Tanking: Difference between revisions

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= Armor tanking =

Armor tanking is the practice of relying on your armor HP to keep your ship alive

Armor tanking is the practice of relying on your armor HitPoints to keep your ship alive.

== Armor tanking modules ==

This section will provide a basic understanding of the various types of modules used for Armor Tanking and the skills required to fit and use them.

There are four categories of Armor tanking modules:

a) Passive Resistance: Resistance Plating and Energized Plating

*Passive Resistance: Resistance Plating and Energized Plating

b) Active Resistance: Damage Control Units and Armor Hardeners

*Active Resistance: Damage Control Units and Armor Hardeners

c) Armor Plates

*Armor Plates

d) Armor Repairers

*Armor Repairers

=== Passive Resistance: Resistance and Energized Plating ===

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The names used for these modules take a little bit of getting used to:

EM, Thermic, Kinetic, and Explosive plates offer slightly larger resistances for a single damage type; EM, Thermal, Kinetic and Explosive damage respectively. Adaptive Nano Plating offers a smaller amount of resistance to ~~all~~ damage types.

EM, Thermic, Kinetic, and Explosive plates offer slightly larger resistances for a single damage type; EM, Thermal, Kinetic and Explosive damage respectively. Adaptive Nano Plating offers a smaller amount of resistance to ALL damage types.

The Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane (EANM) should be considered the cornerstone of a good Armor Tank. Using three Tech 2 EANMs can yield more resistance than using one of each type of damage specific Armor Hardeners (discussed below). Note: additional modules will not further amplify this effect because of the Stacking Penalty.

Note: Regenerative plating, unlike other members of the resistance plating family neither improves resistance nor regenerates (despite its name). Instead it offers a tiny percentage bonus to armor Hit points.

Note: Regenerative plating, unlike other members of the resistance plating family neither improves resistance nor regenerates (despite its name). Instead, it offers a tiny percentage bonus to armor Hit points.

Training Hull Upgrades to IV will allow the use of Tech 2 Resistance Plating.

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=== Active Resistance: Damage Control Units and Armor Hardeners ===

Damage Control Units (DCU) are handy modules that add a small amount of resistance to all damage types for Shields, Armor, and a significant amount of resistance to Structure. They require the same amount of CPU as an Energized Plate and an insignificant amount of capacitor to function. These are active modules that must be turned on in order to function. Unlike Armor Hardeners however, the protection offered by the Damage control unit is all or nothing, so remember to turn it on. Only one DCU can be active at a time, so it is pointless to fit more than one.

Damage Control Units (DCU) are handy modules that add a small amount of resistance to all damage types for Shields, Armor, and a significant amount of resistance to Structure. They require the same amount of CPU as an Energized Plate and an insignificant amount of capacitor to function (1GJ). These are active modules that must be turned on in order to function. Unlike Armor Hardeners however, the protection offered by the Damage control unit is all or nothing, so remember to turn it on. Only one DCU can be active at a time, so it is pointless to fit more than one.

Armor hardeners offer the largest damage resistance, but require more CPU and a small amount of capacitor to function. These are active modules that must be turned on in order to offer full protection, which means if you forget to turn them on, or run out of capacitor your Hardeners will provide only a limited amount of passive protection.

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Armor Plates:

Unlike the modules listed above that improve damage resistance, Armor Plates add raw ~~Hit Points~~ to your ship. These passive modules are the cornerstone of a good buffer tank because they can greatly increase your Armor Hit Points. These additional ~~Hit Points~~ come at the expense of greatly increased mass and the inexplicable use of large amounts of CPU and Powergrid proportional to the size of the plate. Why heavy plates of thick metal armor require CPU and Powergrid has never been explained to my satisfaction.

Unlike the modules listed above that improve damage resistance, Armor Plates add raw HitPoints to your ship. These passive modules are the cornerstone of a good buffer tank because they can greatly increase your Armor Hit Points. These additional HitPoints come at the expense of greatly increased mass and the inexplicable use of large amounts of CPU and Powergrid proportional to the size of the plate. Why heavy plates of thick metal armor require CPU and Powergrid has never been explained to my satisfaction.

