The Art of War: Combat Frigates Part One

Now that I'm back its time to continue on with the Art of War series. We last left off on attack frigates so this week I'll be covering combat frigates for Amarr.

Tormentor

Traits:

Amarr frigate skill bonus per level:

10% bonus to small energy turret capacitor use

5% bonus to small energy turret damage

Slot layout: 3H/3M/3L

This ship used to sport mining bonuses back in the day, and boy am I glad they changed that. Now it's a very unassuming damage dealer sporting both light drones and energy turrets. The tormentor fulfills the tackle role better than the Punisher because of its third mid slot; granting the ability to fit prop mod, web, and scram.

[Tormentor, Brawler]

Pseudoelectron Containment Field I

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer

Small Armor Repairer II

Heat Sink II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Small Semiconductor Memory Cell I

Small Semiconductor Memory Cell I

Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I

Warrior II x 2

It's an unassuming little ship with the ability to put out 166 dps before heat with imperial navy while still being able to retain its tank. Run the small armor rep the entire fight and burst the AAR as you need it. With everything except the AAR on you get 2min 45 of cap which should be more than enough to finish the fight. Always carry Conflag and Scorch also, Amarr ships can change their ammo crystals practically immediately so never be afraid to swap out depending on engagement range. I leave scorch in by default and swap to imperial navy for frigs or conflag for cruisers. Some people prefer to use two auxiliary nano pumps and a nanobot accelerator, but I'm terrible at cap management when it comes to amarr ships. I've noticed I pulse too early on the AAR and end up capped out way too early in the fight.

[Tormentor, kite]

Pseudoelectron Containment Field I

Tracking Enhancer II

Tracking Enhancer II

Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Energy Collision Accelerator I

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

Small Ancillary Current Router I

Warrior II x2

There's one problem with this boat that you guys should be able to guess by now. It suffers terribly from Amarr's cap hungry condition. You won't be able to leave everything running for too long so use this kiter very carefully. Overheat everything and hope for the best. Keep at range at the edge of your optimal.

Crucifier 

Traits:

Amarr frigate bonus per skill level:

7.5% bonus to tracking disruptor effectiveness

10% bonus to tracking disruptor optimal range

Slot layout: 2H/4M/3L

This boat really used to shine until they upgraded the sentinel, its tech II older brother, now not many people fly it because the sentinel does everything this boat does and more. If money is an issue and you'd like to learn how to fly a sentinel this is the boat to stepping stone with.

[Crucifier, Crucifier]

Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Heat Sink II

Micro Auxiliary Power Core II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Small Energy Collision Accelerator I

Small Energy Metastasis Adjuster I

Small Energy Metastasis Adjuster I

Warrior II x3

This is the best I can come up with and I gotta say I'm hard pressed to do anything with it. Its dps is low and tank is low and its not amazingly fast. Mwd fit it would run out of cap too soon but this way it runs stable, you could swap the nano for a small armor rep but I don't see it buying you much time due to its pitiful base armor hp. I feel like the ticket here is to stay at scram range and use your tracking disruptor to mitigate damage. The sentinel does it better because its neuts wreak havoc on the enemies active mods and guns. Thoroughly unimpressed though, please prove me wrong and show me how to fly this.

Punisher

Traits:

Amarr frigate skill bonus per level:

5% bonus to small energy turret damage

4% bonus to armor resistance

Slot layout: 4H/2M/4L

Last but not least the almost perfect brawler, I say almost perfect because this hull really needs that 3rd mid slot to shine but it's still a decent option.

[Punisher, Plate Rep]

Damage Control II

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer

400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency S

[empty high slot]

Small Energy Burst Aerator II

Small Trimark Armor Pump I

Small Trimark Armor Pump I

9.5k ehp with a 130dps heated tank all while doing 119 dps unheated makes for a mean little brawler. If you require a nos you can downgrade the guns to make one fit but as long as you're pulsing the AAR cap shouldn't be an issue. You'll be hard pressed to find something you can't out brawl in the < 8km range. 

That's all for this segment. Next week will be Caldari combat frigs. Always feel free to Convo or eve mail me if you have any questions or comment below.

