The Vagabond – The Pure Essence of Minmatar
Vagabond (noun) – 1. A person without a permanent home who moves from place to place. 2. A vagrant, a tramp. 3. A wanderer, a rover.
According to gaming lore the Vagabond, a heavy assault cruiser, was developed by the Thukker. Thukkers are a tribe of the Minmatar who wander in a large fleet and call no planet their home, thus the Vagabond an appropriate name for something they designed. The ship is very fast, giving it the ability to control range on the battlefield at will and mounts a formidable offense as well. The unique blend of characteristics in the Vagabond has made it one of the most popular ships to fly in Eve and became an early example of developing fleets based around a single ship type. Earlier in Eve Online, Vagabond fleets roamed 0.0 with impunity, their speed at the time was so great that it actually played havoc with game mechanics and it was simply impossible to shoot them down.
Time has pressed on since those days, but the vitality of the Vagabond has not left it. It isn’t uncommon to still see small fleets of Vagabonds roaming 0.0 or low-sec, or the occasional pirate or scout speeding through system after system looking for their intended target. Despite all sorts of game changes, the Vagabond remains a major force in the Eve space.
Now, just for the record, I am a so-so Vagabond pilot. My personality style is more defensive than offensive, so I tend to fly slower, but better armed and better tanked ships. With that said, however, I believe that every single Minmatar pilot, every.. single.. one.. should train to fly this ship and to fly it well. It is something that I am working on.
For those of you unfamiliar with how to set up a Vagabond, or even how to fly one. Rest assured, it is probably one of the least difficult ships to configure and if you are good at flying interceptors, you will be good at flying Vagabonds. The configuration of Vagabonds really comes down to two basic forms, primarily based on the type of Autocannon: The 220mm Version and the 425mm Version.
220mm Version – Effective and Versatile
The 220mm Version of the Vagabond looks something like this:
Highslots:
5x T2 220mm Vulcan Autocannons
1x Medium Unstable Power Fluctuator I
Midslots:
2x T2 Large Shield Extenders
1x T2 Warp Disruptor
1x Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Lowslots:
1x T2 Damage Control
2x T2 Gyrostabilizers
2x T2 Tracking Enhancers
Rigs:
2x Medium Polycarb Engine Housing I
Drones:
5x Warrior IIs
This is pretty much the de facto standard for a 220mm fitted Vagabond. Personally, I prefer more tank, so I’ll drop one of the Polycarb rigs for a Shield Extender Rig. Others have suggested dropping a Polycarb for Ambit rigs, which is a possibility as well. Another option is to remove the Neutralizer and replace it with a Heavy Missile or Heavy Assault Missile Launcher. The effective hitpoints for this particular configuration runs just under 24k. The Neutralizer option is good if you are working solo or in small gangs where reducing the ability for your enemy to repair, fire, or run might overreach your ability to blast past their tank. In larger gangs, the DPS of a Missile Launcher might be a better option.
The 425mm Version – Stronger and Scarier
The 425mm Version is the heavier hitting configuration and it looks much like this:
Highslots:
5x T2 425mm Autocannons
1x ‘Arbalest’ Heavy Missile Launcher
Midslots:
1x T2 Large Shield Extenders
1x T2 Invulnerability Field
1x T2 Warp Disruptor
1x Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Lowslots:
1x T2 Damage Control
2x T2 Gyrostabilizers
2x T2 Tracking Enhancers
Rigs:
2x Medium Polycarb Engine Housing I
Drones:
5x Warrior IIs
Essentially, you are dropping a power hungry Shield Extender and Neutralizer, for better resists and better damage. Much like the 220mm Version, I’d prefer to remove at least one of the Polycarbs for a Shield Extender Rig to improve tanking performance. At the stage, the difference between the two tanks EHP wise is minimal, though the 220mm version is more forgiving to those with less than ideal fitting skills.
