Turrets

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Most pilots use at least one of Eve's three kinds of turret. This page explains the varieties of turret and ammunition available in Eve. If you want to delve into the mathematics of gunnery in Eve, see this wiki's page on Turret Damage, and if you want to learn how gunnery works without having to study the mathematical detail, see the Gunnery Guide.

Overview

There are three kinds of turret in Eve:

  • hybrid turrets
  • projectile turrets
  • energy turrets (lasers)

Each type can be further broken down into a set of long-ranged turrets which deal high damage-per-shot ('volley', 'alpha') but low damage-per-second (DPS), and a set of short-ranged turrets with lower alpha but high DPS. Hybrid turrets, for example, are either railguns (long-ranged, low DPS) or blasters (short-ranged, high DPS).

Tech 2 turrets, particularly large and medium ones, require considerable training time. The long-ranged and short-ranged varieties of Tech 2 turrets require separate skills -- returning to hybrid turrets, for example, you need Small Blaster Specialization to use small T2 blasters but Small Railgun Specialization to use small T2 railguns.

Each of the three kinds of turret comes in four sizes:

  • small (mounted on frigates and destroyers)
  • medium (mounted on cruisers and battlecruisers)
  • large (mounted on battleships)
  • extra-large (mounted on capital and supercapital ships)

Ammunition

Each of the three kinds of turret has a selection of types of ammunition (using 'ammunition' loosely -- energy turrets load crystals). Ammunition comes in four sizes matching the four sizes of turret (S, M, L and XL).

Faction ammo is also available (for example, Republic Fleet Fusion S instead of normal Fusion S). Faction ammo is expensive but gives you more DPS. Generally speaking it is useful in PvP but rarely cost-effective in PvE. University pilots are allowed to use faction ammo during wartime, unlike other faction equipment, and if they are flying as damage-dealers and can afford it, they are encouraged to load it.

Tech 2 turrets can use Tech 2 ammo. Each type of turret has four associated kinds of T2 ammo, two varieties of T2 ammo for T2 short-ranged turrets and two for Tech 2 long-ranged turrets. Using hybrid turrets as an example once again, T2 blasters can load:

  • normal hybrid ammo
  • faction hybrid ammo
  • or two types of T2 blaster ammo (Void and Null)

While T2 railguns can load:

  • normal hybrid ammo
  • faction hybrid ammo
  • or two types of T2 railgun ammo (Spike and Javelin)

T2 ammo is designed to be give you extra tactical options or to be useful in specific situations -- it is not always better than T1 or faction ammo.


Hybrid Turrets

Hybrid turrets fire charged projectiles at the enemy using magnetic fields -- using energy, like lasers, but firing solid projectiles, like projectile guns, hence their hybridity.

In practice this means that they use capacitor when they fire (like lasers, though they are less cap-hungry than lasers). Pilots who use hybrid turrets will want to have good capacitor skills and to train Controlled Bursts to support their guns' requirements. Hybrid turrets also have to be regularly reloaded with fresh ammunition (like projectile guns).

Hybrid turrets can only do kinetic and thermal damage.

The two kinds of hybrid turret are:

  • Blasters, which have (very) short ranges and deal (very) high DPS; and
  • Railguns, which have (very) long-ranges and deal less DPS.

Many Gallente ships and some Caldari ships use hybrid turrets as their primary weapon. The Gallente ships tend to be more suited to blasters and the Caldari ships more suited to railguns, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule, as any pilot who flies a sniping rail'thron or a blaster Rokh will tell you.

The lowslot Magnetic Field Stabilizer module increases hybrid turrets' damage and rate of fire.

Hybrid Ammo

There are eight kinds of standard Tech 1 hybrid ammo. They all do a mixture of kinetic and thermal damage (the proportion varies).

Each ammunition type has a different range modifier, does a different amount of damage and uses a different amount of your capacitor when fired. The better the range, the lower base damage the ammo deals, creating a sliding scale from short-ranged, high-damage Antimatter to long-ranged, low-damage Iron.

This table lists the standard Tech 1 kinds of hybrid ammo, from shortest-ranged to longest. You can also see the different ammunition types' effects on your turrets' cap requirements. The range modifiers in these tables apply to optimal range. The numbers for damage are raw figures for the 'Small' ammo size, Medium is 2x greater, Large is 4x greater, and Extra Large is 8x greater.

