Fitting missile launchers
The reason is: Fits hidden in tables, table with stats unclear with '+++', footnote to non-existing forum topic
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| Other Weapon Systems |
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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 all the general concepts in depth. If you are not completely clear as to how missile launcher 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 general Fitting Guidelines. The procedures 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 Ship 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.
The first two apply to the entire ship, and are probably the "best" fitting skills available. Train them to Level V as quickly as you can.
- CPU Management: 5% more CPU per level
- Power Grid Management: 5% more powergrid per level
These skills should be trained immediately to Level III, and higher as soon as that becomes feasible.
- 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
Because shields are commonly used to tank missile ships, this skill is often trained to a high level.
- Shield Upgrades: 5% less powergrid need for shield extenders, shield rechargers, 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 an advanced Specialization skill that gives access to T2 launchers and missiles. You can find a list of these skills at Skills: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 as they move to larger ships. Naturally you will want to advance according to your own needs — just keep in mind that skills interact, and that as you move your missile skills up, you many also want to increase your launcher and/or basic fitting skills to match.
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 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: especially Shield Compensation, Shield Management, and Shield Operation.
- Navigation skills that improve the velocity or maneuverability of your ship will also be useful: especially Navigation, Evasive Maneuvering, Fuel Conservation, and High Speed Maneuvering.
Fitting Examples
The best way to get a sense of what a good missile fit looks like is to inspect some examples. You should regard the fits shown here as templates. They do not intend to tell you precisely what items will work best in your particular ship. Instead, they give you a set of items that other pilots have found useful. You will probably have to juggle these 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. Click on a ship's name to go to its UniWIKI page and see additional fits. For a full list of missile bonused ships, see Missile Ships.
Frigate Class
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.
Kestral T1
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
1MN Afterburner I
Small Shield Booster I
EM Shield Amplifier I
Medium Shield Extender I
Damage Control I
Power Diagnostic System I
Small Warhead Calefaction Catalyst I
Small Bay Loading Accelerator I
- Caldari Frigate IV
- Missile Launcher Operation III
- Hull Upgrades IV
- Caldari Frigate should eventually go to V, but you can focus it to IV for the short term.
- Focus Missile Launcher Operation to III to upgrade to T2 Light Missile Launchers
- Focus Hull Upgrades to IV to get T2 Damage Control
This Breacher fit builds on the bonus for Shield Booster. The two drones provide significant support for close-in PvP action with Rockets. 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. Note that T2 drones require two level V drone skills ... a considerable investment. This fit is good for pilots who are thinking about using drones in larger ships later on.
Breacher PvP
Rocket Launcher I
Rocket Launcher I
Rocket Launcher I
1MN Afterburner I
Medium Shield Booster I
Stasis Webifier I
Warp Scrambler I
Damage Control I
Nanofiber Internal Structure I
Ballistic Control System I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Thermal Shield Reinifier I
Small Core Defense Operational Solidifier I
Hobgoblin II x 5
Destroyer Class
This Talwar 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.
Talwar Fleet fit
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
Light Missile Launcher I
5MN Microwarpdrive I
Medium Shield Booster I
F-90 Compact Sensor Booster
Remote Sensor Dampener I
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure I
Ballistic Control System I
Small Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I
Small Auxiliary Thrusters I
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints
Nova Light Missile
- Use Nova (explosive) missiles as the ship is bonused for them.
- The ship bonus reduces the signature radius penalty for microwarpdrive.
Cruiser Class
This Caracal is an excellent ship for Level II Missions. It has an passive shield tank, and once T2 Heavy Missile Launchers can be equipped, it does good damage without needing many other advanced skills.
Caracal Mission Fit
Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II
Heavy Missile Launcher II
10MN Afterburner I
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
EM Shield Hardener II
Large Shield Extender I
Large Shield Extender I
Mark I Compact Shield Power Relay
Mark I Compact Shield Power Relay
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
Hobgoblin I x 2
- Optimized for missions with a focus on shield tanking and missile damage. T2 equipment preferred where possible for increased effectiveness.
- Heavy Missiles to get T2 Launchers
- Tactical Shield Manipulation for T2 Invulnerability Field and EM Ward
Battlecruiser Class
This Drake 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.
Drake Fleet Tackle
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
10MN Microwarpdrive II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Large Shield Extender II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Power Diagnostic System II
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Hobgoblin II x 5
Scourge Fury Heavy Missile
- this is an advanced fit that requires numerous skills. See the Drake ship page for a detailed list.
This somewhat unusual fit builds on the Prohecy'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.
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Salvager I
10MN Afterburner II
Target Painter I
Medium Capacitor Booster II
Drone Navigation Computer I
Damage Control II
1600mm Steel Plates II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Multispectrum Energized Membrane II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Medium Drone Durability Enhancer I
Medium Drone Durability Enhancer I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Hammerhead II x 20
Salvage Drone I x 2
- Designed for flexibility in both PvE and PvP scenarios. Features a mix of T2 modules for optimized performance, with drones for additional firepower.
Battleship Class
With its bonuses and six launchers, the Raven is a popular ship for Level IV Missions. The mid slots allow for a solid active shield tank. This configuration can be set up with lower level equipment to match lower level skills and upgraded as skills improve.
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Cruise Missile Launcher II
Drone Link Augmentor I
100MN Afterburner II
X-Large Shield Booster II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Shield Boost Amplifier II
EM Shield Amplifier II
Target Painter II
Damage Control II
Power Diagnostic System II
Ballistic Control System II
Large Capacitor Control Circuit I
Large Warhead Rigor Catalyst I
Hobgoblin II x 5
Hammerhead II x 5
- Cruise Missiles to V to get T2 launchers
- Light and Medium Drones to V to get the T2 variants. Note you also need to train the relevant drone specialization to at least I.
- Swap out the EM Shield amplifier to whatever type of enemy you are facing.
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 departures 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 the powergrid 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
Which of the equipment that enhances missiles and missile launchers you choose to use is highly dependent not only on your skills and ship characteristics, but also on your combat goals. If you are fitting a ship to attack large targets as a fleet sniper, you want entirely different equipment than if you are fitting a ship to kill small, fast PVE targets while flying a drone boat. That said, Ballistic Control Systems, which improve general damage, are probably the most widely used supporting modules. Warhead Calefaction Catalyst and Bay Loading Accelerator are arguably the most widely used rigs.
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: 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: 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 targeting speed. 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.
Footnotes and References
- ^ See this EUNI Forum post.
