Slice of the Ol' Pirate Life

The stack of paper glared at me with the intensity that only ink and expectations can give.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my tired face with stained hands. The damned black stuff got everywhere, no matter how careful you were. It didn’t even seem to matter most of my work was done at the keyboard these days.

A cheery beep from my terminal reminded me of the half-dozen deadlines for tomorrow.

Take some time to appreciate the situation, I told myself. You’ve got a family to feed, and students who rely on you. And you wanted the shift from teaching language to hard science. Better prospects all around. All you need to do is push through these months of truly hard work, and everything will be better.

Don’t think about that government service job you applied for on a whim. Doesn’t matter you’re through to the second round. You have to think of a secure future.

All good points, I agreed with myself.

The stack of assignments and training plans shifted its glare to impatient gloating.

I need to get out for a while.

I left the sombre, confining office, and wandered out to the living area, my wife conspicuously absent. It wasn’t safe enough to bring her to Ardar yet. She was busy being pregnant with our first child back on Hek. Just a comm call away, but our schedules had fallen out of synch. She should be asleep by now.

I fled the empty, claustrophobic quarters, meandering aimlessly around my small section of the station. My corporation had a few levels rented out for members, but I was the only current occupant, footsteps clanging down the darkened hallways. Had to save power on the lighting bills these days.

I stopped abruptly outside my personal hangar. Three sets of key cards hung on the rack, each coded for a different frigate. Just two Rifters and the Prospect here. A fraction of the fleet gathering dust in Hek. Two Rifters.

I didn’t bother with the furtive glancing around. They were my ships, and if you can’t take your own damn ship out whenever you wanted to, what was the point in shelling out the ISK for it?

I grabbed the card for the Rhys Tai; a little project before I started training for my new job. Standard fitting, with plate and ancilliary repper, 200s and trinity tackle. The devil was in the details for this one. Two projectile ambit extensions instead of the standard nano-pumps.

I was of two minds about it. The nano-pumps were a nice, safe, and easily quantifiable advantage, based on the sound military principle of being on the positive side of damage in versus armour repaired.

The ambits, on top of the Rifter’s already impressive range, gave a much more incalculable advantage. Distance against hard firepower was always tricky, but I was confident the Rifter could exploit this advantage well.

Mostly confident.

Within moments the little Rifter prowled out into space. Its butch form was a façade. This frigate needed a delicate touch, and a careful, considered mind. But still, by looks alone, it is one of the more empowering pod sheathes.  

I jumped a few systems, leaving the paperwork to glower in my ion wake. Just an hour or two away. To fly amongst the stars… And then I’ll be good. I’ll willingly press my face to the grindstone.

The various low-sec denizens fled before me, like startled pigeons. The pirate colours I fly tended to have that effect. I don’t begrudge them it. When I fly the Prospect, I act in the same way. Prudence over bravado is my usual running order.

Not today.

A Slicer on scan.

He who dares…

I warped to the complex gate, slightly changing my initial contact tactic. I tend to gamble on warping in on top of my opponent when using Rifters, a habit born from my early days of flying brawling frigates. Today I started 30km out.

The Slicer probably couldn’t believe his luck! A clapped out old Rifter, flown by a pilot so rusty he melded into the Matari penumbra, and right at his optimal range! Incredible!

Pulse fire came in stripping shields with ease, and chewing through armour with equal abandon. Reppers cycled, but the inevitable stream of fire began melting holes of vulnerability.

But it wasn’t going all his way. It wasn’t, in fact, going his way at all.

My own projectiles had punched through his shields, even as he orbited at 20km, the ambits casting the hail of radiated metal across the gulf between us. His micro-warpdrive made him an absolutely massive target, his signature bloomed out like a waiting flower, my own, Matari engineered radius needle thin in comparison.

I managed a text book slingshot manouver, something I’ve never been able to pull off before, and his incoming fire dropped to a trickle. I was neatly under his guns.

Victory was nearly mine when both my rocket launcher and auto-cannons burned out, melted to slag through over use. I made some efforts at escape, but the inevitable happened, and the Rhys Tai erupted into flames.

I set my pod back to Ardar. Just twenty minutes since I left.

It was… perfect.

Well, not the exploding part. But that was a minor set-back, caused by a little inattention to heat levels, and clumsy, out of practice hands at the controls.

The slingshot perfect. The theory behind the ambits verified, at least in this one test. The Rifter could easily match most mundane kiting frigates, and some navy specials, whilst still brawler fit.

I attacked the stack of papers with renewed vigour, its glare reduced to a morose stare.

Everyone needs a little slice of life every now and then.

Yarr.

War Record: A lesson in planning

Well, I lost another Rifter.

As a solo pilot, you take the fights you can get, and these are rarely in your favour. New Eden is full of small gangs, and big fleets. The majority of pilots, rather wisely, fly together to avoid becoming a kill mail and frozen corpse drifting gently through space. This is smart, and only a fool would choose to go alone out into the cosmic wilderness.

That said, when you do triumph against the odds, it is a victory all of your own! Whether by luck or design, you challenged fate, and won against reason and logic! The cost of that is a fleet of lost ships. Personally, I think the losses are a fair trade for that white-hot moment when the stars align, and you bring down that impossible target.

But losses do happen. What's important is that we learn from our mistakes, and critically examine what went wrong, and what went well. Which brings me back to my latest Rifter loss.