Fly ballsy o7

The Art of War: Attack Frigates Part Two

Continuing on with the series this week I'll be covering the Minmatar and Gallente attack frigates. The Atron and Slasher are quite possibly two of my favorite ships to fly because of their glass cannon play style

Gallente

Atron

Gallente Frigate skill bonus per level:

10% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret falloff

5% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret damage

Role bonus:

80% reduction in Propulsion Jamming systems activation cost

Slot layout 4H/3M/3L

The balanced slot layout of the atron gives it versatility. With 3 mid slots you can fit the "holy trinity" of brawling; scrambler, web, and prop mod. The falloff bonus is great for this hull because small blasters have a naturally high tracking bonus. Orbiting closely to this hull does not get you under its guns. Able to put out high dps with Caldari Navy Animatter but still having the versatility to switch to null, granting near auto cannon falloff range makes this a great hull for its class.

[Atron, derptron]

Damage Control II

Micro Auxiliary Power Core II

Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

[empty high slot]

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I

Gallente militia spends a lot of time in this hull. Derptrons are the ultimate harrasser hull. Get ten of these together each doing 203 heated dps and aim for something expensive to suicide into and hooray op success. A common misconception for this hull is to orbit at 500. When flying in numbers you want to approach to get as close as possible to deal maximum damage to burn them before they burn you.

[Atron, Railtron]

Damage Control II

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

1MN Afterburner II

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

125mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

125mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

125mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

[empty high slot]

Small Hybrid Burst Aerator I

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

Small Anti-Explosive Pump I

The railtron is a bit different than its derpy brother. With the hulls natural speed bonus this ship will pull just under 1400m/s with an afterburner which should be more than enough to dictate range. Burst the ancillary as needed and know when to keep at range versus orbit. If you want more deeps use keep at range for better tracking, if you need to mitigate some damage use orbit.

Minmatar

Slasher

Minmatar Frigate skill bonus per level:

5% bonus to Small Projectile Turret damage

7.5% bonus to Small Projectile Turret tracking speed

Role bonus:

80% reduction in Propulsion Jamming systems activation cost

Slot layout:  4H/4M/2L

Not as versatile slot layout as the atron but still a very versatile boat. That fourth mid slot allows for extra ewar or other nice options that make this boat a great Jack of all trades brawler.

[Slasher, Slasher]

200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

Damage Control II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Tracking Speed Disruption Script

200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S

200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S

200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S

5W Infectious Power System Malfunction

Small Anti-Explosive Pump I

Small Anti-Kinetic Pump I

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I

The above fit does require a 2% powergrid rig, if you don't spring for it drop the 200mm autocannons to 150s and you can upgrade the plate to tech II. This is every brawling gun frigates nightmare. A scram kiter with a cap stable nuet and a tracking disrupter makes this boat a bear to take down the longer the fight progresses. With its tiny signature radius of 30m combined with 1100m/s and the ability to ruin tracking speeds you will mitigate a ton of dps. Autocannons are also nice because like missiles they offer tunable damage to shoot at the enemies weak resist hole. 

[Slasher, Shield Brawl]

150mm Light AutoCannon II

150mm Light AutoCannon II

150mm Light AutoCannon II

Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I

1MN Afterburner II

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

Medium Ancillary Shield Booster

DDO Photometry Tracking Disruptor I

Pseudoelectron Containment Field I

Overdrive Injector System II

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I

Small Projectile Metastasis Adjuster I

Small Projectile Metastasis Adjuster I

Similar to the other fit but with a much better tank. You lose the web but the slasher has a naturally high speed and the overdrive injector should help this further. The asb provides a nice boost that should help you tank for a long while. Fly it the same way as the armor brawler orbiting at the edge of nuet range and you'll have a great time. This is a great ship to practice micro managing in as you have a lot of active modules too keep track of.

Next week I'll be covering combat frigates. Depending on how long the post becomes it might be two races per series or one.  If you have any silly fit suggestion feel free to eve mail me at ZIF W or post them in the comments below.

The Art Of War: Attack Frigates Part One

As promised here's the first of the series to hopefully (fingers crossed) be added to every week till no ships remain.  So where better to start than at the basics? Tech 1 frigates are one of the first ships you will enter in this game so it seems fitting to start here.

Attack Frigates are designed with speed and tackle in mind, but this does come at a cost of less resilience than their combat frigate brethren.  Speed is life for these ships and if flown correctly you can avoid or mitigate the incoming damage enough that you can still dictate your terms for this fight.

Amarr

Executioner

Amarr Frigate Bonuses (per skill level) :

10% reduction in Small Energy Turret activation cost

5% bonus to small energy turret damage

Role bonus:

80% reduction in propulsion jamming systems activation cost.

