EVE New Citizens Q&A

Hi ,

Im ratting in null sec, currently still in my destroyer going for cruiser very soon. Now right now my main problem are not rats itself but other players hunting me :) Especialy t2 frigates. Now while moving on to cruiser i have two of them in mind, a bit different setup and would like to hear what you think about it.
Do keep in mind my main concerne is not dps but ability to run if needed (if i miss stuff on d scan, which happens )

1. Caracal, with 1 medium neut, 3 ecm drones mwd and stasis web. This setup should probably be good ? agaist frigates. So im thinkig not running but just go into fight with them. Against Cruisers ot bigger if things go south, can i count on ecm drones to provide escape for me? + speed (mwd, stasis, overload all)
Didnt trained (3days left) or tried ecm drones yet, so im asking mainly bout them? Forums and other sites provide lots of info, just some say they are awesome, other says they are waste of time.

2. Arbitrator, with 3-4 neuts - 1 medium one, maybe couple ecm drones again.
Here im mainly asking bout neuts? did try it once before in dragoon, but had just 1 small one. Can neuts be powerful enough (1medium +2 small lets say), to disable frigs completly, make room for escape against BC or T2 cruisers. Description gives some info on amount they neutrilize but it seemed pretty small when compared to those big amount capacitators in bigger ships?

Ty

Could just watch local and dscan and not have to worry about it. One medium neut can cap out a frigate though

Just 1 things...ECM in general, so this includes drones, are chance based. And the chance that a drone hits a cycle is pretty low. So they are nice to have, but I would NEVER fully depend on them in any situation.


Single Medium Neut is more then enough for a frigate defense. But against a cruiser you will need multiple and the cap yourself to keep them running long enough.

Honestly #1 is a better bet. I'd go with HAMs instead of HM. RLM are going to chew through frigates, but your damage against rats may suffer. ECM drones are effective against most foes, but it's a roll of the dice if they work and you may not last long enough. Also a flight of ECM drones is really only good against one foe, and doesn't help against a deployed bubble. Neuts are effective against some ship types as they burn cap like it's going out of style. Even a small amount of cap loss will reduce how long they can attack you, and run a MWD/AB. On the other hand drones, missiles, and projectiles don't need much/any cap. It's complex as what works against one ship is useless against another. Lastly note that a MWD will be shut off by a warp scramble, but not a warp disruptor.


Honestly what you need to do is:

1) Blue people you know are safe. Select them or their Corp/Alliance, add them as a contact, and select a blue standing.

2) Red people you know are dangerous. Select them or their Corp/Alliance and add them as a contact, and select a blue standing.

3) Keep local open and don't rat while reds or unknowns are in system.

4) If you want to PVP get 2 ships, fit one for ratting , and one for PVP. Swap out to the PVP fit and rat when you think people might jump you.


PS- You should really consider joining a corp if you are ratting in NS.

+1 Ralph
It may not be as efficient as fitting specifically for rats...but...most players hunting ratters will assume you are PvE fit and can become the prey if you are ready for PvP.
Hopefully some day CCP will close the gap between PvE and PvP so all fits are actually useful in PvP...but until then, you can take advantage of the fact that no one expects a PvP capable ship out ratting.

Cruisers are mostly very soft to an interceptor with a warp disruptor (the long range one). If the interceptor pilot is bad, Warrior II drones will kill them, or they may let you close enough to hit them with a medium neut. If they aren't bad - you are in for a world of hurt no matter how you are fitted.





My Kronos is fitted with PVP the only thing in mind.

It can still blitz any solo PVE content in the game, should I wish to do so.

If youre going arbitrator, plz do not use ECM drones. An arbitrator is a great drone boat, i.e. you do a lot of damage with drones. Fit up some Hobgoblins and warriors, with some hammerheads/valkyries to kill rats. Once a frig comes on grid, switch from your medium drones(Hammerhead/Valkyrie) to your scout drones(hobgoblin/warrior). They will shred a frigate to bits. You wont have to sacrifice damage against rats, for damage against frigs.

If your medium drones are too far out, then just abandon them so that you can instantly send out your scout drones. Dont worry, you can always reconnect and pick them up after you destroy the frigates.

And yes, medium neuts work wonders against frigs, and work decently against cruisers.

I could not conceive of a scenario of 2-3 frigates killing me in my arbitrator. Then again, i cant conceive of a scenario where 2-3 frigs kill me in my RLML caracal either. But if you dont want to sacrifice Rat-killing DPS with Frigate-killing DPS, and are prepared to stand your ground and kill them or make them run, id go with an arbitrator.