The fight

I was out patrolling for a fight in my Rifter. In my current job as mercenary for the Tribal Liberation Force, the majority of my targets are Amarr militia capsuleers, and these have been a little hard to find lately. Every system I enter, I seem to find four or five Republic warriors and pirates, and very few Crusaders.

However, I saw a Dragoon on D-scan, loitering around a small plex. Usually fighting a destroyer is suicide for a frigate, especially if it's one-on-one. But... sometimes you can take them. And maybe, just maybe, this will be one of those times.

This was not one of those times.

I had my close range ammo fitted, Republic Fusion, with the intention of out-damaging the destroyer before it could kill me. It's not that unreasonable a plan. Destroyers are on the fragile side of high-damage ships, and the lower signature radius of a frigate plays a part in avoiding fire at close range.

Or at least it would if I WAS at close range. I messed up my orbit, and was sitting quite neatly at 8km out, my capacitor drained to nothing by the Dragoon's neutralizers, and it's drones nipping at my armour like excited slaver hounds with a new chew toy. With no cap, I could not use my afterburner to close the distance, and with the short range ammo, I was only tickling their shields.

Why did I set my orbit that far out? Simple negligence.

Review

This is a common failure I've had with the Rifter. I make mistakes which, if I had thought about it a little more carefully, shouldn't have happened. With all of my other ships flown, I have a short procedural plan for the fights. Pretty much as soon as I've hammered out the plan I start getting kills.

Having a procedural plan is important to pilots of all types. As soon as the locks go on, the adrenaline hits, and most of your thought processing get replaced by the primal urge for survival. In capsuleer combat, this can be fatal. Having a procedural plan to check in the middle of a fight will help you to keep a cool head, and to avoid bad decisions.

Something I'll also need to do for the Rifter is setting up an engagement checklist. Unlike the ships I've flown before, the Rifter needs to adapt itself to the engagement. A lot of the adaptation needs to take place before going in to fight (ammo selection, orbit selection, running strategy etc.)

In the above fight, I adjusted my ammunition, and decided on a strategy. However, I neglected to remember to adjust my orbit, meaning a huge drop in damage against the target. Whilst manual piloting is best for positioning, having a default orbit set to your optimal firing conditions means you have less to think about once you're actually in range.

The checklist will help me to remember to adjust my default orbit path. I had set it to the upper limit of warp scramble range, the common operating distance of the Rifter. This was a mistake in this fight, as I should have adjusted it to be point blank.

Action plan

• Make a procedural flight plan
• Make a pre-combat checklist

The above is an example of the old saying: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Solo frigate combat is difficult, and the margins for error very thin. So plan well. The more you've thought about before you un-dock your ship, the more likely you to re-dock that ship with a string of kill mails.

For records of other engagements click here.

War Record: Rifter vs. Everyone

I dislike the notion of usurping one of my favourite bloggers, but Jack Dancer, fellow Rifter Pilot, has fallen silent over the past few months. Whilst he rests, I'm more than happy to wave the Rifter banner, high and proud.

I love the Rifter.

It's not my most efficient frigate - by far, that honour goes to the Breacher, which I simply cannot find fault with. Great damage projection, and a secondary drone weapon set extending to any range gives it punch against kiters and brawlers alike. It's also faster than a Rifter, and with an ancillary shield booster can completely cancel another frigates damage for a good while.

But despite all these virtues, I still come back to the Rifter. That flawed, mess of a ship, which is designed to be so adaptable it's near unfocused. Call it romantic notions against my better judgement, but I'd rather ride a Rifter into a fireball than any other ship to an assured victory.

Ahem. Poetry aside...

The Rifter, as I've discussed before, is an ambush ship. This is largely the same for most Matari vessels. Unlike Amarr ships, which are spear and shield disciplined-yet-unimaginative warriors, or Gallente ships, which are all about the romantic notion of weathering fire to come to a dramatic and decisive point-blank axe-blow, Minmatar vessels are about hurting your opponent from a position where they cannot hurt you.

Well, I thought I was done with poetry...

The Rifter, as it is now, is a warp scramble range kiter. For preference, your warp scrambler should be overheated, and you should be engaging blaster-fit opponents at about 9km, perhaps closing for a kill once you're sure their active tank has been exhausted, or the guns burnt out.

However, as discussed previously, you're better off engaging laser fit frigates and point blank range, where your superior tracking can carry the day. A Rifter in a fast, tight orbit and avoid much of the damage. This is most clearly exemplified in the following battle.

I caught a Punisher on D-scan. He had allies in system, but he was isolated in a novice plex, whilst the majority were engaged in capturing a medium plex.

A Punisher is designed to withstand damage. I noted this rather useful tactic on the part of the opposing gang leader. He had his higher damage, but less tough ships grouped together, with two fairly tough Punishers capturing other plexes. If the main group was caught, their combined firepower would be enough to dispatch the aggressor. If the Punishers were caught, they could withstand the attacker until help arrived.

Very clever.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to see this trap in action. As Jack says, I turned up all modules to 11 (i.e. overheated them), and jumped to the gate. I loaded up Rep Fusion rounds, as per my suggestions against Amarr ships.

Just as I was warping off the acceleration gate, a pirate Slicer warped in right on top of me.

