Solo PvP - Some Basic Advice

This past summer DaDutchDude made an excellent post on the internal Agony Unleashed forum about solo PvP. With his permission I am posting it in it's entirety here. Enjoy...

Rejecting fights / staying alive
One of the fundamentals of soloing in any ship is putting yourself in harms way, while maintaining the ability to reject fights and stay alive. In a MWD frigate, you should be able to escape from most any situation, but when you switch to a cruiser / BC, you loose a good amount of that. A lot of time, you can still escape if you keep your calm and they don't, but as it implies, it demands a bit more finesse from you and stupidity from them. That is why it is good to start learning to solo in frigs, and once you get used to that rush and remain calm and controlled, you can move on to bigger ships.

One of the ways you can help yourself is by bringing a dual-boxed covops alt to get you through gates without blindly running into a bad situation. As an added bonus, you can fleet up and get a nice bonus to agility, shield / armor HP and lock time / range if you have some decent leadership skills. If you however don't have a second account for that, or don't want to dual-box, you really need to accept that you release a very large amount of control over the situation.

Solo approaches
When you solo, there's a couple of approaches.

Brawl
When you brawl, your focus is on quickly locking down a target and killing him off before friends show up or he can run away. Compared to your opponent, you are usually either very heavy on tank, DPS or both. You usually behave as the aggressor, initiate an engagement, and commit first. Unless you have a really big tank and fight on a gate or station, it'll be hard to disengage, so make every second count.

Kite
When you kite, your focus is on being able to dictate range and maintain your ability to disengage. Compared to your opponent, you have good speed and agility and DPS range. You usually behave as the target, letting your opponent come to you and let him initiate aggression, and you don't commit until the fight is already won. That last part means basically that initialy, you should not care too much about tackling your target, but put damage on him while keeping range. Only when he's almost dead and it's safe to do so should you make sure you dive in for tackle.

Fish
Fishing is sort of a mix between brawling and kiting. Your ship is setup like a brawler, but your behavior (at least initially) is more like a kiter. Basically you set up a trap for a\specific (type of) opponent, wait for him to engage you, and then close the trap and brawl him down.

Control
Arguably this isn't a specific type of combat, but more a variation on brawling or kiting, and is a generalization of fishing. The point of control style fighting is that you have some measure of control over your opponent that diminishes his ability to fight you, and it's particularly suited for ships with an ewar bonus like recons. A Rapier for example can control range with dual-webs and despite low tank and low DPS either kill an opponent or disengage. A Curse can do something similar with neuts. A fishing Celestis (with webs + scram) is sort of a control setup in disguise, controlling the ability for small ships to disengage.

Concluding
Choose the type of approach, and pick the right tools (ship + setup) for the job and specialize. Although there will always be targets that you can brawl in a kiting ship and kite in a brawling ship, you should be wary about that and not give into temptation too often when frustration and / or boredom strikes.

1 vs 1 or 1 vs many
Again, there's a different types of fights you could be looking for when you solo.

1 vs 1
Especially when you like to brawl or fish, these are the fights you will usually be looking for. Personally my recommendation is to cruise through an area, maybe linger, but surely don't stick around to long for people to form up. The longer you hang around in an area, the more gates you want to between the closest population center and you, giving you more time before possible reinforcements come.

It's also sometimes a good idea to toy around with somebody before you engage. A lot of the times when you get a 1 vs 1, the other opponent wants that fight just as badly as you do, so making him work a bit for it, for example making him follow you a system, gives you more time to assess the situation, decide on tactics and setup correctly for it.

1 vs many
The reality is that a lot of solo PVP ends up as 1 vs many, and it can actually be a lot more fun if approached correctly. However, there are a lot more things you need to be aware off.

When kiting, watch that magic 150km mini-warp range. It is so easy to kite somebody far enough for gate for his support gang to be able to miniwarp up to you, giving you big head aches. Choose new align at 80km points, realign before 120km. Any further and somebody that gets through on the opposing side of the gate might still be able to miniwarp up.

If you are brawling, don't fight on the in-gate. If you know or suspect a gang will come for you, warp to a different gate from the one they will come in from, so you can see local go up, check scan and know what's coming before they are actually there, and if you choose to disengage and go out through the gate with less of a chance of more gang members waiting there. However if you are kiting, you should kite on the in-gate, because that means that people coming in can't immediately mini-warp to your first chaser, but instead have to bounce or burn after you.

