before you add drone damage. Not bad for a T1 cruiser.

Edit:
That being said, the Pulse Laser boats can switch to short-range crystals when finding targets at such close range. Multifrequency will increase DPS and volley damage slightly over Scorch. Because of the better tracking one could then outperform a Thorax. Conflagration is another option, then you would outdo the damage of a Thorax but you lose the better tracking. Still for slow targets at close range that track badly themselves (like battleships) Conflagration on an Amarr ship is the superiour damage dealer. (thanks to raylu for reminding me of that) 
/Edit

So when looking at low-skill and low-price alternatives for the classic ArmorHAC setup, both Omen and Thorax offer viable options. Tracking is the main weakness of the Thorax when compared to the two other ships, but with tackle and Target Painter support, a lot of that can be mitigated and it's superiour damage potential can be realized.

Naturally the Zealot has the better resist tank and therefore profits more from logi support, but the T1 alternatives work well enough to allow for participation of newer players with lower skills in an ArmorHAC gang.

TRS - Fitting Discussion: Shield Gank Cruisers

If you have read my previous two fitting discussions, then you'll know that I'm a bit of a fan of brawling ships. I promise that for my next installment I'll write about something else than a brawler, but before that I would like to introduce you to the top end of shield-tanked facemelting T1 cruiser DPS: The Moa and the Thorax.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Thorax as full on DPS shield-tank brawler. It looks like this:

[Thorax, Shield Ganker]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Large Shield Extender II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Warp Scrambler II

Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M

Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

There is nothing subtle to this ship. With your Nanofiber Internal Structure and your Microwarpdrive, you achieve speeds at which you can outrun some frigates. You use that to charge your enemy, hold them with the warp scrambler and beat them down with blasters. I have left drones out of the setup because they are really up to you. You can use some damage drones, but a flight of Vespa EC-600 drones are also not a bad idea in case you need to break the lock of someone pointing you. Honestly, you don't need much extra damage anyway. This ship can achieve up to 540 DPS with good weapon skills and volley damage in excess of 1300. With a handful of such Thoraxes warping in on an enemy, you will blow things up quickly.

There are shield Vexor fits that can have more DPS than this Thorax, but when it comes to directly applied raw damage, nothing in the same ship class outperforms the Thorax except one, the Moa:

[Moa, Blaster Moa]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
Large Shield Extender II

Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I 

Because the Moa has a naturally higher shield capacity and resist, you can get away with fitting less defense and still get more effective hitpoints than the Thorax. While the Thorax is not bad at all with it's 22-23K EHP, the Moa can easily get 25-29K depending on your skills. With tank in the same range, you can free up a rig slot which makes it possible to put that Ancillary Current Router there and fit Neutron Blasters, and then things get really nasty. Now we are talking DPS of up to 570 and volley damage of almost 1700 maximum.

If you like more heavily tanked stuff, stick to Ion Blasters and put an extra Defense Field Extender on there instead. This will push your effective hitpoints well beyond the 30K mark but you do sacrifice about 30DPS and a significant amount of volley damage. You will still have the same damage output as the Thorax. So when comparing the two ships on the tank/gank scale, the Moa can either have better EHP and much higher damage than the Thorax, or it can have similar damage and much stronger tank than the other ship. 

The Moa has one significant disadvantage when compared to the Thorax: It's speed. At comparable skill levels, the Moa will be a good 600m/s slower than the Thorax. Closing in on fast targets will definitely be more difficult, so it's better to have a ship like this warp in at close range and start shooting. To prevent the opponent from pulling range, you fit that webifier in the midslot. This serves a second purpose too: The Moa lacks the tracking bonus of the Thorax, so you will need a way to prevent your opponent from running circles around you and avoid most of the incoming damage. When it comes to drones, the same goes for the Moa as for the Thorax: ECM can be more useful here than damage.

Variations of both fits exist which substitute Tracking Enhancers for Magnetic Field Stabilizers to get more range and make sure you can hit your target for full damage more often. Personally, I am not sure whether that matters much if you are close and always stay fixed on your opponent instead of orbiting them. Also, the Thorax has a built-in tracking bonus already.

In the end, I didn't call those ships shield gankers for nothing. They are not built for fancy maneuvering but for warping in on a target and blowing them to bits as quickly as possible. One caveat for both: Stay away from opponents with energy neutralizers. They will quickly shut your propulsion, your resistance and your turrets down. Again ECM drones can save your life in that case.