In retrospect I should have cancelled the warp. The Slicer, whilst being quite tough, is still a kiting ship and he had landed in scram range. Its MWD would have been useless. Would have been a nice kill for my Rifter, but oh well.

I got into the plex, and locked up the Punisher. I went point blank, and started unloading round after rocket after round into him. The Slicer came in, and began adding his own fire.

Needless to say, it was destroyed.

Immediately, the Slicer and I went at it. Temporary allies against the Punisher, now mortal enemies, we managed a few volleys at each other before the Punisher's friends arrived - a trio of blaster boats.

Needless to say, I was destroyed.

The Slicer escaped destruction for  while, but was too, destroyed.

Review

Whilst the Punisher clearly had the Slicer locked down with a scrambler, as seen on the kill mail, there was a good twenty or so seconds before it arrived where it simply couldn't hit my more nimble Rifter in close orbit. A few reasons for this:

• Pulse lasers have poor tracking
• He fit Scorch, further exacerbating the tracking issue.
• The low quality fitting of the Punisher hints at a low-trained pilot.

So yes, the Rifter should get into close range of laser fit ships.At the very least you buy yourself a few seconds of no fire as the opposing pilot switches crystals. It might be worth considering leaping out beyond 5km at that point, forcing them to switch crystals again. Watch for the change in beam colour.

• Purple = fly closer
• White = fly out

The trap was well executed by the opposing gang. However, I think the Punisher would have gone down even without the Slicer's help before the cavalry arrived. I would have had time to escape if I didn't spend time fighting with the Slicer. It comes down to a philosophical choice: which is more important to you, curiosity or safety.

Overall, I was pleased with the Rifter's performance in this fight. I look forward to more in the future!

Accelerated schedule

... and the problems it brings.

Put simply, my hunting in NPC null-sec has been lucrative beyond my expectations. I was imagining spending at least a month getting used to null-sec pirate patterns, and refining both ratting and capsuleer avoidance techniques.

But, after two weeks of about 10 minutes hunting a day, I've earned enough to start the next phase of my plan, and also filed my depots with enough loot to fill an industrial ship... well before I have the capacity to haul it.

I'm not ready to begin the move, and find that it's not worth my time to hang around.

And I ran out of ammo. That's a significant problem.

I'm still deciding between getting Benh, my market partner, to train up advanced hauler sills, or asking his wife stationed in Amarr to begin learning. She only has the basic capsuleer pilot training, as we all expected her to be tied to a desk to support region trading. However, if I skill her up as a dedicated hauler, she'll be able to transport my region traded goods as well, saving me about 10 million a week. That's a whole Rifter!

So, I have a few weeks of vacation time whilst I decide what to do.

I've decided to finish off my Rifter ammunition experiments. I did a few disastrous runs in the past few days, and discovered my capsuleer combat skills atrophied to the point of embarrassment. Whilst I experiment with Rifters, I'll try to get my skills back up to at least an acceptable level. So, I've bought a stack of Rifters, and will work my way through them, until I'm getting confirmed kills again.

It wasn't all bad though, which is something I'll talk about in the next post.

In case you were wondering... I got my loot out of the Wildlands by fitting up a Wreathe with a few Warp core stabilizers. I went in when no one was looking, and got out with everything in tact. I did get caught by a bubble, but there was no pilot patrolling it, meaning it presented only a mildly annoying speed bump.

Needless to say, taking an uncloaked industrial to Null-sec via Low-sec was an incredible risk which you should never do. Let me repeat that: DO NOT TAKE AN UNCLOAKED INDUSTRIAL TO NULL-SEC VIA LOW-SEC. However, the Wildlands are very thinly populated. I only felt concerned zipping through Molden Heath.

Of course, that does give you an idea of the level of security Null-sec gives you. Even Benh was attacked on his trade route. Single incident, but my bomber spent most of its time in the Wildlands quite alone.

Strategikon: Rifter Ammunition

Whilst I'm neck deep in money making schemes, I'll take a quick break to talk about Rifter ammunition. I promised this months ago, and with the recent changes to the Rifter it became more achievable.

Introduction

Before, ammunition selection for the Rifter was tricky. It's bonuses favored a close in style of fighting, which meant a variety of close range ammunition types, along with Barrage for dealing with blaster boats. I was all set for a comparison of resistance vs. damage types, which escalated quickly, since modular customization of New Eden vessels makes for a massive variety of resistance profiles.

That changed with the fall-off range increase. Or rather, my perception changed.

Lets look at the graph again, this time updated for the new fall-off bonus.

Blue lines are pre-fall-off bonus. Red are post.

The new ammunition change point is about 7 km. If you're thinking this is a pretty good sweet spot to be orbiting, you'd be right. Just at scram range, and in deep fall-off for most blasters. If you're going quick enough, and can finely manage the distance, you might also be able to out-run rockets. Missiles have a travel time which limits their range. Rather than follow straight lines, they follow more of a 'chase' trajectory. If you're at the max range of rockets, they might not make it to you.

Kiters

Regardless of damage type, you want Barrage for kiters.

The reasoning is simple. Unless you are very very confident you can catch a kiter at close range at the beginning of a fight, you will lose applied firepower getting into range. If a kiter managers to escape your grasp, you will also lose firepower.

