Ships & Modules

Hello all, I am interested in doing frigate combat, specifically in RvB and Low Sec. Would anyone mind describing the basics of popular frigate fits and how exactly they are used these days. I tried googling and couldnt find a comprehensive discussion on how frigates are fit these days, what is popular and how they are used from the view point of a new pilot.

For a jump start I am interested in the Merlin, Rifter, and punisher. From what I have read these seem to be very popular, but is there a good Gallenete contender? How are these ships used generally and against each other? Are there any other ships out there that are worth of examination?

Thank you so much in advance. Please forgive my ignorance on the subject, I have googled and read what i can but a lot of the info seems very out-dated or written for people above my experience.

-Edit- To clarify what i am after a bit. I see people say that the Merlin is the secret king of frigate pvp but never explain why or how it is used in that way. Can anyone clarify these sorts of questions in an inteligent manner?

Thank you, I have read that. Hasnt the rifter been changed since then and arent the other ships different in relationship to it?

Edit- You missed the point of my question and the fact that I did google a lot of what was out there. I want to know how frigates work and how they fight and how they generally match up. That write up answers none of that really.

The question you're asking is intensely vague. The Merlin is considered the "king" of frigate PVP because it's probably the strongest contender for a frigate 1v1. It is more tanky than other t1 frigs and puts out enough DPS via blasters, with enough midslots to comfortably fit a web as well. Its primary downsides are its awful range (the Rifter can kite it pretty effectively) and slow speed (even though it shield tanks, it's a goddamn brick with huge sig radius).

The Merlin is great for 1v1ing other frigs, but falls off in group fights or fights against larger ships. It's also bad as tackle due to bad speed.

*note, the above analysis depends on the Merlin using blasters. Rail fits perform differently. 4




the Merlin, Rifter, Tormentor, Punisher, and Incursus were the first ships touched by the Tiericide rebalance. The Rifter was pretty much left as is, but the rest were brought up to its level (yes, the Tormentor is actually pretty great).

The Incursus is the Gallente contender, with a nice active rep, high damage and enough slots for a web

I found that rather than tutorials and fits, reading some of the (numerous) Eve blogs out there really helped with learning some of the basics of low sec combat, and frigate PvP.

I think it prepared me for low sec more than just looking at fits.

http://flight-of-dragons.blogspot.com/2011/02/lasers-v-autocannon.html

http://jackdancer.blogspot.com/

http://brutorbullfighter.blogspot.com/2011/01/solo-combat-pilots-guide-to-good.html


And each of those has links to many others. You can pick up tips from how fights went, where they made mistakes, what fits they are trying out, where to roam, how they got ganked etc.

Az

http://www.evealtruist.com

A site done by a good PvPer, Azual Skoll, lots of good information there. His section on T1 frigates is out of date, but there is still a ton of useful stuff there. Check out his Know Your Enemy section. He goes into a good bit of detail about lots of different ships.