Warp disruption
- Main article: Tackling Guide
Warp disruption, warp jamming, or warp scrambling is the act of preventing a ship from using its warp drive to enter warp, and therefore prevents ships from avoiding or escaping an engagement. Warp disruption can be caused/achieved through the use of several modules/pieces of specialized equipment. It is essential to have good understanding of their function, their advantages and limitations. Players are very likely to encounter the use of such modules/equipment in PvP as well as PvE.
If a ship is warp disrupted, it cannot use its warp drive. However, unless specified otherwise, warp disruption does not prevent a ship from jumping through a gate, docking at a station, or using an afterburner (some disruption also shuts down micro warp drives and micro jump drives, but not all).
Modules
The most common method of warp disruption by far is through the use of two different mid-slot modules (and their respective meta variations). These two modules share several very important characteristics.
- They cause warp disruption of target ship only if their strength (or combined strength of all modules used against target ship) is greater than the target ship's warp strength. With the exception of few a ships like the Venture, the base warp strength of all ships is “0” and can be increased through the use of low-slot modules called Warp Core Stabilizers (“Stabs”).
- Use of these modules is considered aggression and will trigger all actions/timers associated with it.
- Their range can be significantly increased by overheating, fleet boosting or when used on specialized ships, like the fleet interceptors of any race or Gallente recon cruisers and electronic attack ships.
Warp Disruptor
Sometimes called a “point” (especially during fleet communication) and has the warp strength of “1”. The meta 0 module has a range of 20 km (24 km for tech II module).
- long range
- high capacitor usage and fitting cost
- 1 point of warp scramble strength
Warp Scrambler
Sometimes referred to as “scram” (especially during fleet communication) and has the warp strength of “2”. The meta 0 module has a range of 7.5 km (9 km for tech II module). The use of warp scrambler also shuts down the MWD module of target ship (slowing it down as a side-effect).
- short range
- low capacitor usage and fitting cost
- disables micro warp drive and micro jump drive on target
- 2 points of warp scramble strength
Specialized
Interdictors
- Main article: Interdictor
Interdictors are tech II destroyers which have the capability to fit a specialized module called an “Interdiction Sphere Launcher”, which can launch warp disrupt probes. Such probes create interdiction bubbles/spheres which are 20 km in diameter and sharing the same characteristic as warp disruption fields (described below). They are different in two key aspects:
- They cannot be targeted.
- They last 120 seconds after which they disappear.
Heavy Interdictors
Heavy interdictors are tech II cruisers which have the capability to fit a specialized module called a “Warp Disruption Field Generator”. This module (while having several adverse effects on the ship that it is used on - please consult the in-game description of this module) creates a warp disruption sphere 16 km in diameter which is centered upon the ship for its entire duration. As it is a ship's module, the field cannot be attacked short of blowing up the heavy interdictor. This field shares characteristic with “bubbles” (described below). The module does not target other ships (unless scripted, see below) and can therefore be activated instantly after de-cloaking, making it an excellent "surprise" bubble. It is also unaffected by electronic warfare like ECM or sensor dampening.
The "Warp Disruption Field Generator" module can also be loaded with “Focused Warp Disruption” script considerably changing its characteristics. When loaded this module no longer creates a sphere, but works like a “standard” warp disruptor module in that it can be used only on one target. This script also allows the use of this module in Empire space. It also ignores any attribute of the target ship making it otherwise immune to warp disruption – known as “infinity point”. Thus, it is the only way of tackling a capital ship in low security space.
Warp Disruption Field
Because of its appearance, warp disruption fields are commonly referred to as "bubbles". Warp disruption fields are deployable objects of several sizes and variants, differentiated from one another by diameter, amount of HP, and anchoring delay. When carried to a site and anchored they create a warp disruption sphere, preventing warping within its area. As it is an object in space it can be targeted and destroyed. All kinds of “bubbles” share common characteristic features:
- They cannot be used in Empire space. Their use is therefore limited to 0.0 and WH space.
- Any ships within its area of effect cannot initiate warp, and capital ships cannot use their jump drives.
- Ships warping nearby may be “dragged” out of warp. Imagine a line along which you travel to your destination and project that line beyond your destination. If such line intersects with a bubble anywhere less than 100 km from your final destination you will be either stopped or dragged to the edge of such bubble. (Yes! Dragged beyond your destination! Bubbles situated in this way are commonly referred to as drag bubbles.) Looking at the diagram below you can see what trajectories make you susceptible to being dragged by a bubble – as long as your final destination is less than 100 km from the intersection of your trajectory with a bubble (otherwise you will fly right through a bubble as if it wasn't there).
- Bubbles will influence you only if they are online when you enter warp. This means that if a bubble is placed (or a Warp Disruptor probe launched, or Warp Disruption Field Generator activated) at your destination after you entered warp you can land right in the middle of it rather than landing on the edge.
