Warfare & Tactics

HI @all,

I've been flying a few Amarr T1 frigs in FW for minor plexes and found that they are doing quite well, but Thrashers and other destroyers are a problem. I want to stick with Amarr hulls and the Coercer is not an option with only one midslot, so I stumbled over the slicer. As I've never had one before, I need some experience from you guys.

How do you fly a Slicer properly? Can I beat a Thrasher with it?
And then, who's the natural enemy of the Slicer? And who's dangerous to a Slicer in minor plexes?

I hope, you can help me out here, as I didn't fully decide for or against switching to it. My only two constraints: I want to stay frig sized and in Amarr/Khanid hulls.

Thx in advance

Make it an option. It has a +50% range bonus the moment you can sit in it; the Slicer doesn't get this until Amarr Frigate V and the Retribution doesn't get this until Assault Ships V. When Scorch S has a range of 20km, it's kind of... good. Not mediocre like usual, but good. If you're in a gang, and you're focusing targets, and you aren't just stomping their face in so obviously that they're all desperately trying to leave rather than shoot back, then the monomid is not so bad.

Anyway. With Amarr Frigate V and "Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch S" and your tasteful selection of locus rigs and tracking enhancers, a Slicer hits out to 20km. A warp disruptor also operates out to 20km. With an MWD and a selection of navigation skills or propulsion enhancing lowslot mods, an MWDing Slicer keeps people out of scram range but within warp disruptor range pretty easily. It'll do 100 (overheated, scorch) DPS if you're a complete rookie, but with SP and SP-permitted fitting enhancements it can get up to 130, 160, 200 DPS. Put a Gistii B-Type MWD on it, which only costs about as much as half of another Slicer on the open market, and you'll have a smaller sig radius and a much easier cap situation.

I posted some kiting fits in this thread. There are also brawling and kiting-but-if-we-start-brawling-I'm-up-for-that-too fits - ask around for them.



An AB+AC Thrasher is very easily killed by a kiting Slicer. Anything with an AB and short range weapons (but not also a tracking disruptor, like some Firetails) definitely does not want to be around you. Destroyers with long range guns I would not take a chance with, but supposedly they are also quite manageable. I also wouldn't engage Hookbills.

But any brawling frig can see you coming on dscan, burn to the warp-in, and scram you on entry.



1. Don't warp into plexes and get scrammed on entry.

2. Overheat your guns. Shift-click to overheat. Overheat them when you're in warp, or after you break gate cloak, and re-overheat them after you stop firing for any reason. Cold guns are for rats.

3. Orbit your target and manually pilot / adjust the range of the orbit / overheat your MWD as needed to not lose point or get scrammed.

4. Don't burn out your MWD.

5. Put radial velocity and (normal) velocity on your overview. Radial velocity you want to keep an eye on always; velocity you want to be able to check easily.

6. An opponent with an MWD can overheat it to get a +50% speed boost, which is huge. You can be countered by a 'sling shot' maneuver: they overheat MWD and fly opposite your current flight path, and either A) escape, or B) wait for you to turn around (automatically due to your ship trying to maintain an orbit distance or manually as you panic and try to maintain point) so that they can fly directly at you and scram you. So pay attention.

Thank you, sounds like lots of good advice.

My SP are not the problem, as I have the frigs, assault frigs and the guns and fitting skills on 5 (just forgot to skill destroyers, but that doesn't take too long too). I didn't play for along time, but skilled anyways and up to BC's I'm quite skilled. So its mainly experience and iskies thats missing right now, and iskies don't seem to be a big issue with FW these days.

You mentioned the retribution. If I understood it correctly, T2 frigs aren't allowed in minor plexes and thus, I'd rule them out. For other purposes than plexing, I'll have a look at them too.

About the kiting fits: Yours have DCU + repper, others say for kiting one doesn't need them. Could you give me your reasoning behind it? Does a cap power relay make sense instead?

And about the coercer: One mid means usually no point, so I need to pop the opponents right away, right?

Btw. your point 6 about how to fly the slicer seems quite advanced. I bet, I'll fail at this for a few times until I get this right. However, sounds like fun ^^

Good point. Thx again

I used to fly the slicer a lot. I wouldn't bother now.

It's not that the slicer has been nerfed but rather that other ships in its class have been buffed. T1 frigates AFs and Destroyers have all had a nice buff. Coupled with that slicers have more than doubled in price.

Kiting is the best bet i have tried several brawling slicer fits and none were very sucessfull, i would suggest you sharpen your teeth with arty rifters or medium pulse punishers first so you can get the hang of the ins and outs of kiting without the pricetag and attention that a slicer brings. Like other people have said i would also highly recomend avoiding arty thrashers (just look at there guns).