Ships

A ship or spaceship in EVE Online is a vehicle used to travel in space, battle enemy forces, ferry materials and products, provide logistical services, and for many other purposes.

A ship may be piloted by a capsuleer (player) or non-player characters such as CONCORD, faction militaries, civilian industrialists, or outlawed paramilitary and pirate forces.

Mechanics

A ship's defenses and durability are represented by its shield, armor and structure hitpoints. Certain NPC vessels lack shields, but all capsuleer ships have all three defensive systems, including capsules themselves. These hitpoints are used for tanking incoming damage. Nearly all ships have module slots, allowing them to fit modules such as (but not limited to) weapons, armor repairers, shield boosters, armor plates, electronic warfare devices, cloaks, rigs and propulsion equipment.

All ships have capacitor banks, similar to a gigantic battery. The engines charge these batteries and the accumulated energy is used to run active modules and power warp drives.

Ships move in local space by using their engines, almost always located at the ship's stern. This local movement does not use capacitor energy, although using afterburner or microwarpdrive modules to speed the ship up does.

"Military experts are calling this a 'cynosural field'."—Journalist during the start of the Gallente–Caldari War in YC110

To move longer distances within solar systems, ships use warp drives. Starting warp requires a destination object with mass or feigned mass. The ship will acquire this object as a target and use its warp drive in conjunction with sub-lightspeed thrusters to accelerate through a warp tunnel.

To travel the great distances between solar systems, ships use stargates, wormholes, and certain types of filament. Capital class ships can also use built-in jump drives to travel these great distances, by locking onto the beacon of a cynosural field at their destination.

All ships except supercapitals can be built in and docked in stations. Most ships have a cargo hold, many ships have drone bays, and some ships have specialized cargoholds, ship maintenance bays and fuel bays.

Skills

Spaceship command skills

The Sin, a Black Ops Battleship which requires months of training to fly.

To fly ships in EVE, a character must train the relevant skills in the Spaceship Command skill category. This category is not to be confused with the general skill Spaceship Command.

The skills for larger hull types and higher tech levels usually require some skill training in smaller hull types or lower tech levels first. To fly a Tech 1 cruiser, for instance, you must first have some training in a Tech 1 destroyer command skill. Likewise, the skills for Tech 2 frigates require perfecting the Tech 1 frigate command skills.

In most cases, the prerequisites for flying bigger ships (by hull type) are faster to train than the prerequisites for higher tech levels. As a result, newer pilots may find themselves in large T1 ships (battlecruisers or battleships) long before they can fly a T2 ship of any size. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, though: it's reasonable to train straight from Tech 1 frigates into Tech 2 frigates, for instance, without ever training the skills required to fly larger Tech 1 ships, if that is your goal as a pilot.

Support skills

Main article: Support skills

Being able to fly a ship at all and being able to fly a ship well can be two very different things. While the relevant spaceship command skill may let you enter a ship and undock it from a station, this is only the first step to using the ship properly. In addition to the skills you will need to fit all of the guns and modules you want to use (fitting skills), there is an entire suite of support skills that can cumulatively boost a hull's performance. Some of these benefit most or all ships that you can fly, making them valuable training choices.

As a rule of thumb, smaller and lower-tech ships demand less-polished support and fitting skills from your character. A Tech 1 frigate in the hands of a days-old character can handily complete Level 1 PvE missions or significantly affect veteran pilots in advanced ships by tackling or using electronic warfare in PvP. An expensive Tech 2 black ops battleship, meanwhile, will be a painful loss waiting to happen if piloted by a character without well-trained support skills.

Small- and medium-sized Tech 1 hulls can take part in most activities in EVE, and even players with high-SP characters often return to these "basic" ships, so new players should bear support skills in mind but should not be daunted by the thought of training them. EVE University's Short Skill Plan and Pyramid Skill Plan might help players plan skill training in the short and long terms, respectively.

Fitting

Main article: Fitting ships

Ships are merely empty hulls waiting to be equipped with the guns and modules that let them do their job. The process of equipping a ship is known as "fitting" the ship and is an expansive topic.

