Originally by: Bad Bobby

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Originally by: Akita T

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I doubt MD is the best place to ask why nobody bothers using HICs in general or any of the specific HICs, but then again, I have no idea where else would be a better place.
:shrug:

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Well, in my experience HICs are solid ships with a clear purpose.

However, any PvP gang only needs a small number of HICs compared to the number of other ships, in fact in a roaming BC/HAC gang you'll often find more logistics ships than you'll find HICs.

You'll also find that the types of gangs and types of uses for these ships is much more restricted than many other ships, not just the number employed in those gangs. You don't need HICs in light gangs (unlike must-have dictors) and while low-sec PvPers will use HICs for strong tackle under sentry fire they won't use many and they're not a must have there either. So if the primary application is in 0.0 and their greatest use is for tackling capitals, you've got to ask if maybe they aren't getting much use in that theatre at the moment.

There is also the combat durability of HICs, they are quite tough to kill when properly fit, they don't deal a great amount of DPS and therefore they are only a priority target when the tackle something significant (i.e. supercaps) so they often survive fights when their gangmates do not.

When it comes to the Onyx in particular, it's a good HIC. But I find it unsatisfactory for low-sec use because fitting a sensor booster gimps the tank a bit too much and while it's DPS at gate tackle range is pretty decent that really doesn't help you if the target gets away. For low-sec I prefer the Broadsword as a shield tanked HIC and both of the armor tanked HICs are superior for low-sec use as they have the mids for MWD, SB, injector setups. In 0.0 the balance changes and the Onyx is much more competitive, but still I personally prefer to use the Phobos and Broadsword in 0.0.

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