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This guide provides general information and recommendations for T1 ships of a single player faction.

For more advanced and in-depth information on specific ships refer to EVE ships. This guide simply gathers the characteristics and overview of racial lineups in an easy to browse format for the very new player.

10 reasons to fly Amarr

Amarr is the best because it is. You can't argue with simple truth.
Freak'n LAZORS!!!
Men armour tank. Shields or whatever is the red bar above your manly tank.
Amarr discovered how to jump around space. So everyone else would be stuck on boring planets without us anyways.
Did anyone mention the freak'n lazors?
There is no six and this is because we Amarr decided it would be that way.
Symmetry anyone?
Have you seen the Amarr Battleship lineup? If you were locked at the time then not for long.
We haz Lazors.
Amarr have enslaved every other race they have encountered. 'Nuff said.

Amarr General Information

The Amarrian Empire is one of the four playable empires (Jovians are NPC & GM only) and, like the others, has a distinct line of ships with specific quirks and abilities.

The Amarr lineup is characterized by the following:

Armour tanking. This is the most popular tanking method for PvP and is also common for Gallentean ships and some Minmatari ships (making it the standard for Remote Repairing). Amarrian ships have high base armour and several ships have direct bonuses to armour resistances (Tech 1 examples: Punisher, Maller, Prophecy, and Abaddon).

Energy turrets. These are the standard for Amarrian vessels in the same way that Gallente and Caldari tend to use Hybrid turrets (although Caldari make greater use of missiles) while the Minmatar make extensive use of Projectile turrets (as well as quite a lot of missiles). Energy turrets (more usually 'lasers') offer an excellent combination of range, tracking and damage when compared with projectile or hybrid turrets. As is typical, there are two variants; a longer range version with lower damage potential and poorer tracking - Beam Laser - and a shorter range version with good tracking and higher damage - Pulse Laser. Frequency crystals, the Energy ammo type, can be changed instantly and Tech 1 crystals are unlimited ammunition as they do not degrade like Faction or Advanced Tech 2 variants. Unfotunately this all comes at a price; there is no variation on damage types and Energy turrets are hungry beasts! All lasers will do some mix of Electromagnetic and Thermal damage (primarily EM) and use large amounts of energy when fired as well as tending to be quite demanding on a hull's powergrid.

Large Capacitors. Amarrian pilots rely heavily on their capacitors; lasers are heavy on the capacitor to such a degree that some Amarrian hulls have a bonus that decreases capacitor usage of Energy turrets rather than a damage bonus (such hulls are prime candidates for fitting another weapon system if you have cross-trained). Thus Amarrian hulls tend to have larger capacitors than the hulls of the other empires and many Amarrian pilots prioritize capacitor skills (which is recommended).

Drones. Amarrian hulls have some of the best drone using hulls outside of the Gallentean hull line-up, including the only hulls with drone bonuses that are not Gallentean.

(Lack of) Speed. Amarrian ships tend to have lower than average base speeds, fit armour plates which further reduce their base speed and agility and are usually short of 'mids' to put Afterburners or Micro-Warp drives in, while 'lows' are already packed with tank modules or weapon upgrades. At the cost of tanking potential (or damage, perhaps both), a typical Amarrian hull's numerous low slots can be used to out-compete even Minmatar ships, however.

Electronic Warfare. The primary form of Amarrian electronic warfare is Tracking Disruption, which reduces the optimal range, falloff and tracking speed of turrets fitted to the target. Scripts can also be used to make the module more effective at either reducing the tracking or reducing the range of the turret, at the cost of not affecting the other. Tracking disruption is fairly difficult to counter but limited in application as it affects only turrets. The secondary form is Capacitor Warfare but bonuses to this are only found on Tech 2 hulls, which are beyond the scope of this guide.

PvP

Amarrian ships have been the proverbial PvP 'flavour of the month' for a lot longer than a month and can be extremely useful in nearly any role. Exceptional armour tanks, large capacitors and a combination of good damage and range make Amarrian ships a firm favourite for PvP, though fits with shield tanks or alternate weapon systems see extensive use.

Note, however, that the E-UNI starting PvP roles of tackler and E-War can be difficult for new Amarrian pilots as their hulls lack medium slots, overall and the E-War frigate is only effective with significant training. The Punisher is quite slow while the Executioner is very fragile and Tracking Disruption has no effect on ships that rely on missiles or drones for their damage output.

