Ships & Modules

Amarr Battle Cruisers get a neat 5% Armour Resistance bonuses per Cruiser level, whilst Caldari get 5% Shield Resistance. If you max Battle Cruisers (as you should if you intend to fly one!) that's essentially 25% free Resistances to all forms of damage.

Now looking at the Minmatar Battle Cruisers I just don't see how they can even begin to compare? The bonuses they get are horrible in comparison! I don't want to abandon Minmatar because I really like the faction, but a Drake or a Prophecy Battle Cruiser is looking mighty tempting right now, especially since they all share the universal Battle Cruiser skill.

I believe we have found the first person known in the eve universe to pick a prophecy over cane/cyclone.

All I know is that when I go crazy with the damage mods over tank, I get my butt handed to me in PvE. 25% bonus to all resistances right of the bat seems like too good to pass up.

But what do I know. I'm still within my first month of playing.

I'm used to playing tanks in more traditional MMORPGs, so whittling down the enemy whilst just laughing at the damage they throw my way is right up my alley, really. But I guess that sort of playstyle really hinders your ISK flow as you can't complete the missions that quickly.

I think the OP is confusing the uses of the BCs in PVE and PVP.

A BC like the Drake for example is able to fit a ridiculously huge buffer tank using shield extenders (though all signs point to a coming nerf). The shield resistance bonus and the fact that it still can do reasonable damage with missiles makes it a very popular choice. It's used in PVE and PVP alike simply because its immense durability tend to make it very difficult to kill in PVP and the damage output and range of its missiles are significant.

The Prophecy doesn't fare so well because without a damage bonus its performance is pretty lackluster, and the Harbinger outperforms it in most ways. It's so, well, worthless right now that the Devs have it pegged for a redesign with the coming ship balance pass.

A BC like the Hurricane (commonly just called a 'Cane) is fast, agile, hard to hit with larger guns, and does great of damage, making it ideal in PVP; not so much in PVE (speed tanks are risky to use in PVE unless you're paying very close attention).

So it all comes down to what is needed; a Drake makes a ship that's easy to PVE in because it can strike out far and is pretty forgiving to mistakes if you happen to aggro more NPCs in a mission than you meant to. A fleet of them, particularly when supported by Logistics ships can be very hard to kill, and a steady stream of missiles will wear down pretty much anything.

But if you want to make guerilla strikes in enemy territory with a fleet that can quickly dispatch targets, or if you're a lone pirate flying around in low sec looking for something juicy to pounce on while avoiding the same, it's hard to beat a ship like the Hurricane for the job.

Dat English.

Also, I'm not trolling. I'm asking a genuine question.

You've never passive shield tanked a cane, and stuck arty on there have you? You'll sleep through 3's.

In fact were gonna need to see your fits now to make sure you're not abusing ships.

Agreed.

Buff Hurricane.

Y U Troal?

TBH you got off pretty lightly there :) However, some other players have made some valid points, so ignore the trolls and read those instead？

About the sharing your fit thing, I dunno about other MMO's, but in this game, the only secret fit is one you haven't got blown up in yet. Plus, most people have seen all sorts of failfits (there's maybe 2-3 ways to fit a ship to maximize its efficiency, minor minor tweaks aside). Anyway, just an FYI :)

About your questions regarding damage vs tank bonuses, in a lot of PVE cases, most players have decent enough skills that tanking isn't too much of a problem. Thus they use ships with damage bonuses as they will be able to tank the incoming damage, and damage bonus means the rats get killed faster meaning you're more efficient.

However, for PVP cases, it varies. Most people invariably use tanky ships as bait, or to draw enermy fire. PVP fights in this game are normally won through one of/or a combination of damage, speed, numbers/friends. Also, there are 2 types of tanking in PVP, active and buffer. Buffer means exactly that, having lots of hitpoints and resistance, and hoping you outlast the other person. Active tanking means that you're safe up to a certain amount of incoming damage and anything above that will melt you in short order. It is also fairly cap dependant.

Of course, there are also ships with tanky bonuses and decent DPS, which are quite popular. However the only things tanky ships with NO or anemic dps are good for are bait and PVE.

Just thought I'd try to clear up some things for you there.