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Step by Step Guide on How NOT to build a BAD fighting ship This guide will not help you

make the best or most creati e fit! but is intended to help N"# player with the process of fitting a ship and a oid some common mistakes$ %or commom acronyms! both full names and acronyms will be used when they first appear! and only acronyms will be used subse&uently$ Some simple but important rules are high'lighted! make sure you don(t break them unless you really know what you are doing$ Step )* Setup " " %itting Tool +"%T,$ Download it from http*--mye e$e e'online$com-ingameboard$asp.a/topic0thread1D/234445 if you ha en(t already$ "%T is e6tremely useful! and together with " "7on! are must'ha es for any serious player$ Get your " " Online A81 from http*--mye e$e e'online$com-api and import the the skills of your character$ 1f you intend to fit a ship for near'future! you can manually increase the skills you are training$ 1 will not co er the details of how to use it! as it(s fairly intuiti e$ Step 9* Decide the purpose of your ship$ :ou need to know what you want to do with the ship before anything else$ Are you using it to run missions 0 kill N8; pirates +8 "-missioning-ratting,! or use it to fight other players +8 8,. %or 8 8! are you going to be the scout! the tackler +fi6 opponents in place and pre ent them from escaping,! the main damage dealer! the long range sniper! or the electronic warfare +"#A<, guy. Or do you plan to do 8 8 solo! in which case you will be both the tackler and the damage dealer. "ach of these uses 0 roles re&uire a different setup! and some ships are more suitable for a certain role than others$ Ne er try to build an =all purpose= ship! because in the end it(s going to be unsuitable for any purpose$ 1nstead! choose only ON" purpose and design your ship around it$ 7ost of the guide will deal with common elements of a combat ship and focus more on 8 " setups$ 8 8 is much more complicated and unpredictable! so a newer player who wants to do 8 8 should refer to arious 8 8 guides and maybe >oin a 8 8 corp to learn from the more e6perienced pilots$

Step ?* ;hoose the right ship$ %irst choose the right si@e-class$ Bigger is not always better$ Don(t buy a ship >ust because it(s the biggest you can afford$ %or e6ample! the big guns on your battleships will ha e harder time hitting fast mo ing frigates! and e en when they do it is not ery cost'effecti e$ %or 8 "! use frigate' si@ed ships for le el 9 missions and high'sec ratting! cruiser'si@ed ships for le el ? missions! battlecruiser+B;,'si@ed for le el 5 and battleships+BS,'si@ed for le el 3$ 1t(s generally okay to use one si@e up +e$g$ BS for le el 5,! and if you are skilled enough! one si@e lower would also work most of time +e$g$ frigates for le el ?,$ Also notice 1 said A'si@ed ships! which include the main T9 ships and their T? ariants! such as Assult Ships +AS-A%, for frigates! Hea y Assult Ships +HA;, for cruiser$ 1n 8 8! almost e ery class of combat ships has its use! and your role and your target will decide the best class to use$ All T9 classes of combat ship and many T? classes ha e two or more ships per race$ #hich one to choose is somewhat more complicated and personal$ Bsually there is one that is hea iest and packs most firepower +the =brute=,! and other ones lighter and more agile$ <ead the te6t description and bonuses of each ship and choose according to your fighting style$ Sometimes your skill point +S8, distribution will help you choose! for e6ample if you ha e a lot more S8 in missiles than gunnery! choose a ship with more missile hard'points and bonuses missiles! such a ;aracal instead of a 7oa for a ;aldari cruiser$ %or 8 8 your role will again be the deciding factor$

Before you continue! make sure you are familiar with the basic concepts related to ship fitting$ :ou should at least know the meaning of modules! hard'points! high-mid-low slots! ;8B! power grid +power-8G,! capacitor! T9! T? and =named=$ :ou also need to know how turret weapon and launcher weapons work$ 1f not! read the corresponding official guides at http*--www$e e' online$com-guide-en-mn)C$asp$

