In the past I have talked extensively about my experiences flying gunships, especially the Rifter, Enyo, and Ishkur. Lately I’ve been trying something a bit different and having a play in rocket ships, especially the Hawk and Vengeance. So what are the differences? Well, the most obvious one is that rockets don’t take tracking into account. Instead they rely on the speed and signature radius of their target to calculate how much damage they do, like all other missiles in Eve. Also, despite their recent buff, they do lower base damage than turret-based weapons systems. In this post I’m going to look a little at rockets and in later posts I’ll talk about the fits I’ve been flying and my experiences in them.

If we look at a Vengeanace fitted with Rocket Launcher IIs loaded with Caldari Navy missiles and operated by a pilot with all skills at level V then each rocket does 48.125 HP base damage, corresponding to 21.8 DPS. The explosion radius of a rocket is 20 m and the explosion velocity 127.5 m/s. This means that the rockets will do maximum damage against a ship with a signature radius greater than 20 m and travelling slower than 127.5 m/s. At higher speeds the rocket damage will be reduced. The formula for calculating missile damage is:

From this equation we can see that there are a couple of factors that we need to consider. The first thing to take into account is if our target is moving. If it isn’t then we can ignore the half of the equation with a velocity component and just look at the ratio between the ship’s signature radius and the missile’s explosion radius to determine how much damage is done.

If the target is moving then things become a bit more complicated and we have to evaluate a larger expression including the target’s velocity, the missile’s explosion velocity, and the damage reduction factor as well as the radius variables.

Let’s see what this means for an example Vengeance fit:

[Vengeance, Standard]

Small Bay Loading Accelerator I
Small Warhead Calefaction Catalyst I

What happens if we try and shoot a hypothetical ship with a 40 m signature radius?

The interesting thing about this graph is that it seems best to use Rage rockets in almost all situations. Unfortunately this decision comes with the drawback of a signature radius bloom pushing the Vengeance from 37 m to 49 m.

My biggest concern when flying a rocket ship, though, is that it just doesn’t have the DPS to melt targets like some of my favourite ships do. In solo frigate combat there is a general rule of thumb that you want in excess of 200 DPS in order to kill a target fast enough to do it before his friends arrive. So what happens if we compare the Vengeance posted above to another assault frigate, the Jaguar?

[Jaguar, Standard]

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I

This Jaguar fit does 206 DPS with close range faction projectile ammunition loaded and 164 DPS with Barrage.

Unfortunately these plots show us that in most realistic situations the Vengeance (and other rocket ships) are not able to lay down enough DPS to take out targets quickly. This is a shame, because in a straight up fight the Vengeance is an excellent ship but it just doesn’t have the punch that I am looking for in a solo roamer.

After last night’s fleet fight and gang I wanted a slight change of pace so when I got back from work today I grabbed a Jaguar and set out for Fountain core. I must admit that I don’t fly Rifters much these days. Its not that I don’t like the ship any more, its just that the targets out here are generally a bit too tough and flying an assault frigate gives me just enough edge to engage the people that I see.

I didn’t want to do anything too active so I set up a small bubble in Z30S-A and hung around to see what I could catch. While I waited I was chatting on voice comms and even inspired a corp mate to get a Jaguar of his own and go hunting. We were talking about fittings and basically whether or not my fit was best served by the damage control that I use out of habit or something else entirely. I said that I liked the damage control but if I was going to swap it out then I’d probably go for a gyrostabiliser. My corp mate was saying that he wasn’t sure the damage control added much and that he might go for a nano or something for a little bit more speed. This has got me thinking and I’m going to have a little play to see if I can optimise my own fitting a bit more. I’ll share the results when I have them.

It was at about this point when I noticed local starting to climb as three neutrals jumped into my system. A Taranis and Vagabond decloaked and I made for the safety of a ping spot near the YZ-LQL gate. I was safely out of their range but could only watch helplessly as the vandals destroyed my bubble. Another Taranis decloaked and they lingered on the gate seemingly making up their mind what to do about me. The Vagabond jumped out of system and one of the Taranises began to burn for me. I considered my options for a moment and then turned my Jaguar round and burnt for the incoming interceptor. Web, scram, and autocannons engaged as I held him at range and began to chip away at him with Barrage. The second Taranis entered warp and sped towards me. As soon as he dropped out I locked him up and switched my guns onto the new target, overheating them for maximum damage. At about half structure he fled out of range and I was able to switch my attentions to my original target. By now I was starting to run out of shield buffer but thankfully the first Taranis exploded just as the second came back for more. Once again I switched my guns onto him and this time added a web and scrambler into the mix. He was in structure but I was running out of shield and it was going to be close. As I bled into armour and then started to approach structure damage I began to move out to wider and wider orbits hoping that he would die before I did. My manoeuvring was rewarded by the sight of a blinding explosion as his hull gave way while I had 21% structural integrity remaining.