As far as flying the Vagabond, it literally should be flown like just like an interceptor. Stay outside of 10km from your target (preferably between 15 and 20km), manually orbiting and watching him to make sure he doesn’t catch up with you on an orbit run. Speed is a big part of your tanking ability. Usually you will want to have plenty of Barrage and RF EMP/Phased Plasma ammo with you as both ACs go through quite a bit of. Barrage should be your first choice when attacking because it increases your falloff range, making your shots hit more often and with more consistant damage. If your current gunnery skills aren’t good enough for your weapons to successfully track your target, then switch out a Gyro for another Tracking Enhancer.
All in all, the Vagabond embodies the essence of Minmatar shipbuilding design. It’s fast, it’s dangerous, and it’s effective. It has earned its place in the annals of Eve Online history..
.. and there is no good reason why you shouldn’t know how to fly it.
Fleet Issue Scythe – The Mini-Typhoon
When an Eve pilot hears the word, “Scythe”, it often brings up memories of a much, much earlier time in a person’s Eve career. A very short period of time as well. The original “Scythe” is the Minmatar Tier One “Logistic” cruiser. It’s bonuses were to Tracking Links, a feature rarely used in Eve, and to mining. The defensive abilities of the Scythe made it ill-suited even for most Level 2 type combat missions, and its capabilities in PVP were.. non-existant.
Enter the Fleet Issue Scythe.
The Fleet Issue Scythe was brought in by CCP back in 2008 (along with the other races new faction ships) and immediately one could tell that these ships had been drastically upgraded. The upgrade to the lowly Scythe had nothing to do with logistical support or mining. It was all PVP. But does this Fleet Issue Scythe truly belong in PVP? Well, let’s take a look at what was upgraded:
- The Fleet Issue Scythe upgrades from the original Scythe by adding one additional high slot and one additional mid slot.
- The speed was increased from a base of 209m/s to 270m/s and its agility was increased.
- The powergrid was increased by nearly 100%.
- The upgrade included another 50 CPU.
- A 5% rate of fire increase on both projectiles and missile launchers.
- Shields were increased by at least 50%.
- The drone bay was increased to fit a full flight of light drones instead of just one.
Dramatic changes and improvements to be sure. The increase in speed and agility are remarkable, with the base speed of Fleet Issue Scythe actually FASTER than the Vagabond. It’s base shield is higher than that of the Huginn and Rapier. The CPU and Powergrid allow you to mount some serious Tech 2 hardware on this hull. This beast should be a monster…
Except for one little thing and its the reason that it’s listed as a “Mini-typhoon”. Notice the damage bonuses… to two weapon systems. The highslots are evenly distributed between three projectile turrets and three missile launchers, meaning your skillset should have a fairly strong basis in missile systems as well as projectiles before flying this ship. The price is also a little high ranging from between 40 to 50 million isk, or the same as a Hurricane battlecruiser hull (CCP’s original plan was to keep the price in the 15mil to 25mil price range). The combination of the price and skillset required to use it makes it just a tad pointless to use in PVP. A Rupture will do more damage and is 1/10th the current price and gets double bonused damage on its projectile turrets. And another problem with the hull is that while it does have good shield HP, it retains the typical shield resists of a T1 cruiser. Couple that with it being a shield tank and having a cruiser sized signature and you are looking at getting fairly beat up.