Step 5* ;hoose your weapon$ %or a combat ship! always fit weapons first! because 9, they will use the ma>ority of your ;8B and power! and ?, your tactics is most strongly connected with your choice of weapons$ The mid and low slots need to fit according to the tactics +e$g$ your desired speed and range, and use left'o er ;8B and power$ The e6ception here are special purpose ships! such as dedicated "#A< ships! in which case you should first put on modules directly ser ing that purpose$ " en though there are huge number of specific weapons in " "! your actual room for choice is fairly limited$ The bonus of your ship will decide the ma>or type +e$g$ hybrid! energy! pro>ectile! or missile launchers, and the ma>or si@e +e$g$ small! medium! large and e6tra'large for turrets! and similar choices for launchers,$ Always use the weapon type you get bonus for$ At this point you still ha e 5 dimension of choices for turrets! or ? dimensions for missiles$ "liminate one dimension according to your prefered or anticipated engagement range$ %or turrets! use blasters-pulse lasers-autocannons for shorter range and more damage! or railguns-beam lasers-artillery cannons for longer range$ %or launchers! use rockets-hea y assault-siege for shorter range and standard-hea y-cruise for longer range$ Assault launchers are only used on a cruiser for smaller targets$ Now for turrets you still need to choose the minor'si@e +such as D2mm-9?2mm-92)mm for small railgun,$ Here your fitting related skills comes into play* with ma6ed out skills! you can usually fit them all with the largest weapon of the ma>or si@e! for e6ample D 6 3?2mm <ailgun for a 7egathorn! 2 6 Hea y 8ulse Easer for a 7aller$ Howe er with lower fitting skills you may not ha e enough ;8B and-or power$ 1f you are >ust a little bit +9F3G, o er budget on power! consider putting a 8ower Diagnostic System +8DS-8DB, in a lower slot as it gi es you 2G additional power and some other benefits at a ery low cost$ %or a frigate'si@ed ship! an au6ilary power core +gi es you 9)F9? units of power, might be a choice! but you should really a oid it since it takes away one of the few low slots of a frigate'si@ed ship without any additional benefit$ 1f you are a little low on ;8B! try one of those =named= ersions +e$g$ neither T9 or T?, with lower ;8B consumption$ Alternati ely you can >ust those train fitting related skills such as "ngineering! "lectronics and #eapons upgrade$ 1f you are o er budget on power and-or ;8B by a significant amount! use weapons of one si@e lower till they fit$ %or e6ample! if you are 92G o er budget on power fitting D 6 92)mm <ailguns on a ;ormorant Destroyer! try D 6 9?2mm$ Once the minor'si@e is fi6ed! you(ll need to choose a specific ariant of the weapon! e$g$ T9 s named s T?$ The following table applies to all types modules! not >ust weapons$ =Bseful Attributes=* T? H named H T9 ;8B 0 8ower Bsage* T? H/ T9 H/ named 7arket 8rice* =the better= named H T? H =the worse= named H T9 %or weapons! the T? ariant also gi es you the option to use two types of T? ammo! which presents you some tactical fle6ibilty during combat$ So use the T? ariant whene er your fitting skills allows$ Otherwise! choose the best named you can fit and afford$ 1f you are low on 1SI! consider using the =worst= +meta'le el 9, named! as they offer a slight increase of useful attributes