However, one basic concept is worth mentioning here as it ties into the ship sizes listed earlier. The ship sizes are grouped into small, medium, large, or X-large. When browsing the market, you will notice that modules and weapons are also grouped into these same sizes. When fitting a ship, you normally want to use modules and weapons that are in the same size grouping as the ship size. This can sometimes be confusing, especially with weapon systems, as many items may will say "medium" in the name, but belong to the "small" size group in the market categories. What matters for ship fitting is that the market category size group matches the ship size, not any terms found in the item name itself.

Categorization

Ships can be categorized in many ways, and this section will cover the most basic methods. The examples given are not a complete representation of ships in EVE. It should be noted, however, that more expensive or bigger doesn't always mean better in EVE.

Size Class

An Avatar, one of the largest ships in EVE. Almost 14 kilometers in length, it is over 200 times longer than the Punisher, a frigate.

As ships increase in size they gain more hitpoints, potential damage output, and module slots. They lose agility, speed, and the ability to apply damage to smaller, faster targets. The sizes (with a few example ships) are as follows:

• Frigates:  Incursus,  Heron,  Crucifier,  Burst
• Destroyers:  Algos,  Corax,  Coercer,  Thrasher
• Cruisers:  Thorax,  Caracal,  Maller,  Scythe
• Battlecruisers:  Myrmidon,  Ferox,  Harbinger,  Hurricane
• Battleships:  Megathron,  Rokh,  Abaddon,  Tempest
• Capital Ships:  Rorqual,  Anshar,  Charon
  • Carriers:  Thanatos,  Chimera,  Archon,  Nidhoggur
  • Dreadnoughts:  Moros,  Phoenix,  Revelation,  Naglfar
  • Force Auxiliaries:  Apostle,  Minokawa,  Ninazu,  Lif
• Supercapitals
  • Supercarriers:  Nyx,  Wyvern,  Aeon,  Hel
  • Titans:  Erebus,  Leviathan,  Avatar,  Ragnarok

Some ships that don't fit or are hard to pin down in this classification are certain Haulers and ORE Ships. As indicated above, carriers, dreadnoughts, Force Auxiliaries, supercarriers, titans, and the Rorqual are commonly further grouped together as capitals. The other ships are therefore referred to as "sub-capitals".

Tech 1 ship class comparison table

This table is meant to provide a basic comparison of ship classes, showing how, for example, "bigger is slower, but has more fitting slots". Characteristics that vary widely have been omitted. For example, bonuses can make drone capacity or scan resolution much higher or lower on one kind of cruiser than another. These often turn out to be the characteristics that define unique uses for ships within a class, making a given ship "a drone cruiser", "an EWAR cruiser", "an exploration cruiser", and so on.

Note that the following numbers are averages; drawn from a sample of four ships in each class.

Quick T1 Class Comparison

Ship Class	Speed (m/sec)	Warp Speed (AU)	Time to Warp (sec)	Slots	Capacitor (GJ)	Signature Radius (m)
Shuttle	500	5	2	0	250	25
Frigate	300-400	5	5	10	250-350	35-40
Destroyer	235-365	4.5	6-7	13	500-700	62-70
Cruiser	190-240	3	8-9	14	1250-1950	120-150
Battlecruiser	145-180	2.7	12	17	2300-3500	250-300
Battleship	89-130	2	15-20	19	5500-6500	330-470

Tech levels and factions

An Imperial Navy Slicer, a navy ship which is a common sight an areas with small gang and solo PvP activity.

"Tech levels" refer to the complexity and rarity of the materials required to build a ship. Tech 1 ships are cheap and simple, but reliable; Tech 2 ships are expensive, powerful, but specialized; Tech 3 ships are expensive and highly flexible.

"Faction" origins indicate the NPC group within EVE responsible for the ship design. The standard ships of the four main NPC empires—Minmatar, Amarr, Gallente and Caldari—are the mainstay of the game and the most commonly-encountered. "Navy" ships are tuned-up, improved, and more expensive versions of existing hulls designed for the four empires' military forces. "Pirate" ships are hulls developed by outlaw groups such as the Guristas Pirates or paramilitaries such as Mordu's Legion. Sisters of EVE ships are considered "pirate" ships although the Sisters are not a criminal organization.