That being said, if you do have some spare isk sitting around, and the skillset to use one, this may not be a bad ship to roam in. Theoretically it is fast enough to have the option of either Afterburners or Microwarpdrives, but practical 0.0 use still lends itself to microwarp drives.. else this will happen: http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=9029672
Here’s the configuration I would use though, now that I’ve flown it a few times:
Highslots:
3x 220mm Autocannons
3x ‘Arlebest’ Assault Missile Launchers
Midslots:
1x Y-T8 Microwarp Drive
1x T2 Warp Disruptor
1x Large F-S9 Regoliath Shield Induction
1x T2 Invulnerability Field
Lowslots:
1x T2 Damage Control
1x T2 Gyrostabilizer
1x “Utility”
Rigs:
1x Anti-EM Shield Reinforcement Rig
1x Medium Shield Extender Rig
1x Projectile Aerator Rig (Rate of Fire)
This configuration is probably the more ideal set up out there, as it balances a pretty decent defense while favoring a fairly effective anti-frigate offense. The setup is one I had to drag from memory so for your skillset you may need to do a bit of shuffling though with this setup your powergrid should be good enough to upgrade some. The big problem is the CPU is a hair too small and so it can be a bit tricky to get a solid balance, but having the spare lowslot should give you some options depending on your skillpoints. Switching out the Gyrostab for a Tracking Enhancer isn’t a bad option either, and it would free up an additional 25 CPU for better weapons or defenses.
In conclusion, I really can’t say that this ship is worth the effort to use it in PVP.. but, it is pretty close. The Rupture is certainly an easier ship to use and does as much or more damage, though it’s not as fast and just doesn’t have a place in the faster Shield HAC fleets. I’d say the financial breaking point though would be about 15 to 20mil, however. I think at that price you could get this ship, then outfit it with solid T2 and Named gear, and be a contributing part of the fleet.
Rapier – The Tackle Test
Despite Paxton space being under constant threat now with potential invasion of our Space by Ursha’Khan and their holders, I was finally able to finish the major testing I wanted to do comparing the Armor tanked Rapier and the Shield Tanked Rapier. Here is how I proposed the test:
“The Tackle Test – This test compares the ability of the Rapiers to tackle a target (the example case will be a Hurricane or Harbinger) and hold onto that target for upwards of a minute and a half to two minutes while being attacked by the target. The timer is what I estimate to be worst case scenario for a support fleet to reach you for the kill.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a BC available, but MushskiC of m3 Corp was willing to be the guinea pig.. so long as he could use an available battleship. I chose the Scorpion from his line up for the Tackle test. Using the missile boat for a comparision does have the advantage of comparing even damage without having to worry about any tracking issues the might incidentally skew the results. I also figured that if the results were close, then I could try it against a turret BC later.
Both ships showed their particular strengths as I predicted they would, however, beautiful theories are often killed by ugly facts. So, where did each shine, and how important was it? Here is a breakdown by Ship:
Passive Armor Tanked Rapier:
- Strength: Signature Radius - Its lower signature radius dramatically reduced the damage recieved by the cruise missiles that hit it as well as by the medium drones sent against it. One of the more surprising things was how often the medium drones actually missed me. Damage recieved was reduced by 25% to 30% in comparision to a shield tanked Rapier.
- Strength: Specialization – The Armor tank allows for five of the six midslots to be used for E-war and sensor modifications, compared to only three on a shield tanked Rapier.
- Partial Strength: Web Strength – This one is more up in the air. Against a battleship sized target, the speed reduction was 30% over the Shield Rapier with just two webs when the target’s MWD was on (3x Webs: 95m/s, 2x Webs: 144 m/s). The real effect is more noticable the faster the ship’s base speed is. However, it is clear that three webs isn’t vital unless you are planning to hit alot of small frig to cruiser sized ships that you expect to be fast. In cases other than this, two webs are sufficent.
- Weakness: General Tank – The Armor tank Rapier certainly tanked more efficiently, but not more effectively. It was able to last two minutes against the Scorpion, but it was deep into armor and would have lasted only half a minute more. This isn’t a good thing if you need to bail, or if you need to tank another ship for a short period of time.
- Partial Weakness: Sensor Booster – Oddly enough, this was complete surprise. Targeting a Battleship-sized ship with my skills was about 2.25 seconds with a non-boosted Rapier. What about a boosted Rapier? Nearly the same. See, you lose any time you might have gained because once you decloak, you still have to activate the module first. On a larger target the benefit is non-existant. It does improve the smaller the target is… but I would say the BC targets on up, a Sensor Booster would actually be a waste of space because of how the uncloak delay requires you to re-activate the module.
