FCC Feroxes

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FCC Feroxes

The Rail Ferox is one of the most popular T1 fleet doctrines around currently, and a staple of Null Sec roaming fleets. A solid tank, good mobility, and decent damage make the Ferox a powerful all round fighter, but its real strength is its double range bonus, which lets it reach ranges of well over 100km with T2 ammunition. A Ferox fleet is largely unrivalled in its ability to snipe at 100km+, yet is also durable enough to survive being caught at shorter ranges, giving them a wide engagement envelope, and diverse tactical options In addition, the rapid cycle time and instant damage application of 250mm Railguns allow the Ferox to deal large amounts of damage very quickly - making a large number of Feroxes an excellent option for breaking through enemy Logistics chains, able to destroy a ship before its Logistics support wing can even start applying repairs The Uni’s own FCC Feroxes were designed and chosen as a FCC Doctrine by the FCC candidates of 2017

Implementation

Feroxes shine best at range. That huge double range bonus lets them out-snipe the vast majority of comparable doctrines. Out of commonly used alternatives only the Cerberus, or sniper fit Battleships can realistically match the Ferox’s damage at range. In almost all circumstances therefore, your aim as FC is to start an engagement at range, and burn away from your opponent to allow you to snipe from range. Your speed is good for a Battlecruiser (around 1.2km/s unheated), and you can maintain range on most opponents for some time when starting at range like this

If caught in a close range scenario against an equal fleet (say, having jumped through a gate into a camping fleet), you would also anchor up on your anchor, and try to pull range. The Ferox has a good shield tank of around 70k EHP, however its DPS output cannot match similar doctrines such as Rail Brutix’s, so its best strategy remains to progressively pull range to take advantage of the Ferox’s natural strengths, while also maximizing your damage application as you do so, given the Ferox has no tracking bonus

It should be noted that the Ferox’s range bonuses are not only felt at the edge of the 100km range, but also at mid-ranges, where the Ferox can still employ high damage “short-range” ammunition up to impressive mid-ranges. Antimatter ammunition for instance is the highest damage T1 ammunition, and can be employed out to 33km optimal with the Ferox, a range where most other doctrines would have been forced to switch to lower damage ammunition such as Tungsten

Due to the Ferox’s range strengths, T2 guns for Spike ammunition is extremely valuable, and all fleet members should strive for this. With T1 guns, Iron ammunition can also reach 100km ranges, however the DPS falls off substantially, and Tungsten ammunition at 90km is probably a better balance of range and DPS

While the Ferox is not strictly a pure "Alpha" platform like the Hurricane (where it deals a huge amount of damage in s single hit) in large numbers, it can perform a very similar role. The fast cycle time and instant damage of Railguns means that, used effectively, a Ferox fleet can land 2-3 volleys of damage before an enemy Logistics wing has time to start repairing your target. This actually makes Feroxes arguably even more effective than Hurricanes at breaking through enemy Logistics, and when facing such a fleet, the FC should try to coordinate target switching to maximise the effectiveness of this tactic

Naturally, given the range of the Ferox, Null Sec is its natural home, combined with bubbles to keep an enemy fleet locked down while you apply from range

As with all T1 Battlecruiser doctrines, the combination of great hull bonuses, numerous turret slots, solid tanks, and medium sized weapons, mean that they can fight equally well against Cruisers or Battleships. You may have trouble applying damage to Destroyer or Frigate fleets, however unless you are heavily outnumbered, or lack Logistics support, its likely they won’t be able to apply enough damage to break your tank before you pick them off. This flexible engagement envelope across ship sizes is one of the biggest appeals of T1 Battlecruisers, and the Ferox here is no exception

Fleet Composition

Primary DD Fit

Some groups elect to drop the capacitor booster, and rely on good capacitor skills and good module management to carry a heavier shield tank instead. Given the Uni’s skillbase and the Ferox’s complete reliance on its capacitor for tank, mobility and damage, the FCC Ferox uses the cap booster variant. The fits below include options for T1 and T2 guns, however there is no T1 tanked option, as realistically, no-one should be flying a Battlecruiser without a T2 tank

Command Bursts are invaluable for this doctrine, and the Ferox with its utility high slot can be fitted to include a T2 Command Burst. Distribute these selectively, as they do not stack, and you may prefer to include a dedicated Command Destroyer or Command Ship for this role due to their hull bonuses as well as for simplicity. However in small numbers, it can be more important to maximize your DPS Ferox numbers by having the Command Bursts carried on the mainline ships themselves

The priority for command bursts is Information Bursts to boost lock range, given your sniper tactics, however Shield tanking bursts, and Skirmish boosts for speed are all useful additions

Logi

Any MWD Cruiser Logi will have no issues keeping pace with the Feroxes, so the preference here is for BLAP Ospreys, both due to alignment with existing Uni BLAP doctrines, and also due to its slightly better tank compared to the Scythe

Support Ships

Support ships are fairly standard – Interceptors for scouts, Interdictors for bubbles. A Huginn or two for long webs can be very useful for taking down smaller scouts or tackle trying to get under your guns

Should you wish to add a dedicated Command Burst ship rather than using the Feroxes themselves, a Command Ship is the optimum choice, with the Vulture the natural fit given its rail gun bonuses. However a Command Ship is an expensive and SP intensive option in a Uni fleet, and you may wish to dedicate the role to a Command Destroyer. In this case, given the importance of Information Command bursts for lock range, the Stork is the optimal choice