Fitting missile launchers
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This article focuses on the knowledge you need to be able to fit missile launchers to your ship. It contains a number of detailed discussions and does not cover various general concepts. If you are not completely clear as to how missile launcer systems work, or as to how missiles do damage when they hit, you should read Missile Launchers and Missile Damage before continuing on this page.
Thinking About Fitting Launchers
The essence of ship fitting is picking and choosing among the various possibilities, looking for an equipment balance that maximizes offense and/or defense without overloading the powergrid or cpu. How you do this depends a great deal on your skills, so if you have not done so already, you should read the Fitting Guidelines page. The general rules listed in that article are absolutely essential to good fitting, regardless of the class of ship or type of weapon.
The Launcher fits shown below can be accomplished with various types of the given equipment class. Where a Light Missile Launcher is called for, for example, you might use Light Missile Launcher I, Arbalest Compact Light Missile Launcher, Light Missile Launcher II, or a number of others. The equipment data and example fits shown here should be treated as templates. You will need to mix and match as needed to accommodate the characteristics of your ship and your own skills.
Basic Fitting Skills
As you improve these skills, you need less and less powergrid and cpu capacity to fit various items to your ship. This in turn allows you to fit more powerful equipment. Therefore, these skills should be trained immediately to Level III, and higher as soon as that becomes feasible.
- CPU Management: 5% more CPU per level
- Power Grid Management: 5% more powergrid per level
- Weapon Upgrades: 5% less CPU needed for weapons per level
- Electronics Upgrades: 5% less CPU needed for sensor upgrades such as signal amplifiers, co-processors, and similar equipment
- Energy Grid Upgrades: 5% less CPU needed for power upgrades such as power diagnostic units, capacitor batteries, and similar equipment
As weapons are often a primary concern, this skill is frequently acquired and trained:
- Advanced Weapon Upgrades (requires Weapon Upgrades V): 2% less powergrid needed for weapons per level
Primary Missile Skills and Specializations
Each class of missile has a skill that must be trained before the missile can be loaded and fired. Some missile classes also have a Specialization skill that gives access to T2 launchers and missiles. Most pilots train the primary skills for Rockets and Light Missiles at least to Level III first, and then move on to larger missiles and launchers as they move to larger ships, but you will want to advance according to your own needs. You can find a list of these skills at Skills:Missiles.
Launcher Support Skills
These skills apply to missile launchers. They increase firing rate and damage, and they improve the accuracy of missiles against smaller, faster targets. Missile Launcher Operation gives a 2% Bonus to missile launcher rate of fire per skill level, essentially a DPS bonus — and it is a prerequisite for most other missile skills — so train it first. Rapid Launch gives a 3% bonus to missile launcher rate of fire per level, another DPS increase that is worth training. You can find the full list of skills here Missile Launchers: Launcher Support Skills.
Other Skills
[Targeting]] skills — especially Signature Analysis, Target Management, and Long Range Targeting — are essential to the use of missile launchers. And since most missile ships depend on shield tanks, you might also want to beef up your basic shield skills: Shield Compensation, Shield Management, and Shield Operation. Navigation skills that improve the velocity or maneuverability of your ship will also be useful: Navigation, Evasive Maneuvering, Fuel Conservation, and High Speed Maneuvering.
Fitting Examples
You should regard the fits shown here as templates. They do not intend to tell you exactly what items will work best in your ship. Instead, they give you a set of items that other pilots have found useful, which you will probably have to juggle to fit your skills, strategy and experience. There are one or two examples here from each of the frigate, destroyer, cruiser, battlecruiser and battleship class. To see additional fits for a given ship, click on its name. For a full list of missile bonused ships, see Missile Ships.
