Thursday 7 August 2014

Strategikon: Standard cruiser armour fitting

My targets this time are not capsuleers, and I'll be going after the more elusive, but less able Mordu's Legion. However, that does not mean capsuleers will blithely let me pass by. I fully expect to be hunted down whilst I do my own hunting. As such the following is a solo Omen, which should manage the belts NCPs well enough, and be an effective counter for capsuuleers.


Billed as an attack ship, the Omen is designed to bring the fill fury of concentrated laser fire on its opponents. There are a number of different fits available, from brawling to kiting. Its major weakness is capacitor, so if you plan to use it, start training those energy management skills.

It's been a while since I've done a fitting, and the one I've chosen for my Omen is hardly revolutionary. In fact, it's so standard, it's applicable to the majority of armour tanked cruisers. Most Omens are actually fit for kiting, and that was my original intention for this fit. However, after a little bit of research (and the location I'd be hunting in) I decided an armour brawler was best.

The below fit is based on the most popular Battle-clinic entries, corroborated with an Eve Uni fitting, and may even have been on Jester's Trek at some point.

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

Experimental 10MN Microwarpdrive I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Small Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 25

Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Multifrequency M

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I

Valkyrie II x3
Warrior II x2

Like I said, this is fairly standard, and can be applied to most other armour brawlers, with slight differences based on slot layout.

The core defense is as follows:
  • Damage Control Unit II
  • Energised Adaptive membrane II
  • (Energised Adaptive membrane II)
  • 1600mm plate
And that's it. Fill up the rest of your lows with damage modules, and you have yourself an armour brawler. One of the membranes can be swapped out for a damage mod if you wish, but the core is fairly similar right across all the races.

This is standard for most capsuleer combat ships to save on capacitor. Unlike Ancillary shield boosters, ancillary armour repairers still require a big chunk of capacitor to run... which is why you won't see many cruisers with armour repair bonuses built into the hull. Modules of a size to be effective repairers consume more cap than is sensible for most cruisers. Simple plate and resistance allows you to keep guns and prop mods running.

Mid slot choices are limited by number of slots, but usual trinity rules can apply (warp disruption, web, and propulsion) with an extra wildcard for ships with 4 slots. For laser ships, the web can be swapped out for a cap booster. Even a small one will keep the guns shooting, so it's worth bringing along.

This homogeneity makes cruisers a lot easier to fit. This is not a bad thing (although my inner theoretician rankles at such a thought). I've heard it said that cruisers are actually the best place for a capsuleer to learn how to fight other capsuleers. After seeing the relative ease of fitting, and the more manageable speed of combat, I'm tempted to agree. Defenses take far longer to break through than in a frigate fight, so you have more time to appreciate your mistakes.

Tactics are fairly simple too, depending on your weapon choice. Blasters close in, lasers and rails sit at optimal, and projectiles and missiles move around in between. Drones... well,  sit back and manage capacitor, recalling any drone that gets hurt too much.

Overall, cruisers, whilst being heavier on the wallet, are shaping up to be much lighter on the brain than frigates.

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