User:William Lyon Mackenzie/Old user page
Instant alignment ("insta-align") is the ability to enter warp within 2 seconds ("instawarp") from a dead stop. Ships fitted for instant alignment are usually used to avoid being tackled when travelling through space, especially through gate camps
Align time
Align time is a measure of how long it takes your ship enter warp from a dead stop. It takes a minimum of 2 seconds (equivalent to 2 sever ticks) for an enemy pilot to be able to lock and tackle your ship. You can therefore escape to warp before the enemy could possibly catch you if your align time is less than 2 seconds .
The align time for a given fit is listed in the navigation tab of the fitting window. The align time given is for a ship at a dead stop. A ship in motion may align faster or slower depending on the course correction required.
Reducing align time
The align time of a ship is based on the ship's inherent mass and agility and bonuses to agility and inertia from skills, modules, rigs and implants. Bonuses relevant to align time are either referred to as agility (a positive value) or inertia (usually a negative value, unless referred to as "inertia modifier" then it's positive), which for all intents and purposes in EVE are the same.
Skills
Several skills affect your align time, starting with the most relevant skills:
| Skill | Bonus |
|---|---|
 Evasive Maneuvering (2x)
|
5% improved ship agility for all ships per skill level |
| Spaceship Command (1x)
|
2% improved ship agility for all ships per skill level |
There are also special case skills, for certain ships fits with specific modules.
| Skill | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Advanced Spaceship Command (5x)
|
5% Bonus per skill level to the agility of ships requiring Advanced Spaceship Command [1] |
| Armor Layering (3x)
|
5% reduction to armor plate mass penalty per level [2] |
| [[Skills:Amarr Industrial]] (Amarr Industrial)
|
5% bonus to ship inertia modifier per level [3] |
| [[Skills:Caldari Industrial]] (Caldari Industrial)
|
5% bonus to ship inertia modifier per level [3] |
| [[Skills:Gallente Industrial]] (Gallente Industrial)
|
5% bonus to ship inertia modifier per level [3] |
| [[Skills:Minmatar Industrial]] (Minmatar Industrial)
|
5% bonus to ship inertia modifier per level [3] |
| ORE Freighter (9x)
|
5% bonus to ship inertia modifier per level [3] |
Modules & rigs
While there are several modules that reduce inertia, some are stronger than others, leaving you with these modules as well as the one rig that helps reduce align time.
|
|
Inertia Stabilizers II (-20% inertia modifier, +11% signature) |
|
|
|
Nanofiber Internal Structure II (-15.75% inertia modifier, -20% structure HP) |
|
|
Low Friction Nozzle Joints II (-14% inertia modifier, -10% armour hp [1]) |
- ^ The armour hit point penalty of Astronautic Rigs can be reduced by training the
Astronautics Rigging (3x) skill.
Implants
There are also implants that help reduce your align time, such as the Eifyr and Co. 'Rogue' Evasive Maneuvering EM-7 and the low- and mid-grade Nomad set.
Further reading
Since align times are rounded up to the nearest second, align times of 1.01s and 1.99s are, in effect, equivalent. Similarly, an align time of 2.01s is equivalent to an align time of 3s. In order to align instantly, you must have an align time of less than or equal to 2.00s. A detailed explanation can be found in this Eve-Guides.fr article.
The Microwarp Drive Cloak trick manipulates cloaking mechanics to mimic instant alignment for slow-aligning industrial ships.