and sa es you a lot of ;8B +and sometimes power, at a fairly low price$ 1f you are really broke and can only afford the T9 ariant! forget about using that ship for now +unless it(s your first true frigate, and start sa ing for 1SI! because you probably can(t afford losing that ship$ Ne er use a ship you can(t afford to lose$ Bntil now 1 ha e been pretending as if you can only fit either turrets+guns, or launchers+missiles, on your ship$ 7any ships ha e high slots for both! but that doesn(t mean you should use both$ #hy. Bsually each ship has bonus for only one type of weapon! and you should take ma6imum ad antage of it$ Bsing only one type of weapon also allows efficient use of weapon upgrade modules$ So if your ship bonuses on a turret weapon +and likely has more turret hardpoints than launcher hardpoints,! use up all the turret hardpoints! and ice ersa$ Sometimes you still ha e one or two high slots left$ 1f you ha e hardpoints for the other weapon' type and lots +HG92, of power 0 ;8B left! you might fit those weapons! but make sure they ha e similar range as your main weapon$ Alternati ely! you may consider using energy ampires +Nos, or energy neutrali@ers +Neut,! especially if you plan to fight in close range$ Generally speaking! use Nos if you are low on capacitor balance! Neut if you ha e lots of e6tra capacitor output$ :ou should probably make this decision after you filled the mid-low slots! since there might be ma>or capacitor users there$ 1 am obliged here to mentioned the 8rinciple of Not 7i6ing Guns$ Generally speaking! use the e6act same type of guns$ There are considerable debate on whether there e6ist any e6ception to the 8rinciple$ 8ersonally! 1 belie e in the following rules* ne er mi6 guns to pro ide =point defense=J ne er mi6 guns of different ma>or si@es +e$g$ astly different ranges,J ne er mi6 guns if you get lower damage per second$ Go read the many threads on this topic and decide where you stand$ Step 3* %it additional propulsion! or not Speed is another thing closely related to your role and tactics$ As such! it(s important to decide early whether you need an afterburner +AB! taking you to 2))F9)))m-s,! a 7icro #arp Dri e +7#D! taking you to 9?))F?)))m-s,! or neither$ %or 8 8! a 7#D is often a re&uirement$ %or missioning! 7#D can(t be used +since missions generally take place in =deadspace=, while an afterburner is often ery helpful! allowing you more effecti ely =kiting= the rats +if you ha e longer range,! or getting within your weapon range faster +if you ha e shorter range,$ and reaching the wrecks faster$ 1f you choose to use a propulsion module! use one with the right si@e$ An 97N AB on a cruiser is >ust pointless$ :ou should know the drawbacks of the 7#D +increased signature si@e, and AB +increased align time,$ Don(t worry about o erdri e in>ector or nano'fiber structure for now! as they(re considered fine'tuning and will be co ered later$ Step 2* %it role-use specific! must'ha e modules These include a warp scrambler +scram, or warp disruptor! and usually a stasis webifier +web, for tackler and solo'8 8$ %or long range sniping! sensor booster +and script, and-or signal amplifier is often needed if your weapon range is way o er your targetting range$ %or speciali@ed T? ships! this means modules that recei es a =role bonus=! such as cloaking de ices on co ert ops! stealth bomber and black ops ships* it would pointless to use these ships without such modules$ Step C* Decide your tank 1n " " =tank= means the ability to sustain damage$ Of the three layers of defense! only shield and armor are used for tanking$ ;aldari ships tank shield! Armarr and Gallente ships tank armor! 7inmatar ships can usually tank either shield or armor$ :ou can also get some clue by comparing the inherent shield and armor amount! as well as the number of med and low slots* more med

slots means it(s probably easier to tank shield! and more low slots indicates it(s better to tank armor$ Ne er tank both shield and armor$ There also e6ists a techni&ue called =speed tanking=! e$g$ to a oid-reduce taking damage using high speed$ This is particularly effecti e for small'ish ships that cannot tank shield-armor ery well but can easily obtain ery high speed$ 1 will not co er it here since it(s ery different from shield-armor tanking! and is a more ad anced topic$ Some players choose not to tank at all! using only the built'in tanking capability* you(d better know what you(re doing if you choose to do so$ There are three components to a tank* hit points +H8,! resistance +resist, and reco ery rate$ A few types of modules e6ist to increase each of the three$ 1n an ideal world you want to increase all three of them! but with limited slots! ;8B! power and capacitor! you often need to make some compromise$ An acti e tank focuses on increasing the reco ery rate using shield booster or armor repairer +rep-repper,! while a passi e-buffer tank focuses on increasing the hit points using shield e6tenders or armor plates$ %ocus on either acti e or passi e! not both$ #hether to use acti e or passi e tank depends on a few factors! but the most important one is your capacitor usage$ Generally speaking! if you ha en(t used much of your capacitor at this point! an acti e tank may be a better idea$ %it a armor repairer or a shield booster of the appropriate si@e +e$g$ small for a frigate! medium for a cruiser! etc,$ %or shield! you may also consider fitting a booster amplifier! which increases yours booster efficiency by 5)GF5CG$ 1f you are already fairly tight on capacitor! use a passi e tank$ %or shield! passi e tank is also more desirable if the ship has a fairly high natural recharge rate or has a bonus on shield amount-recharge rate$ This is because the shield recharge time for a ship is fi6ed! so the more shield you ha e! the faster it(s going to recharge$ Thus a ery strong passi e shield tank might ha e a natural recharge rate closer to the boosted recharge rate of an acti e tank$ Armor does not ha e such property since it doesn(t naturally recharge-repair$ Notice that modules that increase your H8 also ha e drawbacks* armor plates increase your mass thus lowering your speed! while shield e6tenders increases your signature! making you easier to target and hit$ 1mpro ements on resistance is desirable for both acti e and passi e tanks! and we will co er resistance modules in the ne6t section$ Step D* %ine tuning By now you already ha e all the key components in place* firepower! speed and defense$ :ou probably still ha e a few mid and low slots left! and some surplus ;8B - power$ And you may either ha e a deficit or surplus on capacitor usage$ 1t(s time for fine tuning! where your creati ity! style of play! willingness to compromise! and wallet si@e comes into play$ " eryone does this part differently! and 1(m simply going to describe my usual approach$ %irst consider the capacitor budget$ A decent surplus on capacitor gi es you a few options to bolster your defence* armor and shield hardeners increases your resistance by a ery sigificant amount! while shield power relays e6changes capacitor recharge rate for shield recharge rate ' ery useful to further strengthen a passi e shield tank$ An additional repper might also be used for acti e armor tankers$ 1f you still ha e &uite some surplus capacitor and you(re planning to fight in fairly close range +such as being a tackler,! consider putting a neut in an open high slot$ Or >ust lea e it there* surplus capacitor allows you to fire certain types of T? ammo! and gi es you some breathing room if your opponent uses nos-neut on you$ 1f you are using capacitor faster than it recharges! don(t panic$ Not all modules needs to be on all the time! especially ma>or cap hogs such as the 7#D$ See how long your capacitor will last! and compare it with your anticipated length of the battle$ A capacitor that lasts for 9) minutes should not be a problem for a battle that lasts 2 minutes$ 1f capacitor is indeed a problem! there are many modules to help* a power diagnostic system is