Have fun blowing up things.

TRS: Enaluri 2103

Yesterday Friday the 21st of March, the Faction Warfare system of Enaluri was the site of a large fight escalating from cruisers to capitals and finally to supercapitals. It involved several different parties and made for an interesting story. I am not attempting to write a complete and concise battle report here, but rather a single Gallente Militia line pilot's perspective. As a consequence, the following can contain inaccuracies and bias.

The beginning

Gallente Militia is currently in a state of resurgence. After a recently successful campaign to recapture the Placid system of Oicx, our military command had set it's sights on Enaluri in Black Rise. I had just listened in to our CEO instructing a new pilot when the call came to join a cruiser fleet to go fight for system control. I was a few jumps away but got into my trusty Vexor to join the fray. While listening to the coms channel I became witness of a change in plans. The Caldari weren't putting up much of a fight, but the notorious outlaws of Balkan Express were showing up in Enaluri with a fleet of Legions and Guardians. Our intelligence officers also reported that the BALEX Titan pilot was online, and so we expected a possible escalation. While I was in transit, a call went out for heavier ships.

Now, I am a low skillpoint character and flying HACs, T3s or even Battleships is beyond my reach for now, so I just kept on course while more powerful militia capsuleers prepared to commit everything up to capital ships. We went for the fight and jumped in a Thanatos and an Archon for support while trying to destroy the enemy logistics at the Enaluri - Hallanen gate. To our surprise, BALEX did not stay and fight, but rather chose to leave the field after the loss of only one Guardian logistics ship.

An unexpected turn of events

Considering what was to come, I have to wonder whether they knew something we did not. In any case, our cruiser fleet FC commanded us to follow the fleeing BALEX force into Hallanen. Our carriers prepared to extract themselves and we jumped through the gate. But then the unexpected happened: One of our carriers got pointed by another enemy ship that seemed to have come out of nowhere. The pilot of that ship lit a cynosural field and within seconds we had a very different fight on our hands: Snuffbox jumped in a fleet of carriers, dreadnoughts and battleships. Seeing no other choice if they wanted to get their carrier out, Sicarius Draconis, Blackfox Marauders and Monkeys with Guns counterdropped with militia capitals to fight Snuffbox.

Nobody wants to stand by on the other side of a gate while militia brothers and sisters are fighting and dying, so our FC ordered us to jump through and attack the battleships. Very soon it became clear that we could not break through the carrier reps that the enemy battleships received, but the onslaught from our own heavy weapons platforms did force Snuffbox carriers to enter triage and their dreads to go for siege mode. Since that made the enemy capital ships incapable of receiving repairs, our FC ordered us to primary them to support our own.

A third party and a fourth

It was a pretty even fight with our militia forces being at a slight advantage when Sniggwaffles warped in with a fleet of sniper Nagas. Quickly militia diplomatic operatives were scrambled to convince Sniggwaffles to shoot at Snuffbox rather than us. It worked only to some degree. Having no affiliation with either side, they spread fire among all targets of opportunity. With at least some firepower added to our cause, Snuffbox got put on the back foot and began to lose both carriers and dreads. They decided to escalate further in an effort to hold the field. Nyx supercapitals were dropped into the fight and now things began to look grim for us

The situation became even more dire when yet another group appeared on the battlefield: Pandemic Legion with their infamous supercapital force dropped in. They opened fire on both Gallente Militia and Snuffbox with an overwhelming force of approximately 30 Nyxes and Aeons supported by a contingent of Slowcats and their Sniggwaffles affiliates. The system hit heavy TiDi and PL prevailed. Nothing on the field could withstand such firepower.

Everyone who could, did their best to get out of there. I myself almost died to a smartbomb on my way through the gate to the adjacent system of Nennamaila. None of our capital ships made it out of there alive. When we collected our losses, we had fared better than Snuffbox, losing less capitals and other ships. Pandemic Legion - however - turned what could possibly have been a narrow victory for our side into a route of our forces.

In retrospect

While I have lived in nullsec for most of my EVE life and am no stranger to large fleet fights, this was definitely the largest one I have seen since I resubscribed and lived in lowsec. The development of the fight from the seed of a usual skirmish with Caldari Militia to a fight against outlaws and then into a capital brawl certainly was a special experience that is much different from the large nullsec fights which tend to occur around timers. I can only thank all involved parties for a great fight and I'm happy to now have one Vindicator and six capship killmails on my name ... I even got into the top 25 damage dealers for most of them with my little Vexor.

