Monday, October 19, 2009

Ship Setups - Crusiers: All Purpose Uglies, by the Gaming Griefer


This is a guest post by the Gaming Griefer. You can follow him @JohnBatDell.


The cruiser class in EVE online is nothing if it isn't the most versatile. It was precisely this versatility which attracted me enough to make a priority of training every racial cruiser skill to V, and has kept my interest over all other ship classes save Assault Ships and Pirate Frigates. A competent cruiser pilot is a welcome addition to any roaming gang, if gang roams are your thing. They aren't mine. I was born in the year of the tiger, so I choose to hunt like one: alone.

As I mentioned, cruisers are my third choice. With to the upcoming changes slated for December 1st, anything I write about the pirate frigates would either be obsolete or theory-craft, and I don't really feel like parting with my favorite AF fits. Nevertheless, I've been fairly successful over my EVE career in cruisers, and if you manage to find me on Battleclinic, you'll see that cruisers are by far my favorite prey. Cruisers it is, then.

Before going into specific ship fits, there are a few things I'd like to prepare you for. The first thing is that I prefer an afterburner + warp scrambler combination over a microwarp drive and disrupter on almost everything. I use close range weaponry, and fitting a MWD is completely antithetical to close in fighting.

The second thing? Buffer tank... buffer tank... buffer tank. I fit a buffer on my ships when I can, with the goal being to give myself as many effective hit points as possible and outlast my opponent. Active tanks generally fail on PvP ships with a few exceptions. Having your lifespan, your damage output, and your tackle all tied to your capacitor is just asking for trouble.

The third thing I must point out is that all ammunition is variable depending upon the situation. I usually use T2 ammo in HAMs, and faction ammo in guns. The actual type… well…

One last thing: I use rigs on my cruiser fits. With the addition of medium rigs, and their lower costs, I just don't see why not. If you're going to roam around on your own, you need absolutely every advantage you can get, and throwing down another 2-9 million on some rigs just seems to add up for me.
With those caveats out of the way, I present to you my collection of favorite cruisers, which I dub my "all-purpose uglies".


Gallente
The Gallente Federation has designed some of my favorite ships by far. The ideas behind their engineering is simple: get in close to unload hell on your target with blasters and drones, and have enough durability to make it into blaster range and stay there long enough to make the other guy die for his corporation rather than you dying for yours. I like to make it personal, so this "in your face" philosophy has always suited me just fine. They've got a couple of decent choices in the cruiser department, but if I had to choose one, it would definitely be the Vexor.


My Vexor Fit

[Lows]
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II (x2)
Damage Control II

[Mids]
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Warp Scrambler II
10MN Afterburner II

[Highs]
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I (x2)
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S (x3)

[Rigs]
Anti-Thermic Pump I
Anti-Kinetic Pump I
Anti-Explosive Pump I

[Drones]
Group 1
Hobgoblin II x1
Hammerhead II x2
Ogre II x2

Group 2
Warrior II x5


Some notable statistics:
392 DPS
442 m/s
22,844 ehp with 75/74/74/64 resists
-360 target cap per 12s cycle
The first thing most people notice when they see this fit is how I’ve not only opted for small guns, I've opted for small auto cannons to boot. The reasoning behind this is simple. The Vexor's primary strength is drone deployment, and though I could squeeze out another 125 DPS by fitting medium blasters, the advantages of fitting small guns, 2 medium energy neutralizers and an 800mm plate buffer are just too compelling for me. Though it spits out close to 400 dps instead of the 500+ of a gank-Vexor, it has staying power and can suck the life out of just about anything given enough time. Going with small auto cannons instead of small blasters drops a measly 13 dps for the advantage of guns that don't use cap. I felt this was important since all cap on this ship is earmarked for sucking the life out of my opponent and keeping him there.

The second thing people note is the drone grouping. Group 1 I use for targets cruiser sized or bigger, gaining about 75 dps over a group of 5 Hammerhead IIs. Group 2 is used for smaller targets. Warriors, I'd like to note, have the singular distinction of being the only drones that fly 5 km/s out of the box, giving them the ability to run right over most interceptors.


Minmatar
Minmatar ships were the last ships I trained for. This wasn't because they weren't good ships. It honestly had to do with how skill intensive they really are, and of course because they're butt-ugly.

As uneasy as they are for the eyes, they're even more uneasy on an opponent's hull. What's my favorite? If you guessed the Rupture, you win a cookie.


