Guide: Fitting Tackle

You really had me going
Wishing on a star
The black holes that surround you
Are heavier by far
Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing

First of all, the main role of pointing frigates in combat is to do just that, point. Not put on additional ewar, not to DPS(although a few fits can point and DPS), and not to try to slow down targets. You can do stuff like that, but that's not what this guide is about. I'll probably include links to some very good guides on transversal and piloting interceptors later, for now, I'll add comprehensive fittings.

They can try to tank damage, speed tank damage, or both. Staying still is a death sentence. Trying to tackle a Vaga/Cynabal/Stabber Fleet Issue is suicide. Beware of Hurricanes, beware of big drone boats with neuts. Beware of other frigates on the field. Beware of snipers sitting 100k away. Beware of bombs with your MWD running. You job is to point anything that can't kill you, and hold it until it's either dead, or pointed by someone else.

Lets talk a bit about the various sub-roles in tackling. Namely: Fast Long Point, Tanked Long Point, and Tanked Short Point.

Fast Long Point

The point range bonus interceptors are ideal for pointing from range(shocking, I know) and very little tanking is expected/required. These ships are useful in catching a bomber... or certain utility ships.... something that poses little threat to frigate sized ships, but is hard to catch.

Amarr

[Malediction, Fast Long Point]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Overdrive Injector System II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Sensor Booster II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Gremlin Rocket
Salvager I

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I


One of the faster and coolest looking frigates in the game... you will love flying this. The faction MWD(Coreli C-Type) is in the 20 million range, so it will double the value of the ship should you choose to get it. It will make you cap stable, but this lasts for 10 minutes without it. Don't worry about shooting anything in this, the rockets are just for show(and drones). The sensor booster will let you target out to overloaded point range(36 kilometers), which is important. Leave it unscripted, cause the extra range from the script doesn't help you. More scan resolution does(if only a little bit).

Gallente

[Ares, Fast Long Point]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Sensor Booster II
Warp Disruptor II

Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Salvager I
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I


Remarkable lack of Nano's on this, since it's main selling point is all that structure. Work around that, and you still have an incredibly fast ship with low sig radius and an ok EHP. Most of the same things that applied for the Malediction apply here as well. Same deal with the faction MWD, where this all lasts 8 minutes instead of 10.

Matari


[Claw, Paper Tiger]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Warp Disruptor II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints I

This ship does not have the natural resistances to armor tank, it does not have the CPU to effectively harden it to armor tank, it has 4 low slots, but not enough fitting to make it do anything other than go VERY fast. The roles of the two Matari 'ceptors are reversed, with the long pointing version having a decent tank but being comparably slow... while the one without a point range bonus is faster than any other non-faction frigate.

Caldari

[Raptor, Fast Long Point]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II
Sensor Booster II

75mm Gatling Rail II, Caldari Navy Iron Charge S
75mm Gatling Rail II, Caldari Navy Iron Charge S
75mm Gatling Rail II, Caldari Navy Iron Charge S
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Gremlin Rocket

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

This one tries to do everything, and is ok at all of it. Not great though, and for a specialized ship, that sucks. Can DPS from outside normal point range(if only just barely) which none of the rest can effectively do, EHP is low, and speed is lower too. You'll find that Raptor is the least suited ship to the tackling role. If you trained Caldari Frigate 5, use the Crow.

Long Tanked Point

Interceptors without that long point range can be fitted to tank decently, and should be... they're ideally suited for ships that could pose a threat to frigate sized ships, things that aren't Vagas/Cynabals or Snipers at range. Something like a Hurricane, or an assault missile fitted drake. You hold the ship for just long enough to get the gang in.

Amarr

[Crusader, Tanked Point]
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Imperial Navy Radio S

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

Tanks well, and can put out mediocre, DPS. It's also incredibly fast for such a ship with a plate on it, so it's got that going for it.

Gallente

[Taranis, DPS Frigate]
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Warp Disruptor II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
1MN Afterburner II

Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I


Hobgoblin II x2

The Taranis is not a ship for the faint of heart, you'll see many other more conservative fits floating around, and if you want to try one, go for it. I fly the Taranis for the rush, and you'll get that and more out of this. It's the fit I used to get this kill. So take from that what you will. You pick your targets carefully. This one is set to point at range, while the one I used to kill the drake had a scram. I just pulled in real tight and scrammed him, while still running the AB. It's fast... and if it isn't on fire, you're not flying it right. On this fit, the AB will be used when you want to apply DPS to a target. Otherwise MWD and stay the hell away.

Matari

[Stiletto, Best Long Point]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Sensor Booster II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
[empty high slot]

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I





This ship is fast for it's tanking ability. One of the harder ships to shake off, this is the go to ship for a longer point that can hold it's target for a while. The added bonus here is that the ship can point and tank from outside of t2 heavy neut range... making it the best choice for pointing, period. The fitting is incredibly tight, and if you need to drop the guns, go for it. Shooting stuff is not your job.

