Armoral surprise!
Ship-type: Caracal
Role: Frigate baiter/killer
Last revision: Red Moon Rising
Skill-requirements:
Caldari Cruiser lvl 2
Electronics lvl 3
Navigation lvl 2
Caldari Frigate lvl 4
Spaceship Command lvl 3
Hull Upgrades lvl 3
Mechanic lvl 1
Propulsion Jamming lvl 1
Missile Launcher Operation lvl 1
Electronic Warfare lvl 1
High-slots: 2x Assault Missile Launcher I, 3x Standard Missile Launcher I
Med-slots: 1x Stasis Webifier I, 1x Warp Scrambler I, 1x ECM - Multispectral Jammer I, 1x ECM - Phase Inverter I, 1x ECM - White Noise Generator I
Low-slots: 1x 1600mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates I, 1x Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane I
Cost: 5.2 million isk
Comment:
This ship is meant for low-sp characters like myself to use in baiting pirate frigates into attacking. The strength of this setup is its deceptiveness. They'll be grinning as they watch your unhardened shields drop so fast... and then you'll be the one laughing as they vainly chip away at your massive armor layer.
Cleared for publication by: Ander, no guarantees about this setup
Hopefully it'll work as author describes.
Role: Frigate baiter/killer
Last revision: Red Moon Rising
Skill-requirements:
Caldari Cruiser lvl 2
Electronics lvl 3
Navigation lvl 2
Caldari Frigate lvl 4
Spaceship Command lvl 3
Hull Upgrades lvl 3
Mechanic lvl 1
Propulsion Jamming lvl 1
Missile Launcher Operation lvl 1
Electronic Warfare lvl 1
High-slots: 2x Assault Missile Launcher I, 3x Standard Missile Launcher I
Med-slots: 1x Stasis Webifier I, 1x Warp Scrambler I, 1x ECM - Multispectral Jammer I, 1x ECM - Phase Inverter I, 1x ECM - White Noise Generator I
Low-slots: 1x 1600mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates I, 1x Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane I
Cost: 5.2 million isk
Comment:
This ship is meant for low-sp characters like myself to use in baiting pirate frigates into attacking. The strength of this setup is its deceptiveness. They'll be grinning as they watch your unhardened shields drop so fast... and then you'll be the one laughing as they vainly chip away at your massive armor layer.
Cleared for publication by: Ander, no guarantees about this setup
Hopefully it'll work as author describes.
Its niche is quite narrow - it will not be able to fight a decent cruiser pilot, and it is not fast enough to chase down and engage anything (more on this later). If you load the launchers with explosive light missiles (EM missiles in cargo), your ship ought to have enough firepower to gank T1 frigates easily, and while withstanding assaults from at least 2 such frigates. With good enough skills, this setup can engage assault frigates also. The key is baiting carefully, and docking to repair your armor if it gets damaged. The armor is only there to give you enough time to destroy your enemy and get out.
I chose not to equip an armor repper because with the armor you'll be packing (4558, with my paltry skills) a small rep would not be as effective as an armor hardener in countering damage. There isn't enough grid to equip a medium repper.
The ECM modules are crushingly effective against weak T1 frig sensors, and are also a poor man's warp core stab - they will break enemy warp scramblers for you to escape, should you be losing.
The top rack you can fill with as many assault launchers as will fit, and the rest with standard launchers - my skillset allows me to fit two assaults.
I've listed the most basic modules above - substitute with named or T2 as you see fit.
Variations:
You can replace one of the ECM modules with a MWD should you want this setup to be able to dictate engagements. You can also replace another of the ECM modules with a second webber if you want to engage interceptors - currently, this ship is too slow to catch an inty, and the second webber should be able to slow one down enough for you to missile it.
I've tried replacing the assault/light launchers with rocket launchers, but haven't had much seat time in this setup - the extra DPS might be worth the vastly reduced range.
Final remarks:
I owe the core idea of this setup to an unnamed pirate. This same pirate has also blown me up in this setup twice using a vagabond So, remember to choose your engagements carefully, and it's probably a good idea to stay aligned
I chose not to equip an armor repper because with the armor you'll be packing (4558, with my paltry skills) a small rep would not be as effective as an armor hardener in countering damage. There isn't enough grid to equip a medium repper.
The ECM modules are crushingly effective against weak T1 frig sensors, and are also a poor man's warp core stab - they will break enemy warp scramblers for you to escape, should you be losing.
The top rack you can fill with as many assault launchers as will fit, and the rest with standard launchers - my skillset allows me to fit two assaults.
I've listed the most basic modules above - substitute with named or T2 as you see fit.
Variations:
You can replace one of the ECM modules with a MWD should you want this setup to be able to dictate engagements. You can also replace another of the ECM modules with a second webber if you want to engage interceptors - currently, this ship is too slow to catch an inty, and the second webber should be able to slow one down enough for you to missile it.
I've tried replacing the assault/light launchers with rocket launchers, but haven't had much seat time in this setup - the extra DPS might be worth the vastly reduced range.
Final remarks:
I owe the core idea of this setup to an unnamed pirate. This same pirate has also blown me up in this setup twice using a vagabond
So, remember to choose your engagements carefully, and it's probably a good idea to stay aligned
Trackbacks
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as Linear | Threaded
Kirex on :
Anything larger than a dessy will probably kill you, you have no hardners except your single passive membrane and no armor rep. Vs a cruiser, you will probably die before you would be able to warp out due to drones, even with you jamming him.
AFs will just tank you, get out of range, and warp away. Inties might have a small bit of trouble getting away, but they should get away. t1 frigs will probably die.
I dont think this is worth it if you plan on killing only cheap t1 frigs ;/.
BTW: Try fitting a medium nos. Those things RAPE frigs.
happyapples on :
yes
"Vs a cruiser, you will probably die before you would be able to warp out due to drones, even with you jamming him."
no, 4558 armor is enough to hold until a jam cycle kicks in.
"AFs will just tank you, get out of range, and warp away. "
not with a webber on them.
"Inties might have a small bit of trouble getting away, but they should get away. t1 frigs will probably die."
yes
"BTW: Try fitting a medium nos. Those things RAPE frigs."
yes, your options multiply tenfold if you drop down to an 800mm plate - you could fit a med nos or a mwd then. i'll try out a med nos on this setup soon - thanks for the tip.
Bill Gates on :
Not.
naxxiz on :
S K on :
Try 5 assaults or 4 assaults and a med nos. Pack a webber too.
Xenios on :
I personally have killed battlecruisers in a t1 fitted t1 frigate so dont underestimate the frigate.
-Xenios Alfar