Anatomy of Incursions: Difference between revisions

Remember that EVE is a game where ''"It depends!"'' is the single most important thing to remember. Don't blindly follow set tactics or kill-orders you've read here or somewhere else. Put things into perspective and adjust to what's happening in every site, where the enemies spawn as well as your current fleet composition. This is a good example of where the ''"why"'' (ability to put things into context) is more important than the ''"how"'' or ''"what"'' (rigid kill-order lists etc), as knowing the ''"why"'' allows you to tackle anything the game throws at you, whereas only knowing the ''"how"'' or ''"what"'' will catch you off-guard whenever something out of order happens.

It is important to be aware of your fleet composition and what your strengths and weaknesses are.

It doesn't matter if you're calling target, calling for aligns or something else entirely; Always issue commands with a clear voice and repeat the command if it is really important. If possible, have keywords like ''"Fleet"'' (everyone), ''"DD"'', ''"Snipers"'', ''"Logistics"'', ''"Dronebunny"'' or something similar, then follow up with the actual command. The use of keywords will make it clear that you're issuing in order and to whom. Have them confirm orders if need be, even if it's just a simple ''"Ok"'', ''"Copy"'' or ''"Roger!"''.

People who get nervous or worked up tend to miss details or end up with butterfingers doing what they should't be doing. This is true for everyone and the fleet commander sets the tone for most of this. Don't make rash, split-second decisions. Instead, take that extra second or two and consider your options, in the end that will serve you better. That said, it is important to make a decision, a clear and concise decision, so the fleet knows what to do. The longer you wait, the higher the chance someone will panic and do something stupid, potentially risking the entire fleet.

Being in control also means you need to realize how much you can do and limit yourself to that, while delegating the rest to others. While it's admirable to take on many things at once, even grateful when it means the fleet takes off because of it, doing so is more harmlful than helpful in the long run. Almost all non-essential tasks can be delegated to people, even fairly new incursion runners, so there's absolutely no excuse for you to be saddled with doing everything. Also, just because you can do all these things on your own, doesn't mean you should. Every extra thing you take upon yourself pulls attention from everything else you're doing, adding unnecessary risk to fleet safety.

If you have multiple [[Vindicator]]s, assign one to web primary targets and the other to web the dronebunny's targets. Alternatively, use more advanced tactics where they go for the frigates instead, and really put the webs to good use.

Given enough scan resolution, good enough range and tracking, even battleships can pick off smaller ships as they come rushing towards you. Most tech one battleships have no real means of doing this, but faction battleships and strategic cruisers are usually more than capable of finishing off a few frigates before they even get close, reducing the danger of the spawn immediately. Done right, it might even remove the threat of Tamas for example, because they need to get within a certain range before their short-range torpedos can reach its target. Fleets with a majority of ships able to do this, can often swap some of their webs over to tracking computers for increased efficiency, while leaving only a minimum of webs (like a handful of bonused webs). Doing that requires that you are fully aware of your fleet composition and can swap the web back when needed.

Overall such ships gives the fleet commander a tremendous flexibility in target calling. It is also one of the most important aspects of the fleet's ability to compete against others. A fleet can have superior damage and still lose, if they take too long to lock targets or if they are unable to apply that damage at range.

Naturally this tactic is also more useful in sites where the waves all spawn at the same spot (so you only need to move once), while less useful where the waves spawn far from each other (and you have to constantly move between spawns). It also matters what kind of enemies you are facing, as moving in sites where you face mostly battleship is less of an issue than moving in sites where you're trying to shoot frigates and cruisers with your large turrets.