The added mass, especially if more than one Armor Plate module is used, will reduce the effective thrust of your Afterburner or MWD and make your ship very sluggish and slow to align.

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=== Armor Repairers ===

Armor Repairers are pretty self explanatory; they actively repair damage done to the armor of your ship. These modules require a large amount of CPU and Powergrid as well as a substantial amount of capacitor to function. They come in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large for use on Frigate, Cruiser, and Battleship sized ships respectively.

Armor Repairers (AREPs) are pretty self explanatory: they actively repair damage done to the armor of your ship. These modules require a large amount of CPU and Powergrid as well as a substantial amount of capacitor to function. They come in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large for use on Frigate, Cruiser, and Battleship sized ships respectively.

Training Mechanic III and Repair ~~systems~~ III will allow the use of Tech 2 Small Armor Repairers, and Training Mechanic V and Repair systems IV will allow the use of Tech 2 Medium and Large Armor Repairers.

Training Mechanic III and Repair Systems III will allow the use of Tech 2 Small Armor Repairers, and Training Mechanic V and Repair systems IV will allow the use of Tech 2 Medium and Large Armor Repairers.

== Armor Tanking Strategies ==

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There are three primary approaches to Armor tanking:

a) Buffer tanking

*Buffer tanking

b) Active tanking

*Active tanking

c) Spider tanking (advanced gang technique not covered by this guide)

*Spider tanking (advanced gang technique not covered by this guide)

=== Buffer tanking ===

Typically used for PvP, the buffer tank is based around the principle of having high damage resistance and as many hit points as possible, thus increasing the Effective ~~Hit Points~~ (EHP) of the ship. The concept is behind this is simple, add enough EHP to your ship to outlast your opponent through the use of active and/or passive resistance modules, which complement the Armor Plate modules that add raw hit points.

Typically used for PvP, the buffer tank is based around the principle of having high damage resistance and as many hit points as possible, thus increasing the Effective HitPoints (EHP) of the ship. The concept is behind this is simple, add enough EHP to your ship to outlast your opponent through the use of active and/or passive resistance modules, which complement the Armor Plate modules that add raw hit points.

Ideally this should free up enough fitting slots, CPU and power grid to fit bigger weapons and more combat utility modules to such as tackling equipment to maximize your damage output. This type of fitting uses a minimal amount of capacitor to run Armor Hardeners making it easily sustainable, but can be made fully passive by using only passive resistance modules instead. The primary drawback to Buffer Tanking is that you have no way to repair yourself, so when you run out of hit points you are toast.

=== Active Tanking ===

Active tanking is most commonly used for solo activities such as mission/complex running, ratting, and solo PvP. Active ~~tanking~~ differs from Buffer ~~tanking~~ in that it uses Armor Repair modules to actively repair damage done to the ship. You should be careful to include enough resistance and buffer to keep your ~~Repair~~ modules from being overwhelmed by incoming damage; frequently this means packing resistance modules (either passive or active) that compensate for the specific types of damage you expect to be receiving.

Active tanking is most commonly used for solo activities such as mission/complex running, ratting, and solo PvP. Active Tanking differs from Buffer Tanking in that it uses Armor Repair modules to actively repair damage done to the ship. You should be careful to include enough resistance and buffer to keep your repair modules from being overwhelmed by incoming damage; frequently this means packing resistance modules (either passive or active) that compensate for the specific types of damage you expect to be receiving.

This type of fitting takes a lot of capacitor to sustain your ~~capacitor~~ hungry Armor Repair modules so it should ideally include modules such as Cap Rechargers and/or Capacitor Batteries to balance out and maintain capacitor stability.

This type of fitting takes a lot of capacitor to sustain your cap-hungry Armor Repair modules so it should ideally include modules such as Cap Rechargers and/or Capacitor Batteries to balance out and maintain capacitor stability.

