Ships & Modules

Get involved in pvp as soon as possible. You should not expect to win a ton of fights with less than a month of skill points.

The most valuable lessons about pvp are player skills and not skill points, these you can start learning before you can even fit a point and a gun to your ship:

Learn how to size up enemy ships and capabilities ( how they are flown, what is a MAKERAL? Why should I not try to warp away from a gate camp when they have a sensor boosted t3 right next to me.... When does burning back to the gate become a dumber decision? ) etc

Learn how to use the map and DotLan to find possible fights and roam paths.

Learn how to use dscan and probes to find targets

Learn how to see a blob of backup arriving.

Learn what a trap looks like

Learn how to run away

Learn how to start a fight and still run away

Learn how to hide

Learn how to stop your enemy from doing the last 4

Learn how to manually fly

Learn how to setup your overview to give you an advantage in anything you do in space

Learn bookmarks and what bookmarks you need in your pvp systems, pve systems and trade hubs.

Learn how to get out of bubbles

Learn how to avoid getting banked by a cloaky t3 or recon

Learn how to not die to bombs when in frigates

Learn who uses falcon alts or links.

There Are more, but this should give you a good start.


Shooting the target is the least difficult thing to do in this game yet is the one thing that stops folk from setting off and learning All the important stuff

Come on Garv the new explo frigs can kill a lot more stuff than just a punisher!

The punisher only has 2 mids but it can hit anything hard anywhere in scram range. Is a tanky little bugger and any explo frig that gets a hold of one had better be ready for a brawl down or slowly kite and whitle down it's tank (oh yeah just like every other brawing frig out there)

And if you want to think outside the box fit the bloody thing with a web instead of scram and give everyone a really big surprise when you have better range control than they expect and lay down the damage a lot quicker than they expected. Most don't even realise they are not scrammed!

And for the question about amarr frigs punching above their weight? One of the best things about amarr ships is that they can do this very well. MWD/Scram punisher with NOS is one of the harder frigs to dislodge once it's has tackled the target cruiser.

OP the executioner is an excellent ship just don't listen to Garv. He a grumpy Amarr vet who is sick of the sight of gold ships now

Fly amarr frigs if you want ( they are a race I always seem to go back to) they are capable but require a bit more 'player skill' rather than just character SP. But very rewarding when you get it right cos a lot of people think they are shite!

Fxed it for you

On a more serious note. With an AB and just flying in one direction MF and two Metastasis rigs I've never had anything get under my guns in a punisher. I normally fit DLP's as well so there is even less of an issue with tracking. Admittedly my tracking skills are maxed so that may account for it.

I also often forego the scram in favour of a web. The ability to have some range control (will never have total range control, cos Amarr bricks etc) allows you to apply the damage from your laser very quickly and surprises a lot of people. I also do this with slicers and they really hurt.

Solo...yeah taking a risk that they just won't warp off so useless for forcing fights but seeing as most people willingly engage punishers a lot of people just don't warp off. vOv

Another way to fit is with a beafy tank and Gatling lasers. With scorch you can still hit anything in scram range and MF will track anything up close (once again just don't hit orbit)

I can honestly say in the last year I have not lost a punisher because the ship/fit wasn't capable of dealing with the target. ALL of my punisher losses have been through pilot error i.e. trying to use conflag and 'orbiting' in close range DUH!

They are by no means the best frig out there but they are far from helpless. TBH I'd rather engage an incursus than a punisher most of the time. But I think anyone that reads my posts already thinks I'm strange

Here's how I'd rate them:

Amarr Frigates
Executioner: A
-It's as good as any tackling frigate. You won't be killing anything solo in this for a while, though.
Tormentor: A
-Strong scram-range kiter and a passable brawler. Requires drone skills as your DPS is partly dependent on a pair of light drones.
Punisher: C
-Inadequate range/transversal control (due to lack of a web and poor laser tracking) make this the worst of the racial combat frigates. You can fit a neut and try to exploit its relatively strong cap pool if you want to try it anyway.
Crucifier: C
-It's as good as any T1 e-war frigate, which is to say it's not great. Get an Arbitrator instead. This can be effective in a gang if you have the (player, not character) skills to avoid getting swiftly killed during a fight.
Inquisitor: N/A
-It's a logi frigate; it repairs friendly ships during combat.
Magnate: N/A
-Not a combat ship.

Amarr Destroyers
Dragoon: C
-Tanky for a destroyer, but the delayed damage application of drones and the short range (even with the ship's bonus) of small neuts is difficult to make up for. Fly an Arbitrator instead.
Coercer: A
-One of the better destroyers. Fitting is pretty intuitive; still a difficult ship to use solo due to a shortage of midslots.

Amarr Cruisers:
Arbitrator: A+
-A strong contender for "best T1 cruiser", and usable solo or in a gang (albeit with completely different fittings). You need strong drone skills to make this pay off. This is also the Amarr e-war cruiser, focusing on the situationally amazing tracking disruptors.
Omen: B
-It's alright in its role--a fast damage platform for a gang. The Caracal is more effective at kiting and soloing in general, and the Thorax has better point-blank DPS and damage application. You need T2 medium guns for this ship to be worthwhile.
Maller: Situational
-It works well in an armor cruiser gang, but a lack of mids makes this clunky to use solo. You need T2 medium guns for this ship to be worthwhile.
Augoror: N/A
-The Amarr logistics cruiser; not much more to say. Bring it if you're in an armor gang and want to fly logi.


So, if I were starting out, I'd tackle for a gang with an Executioner, try some soloing in a Tormentor, skip the Punisher and Dragoon, and train for an Arbitrator as my first post-frigate PvP goal.

The Punisher and Maller are relatively strong for early-game PvE--you may find use for them there.

Also you barely have to get under the guns of a punisher because with multifreq it gets like 3 dps.

So far I've found the Punisher the most immediately fun to fly, because I don't instantly explode in it.

That said, I'm sticking to a tackle executioner at the moment while I get the basics down. Once I have T2 guns, I want to fit it for kiting.

Does anyone have any guide on what ranges I should be engaging at and what crystal types I should be using?

I don't give forum likes often.. in fact i can't really remember ever giving any

but there you can have one.

He tells that to all the boys,

As a former RvB member i definitely recommend punisher for fleet fights. It has huge tank bonus and you can reach up to 15k EHP. That means you wont get primaried and you will survive long enough on battlefied to actualy enjoy the fight.
For solo engagement i would recomend one of other frigs since punisher is all but agile and really slow.
Also take a look at Imperial Navy Slicer. Its cheap-ish Amarr Navy frigate with very high speed and gread DPS. Extremely good kiting ship.

Ok the punisher can probably kill the occasional awful person that doesn't notice if he is scrammed or not, i'll give you that.

But even then it won't track perfectly and its dps is pretty damn low already.