Despite being best known as a Rifter pilot the truth is that I very rarely fly the AK47 of Eve. The simple reason is that the prevalence of Dramiels and their ilk has just mean that they don’t have quite enough about them for what I want to do. I no longer do low security pirating and do almost all of my hunting as solo roaming 0.0. I tend to head for populous areas and stir the locals into giving me a fight. This means that I am usually outnumbered but I at least get fights on a fairly regular basis without having to embark on huge roams. There is a general rule of thumb for solo frigates in these circumstances, you need to have at least 200 DPS in order to be able to take people down fast enough to get out before their friends arrive. I can squeeze 165 DPS out of a Rifter with some basic implants (3% small projectile and 3% turret damage) but this is still somewhat short of ideal and leaves me low on EHP.
[Rifter, Rifterceptor]
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Overdrive Injector System II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Medium Shield Extender II
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
To this end I have been flying a lot of assault frigates lately and having a lot of fun in them. One of the first assault frigates that I began to fly regularly was, rather surprisingly the Enyo. The combination of fiendishly cheap hulls and high DPS blaster weapons seemed like an excellent place to start. The fit that I am currently using is blatantly stolen from Prometheus Exenthal and then slightly modified because I am by no means a fitting guru and his fits are always a good starting place.
[Enyo, Enyo Face!]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Small 'Accommodation' Vestment Reconstructer I
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Hybrid Burst Accelerator II
Hobgoblin II x1
Without implants and with overheating this comes to 309 DPS with Wensley’s skills. You can drop down to a T1 Burst Accelerator rig but they are so cheap these days. This entire fit comes to just 25 million ISK. Even though I fly pretty much exclusively in null security space I rarely fly without implants these days. For the Enyo I tend to opt for:
- Zaniou ‘Deadeye’ ZGS1000 – 5% small hybrid damage (8 million ISK)
- Inherent Implants ‘Noble’ ZET300 – 3% structure hitpoints (300 thousand ISK)
- Inherent Implants ‘Lancer’ Delta-G1 – 3% rate of fire (21 million ISK)
- Inherent Implants ‘Noble’ ZET500 – 3% armour hitpoints (9 million ISK)
These implants bring the total damage up to a stagger 333 DPS and increase the EHP from 7,494 to 7,690 for a total cost of approximately 40 million ISK. While this might seem like a lot, the total cost of my Enyo fit is 25 million ISK or so and I find that the extra damage proves invaluable. I very rarely lose my pod, even when fighting Sabres and other interdictors. Of course, the choice is yours but I personally find it to be worthwhile. You can always run a cheaper set by just using the ZGS1000 and ZET300 implants. I often run with a Eifyr and Co. ‘Gunslinger’ AX-1 in slot 7 for tracking bonuses when I fly railgun Taranises but that is for another post.
So, how do you fly a frigate with just two midslots? I hear you ask. The answer is pretty simple. In general you are not looking to fight solo pilots like I used to in low sec. Instead you are hunting for more inexperienced pilots who are used to flying in a gang or even fleet. Often they will let you draw them away from their friends or be over-confident that they can take out your ship. The Enyo is actually the only assault frigate to benefit from a tracking bonus which helps to overcome the lack of web, something that the Tracking Enhancer on my fit aims to capitalise on. Most targets in null sec are fit with microwarp drives rather than afterburners so a warp scrambler is usually plenty of tackle for what is required. The Enyo also has an excellent range bonus with 10% optimal range per level of the Assault Frigate skill (I have it trained to 5). This means that, once again with the Tracking Enhancer’s help, I have an optimal range of 2 km and a falloff of 3.9 km with Antimatter and an excellent 4.8 km optimal and falloff with Null meaning that I can do good damage all the way through warp scrambler range.
In general I assume that my opponent is not going to try and out-range my blasters and use Antimatter as my default ammunition. This is a pretty risky approach but I have found that most ships don’t try and pull range, even well-fit Sabres, and allows me to melt people pretty quickly. It is probably advisable to use Null unless you are completely sure. Although you do have good tracking, the point of this fit is to apply the maximum DPS as quickly as possible. You have pretty decent EHP so the best tactic is usually to set “keep at range” to something inside your optimal (or optimal + 1/2 falloff if you plan on kiting your opponent). This allows you to pummel your opponent hard and get the most out of your DPS. Unless you are fighting a cruiser or artillery/rail/rocket frigate you have little to gain by orbitting and the faster you can defeat your opponent, the faster you can get away or move onto the next target. Your guns are your tank.