Capacitor stability is important because it allows you to leave your Tank modules turned on without ever worrying about running out of capacitor. So long as incoming damage is less than what your repair modules can handle your ship should be able to sustain that level of damage indefinitely. This is commonly referred to as Perma-tanking. If incoming damage exceeds your repair capacity you will gradually run out of Hit Points and die. This is commonly referred to as having a broken tank.

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== Armor Tanking Basis Skill Summary ==

The following skills are recommended to help with fitting your ship:

Electronics I-V:to maximize CPU

*Electronics I-V:to maximize CPU

Engineering I-V: to maximize Power Grid

*Engineering I-V: to maximize Power Grid

Energy Management I-V: to increase max Capacitor

*Energy Management I-V: to increase max Capacitor

Energy Systems Operation I-V: to maximize Capacitor recharge rate

*Energy Systems Operation I-V: to maximize Capacitor recharge rate

Energy Grid Upgrades I-V: to fit Capacitor related Modules

*Energy Grid Upgrades I-V: to fit Capacitor related Modules

Assuming you have enough of the skills listed above fit your ship, the following skills are required to field a full Tech 2 Armor tank:

Hull Upgrades V: To fit Tech 2 Resistance and Plate modules and maximize Armor hit points

*Hull Upgrades V: To fit Tech 2 Resistance and Plate modules and maximize Armor hit points

Mechanic III-V: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers and maximize your structure hit points

*Mechanic III-V: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers and maximize your structure hit points

Repair Systems III-IV: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers

*Repair Systems III-IV: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers

Armor compensation Skills: These skills will improve the effectiveness of passive modules such as Resistance and Energized plates. Most importantly, these skills enhance the use of EANM modules so it is recommended these skills be trained to at least IV, with the exception of Explosive Armor compensation which should be trained to V to help compensate for Armor’s inherent weakness to that type of damage.