My Rupture Fit

[Lows]
Gyrostabilizer II (x2)
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II

[Mids]
Warp Scrambler II
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
10MN Afterburner II

[Highs]
425mm Auto Cannon II, Hail M (x4)
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Hellfire Rage Assault Missile (x2)

[Rigs]
Anti-Explosive Pump I
Anti-Kinetic Pump I
Anti-Thermic Pump I

[Drones]
Warrior II (x5)
Warrior II (x1 - reserve)


Some notable statistics:
532 DPS
509 m/s
22,069 ehp with 75/70/65/58 resists
Cap Stable
I opted for resistance rigs over trimarks, as both give about the same benefits to effective hit points, and I felt that fitting a Minmatar cruiser to fly less than 500 m/s was absolute sacrilege. This fit pretty much speaks for itself. It hits hard, soaks up damage like a sponge, and is very easy on the capacitor. It's fairly easy on the wallet as well. With a flight of Warrior IIs to fend off those pesky interceptors, there just aren't too many ships I don't feel comfortable going toe to toe with in this hull.


Amarr
Amarr ships usually rub me the wrong way. They just don’t seem to be built for my style of play, for the most part. Nevertheless, when I crossed trained for Amarr, I did so with a few ships in mind: the Zealot, the Curse/Pilgrim, the Punisher, the Sentinel, and (drum roll, please)...

...the Arbitrator.


My Arbitrator Fit

[Lows]
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane I
Reactor Control Unit II

[Mids]
Warp Scrambler II
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
10MN Afterburner II
Tracking Disruptor II

[Highs]
Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I (x3)
Small Energy Neutralizer II

[Rigs]
Ancillary Current Router I (x2)
Drone Durability Enhancer I

[Drones]
Group 1
Hammerhead II (x5 w/ x5 reserve)

Group 2
Warrior II (x5 w/ x5 reserve)


Some notable statistics:
238 DPS
485 m/s
15,576 ehp with 66/55/48/45 resists
-648 target cap per 12s cycle
I was so happy when CCP introduced small and medium rigs, as it allowed me to construct this monster without a guilty conscience. Though it may not have the impressive tank or nasty bite my other cruiser fits have, this Arbitrator sucks an amazing 648 cap per cycle out of anyone within 6.3 km, and 540 out of anyone within 12.6. Simply put, if they don't have a cap booster fit, they'll be in trouble fast, and even if they do, they'll still probably be in trouble. The longer the fight progresses, the more this boat shines.

Anything I can do to panic the guy I'm trying to melt is gold, and if he needs capacitor for anything, this ship will be a very nasty awakening.


Caldari
Most PvP veterans will tell you Caldari ships, except for ECM specialized ships are crap. I think that's complete rubbish. Though it is true that missiles are underpowered in PvP, and also true that shield tanks usually use up precious mid-slots normally reserved for tackle, like anything else in the EVE universe, there are always exceptions to any given rule. If you were paying attention to my previous fits and what they say about my play style, you've probably already guessed what my Caldari submission to the "all purpose uglies" list is: The Moa.


My Moa Fit:

[Lows]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II (x3)

[Mids]
Large Shield Extender II
10MN Afterburner II
Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II

[Highs]
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge M (x4)
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Hellfire Rage Assault Missile (x2)

[Rigs]
Ancillary Current Router I
Core Defence Field Extender I (x2)

[Drones]
Hobgoblin II x3


Some notable statistics:
440 DPS
493 m/s
23,293 ehp 34/48/61/67 resists
Cap Stable
Though certainly not my favorite cruiser, I've taken down a few battle cruisers in one, and more than a few cruisers and frigates. Their strength comes from their penchant for being underestimated, and in the colossal amount of punishment they can actually dish out and take.

There you have it. There are other ships I’d love to add to the list, but CrazyKinux limited me to a total of four. Honorable mentions go to the Stabber, the Thorax, the Maller, and the BlackBird.


The opinions shared here are those of its author and not necessarily mine. /CrazyKinux

7 comments:

Ashireka said...

I guessed the Rupture. Can I have my cookie now? :)

The one thing that has irked me with so many EVE ships is that in each class, there comes a point very quickly, where there seems to be little to no value in "the other ships", unless someone has a plan to specifically take advantage of some bonus. So, you say Min Cruiser, the answer is Rupture 99% of the time. Unless the question was, "What cruiser would you use for mining?" :P

Casiella Truza said...

Is there a particular reason the ship pics are all pixellated and ugly

And I will just go ahead and laugh now at somebody putting small ACs on a Vexor.

Stabs said...

Awesome post.

My Moa is of a very similar fit, I'll have to go over and see if I want to make any fine tuning adjustments as a result of your advice.

Myrhial Arkenath said...

Not only is the Moa underestimated, it is so ugly it blinds your opponent and burns their eyes out of their skulls while you kill them :D

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the feedback.

@Casiella - Laugh if you like, I suppose. I've been using smalls on Vexors for years, and mediums on Domis too.

I doubt you'd be laughing if you ran into me in game :-P

Gaming Griefer said...

Oops...

I hit the wrong button, posted as anonymous.

Post FAIL.

Ligand Nital said...

I'm actually glad I ran into this. Was planning to use the Moa in the future, looking for some good fits. This'll come in handy.