Here are some examples:

• Tech 1:  Incursus,  Corax,  Omen,  Hurricane
• Navy Faction:  Brutix Navy Issue,  Raven Navy Issue,  Imperial Navy Slicer,  Republic Fleet Firetail
• Pirate Faction:  Vigilant,  Gila,  Bhaalgorn,  Dramiel
• Tech 2:  Ishtar,  Hawk,  Paladin,  Sleipnir
• Tech 3:  Hecate,  Tengu,  Confessor,  Loki

Tech 1 ships are the baseline for all other ships. Although they are the first ships every character uses, they remain useful even for advanced pilots. They are easily built with knowledge available to everyone in New Eden, using widely-available materials. They are cheap, and they insure quite well.

Navy faction ships are generally amped-up versions of their Tech 1 counterparts, usually with more CPU and powergrid for fitting, and a few more slots for modules. They typically sit somewhere between base Tech 1 hulls and Tech 2 hulls in their capabilities. Sometimes the base hull's bonuses are traded for others so, for example, the Drake Navy Issue which trades the Drake's damage resistance for better damage application. In some cases the hull's role changes: the Scythe is designed to boost other ships' shields, while the Scythe Fleet Issue is a damage-dealer. Navy ships are harder to acquire than their base hull equivalents, and accordingly are more expensive on the open market.

Pirate faction ships represent a greater advance on the abilities of base Tech 1 hulls. They require two separate spaceship command skills for different factions so, for example, the Angel Cartel Cynabal requires training in both Minmatar Cruiser and Gallente Cruiser. In return, though, each pirate hull has more powerful and unusual bonuses which often make them fly in surprising ways. The Gurista Gila, for example, launches only two drones, but can use those two to deal damage equivalent to ten drones. Similarly, the Serpentis Vindicator offers a unique combination of a stasis webifier bonus and massive damage output. Pirate faction ships are roughly as powerful as Tech 2 ships, and require fewer skills. They are accordingly very expensive.

Tech 2 ships are built by retrofitting Tech 1 ships, and while they take some features from their Tech 1 forms, the ways they fly and take advantage of fitting may be very different. They have higher resistance to damage and are typically much more specialized in their roles. Many special modules can only be fit on Tech 2 ships. The heavy Interdictor is a prime example of a Tech 2 ship filling a specialized role: it can use a special module to stop ships within a wide area from warping away—a unique ability—but it has more limited abilities in other areas. Tech 2 ships are powerful within their niches but are not automatically better than Tech 1 ships, or immune to attack from Tech 1 ships. Tech 2 ships require extensive skill training to fly but can be less expensive than Pirate Faction ships due to their simpler production.

Tech 3 ships were developed by the four empire factions by reverse-engineering Sleeper technology. They are known for their powerful defenses and great versatility, which come from a very wide variety of innate hull bonuses, generous fitting layouts, and unique ways to completely transform themselves on-the-fly. All materials required for Tech 3 ships come from wormhole space. As an example, a Legion can be fitted to be a heavily armored neuting ship, a heavy assault missile boat, or a more traditional laser boat; and may be active tanked, buffer tanked, or even able to cloak itself. Similarly, a Hecate can switch between different modes which can harden its defenses, increase its mobility, or let it deal damage at longer ranges.

Other factions

CONCORD, EDENCOM, the Society of Conscious Thought, and the Triglavian Collective all also have ships of their own. These ships follow completely different mechanics and skill sets than other ships and do not fit into the traditional tech and faction levels.

• CONCORD offers a trio of extremely flexible, extremely skill-intensive, highly-militarized covert ops ships.
• EDENCOM offers a curious, but very difficult to utilize, set of ships with "chain lightning" damage-dealing abilities.
• The Triglavian Collective offers a wide selection of ships that utilize unique ramping-over-time weapons that can burn down targets well above their weight class.
• The SoCT offers a set of three ships with nearly limitless versatility and no skill requirements, offering new and veteran players alike a set of flexible hulls.

Non-combat ships

A Charon, prized for its gigantic cargo hold.

Not all ships are designed for aggressive action. A subset of ships with increased efficiency in resource-gathering and cargo hauling are in wide use across the EVE universe. Here is a loose listing of these ships.

