Ships & Modules

Dominix is usually peoples first choice
Typhoon or Armageddon make for a reasonable secondary choices.

If you have deep pockets you could also consider the Rattlesnake or Nightmare
If you have the time, remove the need to choose, train them all.


edit
you might want to look at the Gnosis battlecruiser as well.

I consider the Domi and the 'Geddon to be the archetypical "versatile" ships because of their bonuses and slot layouts. Their damage is primarily drone based, and they have large enough drone bays to handle brawling or sniping (with sentries) in the same fit. With a proper mix of drones, they can engage ships of any size reasonably well. They are free to use their high slots for weapons, neuts/nos, remote reps, and/or cap transfers, meaning that they can fill the roles of damage dealer, cap warfare, and spider taking (or general logistics) equally well. EDIT: And they both make great PvE ships as well. They have enough low slots to fit for either tank or gank, or a mix of the two. Of the two I actually give the 'Geddon a slight edge in versatility because it has the option to use missiles (even if it's tight on CPU doing so), whereas the Domi can only use turrets.

Any ship that can fill multiple roles, and fill them well, as these two can would be considered versatile. I feel that drone-based ships tend to have an advantage here as they can (with a few exceptions) consider all of their high slots to be utility slots which opens up a lot of options.



Battleships are the pinnacle of versatility simply by nature of the large number of slots they have compared to other ships. Drone battleships in particular can be made to tackle almost any situation as I described above. Their current lack of popularity in PvP situations comes from, at least in my opinion, their one uniform weakness, which is their low mobility. Battleships can't roam, at least not quickly, and that is their primary Achilles Heel.

The other ships you described are also what I would call versatile because they can perform many functions like battleships, albeit not as well, but they can do so while maintaining a much higher degree of mobility.

I would recommend the following Path:


Vexor ----> Ishtar ----> Dominix (maybe)

Or you could always go with

Vexor Navy Issue or Gila

The Ishtar can do almost everything. It's one of the best cruisers in the game and can be used for both PvP and PvE. It's basically awesome at both. This will allow you to train up for advanced heavy drones and tech 2 sentries thus making you more ready for a Carrier when you have the isk.

The Vexor Navy Issue and Gila are both great PvP ships with the VNI beign a good Pve ship as well.

I would start with a Vexor. Get a feel for it. Then decide if it's the Ishtar, VNI, or Gila that you want to go after. Myrmidon is also another choice. It's a good solo ship but not as versatile as the Ishtar.

Word of advice: Never forget about Mobility. The Ishtar has a great passive shield tank, can dish out insane DPS, and is mobile. The same with the VNI and the Gila. To add to the versatility requirement, a Vexor and Ishtar can either be armor tanked or shield tank and field a totally viable set up. This will also allow you to train up your shield and armor skills thus helping you down the road as you move toward a carrier.

In my opinion the ship you should shoot for is the Ishtar with the VNI being next. The Gila is too expensive and you will lose ships.

Gallente cruiser 5 opens the door to the following:

Onieros: Cap stable armor logi.

Proteus: Heavy duty tackler in AHAC fleets. Is also able to be setup as a viable solo cloaky hunter or long range tackle for BLOPSING fleets.

Ishtar: Best HAC in the game.

Arazu: A great hunter recon for Blopsing.

Lachesis: A great long range tackler for shield doctrines.

As for Gallente BS:

Domi: Most used BS in CFC fleets. Also very vesatile and can be sued for a variety of roles. Good at Pve and PvP

Megathron: Heavy DPS BS. Not commonly used in most doctrines. Good for small scale pvp.

Hyperion: Again, not used in most doctrines but reasonable DPS and a reasonable tank. Great for low-sec piracy.

Vindicator: Beast mode faction BS with heavy DPS.

Kronos: Out performed by other Maurauders.

Seems like a no brainer to me. Go Gallente. By the way, I am not biased. Almost all of my skills for all races ships is at level 5.