Rifter Drifter

A while ago I wrote about trying to kill ‘ceptors in my Rifter. Since then it turns out that I’m starting to get pretty good at it. So many interceptor pilots rely upon their ship’s navigation computer to approach targets or are overconfident about the invulnerability that their speed gives them. Even a standard afterburner-equipped Rifter with a warp scrambler can ruin their day in pretty short order.

Last night Joc and I had a nice little skirmish with some guys from Blood Money Bootcamp. We’d been chasing two Rifters and a Crusader around Adirain for a while. Joc’s Punisher and my Rifter kept narrowly missing the Crusader until I sat and waited at the gate to Aeschee. Eventually Joc was going to flush him in my direction (he’d been bouncing around between planet ten, a belt, and the gate). As I predicted it happened and I quickly began burning towards the interceptor with my afterburner and scrambler overloaded. If I missed the tackle I would at least not get aggro and be able to burn to the gate and jump out. I didn’t miss the tackle though and scrambled the interceptors microwarp drive. My webs were applied and my guns opened fire. The fragile ship didn’t last long and exploded as Joc landed next to me in his Punisher. We pointed the pod and I considered a ransom until I remembered that he probably had fleet mates so popped the pod to deny them a warp in. I was too late popping the pod and a Rifter dropped out of warp next to us. Joc and I both turned on him and he melted under our combined fire. A second Rifter landed as we finished off the first and he met a similar fate. We scooped the loot and headed to a safe before reinforcements arrived.

So how do you kill interceptors when you only have an afterburner fitted? Part of me wants to keep this close to my chest because I don’t want my targets knowing my tactics but all of this information is already out there so I might as well share it. The other week I had a lot of fun and was able to kill a Malediction, Crow, and Taranis all in one day. Each one required a slightly different trick.

Baiting

You’d be amazed how invulnerable interceptor pilots feel. With their high speed they are confident that they can get out into a safe orbit before you can pin them down. Because of this the majority of pilots will warp in to a celestial at zero. In the old days this was probably true. Their momentum would carry them out of web range. Now that we can shut down their microwarp drives its a very different matter.

So baiting them is easy. Warp to a celestial at 0 km and sit there with your web and scrambler activated and ready to lock. If you can overload then better still. When the interceptor warps in the odds are pretty good that they will land a couple of kilometres from you. As soon as they drop out of warp start to target them and hit approach. Fire up your afterburner and hope your lock resolves before they can get out of range. Obviously the Signature Analysis skill is your good friend here. The faster you lock the more chance you have of getting them.

What if they don’t land on top of you? The best thing to do is to have another celestial selected and to warp away to it as soon as you think you might not get them. Try not to pre-align, this might take you out of range of a good target. You can always do this once anyway to convince yourself that they are warping to zero before you try locking them. If you’re paying attention you might see what range they land at. Warp to your next celestial at this range and surprise them. Most pilots are set in their ways.

Approaching

The other bad habit that most interceptor pilots have is that they approach their targets by just hitting the orbit button. Navigational computers aren’t actually very bright. If they get a command like this they will fly in a straight line towards their target and then turn hard when they hit the desired range. Because they’re travelling at very high speeds this turn often results in overshoot. If you hit the approach button yourself and fly towards them at maximum speed the odds are good that their overshoot will bring them into scramble range. Again overheating and Signature Analysis are your friends here. I generally overheat the afterburner and scrambler on approach and target them as soon as they come into lock range (I have Long Range Targeting IV and Signature Analysis V). If you’re by a station or gate only activate the scrambler when you go for the initial tackle. That way you won’t get any aggression if you miss the tackle and will be able to burn back and dock or jump to safety.

Using Asteroids

One of the best places to try the above tricks (other than gates and stations) is asteroid belts. If you miss the tackle then you can use the asteroids to try and slow down your tormentor. Simply head for the thickest part of the belts and fly manually between the asteroids. Keep a close eye on the interceptor’s speed. If he gets trapped on a ‘roid it will slow dramatically and you’ll be able to quickly approach and get your scrambler on him. As soon as you do this its game over interceptor.

Duck and Dive

If you’ve been caught by an interceptor and its been able to get into a safe range don’t panic. Even if there are no handy belts a patient pilot can still trick the interceptor into getting caught. Eve Tribune has an article with some good dog fighting manoeuvres. These tricks also apply to afterburner frigates.

One of the main things to keep on your side is patience. Rifters have good tanks and by being careful with your armour repair systems you can tank an interceptor’s damage for a long time. If you sit still and let the damage slowly creep up its possible that they will get impatient and either come in close for the kill or slow down to improve their tracking. Keep a close eye on their speed and range. As soon as you see either of these things happen its time to pounce and go in for the kill.

Close Range ‘Ceptors

I’m thinking specifically of the Taranis here but the Malediction and Stiletto probably fit in this category too unless they’re tackling for a gang.

In pretty much all of these cases Barrage ammunition and range are your friends. If you orbit at good range then you minimise the interceptor’s advantage of good tracking and small signature radius. This is especially true against blaster ships like the Taranis. At long range they just can’t hit you and their only real damage comes from their drones. You can just chip away at them from range.

Against rocket ships like the Malediction (and some Crows) the range allows you to keep your speed up. This minimises the damage that you take from their rockets and improves your hit chances.

Skills

In my Rifter Guide I cover a lot of the basic skills for piloting a Rifter in combat. All of these skills apply equally to fighting interceptors. You need good tank and gunnery skills but there are a few extra things that will help you as well.

• Signature Analysis – 5% increase to targeting speed per level is obviously great for getting a fast lock before they can escape
• Long Range Targeting – 5% bonus to targeting range for when you’re trying to break into their approach
• Thermodynamics – overheating for 20% extra scrambler range and 50% bonus to afterburner speed is priceless.
• Acceleration Control – 5% bonus to afterburner speed boost because faster is better
• Evasive Maneuvring – 5% agility bonus helps you make fast turns and accelerate quickly
• Navigation – 5% bonus to ship speed so even faster afterburners
• Spaceship Command – another 2% bonus to agility per level

Epilogue

Even a T1-fit Rifter can go out and do this. T2 afterburners and scramblers will make your life easier but named is perfectly good. Of course, you don’t have to do this in a Rifter. Any frigate that can fit an afterburner and warp scrambler can go out and give it a go. T1 fit Incursii do a great job of this as do Atrons with T2 blasters. There’s no reason a Punisher or a Merlin couldn’t give it a go, either. If you’re not comfortable with the afterburner then switch out for a microwarp drive. This will give you even more speed to play with and make catching your prey that much easier. You sacrifice some of the general purpose use of the afterburner but as long as you bear that in mind you’ll be fine.

So basically just fit up a cheap ship and go out there looking for trouble.