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Blockade Runners - More recent opinions?
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Kaljack Joh'neeh
Airfoil Delivery
#1 - 2016-03-01 17:31:58 UTC
Hello all,

Sorry if this is a somewhat repetitive topic, but most of the posts I found on this were based on older versions of the blockade runners. I'm looking to get into flying these, and I was wondering which one would be best for survivability. Let's say I'm not too concerned about cargo space (4000 ish would suffice?) but mostly worried about staying alive - as in, if I get caught (which I've heard is sort of a dumb move in a blockade runner anyway), which blockade runner would give me a better chance at survival?

If this isn't a good metric in the first place, general opinions/rankings on the current blockade runners would be of interest too.
Paranoid Loyd
#2 - 2016-03-01 18:22:21 UTC  |  Edited by: Paranoid Loyd
They all work fine. Crane can sport the best tank but as long as you are on the ball you shouldn't ever need it as long as you are using proper tactics. You are most vulnerable to fast locking Tornados so using resistance amps on your fit is preferred as if you do get caught, by the time you turn on active hardeners you will already be dead. 2 EM amps and an explosive amp with a large T2 extender will get you enough tank to survive a single Tornado.

"There is only one authority in this game, and that my friend is violence. The supreme authority upon which all other authority is derived." ISD Max Trix

Fix the Prospect!
Coco Noceuse
Battle Pope Industries Ltd.
#3 - 2016-03-01 19:09:33 UTC
Suffer the long training time and get Transport Ships to V. I use the heck out of my Viator. With all nav skills maxed out, it is a superb transport choice in your hangar. Fit two Nanofibers and one inertial stab in lows, not WCS!!
RavenPaine
RaVeN Alliance
#4 - 2016-03-01 22:49:04 UTC
I think the Minmatar Prowler is most agile, and fastest, ( by about 10%) but it has a smaller cargo hold.
It also has the smallest sig radius.
Paranoid Loyd
#5 - 2016-03-02 00:31:58 UTC  |  Edited by: Paranoid Loyd
RavenPaine wrote:
I think the Minmatar Prowler is most agile, and fastest, ( by about 10%) but it has a smaller cargo hold.
It also has the smallest sig radius.

It is considerably faster, however that rarely matters, it does help on occasion if you are a thief and find yourself tackled in the vicinity of a gate, I guess it may also come in handy in a bubble, but under normal hauling circumstances it is a non factor, as far as agility, they all have a base align of 6 ticks.

"There is only one authority in this game, and that my friend is violence. The supreme authority upon which all other authority is derived." ISD Max Trix

Fix the Prospect!
Substantia Nigra
Polaris Rising
Goonswarm Federation
#6 - 2016-03-02 02:01:43 UTC
Blockade Runners are phenomenally useful ships and, IMHO, well worth the arduous training necessary. All of my alt-account main characters fly the prowler (Minmatar BR) and I have dozens of the damn things scattered over the cosmos and use them virtually every time I play eve for more than a couple minutes at a sitting. Their space-AIDS (jump fatigue) resistance is a huge bonus, making them very good nullsec taxis … you can gate or cyno jump from afar to join a forming fleet and have lost your fatigue before the fleet gets active, or you can do a lot of logistics work without having to stop and wait for your fatigue to abate. Their fast-aligning fast-warping covops characteristics made them superb support ships, carrying stuff when I am camping somewhere or just making a quick Jita run when my needs exceed the cargospace of a ceptor or covops frigate.

I fly my BRs on the assumption that if they are ever uncloaked long enough to be targeted then they’re dead. I do not fit them with any tank at all but I do carry a range of modules in a small can in their cargohold and refit often depending on what I am doing. I am also not fussed with speed, either ongrid or in warp. My main survivability method is pilot skill and reducing align-warp time while cloaked.

I have only been hostile target-locked once, when I forgot to cloak a few hundred km off a gate I was watching and a ‘ceptor burned to and tackled me. That prowler had a multi-ECM and an RSD-range fitted and I managed to break his tackle and warp away just as his friends started landing on grid.

