These forums have been archived and are now read-only.

The new forums are live and can be found at https://forums.eveonline.com/

EVE New Citizens Q&A

 
  • Topic is locked indefinitely.
 

"Size" column on overview, is this equivalent to sig. radius?
Author
Previous Topic Next Topic
Ayase Kusoni
Science and Trade Institute
Caldari State
#1 - 2013-09-02 08:01:29 UTC  |  Edited by: Ayase Kusoni
I'm learning to use drones, and was wondering if the "Size" column on the overview is a good indication on what type of drones to use against the target.

So far, it seems 80-100m are frigates, 300m are destroyers?
Kitty Bear
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#2 - 2013-09-02 09:39:05 UTC
Ayase Kusoni wrote:
I'm learning to use drones, and was wondering if the "Size" column on the overview is a good indication on what type of drones to use against the target.

So far, it seems 80-100m are frigates, 300m are destroyers?


Size is just telling you how big a ships hull is, similar to the way we use Displacement Tonnage.

Sig Radius is more like it's electromagnetic footprint, think of it like a variable light source (small sig is dim, large sig is bright) that limits your sensors ability to pick it up.



Sig Radius is not tied to size .. you can have a small ship with a large sig radius .. the larger sig radius just makes it easier to detect/hit because its easier to see from your sensors point of view.
Jonah Gravenstein
Machiavellian Space Bastards
#3 - 2013-09-02 10:25:10 UTC
Further to the excellent explanation above.
A shield tanked frigate with a size of 80 will have a larger signature than an armour tanked one of the same physical size.

Simple explanation : Shield tanking ships are generally faster than their armour tanking equivalents, however the trade off for the extra speed is that their increased sig radius makes them easier to apply damage to.

It's actually a lot more in-depth than that but beyond the scope of your question.

In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.

New Player FAQ

Feyd's Survival Pack
Ruby Pyrenne
Doomheim
#4 - 2013-09-02 13:28:59 UTC
It's also worth noting, since you mention you are trying to learn how to use Drones, that speed is a valuable factor to keep track of.

When your Drones end up playing catch up with your target due to his or her speed, they will have a hard time applying damage - drones have a max pewpew range too.

For example, hurling Heavy Drones at a frigate would be very counterproductive.

  http://rubypyrenne.wordpress.com/ part III posted @ 12 sept 2013
Ayase Kusoni
Science and Trade Institute
Caldari State
#5 - 2013-09-02 17:13:53 UTC
Thanks all.
Sir Substance
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#6 - 2013-09-04 01:52:01 UTC
With relation to the implicit question in your post:

Broadly speaking, you should be using light drones against frigates and destroyers, medium drones against cruisers and battlecruisers and heavy drones against battleships, subject to requirements about the speed of getting the drone to the target (if the battleship is 50km away, maybe used mediums or lights, because heavies will take about 60 seconds to get to the target and 60 seconds to return).

Sentry drones are for sniping, and can be used against any size provided you are far enough away.

The beatings will continue until posting improves. -Magnus Cortex

Official Eve Online changelist: Togglable PvP. - Jordanna Bauer