- Partial Weakness: Logistical support – An armored tanked Rapier REQUIRES that you have another member in your fleet be able to remote armor rep. Therefore, it would not be good operating solo.
Passive Shield Tanked Rapier:
- Strength: General Tank – The Shield tank configuration is by far more effective. After two minutes the shields were still at 50% and while the larger sig radius meant that cruise missiles hit harder and that the medium drones never missed, it was certainly much more comfortable, and even if someone got the drop of me it wasn’t necessarily game over.
- Strength: Logistical Support – Should you need to get out of the situation or even if you’ve won the battle, you aren’t dependent on having to rely on others to be battle ready. In the Shield configuration that I used, it took only three minutes to get me from 50% shields back up to 80% shields.
- Strength: Versatility - A shield tanked Rapier opens up the lows to be useful for speed mods, damage mods, and even cap/power mods.
- Strength: Speed/Manuverability – The Rapier is very nimble when it is shield tanked, which allows it a quicker response getting to the target, manuvering during combat, as well as being able to withdraw and escape.
- Weakness: Signature Radius – The signature radius pretty much balloon to the size of almost a Battlecruiser. This mean you can be locked quicker as well as recieve more damage and be generally hit more often than the armor tank.
After going through the various tests, in the end it was clear that the overall winner was the Shield Tanked Rapier. True, it may not be nearly as effective against faster ships on the field, but after you factor in the cloak, its general longevity on the combat field, its lower need for logistical support, and its manuverability and versitility really puts the Shield Rapier as the better configuration of the two. The armor plated Rapier on the other hand, sacrifices too much for the advanced specialization.. a specialization that can be matched by its brother the Huginn much more effectively. The test has been enlightening enough, that I don’t feel the need to run the other three tests I’ve mentioned. The Shield Tanked Rapier’s few weaknesses compared to the Armor Tanked Rapier pretty well gave me information that the other tests would have just merely duplicated.
Armor Tanked Configuration:
Damage Control II
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Disruptor II
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Tremor M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Tremor M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Tremor M
Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Shield Tank Configuration:
Damage Control II
Power Diagnostic System II
Power Diagnostic System II
Gyrostabilizer II
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Large Shield Extender II
Warp Disruptor II
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Large Shield Extender II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Tremor M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Tremor M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Tremor M
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Again as always, please leave a comment if you feel like it and remember to keep your guns loaded and your enemies running.
Rapier – Testing the Effective Recon
So here’s my dilema: How do you test the effectiveness of a ship, whose setup varies greatly depending on its purpose? See, the more I pondered some of the criticisms of X1376, and the more I looked at the reasons why I chose to use the Rapier as I do (which is doing rather well in combat) the realization came to me that for me to give a serious and honest assessment of making an Effective recon would require alot different testing. I try my best to make sure that I give not only a good, solid setup.. but also the reasoning behind it, the flaws pilots will need to overcome, as well as any tactics I have used in PVP that I found useful. However, with ships like the Prophecy and Muninn, their tasks are relatively simple compared to that of Recon. Therefore, I am now developing a series of tests, specifically for the Rapier to find out if the configuration I have laid before you as a quality fit performs as good, better, or worse than what has become a standard configuration Rapier.
So far, the test will consist of the following things:
- The Tackle Test – This test compares the ability of the Rapiers to tackle a target (the example case will be a Hurricane or Harbinger) and hold onto that target for upwards of a minute and a half to two minutes while being attacked by the target. The timer is what I estimate to be worst case scenario for a support fleet to reach you for the kill.
- The Pirate Test – This test compares the ability of the Rapiers to destroy an enemy target. The target will again be a battlecruiser (either a Hurricane or Harbinger) and the purpose will be to get the target into structure using any and all means necessary, but limited to bonused e-war and combat drones.