An excellent little fight and just what I’d logged on for. Fountain core seems like it might be a fun place to hang out and might even make up for leaving the excellent solo hunting grounds of Pure Blind. The more I fly the Jaguar the more I like it and the best thing is that it really does handle like a tougher Rifter. Oh, and I am definitely going to stick with the damage control. I think my corp mate would agree with me.

I don’t know what it is but I’ve been dying a lot lately. I’ve been lucky in gangs and managed to be repped in time to correct my mistakes but out solo there are no gang mates to help me out.

Yesterday I grabbed one of my Taranises and went down to BLAST space to see what was stirring. I jumped into V6-NY1 to find an unfriendly looking welcoming committee. Thankfully there was no bubble and I was able to warp away without them catching me. I bounced around system for a bit, flirting with a Rapier on the station who failed to catch me then accused me of having stabs. Lies and slander! I carried on bouncing around and at one point landed on a gate and decided to make myself a nice ping spot for future roams. Why I did this with a fast frigate gang after me is beyond my ability to understand. I wasn’t aligned to anything and in the time it took me to adjust to point at the nearest celestial their Crow got a point on me and I was dead.

After a long journey home in my pod I reshipped to my trusty Jaguar and headed down to Syndicate. In FD-MLJ I got intel about a camp in PF-346 but this didn’t put me off warping to the gate at 100 km to see what was going on. There was a Morsus Mihi Dramiel there and he began to microwarp drive out towards me. Excellent. I spun my ship around and charged him back, aiming to land my scram and web on him and negate his speed advantage. He slipped out of my first attempt but the second time I got him and began to unload into his shields. Things were going well until a Falcon uncloaked and jammed me. FUCK FALCONS. Two Sabres jumped in and burnt to me and the game was up. My second death of the night.

Tired and frustrated I grabbed a second Taranis and shot back towards Syndicate, narrowly avoiding a Rapier that had set up a camp since my initial run. This time I ran straight into a Thrasher bubble camping in Poitot and for some reason not only engaged him but also got my MWD and afterburner confused so couldn’t run away until it was too late. Remember kids, sometimes its better to step away and take a break than charge back in without thinking.

Today I thought I’d try something different so I grabbed myself a triple-rep Myrmidon and headed out looking for adventure in low sec space. I didn’t find anyone until Goinard where I jumped into a Loki and Phantasm. They had a Rapier on the other side and I thought I saw a Harbinger warp off gate as I jumped. My initial response was to try and warp but they got me pinned down quickly. Okay, next target, get the Loki but his webs kept me at range. By now the Harbinger was back on gate so I called it a day and began to burn back while my drones returned. I would have plenty of time to get to the gate and jump out and I was easily coping with the incoming damage. Their Rapier had joined the fight but I wasn’t scrammed and I was getting back to the gate comfortably. Then I noticed my guns were still on the Loki. Shit. A Curse landed. Double shit. By now I was back on the gate but with the Curse neutralising my capacitor there was no way I could last until my aggression cleared. My new Myrmidon exploded. It turns out that I was slightly unlucky because I’d bumped into a gang on their way to kill an Orca. The Curse had been brought out especially because they suspected me of being triple repairer fit. I could have survived if I’d been more cautious but I thought the Loki was worth the risk and there’s no point only fighting when you know you’ll win.

Now I’m poor and have no roaming ships left. Time to grind some ISK, it seems.

Dominion is nearly upon us and one of the changes that didn’t make it into this expansion was the proposed change to assault frigates. CCP proposed a 15% per level boost to afterburner speed per level of the racial frigate resulting in a 75% speed increase across the board. This was eventually canned because they weren’t happy about it in testing.

A lot of people were very excited about the changes and with good reason. This boost would have made assault frigates into fantastically fast damage dealers without the ability to disable their speed with warp scramblers. As you can probably tell by my tone here, I was less excited by the changes. assault frigates are already tough little damage dealers and, while they need looking at, a massive speed boost would make them far too overpowered. They’re there to bring on the pain, not to tackle. I like the fact that there is a now a decision to be made between afterburner and microwarp drive and I don’t like the idea of forcing the ship to fit one rather than the other.

Another argument that I have against this is the boost to faction and pirate frigates. These are designed to be fast little ships with damage somewhere between T1 frigates and assault frigates and tackling abilities somewhere between T1 frigates and interceptors.

So do I think that assault frigates are fine as they are? Well, no. If nothing else they do need to get their fourth bonus. Plus I know plenty of Retribution pilots who would kill for a second midslot and, while I can see why they don’t have one, I understand why. Add to that the fact that rockets are simply terrible and you have a ship class that needs some investigation. The solution, I think, is too look at every single ship and give it a suitable bonus rather than make a sweeping generalisation across the whole class.

Let’s take a look at the Jaguar and Wolf because they are the ones that I am most familiar with.