Frigate Class
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Light Missile Launcher | Prefer T2 for higher rate of fire |
| 1 | Afterburner | |
| 1 | Small Shield Booster | Expends energy to provide a quick boost in shield strength. |
| 1 | EM Ward Amplifier | This adjusts for the lack of base EM shield resistance |
| 1 | Medium Shield Extender | |
| 1 | Damage Control | T2 is preferred |
| 1 | Power Diagnostic | +power, +shield and capacitor recharge rate |
| 0 | Drones | Kestrel has no drone capacity |
| 1 | Rig: Small Warhead Calefaction Catalyst | +missile damage, +cpu requirements for launchers |
| 1 | Rig: Small Bay Loading Accelerator | +rate of fire |
Caldari Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
- 5% bonus to Light Missile and Rocket damage
- 10% bonus to Light Missile and Rocket max velocity
With its bonuses and four launchers, the Kestrel is an excellent ship for Level I Missions. The four mid slots allow for a solid shield tank. This configuration can be set up with lower level equipment to match lower level skills and upgraded as skills improve.
Focus on:
- Missile Launcher Operation III - to get T2 Light Missile Launchers
- Hull Upgrades IV - to get T2 Damage Control
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Rocket Launcher | Prefer T2 for higher rate of fire |
| 1 | Afterburner | Prefer T2 for PvP |
| 1 | Medium Shield Booster | Ancillary version preferred because it uses Cap Booster Charges |
| 1 | Stasis Webifier | |
| 1 | Warp Scrambler | |
| 1 | Damage Control | T2 is preferred |
| 1 | Nanofiber Internal Structure | T2 preferred, +velocity, +maneuverability, -hull strength |
| 1 | Ballistic Control System | T2 preferred, +rate of fire, +damage |
| 2 | Drones | T2 Preferred, Hobgoblins often used for PvP |
| 1 | Rig: Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer | +EM resistance, +signature radius |
| 1 | Rig: Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer | +Thermal resistance, +signature radius |
| 1 | Rig: Small Core Defense Operational Solidifier | Reduces the duration of shield booster cycles, +signature radius |
Minmatar Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
- 5% bonus to Light Missile and Rocket rate of fire
- 7.5% bonus to Shield Booster amount
This fit builds on the bonus for Shield Booster. The two drones provide significant support for close-in PvP action with Rockets. Note that T2 drones require two level V drone skills ... a considerable investment. This fit is best for pilots who are thinking about using drones in larger ships later on.
The Ancillary Medium Shield Booster uses Cap Booster charges to power itself, thus reducing the draw on the ship's capacitor. This is an effective approach in PvP fights, which tend to be fairly short.
Focus on:
- Missile Launcher Operation III - to get T2 Rocket Launchers
- Hull Upgrades IV - to get T2 Damage Control
- Light Drone Operation V, Drones V - to get T2 drones
Destroyer Class
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Light Missile Launcher | T1 are fine here, look for a type that will improve firing rate |
| 1 | 1MN Microwarpdrive | Ship bonus reduces the signature radius penalty for microwarp |
| 1 | Medium Shield Booster | |
| 1 | Prototype Sensor Booster | Use the Targeting Range Script |
| 1 | Low Frequency Sensor Suppressor | |
| 1 | Damage Control | |
| 1 | Nanofiber Internal Structure | +velocity, +maneuverability, -hull strength |
| 1 | Ballistic Control System | +rate of fire, +damage |
| Missiles | Use Nova (explosive) missiles as the ship is bonused for them | |
| 1 | Rig: Small Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I | +missile velocity, increases cpu use by launchers |
| 1 | Rig: Small Auxiliary Thrusters | +max velocity, -armor amount |
| 1 | Rig: Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints | +agility, -armor amount |
Minmatar Destroyer bonuses (per skill level):
- 5% bonus to explosive Light Missile and Rocket damage
- 15% reduction in Microwarpdrive signature radius penalty
Role Bonus:
- 50% bonus to Light Missile and Rocket max velocity
This is a fleet build that is designed to deliver heavy damage from range while other ships tackle the targets. This is an inexpensive T1 fit that requires relatively low level skills. This is consistent with fleet combat in a ship that has little defense – if it blows up, you just replace it.
Note that two of the rigs focus on ship speed and maneuverability. This ship needs to be fast and nimble as it cannot stand to take much damage.