Good fights all around.

Edit: As of today, 2203, Enaluri is Gallente

TRS: Fitting Discussion - Atron, Btron, Ctron

The last time I discussed a ship that is definitely not something for the new players among us. This time I want to do the exact opposite. Once there was a time when every newbie was told to train for a Rifter if they wanted to PVP. Thanks to CCP Rise, Fozzie and Ytterbium those days are behind us and every race now has decent attack frigates for beginners.

The Gallente version of that ship type is the Atron.

In my discussion of this nasty little bugger I am going to start with one of those counterintuitive fits. A shield-tanked Atron. Here is the option for really new players with low fitting skills.

[Atron, Shield Atron]

Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Emergency Damage Control I

Medium Subordinate Screen Stabilizer I
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Anode Light Neutron Particle Cannon I, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Anode Light Neutron Particle Cannon I, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Anode Light Neutron Particle Cannon I, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
[Empty High slot]

Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

And here is a version for maximized fitting skills (especially when it comes to CPU). If you lack the CPU, a meta level Damage Control will also work.

[Atron, Shield Atron Highskill]

Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Damage Control II

Medium Subordinate Screen Stabilizer I
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
[Empty High slot]

Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

While this is easy to train for, it comes with a bit of a manual. Your ship is a short-range brawler. Outside of the warp-scrambler range of approximately 8km you are useless, and above 5km you do negligible damage. The idea is to use the Microwarpdrive to get close to the target quickly. That poses it's own problem. The combination of active MWD and the shield tank will make your signature the size of a battleship. While the MWD is running you can be locked in a second by another frigate (as opposed to two seconds without). You will also be easier to hit. That makes it advisable to not fly straight at your target but rather in a spiral course, but you are dependent on closing range fast or your enemy might escape and hit you from distance. In short, you will have to do some manual piloting. Then again, your ship is fast. Even with mediocre propulsion skills you will reach speeds of above 3000m/s. Top speed at max skills is 3700m/s. Your speed can also work as a factor to mitigate incoming damage.

The fact that you need to get some practice at manual piloting makes a fit like this rather difficult for the fledgeling solo pilot, but I can only encourage you to try. Where it really works well is in a small fleet. If your opponents can not shoot down all the buzzing little Atrons at the same time, some of them will get in range, and then the enemy will be in trouble. With volley damage in the mid to high 300 range and DPS between approximately 130 and 150 a squad of those ships can create a lot of problems for larger ships. One very important thing to remember is to turn off your MWD as soon as you are close enough to be in your optimal range (at or below 1km).

So much for that. now I want to introduce you to a very different kind of Atron:

[Atron, Plex Camper]
Damage Control II
200mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Limited 1MN Afterburner I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Warp Scrambler II

Light Electron Blaster II, Void S
Light Electron Blaster II, Void S
Light Electron Blaster II, Void S
5W Infectious Power System Malfunction

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

In many ways this one is the exact opposite of the shield Atron. It is slow, but it has a very low signature radius (increasing enemy lock speed and reducing incoming damage). It has pitiful volley damage, but the DPS is higher. It is not designed to get into range with an enemy, but to make sure an enemy doesn't get away and then blast them at short range. Because you have weaker guns, overheating them will almost be a must here, but beware to not burn out your neutralizer.

This ship setup is best suited for camping faction warfare plexes. You can sit inside a plex right at the warp beacon so anybody who comes in will end up right in front of your guns. Your web and scram are there to keep them from pulling away and your energy neutralizer will disable active tanking (except ancillary shield boosters) and everything else active (like lasers or hybrid turrets, or a warp disruptor/scrambler). You can run that neutralizer for quite some time, long enough to prevail in a 1v1 fight. Actually it can even help you escape by neuting out the enemy's capacity to hold a point on you (I can attest to that from experience).

The main downside of this ship is, that it is rather specialized. For example, you better not take a fight against anything that does not use capacitor for guns (Like Minmatar ships or Caldari/Amarr missile boats) Targets that are likely to run an Ancillary Shield Booster are also a bit problematic because you might lack the damage output to bring their regenerating buffer down. On the other hand, since you will be avoiding ships with selectable damage types, you can actually get away with not plugging that explosive hole. You will not be able to take all possible fights, but then again, knowing which ships you do want to fight and which ones you don't is actually a good thing for solo work. Unfortunately if your opponent gets help that usually means you are screwed.

