Roles in Incursions

Basic roles for Vanguards

Below are the basic roles for Vanguard incursions, damage dealers and logistics, what their functions are and what you can do to improve them. The finer details on more specific roles are covered in the next section.

The suggested skills are listed in order of importance, from the skills having the most impact on your efficiency on top, to those that help but are less critical at the bottom.

Damage dealers

By spreading webs the fleet won't end up putting all webs on a single target, while still having more than one web on a target.

Primary function:

• Doing damage.
• Supply the dronebunny with light combat drones.
• Applying webs.

Secondary functions:

• Backup energy transfers.
• Backup logistic drones.
• Target painting.

Ways to improve

Skills:

• Tech two weaponry (increase your damage projection)
• Gunnery support skills (increase your overall efficiency through increased tracking, range and damage).
• Targeting and multitasking (to be able to lock up more targets).
• Droneskills for tech two hobgoblins (increase drone damage) and maintenance bots (as backup).

Ships & modules:

• Trade in your old ship for a better one (look for ships with two damage bonuses).
• Upgrade tech two damage and utility mods to faction mods (improve efficiency).

Gameplay:

• Listen to the fleet commander and target caller (follow tags and target calls).
• Lock up all primary and secondary targets as you land on grid (figure out order after).
• Assign your drones to the dronebunny as quickly as possible.
• Keep pre-locking targets throughout the site (always have max number of enemies locked).
• Make sure your drones are assigned to the dronebunny.
• Let the dronebunny know if your drones are idle (ask them to cycle guns).

• Past four webs or painters (alternatively two bonused webs or painters) on a single target, the returns are largely wasted.
  • If your primary target is already webbed down, put your webs on the secondary or tertiary target. That way they will already be webbed down by the time you finish your primary target, speeding up the process considerably.
  • You can also keep an eye on whatever target the drones are shooting at and apply your webs on that.
  • In short, an unused module is a wasted module, so make sure yours is put to good use.

• When the Sansha rats spawn at a distance, they'll use their microwarpdrives to burn straight at you until they hit their preferred orbit. If you can lock them fast enough while they are doing so, you'll have a ship with blown up signature and no transversal (very easy to hit even for battleships).
• If you cannot hit the primary target (due to range issues or tracking issues), let the fleet commander know (mostly they'll tell you to hit secondary targets until the primary is within range or dead already).
• Add "Angular velocity" and/or "Velocity" columns to your overview, so you can sort by that and name (will sort primarily by name, then velocity).
• When in doubt what to shoot, look at the velocity columns and shoot whatever has the lowest velocity (it will be the target that is already webbed). This is especially useful in "free fire" mode when you're supposed to shoot all the remaining ships and you have no tags, just shoot them in order of velocity for greater efficiency.

Logistics

Primary function:

• Keeping the fleet alive with repairs and logistic drones.

Secondary functions:

• Energy transfers if required (Basilisks and Guardians).
• Adding utility through remote sensor boosters or tracking links.

Ways to improve

Skills:

• Logistics V (to be able to fit 5/1 instead of 4/2, use more utility midslots etc).
• Support skills (like Shield Emission Systems, Remote Armor Repair Systems, cap skills).
• Utility skills (Energy Emission Systems if you use energy transers, Sensor Linking if you use tracking links).
• Droneskills (to be able to use light and medium tech two maintenance bots).

Modules:

• Upgrade to tech two shield transporters or remote armour repairs.
• Upgrade to faction tracking links (they are reasonably cheap) or faction remote sensor boosters (not quite as cheap).
• Consider faction Power Diagnostic System modules (cheap and improve cap and powergrid as well as shield hit points).

