Supercarriers

A Supercarrier is a super capital-sized ship that technically falls into the Carrier grouping for skill purposes, though due to its immense size and scope is considered by most pilots to be in a class of its own. Supercarriers are the second-largest class of ship within EVE, only outclassed by Titans. The role of a supercarrier is generally three-fold: Logistical support, tactical support, and anti-capital offensive capabilities.

Role-Specific Bonuses

All supercarriers have definitive bonuses that allow them to fulfill their designated roles:

• Each can deploy 5 drones, plus an additional 3 drones per racial Carrier level.
• Can deploy fighters and/or fighter bombers if the pilot is properly skilled to do so instead of smaller drones.
• Are immune to standard forms of ship-based and station-based Electronic Warfare.[1]
• Can fit an ECM Remote Burst I
• Can fit 1 Command Link per level of racial Carrier without the need for Command Processors.

Race-Specific Bonuses

In addition, supercarriers are role-specific by the race in which they belong. The following benefits are listed by race, based on the pilot's racial Carrier skill:

• Amarr (Aeon): 5% bonus to all armor resistances per level, 50% bonus to Capital Energy Transfer and Capital Remote Armor Repair range per level
• Caldari (Wyvern): 5% bonus to all shield resistances per level, 50% bonus to Capital Energy Transfer and Capital Shield Transfer range per level
• Gallente (Nyx): 5% bonus to deployed Fighter and Fighter Bomber damage per level, 50% bonus to Capital Energy Transfer and Capital Remote Armor Repair range per level
• Minmatar (Hel): 5% bonus to Capital Armor Repair and Shield Transfer amount per level, 50% bonus to Capital Remote Armor Repair and Capital Shield Transfer range per level

General Use

Defensively, supercarriers are a field-changing asset. As each is designed to use capital logistics modules, they are often called in to repair player-owned stations after an initial assault. With their immunity to standard electronic warfare, webifying one is impossible, always allowing full sub-light maneuvering, an asset if a hostile force comes upon one while repairing POS structures.

Offensively, supercarriers are a powerful anti-capital ship asset. With a large number of fighter bombers deployed, capital ships take a brutal assault when swarmed by them. Carriers and dreadnaughts fall quickly to a supercarrier, while a similar suppercarrier or titan may take longer.

In addition to the fighter-bomber support a supercarrier offers, the ability to jam large sections of enemy forces lies in the supercarrier's ability to fit Projected ECM, in the form of a Remote ECM Busrt I. This module can jam large numbers of targets within a range. This jam is equal opportunity, however, so friendly forces caught in the burst are at risk to suffer the same effect. Used wisely, this can disrupt a large enemy force long enough to destroy a tactically strong ship on the board, break cap chains, and even allow a non-capital support fleet to gain the upper hand in a combat situation.

Weaknesses

As a negative note, the downsides to a supercarrier are enough to keep many pilots from flying one. The first, and largest, restriction is that you cannot dock a supercarrier. They are simply too large for stations and outposts to dock them. They have to be parked within a POS shield to be safe while not flying in one. This also means that repairs to supercarrier must be completed by module-based repairs, whether local modules or remote logistics.

Also, the immunity to standard electronic warfare has been somewhat overstated. Supercarriers cannot warp within interdiction bubbles, mobile warp disruption fields, and cannot warp while being tackled with a focused warp disruption generators. While a supercarrier is being suppressed by any of these, it also prevents the ship from activating its Jump Drive, effectively locking it down in system until it can destroy or outmaneuver the aggressive force.

Lastly, supercarriers cannot be constructed in stations or outposts, though capital components can be constructed in stations. To construct a suppercarrier, a capital ship assembly array must be anchored and deployed within a POS shield, inside a system where the station owner holds sovereignty. While this is the only method of construction, having one of these deployed can attract a lot of unwanted attention if detected.