Brawling Assault Frigates
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Brawling Assault Frigates
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Brawling T2 Assault Frigates are largely a direct upgrade on the Magic Merlins and Golden Horde T1 Shield/Armor brawling frigate doctrines. Indeed, they fly so similarly that rather than a separate doctrine, they should be seen rather as “upgrade” options for those doctrines, and mixed fleets of T1 and T2 frigates designed in this way can be a great way to get the firepower and effectiveness of a T2 fleet, while still including newer players |
Implementation
Like their T1 variants, the Assault Frigate Brawlers aim to close range fast, get under the guns of larger ships, and devastate them with close range weapons. In general, all Assault Frigates offer a substantial, and direct upgrade on T1 ships for this purpose, offering:
- A reduced signature radius bonus which makes them even harder for big ships to hit
- Notable increases in tank and DPS
- Excellent resist profile, which lets them scale very well with Logi, particularly T2 Frigate Logi
This is obviously at the cost of a substantial increase in price and SP requirements. Below, we run through some common fits for both Armor, and Shield variants, which are often used to upgrade Golden Horde and Magic Merlins respectively, as well as being run as distinct doctrines
Armor Assault Brawlers
The armor variants of the Assault Frigate Brawlers are almost ideally designed for brawling fleets such as this, and gangs of Enyos with Deacon support can be seen engaging effectively across the game, even in Sov Null Sec
The Enyo and the Retribution are arguably the preferred options here. The Enyo for its double damage bonus to Hybrid turrets, and the Retribution for its huge tank and decent pulse laser damage. The Wolf is also a solid option in an Armor tanking AC form, however tends to carry slightly less tank and DPS than the other two ships
Enyo - Armour AssFrigs
Light Electron Blaster II
Light Electron Blaster II
Light Electron Blaster II
Light Electron Blaster II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
400mm Steel Plates II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
'Refuge' Adaptive Nano Plating I
Small Anti-Explosive Pump I
Small Ancillary Current Router I
Hobgoblin II x1
Void S x2000
Null S x2000
Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S x2000
Wolf - Armour AssFrigs
150mm Light AutoCannon II
150mm Light AutoCannon II
150mm Light AutoCannon II
150mm Light AutoCannon II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier
400mm Rolled Tungsten Compact Plates
Dark Blood Energized Explosive Membrane
Gyrostabilizer II
Coreli A-Type Kinetic Plating
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Hail S x2000
Barrage S x2000
Republic Fleet EMP S x2000
Republic Fleet Fusion S x2000
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S x2000
Retribution - Armour AssFrigs
Dual Light Pulse Laser II
Dual Light Pulse Laser II
Dual Light Pulse Laser II
Dual Light Pulse Laser II
Warp Disruptor II
5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Heat Sink II
200mm Steel Plates II
'Refuge' Adaptive Nano Plating I
'Refuge' Adaptive Nano Plating I
Small Anti-Thermal Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Scorch S x4
Conflagration S x4
Imperial Navy Multifrequency S x4
The Ishkur and Vengeance can still be used, but are less effective in this format. The Ishkur’s bonus to drone bay space is of minimal practical use, and the Vengeance uses rockets as its primary weapons system, where the advantage of selectable damage type isn’t enough to overcome the largely poor damage output
Armor Support
If you are fielding the cost of T2 DD ships, it makes sense to match them with T2 Logistics, which are a costly but substantial upgrade on the T1 variants. The Deacon is the preferred choice – its armor resist bonus both increases its tank, while also increasing the effectiveness of friendly repairs, making it twice as effective in practice as the Thalia’s signature radius bonus which merely reduces incoming damage.
Deacon - Armor AFs
Small Remote Armor Repairer II
Small Remote Armor Repairer II
Small Solace Scoped Remote Armor Repairer
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Small Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
'Refuge' Adaptive Nano Plating I
Damage Control II
400mm Rolled Tungsten Compact Plates
True Sansha Energized Thermal Membrane
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Small Trimark Armor Pump I
Light Armor Maintenance Bot I x1
Nanite Repair Paste x50
Navy Cap Booster 400 x20
While a Command Destroyer is a nice optional extra for a T1 fleet due to its cost, once you start fielding 50mn ISK+ T2 ships, a 100mn ISK Command Destroyer becomes much more palatable, especially given its ability to drastically boost your fleet’s performance
Double Burst Magus
Armor Command Burst II
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II
Skirmish Command Burst II
1MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Micro Jump Field Generator
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
Dark Blood Adaptive Nano Plating
Corpii B-Type Explosive Plating
Damage Control II
400mm Rolled Tungsten Compact Plates
Small Command Processor I
Small Trimark Armor Pump II
Hobgoblin II x3
Warrior II x5
Hammerhead II x2
Barrage S x2400
Armor Energizing Charge x300
Rapid Repair Charge x300
Armor Reinforcement Charge x300
Evasive Maneuvers Charge x300
Rapid Deployment Charge x300
Shield Assault Brawlers
Shield Assault frigates are more rarely used for brawling, as no ship in the lineup is fully optimized for it, while the signature radius reduction bonus for Assault Frigates is less effective when tied to shield tanks which unavoidably carry large signature radius anyway
However even ignoring certain hull bonuses, these ships remain an upgrade on T1 Magic Merlins, and can be a fun upgrade option for higher skilled players
The Harpy and Jaguar are the preferred options. The Hawk suffers from the same rocket based damage as the Vengeance, while the Wolf is more of a natural armor tanking ship with only 2 mid slots
Harpy AssFrig
Light Electron Blaster II
Light Electron Blaster II
Rocket Launcher II
Light Electron Blaster II
Light Electron Blaster II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Medium Shield Extender II
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
Damage Control II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer II
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer II
Void S x2400
Null S x2400
Federation Navy Antimatter Charge S x2400
Caldari Navy Mjolnir Rocket x150
Caldari Navy Nova Rocket x150
Jaguar AssFrig
200mm AutoCannon II
200mm AutoCannon II
200mm AutoCannon II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Medium Shield Extender II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Small Anti-Kinetic Screen Reinforcer II
Small Anti-Explosive Screen Reinforcer II
Barrage S x1080
Republic Fleet EMP S x1080
Republic Fleet Fusion S x1080
Shield Support
Both T2 logistics ships are viable, however the Kirin tends to be preferred for its shield resist bonus rather than the Scalpel’s sig radius bonus. It does require good skills to maintain cap stability however
Cheap MWD
Small Remote Shield Booster II
Small Remote Shield Booster II
Small Remote Shield Booster II
Small Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I
EM Ward Amplifier II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Medium Shield Extender II
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Warrior II x1
Navy Cap Booster 400 x2080
Of the Command Destroyers, if you aim to use purely shield tanking boosts, then either Stork or Bifrost is fine. The Bifrost offers an additional skirmish boost bonus, which gives you the flexibility to include sig tanking or speed boosts to your fleet however, so it may be preferred, depending on your presence for command bursts
Support Bifrost
Arbalest Compact Light Missile Launcher
Arbalest Compact Light Missile Launcher
Shield Command Burst II
Skirmish Command Burst II
Micro Jump Field Generator
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
5MN Microwarpdrive II
Republic Fleet Medium Shield Extender
Republic Fleet Medium Shield Extender
Damage Control II
Co-Processor II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Small Command Processor I
Small Core Defense Field Extender II
Active Shielding Charge x1
Shield Harmonizing Charge x1
Shield Extension Charge x1
Evasive Maneuvers Charge x1
Interdiction Maneuvers Charge x1
Rapid Deployment Charge x1
