Fetching a Falcon
25th August 2010 – 7.50 pmWe have a route to high-sec empire space and I have iskies to burn. I'm going to buy a new ship. I am often considering different ships I could use for PvP engagements but am never really sure what to get. I know I need more options available than simply losing yet another Onyx heavy interdictor and I have the skill training to fly quite a few ships. My main concern is knowing how to fit a new class of ship. The specific bonuses granted by the class give some guidance as to what is expected of the ship but filling in the other utility slots can be difficult.
Looking at other capsuleers' fits has the problem of knowing if the configurations are theoretical or tried and tested. Then there is the tendency to exaggerate fits to use faction gear, with the resultant posted statistics presupposing all skills trained to level five, perhaps trying to boast of the ability to pay for and fly such an beast. But at least an aggregation of such fits can give an idea of what modules are expected to be or can be fitted to make the ship effective.
I know what ship I am going to buy this evening. The corporation's embracing of recon ships, my training in the class, and examples of its efficient use in w-space is seeing me buy a Falcon. I have searched for example fits and it looks like it can be straightforward to configure. Concentrating on its use as an ECM boat lets me fill the mid- and low-slots effectively, with jammers and boosters, and one high-slot naturally will have a cloaking device. The other high slots perhaps don't matter too much, as forgetting to fit a tank makes the hull rather flimsy and not a ship I want to get in to close combat, and I can probably squeeze a probe launcher on to the ship for scouting and safety.
Today's exit to empire space is convenient for spending iskies, being only two hops from Jita. I barely have time to buy the ship before I am in the New Eden capital of trade and flimflam. My Falcon is delivered and waiting for me when I dock, letting me buy and fit the rest of the modules I need. Having a ship configuration already worked out makes fitting the ship much quicker and being in Jita makes buying everything convenient. Naming a new ship is normally the process that takes the longest time for me but the Falcon is a ship that lends itself to an obvious name. And so I undock Lando's for her maiden flight, a short journey back to and through w-space to our tower.
The Falcon is an ugly bugger. But now I have more options to fly in to a PvP engagement, adding more utility to the fleet and allowing myself and others to be more flexible in ship selection. I still need more options, though. Perhaps a Curse recon ship, or a heavy assault ship of some kind. Maybe even an assault frigate would be useful occasionally. I have more research to do, for when the next convenient exit to empire space appears.
2 Responses to “Fetching a Falcon”
I have a love hate realtionship with my ecm boats.
Its ugly however you find it beautifull to fly.
Its usefull, in my opinion, only in fights on our terms. But I love it to sit cloaked at 90km of the fight.
I try to make sure that I always decloak as very last. This for 2 reasons.
1. to see if they have a ECM boat
2. hopefully your targets are so occupied, they notice you when they are jammed and not when you decloak.
And I even hold cloack if I see the rest of the fleet manages without ECM, you never know what their back-up will be.
As for your high slots, ofcourse the probe launcher, and I fit 2 smartbombs (just incase drons are comming your way.
I could also recommend a damage controle unit.
As for my fieldtest where not that succesfull, but mostly because I tried to use it close combat. More pilot error then fail fitting
My first thought for the spare high slots was a couple of smart bombs in case drones went for me. I'm not sure how effective they'd be, not having used smart bombs in practice before.
Not decloaking until combat is underway, to prevent being called primary target, is good advice, as is the rest of the advice you give. Thanks, Stonie.