Gameplay:

• Always prioritize your fellow logistics before anything else when repairing. If a logistics ship goes down, the entire fleet risk going down.
• On Guardians and Baslisks, even without incoming energy transfers you have enough cap to run one shield transfer or remote armour repairer running indefinitely, possibly two pending on your skills. Remember that.
• If the one taking primary aggro is taking damage rapidly as you land on site, put one or two reppers on them before sorting out the energy transfer chain (then apply the rest of your reppers if needed).
• Pre-lock everyone in Vanguards (Multitasking III allows you to lock all 10 members).
• Locking from the watch list is incredibly fast and efficient (CTRL + leftclick).
• Have your fleet members on your overview, so you can see if you have members in the fleet that you haven't locked up (the icon will tell if it's a locket fleet member or not).
• Use only as many reppers as you need, don't over-repair because then you'll be too slow to respond to shifting aggro.
  • Drop reps at the end of each wave, don't tie them up on someone who isn't taking damage anymore.
  • Once the reps are under control, start taking reps off if they are no longer needed.
• If you are jammed, always call out "<name> jammed, ET down" (leave out the ET down part if you don't have one).
• Keep an eye on the jamming icon over your hud-display, you're not always jammed until all Niarjas are dead, sometimes it's only one of them who are jamming you and you get unjammed long before all Niarjas are down.
• Always turn off your energy transfers if your energy transfer buddy is jammed and pending on the situation request backup energy from your damage dealers.
• Keep the energy transfers up and let them drop automatically when the fleet warps out of the site (that way you and the recipient will drop at the same time and neither will risk capping out).
• Make sure your logi buddy is always next to you landing on a gate, or arriving on a site.
  • Immediately let the fleet know you'll be late on grid if you get stuck on a gate, your warp isn't initiating immediately or for whatever other reason you might not come on grid right away. Whatever you do, do not wait and see if you get stuck or not. Every second counts to get maintenance bots out and get emergency energy transfers in place.
  • Similarly, if you don't see your logi buddy on grid, call out on mumble right away. Don't wait and see what happens. Get confirmation that the other logi is coming.
• Pay attention to the watch list and your locked fleet members. You should be able to spot incoming damage even without broadcasts. Remind people who take damage to broadcast for repairs (if possible, hold off reps until they do so they learn ... but don't risk the safety of the fleet).

Specific roles

Below are roles you should assign to different people. By delegating these roles everyone will be able to focus on their role without being distracted.

Dronebunny

Primary function:

• Carry out your basic role as a damage dealer.
• Direct all drones on the field.

Requirements:

• Any non-logi can fill this role.

Ways to improve

Previous recommendations for damage dealers apply to the dronebunny as well. Being the dronebunny doesn't mean you should sacrifice your regular damage dealing capabilities.

Ships & modules:

• Never down-ship or compromise your ship's combat effectiveness in an attempt to be a better dronebunny.

Gameplay:

• Pay attention to the fleet commander's target calls (they sometimes ask the dronebunny to hit separate targets).
  • The order is situational, see utilizing drones and flexible dronebunny for more information.
  • (MO)NSTRE is something you can try to remember. It stands for a basic order of killing enemy frigates; Niarjas, Schmaeels, Tamas, Renyns and Eysturs. That doesn't mean you always shoot frigates, see the above two links and listen to your fleet commander's orders.
• Try to improve the efficiciency and responsiveness of the drones you command.
  • Use webs to increase the damage potential of the drones.
  • Group your weapons and stagger them if your cycle time isn't fast enough (improves reaction times for drones, as you'll be able to switch twice as fast).
• Keep an eye on idle drones.
  • Remember that drones react to any offensive module being activated (turrets, launchers, webs, painters etc).
  • Turn off and on your weapons a few times at the start of a site, to catch drones assigned to you after you last activated an offensive module.
  • Remember that not everyone has the same drone control range, so turn off and on weapons as enemies approach if you started shooting at a distance (most will have around 45km while some can have up to 60km drone control range).
  • Speak up in Mumble if you still see idle drones after checking those.
• Don't forget to manually control your own drones, they will not automatically follow you since you're the dronebunny.

Hacker/Scout

Primary function:

• Find empty sites and broadcast them for the fleet before they finish their current site.
• Hack the logistics tower in the Override Transfer Array sites.

Requirements:

• Able to operate the onboard Directional Scanner.
• Codebreaker I or II fitted.
• Microwarpdrive fitted.

Ways to improve

Skills:

• Train Hacking to IV or V (to improve hacking chance).

Modules:

• Try to fit as many Codebreaker I or II modules as you can to reduce the hacking time.

