Don't Mix Guns

noreply@blogger.com (SghnDubh) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:47:00 +0000

Hey kids, trust me. You'll like this site. I know I do.

http://www.crazykinux.com/

We're back, inspired by this thread...

noreply@blogger.com (SghnDubh) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:22:00 +0000

We had a lively conversation over at BattleClinic about mixing guns, which prompted me to go ahead and revive this site.

We're looking forward to hearing more from you about this topic!

Mixing non-native guns

noreply@blogger.com (SghnDubh) — Mon, 14 May 2007 14:14:00 +0000

Mixing gun ranges is bad; we know that. Fitting guns that don't take advantage of a ship's race bonus is also bad. A lot of pilots seem to load their ships around their mid and lo-slots first. Wrong. Any combat ship (logistics and some specialties aside) should be built from the guns up.

For example, a lot of pilots slap Blasters or Auto-Cannons and an armor plate on a Punisher. I submit that you need to learn how to pilot your frigate. Just because there isn't a joystick interface for EvE, doesn't mean you shouldn't aggressively fly a small ship. This loadout suggests you are clicking the target, clicking "orbit at 10" and firing weapons.

Pilots who try to heap HP on friggies typically don't understand what transversal velocity is or its effect on weapons and tracking. Frigates must rely first on speed and secondly on maneuverability as their main defense---and a plate reduces both.

In our example of a Punisher with a Plate and Auto-Cannons, you the pilot need to take advantage of the Punisher's native toughness by fitting speed, resistance, and tracking mods, flying defensively with high relative transversal, picking your angle of attack to minimize your enemy's ability to get good shots off at you, and using the Punisher in a combined fleet operation with lasers, to strip shields quickly while your other fleet friends deal the Kinetic and Explosive.

It is a too-common mistake in EvE for pilots to insist that somehow a module will make up for intelligent piloting; putting cannons and plates on a Punisher is a prime example. So don't mix guns between races; instead, learn the physics of guns, tracking, and ship design.

Basic Rationale

noreply@blogger.com (SghnDubh) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:48:00 +0000

Here is some general rationale for not mixing guns.

Don't mix gun types.
Put as much firepower on a target as fast as you can.
Keep the target in your optimals.
Do the damage that the enemy is most vunerable to.
Keep transversal velocity of your target low for damage, high for defense.
And finally, be ready to switch ammo to compensate for targets that you can't catch, or get in too close.

Most people mix guns for the purpose of staggering ranges, which means at any given time, several of your guns aren't firing. Wrong. You neen ALL guns putting damage out ALL the time so that you maximize the damage you do with EVERY shot against a SINGLE target.

You want to get as many hits on a target as quickly as possible for the most damage you can. By mixing gun types, you're adding time it takes to kill the target--which is more time for your enemy to try and kill you.

Pick the best set of one gun type you can mount and put that on your ship. Maneuver your ship to keep yourself in those gun's optimal range. If the enemy gets too close or too far and you can't catch them, switch your crystals/ammo to compensate. Same goes when you're heading into a fight--if you've got 40 clicks between you and enemy, load up radios, fire your weapons, and then switch to gammas or multifreqs when you're within 10. Put as much firepower on your target in the shortest time you can.

Ship-to-ship combat encounters in EVE are measured in seconds or minutes. And the differences between a ship's damage output or it's armor or shields resistances is measured in single percents. People pay millions for modules and implants that do 2% better.

So if you're flying around with 6 turrets, and you've got two turrets firing at frigates, two turrets firing at cruisers, and two turrets firing at the battleship, you'll do absolutely nothing against any reasonable enemy pilot. Rats of course are a different story, but we're talking about PVP here.

Other games are programmed to allow the player to mix guns effectively. SFC3 was such a game--you were limited by the slot type to the size of the gun; on one ship, you could have 6 turrets but only 4 could fit large guns; the other two could only fit small "point defense" type guns. One strategy, called the Alpha Strike, called for the player to close on the enemy and fire all guns. But SFC didn't model optimal and fall-off ranges effectively, and it insisted on much longer recharge times for its weapons. Battles could go on for hours.

Not EVE. With one of the main measurements of a successful generic combat ship being DPS, you simply cannot afford to do anything but focus your fire effectively against your enemy.
You want to get as many hits on a target as quickly as possible for the most damage you can. By mixing gun types, you're adding time it takes to kill the target--which is more time for your enemy to try and kill you.

Pick the best set of one gun type you can mount and put that on your ship. Maneuver your ship to keep yourself in those gun's optimal range. If the enemy--or the rat-- gets too close or too far and you can't catch them, switch your ammo to compensate. Same goes when you\'re heading into a fight--if you've got 40 clicks between you and target, load up radios, fire your weapons, and then switch to gammas or multifreqs (for example) when you\'re within 10. Put as much firepower on your target in the shortest time you can.

Don't mix gun types. Put as much firepower on a target as fast as you can. Keep the target in your optimals. Do the damage that the enemy is most vulnerable to. Keep transversal velocity of your target low for damage, high for defense. Get that one? And finally, be ready to switch ammo to compensate for targets that you can 't catch, or get in too close.

Decide on the right gun for the job and stick with that gun. If you want a change in range, change ammo, not the gun. Or fly your ship to (or away) from that target. Your goal in combat (PVE or PVP) is to focus on a target and kill it, then move to another target and kill it. Bring every gun you have to bear on your target at all times. If you don't, you are wasting potential and increasing your chances of death. To people who say, "but how do i get targets that stay outside my range" I say, "fit long-range ammo" ... oh, and FLY your ship instead of click-orbit at 10km.

What's This About?

noreply@blogger.com (SghnDubh) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Hi folks.

Perhaps you found this little blog from BattleClinic.com. If so, welcome.

Purpose of this site
If you play EvE-Online, the massive multiplayer online game, then you are familiar with the concept of placing weapons on your ships. Many, many new players -- and even some veterans--make the mistake of mixing gun types on ships. For example, some players place 4 Medium turrets and 2 small turrets on their cruiser-class ship, thinking that they can "cover various ranges" with this setup. This site is devoted to discussing and illustrating why this is such

Why would we need an entire blog devoted to what many consider to be a simple concept?
Well, it's actually not as simple as it sounds, and in fact hard for some people to wrap their minds around. Partially this is because other games encourage or require a ship captain to load up guns of various ranges, and partially because EvE is in some respects very accurate in how it models physics.

So, without further ado, let's get on with it.