Name Range Mod. Cap. Need Mod. Kinetic Thermal
Antimatter -50% 0% 7 5
Plutonium -37.5% -5% 6 5
Uranium -25% -8% 6 4
Thorium -12.5% -40% 5 4
Lead 0% -50% 5 3
Iridium 20% -24% 4 3
Tungsten 40% -27% 4 2
Iron 60% -30% 3 2

The two Tech 2 ammunition types for blasters are Null and Void (har har). Void is rarely used, while Null is sometimes loaded by blaster-equipped pilots who can't get close to their target or who need to skirmish. The effects of these ammo types on range, tracking speed, and capacitor need is given in the following table:

Name Optimal Falloff Tracking Cap. Need Kinetic Thermal
Null +40% +40% -25% 0% 5 6
Void -25% -50% -25% +25% 7.7 7.7

The two Tech 2 ammo types for railguns are Spike and Javelin. Javelin lets railguns pretend to be blasters: it has a much shorter range, higher damage, and a tracking bonus. Spike is an extra-long range ammo, with an 80% range bonus but very large penalties to tracking speed.

Name Optimal Falloff Tracking Cap. Need Kinetic Thermal
Spike +80% 0% -75% 0% 4 4
Javelin -75% 0% 25% 0% 6 8

Projectile Turrets

Projectile turrets are Eve's most low-tech weapons (and the ones which can be most accurately called guns). They work like real-life guns.

Projectile turrets don't use up any capacitor when they fire (like missile launchers), but they must be regularly reloaded with fresh ammunition.

Unlike the other two kinds of gun, projectile turrets can do all four different kinds of damage depending on the ammunition they're loaded with.

The two kinds of projectile turret are:

  • Autocannon, which have short ranges and deal high DPS; and
  • Artillery, which have long ranges and deal less DPS.

Note that one of the kinds of large (battleship-sized) autocannon is called 'repeating artillery'. These are nevertheless autocannon.

Of all the kinds of long-ranged turret in the game, artillery turrets tend to have the best alpha strike. Autocannon, and to a lesser extent artillery, have very long falloff ranges and it's more viable to use projectile turrets in their first falloff range than it is to use lasers or hybrids in their falloff.

Most Minmatar ships use projectile turrets as their main weapon. The lowslot Gyrostabilizer module increases projectile turrets' damage and rate of fire.

Projectile Ammo

There are eight kinds of standard Tech 1 projectile ammo. The picture here is more complicated than with hybrid ammo: projectile ammo does a wider range of damage types and does not present a gradual exchange of damage for range.

Projectile ammo can be split into three tiers, short-ranged (EMP, Fusion and Phased Plasma), medium-ranged (Titanium Sabot and Depleted Uranium) and long-ranged (Proton, Nuclear and Carbonized Lead). All ammo within each tier has the same range and tracking modifiers, but the different types offer different kinds of damage. The medium-ranged tier (Titanium Sabot and Depleted Uranium) has a significant tracking speed bonus.

This is summarised in the following table. Numbers are given for the "Small" ammunition; Medium is 2x greater, Large is 4x greater, and Extra Large is 8x greater. Also, this is before the "DAMAGE MODIFIER" attribute of the firing turret, any skills, any bonuses, or target resistances are applied.

Ammo Type EM Thermal Kinetic Explosive Range Mod. Tracking Mod.
EMP 9 2 1 -50%
Phased Plasma 10 2 -50%
Fusion 2 10 -50%
Titanium Sabot 6 2 +20%
Depleted Uranium 3 2 3 +20%
Proton 3 2 +60% +5%
Nuclear 1 4 +60% +5%
Carbonized Lead 4 1 +60% +5%

Note that the range bonuses or penalties applied by these ammo types only apply to optimal range. If you're using autocannon, which have tiny optimal ranges anyway, your ammo's range modifier doesn't matter very much. It's more important if you're using artillery. This means that autocannon should always be fitted with the most damaging ammo possible, and if a ship has a falloff bonus, it's probably meant to use autocannon.

