Warfare & Tactics

I fairly recently purchased more of these two hulls than I can reasonably use, with the intent to use them in an unreasonable manner (asploding in lowsec to learn how to pvp) Going off of a bunch of fits that various people posted, I notice that plenty of condor fits call for tracking disruptors running decreased optimal script, especially the scramkite/rocket fittings.

Now, since the majority of my month of existence has been based around using missiles and drones, and hitting F1 while orbiting a MTU, I don't have a solid a grasp behind all the mechanics that govern how turrets deal damage. My understanding is that first, a gun needs to track its target, and if you are too close and have too much transversal, (such as orbiting a rail merlin at 500) then they won't hit due to being unable to track. After this, if the target falls within optimal range, it does the most damage, and as it goes into falloff, the quality of hits (ie grazing vs smashing) decreases until they start missing as well.

now knowing that, but not really understanding what I am up against, is there a reason why tracking disruptors were recommended in almost every fit, whereas only one calls for a sensor dampener? I would assume Damps work better against other missile kiters and possibly could be hedged against Beams, Artys and Rails in a pinch, as they force the enemy to come closer or be unable to return fire. Likewise, I presume tracking disruptors are only useful against turret ships, as missiles rely on sig and speed for their damage application.

Are there certain ships I should use other scripts for, (ie, tracking disruptor + tracking disruption script against rails, optimal against blasters) and are some weapon systems more popular than others?

I apologise for the long, incoherent post with multiple 'not quite' question fragments. I lack the knowledge base that pvp requires, as my only experiences are exploding violently.

Actually, 35-40% is with low skills. With my skills it is 50% range reduction. Train Signal Suppression.

Your assumptions are correct insofar as they go. As in, they are part of the correct answer.

There are, as you've picked up (and seriously, there are people who're rolling around PVPing in battleships and HACs who haven't got this yet, so you're on the right path) often substantial differences between Paper DPS and Applied DPS.

Applied DPS is derived by applying various 'in live case' modifications to Paper DPS. For example if a pair of Taranis fight, one equipped with railguns and one with blasters and they have equal speed then the railgun Taranis should win, because it can keep range outside of the blaster Taranis' range and it's lower Paper DPS is irrelevant because the blaster Taranis' Applied DPS has dropped to ~0.

The weapon-inherent mathematical contributions to this modification are tracking/explosion velocity (which are related to speed) and sig radius/explosion radius (which are related to the sig radius of the target).

Sig/Explosion Radius are fairly simple because beyond the turning on and off of microwarpdrives they don't fluctuate much in combat because a target ship stays the same size, and so does the fired ammunition. They're also close enough to the same as to be equivalent.

Tracking/Explosion Velocity are a bit more complex. Tracking is how well your guns cope with the difference in relative lateral velocity between you and your opponent, a number called Traversal. A common newbie mistake is assuming it's connected to speed. You can be running a 100MN MWD on an Interceptor, if you burn directly at your opponent your Traversal is ~0 and his guns will track you just fine. Moving at 90 degrees at top speed (i.e. perfectly orbiting) will give you the best possible Traversal against your opponent, but bear in mind that a) this doesn't allow you to close or pull range and b) Traversal is a two way street, making it harder for you to hit as well.

Explosion Velocity works in a similar fashion, however it lacks the directional component - the target's speed at time of impact is simply compared to explosion velocity to determine damage reduction. It's also completely independent of the aggressor's velocity. For this reason some people advocate missile-based frigates and interceptors as good for those new to pvp because it allows slightly graduated introduction to these concepts in practice. Conversely, some people say it teaches bad habits. This isn't to say missiles are "worse" because they're "easier". The vast majority of full time PVP pilots with any experience will be capable of fitting, and will fit, either as the ship and task demands. The nuances are important though, for example directly approaching say a Crow or Malediction in your Taranis is absolutely fine, because it makes no difference to his applied DPS and you're getting your DPS into range sooner, and with your contribution to traversal minimised when they do.


Edit: It's also worth noting that because Tracking is based on relative velocity, the closer you are to your target, the higher your Traversal for the same speed. This is why Blasters have much higher Tracking than Railguns, it allows them to actually hit the broad side of a barn while moving at several km/s relative at ranges measured in single digits of meters, allowing said ships to get "under the guns" of Railgun boats with not only worse Paper DPS but, at those ranges/traversals, worse Applied DPS too (infact, a worse Paper->Applied conversion factor).

I'm not sure if you need to worry to much about explosion radius with frig missiles. There are only a couple of things with sig smaller then the light missile radius, and that's only by ~5m IIRC. I think explosion velocity will be more important for the type of fights he's gonna see in low sec. Maybe get some flare rigs?

Rockets are very reliable for their damage application. Usually it's enough to bring a web to make rage rockets worthwhile, although you will quickly notice when someone's running skirmish links (and other toys) that reduce sig radius and bolster his speed. Part of the pvp experience is learning who's likely running links and who isn't, then pick fights according to it.

Also consider packing two webs on rocket brawlers against frigates instead of one ewar, because it allows you to control range much more easily - and gives you the option to GTFO if things go south (buddies incoming, can't handle his damage), which might benefit training your instincts more than podding back home.

Also look for a corp to have some fellow pilots to have fun with, learn from and to call upon to exact revenge on those who've killed you. ;)