Haulers

Main article: Haulers

Haulers have large cargo capacities and are used to haul goods from place to place. Some are even more specialized, having an extra capacity for items such as ore, minerals or weapons. The smallest class of cargo ships, Tech 1 Haulers, are lightly defended and fly mostly among high security systems.

• Tech 1:  Iteron Mark V,  Badger,  Mammoth

Tech 2 haulers are divided between Blockade Runners, which are fast and can cloak for stealth in dangerous space, and Deep Space Transports, which have stronger defenses. Each empire faction has one of each kind of Tech 2 hauler.

• Tech 2 Blockade Runner:  Crane,  Viator
• Tech 2 Deep Space Transport:  Mastodon,  Impel

Freighters

Main article: Freighters

Freighters are the largest cargo ships in EVE. These slow-moving hulks have no high or medium equipment slots and depend entirely on their massive hulls for defense. In general, if you can package an item, you can fit it into the cargo hold of a Tech 1 freighter.

• Tech 1:  Charon,  Fenrir,  Obelisk,  Providence

Tech 2 freighters are called Jump Freighters. They have smaller cargo bays than Tech 1 freighters but can use both jump gates and cynosural fields. The latter makes them especially useful in null sec.

• Tech 2 (Jump Freighters):  Anshar,  Ark,  Rhea,  Nomad

Miners

While not intended for combat, ships bonused for mining can mount light weapons or carry drones suitable for defense against belt pirates.

• Tech 1:  Venture

The Mining Barges are usually the next step in the mining profession. Each of the three is bonused for a specific use in asteroid mining.

• Tech 1:  Retriever,  Covetor,  Procurer

The Exhumers are the top of the line in specialized ore extractors. As with the Mining Barges, each is bonused for a specific use.

• Tech 2:  Hulk,  Skiff,  Mackinaw

The Expedition Frigates specialize in ice and gas harvesting.

• Tech 2:  Prospect,  Endurance

Specialty Ships

•  Porpoise: The Porpoise is a mining command ship, bringing a larger cargo bay than other mining ships and the ability to improve the mining speeds of nearby allies.
•  Orca: The big brother of the Porpoise, a much larger, more capable, and more resilient mining command platform, which also features an enormous cargo bay that lets it also act as a hauling ship.
•  Noctis: The final word in salvaging, able to fit up to 8 high-power salvagers or long-range tractor beams.
•  Rorqual: The Capital Industrial Ship, the dreadnought and carrier of mining, and the final word in mining command. Extremely capable at mining, mining fleet support, defensive combat, and cargo hauling. Cannot be used in high-security space, very powerful in low- and null-security space.
• Sisters of EVE: the three SOE ships (Astero, Stratios, Nestor) are optimized for exploration. Each is bonused for scanning and hacking, and each has sufficient combat strength to either run PvE combat sites or hunt other exploration ships. They require both Amarr and Gallente spaceship skills, and to be used effectively they require solid scanning, drone skills, and armor skills. Nestor has also a very distinct niche in game as a logistics battleship, that is used in a small fleet activities.