the best option if you(re 2G or less o er'budget and ha e an empty low'slotJ capacitor batteries gi e you additional capacitor si@e +and as a result! also boosts cap recharge rate,! but take lots of ;8B and powerJ capacitor rechargers increase your cap recharge rate by 92G to ?)GJ capacitor flu6 coils take way some capacitor si@e but signficantly increase capacitor recharge rate! while a capacitor power relays increase capacitor recharge rate by sacrificing shield recharge rate! operating as the e6act opposite of shield power relayJ capacitor booster takes a few types of =charges= +like ammo,! and in>ect them into your system! gi ing you from 9$C to 2D units of additional capacity per second depending on the booster and charge si@e ' particularly useful if your capacitor balance is ery negati e and you don(t ha e enough slots-cpu-power to fit permanent capacitor enhancement mods$ 1f you are still ha ing problem with capacitor after using these options! you probably did something wrong in an earlier step$ %or a bigger ship you should still ha e some slots left$ :ou can use them for the appropriate weapon damage upgrades! such as a ballistic control system +B;S, if you(re using missiles or gyrostabli@er-heatsink-magnetic field stabli@ers for pro>ectile-laser-hybrid weapons$ %or turrets you may also consider the tracking modules! which increases your range and tracking ability ' they are more useful than damage upgrades if you(re ha ing a hard time hitting things$ %or the more defence oriented! there are also plenty of mods to use$ A damage control unit +D;B, gi es you a healthy increase in reistance o er'the'board at a low cost! and can be used by shield or armor tankers$ Notice only one D;B can be used on each ship$ :ou generally want one or more passi e or acti e resistance mods for your tank* acti e resist are better than passi e ones if you ha e the e6cess capacitor and ;8B$ To increase speed +after putting on the main propulsion module,! you may use nano'fiber structure! or o erdri e in>ector for better 7#D performance$ #hich and how many mods to use is a matter of your style! but remember most such mods ha e stacking penalty* using more of the same type will gi e you smaller and smaller benefit$ 7ost people try not to fit more than 5 such modules of the same type$ The fine tuning process re&uires you to go back and forth between modules! and make e ery effort to increase your offense and defensi e capabilities! little by little$ This is also when the differences between T9! named and T? ariants can make a big difference$ %or e6ample! sometimes you(ll ha e to use a named ariant instead of T? for a certain mod! so you can s&uee@e in some mod in another slot! increasing the o erall capability of the ship$ 7ake the best use of e ery bit of ;8B and power! and ne er lea e a slot empty$ Step 4* 8re'flight 0 in'flight fitting One great thing about fitting ships in " " is you can change them anytime you are in a station$ <efit your ship for your potential ad ersary$ This is particularly easy and useful for mission running! since you know ahead of time the e6act type of rats you(ll be facing$ 1n this case! refitting in ol es changing armor-shield resistance modules to the main damage types of that faction$ %or missile users! you should also load the type of missiles that does damage to the rats( weakest resist$ 1t(s slightly harder for gun users! as gun ammo do two types of damage! and the ammo ha e arying ranges$ <efer to the official " " online guide on missions for the damage and resistance type of each faction$ :ou can also find it in many players( Bio$ %or 8 8 this is more complicated$ 1f you know who you are going to engage! great! use the right type of resistance modules and ammo$ 1n fact! you should also consider changing other parts of your ship fitting if you know a lot about your human opponent+s,$ But more often in 8 8! you don(t know anything about who you(re going to encounter$ 1n this case! don(t lea e any of your four resistance type too weak! and carry a few types ammo in the cargo! be ready to change them right before and-or during the battle$ Against a tough enemy! consider swapping the ammo that kills his armor most efficiently after taking out his shield$ 7ore importantly! you should pick your target wisely so your ship fitting is suitable for engaging him while his is less capable of damaging yours$

