This next fit is a near clone of my last one, but for two things: it sacrifices an EM rig for a speed rig, and it loses the web for a tracking disruptor (with a script for tracking). My first experience with it was simply roaming around our home system. I was in a fleet, but not actually with them. Ultimately I doubt it would have done me any good, but in case it gave me a chance to follow more experienced people around and learn the layout of the local systems I felt it was a decent idea to sit in it. When I logged out, though, they were mostly sitting around talking.
Where this involves my fit is that at some point, someone spotted a hostile in local. I had just come from one gate, and immediately warped to another one. Sure enough, I landed on an Incursus, and we promptly shot at one another.
Unlike my previous fights though, I didn't die. Nor did he. As it turns out, the game doesn't care much if you attack a war target (at least I assume that's how he jumped through so soon after shooting), which stands to reason I suppose. So as soon as he realized he was hardly scratching me, he high-tailed it through the gate that we were in range of. I didn't follow; I doubt I was fast enough to catch him if he didn't want to fight. While enemies fleeing is something I had been expecting with this setup, I hadn't expected it to happen like that.
I did overheat my guns, but I completely forgot to check for opposing EWAR. It was only a few seconds though, and the first fight I actually survived, so I'm considering this a positive outcome. Certainly, I think if I'd webbed him instead he would have killed me.
Later on, I engaged a Rifter (surprise!) outside our HQ. It was a short fight. He didn't seem to be hitting me as much as he might have, thanks to the disruptor I imagine, but at the same time he was doing much more damage than I was. Looking into the logs later (out of game, since in game showed me very little even though I caught it before session change) it seemed he was using tech 2 ammo, at least in his rocket launcher.
In this case, I don't think there was much I could have done. My ship was, in as much as it could be, fit to engage that kind of opponent. Replacing launchers with nos or neuts wouldn't have helped as he had capless weapons and what I think was a medium shield extender, webbing would have been even worse as he'd just have torn me to pieces sooner getting solid hits.
I'm starting to wonder if maybe the ship isn't better suited to kiting, but then I do run into an immediate problem: it's the slowest of all its racial counterparts. With an afterburner, all my navigation skills, and a speed rig it was going around 850ms. I could improve that by webbing and/or using a MWD, but suppose a Rifter got close enough that I had to web it... it would in a lot of cases web me right back. Then it would only be a matter of time before he caught up, and I died. I also lack any kind of tracking bonus, so I wonder if my own speed would render my weapons ineffective were I to mount a micro-warpdrive.
There is one more thing I haven't tried: a medium shield booster with a cap booster to power it. I'd let that well enough alone because, like the tracking disruptor, it had no way of holding people in my range. To counter this I would probably attempt to use railguns, or make use of my multiracial skills to mount autocannons or even lasers on it.
There is also the distinct possibility that the Merlin just isn't up to par with the other ships I'm facing when it comes to PVP. It seems as though its true calling is a shield tanked mission-running frigate with railguns and light missiles, relying on its enemies wanting to come to it and stay there, rather than keeping them up close or far away. Until I'm willing to fly Hawks and Harpies, perhaps it's time to test out some other races' frigates.
No comments:
Post a Comment