Blaster Boats

If you are fighting any kind of blaster boat, use Barrage. You'll need to keep out of range whilst your superior fall-off range whittles them down. In the case of most blaster boats, this will mean a lot of whittling. Your biggest problem will be the Atron, as they have comparable range.These fights will be very close for you.

This hasn't really changed since before. The benefit now is that new Rifter pilots without access to Barrage have a much better chance of countering blaster boats. It also makes your fight more forgiving if you get jumped by one with your close range ammo loaded.

Rocket Boats

The above applies to rocket ships as well. Unlike a blaster boat, auto-canon firepower won't overwhelm your opponent. It's also more likely that rocket boats will be faster than you, and better able to dictate range. Load Barrage, and keep your damage application more consistent.

Pulse Laser Boats

The only time you'll be using short-range ammo is when  you're fighting a pulse laser boat. These will typically fight within scram range, and you'll be able to use the Rifter's higher speed to close the distance. Your superior tracking will take over at point blank range.

These ships are Punishers, Tormentors, and Executioners. Looking at resist profiles for these ships, you're best off using explosive rounds. You may come across a Succubus, the Sansha pirate frigate... but honestly if you find yourself under threat from a pirate frigate in a Rifter, perhaps disgression is the better part of valour.

Rocket choice

Conventional wisdom states that thermal is best, to avoid hitting a brick wall when it comes to resistance. The rules are slightly different for rockets, because you'll be using them at all ranges, and it's only a secondary weapon.

Summary of charges to be carried

Barrage
Republic Fusion
Navy Inferno rockets
Nano-repair paste

Conclusion

Does this negate the damage type selection of projectiles? Yes, but to be honest, it's not that great a benefit in the first place. Unless you can be absolutely certain of your enemies fit and module layout, you invite catastrophic failure, rather than a tougher fight.

The advantage still has relevance in attacking the uniformly designed non-capsuleer pirates that infest New Eden, so it's not a total loss.

Further experiments

Whilst I think the above is probably the best choice for ammunition choice, I have hunch that the traditional, high-damage close range rounds aren't the best choice for the new Rifter.

Before, with the Rifter's 25% tracking bonus, and AC reliance on fall-off, short range ammunition is preferred. This was smart, since ACs out-tracked most other turrets at close range, meaning a point-blank attack usually worked out well. Slashers are perfect for this tactic, with the speed to nip in under turrets and stick there, gently pricking their opponents to death.

The new Rifter might better benefit from the mid-range ammo. Deplete Uranium or Titanium Sabot both have a 20% tracking bonus, somewhat similar to the old Rifter tracking bonus. The damage is significantly less, but you'll be able to apply that damage better.

This is the best mind-set to have when piloting a Minmatar ship. It's not about the firepower you bring to the field, but the accuracy in how you apply it, and how best to avoid it.

I'll be testing out the effectiveness of fusion vs. depleted uranium on my own ships. If it works out well, I'll let you know.

War record: Initial Rifter trials

Or: Rusty ship, rusty pilot.

So, my first few sorties were a terrible tragedy.

Lets start with my first flight since I returned from the Academy.

This flight was actually when I was still flying with Stay Frosty. There's not much to tell about this defeat. Rather than make the most of the Rifter's fall-off bonus, I decided to brawl at point blank range. The Tristan has drones and a tracking bonus to hybrids... close range is not where you want to be if they are blaster fit. And this one was.

Maybe things would have gone better if they were rail fit, but the next flight shows that my piloting skills really suffered from my absence.

Before that though, I lost this clone. A simple gank as I warped into Hek to re-ship. An important reminder to not be sloppy with your long range navigation, and to mind your suspect timers.

The second defeat was one of pure incompetence. I decided to change my control layout. What I thought I was doing was hammering my after burner on, wondering why the module wasn't working, and I wasn't going faster. What my opponent saw was a Rifter crawling along furiously pulsing it's warp scrambler.

Again, I lost this clone, as I was too slow in warping away. Luckily the implant lost wasn't too expensive, and my skills had outgrown the need for it.

The third loss was against a Slicer, and kind of solidifies a theory I have about capturing plexes. When I was a pirate, the easiest kills I made were on brawling ships orbiting warp-ins. In this fight, I thought that since I was sitting on the warp-in, I could catch any kiter that came in before it could get to it's preferred range. As such, when I saw the Slicer on D-scan, I loaded close range ammo.

Unfortunately, the pilot overheated his MWD, rushed toward me and got out to his preferred range before I could tag them with my scrambler and web. I then had to spend 10 seconds reloading barrage before I could hit them. If I had long range ammo fit before the fight started, I might even had won.

However, before the fight began, I had already given my opponent control over the engagement. He chose when to start the fight, whereas I was simply waiting for him. If you are capturing a plex, I highly recommend a kiting ship. It gives you much more control over the engagement, as you can simply speed away from a fight. There are exceptions, but if you have terrible reflexes (like me) this will make you more successful.

These kills were fairly won by my opponents. It's important to not excuse your losses, as doing so encourages complacency. In frigate combat, there is no room for error, and even the slightest mistiming or course correction can mean the difference between loss and defeat. As a pilot, you must learn to shelve your ego, and admit your mistakes, and the simple truth that your adversary was better than you.

That way you can get better than them quicker, and exact revenge.

Review

Know your ship: If you are flying a long fall-off Rifter, don't get close to the blaster-boat. But actually these losses did give me clarity on what ammunition is useful for the Rifter to carry. Playing the averages, it does cut down what you need to carry quite a lot.

