Ships I Fly - The Rupture

For various reasons I have waited quite a while to discuss the Rupture. I have quite a love/hate relationship with this wonderful Minmattar cruiser.

Things I love:
- Although slow for a Matari Cruiser, the Rupture is still faster than cruisers from other races
- DOUBLE DAMAGE BONUS
- Lots of PG / CPU
- Nice Drone Bay
- Two Utility Slots

Things I don't love:
- Too slow to evade a gate-camp
- Less tank then other races Tier-3 Cruisers
- Anything a Rupture can do.... A hurricane can do better.

In other words, a Rupture is basically a glass cannon, or, as described by an enemy, "Primary".

Lets look at some fits. Like a Hurricane, a Rupture can be either Armour or Shield Tanked. Both of the below fits are T2 and cost between 10-15m isk. Cheapfits with T1 gear are also quite viable.

Here is an Armour Tanked Rupture:
[Rupture, New Setup 3]
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II

Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator

Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Projectile Burst Aerator I
Medium Projectile Collision Accelerator I


Vespa EC-600 x1
Hornet EC-300 x4

DPS: 317
EHP: 24,931
Speed: 1400

Here is a shield tanked Rupture:
[Rupture, Shield Rupture]
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Damage Control II
Tracking Enhancer II

Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Large Shield Extender II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I

425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
425mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Medium Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I

DPS: 397
EHP: 21,010
Speed: 1591


Vespa EC-600 x1
Hornet EC-300 x4


For both ships you can swap out a Tracking Enhancer for a nanofibre/Gyro as needed. You can also swap out the ECM drones for damage drones for an additional 100 dps or so. Personally I like to fit ECM drones since I feel it gives me a chance to escape when tackled, plus it can significantly reduce incoming DPS when the enemy is jammed. I like to bring along at least 2 types of close range republic fleet ammo plus barrage. RF ammo is good for DPS, barrage is good for range.

So what can you do with a Rupture?

In a small fleet a Rupture is both a significant DPS boat and heavy tackler. In general you want to get up close and personal, land a point/scram on a target and unleash hell while calling for reps from logistics. Obviously this role makes the Rupture an early primary, especially considering it's low EHP to DPS ratio.

For solo work the Rupture is very competitive when taking on Cruisers from another race. It's high damage/light tank makes for short intense fights. Since you are so fast, you should be able to outrun anything except a stabber / vagabond (don't engage Vagas if you can avoid it please) to escape an enemy if the fight goes south. Frigates sized ships are another issue however. Scram + web (if armour tanked) + neuts should make it possible to slow them down to be hit by the guns. The armour tank fit with smaller, faster tracking guns and a web obviously has an advantage here. If you are worried about frigates then fitting 6 warrior II drones instead of ECM may make sense.

I try to engage anything cruiser or smaller at near-close range if I can. 2000-6000m is ideal. There are some exceptions however. With a weak signal strength LADAR system and turreted weapon systems, a Rupture is vulnerable to both tracking disruptors and ECM. As a result an arbitrator or a blackbird (plus T2 variants) spells trouble. I have never successfully taken a Rupture against a Battle-cruiser or a Battleship but it should be possible under the right circumstances as many others have demonstrated.

Once you get familiar with a Rupture... try a Hurricane. It is sort of a Rupture on steroids, really really good steroids.