Astria Tiphareth
Caldari 24th Imperial Crusade
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Posted - 2008.07.22 12:57:00 -
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Edited by: Astria Tiphareth on 22/07/2008 13:04:38 The above players clearly haven't flown in small gang PvP much. A Drake properly set up and skilled for is a capable foe in PvP, though you won't be matching the DPS of a Harbinger. You can capitalise on the above snorts of disgust and stupidity by letting the fools assume your Drake is a PvE passive-tanked boat. Surprise them.
I'm going from memory on these so I may be slightly off; use EVEMon to be certain.
In all cases, you need an MWD (Navigation, Microwarpdrive & Acceleration Control if memory serves) to get around quickly, whether it's onto gates, off of warp-in points, or into range. In the same vein, your lows are all going to be BCUs (Ballistic Control Units) so Weapon Upgrades to level 4 is a bare minimum for the T2 stuff. In practice you want Advanced Weapon Upgrades to level 3 or 4 to fit T2 fits anyway, so consider them a goal.
Your basic shield skills are your survival, get them as high as you can. Shield Management, Hull Upgrades, Mechanic, these are your basic hitpoint skills. Get them to level 5. You will not regret it.
I'm not going to cover all the shield tanking skills as I'd rather hope that by the time you fly a drake you know these inside out. Drake performs best as a passive or buffer shield tank. Shield Operation increases your recharge rate, get this to level 5 if it's not there already.
First and foremost pick your fighting range. If you're going long-range (for whatever reason) then Heavy Missiles are the only thing you're going to find useful as weapons. If you're dealing damage at range for some reason, then you're not going to be tackling, so fit your mediums accordingly. Tailor it to your situation. EW modules can be a surprise - dampeners are rather nice, or if you're feeling like surviving and running away before anyone gets close, fit enough tank to survive. Shield Upgrades covers things like Shield Extenders and so on.
Far better in my view however is the short-range Drake. For this you want Heavy Assault Missiles. You'll be hitting at maximum around 20km, so fit to tackle - stasis webifier and warp disruptor/scrambler (Propulsion Jamming). You'll only have two medium slots left after that and MWD, so just fit a buffer tank (a couple of medium shield extenders or a large and invulnerability field (Tactical Shield Manipulation) depending on skills).
So to summarise: Speed: Navigation (4) Microwarpdrive Operation (4) Acceleration Control (4)
Shields & Defense: Tactical Shield Manipulation (1 or 4 T1/T2) Shield Operation (5) Shield Management (5) Hull Upgrades (5) Mechanic (5) When you come out of a fight with 15% structure left, you'll remember why you trained these.
Fitting & Shield Extenders: Shield Upgrades (1 or 4 T1/T2) Weapon Upgrades (4 minimum, 5 for advanced below) Advanced Weapon Upgrades (3 minimum for decent T2 fits)
EW: Propulsion Jamming - Mandatory, get to level 4 when you can. Signal Suppression - For damps Sensor Linking - For damps
Weapons (4 or 5, get to 5 ASAP): Heavy Missiles Heavy Assault Missiles
And obviously: Caldari Cruiser 3 Battlecruisers 4, get to 5 when you can.
Finally, general skils that will serve you well: Signature Analysis - speed of lock. Long Range Targeting - distance of lock. Electronics & Engineering - More fitting room. <Damage Type> Shield Compensation - Beware confusing this with just Shield Compensation. Boosts the resists when using passive shield hardeners.
Probably some other handy ones but you'll get the idea. Personally however I would recommend if you've never done PvP to try it in a frigate first and get used to it, before splashing out on a Drake.
Edit: If the above seems daunting, remember that in a fleet fight of more than about 5 opposing DPS ships, a few percentage points here or there on shields/armour isn't going to make a blind bit of difference when you're called primary, but your DPS will, so focus on firepower first. In small gangs or solo, those few points will save your life. ___ My views may not represent those of my corporation or alliance, which is why I never get invited to those diplomatic parties... |