Horde-Flying Logistics

This guide was written by Mithral DeFrense on 2018/10/17. Thanks for his great contribution for newbies doing logistics!

A Newbean's Guide to Flying Logistics

One thing you might have heard when a fleet is forming is “We need more logi pilots!” this is a common problem, and there’s something YOU can do about it! Ospreys look pretty bad ass now

Logistics, if you’ve played other MMOs, are healing ships. We’re repairing (or ‘repping’) the armor or shields of fleet-mates. This is *crucial* for many fleets, and having good logi means the hostiles have a much harder time killing our ships, and can be the biggest factor in a victory or loss. Moreover, it’s FUN. There’s more interaction, more decisions to make, more player-skill involved than just shooting the primary target.

To start, you don’t need much for skills, you really just need a few levels of “Shield Emission Systems”. It’s a quick train, and it’s already in the 14-day HORDE skillplan. With it trained, you can hop into the NBI Bantam you should have in your hangar already and help keep your fleet-mates from dying.

But how do you actually FLY logi?

It’s as easy as ABC:

During fleet form-up:

A is for Anchor: “Anchoring” is when you orbit, keep-at-range, or approach a specified fleet-mate, known as a Logi Anchor. This is usually specified during fleet form-up or just after you undock. If it’s not made clear what you should do, ask in comms or fleet-chat.
B is for Broadcasts: You need to setup your Fleet Broadcasts so you see “Need Shield” and “Need Armor” broadcasts. Click the “hamburger menu” in the upper-left of the Fleet window, go to “Configure Broadcasts” and make sure both of the above are checked. You may want to UN-check “Target” broadcasts, as those aren’t as important to you when you’re Logi. Feel free to color-code them however you like. Editors note: They now have an additional entry for 'Broadcast: Repair Target'

C - is for Configure Watch List: In the fleet-window, right-click on the Fleet’s FC - and click “Add to Watch List”. That’ll pop-up a window called the “Watch List,” with the FC’s name at the top, and a set of shield/armor/hull healthbars. The FC will call for pilots flying special ships to X-up in fleet-chat - add those folks to your watch list too. Add your fellow logi pilots to the list as well, if you have space on your watchlist. Logi takes care of their own. Editors note: They now have the ability to do two columns of watch list! Click the hamber menu in the top right of watch list!

C - is also for Comms and Chat Channel: (I know, I know, we’re tripling-up on C) Most of the time you’ll want to join the “Panfam Logi” channel ("DEF Logi" for DEF ops). You can search for that in the Add-Channel search box. Logi-specific questions can be asked there. Most fleets will have a separate Comms channel on Mumble, when you join-up let them know you’re new to Logi and they’ll help answer any questions you have. One major pointer: Whenever you speak in comms, talk in the third-person: "Mithral needs reps!" since we don't always recognize voices.

When you get into a fight:

A is for Anchor: Anchor up! Listen to the LA’s commands, and make sure you’re turning your prop-mod (afterburner or MWD) on or off as needed.
B is for Broadcasts: when pilots start getting shot, they’ll broadcast for shields - that’ll show-up in your Broadcast History list. Ctrl + Click to lock ‘em up, and get your shield-reppers going on them. (Make sure you don’t activate any guns or drones). Keep repping until they’re not taking damage anymore, or until someone else broadcasts. Keep an eye on your watchlist folks too, and rep them as needed.

Broadcasts also show the ship-type, so you can prioritize

C is for Capacitor: Logi repping eats up capacitor pretty fast. You’ll need to carefully watch how much you’ve got left. If you’re getting low, pop a cap booster, or cycle off some of your reppers. Managing capacitor is a big topic, and takes some experience to balance repping enough vs. running out of cap. That experience is best gained by flying logistics in fleets, so don’t be afraid to join up and learn by doing.

Remember, if you join a fleet and put some reps onto damaged ships, you’re helping, even if you don’t have great skills or are a little lost. So join fleets, ask questions, join fleets, read stuff, join fleets, ask more questions, and most importantly: join fleets.

Bonus Round: The Cap Chain!

If the FC calls for Ospreys or Augorors, you’ll need to do one extra and very important step: Get into the correct Cap Chain.

What the heck is a Cap Chain?

Ospreys ( and all Amarr and Caldari logi cruisers) get a big bonus to Capacitor transfer - so, they give more capacitor than it costs them! This leads to a neat strategy called the ‘Cap Chain’. Each of the logi pilots has a designated cap buddy, and upon landing out of warp, the first thing they do is lock up the cap buddy, and active their capacitor transfer module. The cap chain is setup so that A → B, B → C, C → A, forming a complete circle for all the logi in the fleet. Once formed, everyone will have very strong capacitor regeneration.

I know, I know, this all sounds complicated, but if you’ve read this far, I believe in you.

Here’s how you get into the Cap Chain:

Train a few levels of Capacitor Emission Systems
Join the “PanFam Logi” or "DEF Logi" channel as appropriate
- The MOTD will have a link to the “Horde T1 Cap Chain” channel - get in that sucker
Find your cap buddy(s): Once the fleet’s formed, look at the cap chain channel’s member-list:
- Ospreys and Augorors follow a “1-Up, 1-Down” protocol - the pilots ABOVE and BELOW your name are your cap-buddies, put one cap-module on each
- If you’re on the top or bottom of the list, the chain wraps around to the bottom/top
Add your cap-buddy(s) to your watch list, and color-code them so you can find them in a hurry
Anytime you’re not warping or jumping, target lock your cap buddy and active your cap transfer module
- Check that you’re getting cap too: There should be a little icon just above your ship’s capacitor that says who’s giving you cap
- You’ll need to re-lock and activate the module(s) EACH TIME you land

Getting the Cap chain setup right means the whole fleet will be more effective.

If you die, or are otherwise unable to join in your place in the cap chain, put a message in the cap chain channel, inform the Logi Mumble channel, and LEAVE the cap chain chat channel
When you land: Anchor-up, then get the cap chain going, and only then start repping broadcasts. If a few ships get killed, it’s not a big deal, but if the cap chain doesn’t work, or if the Logi-wing isn’t in the right place, the whole fleet can get blapped.
If you stop receiving cap, speak up! The fleetmate giving you cap may have died. Also, if your cap buddy dies, make sure you give cap to the next person in line.

Other pro-tips for Logi Pilots

Don’t worry about your drones when you’re new, focus on getting reps to the right people
Logistics pilots get targeted for DPS and harassment by the opposing fleet, you’re probably going to be jammed, sensor-damped, and just plain old blown-up
- Just remember it’s because Logi is a fantastically important job
- Re-ship if you can and get back into the fight
Keep the FC and the Logi anchor prelocked for faster repping
The Logi wing will often maneuver differently than the rest of the fleet, so follow the LA’s orders over the FC’s
Once the fleet has stood-down:
- Leave the Panfam Logi and any Cap Chain channels you joined
- Configure your broadcasts to NOT see shield/armor requests, you don’t want to DPS a friendly who needs repairs in the next fleet!