EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hi all,

I am looking for a future goal (skills to aim for) and have read so much about the Curse. It looks like a royal pain in the behind type ship and looks like it would be fun to fly. I am a week old newb (subbed) so realise this is a long way off but i kind of like to plan things out as i go.

I have mapped out a skill plan for the Curse, but was wondering what the other 3 CR ships bring to a party? I am minmatar and although that matters little at my age, it would be good to know what the Huginn has over the Curse for example?

What level missions could a ship of this type succeed at? It will be part of a duo pvp roam as well so i am guessing a pure dps class for my fellow would compliment one? Also, are they welcome in corp fleets etc later if (/when) i end up joining a player corp?

Any info greatly appreciated :)

EDIT :- i think this maybe should have gone in the ships forum, but the answers seem more newb friendly over here, hence why i posted here :)

Yeah i appreciate it may be an odd question but i like to perfect what i want to fly, so will use it as much as possible. Like my Rifter at the moment, i wont train in to destroyers even though i have the Thrasher (i think thats right!), would sooner get my Rifter as good as i can and my flying it as good as it can be. If that makes any sense!!!

Thanks for your analysis on the other CR ships, will check out the Huginn a bit more as its minmatar.

I have had some moderate succes using a nano fitted curse and my buddy in a vagabond.

The enemy at one point chased us around system with 30 people. We eventually both got out intact cause there dps wasnt fast enough to keep up with us and my neuts shut down any tackler that attempted to make a run at us.

As you say you will be doing dual roams you will probably also go the nano route so that anything that can keep up with you you can just shut there mwd down with your neuts.

I would advise you to team up with someone in a heavy assault cruiser. You make sure they have no cap since any ship relies on cap by draining it from them they effectively become useless in combat (note that projectile and missiles will still fire at you but atleast there points propulsion and hardeners are off).

From all Combat Recons, specifically, the Curse is by far the most popular. This is caused by the fact, that all other race's combat and force recons differ only in ability to fit covert ops cloak, damage and tanking - force recons can fit covops cloak and fly undetected, whereas combat recons receive more favourable for tanking (or EW) slot layout and damage bonus instead of covertops cloak.
The role bonuses remain same between those ships, thus players usually choose a force recon over combat simply because of the ability to pick fights, if solo, and granting better escape mechanisms. Also ship's tendency to use electronic warfare for offence and defence while offering little in terms of tank and damage is the defining reason why players tend to choose force recons over combat ones - cloaking adds a great deal to survivability. Although, combat recons also have their uses. Rook, for example, is quite capable at the hands of good pilot in solo/small gang pvp.
So, while for most races force recons have a preference over comnbat ones, the Amarr stand aside. Many players regard the Pilgrim as the one of the worst recon ships in the game at it's intended role - capacitor warfare. This is caused by the fact that pilgrim does not receive any range bonus for nosferatus and neutralizers, whereas Curse does. Because of that pilgrims must operate in webifier range, which, coupled with recon ship's inherent low direct combat survivability means that pilgrim pilots stand much higher chance to get killed (nobody likes e-war ships, right?) than those of other force recons. Thus we see a preference for curse over the pilgrim. I am not stating, by any means, that pilgrim is weak or useless. It's only weak at its direct and intended role, but it has it's strengths elsewhere - it (and curse) are considered as best damage recons, because of ability to field multiple drones and specific drone bonuses, inherited from the Arbitrator hull. This allows them to deal considerable damage while not sacrificing any tank and/or EW for it.

Now, short descriptions of roles for all recons.
Gallente (Arazu and Lachesis) - Long range warp scramblers and ultra-long range warp disruptors (can reach over 100 km with faction mods, gang bonuses and overload) - usually found in drake and longrange ahac fleets, because those ships engage at medium to long distances and generally lack any tackling gear, but that is not the only use for them. The dampeners are used to a lesser degree and their use is more situational, but they can be great at disrupting enemy fleet's logistics.
Minmtar (Rapier and Huginn) - long range webbing support. Great to catch and pin down those fast ships for your heavy-hitters to come in and rip them to shreds. Found everywhere =] Target painters are usually eschewed in favour of better tank or more webbers.
Caldari (Falcon and Rook) - ECM jamming. Can disable multiple ships. Basically, that's it, they only get one EW form bonus. Seen everywhere. Also Falcon is infamous for being the cause of eve meme "because of falcon".
Amarr (Pilgrim and Curse) - capacitor warfare and turret disrupting. Both ships get bonuses for drones and large drone bays (150 m³ each). Both types of e-war can be found on these ships, and while neuts/noses are nearly always fitted, turret disruptors are also quite common. Curses can be found everywhere and on occassion fly solo, pilgrims are usually flying solo or in small ninja gangs with other recons.

All recons save for pilgrim can operate well outside web and even point range for safety in larger engagements.

To sum up - all recon ships have their uses, some more, some less, but it's highly situational, as is with any ship in eve. You should be also looking at force recons as well.

Good info but a quick question:

How do you get an Arazu/Lachesis over 100km?

Recon 5, Domination Disruptor = 60km. (best you can fit on an Arazu)

Not that 60km (72km overheated) is bad but...

With a fleet boosting Loki, fitted with a skirmish warfare link - interdiction maneuvers, I could get it to 92250, overheated. That's a bit under 100km.

I'm just wondering what I'm missing that'd get the range out farther or if that's its max range?

The Combat Recons (i.e. Rook, Curse, Lachesis & Huginn) are slightly more beefier than their Force Recon counterparts (Arazu, Pilgrim, Falcon & Rapier).