Caldari

[Crow, Fast Tanked]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II
Overdrive Injector System II

Medium Shield Extender II
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Disruptor II

[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I

A bit like the claw, but without the point bonus. If you want to fly an Interceptor, and you're caldari specced, this is the only real option for you. That said, it's one of the better ones in this role... nice tank, pretty fast.

Tanked Short Point.

Finally, Assault ships come in two flavors... DPS and Tanky. However, each of the races has a different way of doing it's job. This is where scrams will be used, and in some cases webs. Webs have been optional for a long time, but where used they can be very useful(Since the MWD changes that made scrams shut them down). These ships, once they achieve point, aren't going anywhere, because they're probably pointed too. Be damn sure your gang is ready to help you. These are ideally suited for tackling bigger and dangerous ships, the kind most frigates shy away from.

Amarr

[Vengeance, Immovable Object]
Armor Thermic Hardener II
Damage Control II
Small 'Accommodation' Vestment Reconstructer I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

Small Nosferatu II
125mm Light 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Light 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP S
125mm Light 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP S

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I



This ship is slow. I mean REALLY slow. It's the only one fitted with a MWD, because without it, it wouldn't even catch half of the battleships out there. You'll be burning hard with MWD on, probably overloaded, and once you get the target in scram and web range, hold him there. Your tank is impressive, and really your job is to sit on a BS and make sure he goes nowhere until the gang gets there. I don't particularly like the ship, but tanking over 100 DPS a second is going to last you a long time. Sadly, this is for single targets, more than one or two, and it'll be easily overwhelmed. I suggest you leave this one in the hangar and pick something else.


Gallente

[Ishkur, TankyTackle]
Armor Explosive Hardener II
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Damage Control II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Scrambler II
1MN Afterburner II

Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Electron Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]

Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I

Hobgoblin II x5

The Gallente Option is actually the DPS assault ship. However, it's a doozy... probably the best non-faction frigate in the game, the Ishkur is a dangerous boat. It's one fatal flaw, and what makes it less than ideal for "fast" tackle, is that when fully tanked out, it turns like the Titanic. As is the case with any heavily armor tanked frigate, you lose part of the point of having a frigate(align speed). In this fit, you'll ride in like a fucking Valkerie, point something, and put on significant DPS while the gang gets there. Just be sure not to overshoot the target, cause you align about half as fast as a BS. Also be sure not to kill it till everyone else gets on the killmail(JK, you're flying a brick for a reason).

Matari

[Jaguar, Tanky Point]
Power Diagnostic System II
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Medium Shield Extender II
Invulnerability Field II
1MN Afterburner II
Warp Scrambler II

125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Small Nosferatu II

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I


The Jag: A shield tanker who can run a small gisti B-type shield booster indefinitely(not that we will be doing that) with decent base resists. Faster than the other options as well(as expected since it's a shield tanking Minmatar ship), but not many people's first choice. With this fit, you can scram the target, and comfortably wait until the cows come home before you need to worry about dying. The NOS allows you to keep running the AB and point even if you're neuted all the way down(it'll kill the invuln, but you've still got impressive EHP without it).

Caldari

[Harpy, Tanky Point]
Damage Control II
Overdrive Injector System II

Photon Scattering Field II
Medium Shield Extender II
1MN Afterburner II
Warp Scrambler II

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]

Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I



The Harpy is a shield tanked Ishkur, basically. It's a bit faster, and can put out respectable DPS on it's targets. This is a nice balanced ship, which doesn't excel in any of it's strengths, but comes close.


Conclusion

Some notes: a lot of these ships assume you have near perfect fitting skills. Some of the shield boats will need shield upgrades 5 in order to work(or a 1%/3% CPU implant). You can do named modules to fix some of these problems, it's up to you.

Spring the extra 30 mill or so for implants: "Zor's Custom Navigation Hyper-Link" will give you a 5% bonus to MWD or AB speed boosts. "Hardwiring - Eifyr and Co. 'Rogue' CY-1" will give a 3% boost to your ship velocity. Neither are incredibly expensive, and they equal aproximately 10% of speed increase above 5000 M/S. 5000 becomes 5500, which is an impressive yield for the price of the implants. Less than that, is still viable, and the implants help all ships you fly as well. They've been part of my standard implant set for a year. I'm probably increasing the price of them just by posting about them. Oh well.

Again, these are just one component of a successful gang, you need other ships fufilling the other roles, or these fall flat on their face. Taranis/Ishkur/Harpy aside, these are not solo boats, and will die if they get caught alone.

On stacking penalties: Increases to base speed are multiplied by the MWD. This is important on ships that rely on speed, because it means that the stacking penalties(if another overdrive only adds 20 M/S for example, it's going to be multiplied by at least 5, and perhaps more depending on your skills/implants) are less of a big deal. Still, if the next module only adds 5 M/S or .1 align time, you're probably wasting a slot.