- The Support Test – This test covers the effectiveness at what I personally think is the hardest task in a roaming gang. Taking out an interceptor trying to crash a gate. I have already done this using my armor tanked Rapier to great effect (caught a Dramiel on a Regional gate once, and quite a few inties at other times as well), but it would be good to compare that to the standard Rapier setup.
- The Roam Test – This test will simply cover how well this ship travels. To be honest, I only need to do one test and that is with my configured Rapier in a HAC gang. Armor tanked ships are notorious for being slow to align and slow to accelerate to warp. While this isn’t much of a problem in Battlecruiser gangs, HAC gangs are very much a different story since they rely alot more on speed to outflank the enemy. I KNOW the armor tanked Rapier will perform worse than the shield tanked Rapier, but I need to know by how much.. is it a little bit, or is it critically more?
If you have any additional testing suggestions, or if you see a flaw in my testing procedures, please feel free to give suggestions. The results will be posted later when I go through with it and I will let folks know if perhaps my configurations are “not good” (edit: I thought he said “fail”, but I was wrong) as X1376 puts it, or if they are a more viable alternative than most have assumed.
In the meantime, make sure to keep your ammo loaded and your targets running.
Rapier – Defining the Effective Recon
Since I have had a few requests regarding how I personally would fit the Rapier, I have decided to put together a few suggestions, as well as some fits that have seen combat. For any that don’t know, the Rapier is the Minmatar’s Force Recon Cruiser and it is certain a very popular and successful ship. It combines Minmatar’s signature’s speed with cloaking capability and slot versatility. It’s certainly not a combat ship by most standards (a standard Rapier only mounts three guns), but it is a ship that is common to large fleet actions as well as Black Ops incursions. The Rapier is derived from the T1 Bellicose hull and so receives both a Rate of Fire (RoF) bonus and a Target Painter (TP) bonus. It also gets a 60% bonus to web range along with the standard CPU decrease for Covert Ops cloaks.
99% of the Rapiers you will encounter will probably not carry the TP, and mainly are fitted similar to its brother the Huginn in that regard with a strong passive shield fit with dual Webifiers and a mix of some Power Diagnostic Units, Gyrostabilizers, and a Damage Control in the lows. Its a fairly effective, general setup and is easy to fit since while the Rapier can only mount three guns, it has the same CPU and Powergrid as the Huginn which tries to mount six weapon systems. Personally, I suggest not even trying to get into the Rapier until you have at least Recon IV, because the Cov Ops Cloak uses a ton of necessary CPU until that level.
The Typical Rapier will be configured with one of two goals in mind:
- As a Heavy Tackler – The Rapier is most often used in the configuration. Able to sneak up on enemies and handle them until a support fleet arrives, the Rapier is a strong contender for this role particularly if the intended target is a bit more skiddish.
- As a Fleet Support Recon – In this configuration, it is usually as a Cyno operator, sometimes for the covert abilities.
I think however, there are actually three configurations that will be useful to a typical 0.0 alliance.
[Rapier, Web Tackle]
Damage Control II
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Warp Disruptor II
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
650mm Artillery Cannon II, EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, EMP M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, EMP M
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I
Valkyrie II x3
Warrior II x2
You’ll notice a few things about this configuration that are not standard. The first is that it is armor tanked. As I mentioned with the Huginn, it just makes more sense to armor tank the Rapier, even though it will make it harder to manuver and accelerate. This configuration actually sports a better tank than what can be had by the Huginn. You’ll also notice that I mount three webs on my ship. I did this because it gives you more options. Suppose you went with a dual web, scram, and TP configuration? Sure, your target can’t move quickly, but the TP isn’t going to make that much of a sig boost on a smaller ship.. at least not compared to a MWD. A MWD boosts the signature radius 500% whereas a bonused TP is considerably less. This takes advantage of the knee-jerk reaction he is going to have when you pop up. If you have the extra implant space, you can replace that Medium Ancillary Current Router I with another Scan Resolution Rig, but that does require you use a 3% powergrid implant. (Additional Note: As mentioned in the comments by X1376, reaching Recon V also gives you valuable option of using an Expanded Probe Launcher because at Recon V, a Covert Ops cloak has a CPU value of zero. While I didn’t put up a variant containing one, X1376 placed a suggested one in his comment below.)