This is mainly due to Force Recons being able to fit a Covert Op cloaking Device & also getting a bonus for fitting a Cyno Field Generator or the more sneaky, Covert cyno Generator. This allows them to sneak up on their targets before revealing what they have Whereas Combat Recons don't have this luxury so require a bit more defence as you'll usually find these babies are shot at 1st!

You'll find (with the Rapier and Huginn as an example) that both Types have the similar amounts of Slots for modules, just configured differently. Rapier being 4/6/4 and the Huginn 6/6/3

So for example the Huginn can fit 6 weapons due it's slot layout, It's counterpart can only fit 2 if you take the Cloak & Cyno Gen into account. 1, if you want to get really snazzy and fit a covert cyno as well but they're only used by Black Ops so very rare you'll ever run that setup.

Mids & lows are a mix of Ewar, AB or MWD, propulsion upgrades, Shield mods or armor mods depending on the Fleet.

Some of the most deadliest small gangs you'll come across will have one of each of the 4 race ships present. 1, to jam, one to scram, 1 to web, 1 to neut. & between the 4, they'll eat most ships within seconds with what dps they do carry.

And you may come across these setup for speed (nano), armor or shield buffered, & other unique setups.

I expect others can fill in the blanks as to the other Types of fits used.

Hope that lil' bit of info helps

and remember, there are no right or wrong fits in Eve. But if you fit to what bonuses the ship gives you'll get alot better results when taking it into combat

Combat Recons are more usefull in Fleet fights
Force Recons are more for "Sneaky, Sneaky" Stuff

Have a browse on youtube, there should still be clips with gangs of these to give you a better idea of how they operate in different situations.

A good summary of the uses of Recon ships have already been posted, so I'll just add some additional suggestions:

Curses and Pilgrims require significant capacitor management, which is a moderately difficult skill to master. These ships are often MWD'ing while Neuting, and cap'ing out puts the curse in serious danger.

As such, I highly recommend practicing with the arbitrator and sentinel. Both of these ships are cheap versions of the curse, and allow you to learn cap management, drone management, and learn how to utilize TD's and Nuets to disable your target while NOT simultanteously disabling yourself. They also give you an idea of what targets the curse is effective against, and what you need to avoid.

Have fun....

Final note: For PvE, I find the pilgrim makes a good lowsec Radar/Mag site runner....

Thanks for all the replies, as a noob i have reconsidered my plans (noob prerogative !!!!) and have been flying Gallente ships and loving the drones. I will be in a Vexor tomoro, although low skilled, so will prob stay with Catalyst for a while (till my drone skills can get 5 out).

So i am now looking to Arazu/Lach but i will keep going!! I love how the pre-req now give you a time-span on a ship.

I'm a big fan of recons (can fly all of them between 2 characters) but I'm not sure if they are what you are looking for. As said they don't have any significant pve role. Some like the pilgrim make interesting low sec exploration platfroms but there are much better ships for that. It's also a force recon and you asked specifically about combat. So with that in mind, my view on them in pvp is pretty conventional.

1) Curse: The last word in turning off any sort of cap sucking module. Whether it be a gun, a MWD/AB, EW or a tanking mod, doesn't matter. If you want to have your victims sit there and wallow around unable to fight back against you, this is your ship. It dictates the nature of any fight where it can cap out all hostile ships involved (generally 5 or less). The ship lacks dps however so actually killing anything bigger than a frigate solo with it is going to take some time and commitment. It can be done though, I have more than a few solo BS kills while flying curses. Just have to be patient and keep a close eye for any unwelcome guests joining the fray. As you can tell, this one is my personal favorite by far. That does not mean it's the best, best is situational.

2) Huginn: Like the curse, it dictates the nature of a fight but instead of doing so with neuts, it does it with webs to immobilize your opponent. A successful huginn/rapier pilot will use this extended range hard tackle ability to stay outside the enemy's weapon range while still applying light dps from it's own artillery. You can solo with this ship decently enough but it really shines in a small gang where BC's and HAC's can provide the takedown punch (and possibly initial point).

3) Lachesis: This is a thoroughbred tackler. It can take two approaches to this, a long point with a nano fit so that the entire gang can fight at well beyond normal point range or as hard tackle with a scrambler. In the disruptor setup, it is possible to get point ranges in excess of 100km. Obviously this works perfectly with a BC/HAC sniper fleet as it allows you to keep every single one of your ships out beyond 50km, the typical effective range of any non-sniper ship. In the scrambler setup, you will have about the same range with a t2 scram as you would on an unbonused ship with a t2 dirsuptor. This doesn't serve much purpose for dictating range but it's perfect for camping gates as it allows you to disable the mwd on anyone who attempts to crash the gate after being caught.

Rook: The second most hated ship in the game but not because it sucks. It's hated because like the falcon (the most hated), it can instantly and permanently lock upwards of 5-6 ships out of a fight all on it's own. Though it can't really kill much solo, it's a great get out of jail free card for a small gang. It's also widely considered one of the most boring and frustrating ships to fly since everything is chance based and you are always, under all circumstances the enemy's single most hated target. The first one to get shot at will always be any falcons/rooks on field. Consider yourself officially warned.

Seconded. Imicus is very nice for low level missions and hisec exploration. Just deploy drones and keep range.

fyi, the falcon, Rook, Pilgrim, and Curse are more skill intensive then the minmatar and gallente recons due to ECM or engineering skills necessary to make them work their best. PErsonally, I am mostly Caldari specced and have nearly perfect ECM skills. I am much more afraid of an Arazu or Lachesis than a Falcon or Rook. The range dampening of gallente recons coupled with the extreme long-range tackling makes for a nearly unbreakable tackling platform.

One person mentioned electronic attack frigates, the small versions of the combat recons. These can be a lot of fun. I really like the Keres. I've also heard the Sentinel is the shiznit.