EVE New Citizens Q&A

Im very new to the game, still getting my feet under me, running some Level 2 Security missions and so far so good.. until today

Ive been using this fit, still low skills.

[Thorax, Twitch Seilus's Thorax]
Gauss Field Balancer I
Fourier Transform Tracking Program
Gauss Field Balancer I
Fourier Transform Tracking Program
F85 Peripheral Damage System I

Limited Thermic Dissipation Field I
Limited Kinetic Deflection Field I
Large C5-L Emergency Shield Overload I
Experimental 10MN Afterburner I

250mm Compressed Coil Gun I
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I

Medium Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I


Salvage Drone I x2
Warrior I x4

Iron Charge M x4570
Uranium Charge M x2223
Antimatter Charge M x1030





So far I've had pretty good luck with this fit, I switch between antimatter, uranium and iron depending on the situation and how far away I want to be kiting from, not perfect, but getting me by as I learn more.


Well tonight I ran into a bit of an issue, I cleared a "room" of around 30 or so hostiles, mostly frigates with one or 2 cruisers. The majority Of which I took out from 45-50 km.

Except one frigate, who was still left, which I could not hit, literally. I started from 45K and worked my way down to 10 swapping charges from uranium to antimatter as I got closer.. couldn't hit the guy, he also killed all of my drones who could not hit him either, it took me over 15 minutes and 3 reloads to kill him, one or two rounds out of a hundred would find their mark, the rest would miss. from within optimal range.

It was just a generic NPC frigate, no different than the numerous others that went down almost instantly.

Was this a glitch or what? What on earth happened?

Tracking is a harsh mistress until you really understand it. My best advice without getting too into it, would be make sure you are burning (using your afterburner to rapidly gain distance between you and the target) in a straight line directly away from the target, this will lower it's transversal velocity. <-- (make sure you can see transversal velocity on your overview), if it is higher than "x" amount of speed you will not hit the target. (x is an arbitrary number that changes with every situation and once you develop an understanding of how tracking works will just be something that comes naturally. For now to keep it simple, just try to keep it below the velocity of the target)

Once you get your drones skills up they won't have much difficulty with fast frigs, they are probably just really low right now. You can always recall them if the target is shooting them instead of you, then the target will eventually switch back to you and you can send your drones back out. In the mean time you can consider adding a web (stasis webifier) to your fit, that way you can slow down the frigs velocity and make it easier for your drones to hit fast frigates.

Your DPS is gimped by 20% with only 4 guns, using the large shield booster takes a lot of your available resources, switching to an armor tank will free up some power grid and cpu allowing you to fit the 5th gun. I would go with something like this:

[Thorax, Loyd's Thorax based off Twitch's]
Gauss Field Balancer I
F85 Peripheral Damage System I
Medium 'Accommodation' Vestment Reconstructer I
Prototype Armor Kinetic Hardener I
Prototype Armor Thermic Hardener I

Experimental 10MN Afterburner I
Optical Tracking Computer I, Tracking Speed Script
Optical Tracking Computer I, Tracking Speed Script
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

250mm Compressed Coil Gun I, Antimatter Charge M
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I, Antimatter Charge M
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I, Antimatter Charge M
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I, Antimatter Charge M
250mm Compressed Coil Gun I, Antimatter Charge M

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I


Salvage Drone I x5
Hobgoblin I x5

Copy-pasting-and modifying something I wrote in another forum section.



There is "raw damage" and "applied damage."

"Raw damage" is the maximum potential damage your ship can pump out (measured both in "damage per second" and "volley damage").

"Applied damage" is the amount of damage you actually do when all the variables of the weapon itself and the target are taken into account.
Such variables include, but are not limited to:
- size of the target ship versus size of the weapon (signature radius versus signature resolution/explosion radius)
- angle/speed of the target ship versus tracking/explosion velocity of the weapon
- damage resistances of the target ship versus damage type of the weapon/ammo


In the case of your railgun-Thorax versus the NPC Frigate...

- 250mm railguns have a signature resolution of 125m. Your average frigate (npc or otherwise) has a sig radius under 50m. So the damage you deal will be reduced by a significant margin.

- You say the frigate was at range and coming at you. A 250mm turret has a base tracking of 0.0205... this means that you will only be able to hit the target if the rad/sec (you can make your overview show this number) is lower.
In laymen's terms... for optimal firing solutions the target needs to be coming either straight on/away from you or have a trajectory parallel to yours.

- NPCs have different damage resistance profiles... all of which are well documented. Since your Thorax uses hybrid weaponry you are basically locked into dealing two damage types; kinetic and thermal damage.
Now, these two types are usually the primary or secondary weaknesses for most NPCs... but, there are exceptions.
Moreover, there are such things as "elite" ships which have abnormally higher resistances and deal a little more damage. You can usually ID them by their higher than average bounty (~20% to 50% higher than normal).
Look up the NPCs on "EVE Survival" (use Google).


Now there are ways to stack the odds more in your favor.

- "Smaller bore" weapons typically have better tracking and rate of fire... allowing for greater damage application, more often. However, this will usually come at the expense of the "raw numbers" that appear on your fitting screen.

- Short range weapons are typically better up close... however you have to be sure that your tank can outlast the damage you are heading into.

- Stasis Webifiers can help slow down close-range targets, making them easier to hit.

- If a target is gunning for you... change your trajectory. Remember that having parallel trajectories or straight on/away) with your target makes things easier to hit.

- you DO NOT need every single ammo in existence in your cargohold. Three will suffice.
----- Antimatter: short range, high damage.
----- Lead: medium range, medium damage (it also cuts weapon capacitor consumption by 50%)
----- Iron: long range, low damage

I would personally try to stay at "Lead" range.

(exception: if using blasters, there is no reason to use anything other than Antimatter)

Best way to think about signature resolution, with regards to damage.

Weapons with a big signature resolution are like sawn off shotguns. They spray pellets over a very large area. If you were shooting a barn, you'd probably hit with all of them. If you were shooting, say, a chicken, the vast majority of the pellets would miss.

(It's not actually a cone of damage. it's just small things get hit by less)

Thanks for all the help.

That actually makes a lot of sense, also I was using medium drones against frigates and I guess small drones would be better.

I will give the armor tank fit a shot, I like the idea of having full use of all my high slots.

Thanks again!

You have some skills to train up then, thought I left plenty of room. Make sure your engineering skill is to at least four, preferably 5 and train Advanced Weapon Upgrades asap. In the mean time you can use 200mm rails, they will track better but will have less range and less damage.

I really have nothing more constructive to add to the excellent answers above, but the, "shooting, say, a chicken" analogy nearly made me fall off my chair. Brilliant!

Edit: Ok. I've pulled myself together now. I will add my suggestion that you check ships' bonuses. Tailor your skills with those in mind. You already display a fantastic attitude and a curiosity that will get you anywhere and everywhere. For better or worse, (which can lead to more fun). Tunnel Vision or ignorance can be a killer.
I wish you the very best o7

AWU is essential for more fits though. I don't really like how those two skills are structured really, i wish they just made AWU without a requirement but still a high rank skill.