The Executioner follows the aggressive pattern of some Amarr ships with both of its bonuses going to its turrets. The executioner shines out of the attack frigate class because it can switch from a kiter to a brawler almost instantly due to its pulse lasers with Scorch and Imperial navy multifrequency respectively.  Most executioners fall into two categories, AB fit or MWD fit.  The first of which is your standard brawler with the ability to dictate range with a scram and web and sit right out at the edge of both to mitigate incoming damage.

[Executioner, AB]

Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

Damage Control II

Heat Sink II

Limited 1MN Afterburner I

J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Diminishing Power System Drain I

Small Energy Burst Aerator I

Small Energy Collision Accelerator I

148 dps at 3.4+1.9km with Imperial Navy Multifrequency

118 at 10.1+1.9km with Scorch

2.57k ehp 

1247m/s 

7 minuteso f cap stability(NOS)

 1min 20 secs (without)

Dropping the Nos will give you room to upgrade the guns but I prefer to have a utility nos.

[Executioner, MWD no-tank]

Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Heat Sink II

Heat Sink II

X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Faint Warp Disruptor I

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Focused Pulse Laser II, Scorch S

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

Small Energy Locus Coordinator I

137dps at 15.9+2.5km with scorch

1.61k EHP

3867m/s 5519m/s(heated)

Think of this version as a ghetto imperial navy slicer. The purpose of it is to stay at kite range so ideally you will be keeping at  around 15-17km. Watch out for webs with this fit because you do not want to get caught brawling in it. use your web defensively to pull range again and do it quickly.

Caldari

Condor

Caldari Frigate bonuses (per skill level) :

10% bonus to kinetic Light Missile and Rocket damage

Role Bonus:

80% reduction in propulsion jamming systems activation cost

The condor is almost exclusively designed to be a kiting ship.  There are a few who run scram kiter setups but at <3km it is out damaged by all the other attack frigates. It's 4/4/2 slot layout provides an ideal setup for Ewar mods to help enhance damage mitigation. 

[Condor, Kite]

Ballistic Control System II

Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Limited 1MN Microwarpdrive I

Warp Disruptor II

Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script

Medium Ancillary Shield Booster, Cap Booster 50

Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile

Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile

Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile

Small Ancillary Current Router I

Small Ancillary Current Router I

Small Processor Overclocking Unit I

Object here is to stay out of web and scram range.  Use your mwd and long point to keep them at about 20-22km and the td on optimal range to slow any incoming damage.  Use the ASB to pull range in the beginning but don't get scramed. 

[Condor, Rocket Brawl]

200mm Reinforced Steel Plates II

Damage Control II

Experimental 1MN Afterburner I

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I

Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script

Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I

Rocket Launcher II, Scourge Rage Rocket

Rocket Launcher II, Scourge Rage Rocket

Rocket Launcher II, Scourge Rage Rocket

Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Small Trimark Armor Pump I

Small Anti-Kinetic Pump I

Small Anti-Explosive Pump I

100 dps at 8.4km

1050m/s 1355m/s(heated)

33m Signature radius

Cap stable at 42% w/nuet

Trick to this ship is to stay right at that sweet spot of 6.6km nuet web scram td and afterburner around.  it will slow their dps to almost nothing and eventually you will nuet them out and shut off their guns if Amarr or Gallente. Against minmatar I would pull out to the edge of scram web range and keep with the optimal range script so they are forced to switch to long range ammo.

Next week I'll cover the other half of the Attack frigates Gallente and Minmatar.

o7

The Art of War

When I first started playing this game I was incredibly overwhelmed. I did all the "pants on head" retarded things newer players do now and more when I first started. It took me about a year to finally figure out what support skills were and why bigger is not always better. It took the advice of a real life friend who is now my new CEO to get it in my head that I needed to "slow my role." At the time battle cruisers were the meta (yes the drake used to be a bad as boat) and I was blitzkrieging through skills to get into one way before I had the necessary skills to fly or income to replace one. Everyone knows what came next, I died in a fire belt ratting in null.

I've wrote about this encounter before, and how this inspired me to get into pvp. Which presented a brand new even steeper learning curve that took me at least two years to climb. At the time I didn't know resources existed to help teach. EVE UNI didn't exist and most people were unwilling to help if you weren't a corpmate.

In this past year I stumbled across the alruist. Reddit led me to his signing off post and being that I'd never heard of him and my own blog was still in its infancy, I decided I'd read up on his style. If I had read his know your enemy articles all those years ago it would have saved me so many stupid losses. As I read though knowing what I know now some of his info is getting outdated, so I've decided to rehash his old series with up to date Intel, fits, and strategies stop that newer players can climb this learning curve with the proper tools.

Expect a post this afternoon.