Warfare & Tactics

Hi all,

I will be close to being able to flying each of the 8 Recon ships available with decent supportskills (A list of needed supportskills could be nice, to cross reference what I have and what I need!).

Now I am wondering which of the ships can be usefull in ninja-combat solo and which for small gang, and how they are best fit/flown.

I know it's a pretty broad question, but the EVE forum usually does not let me down in it's wisdom!

So reading this; I'd imagine only the curse/pilgrim is a decent solo boat? :)

Any special skills required, other than the obvious?

Moracha is dank

I have been 'solo' camping with a Pilgrim for a wee while now, and am loving it. I am bad at eve, and even badder at PvP, but I do manage the occasional kill (https://beta.eve-kill.net/character/560174300/) …. Which is more an indictment of other folk being terribad than my having any skillz.

My qualified 'solo' is because I do use eyes characters and, most recently, have been using a sabre alt to ninja bubbles for me (hostiles being a bit too prone to killing my anchored bubbles when I upset them).

The pilgrim is, IMHO, the master ninja. It is entirely invisible unless you’re wanting to be seen, and it packs a huge punch when suitable targets are chosen. I carry 5 hammerheads, 5 infiltrators, 5 warriors, and 5 EC smalls. Using the pilgrim is also far from being a no-brainer point-and-shoot activity. It’s mid-level complexity with a number of parameters needing to be actively watched and managed.

Being cloaky I can easily take a break when family or internet issues arise. It also allows me to not commit when my 5-degree focussed d-scan tells me the incoming ship is too tough, or that he’s using a perch rather than warping direct. I’ve died a couple of times but (so far) only once in a decent engagement (wd that stratios). I’ve almost-died a few more times but the pilgrim is pretty good at disengaging when you need … the neuts and their range making it very difficult for somebody to keep you in range and pointed.

Great targets include:
- Pretty much any T1 or T2 frigate of destroyer, alone or in small gangs;
- Laser, projectile, and hybrid ships … especially loving svipuls, confessors, vagabonds and hurricanes;
- Anything defenceless and not stabbed (I’m not proud).

Not-so-great targets include:
- Bonused missile ships;
- Bonused medium or large drone ships (I’m happy to tackle a vexor but much higher than that gets me wondering);
- Anything that has a longer point range than I do (I use a Republic Fleet point but still avoid ships like the garmur – fast, long range point, and nasty weapon types).

To date the most effective defences against me have been to simply deliver way more DPS to me while I try to neut-you-out. Cap-boosted laser BCs have been particularly nasty at that, although a SBing raven and his hammerheads was also pretty nasty, and that stratios with his praetors was decidedly ugly. In some close fights I end up losing a lot of drones, that being virtually the only defence that a neuted-out gunship has left.

For my part I need to get better at hitting my target’s drones … perhaps warriors out first for their drones while I establish my tackle and neuting.

So, there y’go, I think the pilgrim is just awesome. A lovely mix of ninja stealth and hard hitting that requires some pilot effort and is far from being OP and foolproof.

p.s. and absolutely not agreeing with Nat Somebody up above there. Recons are awesome solo PvP ships in the right hands. their awesomeness is limited only by your imagination and intelligence.