Focus on:
- Light Missile skills to improve damage and range
- Navigation skills to improve speed and maneuverability
Cruiser Class
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Heavy Missile Launcher | Prefer T2 for higher rate of fire |
| 1 | Afterburner | |
| 1 | Adaptive Invulnerability Field | T2 preferred |
| 1 | EM Ward Field | Adjusts for the lack of base EM shield resistance, T2 preferred |
| 2 | Large Shield Extender | |
| 2 | Compact Shield Power Relay | +shield recharge, -capacitor recharge |
| 2 | Ballistic Control System | T2 preferred, +rate of fire, +damage |
| 2 | Drones | T2 drones not required, but will help during missions |
| 3 | Rig: Medium Core Defense Field Purger | +shield recharge rate, +signature radius |
Caldari Cruiser bonuses (per skill level):
- 5% bonus to Rapid Light Missile, Heavy Missile and Heavy Assault Missile Launcher rate of fire
- 10% bonus to Light Missile, Heavy Missile and Heavy Assault Missile max velocity
This is an excellent ship for Level II Missions. It has an active shield tank, and once T2 Heavy Missile Launchers can be equipped, it does good damage without needing many other advanced skills.
Focus on:
- Heavy Missiles V - to get T2 Heavy Missile Launchers
- Tactical Shield Manipulation IV - to get T2 Invulnerability Field and EM Ward
Battlecruiser Class
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Heavy Assault Missile Launcher | Prefer T2 for higher rate of fire |
| 1 | Small Energy Neutralizer | Prefer T2, Drains part of the target ship's capacitor |
| 1 | 10 MN Microwarp Drive | |
| 2 | Adaptive Invulnerability Field | Prefer T2 |
| 1 | Large Shield Extender | Prefer T2 |
| 1 | Stasis Webifier | Prefer T2 |
| 1 | Warp Scrambler | Prefer T2 |
| 1 | Damage Control | T2 is preferred |
| 1 | Nanofiber Internal Structure | T2 preferred, +velocity, +maneuverability, -hull strength |
| 2 | Ballistic Control System | T2 preferred, +rate of fire, +damage |
| 1 | Damage Control | T2 is preferred |
| 1 | Power Diagnostic | +power, +shield and capacitor recharge rate, T2 Preferred |
| 5 | Drones | T2 Preferred, Hobgoblins often used for PvP |
| Missiles | Use kinetic damage for ship bonus, Faction or Advanced preferred | |
| 3 | Rig: Medium Core Defense Field Extender | +shield capacity, +signature radius |
Caldari Battlecruiser bonuses (per skill level):
- 4% bonus to all shield resistances
- 10% bonus to kinetic Heavy Missile and Heavy Assault Missile damage
Role Bonus:
- 25% bonus to Missile velocity
This fit builds on the bonus for Heavy Assault Missiles (HAMs) and Shield Resistance to create a fast, powerful tackler for fleet combat. It is an advanced ship, requiring a number of T2 components.
HAMs are short range, high damage missiles. Combined with this ship's large passive shield tank, they make for a strong, fast tackler that can also do considerable close in damage.
Focus on: this is an advanced fit that requires numerous skills. See the Drake ship page for a detailed list.