When stuck on a gate with a hostile gang, watch which hostiles are aggressing you and which aren't (and because of that, can follow you through). Based on that, decide if you should crash gate again on the other side, or kite off, or try to cold warp off. If you have the ability to take a breather in gate cloak (when they don't have something that can prevent you from gate crashing like a Rapier), use it. Whatever you do, don't give up too early, I've escaped stupid amounts of situations I should have died in in my HurriPain by simply gate crashing 2 or 3 times, and then kiting or cold warping off after the coordination in the hostile gang has completely disintegrated due to blood lust / panic / brain dead / bad comms / whatever.

When fighting multiple opponents, esp. when kiting, don't worry too much about having tackle on your targets initially, because most of the time, they will stick around on their own any way. Focus much more on choosing the right target, deploying drones, maneuvering, etc.

Splitting up opponents, either in range or on different sides of a gate, is essential. There's too many examples to mention about how you can think of it, but thinking of it a lot is key.

Be VERY worried about gangs with ewar ships, they are game changers (and usually spoilers), probably even more so then logistics. Soloing is all about control, and with EWAR is all about giving them more control over you, and that severely limits your options.

Active vs passive tank
There's no single right answer to what is better for solo PVP, although at the moment of writing, Ancillary Shield Boosters are particularly powerful. In general though, I think the passive tanks work well for 1 vs 1 brawlers and all shield kiting / control setups, but not so well in most 1 vs many brawlers. Active tanking can do well in most situations, although you really need to be pretty knowledgeable about the limits of it and needs more finesse / micromanagement because when it breaks, it usually breaks hard.

The measure of success (or "how do I enjoy something that is inherently very difficult to succeed in")
Understand how you measure success, or what makes you enjoy playing solo, and let that guide you. Every person is different, and that is why some advice will resonate well with you and other advice won't. Since that sounds vague, I'll try to illustrate with an example:
I as a (solo) pilot and very result focused. A lot of the process of (solo) PVP I find frustrating, but when I get good results, it's all worth it. Getting blown up repeatedly without any kills pisses me off. This guides how I approach (solo) PVP, and I usually play more of a kiting / controlling type of PVP. However, a lot of Agony pilots are different. I know for example Alta seems to enjoy the process of going out hunting a lot and getting blown up seems to be less relevant  to him, as long as het gets a fight (although getting blobbed when flying a Rifter does piss him off slightly). People like Alta are usually more brawler style PVPers.

Knowing why you want to solo, what draws you to it and what you want to achieve should guide how you do it, and what works and what doesn't because in the end, you need to overcome the inherent frustration of solo PVP and enjoy it.

Conclusion
I hope I wasn't too much Captain Obvious and some of what I wrote strikes you as useful. Good luck

Retribution T1 Cruisers - Part 6 - The Thorax

Part 6 - The Thorax
Before discussing the Thorax, go and enjoy this... Bob vs. Star Fracton. Done watching that. Great. Regrettably for Gallente pilots the Thorax never really lived up to its promise. Crushing DPS, but huge issues actually putting that DPS on a target. It seemed to excel at almost getting into range, but being either too close or too far from target, and having no ability to do anything about it. Lets see if Retribution has fixes all of this...

Here is a Shield Thorax:
[Thorax, shield thorax]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Large Shield Extender II
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I

Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Hammerhead II x5

In my current corporation we often run decentralized gangs. That is where we fly around more or less solo, but when one of us grabs a target, calls it out on teamspeak and whoever is around comes to the rescue! This ship is perfect for that. Fast, huge DPS, and as long as someone else is holding the target down, perfect.The big problem with this ship is the same problem that thoraxes have always had, limited ability to project the massive damage. However compared to the old shield thorax, this ship does have a proper tank, and is a lot faster, and the new tracking bonus means that it can now apply it's damage better at close range. As long as someone else can hold down the target you can't go wrong.

Now let's look at an Armour Thorax:
[Thorax, Armour Thorax]
Damage Control II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I

Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I


Hammerhead II x5

Going the armour route costs significant speed and DPS, but it is still faster than most Combat Cruisers or Battlecruisers and now the twin webs means it can hold even frigates down.

tl;dr: The new Thorax now has finally got the speed, tracking bonus and extra mid-slot it always needed to be effective. Gallente FTW

Stay tuned, after x-mass I will discuss the Caracal.