show advanced ships	Amarr	Caldari	Gallente	Minmatar
Corvettes Impairor Ibis Velator Reaper Frigates Executioner ▪ Inquisitor ▪ Tormentor ▪ Crucifier ▪ Punisher ▪ Magnate Condor ▪ Bantam ▪ Kestrel ▪ Griffin ▪ Merlin ▪ Heron Atron ▪ Navitas ▪ Tristan ▪ Maulus ▪ Incursus ▪ Imicus Slasher ▪ Burst ▪ Breacher ▪ Vigil ▪ Rifter ▪ Probe Navy Faction Frigates Imperial Navy Slicer ▪ Crucifier Navy Issue ▪ Magnate Navy Issue Caldari Navy Hookbill ▪ Griffin Navy Issue ▪ Heron Navy Issue Federation Navy Comet ▪ Maulus Navy Issue ▪ Imicus Navy Issue Republic Fleet Firetail ▪ Vigil Fleet Issue ▪ Probe Fleet Issue Assault Frigates Vengeance ▪ Retribution Hawk ▪ Harpy Ishkur ▪ Enyo Wolf ▪ Jaguar Covert Ops Anathema ▪ Purifier Manticore ▪ Buzzard Nemesis ▪ Helios Cheetah ▪ Hound Electronic Attack Ships Sentinel Kitsune Keres Hyena Interceptors Crusader ▪ Malediction Crow ▪ Raptor Taranis ▪ Ares Claw ▪ Stiletto Logistics Frigates Deacon Kirin Thalia Scalpel Destroyers Coercer ▪ Dragoon Cormorant ▪ Corax Catalyst ▪ Algos Thrasher ▪ Talwar Navy Faction Destroyers Coercer Navy Issue Cormorant Navy Issue Catalyst Navy Issue Thrasher Fleet Issue Command Destroyers Pontifex Stork Magus Bifrost Interdictors Heretic Flycatcher Eris Sabre Tactical Destroyers Confessor Jackdaw Hecate Svipul Cruisers Arbitrator ▪ Augoror ▪ Omen ▪ Maller Blackbird ▪ Osprey ▪ Caracal ▪ Moa Celestis ▪ Exequror ▪ Thorax ▪ Vexor Bellicose ▪ Scythe ▪ Stabber ▪ Rupture Navy Faction Cruisers Augoror Navy Issue ▪ Omen Navy Issue Caracal Navy Issue ▪ Osprey Navy Issue Exequror Navy Issue ▪ Vexor Navy Issue Scythe Fleet Issue ▪ Stabber Fleet Issue Heavy Assault Cruisers Zealot ▪ Sacrilege Eagle ▪ Cerberus Ishtar ▪ Deimos Vagabond ▪ Muninn Heavy Interdiction Cruisers Devoter Onyx Phobos Broadsword Logistics Cruisers Guardian Basilisk Oneiros Scimitar Recon Ships Curse ▪ Pilgrim Falcon ▪ Rook Arazu ▪ Lachesis Huginn ▪ Rapier Strategic Cruisers Legion Tengu Proteus Loki Battlecruisers Prophecy ▪ Harbinger ▪ Oracle Ferox ▪ Drake ▪ Naga Brutix ▪ Myrmidon ▪ Talos Cyclone ▪ Hurricane ▪ Tornado Navy Faction Battlecruisers Harbinger Navy Issue ▪ Prophecy Navy Issue Drake Navy Issue ▪ Ferox Navy Issue Brutix Navy Issue ▪ Myrmidon Navy Issue Hurricane Fleet Issue ▪ Cyclone Fleet Issue Command Ships Damnation ▪ Absolution Vulture ▪ Nighthawk Astarte ▪ Eos Claymore ▪ Sleipnir Battleships Armageddon ▪ Apocalypse ▪ Abaddon Scorpion ▪ Raven ▪ Rokh Dominix ▪ Megathron ▪ Hyperion Typhoon ▪ Tempest ▪ Maelstrom Navy Faction Battleships Apocalypse Navy Issue ▪ Armageddon Navy Issue Scorpion Navy Issue ▪ Raven Navy Issue Megathron Navy Issue ▪ Dominix Navy Issue Tempest Fleet Issue ▪ Typhoon Fleet Issue Black Ops Redeemer Widow Sin Panther Marauders Paladin Golem Kronos Vargur Carriers Archon Chimera Thanatos Nidhoggur Supercarriers Aeon Wyvern Nyx Hel Dreadnoughts Revelation Phoenix Moros Naglfar Navy Faction Dreadnoughts Revelation Navy Issue Phoenix Navy Issue Moros Navy Issue Naglfar Fleet Issue Lancer Dreadnoughts Bane Karura Hubris Valravn Force Auxiliaries Apostle Minokawa Ninazu Lif Titans Avatar Leviathan Erebus Ragnarok Freighters Providence Charon Obelisk Fenrir Jump Freighters Ark Rhea Anshar