My vision for a Fleet support Rapier, particularly on Covert Ops missions, is considerably different than standard.
[Rapier, Fleet Assist - Black Ops]
Damage Control II
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
Target Painter II
Target Painter II
Target Painter II
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Covert Cynosural Field Generator I
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Tremor M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Tremor M
Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I
Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I
Valkyrie II x3
Warrior II x2
Again, I kept the armor tank so as to maximize the E-war abilities. Here, since a BS will probably be used only as a tool to warp bombers in.. in practice a squad of bombers can make a run on .. say, a gatecamp. The Rapier can uncloak 10 to 15 seconds before the bomb hit, light up three targets at a 100+ km range, then either cloak or warp off while the bombers set themselves up for another run. This could also be useful in situations where the bombers have chosen to engage at torpedo range, allowing for maximum damage to various targets. If necessary, you can change out one of the EANMs for a Signal Amplifer I, then take out one of the Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I and replace it with a Medium Particle Dispersion Projector I to get better Target Painting optimal range without sacrificing much Scan Resolution.
A third variant actually comes by way of Butterdog of Ursha’Khan fame. During our defense of a Cold Steel POS in low-sec, Butterdog dropped right next to the POS shield and lit off a cyno. Was a rather an impressive tank, and it was not something that could be duplicated by anything except maybe the Falcon.
[Rapier, UK Setup]
Power Diagnostic System II
Power Diagnostic System II
Power Diagnostic System II
Damage Control II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Invulnerability Field II
Invulnerability Field II
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Tremor M
720mm Howitzer Artillery II, Tremor M
Cynosural Field Generator I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
This is a great setup if you need to drop a cyno and you need it to stay up long enough for your caps to get there. This ship sports an EFT rated tank of 76k (All level V), so it can take a beating for a little bit before its done. The downside to this configuration is that its signature was quite huge at 227m, about the size of a battlecruiser, so it takes more damage than a typical ship of that size. Edit: X1376 also pointed out indirectly, that I didn’t get the whole story in regards to this situation and truth be told it very well could be that I was so enamoured about how sneaky it was that I thought it was a wonderful setup. This particular configuration, however, did allow for the UK rapier to sneak up right next to the POS to drop a cyno. UK had managed to get the password to the POS at that time (though we didn’t know it), but even if they didn’t have the correct one, UK had thought that our being distracted by another fleet 150km off of the POS would allow the Rapier to come in and drop the cyno at close range to our sniper BSes. Fortunately, we were on the ball and we were able to take out the Rapier but, I still think it was a worthy and daring tactic because if we had one maybe two battleships less, he would have been successful.
Overall, the Rapier is a very impressive ship and can be used in a variety of ways, and its reputation is definately worth looking into. This is certainly a ship once can get familiar with and effective with at Recon IV. Again, if you have any questions regarding my fits, let me know. So, have fun and keep your guns loaded!
Swiss Army Muninn
When one thinks of Minmatar HACs, the common response is: “Vagabond, and that other one.” The Vagabond, by and far, is the most popular Minmatar HAC, if not the most popular HAC period. The reasons are rather obvious: It’s relatively easy to fit. It’s OMGWTF fast (though not as fast as it used to be) and manuverable. It is somewhat effective solo, but is very effective in packs. The standard tactics using the typical Vagabond fit mimic that of the interceptor, so training for one is comparatively easy.