Navigation discipline: If you have insta-dock warp ins, use them. Related to this, have an escape plan ready for when your ship is lost. I like to warp to the sun, but any celestial body will do. Follow up by warping to your safe spot.

Timer awareness: If you are a suspect, never assume anywhere is safe.

Know your controls: Don't be an idiot. Know which button turns on your after burner.

Know your situation: I'll recommend it here again. For capturing a plex, use a kiter.

The New Rifter: Pre-flight impresions

Well. I'd like to think I had some hand in the Rifter being updated, but with ship development cycles being what they are, I think the blueprints were being finalized by the time I made my thought experiment.

The final decision: 10% Fall-off range

And I couldn't be happier! At least in theory.

Short range faction ammunition now extends to beyond scram range (9km), meaning that rookie pilots can keep opponents at bay without needing T2 weaponry. This also means that auto-cannon (AC) fit Rifters are much more competitive against blaster boats, who before were out-damaging them at those ranges.

The loss of tracking accuracy may mean tougher fights against pulse laser boats, in that getting close as you can will mean some of your shots will miss. However, ACs will still have an edge over slower tracking pulse lasers. It also makes the fight a lot more forgiving if you can't quite close the gap between you and the scorch-pulse boat.

The Rifter now becomes a theoretical attack frigate hunter. Kiting ships are at much greater risk from Barrage loaded ACs. Tougher and reasonably fast, the Rifter has a good chance of applying damage out to much longer ranges. Still not as flexible as a Tristan, the Rifter now has a good role in targeting faster, lighter ships.

Also, an interesting build to consider now: AC kiter. You can comfortably hit out to 16km, and 20km if you rig for distance. The natural speed of the Rifter helps maintain distance, and you'll be able to fit a web to control distance. Not too bad, especially considering your ACs are still effective at point blank range (and actually better with the required Tracking Enhancer).

As for the standard, brawler fit... nothing much needs to change overall. Accuracy from tracking is now swapped out for accuracy in fall-off. I've swapped out the rigs for two nano-pumps and and a burst aerator as below. The extra repair outweighs the firepower. Similarly I've swapped out the capacitor warfare for a rocket launcher secondary. I feel this extra bit of damage is necessary to make the Rifter competitive with other combat frigates.

[Rifter, standard]
Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
200mm Reinforced Steel Plates II

1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Inferno Rocket

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Small Auxiliary Nano Pump I

There are some issues I have with the Rifter now though. It's mostly to do with the secondary weapon system. Like I said, the rocket launcher is needed to stay competitive with other combat ships. This is fine at close range, but rockets are much more limited in range vs. projectiles. This is the split weapon problem: they operate at different ranges, meaning sub-optimal performance.

This problem is now magnified by the Rifter's range increase. Whereas before, a rocket was comfortably in range of the AC sweet spot, now it falls a little short of the mark. Most other high-slot options (neutralizers or vampires) are woefully short of using the Rifter's advantage.

It's hardly a catastrophic flaw. I've never heard anyone complain about the often empty high on a Slicer. But still... feels a little foolish on the designers part to do this. Ships with drone secondary weapons get away with this, since drones are effective at all ranges (part of the reason why the Breacher is my favourite brawling frigate. You can still apply about 1/3 of your damage whilst trying to catch that kiter).

Like I said before, I still think the 4-gun Rifter is the best way to go. But this is a nice step in the right direction.

But let's try this out in space!

Deiknymi - Rifter: Final Thoughts

Kidrith Kodachi put it best when he discussed the Rifter:

"So to summarize, we have a ship that doesn't do the most damage or have the most tank, but is superior in damage type selection and tracking at short range or alpha strike at long range. In other words, a Frigate experience in hard mode."
 - Kidrith Kodachi

He's absolutely correct. The Rifter is renowned, partly because it is the first frigate many pilots engaged in capsuleer combat in. It was my first frigate, in what seemed like eons ago. I still remember hunting pirates in the belts of Metropolis, back when it was considered a legitimate career. I had a lot of fun in that frigate, and I think it's still in a hangar somewhere, gathering dust.

However, it is no longer the easy to fit and new pilot friendly hull it once was. The other frigates, with clearly defined roles and specialties, are now much more accessible. That's a good thing, and under no circumstances should a vessel claim the monopoly on new players as the Rifter once did.

The Rifter in it's current incarnation requires far too much piloting skill and knowledge to be as effective as other craft, at least for newer pilots.

To be a effective Rifter pilot you must have knowledge of:

• Other crafts likely lowest resistance.
• Other crafts likely operational range (tracking and falloff )
• Damage reduction through range control 
• Damage reduction through tracking advantage
• Charge management (of about 6-18 charges)
• Damage absorption through repair
• Damage absorption through buffer

To put that in context, here is the list for the Kontos, kiting Executioner:

• Capacitor management
• Damage reduction through range control
• Other crafts likely operational range

With relatively low firepower to damage absorption ratio, the Rifter's advantages are eclipsed by the skill required to take full use of them... and again, the Slasher outperforms it in all roles due to it's higher speed, and better fitting options.

Should it be fixed?

I think so. The argument that it's still viable is a non-argument. Yes, you can still achieve victory in it, but it will be a much harder won victory than if you simply used a different hull.

