Solo PvP

So you joined FW to learn pvp.

One of the best ways to do so is losing a lot of frigates.

1000 Rifters died to kill this Super Capital

But first things first - the attitude of a frigate pilot is important to a healthy relationship inevitable ship loss.

YOU ARE NOT YOUR SHIP.

Your ship does not represent your character - as is the case in most MMO's.

Your ship is a tool, a weapon, a means to an end.

Losing a frigate is a drop in the ocean. Losing one due to a mistake is learning. Losing one where you had no chance of survival in the first place is what this guide shall help you avoid.

This guide is not always true, nothing here is 100% correct, it's not the Bible, but a signpost to point you in the right direction.

But I can fly bigger things!



- You won't afford to lose bigger things in large numbers.

- FW solo has more targets in a frigate.

- Learning to fly and fit a frigate will help fly and fit bigger ships.

- There is nothing more humbling that losing a Cruiser to a Frigate and feeling like an idiot.

- Losing a lot of frigates will tune you easier to the “I am not my ship” attitude you need to learn.

Rock - Paper - Scissors - Spock!?



If you dumb down Faction Warfare (FW) Solo PvP you will find 3 typical ship types.

The Rock. Brawlers: Very close range, a lot of damage and a lot of tank.

The Paper. Scram Kiters: Medium Range, medium Damage, medium tank.

The Scissor. Kiters: Long range, incredibly fast and medium damage, with little to no tank.

Strengths of X vs Y vz Z depends highly on who is already sitting in the plex, and who is warping in.

A Kiter sitting in a plex will already be sitting at max range, and be able to use speed to keep his distance while he kills you from said range.

A Brawler warping around looking for a fight, would want to warp into a fight vs another brawler, a scram kiter if he feels confident. But die warping into any fight involving a kiter. However, a kiter warping into a brawler will surely die if the brawler can land tackle.

From the above graph (made in 9000 hours with paint) it is obvious that a Kiter enjoys very much sitting in a plex waiting for someone to warp in. It is possible to win fights, even when you're warping in on someone by overheating your MWD, pulsing it one circle and trying to scoot out of scram/web range, before you get locked. Sometimes you'll even have enough momentum to get scram/web'd and still drift out of range, just remember to reactivate your MWD before your enemy has a chance to catch up again. This only works under perfect circumstances and even then it doesnt always work. You can reliably do this against cruisers but Interceptors and Attack frigates (Condor, Slasher, Atron, Executioner) for example have very good lock speed and good maneuverability to stay in your range long enough to catch you and kill you.

As a brawler or scram-kiter, to counter kiters you have to do the following: Sit on the warp-in beacon at 0~1000m, pressing “keep at range” or “approach” as soon as you see him appear on your overview, overheating your scram and locking him asap.



Don't warp Kitey Slicers into Brawling Merlins

Typical Archtypes and stats

Rough estimates:

Type	Range [km]	Speed [m/s]	DPS	Tank DPS
Brawler	0 - 6	800	100 - 300	100 - 300
Scram Kiter	4 - 13	800 - 1100	100 - 200	50 - 150
Kiter	15 - 35	2000 - 5000	50 - 200	0 - 50
For the average fits:

Type	Brawler	Scram Kiter	Kiter
Amarr
Crucifier	Weak	Strong	Medium
Executioner	Weak	Strong	Weak
Imp. Navy Slier	Weak	Medium	Strong
Punisher	Strong	Weak	Weak
Tormentor	Medium	Strong	Weak
Caldari
Navy Hookbill	Weak	Medium	Medium
Condor	Weak	Medium	Strong
Griffin	Weak	Weak	Medium
Kestrel	Medium	Medium	Medium
Merlin	Strong	Weak	Weak
Gallente
Atron	Medium	Strong	Weak
Navy Comet	Strong	Medium	Medium
Incurses	Strong	Weak	Weak
Maulus	Weak	Medium	Strong
Tristan	Medium	Medium	Medium
Minmatar
Breacher	Weak	Medium	Medium
RF Firetail	Medium	Medium	Weak
Rifter	Medium	Medium	Medium
Slasher	Strong	Medium	Weak
Pirate Ships
Astero	Weak	Medium	Medium
Daredevil	Strong	Medium	Weak
Dramiel	Strong	Strong	Weak
Ships sorted by race:

Race	Brawler	Scram Kiter	Kiter	Flexible
Amarr	Punisher	Executioner +Tormentor	Navy Slicer	-
Caldari	Merlin	Kestrel	Condor	Hookbill
Gallente	Incurses	Atron	-	Tristan + Navy Comet
Minmatar	Slasher	Rifter	Breacher	Breacher + RF Firetail
Amarr have good scram kiters and kite ships, but are not very flexible.

Caldari have all-round ok ships, with mid slots for EWAR trickery.

Gallente have the strongest brawlers in the game, but their kiters are weak.

Minmatar have the most flexible ships, and many can be fitted to fly two archtypes. You rarely know what you are fighting before the first shots are fired.