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Rapid Light Missile Launcher | Prefer T2 for higher rate of fire |
| 1 | Salvager I | Can be swapped for non-launcher weapon or other equipment |
| 1 | 10MN Afterburner | Prefer T2 |
| 1 | Target Painter | Easier to hit smaller, faster ships |
| 1 | Medium Ohm Capacitor Reserve | Increase capacitor storage |
| 1 | Drone Navigation Computer | Extends drone range |
| 1 | Damage Control | T2 is preferred |
| 1 | 1600mm Reinforced Steel Plates II | Armor |
| 1 | Medium I-a Polarized Armor Regenerator | Armor |
| 1 | Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II | Armor |
| 3 | Drone Damage Amplifier | Increases drone damage, stacking penalty |
| 20 | Combat Drones | Medium drones preferred |
| 2 | Salvage Drones | May be swapped for combat drones |
| 2 | Rig: Medium Drone Durability Enhancer | +drone defenses, -ship cpu |
| 1 | Rig: Medium Trimark Armor Pump | +armor hitpoints; -max velocity |
Amarr Battlecruiser bonuses (per skill level):
- 10% bonus to Drone hitpoints and damage
- 4% bonus to all armor resistances
Role Bonus: • Can fit Warfare Link modules
- 12.5% bonus to Drone microwarp velocity
This somewhat unusual fit builds on the ship's capacity and bonuses for drones, and on the fact that the ship has no particularly bonused weapons system. While you would expect an Amarr ship to use energy weapons, the Rapid Light Missile Launchers do not draw on the ship's capacitor, and they provide plenty of defense against smaller, faster PvE ships.
With medium combat drones, this fit works well for Level III Missions.
Focus on:
- Missile Launcher Operation III - to get T2 Rocket Launchers
- Hull Upgrades IV - to get T2 Damage Control
- Drones III, Medium Drone Operation I, - to get medium drones
Battleship Class
| # | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Cruise Launcher | Prefer T2 for higher rate of fire |
| 1 | Drone Link Augmentor | Increases drone control range |
| 1 | 100MN Afterburner | |
| 1 | X-Large Clarity Ward Booster | Expends energy to quickly boost shield strength |
| 2 | Adaptive Invulnerability Field | Increases shield resistance |
| 1 | Shield Boost Amplifier | T2 preferred, Improves the efficiency of shield boost modules, stacking penalties apply |
| 1 | EM Ward Amplifier | T2 preferred, boosts EM resistance - change damage type as needed |
| 1 | Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron | Makes targets easier to hit, stacking penalties apply |
| 1 | Damage Control | T2 is preferred |
| 1 | Power Diagnostic System | +power, +shield and capacitor recharge rate, T2 preferred |
| 1 | Ballistic Control System | +rate of fire, +damage, T2 preferred, stacking penalties apply |
| 10 | Drones | 5 Light, 5 Medium, T2 preferred |
| 1 | Rig: Large Capacitor Control Circuit | +capacitor recharge rate |
| 1 | Rig: Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst | Gives a bonus to missile explosion radius, increases cpu requirements for launchers |
Caldari Battleship bonuses (per skill level):
- 5% bonus to Rapid Heavy Missile, Cruise Missile and Torpedo Launcher rate of fire
- 10% bonus to Cruise Missile and Torpedo max velocity
With its bonuses and six launchers, the Raven is a popular ship for Level IV Missions. The mid slots allow for a solid passive shield tank. This configuration can be set up with lower level equipment to match lower level skills and upgraded as skills improve.
Focus on:
- Cruise Missiles V - to get T2 Cruise Launchers
- Light Drone Operation V and Medium Drone Operation V - to get T2 Drones
Specific Missile Weapons Systems
Because the numbers differ for each class of missile or launcher, the values listed in these charts are shown as approximate percentage variations from the Tech I Standard item. These will give you a clear picture of the differences between items. For the exact data needed in fitting, you should use the in game Compare Tool. (By the time you go to the Tool, you will usually be down to two or three items, and the comparison will be easy to set up.)
Item prices can vary dramatically from system to system, but typically, higher meta level gear is more expensive, and the most widely used gear is less expensive (because industrialists manufacture more of it). Meta levels vary from 1 to 10 and give a very rough estimate of the item's value in combat.