But what of his brother, the Muninn. Well, the Muninn suffered from several problems right from the very beginning. For starters, all the HACs were classified into two categories: Close-Range and Sniper. Since the Vagabond had gained popularity by being a close range gunboat, the naturally left the Muninn to be designated the Sniper. However, Minmatar Artillery in general just wasn’t on par with any of the other weapon systems, so its damage was very lackluster. In addition, the slot fitting arrangement are just..well, strange. While it has seven high slots, it can only fit 5 with turrets.. and lacks the powergrid to fit most support high slot weaponry. The midslots are another enigma as the resists clearly show that it should be shield tanked, having only three midslots makes for a fairly weak tank considering that one of the midslots is dedicated to a MWD.
So, is the Muninn a lost cause? Well, simply, no. The Muninn has started coming into its own with the ammo and weapon changes brought about by the Dominion expansion and has started to carve out its own little niche in roaming gangs. But, it is still hamstrung by the belief that it is a “Sniper” HAC. Remember, the Muninn gets many of its benefits from the legendary Rupture hull, which is still seen often in PVP, and usually is in a close range PVP setup. So, let’s look at it’s strengths:
- Seven High Slots (5 turrets/2 missile) versus the Rupture’s Six High Slots (4 turrets/2 missile)
- (edit: Removed because of memory error – both the Muninn and the Vaga have five low slots)
- Balanced Shield resists
- 30% increased Base armor over shield and 30% more than the Rupture’s armor.
- 25% Bonus to Medium Projectile Turret RoF (5% per level)
- 25% Bonus to Medium Projectile Turret Damage (5% per level)
- 50% Bonus to Medium Projectile Optimal Range (10% per level)
- 37.5% Bonus to Medium Projectile Tracking Speed (7.5% per level)
So, what does this mean to the person trying to decide what to do with his Muninn, which is gracefully spinning at the station? It means that you have choices. While the Optimal Range bonus tends to benefit Arties over ACs, it’s certainly not a down side to ACs to have better optimal range. Even though fighting in Falloff is supposedly the Minmatar trade mark, anything you can do to raise your optimal is a good thing. Both Arties and ACs benefit greatly from improved tracking, rate of fire, and damage. So really, the choice comes down to what you plan on doing:
HAC Roaming Ranged Variant – The following configuration is one I think would be effective in conjuction with Vagabonds and Scimitars. While not able to have tackle, it certainly can help fend off ranged attacks, or add some serious ranged damage to “retreating” of “kiting” tactics. The downsides are the relatively low ROF and the loss of use of two High slots. These two high slots can be used for things like Cloaking devices, Drone modules, or small remote reppers depending on tactical need. The only thing I would suggest would be that your drones be using only in defense, or in assistance to other ships like interceptors. This configuration can be adjusted pretty liberally depending. Replacing the T2 Invulnerability field for a Sensor Booster, for example, would help in raising the targetting range to be more useful with Tremor.
- High Slots: 5x 720mm T2 Howitzers (Tremor M for Range, Fusion M or EMP M for close range work against larger targets, Titanium Sabot M for dealing with faster targets)
- Mid Slots: 1x MWD, 1x T2 Invulnerability Field, 1x T2 Large Shield Extender
- Low Slots: 2x T2 Gyros, 1x T2 Damage Control, 1x Signal Amplifier, 1x Reactor Control Unit
- 5x Warrior IIs
- Rigs to suit taste
HAC Roaming Strike Variant – This configuration is primarily to act as a more robust version of the Rupture. Not generally accepted by many FCs, usually because of the aforementioned belief that the Muninn is only capable of being a sniper fit. This variant works better armor tanked and I was able to get an effective (EFT numbers) EHP of 33,000+, without impacting the signature radius. The downside is that speed and agility do take a hit. I tend to use Heavy Missile Launchers over Heavy Assault Missile Launchers for a couple of reasons, the first is that faction ammo is much easier to find for Heavy Missiles and at my skill level for missiles, the Heavy Missile’s ability to do damage outside of my AC range is a nice addition. Alternately, if you plan to be operating far from home, replacing one of the missile launchers with a small or medium remote armor rep would be a good idea.
