Thursday, August 22, 2013

Frigates are useless

"Frigates are useless! Frigates are only for noobs who can't fly real ships!" We've all heard these words uttered from time to time. Maybe from a bitter elitist who should remember where they came from. Even from a delusional new pilot that's spent too much time lurking the forums. Frigates are, arguable, the backbone fleet of PVP. They lock quicker, move faster, and can typically hard tackle any sub capital before the rest of the fleet can get a lock on it.

When you first wake up into New Eden, a voice calls out to you. Aura, our guide through the games mind boggling tutorials and the voice of our ships computer, sends you out into space on you first adventure! On this adventure your to pick up a ship. The ship is none other than a frigate. Its a simple rookie ship, but none the less a frigate. While still wide eyed and giddy, Aura tells you to proceed through the acceleration gate and make your first kill! Your first kill in a frigate, even though an NPC, is great! Others may have rage quit before getting there due to not understanding the interface lol.

We were all there at one time, maybe not the 2003 guys. I wasn't around EVE in 2003. So why all the hate on frigate. Is it the DPS, tank, price or what is it about frigates? Maybe its the fighting style of frigates. What I mean is the difference in winning the fight and loosing the fight. The razor's edge you walk when in a frigate fight. Range, speed, tracking, everything is amplified. Frigate weapons ranges are, typically much shorter than larger hulls. They move much faster and tracking at these speeds is a nightmare at times. We might be on to something here. Larger hulls (cruisers and up) are granted more expensive, but maybe more forgiving at times in 1v1 or small gang. Lets take an example here,  your orbiting another frig and they sling shot you into their web/scram range. Your done here unless your maybe dual prop and can pull range again, but you window of error is much smaller. With a cruiser if this same instance happens your window of error is wider. Cruisers have more fitting for more tank, typically move slower, and are less maneuverable when not kite fit. Cruisers will hold on field longer than a frigate. Flying them is more like walking a fence post than a razor.

Now I'm not saying cruisers are bad or anyone who doesn't fly a frigate is a bitter vet, but offering an explanation to their possible lack of love. Frigates are a viable ship class and should be observed as such. They offer a great starting point for all and great options for more skilled pilots.

We'll delve deeper into this another time. I'd like to wrap this up with a video of how a hand full of frigs took down a much stronger ship. Enjoy!

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