Ships & Modules

Remote reps.

Also, most of the time pvp is about killing stuff before you die.

This. Sadly many armor tanking ships in pvp currently either must be supported by other ships, or go back to a station after every single fight they get in. The primary reason im a bigger fan of active tanking, which does not work very well in pvp (in particular once you get past the 1 v 1 or small group, where it becomes an alpha contest and buffer rules. :)

I thought we were past that ...

Actually...
You pretty much explained it yourself.

There are a couple of frigate hulls that self rep.
And a few hulls that *can* shield tank, But even those don't really use self reps.

Big Brick Buffers are meant for bait, or meant to just flat out last longer than the enemy can stay alive.

I like Amarr ships a lot, but they do have their drawbacks

I'm going to copy-paste a comprehensive post I made awhile ago about tanking styles. It may not completely fit the question you are asking OP... so if you have any more questions or need more clarification, just ask.

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Passive shield tanking (a mixture of buffer and natural regenerative tanking for shields only) is somewhat ok for pure 1v1s. As long as you are SURE that your hp per second gain (factored with your resistances) is higher than your opponent's damage per second you can last almost indefinitely as the tank itself draws very little capacitor power.
The problem with pure passive tanking though is that this style cuts down your available capacitor power (both in regeneration and capacity) and requires a fair amount of slots to gain any appreciable amount of hp/sec... gimping your ship overall.

Active tanking (using a repair unit to "actively" regenerate HP) has some similarities to passive shield tanking... except pure (and proper) active tanking is extremely capacitor intensive and favors raw hp/sec over "efficiency." This leaves active tanking particularly weak to energy neutralizers and "endurance" battles.
In addition; active tanks tend to not have much "buffer" (see: raw HP) making them very vulnerable to high volley strikes (ex. artillery platforms).

Both passive and active style also have one other weakness in common; against an opponent (or multiple) whose DPS is above your ability to repair... you go down VERY quickly.


Buffer tanks are where you just load up resistances and raw HP. Nothing else matters besides getting a large amount of EHP (Effective Hit Points).
The benefits of this tanking style are that; it tends to be the least taxing on your capacitor power compared to other tanking styles, it has resistance to high volley strikes, and will often outlast an active tank when there is lots of incoming DPS (as your opponents have to chew through all your HP rather than just overcome hp/sec).

Finally... there is a fourth "unofficial" method of tanking; "Speed Tanking."
It'd take too long to explain in full detail (as I'd have to explain missile and turret tracking mechanics) but I'll give you the gist of it; it's the act of flying so fast relative to your target that their weapons can't track and/or apply damage very well. This style is the only one that can effectively be used in conjunction with the other, more well known, tanking styles.


Now... before I go any further... understand something; there is no all-round BEST tank. Each of these styles have their advantages and disadvantages. The trick is to use the right tanking style for the right scenario. In PvP... this means you must manipulate and maneuver around certain situations and opportunities to get the most out of your tank.

Some examples:
- A active dual-repped Breecher or Incursus can regenerate a large amount of hp/sec. Combined with their small size and decent DPS numbers, this makes them deadly in a close range brawl.
However... because they are active-tanked they have little in the way of raw hp. A single volley from an artillery Thrasher or Wolf will be able to blast right through any potential reps and prematurely end the active tankers.

- With some very good skills (and liberal application of powergrid enhancement rigs) a Tristan can fit a 400mm armor plate and beef itself up to about 7000+ EHP. This is well above what most other frigates can get (average is around 3000 to 4000).
With this amount of EHP you can't be "one-shotted" by Thrashers and Wolfs anymore... neuts don't bother you too much... and you can last longer against concentrated fire than if you were relying on hp regeneration.
However, because you can't repair any damage you do incur (shields being the exception) you will often find yourself docking up and repairing after each fight.

One of the best things about buffer tanks is that with CDFEs and trimarks giving non-stacking-penalized % boosts to shield/armor hitpoints respectively, buffer tanks can get a bit ridiculous on some ships as long as you don't mind losing speed/agility to do it (or sig radius in the case of shield tanks).

Amarr ships happen to be slow anyway, and have the damage projection to make up for the lack of speed, and the low slots/base stats to take full advantage of buffer fits.

Furthermore, the cap use of armor reps doesn't synergize well with high-cap-use lasers.

This^... If you're ship goes pop before mine I no longer need reps... Unless you figured a way to fit guns to your pod?

Eventually you will die unless the other guy dies first. Amarr ships generally don't have the capacitor to run armor repairers and lasers. A lot of pilots will just fit some plates and fly with the intention of killing the other pilot before their (finite!) tank runs out.

Active armor tanking in PVP is subpar at the moment, apart from some exceptions like the Myrmidon or the Incursus.

It should also be noted that buffer tanking becomes better relative to active tanking if the other guys got more and more dps.

There is another option for high resist armor cruisers: A buffer and a medium repairer. These are especially useful far away from home and the repairer uses less grid than a second tank. Moreover, the buffer gives you time to run your repairer without the enemies volleying straight through your armor.

However, mixing buffer and active tanking in general is subpar. Be cautious with it.