One of the key things to do in a blaster frigate, especially one without a web is to make sure that you don’t overshoot your target. Once both ships are scrammed the speed difference between the two is usually only 50 m/s or so. If you can grab your opponent at point blank then they will be dead before they can pull range. This applies in particular to high DPS ships like Sabres. The trick is usually to make it look like you’re running away and let them chase you. If you burn towards each other at 3 km/s you are guaranteed to overshoot but if, as they close, you start to burn away from them and then apply your scrambler when they are at your optimal then you can dictate range very effectively. The good thing is that in general the frigates and interdictors that you encounter will assume that they can either kill or tackle you. Let them think this and you have the upper hand in the fight.
Your general tactic should be to roam around, checking in to station systems, and generally stirring people up and getting them interested. They will quite often undock ships to try and kill you and while most of them will hug the undock they will often bring out frigates to try and tackle you. Pull these 100 km or so from their gang and you can engage them pretty happily. Often you will get swarmed and running away is a key skill to practice. Once you have their interest they will try and camp you in or chase you as you try to leave. Bounce around celestials and gates, warp in at various ranges, and microwarp around. Your aim is to split them up and get yourself alone with their tackle for long enough to kill it before the heavy support comes in. It is one of the most satisfying feelings to know that the ship you’re fighting is bait or tackle and kill it and get away just as his friends land on grid.
You will die. A lot. Don’t get disheartened. Have a stock of ships at hand and as soon as you die head back to base and grab another ship. I had a black week a little while back where I got very frustrated at the losses I was racking up without any kills but I managed to pick myself up with a little help from my friends and an excellent thread on Scrapheap Challenge. Don’t be afraid. Engage anything. Have fun!
Related posts:
April 12th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
I've been meaning to try an Enyo-bution – AB/web. >:3
I feel like any other non-gimmicky fit (i.e. AB/scram or MWD/scram) pretty much leaves a hole for the other AFs to exploit at will. Blasters without web is just the worst in lowsec. :/
April 12th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
I've been thinking about this (and fairly sure I've talked to you Wens about this), but IMO the Enyo and Wolf really, REALLY come into a league of their own in 0.0 (from the small amount of frigate PvP there I've seen) due to the lack of AB Frigates out there and terrible Dramiels who don't know when to get under your guns or just keep at range.
Fantastic to see you out there with such wonderful results in such under-rated ships.
April 12th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
You're right. In nullsec a single warp scrambler is pretty much ample tackle. The relatively low speeds mean that with a little bit of sensible piloting and enough DPS you can trap them where you want them until its far too late. With its excellent tracking I think an Enyo could have a Dramiel that tried the 500m orbit if it had Antimatter loaded. Not sure about Null. I've yet to actually get a good fight with one in an Enyo so we'll see when I eventually do.
Wait until I make my Wolf post and show the awesome stuff it can do.
April 12th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
As a long time lover of the Ishkur, I've often looked down on the Enyo. However as you say, its very cheap (fully fitted its about as much as an Ishkur hull). Bought a stack of them and giving it a go.
Also: LOL at all the comments being from Tuskers <3
April 12th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Wensly, thanks for writing this up. I hate to admit it but I am one of those guys that is used to working in gangs and have done very little solo pvp. After reading this I am feeling more inspired to try it and get away from the “blob mentality” that comes from working in gangs alot. Can’t say I have ever flown a blaster platform in combat, but I am very interested in reading your upcoming Wolf post that you mentioned. Now I’m off to see what is involved in flying a frigate blaster platform well.
April 17th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Great write up.
I was warrioring it up on EFT to see what I could fit. I came up with this. Almost identical damage and EHP but mine keeps more speed and I 'think' is far far cheaper.
[Enyo, Enyo LM]
Tracking Enhancer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Damage Control II
Small Armor Repairer II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
'Limos' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket
Small Hybrid Locus Coordinator I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Hobgoblin II x1
June 26th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
[...] = 'wpp-256'; var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true,"ui_language":"en"};A while back I wrote a post about the Enyo, a fun little assault frigate that is overshadowed by its more popular brethren. For fifteen [...]
December 7th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
[...] of you who’ve seen my previous Enyo post will notice that the improved fitting has allowed me to squeeze on a nosferatu. At Jita sell order [...]