Disclaimer: This post was written in Winter 2023/2024 – things may have changed since then.
Nullsec PvP is often dominated by Cruisers and Battlecruisers. Meanwhile, Ishtars are the biggest cause of NPC deaths to date. That means a good solo or small gang ship should be able to exist within such a context. That means the speed – and also align times – to outmaneuver responses that are too big to fight is an important aspect when deciding on a hull and fitting.
This post’s general idea is to provide fittings at an affordable price range for small gang PvP in Nullsec.
In general, a good small gang ship reaches a balance of the following factors:
- Speed: A fast ship allows to catch targets and avoid unfavorable fights. Kiting is the most reliable way to stay alive and continue a fight against otherwise overwhelming numbers.
- Damage: With enough damage, the engagement profile of a ship widens.
- Tank: More tank awards more time to stay on grid and potentially allow to deal more damage.
- Utility: The use of not only Warp Disruption but also Energy Neutralizers, Weapon Disruption, Sensor Dampeners, etc. can additionally broaden the options especially if used in organized gangs.
This is the Frigate & Destroyer edition of the series. You can find the other parts of the series here once published.
Table of Contents
Assault Frigates
Retribution
The Retribution can sig-tank well and is an amazingly fun ship to fly in a micro-gang with 2-3 pilots. The small laser turrets defang drones very quick. An issue the T2 variant faces is capacitor – if you need to run your repper, you will eventually run out of juice. To stay on grid longer, make yourself familiar with the attributes of different ammunition types. ‘Standard’-crystals for example use the least capacitor.
If you feel comfortable and have the ISK, the Semibling-variant is absolutely worth a look. The mix of offensive tackle capabilities and DPS makes this ship a ton of fun to fly.
| Cheap T2/Meta | Advanced |
[Retribution, Cheap T2 Retri] | [Retribution, Semibling] |
Wolf
Not as durable as the Retribution, weaker on capacitor, faster, and therefore more intensive to fly. You need to try and kite drones. And even without the rapper running, the Wolf eventually runs out of capacitor. This ship is flown best in a Frigate gang that kites fast. Its rather weak tank and cap don’t make it that great of a tackle ship either. But the high alpha damage of the Wolf can be insanely fun. With a lucky hit, you can volley Frigates.
If you invest a bit more ISK into a faction point, you can make the capacitor on the Wolf last much longer while also upgrading your low lots and guns. That gives you ~200 additional alpha. If you can spare the ISK, I think it’s worth it, as the extra range on the point also makes kiting and maintaining high speed much easier.
| Cheap T2/Meta | Advanced |
[Wolf, Cheap Meta/T2] | [Wolf, Semibling] |
T3 Destroyers
T3 Destroyers aren’t very competitive in the current meta if not flown with a dedicated fleet comp that can somewhat control a grid. To be an effective anti-tackle platform, a T3D needs to be in sharpshooter mode, but that slows it down hard, making it pretty difficult to kite. But when you change into propulsion mode, the ship lacks lock- and weapons range required to fullfil it’s role. That means you would need a comp that kites with ~1500m/s. Outside of ESS-grids, that’s unlikely in the current Nullsec meta, where the average Cruisers go 2000m/s plus. While in theory, Beam-Confessors, Missile-Jackdaws, or Rail-Hecates could be a great addition, they have some draw-backs making them difficult to utilize.
I’m not saying it can’t work – but it requires the right circumstances to function.
What of course always works, is the classic hit-and-run Blaster Hecate. You can get that from your closest killboard in all flavors, I won’t bloat up the post with that.
Things T3 Destroyers have going for them is a comparably low price-tag and the ability to combat probe. Even if you find no fight, you can at least blow up some MTUs, scan down ships afk in an expired site, or chase around explorers.
Kikimora
The Kikomora is one of the most viable Destroyers to fly in Nullsec.
You can Kite and Brawl with it. It’s great anti-tackle, but also not exactly tanky. So it has to be flown with caution. An opposing Rapid Light Missile ship on grid needs you to be on high alert, ready to initiate warp quickly. As with all destroyers, a handful of missile cycles can blow through the Kikimoras tank.
| Shield (passive) | Armor (active) |
[Kikimora, Shield] | [Kikimora, Armor] |
Command Destroyers
Speaking of Destroyers… Command Destroyers are very worth a look. For their price point, they add a boatload lot of value to a grid: Tackle capabilities, command links, and booshes are great utility to have on a grid. But a comparably large signature paired with a low amount of effective hit points makes them rather fragile ships that want to keep speed and transversal high at all times.
Bifrost
The classic Backpack-Bifrost is usually used on a second character, simply anchored up on the main ship with triple Skirmish Links.
A classic fit can look like this. (click to expand)
[Bifrost, 3x Links]
IFFA Compact Damage Control
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
1MN Afterburner II
5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Caldari Navy Medium Shield Extender
Faint Epsilon Scoped Warp Scrambler
Micro Jump Field Generator
Core Probe Launcher I
Small I-ax Enduring Remote Armor Repairer
Small Remote Hull Repairer I
Skirmish Command Burst II
Skirmish Command Burst II
Skirmish Command Burst II
Small Command Processor I
Small Command Processor I
Rapid Deployment Charge x100
Evasive Maneuvers Charge x100
Interdiction Maneuvers Charge x100This ship is nothing but extra utility. All high-slots but the Command Links are usually offline. Of course, you can switch around Links depending on what you fly. If you prefer Armor-Links, it is worth using a Magus instead. But This post is not primarily about Backpacks.
I would not recommend using this fitting on a main as it can get pretty boring.
Magus
This is a Command Destroyer that I think is worth flying on a main account.
If you want to fly a tackle ship that is a bit more challenging than an Interceptor, and just different, have a look at this shield-buffer Magus. It can be a very interesting addition to many gangs. The Armor-Brawling variant can also be flown with an Afterburner but requires a bit more caution as once you are committed to a fight, you’ll likely stay – but keep in mind, you can boosh off while leaving a scrammed target behind. This can be used as an escape mechanism – when you are not scrammed.
Stork and Pontifex are harder to get to work well in the small gang because of base velocity and slot layout isn’t quite there. This of course doesn’t mean they can’t work in the right ship composition.
| Shield Buffer Kiting | Armor Brawling |
[Magus, Shield Buffer Kiting] | [Magus, Brawler] |
Draugur – Honorable Mention
Probably the most competitive small solo ship. With a 10MN Afterburner, Command Links, good projection range this ship can perform incredibly well. Webs are its Nemesis, but even then it has a signature radius most weapons will struggle to apply to. But this is something for when you feel fancy and can afford the bling. It seems unreasonable to go cheap when the ship alone costs you over 300 million.
the greybill 
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