@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 = Armor tanking =
-Armor tanking is the practice of relying on your armor HP to keep your ship alive
+Armor tanking is the practice of relying on your armor HitPoints to keep your ship alive.
 == Armor tanking modules ==
 This section will provide a basic understanding of the various types of modules used for Armor Tanking and the skills required to fit and use them.
 There are four categories of Armor tanking modules:
-a) Passive Resistance: Resistance Plating and Energized Plating
+*Passive Resistance: Resistance Plating and Energized Plating
-b) Active Resistance: Damage Control Units and Armor Hardeners
+*Active Resistance: Damage Control Units and Armor Hardeners
-c) Armor Plates
+*Armor Plates
-d) Armor Repairers
+*Armor Repairers
 === Passive Resistance: Resistance and Energized Plating ===
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 The names used for these modules take a little bit of getting used to:
-EM, Thermic, Kinetic, and Explosive plates offer slightly larger resistances for a single damage type; EM, Thermal, Kinetic and Explosive damage respectively. Adaptive Nano Plating offers a smaller amount of resistance to all damage types.
+EM, Thermic, Kinetic, and Explosive plates offer slightly larger resistances for a single damage type; EM, Thermal, Kinetic and Explosive damage respectively. Adaptive Nano Plating offers a smaller amount of resistance to ALL damage types.
 The Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane (EANM) should be considered the cornerstone of a good Armor Tank. Using three Tech 2 EANMs can yield more resistance than using one of each type of damage specific Armor Hardeners (discussed below). Note: additional modules will not further amplify this effect because of the Stacking Penalty.
-Note: Regenerative plating, unlike other members of the resistance plating family neither improves resistance nor regenerates (despite its name). Instead it offers a tiny percentage bonus to armor Hit points.
+Note: Regenerative plating, unlike other members of the resistance plating family neither improves resistance nor regenerates (despite its name). Instead, it offers a tiny percentage bonus to armor Hit points.
 Training Hull Upgrades to IV will allow the use of Tech 2 Resistance Plating.
@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 === Active Resistance: Damage Control Units and Armor Hardeners ===
-Damage Control Units (DCU) are handy modules that add a small amount of resistance to all damage types for Shields, Armor, and a significant amount of resistance to Structure. They require the same amount of CPU as an Energized Plate and an insignificant amount of capacitor to function. These are active modules that must be turned on in order to function. Unlike Armor Hardeners however, the protection offered by the Damage control unit is all or nothing, so remember to turn it on. Only one DCU can be active at a time, so it is pointless to fit more than one.
+Damage Control Units (DCU) are handy modules that add a small amount of resistance to all damage types for Shields, Armor, and a significant amount of resistance to Structure. They require the same amount of CPU as an Energized Plate and an insignificant amount of capacitor to function (1GJ). These are active modules that must be turned on in order to function. Unlike Armor Hardeners however, the protection offered by the Damage control unit is all or nothing, so remember to turn it on. Only one DCU can be active at a time, so it is pointless to fit more than one.
 Armor hardeners offer the largest damage resistance, but require more CPU and a small amount of capacitor to function. These are active modules that must be turned on in order to offer full protection, which means if you forget to turn them on, or run out of capacitor your Hardeners will provide only a limited amount of passive protection.
@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 Armor Plates:
-Unlike the modules listed above that improve damage resistance, Armor Plates add raw Hit Points to your ship. These passive modules are the cornerstone of a good buffer tank because they can greatly increase your Armor Hit Points. These additional Hit Points come at the expense of greatly increased mass and the inexplicable use of large amounts of CPU and Powergrid proportional to the size of the plate. Why heavy plates of thick metal armor require CPU and Powergrid has never been explained to my satisfaction.
+Unlike the modules listed above that improve damage resistance, Armor Plates add raw HitPoints to your ship. These passive modules are the cornerstone of a good buffer tank because they can greatly increase your Armor Hit Points. These additional HitPoints come at the expense of greatly increased mass and the inexplicable use of large amounts of CPU and Powergrid proportional to the size of the plate. Why heavy plates of thick metal armor require CPU and Powergrid has never been explained to my satisfaction.
 The added mass, especially if more than one Armor Plate module is used, will reduce the effective thrust of your Afterburner or MWD and make your ship very sluggish and slow to align.
@@ Line 70: / Line 70: @@
 === Armor Repairers ===
-Armor Repairers are pretty self explanatory; they actively repair damage done to the armor of your ship. These modules require a large amount of CPU and Powergrid as well as a substantial amount of capacitor to function. They come in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large for use on Frigate, Cruiser, and Battleship sized ships respectively.
+Armor Repairers (AREPs) are pretty self explanatory: they actively repair damage done to the armor of your ship. These modules require a large amount of CPU and Powergrid as well as a substantial amount of capacitor to function. They come in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large for use on Frigate, Cruiser, and Battleship sized ships respectively.
