Regat Kozovv
Caldari
Alcothology
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Posted - 2009.06.18 20:31:00 -
[1]
I'll toss in my two cents.
I'm a CEO of a corp with a lot of new players in it. I've got a couple of guys who are wanting to move up into destroyers, and I've been trying to encourage them to stay in that frigate a little longer.
Destroyers are good boats. Excellent salvagers, fantastic anti-frigate platform. But they have barely the defence of a frigate while having a much larger signature radius. Many refer to them as "glass cannons"; excellent firepower, paper thin. For a new player who's still learning tactics and how to properly fit and fly ships, this usually spells lossmail. In our exploration runs I've noticed that both of our losses were destroyers, while the punishers and rifters they flew earlier survived just fine.
Some suggested not to move up into a Cruiser too fast either, and I agree. I had to help a friend with a level II just last night who's Rupture kept going into hull. (Some advice on fitting a ship and fitting effective weapons helped.)
In the end the choice between a destroyer and a cruiser comes down to how well a new pilot is acclimating to the game and understands how it works. Here's what I'd recommend.
- If you're doing level Is, use a frigate, and if you want to burn through tons of them, user a destroyer.
- Start with level IIs when your frigate skills start to get really good. Note I didn't say destroyer. Get in a Rifter, Incircus, Punisher, etc, and really learn how to make the most of it. There's nothing wrong with small ships in this game, and for new players who's defense and fitting skills are still being developed, having a small signature and high speed will do more for your defence than trying to tank anything at this point.
- Start learning the skills for a Cruiser. Don't buy one and hop right in the moment you can fly it, get some of the support skills up. A good way to pace yourself is to get a few ranks in medium weapons, with most of your engineering and mechanic skills and III or IV, and then pick up Cruisers. Train it to III or so. Note that your frigate is probably really decent at this point, you should be able to tackle a lot of level IIs in it.
- Move to the cruiser. Run a level I or two so you can get the feel of it. Don't be afraid to fit small guns or assault launchers if you're finding that you're shooting a lot of small targets.
At this point most don't come back to the destroyer. But that doesn't make them worthless. Go back and train them; if you're flying cruisers well then your destroyer should work great with just III or IV rank in the skill.
Stick it out in the frigate a little while longer, and train up those cruiser skills. Shouldn't have to lose many ships of any type. 
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