Fitting a Tackle Frig
In a fleet situation, there are three key tackle frigate roles:
First Tackle
First tackle needs Microwarpdrive, long point (warp disruptor, preferably tech 2), and speed. Squeeze in some tank if you have slots free. Your job is to be first on the scene with tackle and point the bad guys so that they can't warp away. This will also make you their primary target, and your MWD sig bloom will make sig / speed tanking harder. Any guns or rockets you can squeeze on are for anti-drone work; damage dealing is not your job.
This role is often filled by an interceptor, but a skilled pilot can do it in a T1 frig or assault frigate. Of the T1 frigs, the attack frigates (Executioner, Condor, Atron and Slasher) are the best choices.
Second Tackle
In a fleet situation, this is "everyone else". Second tackle's role is to grab the ship tackled by first tackle and slow it down so the heavier ships can join the fun.
To fly second tackle, you will need Microwarpdrive, web, and scram. The rest should be given over to tank. Speed mods aren't really necessary, since you should be fast enough to catch anything worth tackling anyway. Once two or three second tacklers have the ship, it is basically dead in the water and the heavier ships can either catch up or tac-warp to the tacklers.
Second tackle needs to be very careful when engaging battleships. Tech 2 smartbombs have a 6km range; if you get inside 6km, expect to activate a new med clone. A tech 2 warp scrambler has a 7.5km effective range; when flying second tackle, set your default "orbit" distance to 6.5km and use this against battleships until you have confirmed that they are not smartbomb fit. Against anything else, closer is usually better, with your MWD off.
Second tackle only needs to be cap stable with your just your scrambler running. 1-2 minutes of MWD is more than enough to reach engagement range or die trying.
Heavy Tackle
In a UNI fleet, close range brawler BC and BS should have their own point and/or scram to hold their prey in place. Once these are applied, second tackle can stay on target or go looking for other targets.
Gate Tackle
The third tackle frig role is not "third tackle", but "gate tackle". Gate tackle is a specialised form of first tackle, where the emphasis is not on speed but on lock time. Third tackle should fit at least one Sensor Booster, and might also receive Remote Sensor Boosting from fleet-mates. Some speed is useful in case the target tries to burn out of range, but not all important as it is for first tackle. Tank can also be lighter, as you are operating with the rest of the fleet; your job is simply to get a lock and point as fast as possible so the target cannot warp off, and then the rest of the first tackle locks them down.
Some gates, such as regional gates, are particularly large, and often require two or three gate tacklers to completely cover them. T2 warp disruptors and sensor boosters are the primary skill requirements for a gate tackler.
Key skills
The following skills can make or break a tackle frigate pilot:
- Propulsion Jamming II: this is required for tech 2 warp scrammers and warp disruptors - the extra range makes a huge difference. Level IV is required for tech 2 webs.
- High Speed Maneuvering I: required for a meta microwarpdrive (or a T1 variant, but the meta2 variant is much better and very cheap)
- Thermodynamics (requires Engineering V, Energy Management III, Science IV): overheat your points for extra range, and MWD for extra speed. If you're a first line tackle and your long point is not overheated (at least until you have snared the bad guys), you're doing it wrong.
For gate tackle, add:
- Long Range Targeting I, IV: required for tech 1 / tech 2 sensor boosters
- Signature Analysis: improves lock times
Afterburners?
You might notice that none of these fits feature afterburners. Afterburners are great for duelling, where the extra speed in close can be the difference between life and death. In a fleet situation, the tackle frigate's job is not to get in close and deal damage, it is to catch and stop bad guys so the heavier ships can deal damage. For the "catch" bit, MWD is much better. Leave the afterburners for the destroyer pilots or solo engagements.
Tackle Frig Tactics
Tac Warps
A ships can initiate warp to any friendly ship that is at least 150km away. Once you are 150km away from the main fleet, they can initiate warp using you as a reference point. Note, however, that they do not have to warp to you. The shortest distance that a ship can warp is a mere 50km, by warping to 100km from a beacon 150km away.
This leads to another trick for tackle frigates. If you are not actively engaging a pointed target, consider burning directly away from it - in a direction opposite your heavier ships - until you are at least 150km from the main fleet. This allows those ships to "warp at range" to you, and hopefully land directly on top of the tackled target. This requires some co-ordination; it's no point everyone burning away and no-one staying to apply point / web / scram.
Gate Timers
Once you commit a hostile act, you cannot use jump gates (or dock) for 60 seconds. A canny target with sufficient tank can stop aggressing, wait out their timer, and then jump through the gate and get away. To prevent this happening, most FCs will reserve a small number of tacklers that do not aggress, so that they also can go through the gate and engage any target attempting to flee. Often these tacklers are sent through first, so they can take up position ready to catch a fleeing ship.
In this situation, tank can be important. In the worst case, you might need to hold a hostile ship for the full sixty seconds while your allies' timers expire, plus another 10 or so while they jump and load grid.
More On Tackling
- Way of the Tackler by Azual Skoll
- Tackling 101