-Training Mechanic III and Repair systems III will allow the use of Tech 2 Small Armor Repairers, and Training Mechanic V and Repair systems IV will allow the use of Tech 2 Medium and Large Armor Repairers.
+Training Mechanic III and Repair Systems III will allow the use of Tech 2 Small Armor Repairers, and Training Mechanic V and Repair systems IV will allow the use of Tech 2 Medium and Large Armor Repairers.
 == Armor Tanking Strategies ==
@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 There are three primary approaches to Armor tanking:
-a) Buffer tanking
+*Buffer tanking
-b) Active tanking
+*Active tanking
-c) Spider tanking (advanced gang technique not covered by this guide)
+*Spider tanking (advanced gang technique not covered by this guide)
 === Buffer tanking ===
-Typically used for PvP, the buffer tank is based around the principle of having high damage resistance and as many hit points as possible, thus increasing the Effective Hit Points (EHP) of the ship. The concept is behind this is simple, add enough EHP to your ship to outlast your opponent through the use of active and/or passive resistance modules, which complement the Armor Plate modules that add raw hit points.
+Typically used for PvP, the buffer tank is based around the principle of having high damage resistance and as many hit points as possible, thus increasing the Effective HitPoints (EHP) of the ship. The concept is behind this is simple, add enough EHP to your ship to outlast your opponent through the use of active and/or passive resistance modules, which complement the Armor Plate modules that add raw hit points.
 Ideally this should free up enough fitting slots, CPU and power grid to fit bigger weapons and more combat utility modules to such as tackling equipment to maximize your damage output. This type of fitting uses a minimal amount of capacitor to run Armor Hardeners making it easily sustainable, but can be made fully passive by using only passive resistance modules instead. The primary drawback to Buffer Tanking is that you have no way to repair yourself, so when you run out of hit points you are toast.
 === Active Tanking ===
-Active tanking is most commonly used for solo activities such as mission/complex running, ratting, and solo PvP. Active tanking differs from Buffer tanking in that it uses Armor Repair modules to actively repair damage done to the ship. You should be careful to include enough resistance and buffer to keep your Repair modules from being overwhelmed by incoming damage; frequently this means packing resistance modules (either passive or active) that compensate for the specific types of damage you expect to be receiving.
+Active tanking is most commonly used for solo activities such as mission/complex running, ratting, and solo PvP. Active Tanking differs from Buffer Tanking in that it uses Armor Repair modules to actively repair damage done to the ship. You should be careful to include enough resistance and buffer to keep your repair modules from being overwhelmed by incoming damage; frequently this means packing resistance modules (either passive or active) that compensate for the specific types of damage you expect to be receiving.
-This type of fitting takes a lot of capacitor to sustain your capacitor hungry Armor Repair modules so it should ideally include modules such as Cap Rechargers and/or Capacitor Batteries to balance out and maintain capacitor stability.
+This type of fitting takes a lot of capacitor to sustain your cap-hungry Armor Repair modules so it should ideally include modules such as Cap Rechargers and/or Capacitor Batteries to balance out and maintain capacitor stability.
 Capacitor stability is important because it allows you to leave your Tank modules turned on without ever worrying about running out of capacitor. So long as incoming damage is less than what your repair modules can handle your ship should be able to sustain that level of damage indefinitely. This is commonly referred to as Perma-tanking. If incoming damage exceeds your repair capacity you will gradually run out of Hit Points and die. This is commonly referred to as having a broken tank.
@@ Line 105: / Line 105: @@
 == Armor Tanking Basis Skill Summary ==
 The following skills are recommended to help with fitting your ship:
-Electronics I-V:to maximize CPU
+*Electronics I-V:to maximize CPU
-Engineering I-V: to maximize Power Grid
+*Engineering I-V: to maximize Power Grid
-Energy Management I-V: to increase max Capacitor
+*Energy Management I-V: to increase max Capacitor
-Energy Systems Operation I-V: to maximize Capacitor recharge rate
+*Energy Systems Operation I-V: to maximize Capacitor recharge rate
-Energy Grid Upgrades I-V: to fit Capacitor related Modules
+*Energy Grid Upgrades I-V: to fit Capacitor related Modules
 Assuming you have enough of the skills listed above fit your ship, the following skills are required to field a full Tech 2 Armor tank:
-Hull Upgrades V: To fit Tech 2 Resistance and Plate modules and maximize Armor hit points
+*Hull Upgrades V: To fit Tech 2 Resistance and Plate modules and maximize Armor hit points
-Mechanic III-V: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers and maximize your structure hit points
+*Mechanic III-V: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers and maximize your structure hit points
-Repair Systems III-IV: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers
+*Repair Systems III-IV: to fit Tech 2 Armor Repairers
 Armor compensation Skills: These skills will improve the effectiveness of passive modules such as Resistance and Energized plates. Most importantly, these skills enhance the use of EANM modules so it is recommended these skills be trained to at least IV, with the exception of Explosive Armor compensation which should be trained to V to help compensate for Armor’s inherent weakness to that type of damage.