Strategikon: Agkulis Condor

I've never liked Caldari ships.

Too many hard lines, and all sense of elegance thrown out the window for practicality and cost efficiency. That's not to say they aren't good ships... I doubt anyone on the wrong end of a Drake's missile tubes would say that. But I do like a bit of style to my ships.

And also speed has been a consideration. Caldari have some of the slowest ships in the universe, and no thick bulkheads to make up for it, instead relying on shields. Fair enough, but flying without a few dozen meters of metal between me and hard vacuum isn't what I call peace of mind.

That said, with Mordu's Legion releasing their own designs, I find myself in need of learning how a Caldari fights. And for that, we'll start at the beginning: The Condor.

This may be a popular ship soon because it's being re-designed. I think I prefer the current design, but can't complain about the new one!

This is an attack frigate, and like all attack frigates is designed to be completely cap stable with tackle and propulsion running. It's also a missile boat, so despite having a definite range limit and lower on paper firepower, you'll be able to put out that damage much more reliably and consistently within your range.

Unusually for a Caldari vessel, it also comes with a utility high-slot, and in fact shares a slot layout with the Slasher. 4-highs and 4-mids make for some interesting choices when it comes to electronic warfare, but 2-lows limits the amount of hull customization you can make.

It's a natural shield tanker (as given by the 4-mids), but there are some inventive armour brawling set-ups out there too. The Condor is actually incredibly versatile, quite a departure from the usual Caldari philosophy of specialization. That said, its bonus only works on Kinetic missiles, so you are restricted in what damage you can apply efficiently.

Without further ado, here's the ship fitting for my Caldari training.

[Condor]

[High Slots]
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket
5W Infectious Power System Malfunction

[Med Slots]
1MN Afterburner II
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Medium Ancillary Shield Booster, Navy Cap Booster 50

[Low Slots]
Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II

[Rigs]
Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Auxiliary Thrusters I
Small Auxiliary Thrusters I

This is a rocket brawler, and the fitting is terribly tight. Similar to most Slasher set-ups, it's designed to get right next to most ship hulls, and gently stab them to death underneath the tracking of their guns. The Condor can do this a little more reliably that it's Matari counterpart, thanks to the use of rockets.

This really is a rather standard flexible brawler. Standard tackle trinity (Afterburner/Webifier/Scrambler) gives you range control, some speed tanking and, of course, the snare to keep people from warping off.

The majority of the tank is in the Medium Ancilliary shield booster. This provides a massive shield repair, if only for a while. It's not designed to be maintained full-time, and once your charges run out, so does your tank. A lot of your survival will come from where you position yourself in a fight. A note on charges: Navy capacitor charges are smaller than common ones, and so you can fit more into your Ancillary booster. They cost a bit more, but if you have access to the militia LP store, they won't hurt too much.

I said that this is a flexible ship, and that your position will keep you alive. Similar to the Rifter, come in close against ships with poor tracking (e.g. lasers), and widen your orbit against those with poor range (e.g. blasters). Rockets will hit reliably out to (nearly!) their maximum range, and will do the same damage at all ranges.

A note on using rockets: Transversal velocity does not affect them, but it will keep you alive against turreted ships. Rockets will do more damage the more you can slow down your opponents. You can rig or implant for better rocket damage (which we'll discuss later), but slowing your opponent down is the only way you can do so in a fight. So land the web/scram first. Then fire rockets.

There's a neutralizer in the utility high. This will drain your opponents capacitor, and leave them more or less helpless. I haven't used this extensively, but it's been done to me a many times before. It can cripple a laser boat, but even has use against other ships. Drain the cap on the enemy well enough, and they won't be able to keep their warp disruption on you. This gives you control over the engagement, in that you can run when you like to.

Procedural Plan

Preferred orbit 

• Start at 500m. 
• Widen to 8km if needed.

Pre-activated modules 

DCU2, AB2, Overheat all

Combat activation order

1. Lock
2. Orbit
3. Webifier
4. Scrambler
5. Rockets
6. Neutralizer
7. Manage heat (Turn off heat on tackle modules first)
8. Shield booster (Re-heat module after deactivating)

Final thoughts

This is very similar to how you fly the Kontarion Breacher. What you lose in firepower and defenses, you gain in lowered signature radius and speed. You also swap out the drones for a neutralizer.

Hard to say which one is better for newer pilots, but I'm more inclined to say Breacher. The drones help you to apply damage at all ranges, while you learn to slingshot kiters, and the greater tank will let you react to changes in fights more comfortably.

I'm also acutely aware that the Mordu's Legion ships, with their warp disruption bonus, are more likely to be suited to kiting. However, as shameful as it is for a Khanid to admit, I'm still learning how to use light missiles.