The Way of the Tackler

After writing an e-mail wearing the same subject to my great buddy Letrange, and also because the same buddy has taken a break from the industrial career to get a crash course on PvP, I've decided to carry our conversations, e-mail exchanges and blog comments over here because tackling is one of the things I do best in EVE. It's also something I plan on doing for good while because I love doing it, it's an extreme sport (ship loss rates in my early days were... special), and the required ships to do the task are the cheapest in the fleet so literally, it's the best Bang for the ISK in EVE.

Let's start with the tools of the trade. The first thing you need is a fast ship, and I mean FAST ship. If it goes below 3000 meters a second, forget it you're too slow. So of course the best ships for tackling are the interceptors (especially those with 3-4 mid slots) and fast nano-fitted frigates. Stabbers also make good cruiser-sized tacklers as they are extremely fast; this may change with the upcoming Nano-Nerf but something tells me it won't change much. My frigates of choice are the Rifter and the Stiletto interceptor; I use the first in big gangs where there are more experienced inty pilots (though I'm getting there) or in suicide ops, and the second in mid-sized fleets where the more experienced guys are in bigger and/or specific roled ships. I use Stabbers when it's a bit more important to have a little more DPS, but with good Navigation skills it can not only catch up with frigates, it can tear them to pieces. My most memorable experience was being death-locked with a Malediction interceptor in a fleet battle; I would've taken the ship out on my own but when he was about half-way into structure some help arrived and the inty got BBQed.

The next tools, the Warp Disruptor and the Stasis Webifier, hereafter called Point and Web. I use the Disruptor exclusively because even if it has only 1 point of warp disruption (hence the name) the longer range of 20km (24 for T2, 30 if you're a rich bastard) is a lot more useful than having an extra point with a Scrambler, plus in good fleets there will be multiple tackler, as well as some extra points in some DPS ships. Webs are also very important as they keep the target from moving away from range, though their range is more limited. Unless you fly a Huginn that is, which has a huge bonus to web range; most Huginns fit 2 webs by the way.

Here are my 2 most used ships, which everybody can train while still on the 14-day trial, T1-only Jihad style fits:

[PVP Rifter Basic]

Overdrive Injector System I
Overdrive Injector System I
Nanofiber Internal Structure I

1MN MicroWarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor I
Stasis Webifier I

200mm Light AutoCannon I, EMP S
200mm Light AutoCannon I, EMP S
200mm Light AutoCannon I, EMP S
Rocket Launcher I, Foxfire Rocket


[PVP Stabber Heavy Tackler]

Overdrive Injector System I
Overdrive Injector System I
Nanofiber Internal Structure I

10MN MicroWarpdrive I
Warp Disruptor I
Stasis Webifier I

220mm Vulcan AutoCannon I, EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon I, EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon I, EMP M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon I, EMP M
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Hellfire Assault Missile
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher I, Hellfire Assault Missile


Even with the ship size difference, one can notice the similarities: high speed and very close range.

Aight... lunch hour over so I'll have to write Part II later at home :))

BBL