Name: Jaguar
Hull: Rifter Class
Role: Assault Ship

The Jaguar is a versatile ship capable of reaching speeds unmatched by any other assault-class vessel. While comparatively weak on the defensive front it sports great flexibility, allowing pilots considerable latitude in configuring their loadouts for whatever circumstances they find themselves in.

Developer: Thukker Mix

Being the brain-child of the nomadic Thukkers, it is no surprise the Jaguar is as fast as it is. Initially conceived as a way for the tribe to pack some added punch to their organized detachments, they’ve found it to be equally useful as messenger, scout and escort, and it is likely to become one of the most commonly-seen ships in the Thukkers’ stomping grounds.

Minmatar Frigate Skill Bonus: 5% Small Projectile damage bonus

Assault Ships Skill Bonus: 10% Small Projectile Turret optimal range and 5% projectile damage per level.

So taking a look at the Jaguar first we can see that it is designed to be an extension of the Rifter’s flexibility. With 4 high slots, 4 mid slots, and 3 low slots and Minmatar T2 shield resistances it makes an excellent shield tanker. You can fit anything from a single shield extender with a full complement of tackle/e-war, through dual shield extender buffer fits, to active tanks. It screams out to be fitted with autocannons and flown in almost exactly the same way as the Rifter. So why does it have a bonus to small projectile turret optimal range? On a ship like this a bonus to fall-of would be far more appropriate.

The important question is what fourth bonus would I give it? It is not designed to be a hard hitter so I think another damage bonus would be out of place. Following the Rifter model I can see three bonuses which would fit:

1. 7.5% bonus to tracking per level: This is lifted straight out of the Rifter’s bonuses and would follow the theme of making the Jaguar into the next logical step from the Rifter. It would allow fits that don’t have stasis webifiers to still lay down good damage and also go some way to counteracting the Amarrian electronic warfare that is likely to be applied to it.
2. 5% bonus to base speed per level: While I said I was opposed to an across the board increase to speed I think the Jaguar is a ship where such a bonus might possibly be merited. I know that it is already the fastest assault frigate but as a ship designed for the hit and run attacks by the Thukker Tribe the ability to engage and disengage at will is vital to its function. The main argument against this is that assault frigate speeds are already balance and this would probably unbalance things in favour of the Jaguar.
3. 5% reduction in signature radius: This is another potential bonus based upon the ships Thukker roots. It has far less potential to be overpowered than a speed increase but again the Jaguar already has a significantly smaller signature radius than other assault frigates.

I think that while writing that I talked myself out of a bonus to speed or signature radius. In my mind that leaves a tracking bonus as the only viable option for a boost to the Jaguar.

Name: Wolf
Hull: Rifter Class
Role: Assault Ship

Named after a mythical beast renowned for its voraciousness, the Wolf is one of the most potentially destructive frigates currently in existence. While hardier than its brother the Jaguar it has less in the way of shield systems, and the capabilities of its onboard computer leave something to be desired. Nevertheless, the mere sight of a locked and loaded Wolf should be enough to make most pilots turn tail and flee.

Developer: Boundless Creation

Boundless Creation’s ships are based on the Brutor tribe’s philosophy of warfare: simply fit as much firepower onto your ship as possible. Defense systems and electronics arrays therefore take a back seat to sheer annihilative potential.

Minmatar Frigate Skill Bonus: 5% Small Projectile Damage bonus

Assault Ships Skill Bonus: 5% Small Projectile Turret damage and 10% falloff per level

Unlike the Jaguar the Wolf is designed to focus on one particular aspect of the Rifter’s abilities: its damage. With the Brutor’s philosophy this ship is all about firepower. Its five high slots, two mid slots, and four low slots show that this ship is not designed for skirmishing but instead to deliver as much pain as possible. Its double damage bonuses mean that it can function equally well as either an artillery or autocannon platform. Because of this I would propose that it swaps its falloff bonus for the Jaguar’s optimal range bonus.

For the Wolf the fourth and final bonus needs to be something related to damage. I can see two possibilities:

1. 7.5% bonus to tracking per level: Like in the case of the Jagaur I think this bonus could be applied to the Wolf without causing too much controversy. That fact that it cannot fit a propulsion module, web, and warp disruptor together means that it is likely to have tracking issues so would feel the benefits of this more than the Jaguar. This bonus would also benefit artillery configurations.
2. 5% rate of fire bonus: Sticking with the theme of increased damage this would be a boost to both artillery and autocannon setups.

So of all of my proposals above, which would I go for? Well, without hesitation I would give the Jaguar a bonus to fall-off and tracking while losing the bonus to optimal range. For the Wolf I think a tracking bonus is in order as well. I think that to encourage a bit of variety with artillery setups the optimal bonus would be more suitable than the falloff one that it currently has but then as someone who fliers autocannon Wolves I would be happy if they kept the falloff bonus as is.

So that’s my thoughts on the Jaguar and Wolf. What assault frigates would you change and why?