Fittings wise I pick amongst the following, depending on my mood:
Hislots:
Covert ops cloak;
Cyno or Covert Cyno (sometimes the moonscanning launcher thingie).
Midslots:
MWD (sometimes AB);
RSD (usually range scripted);
Multispec ECM module;
2 x T2 webs for when I am shepherding a Freighter or Jump Freighter.
Lowslots:
Inertia stabs;
Warp core stabs;
Nanofibres;
Cargo expanders.
Rigs:
Low friction nozzles
Polycarbons
(I think I also have a Higgs fitted to a couple Prowlers somewhere)
(I have a couple with cargo rigs for specialty roles such the TCU / SBU logistics of old)

I guess I am almost a 'vet' by now. Hopefully not too bitter and managing to help more than I hinder. I build and sell many things, including large collections of bookmarks.
Shiloh Templeton
Cheyenne HET Co
#7 - 2016-03-02 06:11:55 UTC
The Blockade Runner skills also unlock a Deep Space Transport. So keep that it mind when you are choosing which one BR to train.
Coco Noceuse
Battle Pope Industries Ltd.
#8 - 2016-03-02 16:25:37 UTC
Shiloh Templeton wrote:
The Blockade Runner skills also unlock a Deep Space Transport. So keep that it mind when you are choosing which one BR to train.

Exactly. 25 packaged frigates plus modules in an Occator can keep an low sec alt pvp-ing for a long time! Fleet hangars are great!
Tau Cabalander
Retirement Retreat
Working Stiffs
#9 - 2016-03-02 21:14:27 UTC  |  Edited by: Tau Cabalander
Forget about tanking a Blockade Runner; your cloak is your tank. Fit resists to fill holes while cloaked to protect from smartbombs.

An arty Tornado will one-volley any Blockade Runner, so you must use bookmarks for instant dock and undock at busy stations, always stay cloaked and NEVER AFK!

All the Blockade Runners are ideal at around 8,000m3, but the races vary for their maximum (Amarr Prorator is most versatile).

My Cranes are all T2 cargo rigged for ~10,000m3, which is fine for lowsec (great for taking shortcuts though hisec) and w-space, but if mostly for nulsec then you may want to use some navigation rigs to get out of bubbles faster. I carry cargo expanders and istabs (always activate cloak before MWD), and swap them out as needed for the cargo.

As for DST, the Bustard can have the most tank, but it requires several active modules which can be annoying after more than about 8 jumps. I mostly use the Bustard for PI and hauling stuff that doesn't require a freighter. The MJD option prevents one from fitting max tank.

I own: 4x Crane, 4x Bustard, 5x Charon, 1x Rhea. Guess you can say I like the Caldari line-up (Amarr was my second choice).
Paranoid Loyd
#10 - 2016-03-02 23:08:52 UTC  |  Edited by: Paranoid Loyd
Tau Cabalander wrote:
An arty Tornado will one-volley any Blockade Runner
With a fit as mentioned above, a Crane has upwards of 22K EHP even while fully cargo expanded there's no reason it shouldn't survive a single Tornado.

"There is only one authority in this game, and that my friend is violence. The supreme authority upon which all other authority is derived." ISD Max Trix

Fix the Prospect!
Sobaan Tali
Caldari Quick Reaction Force
#11 - 2016-03-03 00:30:02 UTC
Paranoid Loyd wrote:
Tau Cabalander wrote:
An arty Tornado will one-volley any Blockade Runner
With a fit as mentioned above, a Crane has upwards of 22K EHP even while fully cargo expanded there's no reason it shouldn't survive a single Tornado.


Not too surprising. Friend of mine use to bait-tank L4's with an alt in a Bustard while his main flew an all-gank fit Vindi/Mach. Quite a few Caldari ships are known for having beastly passive tanks, and between them and the Minmatar, they often tank better as far as shield tanking goes. It's one of those cases where Caldari and Amarr tend to focus more on tank where as the Minmatar and Gallente counterparts focus more on something else; firepower, speed, or utility for example.

"Tomahawks?"

"----in' A, right?"

"Trouble is, those things cost like a million and a half each."

"----, you pay me half that and I'll hump in some c4 and blow the ---- out of it my own damn self."
Kaljack Joh'neeh
Airfoil Delivery
#12 - 2016-03-03 14:07:44 UTC  |  Edited by: Kaljack Joh'neeh
Does a MWD/AB really come in handy at all with these, given that one should remain cloaked as much as possible?

Thanks for the great replies btw. Basically still undecided about which to train into but this has given me things to consider.
ShahFluffers
Ice Fire Warriors
#13 - 2016-03-05 18:11:20 UTC
Kaljack Joh'neeh wrote:
Does a MWD/AB really come in handy at all with these, given that one should remain cloaked as much as possible?

Most of the time, you won't need it as you will be cloaked.
But every so often, having that MWD can mean the difference between escaping and going down in flames.

How did you Veterans start?