To that end, I recommend either the double-bonused version, or simply adding a fourth turret. The increased damage will make it more forgiving to pilots learning how to fly, and can be put to devastating effect by more experienced ones.

The usual counters are still there: range control, tracking disruption, and other e-war.

Gosh that was fun!

This thought experiment has inspired me to go out and see, armed with the knowledge I now have, if the Rifter is actually as viable as people claim. And I've spent enough time just thinking about them. I'm itching to get behind the pilots yoke, and load those autocanons.

So, as I love to be prepared, I'll start looking at resistances, and appropriate ammunition types to use. I'll post that in the coming weeks. For now... I have a wedding to attend.

My wedding, in fact!

Deikynmi: Rifter - Proposals (3rd Round): 4 Turret Rifter

In the final round of proposals, we will consider the Rifter with an additional turret.

This is not without precedent. The Kestrel, common favorite of the Caldari frigates, fields four launcher hard points, to make up for that particular weapon systems lack of punch. Projectiles have a similar, if not as pronounced, weakness.

It can be argued that Matari ships are known for their utility high slots, and that the Rifter should reflect this. Well, looking at the Amarr frigate line  up, we see utility highs, which are missing in the cruiser line up. In the Caldari frigate set we see the Condor with the utility high. Gallente frigates have access to two frigates with utility highs. What I mean by pointing this out, is that nearly all races can claim propensity to utility high slots, and we don't need to shackle ourselves to such a non-tradition.

Four turrets also neatly fixes a minor problem with the current Rifter: charge management. Flying an ancilliary repair, rocket launcher fit Rifter, requires you to carry around 6 different types of charges (EMP/Phased Plasma/Fusion/Barrage/nanite paste/rockets), to make full use of the projectiles damage type selection. That can extend to 18 if you want to maximize the use of the rocket launcher as well. Compare that to an Incursus: a maximum of 5, for a cap boosted ancillary repair unit fit... which is a little unlikely to see.

Fitting does not have to be changed. Please feel free to check my maths, but Powergrid and CPU should already be sufficient to fit that extra turret. Many pilots already treat it as a missile launcher spot, and using 150mm ACs actually makes the fitting more generous.

It also becomes an excellent ship for rookie pilots. They only have to train one weapon system to become proficient in Rifter piloting, giving them more time to develop the navigation skills, vital to the Rifter's style of play.

The Wolf already supports the Rifter fitting 4 turrets, so no work would have to be done to manipulate ship models.

Speaking of Assault Frigates, now we have a good lineage leading into both Wold and Jaguar. The Wolf leads on from the Rifter to be a simple brute force weapon, with the Jaguar following from the Slasher, as a more elegant, cunning ship.

The Republic has the Slasher for unorthodox tactics, and the Breacher for reliable payloads.The Rifter sits in the middle,as the quintessential Minmatar ship, at first barbaric and gaudy sporting so many weapons, but with the skill and finesse to put lie to claims of savagery.

Thematically, I think this suits the Rifter's character. It should be the hull of the Brutor, all guns and tough armour, blended with low animal cunning, snarling and confounding enemies of the Republic through agility. Aggressive, yet balanced.

But let's put aside the poetry in favour of numbers.

Proposal 4: Damage application bonus only

Tracking 7.5%
Fall off 7.5%

No. Turrets = 4

New DPS: 130
New range: 0.7km + 7.6km (Rep EMP)
                  0.7km + 11.9km (Barrage)

Slight buff to damage, but a significant buff to damage application. See the previous post for a more accurate look at the fall-off benefits.

It's still outgunned by blaster boats, and still out-ranged by pulse laser boats. However, it retains the Rifter's advantage of maneuverability, and flexible engagement options.

It's able to more effectively kite blasters using either Barrage or Faction close range ammunition. It will retain it's point blank advantage against pulses, provided the pilot can maintain transversal.

Compared to the Breacher, it has similar firepower and range, but with the Breacher putting out more reliable missile damage, but without the Drone management. It provides more buffer tank, but less active repair.

Compared to the Slasher, it offers a lot less flexibility in fitting options, but it can be argued that the Rifter lost that particular advantage a long time ago. It gains in firepower application and brute force, as opposed to the Slashers evasion and dirty E-War tricks.

Finally, it opens up another interesting fit for high Alpha artillery wolf packs. It would not be so good for solo, as the fitting mods needed to fit 4 artillery turrets would lose too much tank.

However, whilst damage projection may make me, who prefers kiting, quite happy, it's not compelling enough to newer pilots.

Instead, lets look at keeping the same bonus from the current Rifter, but with 4 turrets:

Proposal 5: Damage bonus, 4 guns

Damage 5% / level
Tracking 7.5% / level

Old DPS: 124
New DPS: 164

Slightly better damage than the double bonused proposal in the first round, better damage application on tight orbits. It's more limited in high slot variation, but again, the Slasher is better able to use such tactics.

To me this is the perfect Rifter. It has enough firepower to place it as a damage oriented combat vessel. It has a distinct role of shock trooper. It follows the Thrasher tradition of crashing into combat, and unloading storms of metal into space, but on a more flexible craft.

This makes it an excellent terrorist/freedom fighter vessel. It can attack with the conviction of the pilots belief in his cause, and withstand a

The only problem with this is the large alpha from artillery Rifters. That said, I think that also suits the Rifter's image, and the Matari guerrilla style of combat. Warp in, fire a salvo, disengage.