Gameplay:

• While ideally you should combine both hacking and scouting into one role, you can compromise by having members in the active fleet fit a propulsion module and a code breaker. This is an undesirable compromise however, as it wastes precious utility midslots.
• You gain very little by excessively fitting a hacker/scout, keep this ship as cheap as possible (see Heron).
• Learn the positions of the logistics control towers (they are placed roughly 30km away from the warp-in point, position and activation sequence remains the same in all sites, beginning with the control tower to the left).
  • The hack lasts for about six minutes and is usually more than enough for a decent fleet to finish the site. The control tower to hack will be available in a repeating sequence; Control tower to your left, then the one to the right closest to the battletower, then the one to the right furthest away from the battletower.
• Wait until the fleet has landed on grid and are fully engaged, then jump in and burn to the tower and hack it. Remember to turn off the microwarpdrive once you reach the tower (usually one cycle is enough).
  • Warp out once you've hacked the tower and fly back to the gate (in case the fleet isn't fast enough to finish the site before the tower becomes functional again). Otherwise proceed and scout for the next site.

Offgrid booster

Primary function:

• Provide the fleet with Warfare links bonuses.

Requirements:

• Battlecruiser, Orca, Strategic Cruiser or Command Ships.
• Able to safely stay in space, uncloaked, links running (cannot be at war).

Ways to improve

Skills:

• Train Siege and Skirmish Warfare Specialist V (for tech two warfare links).
• Train Cybernetics V (for the mindlink implant).
• Train Warfare Link Specialist V (for Command Processor I modules to fit more links).
• Train Command Ships or Defensive Subsystem for Strategic Cruisers.
• Train Wing Command and Fleet Command to allow for multiple boosters.

Ships & Modules:

• Upgrade to tech two warfare links.
• Get a Siege or Skirmish Mindlink Implant.
• Fit Command Processor I modules in order to run 5 - 6 links.
• Upgrade to a Strategic Cruiser or a Command Ship.

Gameplay:

• Find a suitable place to boost from, orbiting a station (easiest to dock), in a safespot (less visible) or some other

Ore runner

Primary function:

• Carry out your primary role (usually a logistics).
• Run the ore in Nation Mining Colony sites.

Requirements:

• 306 m3 room in your cargo hold for the Lyavite.
• Able to fullfill their role while moving 50km+ away from the fleet (no unbonused energy transfers with 9km range to or from you).

Ways to improve

• Fit an afterburner or a microwarpdrive (the faster you are, the better).
• Make sure you have a stack of ore in your cargo hold (ask others to drop for you if not).
• Start running the ore according to your speed and how fast the fleet completes the site.
  • If you have no propulsion module, you might have to start at the end of the first wave or middle of the second.
  • If you have an afterburner, you can usually start after the last wave spawns or near the end of the second wave.

Tagger

Primary function:

• Carry out your basic role as a damage dealer or logistics.
• Tag enemies for the fleet.

Requirement:

• At the very least, Leadership V, preferably Wing Command II - IV (to be Squad or Wing Commander).

Ways to improve:

• Learn the order so you can tag on your own, without having to wait for the fleet commander's orders.
• Put up the first tag as you land in a pocket, before anything else, so people know what to shoot.
• Continue tagging the rest once the primary tag is up and you've started locking and/or shooting).
• Remember that not all fleet commanders have the same targeting order, so pay attention to your current fleet commander's preference.
• A common way to avoid too much tagging is to only tag one of the two, or two of the tree primary targets, leaving the last one untagged (and thus last in order).

Waitlist manager

Primary function:

• Carry out your basic role (preferably a damage dealer).
• Keep track of the waiting list.
• Double-check that people come in properly fitted ships (shield tanks for shield fleets, armour tank for armour fleets etc).
• Make sure out of corp alts and alumni do not have outstanding wars endangering the fleet.

Requirements:

• None.

