Ships & Modules

why would someone use an onyx for exploration?

Well, because my Onyx is only hours away I'd like to ask whether I should fit passive or buffer shield tank for solo gate-camping and PvP?

My current PvE fit:

[Onyx, Passive Tank vs Guristas]
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II

Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Kinetic Deflection Field II
Kinetic Deflection Field II
Missile Guidance Computer II, Missile Range Script
10MN Afterburner II

Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Scourge Rage Heavy Assault Missile
Sisters Core Probe Launcher, Sisters Core Scanner Probe

Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I


So this cap stable fit gives me 627 DPS gank and 557 DPS tank with 140k EHP. Of course if I replace Ballistic Control Systems II with Shield Power Relays II my tank increases considerably:

1x Shield Power Relay II - 743 DPS tank, 592 DPS gank
2x Shield Power Relay II - 991 DPS tank, 526 DPS gank

All those values are against Guristas damage profile.

Anyway after playing with EFT I can state that Onyx has DPS tank comparable to Cerberus heavy assault cruiser while Cerberus offers better missile range. On the other hand Onyx grants about 25% more passive shield tank than Cerberus.

If you plan to use a HIC for PvP, then that's like asking if you should train T2 guns for a HAC.

OK! Now it's time to acquire Rook and Falcon in ten days! Later maybe Cerberus. Basilisk is not well suited to my playstyle and Eagle is a crap.

yep

Also, responding to a few comments up, you should use just 1 shield power relay, or replace it for a damage control. Once you add more than 3 ballistic control systems, the damage increase is very bad.

its an expensive hobby :)

you're a hyper one. But yeah, I get it. If you ever want to seriously run DED sites in null/low though, get a Tengu.

That's strange. In NPC nullsec I've gotten Machariel blueprints, B-Type Deadspace modules, etc. I did lose a Tengu, but that was only because I engaged a PVP ship on purpose. If you find a quiet region (Solitude, Syndicate, Great Wildlands) you will almost never be killed, if you're smart.

If you want to do solo PvE, exploration, and some PvP--- then why not just train for a T3 cruiser? If you're going Caldari- the Tengu is your boat of choice. Even offers the choice between guns and missiles.

The Tengu can solo any PvE in the game short of Incursions and capital escalations. The Maze 10/10? Not even a scratch. But you can also use the same ship to scan down things- be it PvE or your fellow capsuleer, then refit to travel there cloaked and nullified, then refit again specifically for the content.
A Tengu can not only do pretty much anything you want in Eve, at the very highest levels, but with a mobile depot- doesn't even need to dock to refit for any role.

And when you stop playing a giant MMO by yourself and fleet up...that Tengu can even be your fleet booster! Covert cyno hotdropper. EWAR support. Even cloaky hauler in a pinch.

The T2 ships tend to be great fleet ships that are much more focused on a singular fleet role than a jack of all trades that will do all these things.
In fact, the Stratios might even be a better option as a jack of all trades ship that is both strong in PvE and viable in PvP.

Having said all that- the HICs may be about to receive a bunch of love from CCP. They are already excellent PvP platforms that are just a blast to fly. They also make for great Entosis ships. Despite their huge tank- I don't think they apply enough damage to make them useful for PvE. See above T3 endorsement for that.

The Falcon and Rook are excellent ships. ECM is still very powerful and for solo ambushing other players- Recons in general are very good ships to work with. High risk/reward gameplay given their weak tanks and anemic damage application- you really need those jams to land every time lest the battle go sideways on you in a hurry.

HAC's are still powerful but I consider them better suited to fleet duty where they have dedicated logi support and can concentrate their fittings for maximum damage application rather than tank.

The Basi is a solid logi, but being one designed to run a cap transfer means it really does almost require Logi V to go with it.


Given what the OP wants to do, I suggest a Tengu first, and the Rook/Falcon second for Caldari hulls, and the Stratios if looking outside that one race.

+1 Nobax

A couple things- it's a myth that every entrance into low or null sec is constantly camped. I live in null and move around between high/low/NPC null and Sov all the time. Camps are fairly uncommon in fact, especially if you can cross right over directly into someone's sov. At least then chances are the only people that might be camping it are the host sov holder- and if they aren't running one then no one is.
A cloaked/nullified T3 is very hard to catch as it is. Most camps are informal...."Hey I'm bored let's go camp a gate" and if they aren't running links and resebo support- chances are good you will walk right past a camp. Yes the unlucky decloak happens- but as a veteran camper myself, you'd be shocked how many ships have slipped by even pretty aggressive camps.
Even better would be to leave the shiny ship where you are going to use it and travel in something cheap and fast like a Ceptor. We certainly aren't going to be bothered to pull off a gate and chase down a Ceptor (assuming we'd even catch it at all). To all but the most fanatical gate camp, the sight of a Ceptor on the overview is met with an eyeroll and going back to surfing the fleet porn.

The Map. Probably the single most underused resource in the game. Before you ever hit that undock button, you should have already hit the map button. Never know when other people are going to decide to have a fight- and you don't want to walk into the middle of that. In null it means bubbles all over the place, scouts on most gates, roaming packs picking off stragglers....a system that was dead yesterday might have the next Asakai happening there today. Kills in the last hour is near enough to real time intel to make decisions on exit points out of high sec.
WH are another route. Without active local you can scurry thru W-space with nary a ripple in your wake.


I think it's unwise to risk a 1bil isk ship on anything solo, regardless of where. You can set up the perfect attack on someone but if you don't have eyes all over the place, you risk all his angry friends charging to the rescue and melting your shiny boat without mercy. The rare times I do any solo type PvP, it's in a cheap ship without implants.
Mostly because it doesn't matter. What is the point of your PvP? If it's just to collect KMs, then stick with throwaway T1's. I fly expensive ships when I am supporting a fleet operation with a strategic objective that actually matters to my alliance. I don't mind losing a billion isk boat if it's loss achieved something important to my alliance. I'd feel pretty dumb losing that much isk for nothing more than generating a KM on a third party website.