We don't need to discuss the double bonused 4-turret Rifter. For the firepower of that, only look at the Wolf.

Next time, we'll look at my concluding thoughts.

In the mean time, please, discuss the possibilities above. Do you think they go too far, or not far enough? Are there any glaring problems I missed? Have your own suggestions? Let me know.

Deiknymi: Rifter Proposals (2nd Round) Fall-off bonus

Fall off is a difficult topic to think about, and the maths of it quite beyond my feeble arithmetic skills.

However, in this modern age of information sharing, I can use the work of others to support my own investigations. Thanks to Eve University for a most informative page!

Proposal 3: Fall-off bonus

Damage:  5%/level
Fall off:    7.5%/level

Old range: 0.7+5.5km (Rep EMP)
                 0.7+8.3km (Barrage)

New range: 0.7km + 7.6km (Rep EMP)
                  0.7km + 11.9km (Barrage)

For a better understanding of how this effects damage projection, we will look at some arbitrary ranges, and see the projected DPS for each. Bear in mind, my maths is quite bad, and this are only rough estimates. If you'd like to do the calculations yourself, please do, and I'll update this page! This is only for auto canons.

The four ranges will be about half warp scrambler range, then about scrambler range, overheated web range,  a close kiter range (about the Kontos operating range) and then warp disruptor range.

One more thing: these calculations will also apply to both the Slasher and Firetail.

Forgive my wobbly lines. My maths is far from perfect.

As a little aside, it does neatly show what ammunition you should be using at each range. About 5km is the turning point. I'll make another graph later on to show a comparison to blasters and pulses. Then I can more thoroughly explain Rifter tactics.

On with the bonus.

There is much greater damage application, but with the tracking problems mentioned before. Good firepower. It certainly has the edge over blaster fit frigates, but slightly less of an edge over laser boats. It would certainly give scram range kiters a shock!

It even has the option of using close range ammunition against scram kiters. Interestingly enough, the bonused close range ammo almost mirrors the DPS curve of unbonused Barrage.

Artillery Rifters would be even a huge amount of kiting ability, giving fairly high firepower into ranges only matched by specialist range ships. They will comfortably operate outside of scrambler range, and above dirsputor ranges.

I like this idea, but since the Slasher is faster, it could make much better use of the kiting range increase. It's a great bonus, but on the wrong hull. There also isn't a significant cost to using artillery on the Rifter. The fitting is a little too comfortable. The Slasher would have to make a lot more concessions in fitting modifications, meaning a lot more balance.

I'm also concerned that the loss of tracking would pretty much negate the benefit of the increased range.

There are variations on this bonus, but then we're just playing with numbers. It doesn't really capture the spirit of what the Rifter should be, or what pilots should be encouraged to do whilst flying one. The spirit of the Rifter is not in delicate kiting. The Rifter should be more of a rough and tumble fighter.

The biggest problem with this, however, is the Breacher. It's faster, and able to put it's theoretical dps out to better ranges (about 15km with Javelin rockets). Taking the Rifter out of competition with the Slasher, only to put it in competition with the Breacher should not be the result of any changes made.

I'd like to consider a slightly more radical proposal: The four gun Rifter. We'll look at that next time.

In the meantime, please post your thoughts about the above. Agree? Disagree? Think I should go back to the Academy to re-take mathematics? Let me know.

Deiknymi: Rifter - Proposals (1st Round) Damage bonus

Last time we looked at  what was not so good about the Rifter. Now let us look at giving the Rifter a new identity.

In the first round of proposals, and analysis, we will consider the ship as it is, and concern ourselves only with the improvements offered by the manufacturers. These are the so-called bonuses, called that because they are something unique ascribed to the hull.

The simplest of fixes would be to give the Rifter a slightly different bonus to it's guns. In essence, we'd be making the Rifter all about it's firepower.

Proposal 1: Rate of fire

Rate of fire increase 5%/level
Tracking 7.5%

Old DPS:     122
New DPS:   129
Range: 0.7+5.5km

Not spectacular. To compare it to an Incursus, it's Gallente rival, conservatively fit with rail guns for much greater damage projection, armour repair, and even speed:

Incursus DPS: 143
Range: 6.8+6.3m

Out-ranged and outgunned, the Rifter would lose horribly, it's only advantage being the energy vampire... unless fit with a rocket launcher for 141 dps. Hardly helpful. The Rifter does perform better in close-range tracking, but the Rifter isn't fast enough to make use of it. The drop in alpha also harms artillery fitted Rifters.

For the second option, we take inspiration from the double bonused Rupture.

Proposal 2: Double bonus

Rate of Fire 5% /level
Damage 5%/level

Old DPS:   122
New DPS: 163

Now that's a huge difference!

At least on paper. Actual damage application is lowered due to a massive hit to tracking. It no longer enjoys the excellent tracking versus Amarr lasers it had before. It is still better (by about 0.1 radians) but that's a far cry from the 0.3 radians it enjoyed before.

Alpha is kept roughly the same, meaning that artillery Rifters are also able to enjoy the damage boost, and fittings for all types stay the same. Shield Rifters would enjoy an even greater damage potential, but at the cost of any range control (choosing either a point or a web).