Missile Types
Within each class of missile different types vary a missile's Flight Time, Explosion Radius, Explosion Velocity and Base Damage. Specific type values are different for each class of missile - this chart shows the approximate percentage variation from the standard missile in each class.
| Name | Meta | Flight Time % | Velocity % | Explosion Radius % | Explosion Velocity % | Base Damage % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guristas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | + |
| Caldari Navy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ++ |
| Dread Guristas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +++ |
| Precision | 5 | --- | 0 | --- | +++ | 0 |
| Fury | 5 | -- | 0 | +++ | -- | +++ |
| Javelin | 5 | 0 | +++ | 0 | 0 | -- |
| Rage | 5 | 0 | --- | +++ | -- | +++ |
| "+" = up to 10%, "++" = 10 to 19%, "+++" = more than 19% / "-" = down to -10%, "--" = -10 to -19%, "---" = less than -19% | ||||||
Generally, Caldari Navy are widely used as a good cost/benefit trade-off. Advanced missiles (Fury, Precision, Javelin, Rage) are also used frequently as conditions dictate.
Launcher Types
In general, different types of launchers vary the firing rate, shots per load, and power grid and cpu requirements of the launcher. Specific values are different for each class of launcher - this chart shows the approximate percentage variation from the standard launcher in each class.
| Name | Meta | Firing Rate % | Shots per Load % | Power % | CPU % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard T I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Malkuth | 1 | + | ++ | 0 | ++ | |
| Limos | 2 | + | + | 0 | + | |
| TE-2100 | 3 | + | + | 0 | + | |
| Arbalest | 4 | ++ | ++ | 0 | ++ | |
| Tech II | 5 | ++ | +++ | -- | -- | |
| Gallows | 6 | + | 0 | ++ | ++ | |
| Domination | 7 | ++ | 0 | 0 | ++ | |
| Republic Fleet | 7 | ++ | +++ | 0 | ++ | |
| True Sansha | 7 | ++ | +++ | 0 | ++ | |
| Caldari Navy | 8 | +++ | + | ++ | -- | |
| Dread Gurista | 8 | +++ | + | ++ | -- | |
| "+" = up to 10%, "++" = 10 to 19%, "+++" = more than 19% / "-" = down to -10%, "--" = -10 to -19%, "---" = less than -19% | ||||||
As always in fitting, utility trades off against cost. There is little sense in fitting expensive equipment if you have a reasonable chance of losing the ship in combat. That said, it is fair to note that Arbalest are widely used as T1 launchers for pilots whose skills do not accommodate T2s.
Support Equipment
Modules
Launcher modules generally benefit damage, flight time, velocity and explosion effectiveness.
- Ballistic Control Systems: these are passive, low slot modules which increase missile damage and rate of fire. Stacking penalties apply. It is not unusual to see two or three of these in a larger missile ship.
- Missile Guidance Enhancers <not in Evelopedia>: these are active, mid slot modules that give bonuses to missile velocity, missile flight time, and explosion velocity; while shrinking the explosion radius. Stacking penalties apply.
- Missile Guidance Computers <not in Evelopedia>: these are active, scriptable, mid slot modules that give bonuses to missile velocity, missile flight time, and explosion velocity; while shrinking the explosion radius. Stacking penalties apply. (Using ‘Missile Precision Script’ or ‘Missile Range Script’ you can double either missile range and velocity OR explosion velocity and radius; while reducing the other by half.)
- Signal Amplifiers increase a ship's maximum target acquisition range. Stacking penalties apply.
- Target Painters increase the signature radius of a target and make it easier to hit. Stacking penalties apply.
Rigs
Missile Launcher Rigs come in four sizes, one for each launcher type. All have the penalty effect of increasing the amount of cpu that the ship's launchers require.
- Bay Loading Accelerator: +rate of fire, stacking penalties apply
- Hydraulic Bay Thrusters: +velocity, stacking penalties apply
- Rocket Fuel Cache Partition: +flight time
- Warhead Calefaction Catalyst: +damage, stacking penalties apply
- Warhead Flare Catalyst: effectively increases the explosion velocity
- Warhead Rigor Catalyst: reduces explosion radius
Targeting Rigs improve targeting range and effectiveness. All have the penalty effect of reducing shield capacity.
- Ionic Field Projector: +targeting range
- Targeting System Subcontroller: +targeting speed
Various Shield Rigs and/or Astronautic Rigs may be useful depending on your ship's vulnerabilities and your skills.