Amarrian ships tend to stick to the formula of lots of armour for defence and lots of lasers for damage with fewer 'exceptions to the rule' than in other empires' line-ups. As a result Amarrians are sometimes said to be the simplest race to fly, since what worked for you on a frigate will probably work for you on your cruiser but with larger and more modules. There are some good candidates for 'breaking the mould' (Punisher fitted with Autocannon turrets is a classic) but they are more skill intensive and often require extensive cross-training. New pilots are likely best served by playing to the Amarrian formula until they know when and how to break the rules.

PvE

Amarrian ships are more restricted when running missions than the other races. Within Amarr space, against the Blood Raiders and Sansha's Nation factions, Amarrian ships are probably the most effective of all (as is typical with the other empires). However, lasers only do Thermal and Electromagnetic damage, so other factions are more difficult to combat than would be the case for pilots from the other empires fighting in Amarrian space. This is a concern for some Eve University pilots who want to try missioning close to home, as the University is based in Minmatari space where Angels are the common faction but there are effective solutions, such as the Arbitrator (which relies on drones and could carry another empire's drones with proper training) or using alternative turret weapons systems (such as a Punisher with projectile turrets).

Amarr Skills General Information

The skills which are important to Amarr characters are the same skills which are crucial to every pilot who wants to use the same basic systems. There is already good information on Basic Skills and Support Skills elsewhere. So if you want maximize turret weapon damage you will train the same skills as other projectile or hybrid users (but pay particular attention to Controlled Bursts and Sharpshooter). Similarly the skills are the same for all pilots who want to survive with an armour tank, or use drones effectively, and all of this backed up by solid support and fitting skills (prioritize the capacitor skills Energy Systems Operation and Energy Management highly).

Here are a couple skill sets to consider as goals:

Tech 2 Tank

Here are the skills and prerequisites you will need to utilise a Tech 2 Armour Tank - something you will want to aspire to if you plan to PvP or Mission as an Amarr pilot.

Tech 2 Armour Tank Skills
Hull Upgrades at level V Mechanic at level V Repair Systems at level IV Jury Rigging at level III Armor Rigging at level I

You will want to learn the compensation skills to a minimum of 3, and preferably higher, to maximize your tank.

Armour Compensation Skills
EM Armor Compensation Explosive Armor Compensation Kinetic Armor Compensation Thermic Armor Compensation

Tech 2 Energy Turrets

Here are the skills and prerequisites you will need to utilise a Tech 2 Energy Turret - because that means more pew pew!

Each type of Energy Turret requires a specific specialization skill. Note that each larger size specializations will incorporate the smaller size specialization with all its prerequisites. Here they are with applicable prerequisites:

Beam Lasers
Small Beam Laser Specialization Small Energy Turret V Sharpshooter III Medium Beam Laser Specialization Small Beam Laser Specialization IV Medium Energy Turret V Sharpshooter IV Large Beam Laser Specialization Medium Beam Laser Specialization IV Large Energy Turret V Sharpshooter V

Pulse Lasers
Small Pulse Laser Specialization Small Energy Turret V Motion Prediction III Medium Pule Laser Specialization Small Pulse Laser Specialization IV Medium Energy Turret V Motion Prediction IV Large Pulse Laser Specialization Medium Pulse Laser Specialization IV Large Energy Turret V Motion Prediction V

Progression

A classic progression of Amarr ships would be to train for the Punisher, move to the Omen, skill up a Harbinger, and then move into battleships. This is certainly an effective way to go and puts the most emphasis on hard hitting lasers and hefty armour tanks. Unfortunately the Omen is a bit of a weak link in the chain as it is very difficult to fly well without high skills. But for minimum deviation straight to large ship excellence this can work.

Alternatives exist however. If the pilot wants to focus on EWAR, then laser skills can be replaced with drone skills and the path can go from Crucifier to Arbitrator as a stepping off point for Tech 2 EWAR ships (Sentinel, Curse and Pilgrim). Or for the truly different the Inquisitor leads to the Khanid line of Tech 2 short range missile ships (Vengeance and Sacrilege for damage together with other support ships like the Malediction or Heretic).

Cross Training

Cross training into or out of Amarr can be quite skill intensive. The most viable prospect is probably Gallente (armour tanking, gunnery and drone synergies) with Minmatar second (some gunnery and armour tanking synergies). Caldari have the fewest skills in common, despite Khanid missile ships at the Amarr Tech 2 level, and could require the most retraining.