User:Breeze one/sandbox2

Rail Moas

You would be forgiven for thinking that Rail Moas would be another Caldari Sniper doctrine, in the tradition of Longbow Cormorants, or Rail Feroxes. However the Moa lacks any range bonus, unlike the other two ships, making the Rail Moa more of a mid-range ship than a pure sniper While the Moa can be fitted with Blasters as a pure close range brawler, its relatively low speed, and lack of range projection in this form makes it relatively unimpressive versus alternatives such as Thoraxes or Omens. Fitting Rails however allows the Moa some flexibility in range, while still benefitting from its good tank and damage bonus

Implementation

The Rail Moa does its best damage at around 20km, with Antimatter ammunition. The twist for the Rail Moa though is that by loading T2 Spike ammunition, it can also project equally good damage out to 40-50km. T1 fit variants can match the range with Thorium ammunition, however the falloff in damage is significant for T1 fitted ships

This flexibility makes Rail Moas a solid T1 Cruiser option for Null Sec combat, where range control can be difficult, and the flexibility to engage at long range is arguably more important than having the good tracking to deal with small ships, which will be a less frequent opponent in this space. In comparison to BLAP Caracals, which are the closest comparable for this style of fighting, the Moa carries a heavier tank, and more sustained (and instantly applied) damage, versus the Caracals’ high burst damage, and excellent application to small ships, but long reload time

The Moa, like most T1 Cruisers, struggles for capacitor stability with a MWD fitted. While some fleets will fit an Afterburner to avoid this issue, this is primarily a home defense tactic, and is less useful for roaming fleets where the speed to reposition on-grid and escape bubbles is very useful. Instead, a capacitor booster can be fitted in the mid slots to address the capacitor issues. This does detract from your shield tank, however the Moa’s innate tank bonus means that even with this compromise, its tank remains roughly equivalent to other T1 Cruisers, at around 35k EHP

The tactics for the Rail Moas are largely an extrapolation from that of Good Omens. When facing larger opponents such as Battlecruisers, you will want to fight at relatively close range, aim to use your higher damage Antimatter ammunition, and take advantage that even at close range, your Railguns will track their larger hulls quite easily, while, unless they are pure brawling fit, they will struggle to track you quite as effectively. Be aware that ships such as Feroxes or Harbingers will easily out DPS you at longer ranges, or simply out-range you entirely if allowed to

Against equal or smaller sized ships, the fleet will most often burn away from an opponent, to minimize transversal, force them to chase you, and allow you to apply your medium guns

In either situation, the fleet will want to be anchored on a single anchor or the FC in order to ensure the fleet stays together, and remains at the preferred range for the engagement

The Moas do not carry any tackle of their own, due to the lack of mid slot space, plus the tendency of the doctrine to fight outside, or right on the edge, of tackle range. This means you rely on Interceptors, and Interdictors to prevent an opposing ship or fleet from leaving the grid. Once again, this makes Rail Moas optimal in Null Sec, while in Low Sec the lack of bubble mechanics means this fleet may struggle to catch opponents

Fleet Composition and Fits

Mainline DD

T2 Guns are strongly preferred due to the excellent damage which Spike gives you at long range. T1 fits lose a lot of DPS at the longer ranges when using Thorium or Iron ammunition, reducing your flexibility slightly

Logistics

Given you are, or should be, anchored on one ship when fighting, cap chaining Logi such as Ospreys can work well here, and in general, are more forgiving of low skills than independent Logi such as Scimitars. Either can work, however Uni FCs may wish to call for Osprey Logi to fit with the BLAP Skillplan which many pilots will have trained

Support Ships

Your primary scouts and tackle remain Interceptors as always. However due to this being an almost exclusively Null Sec doctrine, and given the tactics noted above, it would be frankly negligent to not have at least 2 Interdictors with the fleet. Sabres are (as usual) your best bet, due to the combination of speed, shield tank, and low signature radius

Your second best support ship (after a Sabre) is a Command Destroyer. The MJFG helps with fleet repositioning, and the command bursts can increase tank, or decrease signature radius, amplifying the existing strengths of the doctrine. The Bifrost offers better flexibility of Command Bursts, with a useful bonus to Skirmish boosts as well as the standard Shield boosts, while the Stork generally carries a larger DPS threat. There is little to choose from, however if you already have sufficient DPS in fleet, the Bifrost is probably marginally more suitable