NPC naming conventions

When running missions or killing rats in asteroid belts, you can gleam a lot of information is given through the names of the NPC ships you're fighting.

• The main part of the name indicates the ship class (e.g. frigate, destroyer, cruiser...).
• The prefix or suffix indicates if the rat is an Elite ship or a Commander.
  • Elite ships inflict greater damage, have much higher resists, are often faster, and are more likely to bring Webs, Warp Disruptors, or EWAR than non-elite ships of similar size. Additionally, they have a higher probability of attacking your drones.
  • Commander Ships: Inflict greater damage and have a better range than a regular rat of the same class. Commanders tend to be rare spawns, and can also carry Faction Items as loot.
• Every ship also has a "flavor name" (e.g. Ambusher, Raider, Reaver...). Differently named ships have slightly different stats and abilities, and may use either short-ranged or long-ranged weapons or a different ammo type, however on the whole ships of a given size are fairly similar.

Note: This does not mean that only Elite ships can tackle you, it only means it's more common for them to do so. This information is intended to give you a general feel for the Rats you'll be facing in missions; for specific information on rats you'll need to look at mission walkthroughs.

Faction	Frigate	Destroyer	Cruiser	Battlecruiser	Battleship	Elite	Commander
Angel Cartel	Gistii	Gistior	Gistum	Gistatis	Gist	Arch	Domination
Blood Raider	Corpii	Corpior	Corpum	Corpatis	Corpus	Elder	Dark
Guristas	Pithi	Pithior	Pithum	Pithatis	Pith	Dire	Dread
Sansha's Nation	Centii	Centior	Centum	Centatis	Centus	Loyal	True
Serpentis	Coreli	Corelior	Corelum	Corealatis	Core	Guardian	Shadow
Rogue Drones	Alvi	Alvior	Alvum	Alvatis	Alvus	Strain	Sentient
Amarr Empire						Divine
Caldari State						Taibu
Gallente Federation						Elite
Minmatar Republic						Chief

Note: Rogue Drones are the only Faction with a ship class lower than Corvette (like a drone for a drone), this Drone is called an Apis.

Examples:

• A Gistii Fugitive or a Gistii Hunter are normal Angel Cartel frigates.
• An Arch Gistum Phalanx is an Angel Cartel Elite cruiser, and a Dire Pithi Despoiler is a Guristas Elite frigate.
• A Gistior Domination Defacer is an Angel Cartel Commander destroyer, and a Dark Corpatis Seer is a Blood Raider Commander Battlecruiser.

Sources

• EVE Survival Naming of Ships