Nomad Haulers Bestower ▪ Sigil Badger ▪ Tayra Nereus ▪ Kryos ▪ Epithal ▪ Miasmos ▪ Iteron Mark V Hoarder ▪ Mammoth ▪ Wreathe Transport Ships Prorator ▪ Impel Crane ▪ Bustard Viator ▪ Occator Mastodon ▪ Prowler Shuttles Amarr Shuttle Caldari Shuttle Gallente Shuttle Minmatar Shuttle Outer Ring Excavation Ships Frigates Venture Expedition Frigates Prospect ▪ Endurance Mining Barges Covetor ▪ Retriever ▪ Procurer Exhumers Hulk ▪ Mackinaw ▪ Skiff Haulers Noctis Industrial Command Ships Porpoise ▪ Orca Freighters Bowhead Capital Industrial Ships Rorqual Pirate Faction Ships Angel Cartel Blood Raiders Deathless Circle Guristas Mordu's Legion Sansha's Nation Serpentis Sisters of EVE Frigates Dramiel Cruor Worm Garmur Succubus Daredevil Astero Destroyers Mekubal Tholos Mamba Cruisers Cynabal Ashimmu Gila Orthrus Phantasm Vigilant Stratios Battlecruisers Khizriel Cenotaph Alligator Battleships Machariel Bhaalgorn Rattlesnake Barghest Nightmare Vindicator Nestor Dreadnoughts Chemosh Caiman Vehement Carriers Supercarriers Revenant Vendetta Force Auxiliaries Dagon Loggerhead Titans Azariel Molok Komodo Vanquisher Other Faction Ships CONCORD EDENCOM Society of Conscious Thought Triglavian Collective Upwell Consortium Frigates Echelon Skybreaker Metamorphosis Damavik Assault Frigates Nergal Covert Ops Pacifier Destroyers Sunesis Kikimora Command Destroyers Draugur Cruisers Stormbringer Rodiva ▪ Vedmak Flag Cruisers Monitor Heavy Assault Cruisers Ikitursa Logistics Cruisers Zarmazd Recon Ships Enforcer Battlecruisers Gnosis Drekavac Battleships Thunderchild Praxis Leshak Black Ops Marshal Dreadnoughts Zirnitra Freighters Avalanche Haulers Squall Transport Ships Deluge ▪ Torrent Shuttles Council Diplomatic Shuttle Apotheosis Special Edition Ships Corvettes  Echo ▪  Hematos ▪  Immolator ▪  Taipan ▪  Violator Frigates  Gold Magnate ▪  Inner Zone Shipping Imicus ▪  Sarum Magnate ▪  Silver Magnate ▪  Sukuuvestaa Heron ▪  Tash-Murkon Magnate ▪  Vherokior Probe ▪  Zephyr Assault Frigates  Cambion ▪  Freki ▪  Geri ▪  Malice ▪  Shapash ▪  Utu Covert Ops  Caedes ▪  Chremoas ▪  Hydra ▪  Sidewinder ▪  Virtuoso Electronic Attack Ships  Raiju Interceptors  Imp ▪  Whiptail Destroyers  Aliastra Catalyst ▪  Inner Zone Shipping Catalyst ▪  Intaki Syndicate Catalyst ▪  InterBus Catalyst ▪  Nefantar Thrasher ▪  Quafe Catalyst Cruisers  Guardian-Vexor ▪  Opux Luxury Yacht ▪  Stratios Emergency Responder ▪  Victorieux Luxury Yacht Heavy Assault Cruisers  Adrestia ▪  Bestla ▪  Cybele ▪  Mimir ▪  Vangel Heavy Interdiction Cruisers  Fiend ▪  Laelaps Logistics Cruisers  Etana ▪  Rabisu Recon Ships  Chameleon ▪  Cobra ▪  Moracha ▪  Victor ▪  Tiamat Battleships  Apocalypse Imperial Issue ▪  Armageddon Imperial Issue ▪  Megathron Federate Issue ▪  Rattlesnake Victory Edition ▪  Raven State Issue ▪  Scorpion Ishukone Watch ▪  Tempest Tribal Issue Black Ops  Python Industrial  Miasmos Amastris Edition ▪  Miasmos Quafe Ultra Edition ▪  Miasmos Quafe Ultramarine Edition ▪  Primae Shuttles  Boobook ▪  Civilian Amarr Shuttle ▪  Civilian Caldari Shuttle ▪  Civilian Gallente Shuttle ▪  Civilian Minmatar Shuttle ▪  Goru's Shuttle ▪  Guristas Shuttle ▪  InterBus Shuttle ▪  Leopard