DaDutchDude
Minmatar
Sebiestor tribe
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Posted - 2009.03.29 19:29:00 -
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The problem is there is no single superior way to fit a Rifter. You can fit it several ways, but each has its pro's and cons.
The question that should have been asked but surprisingly wasn't is: what will you be using it for? Based on that, you can decide how to fit and fly, and which engagements to enter and which to avoid. To make it even more complex, you should take into consideration the level of your relevant skills compared to those of your opponent.
Also a very important distinction is whether you'll fly solo or in a gang. If you are solo, your survival becomes more important, because you cannot win if you die. This means you'll need to think about survival as a priority. When you're in a group, you might die but still win the fight by having your gang kill a more valuable ship then the ship(s) that your ship was worth in the first place. You should focus perhaps a bit more on your role (like getting the first tackle in a sensor boosted but paper thin frig). Also, you might not get shot at at all when you're in a gang, while you'll always be 'primary' when you fight solo.
Then you need to think about your target: what kind of ship will you be fighting? A lot of people think they need to stick to their 'weight class': so frigs fight frigs, cruisers fight cruisers, but you could be wrong. Sometimes creating a mismatch will work in your advantage, but you really need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different classes of ships. And not only the ship type is important, but also the specific ship and fitting. The good thing is that a lot of ships have very typical fittings, because their bonuses and slot layout will give that particular fit most benefit. Ships with a bonus to speed will almost always be speed fitted, ships with a bonus to optimal range will most often be fitted with longer range guns, etc. Understanding this will make you take advantage of their weaknesses.
When you say you want to speed tank, you need to understand how speed will help you tank. Speed itself doesn't take away damage, but it makes you harder to hit by bigger or longer range guns, because they cannot track you very well. Important to note is that this hardly works against small, short range guns, because these will track you pretty much no matter how fast you go. The added bonus of speed is that it decreases damage from missiles that do hit you, and it can help you avoid certain missiles that fly slower then you do. Both this works very well of frigate hulls, because they are fast by nature and are already hard to hit due to a small signature radius.
The most common mistake in speed tanking is MWD usage on a frigate: it will make your signature radius enormous, taking away the biggest advantages of a frig vs big guns / missiles. If you use a MWD, don't leave it on once you're in range, or use a AB instead. A second common mistake is by flying straight at your opponent: this will not help you avoid incoming gun fire, because the guns don't need to track you at all. Always fly at your opponent at an angle unless it's a 100% missile boat.
When thinking about getting in gun range, fit for the occasion. If you are fighting small ships, you will need short range guns (for a Rifter: auto cannons) because they track very well. When you fight bigger stuff, longer range gun (for a Rifter: artillery) will probably be better. When fitted for speed, loosing that speed because of a web or a scram (when MWDing) will increase your chances of getting killed. Against small short range guns, this really doesn't make a big difference, but against big/long guns, it does, so with cruiser and up, use longer range guns and stay out of web / scram range. Esp. with battle ships, you should also look out for smart bombs.
When fighting a frigate with a frigate, know what type of guns they fit and use it against them. For example, blasters have a very short range, so stay further away, while rails track bad, so stay close and speedy.
Good luck!
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