Because this is a fit for a very clear purpose and a simple tactic, it is well suited for the beginning pilot. The fit shown needs mid-range skills, but you can easily manage it if you do not use T2 modules.

When you fly with friends, this Atron can also be a really nasty tackler for an armor frigate fleet if you fit it with a Micro Auxiliary Power Core and a Microwarpdrive like this:

[Armor tackle]
Damage Control II
200mm Reinforced Steel Plates II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II

1MN Microwarpdrive I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
Warp Scrambler II

Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
5W Infectious Power System Malfunction

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

There are of course other possibilities and variations both for the shield and the armor fit. What that shows nicely is the versatility of the Atron. It may not be a particularly strong ship, but the possibilities it offers can keep your enemy guessing.

TRS - Fitting discussion: The Shield Enyo

I have often heard about the power of the Enyo, but never really managed to come up with a fit for the ship that convinced me. When I joined Gallente Militia, I noticed the popularity of the shield tanked Enyo and so I looked into that possibility, and then I realized what the whole thing was about: Full-on frontloaded damage; a brawling ship from hell.

So, why shield tank a Gallente ship? Isn't that counter-intuitive? At first glance it sure is, but look again. Just as shield tank competes with tackle and EWAR in the mids, Armor tank competes with damage mods in the lows. When you have a ship with almost even slot layout between low and mid slots, then it is worth considering a shield tank to maximize your damage, except if tackle or EWAR is your designated role for the ship. When it comes to tanking an Enyo with shields, there is also another interesting aspect: Your absolute hitpoint distribution will be very close to equal between shield, armour and structure. That makes it less simple to choose one resistance hole over another with this ship. Most shield tanked ships will be practically dead once their shield is gone, but the Enyo will still be able to fight ... even when it is in structure.

Word of caution, that ship is not something you can fit easily - newbies beware. Even with maximum skills, you will run out of CPU very quickly. That is the main drawback of the Enyo: comparatively low CPU. Shield tank needs a lot of that, unfortunately.

So here is a fit that I can manage with the non-maxed skills on my Faction Warfare character:

[Enyo, Shield Enyo Neutron]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Internal Force Field Array I
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Initiated Harmonic Warp Scrambler I
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
[empty high slot]

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

With such a setup you will have an Assault Frigate that outguns many ships in it's class at close range. The ship that it compares most directly to is the Harpy, which is also a hybrid turret/shield tank Assault Frigate. The Harpy will easily out-tank and out-range the Enyo, but at comparable DPS (when fit with blasters) it will have significantly lower volley damage. Since Gallente ships accelerate very quickly, the ability of the Enyo to close range is very impressive, and it needs to be. With the short range of both guns and the meta level warp scrambler (which is necessary or else you wont have the CPU to fit the ship) your first prerogative in any fight is to close range. Once you are there the damage output of this ship excels in it's very high volley damage while still retaining good DPS.

Speaking of DPS, there is an alternative to Neutron Blasters when it comes to the Enyo, and that will actually increase your DPS significantly while sacrificing range, speed and volley damage.

[Enyo, Shield Enyo Ion]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Internal Force Field Array I
Beta Reactor Control: Reaction Control I

Initiated Harmonic Warp Scrambler I
Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
Light Ion Blaster II, Void S
[empty high slot]

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I

Mind you, this fit is not possible without a 3% CPU increase implant. If you are in Faction Warfare like me, you will be able to afford one very easily through LP. While the Neutron Blaster Enyo shines mostly because of it's high volley damage, this variant impresses with it's DPS which can get close to 400 with added damage from a single drone. It also has a bit more EHP because it lacks the Nanofiber Internal Structure (which costs structure hitpoints). On the other hand, your speed suffers, but not very much so. You will still be faster than a good part of assault frigates out there except, of course, the Minmatar ones.

"So which one is better?" You might ask. As usual, the answer is "That depends." Because of it's stronger volley damage, the Neutron Blaster variant is better at breaking through an active tank. Because of it's high DPS the Ion Blaster variant is better against buffer tanked targets. Ion Blasters have better tracking too, so you increase your damage potential against fast ships or in case you need to defend against drones. On the other hand, the Neutron Blasters have higher range, so you will be able to apply damage earlier, and your ability to get on top of the target is better too.

The main argument that can be made for one over the other is the fact that the Neutron Blaster variant can be fit without having maximum skills and/or implants. The Ion Blaster version really needs every fitting skill at V and even then you lack CPU.

See you in the warzone.