Whilst this is indeed a good buff to the Rifter, I still think in practice it would lose out to the more versatile Minmatar frigates: the Slasher and Breacher. Both these ships (in practice) are usually faster, and will be able to apply damage better than the Rifter. The Slasher still maintains the fitting advantages over the Rifter.

There's also the potential for over-powering the weapon systems... remember, we can add a rocket launcher for upwards of 175DPS. That's comparable to a blaster fit Incursus, but with much greater damage projection.

That said, I do like this version of the Rifter. It has the hallmarks of a great ambush/guerilla fighter, unloading a torrent of bullets before the enemy can counter. This gives the Rifter a shock trooper role, a perfect compliment to the more steady Breacher, and wily Slasher.

---

Commonly asked for is a fall-off bonus, instead of a tracking bonus, to differentiate the Rifter from the Slasher.

Initially I thought this was a simple thing to put the numbers down for, but after a quick review of Fall-off mechanics (which I must admit I was largely ignorant of before), it gets more problematic than that.

So lets look at that next time.

In the meantime, discuss how you feel about the above. Too over-powered? Under-powered? Bad maths? Let me know.

Deiknymi: Rifter - The Flaws

Last time we did a brief overview of the Rifter. We discussed it's strengths, and a little history. But now the bad news.

It is now obsolete.

When ship designers set about updating their blueprints, the Rifter was the baseline. The Incursus is designed to out brawl an armour Rifter at close range. The Merlin is designed to out damage a shield Rifter. Even the humble Executioner is designed to mimic the Rifter's scram range kiting ability, but with better damage projection (with the added bonus of the Kontos variant).

The Rifter sits in the middle of all the combat vessels, it's once vaunted flexibility now a curse. Now that the relative combat potential of frigates is equal, it simply cannot compete in any one area.

It can b argued that's it's primary strength is speed, but it is not competitive in this area, even compared to some other armour frigates.

Much worse, it's little brother, the Slasher, out performs it in a projectile-based flexible brawler/scram range kiter role, and most fits simply work better on the more nimble attack frigate. That ship even has more fitting options that the Rifter, often utilizing it's 4 mid slots for Electronic warfare.

The role of flexible craft is adopted by another vessel. The Tristan with it's drones can field a far greater variety of fits than the Rifter can, and thanks to it's more sturdy Hull, can withstand similar damage with less given to tank. The Rifter, once loved and adored for it's fitting and flight flexibility, is now without an identity.

Many pilots of New Eden have said the Rifter is now useless to fly, and by and large, I agree with them. I never worry about fights with this particular vessel. I have lost to many different ships, proving I am a terrible pilot. However, I have never lost against a Rifter.

Many pilots believe it is time to send the Rifter back to the shipyards, to be re-fitted for another role. But what role should that be? What it the identity of the Rifter in the modern world?

Most would argue that the Rifter is now a simple brute brawler. When placed aside the Slasher, it would appear so. When placed alongside other brawlers, it is simply under-powered. It has advantages, but these advantages are much too small to make a difference.

In summary:

• No longer the most flexible
• Not fast enough to make use of it's firepower application advantages
• Over-shadowed by the Slasher
• Relatively low firepower

The list is actually quite small, and there are pilots out there earning kills with the Rifter. It is, however, objectively less appealing than other frigates.

Next time, let us look at what to do about this.

Deiknymi: The Rifter - Introduction

I love theory. Deiknymi is the name used by ancient theory crafters to describe their thought experiments about science and philosophy. I'd like to do the same here with a ship. I do not have the full combat experience to provide a thorough discourse on what I wish to discuss, but many agree there is a problem with this vessel, and I'd like to theorize on fixes.

Let us discuss the Rifter...

What can be written about the Rifter that has already not been written?

This is perhaps the most well known frigate of New Eden. Back in the days when shipyards concentrated all of their efforts into perfecting one particular hull, with others given only niche roles, the Rifter stood out from among the others. It, quite literally, set the standard for combat frigates, and the state of modern frigate combat is a direct result of it's success.

The virtues of it's speed, flexibility and relative durability and firepower, have been discussed ad nauseam. I'll list it's merits here for the uninitiated, but I'd rather discuss the spirit of the ship.

• Speed - The Rifter is the fastest combat frigate (Before fitting. Most Breachers are faster in practice)
• Flexibility - A 4-3-3 slot layout lends itself equally to shield or armour tanking. It can fit the standard propulsion/web/warp disabler trifecta. A trifecta born from it's use on this particular hull. It's utility high can be used for extra damage via a rocket launcher, or energy warfare.
• Weaponry - Projectiles have a generous fall off range, giving some degree of range flexibility, and also select-able damage types. You can always hit the enemy in his weakest spot.

There are literally thousands of documents on Rifter flying, and dozens of capsuleer corporations who identify themselves as Rifter pilots above all else. It was THAT popular, and it shaped the combat arenas we have today.

I'll post the most common fit on here, simply because it's so common many people forget to note it in the usual places.

[Rifter, standard]
Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
200mm Reinforced Steel Plates II

1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Small 'Knave' Energy Drain

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
[empty rig slot]

These days, the NOS in the high slot is often replaced with a rocket launcher... the virtues of energy warfare and more stable capacitor management have fallen aside due to the rest of the frigate line-ups impressive firepower increase.

Next time, we'll look at the problems faced by a Rifter pilot.