Retribution T1 Cruisers - Part 5 - The Stabber

Part 5 - Stabber
The stabber pre-retribution never really lived up to it's promise as a poor man's Vagabond. By far the fastest T1 Cruiser, it was unable to actually apply DPS at range to take advantage of it's speed. Limited number of slots meant that it couldn't really manage a decent shield tank or armour tank so if it was caught, it was dead. I used to kill these things easily in a Rifter. Let's look at what changes Retribution brings...

Here is a Shield Stabber:
[Stabber, Shield Stabber]
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Tracking Enhancer II
Gyrostabilizer II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Warp Disruptor II

220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Barrage M
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I

If it looks like a Vagabond, quacks like a Vagabond, smells like a Vagabond, but does about 2/3 the damage, has 2/3 the tank and 1/10 the price... it must be a Stabber. While it's performance does not match that of it's T2 variety, it is far superior to the pre-retribution Stabber thanks to the damage projection from the new falloff bonus. I expect this to be a popular ship once players learn to appreciate just what it is capable of. Manual flying is pretty much a must. While the damage is comparable to a frigate, the Stabber should be able to keep out of range of close ranged ships and avoid being scrammed/webbed. Be warned however, while the Stabber is still the fastest 'Attack Cruiser', it's speed advantage is less then what it once was.

IMHO there are no viable armour, while it can fit the modules it really serves no use except for some specific niche roles.

tl;dr: New Stabber = 2/3 Vaga. nuff said.

Tomorrow I will discuss the Thorax.

Retribution T1 Cruisers - Part 4 - The Maller

Part 4 -Maller
Relegated to a position of obvious bait, a Maller was a rare sighting in the past. The most common fits were maxing out on the tank, leaving only a little room for frigate sized weapons. Retribution changes everything. Aside from slot and base stats changes, the capacitor use bonus is traded in for damage.

Here is an Armour Maller
[Maller, Armour Maller]
Damage Control II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II
Tracking Enhancer II
Adaptive Nano Plating II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor II
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 800

Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Scorch M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I


Hobgoblin II x3

In the past when I have gone out in small armour BC gangs, it was always surprising which BC had the top damage on the killmails. It wasn't the punishing Brutux, or the ever-popular Hurricane or Drake, it was usually the Harbinger that was at the top. The ability to use scorch to do full damage at medium range meant that the Harbinger was doing full DPS while the other BCs were zipping around trying to get close to their targets. This Maller continues that tradition. Combine that with a tough, high resist tank and this is a winning combination. Mobility is on the low side, but not terrible. Combine this ship with a couple of armour logistics ships (like an Augoror) and you have a gang that is going to be hard to beat.

In the stats above I am using scorch since that is ammo type that is most useful in this ship. Switching to high damage ammo brings DPS up to around 425. As you can see though from the damage profile, scorch gives this ship tremendous damage projection extending out to the edge of warp disruptor range. One nice thing about lasers is that it can instantly switch ammo types. If you find yourself suddenly at close range, you can quickly switch to imperial navy Multi or conflagration.

IMHO there are no viable shield fits, the bonus to armour would be wasted.

tl;dr: A bit more of a niche player then some of the other Combat Cruisers, the Maller nevertheless has become a viable weapon platform.

That covers the Combat Cruisers, next we will discuss the Attack Cruisers.

Retribution T1 Cruisers - Part 3 - The Moa

Part 3 -
Moa
Before retribution the Moa saw little use. I tried experimenting with one using the Ancillary shield boosters but it never really delivered. However with retribution it's handicaps of low speed and weak damage output have been remedied. Lets see how it looks now.

Here is a Shield Moa:
[Moa, Shield Moa]
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II

Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Hobgoblin II x3

A shield cruiser with a full, even bonused tank, and a full compliment of tackle! What is not to like. Good speed, strong tank, good DPS, this is a great ship. Projection is not very good however (using blasters). Even with Null M loaded (not shown) the damage really starts to fall-off at the edge of scram range. Still, for a close in brawler that can get into range, you can't go wrong. I would be hesitant to take on a Vexor however. With great reluctance the web could be replaced with an invul for a huge tank (52k overheated), however that would give the Moa very little range control which it sorely needs. On the plus side, with it's resistance bonus, this ship would be fantastic with logistics support. I would happily take a gang of Moas, and Ospreys against almost anything.

