Ships & Modules

A friend of mine and I signed up with the intent of doing some duo ganking and maybe join a small-gang pvp corp. I am an off-again-on-again veteran of the pve game with some very minor experience in large scale pvp fleet ops, and he is a complete noob, so we're both basically starting from scratch. over the last couple of days i've been trying to read as much as possible about the rifter and its fittings and appropriate skills, and i feel like i've kind of brickwalled which is why i'm turning to the forums.

We had the thought that with two rifters, we could spread load the mid slots a bit and buffer tank with the high (relative to a single rifter) dps we'd have. following is what i was able to make work in EFT. this setup hits 920m/s, 2283 EHP and cap stable at 55% with complete newbie skills.

Rifter 1:
[H] Rocket Launcher I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I

[M] 1MN Afterburner
[M] Stasis Webifier 1
[M] Empty

[L] 100mm Reinforced Steel Plating I
[L] Damage Control I
[L] Overdrive Injector System I

Rifter 2:

[H] Rocket Launcher I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I

[M] 1MN Afterburner
[M] Warp Scrambler I
[M] Empty

[L] 100mm Reinforced Steel Plating I
[L] Damage Control I
[L] Overdrive Injector System I

I've thought about switching the Damage Control Is for gyrostabilizers since the idea here will be to blast them down as fast as possible. I'm also not completely convinced that a buffer tank is best. with an empty mid slot, couldn't we look at shield tanking? it'll be about a week before the two of us are able to get in game and really start flying around, which is plenty of time to train up a few more skills. right now we're both pretty much at the bare minimum for this setup.


TL;DR: PvP rifter duo looking for critiques on the fittings above/advice on skill training directions in the immediate short term (next 7 days)

awesome, thanks for the quick response and the feedback.

Question: Why do you suggest the 150mm autocannons instead of the 200mm?

One of you might want to pack a rocket launcher or tracking enhancer to help deal with drones, but I endorse the idea of cramming some EWAR in there someplace. You'd have to forgo webs (or one scram) but an ECM + Sensor damp could really mess with a larger ship's ability to even target you in the first place. Be sure to bring the scan res damping script if you decide to do that.

Might be too much for lightly skilled capacitors though. Honestly, a pair of standard rifters would be a decent threat to anything not packing anti-frigate gear, and you could probably give some bigger ships a nasty suprise. Maybe one of you should pack 125mms and a rocket launcher to deal with the drones, but other than that, there's some good ideas here.

EDIT: Be sure you can communicate quickly, and maybe practice some hisec sparring before you actually go hunting. Also, bring several ammo types, and if you have the time, train a level of Thermodynamics. Overheating can give you a significant boost in a fight, and level one gives as much of a boost as level 5 (level 5 just lets you burn your modules longer)

I don't recommend 200mm ACs on the rifter. The tracking of the 150s will serve you better, and if you're not using Barrage ammunition then the additional range granted by the 200s won't really help all that much. And, the DPS difference is minimal.

Never have an empty slot, though! If you have an empty slot, fill it with SOMETHING, even if it means using meta-level stuff (most of which is cheap anyway) or downgrading the guns.

As far as rigs are concerned, damage rigs for small projectiles are REALLY cheap and they do help a lot, so if you have enough grid to spare, definitely use them.

Don't do this. ECM is terrible on a non-bonused ship. A sensor damp also won't help you once you ARE targeted, which will happen anyway. If you want to use ECM then grab a griffin. They're super cheap and don't require much in the way of skills to operate at a moderate level of effectiveness.

A tracking disruptor is helpful against ANY gun boat though. So that's a good EWar of choice.

Tracking enhancer is not really needed on the Rifter, especially if using 125s or 150s, and doubly especially if you have webs. If you do engage a drone ship, have one rifter point and web, while the second uses a web on the drones. They'll die pretty quickly that way. Or, just shoot the target and hope he dies before you do. : >

thanks again everyone for the awesome and speedy feedback. i've been messing around in EFT and Evemon with plans and following is what i've been able to come up with based on what you guys have said. Base don evemon, we'll both be able to fly these ships in about 2 days, though we'll have plenty of room to grow into them with higher support skills. it was especially difficult to get a web and targeting disruptor into the second one. I looked at dropping it to 150mm autocannons, but it didn't save enough CPU to fit a rocket launcher so i ended up with the 200mm ones. I can't wait to fly these babies.

Rifter 1 (noobtackler rifter):
148/150 CPU 33/42.55 PG 2283 EHP 448m/s base 2543m/s boosted
[H] Rocket Launcher I
[H] 150mm Autocannon I
[H] 150mm Autocannon I
[H] 150mm Autocannon I

[M] 1MN MWD
[M] Stasis Webifier I
[M] Warp Scrambler I

[L] 100mm Reinforced Steel Plating I
[L] Damage Control I
[L] Overdrive Injector System I

[R] Small Anti-Explosive Pump I


Rifter 2 (noob interference rifter):
150/150 CPU 35/42.55 PG 2413 EHP 448 m/s base, 2556m/s boosted
[H]
[H] 200mm Autocannon I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I
[H] 200mm Autocannon I

[M] 1MN MWD I
[M] Tracking Disruptor I
[M] Stasis Webifier I

[L] 100mm Reinforced Steel Plating I
[L] Damage Control I
[L] Overdrive Injector System I

[R] Small Anti-Explosive Pump I

Thanks KC. i'll fly your recommended fits to see if they work out for me. i think i like AB better than MWD anyway. one thing though, without the MWD am i going to be able to get into scram range before two rifters warping in spooks my prey?

If you haven't used it before, I would strongly recommend downloading EFT of PYFA. They will let you put together fits so you can get the most out of your ship at your skill level.

A few notes.
ALWAYS use all your slots (utility high slots can be left empty depending on the fit).
ALWAYS use 150's on a rifter (because of tracking) unless you have a good reason for 200's. MOAR DPS is the worst possible reason to fit 200's.
125's are viable and do good dps with excellent tracking. If your fit isn't working, consider looking at using 125's.
Rifters can be fit to tank in a few ways: shield buffer, armor buffer, armor rep.
If you are both in rifters, one of you bringing a tracking disruptor instead of a web is a great idea (assuming you are both armor tanking).
Rifters can be fit to dual prop, and with two of you, it's worth considering that one of you do this since you will be able to catch more stuff.
Considering how close a rifter is to a thrasher in terms of SP, one or both of you might want to consider trying a thrasher. The high dps of a thrasher gives noobs a lot of ability to go after much older players.
If you plan on running an active tank or dual prop fit, I would recommend fitting a NOS to keep you tank running or to keep your opponent scrammed if being neuted.

GL to you guys. You should become familiar with the in game map and how to look at the star map with statistics on like avg pilots in space, jumps, etc. DOTLAN is also a great reference http://evemaps.dotlan.net/ If you are looking to roam low sec, you can reference DOTLAN too see low sec pockets that might be good for hunting. Coupled with the in game map stats, you have a lot of intel available for where to find targets.

You can pretty much always find a fight in places like Amamake, Dudreda, Tama, Old Man Star, etc. If you are getting frustrated and feel like you aren't making progress in your PVP career, you might want to consider joining a group like RvB - they recruit their own targets