Step K* <ead 0 post fitting on Battle;linic "ither isit the loadout forum on Battle;linic website! or browse them in " "7on$ Study the top rated loadouts of the ship$ Some people would say this should be the first step$ But the top rated loadouts ha e arying +and most often! high, S8 re&uirement! and their role-use may not be the same as yours$ ;opying the top rated missioning loadout wouldn(t do you much good if you use it for 8 8$ 1f you do find a loadout that you like and suitable for your purpose! but lack the skills to fit it! try replacing the T? modules with some named ariants$ Sometimes you may also downgrade the weapons by one caliber to make it work for you$ Try to find similarities between the best loadout* this usually indicates the ship is! in some sense! =meant to be= fit that way$ <ead people(s comments* they tell you what is good and what can be impro ed on! and sometimes they would also describe a ship or tactic to counter that specific loadout ' you should watch out for such counters$ As long as your setup fits +e$g$ doesn(t e6ceed ;8B or power re&uirement,! you can post it on Battle;linic(s loadout forum$ Don(t worry if your ship isn(t as powerful or fancy as the other ones there* the forum welcomes loadout for e ery skill le el$ Lust make sure you describe the intended purpose of the ship and the skill re&uirements$ And ask kindly for people comments$ Ne er >ust put a one'line description! =this is the best loadout e arM= ' unless you want to farm negati e karma$ Also don(t post a Drake loadout unless it(s particularly creati e* it will be locked ery soon$

Drones! <igs! %action 0 ;ommander 7odules! and ;ost 1 didn(t talk about drones because 1 ne er played Gallente and don(t know enough about drones$ 1 >ust ha e a few combat drones in my bay and send them out during a fight$ See the further reading section for guides to drones$ <igs or =ship modifications= are not co ered here! because they tend to be fairly e6pensi e! and you probably wouldn(t use them until you get a battlecruiser or a T? cruiser$ The purpose of this guide is to co er the basics for new players and point out some common mistakes! and rigs is not part of them$ 1n fact! the only common mistake about rigs 1 can think of! is to fit e6pensi e rigs on ulnerable! throw'away ships$ Once you started to using bigger and more e6pensi e ships! rigs will become more important! and you(ll often find rigs increasing certain capabilities of your ship by 2F?)G! or freeing up one or two mid-low slots for other uses$ %or the same reason 1(m ignoring faction and commander modules here$ %action mods are e6pensi e! and commander mods are usually ery ery e6pensi e! and neither are a ailable on regular market$ By the time you can afford them! you really shouldn(t be reading this guide$ The good news for new player is! they don(t offer their owner a big ad antage as their price may suggest$ 1n my opinion! only when you(re ery good at fitting should you consider using them! because before that you can impro e your ship much more cost'effecti ely with normal modules$ And make sure you ha e the neccesary skills! not >ust the S8 but also the fighting skills of you the player$ Of course you(re free to use them if you really ha e too much 1SI to burn! but do remember that you will be a more lucrati e target for pirates! who found out you are faction-commander fitted$ 1 touched a little about cost in this last section$ :ou(ll use the same principles about costs as in real life$ 8ersonally! 1 try to use modules that matches the alue of the ship$ %or e6ample! 1 wouldn(t spend more than 2m on a T9 frigate$ But some other people put the best modules they can afford on e ery ship they fly! which is also &uite alid especially if they(re more are concerned about the safety their implants in low'sec-null'sec$ #hate er you choose! you should know that your ship will be lost at some point! no matter how good it is +go read about the Gold 7agnet, or

how good you are! and you should be able to afford the loss both financially and mentally$ <ead more* http*--e e$battleclinic$com-guide-94D24'Ship'fitting'Guides'merged' Topic$htmlNi6@@)@ODfOyii

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