IMHO there are no viable armour fits, the bonus to shields would be wasted.

tl;dr: The Moa is no longer a second class cruiser. Changes from being a long range sniper to a close range brawler make this a ship to be feared.

Check back tomorrow when we cover the Maller.

Retribution T1 Cruisers - Part 2 - The Vexor

Part 2 -
Vexor
Although less popular than the Rupture, the Vexor still did see some utilization pre Retribution. A combination of drones and blasters made this a versatile boat that could, in the right circumstances, deliver an awesome amount of damage.

Here is a Shield Vexor:
[Vexor, Shield Vexor]
Damage Control II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Beta Reactor Control: Reaction Control I
Overdrive Injector System II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Large Shield Extender II
Large F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Warp Disruptor II

Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Ogre II x2
Hammerhead II x2
Hobgoblin II x1
Warrior II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5

736 DPS! Almost 800 DPS overheated, this ship delivers a ton of hurt. It is fast too, Even without the overdrive it is faster than a Rupture and many attack cruisers. What is nice though is the ability to project damage. With bonused drones, even at range this ship can deliver a punch. And if the target gets close, BAMM, in come the neutron blasters. A strong tank completes this devastating picture. A shield Vexor is a deadly ship indeed.

Let us now look at Armour

Here is the Armour Vexor:
[Vexor, Armour Vexor]
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I

Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M
Heavy Electron Blaster II, Void M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I


Ogre II x2
Hammerhead II x2
Hobgoblin II x1
Hornet EC-300 x5
Warrior II x5

Even more so than the Rupture, the Armour Vexor is a tough nut. The extra EANM gives this ship battlecruiser class EHP and the blaster/drone combination gives it battlecruiser class DPS. With the two webs, anything caught withing 13 km (overheated range) is going to find itself in a fight for it's life. Not the fastest ship in the world, but much faster than pre-retribution.

tl;dr: The Vexor is probably now the king of the tech-1 cruisers. Devastating in almost any circumstance.

Check back tomorrow when we cover the Moa.

Retribution T1 Cruisers - Part 1 - The Rupture

Series Introduction:

With the completely revamped cruisers in Retribution, EFT and other tools to help with fitting theory-crafting tools have been put to good use coming up with new takes on our old favourite cruisers. Before Retribution, T1 Cruisers as a class had been largely overshadowed by Battlecruisers, Heavy Assault Cruisers (HAC) and Recons. Many of the ships were among the least flown in the game. Many had unusual and mostly useless bonuses, fitting issues, or were otherwise effectively useless. However Retribution has changed all this. After playing around in a few of the ships, and much fussing around with EFT, I have developed a series of standard shield and armour tank fits for each combat and attack cruiser.

For me a shield tank means ideally having two large shield extenders, a damage control, and three shield extending rigs. An armour tank means a 1600mm plate, a Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane (EANM), and three armour trimark rigs. In general shield tanks ships mean speed and DPS. While armour tanked ships have more tank plus more e-war.

All of these fits will have use both within a gang or solo. Ideally the tank (armour or shield) should match the logistics being used if any. With the new T1 logistics cruisers logistics will become even more common than before. However I have fit the ship assuming no logistics. I would suggest that with logistics being present, modifying these fits to use resistance rigs and possible extra resistance modules like EANMs or Invul fields.

So I give you, the standard T1 Combat Cruisers of New Eden:

Part 1 - Rupture
The Rupture has long been one of the few T1 Cruisers that were viable pre-dominion. It was the second fastest T1 Cruiser (second only to the Stabber) and had a reasonable tank plus great damage projection. Naturally this means that, like the Rifter, this ship was modified the least. Asside from tweaking powergrid, speed and tank, the major change is to loose one of the hi-slots for a mid-slot. This means that the rupture now can field a proper shield tank or extra e-war ability on it's armour tank. Let's see how the changes affect the fittings...

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

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Warp Disruptor II

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
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Mjolnir Heavy Assault Missile

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Hobgoblin II x4
Hammerhead II x1

The Shield Rupture is a surprisingly effective boat. Thanks to the extra midslot this ship can now support a full shield tank. Although on paper it suffers to the Vexor in the gank department, the extra range and capacitor independence of the autocannons means that the Rupture is a lot more difficult a ship to shake then the Vexor. TBH, after experiencing the effect that rebalancing and tieracide had on the Rifter, I was not expecting much. However the Rupture is in fact a viable and effective ship using a shield tank.

