Ships & Modules

Just got back to game after a few years away. My character can fly pretty much any gallente or amarr ship. What is cheap and super effective these days for just roaming solo pvp and just screwing around.

Same goes for another character of mine who is minmatar and caldari.

punisher, incursus and always the rifter.

The rebalancing that has been going on has opened up many choices so there isn't just a couple ships to choose from. Also since you said you can fly every race there's really alot to choose from, here's a list of ships that would do well for solo PvP roaming:

T1/Faction Frigates: Tristan, Incursus, Atron, Comet, Tormentor, Executioner, Slicer, Rifter, Breacher, Slasher, Firetail, Merlin, Kestrel, Condor, Hookbill

Assault Frigates: Hawk, Enyo, Harpy, Vengeance, Retribution, Wolf

Interceptors: Crow, Taranis, Malediction, Stiletto

Cruisers: Thorax, Moa, Vexor, Caracal, Stabber, Omen, Rupture

There's also destroyers to choose from but those aren't my favorite for solo roaming because they are quite slow so they can be easily exploited.

Out of the ships I listed, my favorites are the Breacher, Tristan, Comet and Hookbill, Hawk, Harpy, Crow, Malediction, Thorax, Vexor, Caracal and Omen.

note that each race has a "fleet" ceptor and a "combat ceptor".
the fleet one has a bonus to point range and low dps. It excells at holding stuff still until a friend arrives or pecking things slowly to death. Any active tank will shrug these off.
The combat one is capable of very high dps and can kill many things. If it gets scrammed /webbed/ neuted it will die in a heartbeat but whilst it is keeping transversal up it will take minimal damage

I have been away for a couple years myself, but I used to fly a double 1600mm plated rupture with small autocannons and drones. Not sure if any recent changes would make this set-up more or less effective, but off the top of my head the fit was something like :

tech 1 rupture.
highs : small autos, small nuets
mids: tackle, web, afterburner (was just looking at EFT, This didn't always have 4 mids did it?)
lows: 2x 1600 plates, x2 ENAM, 1x DC
rigs : 3x trimarks.

The ship only has 200dps or so, but the trick was to trick BC or HAC's in lowsec into engaging you near a gate/station. I mean, why not, you're in a lowly tech 1 cruiser right?

65k EHP, small sig, 450m/s is one hell of a tank for a tech 1 cruiser. I killed a few BC and even a HAC once or twice even while their buddies were shooting me. I also died a lot, remote reps and/or too many friends did me in. But it sure is fun killing 100+ mill ships and fittings in a 15-20 mill ship, while outnumbered. I got this in local a lot : "Why the hell won't you DIE!?!"

Almost all of the t1 frigates, Shield or Armor Ruptures, 2x Rep Thorax or Maller, Most of the Assault Frigates and the Typhoon or Megathron. All depends on what you consider cheap I guess.