Keres
 
RELATED UNI-WIKI REFERENCES
|
Control the battlefield, control your enemy.
SHIP BONUSES
Gallente Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
Ship Attributes
|
2 (0/2) 
4 
3
28 MW 
230 tf
375 m/sec
275 m³
Summary
The Keres is a Tech 2 cousin of the Maulus; to the Maulus's two bonuses for sensor dampening, it adds significant bonuses to warp scrambler and disruptor range and reductions in scrambler and disruptor capacitor cost. A Keres can point enemies from 40km or more; with a Tech 2 point, heat, and maximum character skills, it can point at 50km. The range bonus also affects warp scramblers, taking a Tech 2 warp scrambler to about 15km range with good character skills.
The Keres can be flown in a few ways. One is to combine the warp disruptor range with scripted sensor damps that push opponents' lock ranges down below the Keres' point range, allowing it to tackle a target while leaving them unable to respond. This is a strong tactic to use solo or when skirmishing for a small gang or fleet.
Another route is pure tackle, packing the Keres with warp disruptors and scramblers to allow it to hold points and scrams on several targets, possibly with some tank. In lowsec gate camps it can particularly shine, because bubbles cannot be used to lock lowsec gates down.
The Keres can be flown purely as a sensor damping platform, but it doesn't really outshine the Maulus and Celestis much in this role. Versus the Maulus, it essentially only gains an extra mid slot and slightly better tank at a considerable increase in price. The Celestis is simply superior at damping, cheaper despite being a cruiser, and more insurable, though the Keres beats it in mobility.
Skills
The Keres deserves good general fitting skills and support skills. Propulsion Jamming, Frequency Modulation, Signal Suppression and Long Distance Jamming all particularly support its primary purpose.
Electronic Attack Ships should be trained to IV before undocking the ship. Because the per-level bonus attached to this skill is large (15% extra range), training it to V is a good medium- or long-term goal for anyone who uses the Keres regularly.
Tactics
The Keres can be fitted in a variety of ways depending on its exact purpose and likely context of use. It can be shield or armour-tanked, depending on whether the priority is mobility, or mid slot availability.
In a small gang, the Keres is often tasked with holding point at long range. Pilots must communicate what they have pointed, and take careful account of their changing range from their target. A heated warp scrambler can help to screen enemy tackle away from allied ships, by turning the MWD on incoming interceptors or assault frigates off. But the Keres cannot mount a huge tank of its own, and incoming threats may also need to be called out so that other parts of the gang can scrape them off.
If the Keres is using one or more damps, damping tactics can follow largely the same pointers outlined on the page for the Maulus. If the Keres is fitted with a damp to prevent retaliation from the target it is holding with a long point, though, it may be necessary to damp that ship rather than other usual high-priority damp targets.
Heat adds a lot of range to tackle modules, and any Keres will benefit from a good understanding of overheating and an ample supply of nanite repair paste.
In a gate camp, the Keres shines with remote and/or mounted sensor boosting. In lowsec, it must also have logistics support to help it survive gate guns.
Notes
In ancient Greek mythology, the Keres were feminine personifications of violent death, associated with battlefields. "Keres" is actually the plural (of Ker) but as a ship name it has become standardized as a singular noun in Eve.
Outer Ring Excavation Ships