Let us see how the popular armour Rupture fares under the new changes...

Here is the Armour Rupture:
[Rupture, Armour Rupture]
Damage Control II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II

Experimental 10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I

220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP M
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I


Hobgoblin II x4
Hammerhead II x1

Much tankier than the shield variety, and with the ability to old even a frigate stationary thanks to dual webs (although in fleet other e-war may be selected) the Armour rupture is not something you want to find sitting on top of you when in a light ship. Even an afterburner fit Rifter receives over 200 DPS damage when caught within web range. On the downside this ship is outclassed by the shear damage potential of the blaster wielding cruisers. This makes range control all the more critical in that case and boosted webs would help keep at the outside edge of blaster range (between 7.5 and 10km or more in case of null being used.)

tl;dr: Unlike the Rifter, the Rupture although no longer king, is still a great T1 cruiser. Don't be afraid to bring it to battle, especially in it's shield incarnation. However if you want to see what the king of the hill is, have a look tomorow when we analyze the Vexor.

Edit: Here is a nice video on how to fly a solo Rupture thanks to Garmon.  

Ships I Fly - Republic Fleet Firetail

Ever since the recent changes to frigates I have fallen out of love with the Rifter. Where once it was the king of frigates, now it is no longer. Slower than any of the attack frigates from the other races, and the lowest dps/tank of the other combat frigates, the Rifter is no longer the king of frigates, in fact it may now be among the worst :(

The good news is that there is a great alternative, the firetail. Thanks to a price crash due to Faction Warfare these ships now hover around 10 million isk for the hull, about 20 million isk fitted. This is about twice the price fitted as a Rifter.

Why is this ship so much more viable than a Rifter? There are a couple of key differences. While they both have the same number of slots the Firetail has one less highslot and one extra midslot. The loss of the highslot is completely mitigated by the 20% per level damage bonus giving the Firetail slightly more overall DPS than a similarly fit Rifter. But it is the extra midslot that makes all the diference. Once the holy trinity of AB/SCRAM/WEB is fit, the firetail can add an extra e-war module. Usually this is a tracking disruptor. Another advantage is speed. While still not as fast as an attack frigate (like a slasher), it is significantly faster than a Rifter. This makes it very hard for an attack frigate to simply disengage.

This is how I fit my firetail normally:

[Republic Fleet Firetail, New Rifter]
Damage Control II
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Small Armor Repairer II

1MN Afterburner II
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I

200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Small Diminishing Power System Drain I

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Metastasis Adjuster I
[empty rig slot]

With the fit above the firetail is able to engage a rather large envelop of ships successfully. Pretty much any ship that is dependent upon turrets for damage. Even a thrasher, with it's tracking bonused autocannons, can be engaged with a fair chance of success. It's main limitation is the pitiful DPS. This really is restricts it to 1v1 fights since it will take too long to drop the first target before moving onto the second in a 1v2 or 1vMany fight.

Stupid Stupid Stupid Stupid CCP Nerfing Popular Low-Sec PVP Sites

Edit: Please show your support by posting on the following forum thread... Don't Change the 2/10 Plexes!

All in all there are lots of things in Retribution that I like. However one little note caught my eye..

1/10 and 2/10 static DED complexes have been moved to the exploration system.

Anyone who does small scale PvP in low-sec knows that these DED complexes (like in Heild and dozens of other low-sec systems) are basically hubs for fun PvP. Not really worth it to camp solidly, they are worth warping to anytime you are in a system. About half the time you get a fight, the other half time you get a few million isk worth of modules. Watch Sard Caid's stream or go to Molden Heath. These sites are probably the most active frigate PvP sites in the whole game.  I drove by Heild's Angel Creo-Corp site to demonstrate. See below for the image. Three wrecks on screen by the entrance. Several others in the plex itself. Where else in EVE can you find a spot where PvP is so constant.

So what does CCP do, they ditch them in the new expansion. Apparently there are people in hi-sec who farm them. I can understand removing them from hi-sec, but removing these from low-sec is ridiculous. Basically they are saying that if you want PvP in low-sec it can only be in the form of using probes and getting ganks. There are no  fights in belts anymore and now there will be no fights in these anomalies anymore. Yes, there is always faction warfare, but considering that the entire faction warfare mechanic (plexes that appear on the overview) is pretty much a poor copy of these static plexes, I don't think that is a great example. So CCP, please don't get rid of low-sec plexes.
.