- High Slots: 5x 220mm T2 Vulcan ACs, 2x “Arlesbest” Missile Launchers
- 1x T2 MWD, 1x Web (or TP), 1x 24km Distruptor
- 2x T2 Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane, 1x T2 Gyrostabilizer, 1x T2 Damage Control, 1x 1600mm Rolled Tungsten Armor Plate
- 5x Warrior IIs
- Rigs to taste, but preferably either Explosive and Kinetic Armor Pumps, or Trimarks, or Projectile Aeroator rigs (in general, ROF rigs give more DPS than damage rigs do)
It should be noted however, that as a close range platform, it is hard to see the difference of using the Muninn over the classic 1600mm plate fit Rupture. It is a good argument and it has merit. The Muninn is better in that it can have the 1600mm plate, more and better guns (Quadrupale bonused guns…) and missile systems, without sacrificing the tank. But, is it 100mil isk better? That is completely up to you.
The often despised Huginn
Of all the Recon ships, the Huginn is probably considered the worst of the bunch.. if not a close second for the title. Often, fleets and pickup gangs would rather fly with a Rapier over a Huginn, and consider the cloaking ability far superior to the additional tanking ability of the Huginn. Yet, the Huginn is certainly not to be discounted lightly. The simple fact remains that most people, in my modest opinion, outfit the Huginn wrong.
Because of its resists, the standard fit is usually three mid slot with tackle (two webs, one 24km disruptor), one 10MN MWD, and use the final two slots for its tank, either two Large Shield Extenders or a LSE with an Invulnerability Field. The low slots are then populated with a DC and whatever else the pilot decides. Yet, it is interesting to note that one of the certifications for the Huginn isn’t Shield tanking.. its Armor Tanking. While I tend to agree that this flies in the face of two very important facts, the first being that all Minmatar T2 cruisers are shield tanked, and the second fact that the resists on the ship clearly point to shield tanking as the optimal choice.. nevertheless, as a Recon ship, its job ISN’T necessarily to tank…
The Huginn carries two particular bonuses, the first is the often used web range bonus.. which on a Huginn can reach up to 40km using typical T2 Statis Webifiers, and 60km with faction. Still, with only two webs an interceptor can still reach speeds of almost 600m/s without implants, still fast enough to get out of a 24km range easily, and certainly not all that hard to get out of bubble range either. This is where the second bonus comes in. The Huginn retains its bonus from the Bellicose hull and this adds a 37.5% increase in the strength of a target painter. Add to that good target painting skills and you have something else entirely.
[Huginn, Armor TP Configuration]
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Stasis Webifier II
Stasis Webifier II
Target Painter II
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
‘Arbalest’ Heavy Missile Launcher, Thunderbolt Heavy Missile
‘Arbalest’ Heavy Missile Launcher, Thunderbolt Heavy Missile
‘Arbalest’ Heavy Missile Launcher, Thunderbolt Heavy Missile
Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I
Medium Targeting System Subcontroller I
The above configuration now brings out the beauty of the Huginn. As an armored tanked Recon, it can blend effectively with the more popular armor tanked fleets currently in use. With the midslots free, it can upgrade its sensors to get just shy of 1300mm scan resolution. In practice, what happens in your typical gate camp is that once a interceptor class ship tries to MWD out of a bubble, the frigate’s signature (at best skill) shows up well below that of a small cruiser, making it very difficult to target and hit using medium and large guns. However, replacing the 24km point with a Target Painter now brings the little interceptor’s sig radius up to around 125mm.. the size of large cruiser… and a very easy target for your allied ships to lock onto and hit.
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