Ways to improve

• Ask to be made Boss, that will allow you to move people around and invite them to the fleet, making your job easier.
  • Utilize the drag-and-drop feature for both fleet invites and for moving people into new position.
  • Be sure to enable free-move so people can move themselves in and out of positions when needed.
• Make note of fits and ask for advice if you are not sure if the fit is adequate or not.
• Separate people who are ready and in system from those who are still making their way there (or simply ask them to X-up when they get there).
• Catch up in the incursions.e-uni channel and update the waiting list between sites, then post the updated waiting list to remind people you are still forming/active.
  • Keeping a copy of the waitlist in your ingame notepad is a good idea, for easy editing and copying (font-formatting isn't copied over).
  • You can also use the CTRL + Up/Down function in your chat-window (keeps the formatting, allows editing, but is somewhat unreliable/unpredictable).
  • Make sure to let people know if it's a shield or armour fleet, what type of sites you're doing, if the fleet is forming or active etc.
  • Keep track of whether or not people have spare energy transfers and logistic drones, if they are logistics IV or V, what logistics they can bring (or both) etc.
  • A short waitlist has the benefit of not completely spamming out everything else in chat.
    • Useful shorthands: +l (dd + any logi), +s (dd + scimitar), +b4/5 (dd + basilisk, logistics 4 or 5) or just l/s/b [b4-5] (any logi or scimitar/basilisk only), BC (battlecruiser), T3 (strategic cruiser), Sn (sniper).
    • You can usually omit if someone is a battleship because unless they are either of the above mentioned ships or roles, it doesn't really matter.
  • A short SFWL (shield fleet waitlist) abbreviation works for a shield fleet doing vanguards, since that's what we do most of the time.
• When drops are announced ahead of time, get the replacement(s) ready.
• Remember that you can invite people from local (where they should be, ready to go, if they are on the waitlist) even though they haven't spoken up recently in incursions.e-uni.
• If someone isn't responding on mumble or in incursions.e-uni, you could always try initiating a conversation with them (it'll fail if they are offline for example). Or you can just skip them and go for the next person in the waitlist, because it is not your job to make sure they are ready.
• Keep the MOTD updated with the following information.
  • Type of fleet (shield or armour, vanguard or assault etc).
  • System the fleet is running in.
  • Name of the on-demand channel on Mumble.
  • Optional: Who the anchor is.
  • While there are other important things to know about a fleet, who the logistics are, who the dronebunny is and so forth, these things aren't best promoted in the MOTD. Logistics 'L' up each site and you can have your dronebunny 'DDD' up every site instead, as that would be a constant reminder not only who the dronebunny is, but also to actually launch your drones and assign them.

Wing Commander

Primary function:

• Carry out your basic role as a damage dealer or logistics.
• Wing-warp the fleet.

Requirements:

• Wing Command II (preferably III or IV).

Ways to improve

• Train Wing Command up to III or IV for larger fleets, like Assault fleets.
• Make sure people are aligned.
• Make sure you get paid before warping the fleet out, unless it's an emergency.

Fleet Commander

Primary function:

• Carry out your basic role (preferably a damage dealer).
• Keeping it all together.
• Making sure all roles are filled.
• Be the single voice of command when needed.

Requirements:

• A working mic.
• Fairly good at multitasking.
• Knowledgeable about Incursions (or have a backup who is, if you're in training).
• Decisive (be able to make a decision, not necessarily the best, in any kind of timely fashion).

Ways to improve

• Delegate what you don't need to do yourself, so you can focus on the rest.
• Be proactive to prevent things from spiralling out of control.
• Be decisive, make clear commands and target calls.
• Repeat important commands.
• Require confirmation for separate commands (like ore runner, specific drone targets etc).
• Always know your fleet composition (engagement range, emergency energy transfers and maintenance drones, offgrid boosts etc) so you can make educated decisions.
• Know your enemy (differences between the NPCs, what they can do, what danger they pose).
• Some ships are easier to hit than others (signature, resists, speed and prefered orbit). Tamas for example as much easier to hit than Schmaeels, Renyns and Eysturs. Romis, while having higher resists, are easier to hit than the close orbiting Augas, but at the same time the Augas come closer and if sufficiently webbed can be taken down much faster.
• Decide whether you want to reduce the DPS as soon as possible or if you'd rather want each ship to fire at the most suitable ship in order to be as effective as possible in the long run.
• Don't forget the broadcast target functionality for when you want people to focus on a specific target with short notice or out of sequence. It is usually faster and easier to do it like that, instead of (re)tagging.
  • A good example of that is the "Slave" or "Citizen" NPC in the fourth wave of the assault-site Nation Commander Stronghold.
• For a more comprehensive guide to leading an incursion fleet, see Anatomy of Incursions.