The two Tech 2 ammunition types for autocannon are Barrage and Hail. Barrage has a tracking penalty but a 50% falloff increase, and is popular with ships like the Vagabond which like to skirmish in falloff range. Hail has large penalties to optimal and falloff ranges, and to tracking, and it also slows the rate at which your capacitor recharges, but it deals very high damage. In practice the range and tracking speed drawbacks mean that Hail rarely offers more DPS, although it can be effective against big, stationary ships or POSs. Barrage does roughly equal amounts of explosive and kinetic damage, while Hail does a lot of explosive damage and a little kinetic on the side.

Ammo Type EM Thermal Kinetic Explosive Range Mod. Tracking Mod.
Barrage 5 6 0% 0.75
Hail 3.30 12.10 -50% 0.7

The two Tech 2 ammunition types for artillery are Quake and Tremor. Quake, much like Javelin for hybrids, lets artillery pretend to be autocannon, with high damage but much-reduced range and penalties to tracking, ship speed and capacitor recharge rates. Tremor has a dramatic 80% range bonus, but a very significant penalty to tracking. Both do a mixture of explosive and kinetic damage.

This wiki has a more detailed guide to the different kinds of projectile ammo and their uses.

Energy Turrets

Energy turrets -- lasers -- fire beams of light to damage the enemy.

While they don't need normal ammunition, lasers use up a lot of capacitor when they fire, even more than hybrid turrets. Lasers are usually fitted on Amarr ships, which have large capacitors and often bonuses which reduce lasers' capacitor requirements, but training in capacitor skills and Controlled Bursts is still an absolute necessity for Amarr pilots.

Lasers can only do electromagnetic and thermal damage. These are usually the weakest natural resists of shields but the highest natural resists of armor.

The two kinds of laser are:

  • Pulse lasers, which have short ranges and deal high DPS; and
  • Beam lasers, which have long ranges and lower DPS.

Most Amarr ships use lasers as their primary weapon. The lowslot Heat Sink module increases lasers' damage and rate of fire.

Laser Crystals

Although they don't require ammunition, lasers must still be loaded with focusing crystals. Standard Tech 1 crystals are never used up and never break down, so lasers never have to be reloaded. Unlike projectile or hybrid ammunition, crystals can be swapped rapidly, letting pilots alter their guns' range very quickly.

There are eight kinds of standard Tech 1 crystal. They all do a mixture of electromagnetic and thermal damage (the proportion varies), apart from Radio crystals which only deal electromagnetic damage.

Each crystal has a different range modifier, does a different amount of damage and has a different modifier to lasers' capacitor use. The better the range, the lower base damage the ammo deals, creating a sliding scale from short-ranged, high-damage Multifrequency to long-ranged, low-damage Radio.

The damage in the tables is for small crystals. 2x for medium, 4x for large and 8x for XL crystals.


T1 (Imperial Navy) Crystals

Name Range Mod. Cap. Need Mod. EM damage (IN) Therm. damage (IN)
Multifrequency -50% 0% 7 (8.05) 5 (5.75)
Gamma -37.5% -15% 7 (8.05) 4 (4.6)
X-Ray -25% -25% 6 (6.9) 4 (4.6)
Ultraviolet -12.5% -12.5% 6 (6.9) 3 (3.45)
Standard 0% -45% 5 (5.75) 3 (3.45)
Infrared 20% -35% 5 (5.75) 2 (2.3)
Microwave 40% -25% 4 (4.6) 2 (2.3)
Radio 60% -15% 5 (5.75) 0 (0)

IN stands for Imperial Navy as it is the most common faction crystal compared to the rare pirate faction crystals (that can do even more damage but are very very rare in a way that there is not a single dark blood MF L on sell orders in jita)

The advanced crystals for lasers gradually get damaged over time and will finally disintegrate. Tech 2 crystals have a chance to decay for each cycle, and last around 1000 shots, while faction crystals will last exactly 4000 shots.


T2 Pulse Laser Crystals

The Tech 2 crystals for pulse lasers are Conflagration and Scorch. Conflagration does more damage at the cost of half the range, a 30% tracking speed penalty and 25% more capacitor requirement. Scorch has a 50% range bonus but a tracking penalty. Conflagration is little used but Scorch is very popular. Most people use Faction MF instead of Conflagration because of the higher dps and higher tracking.

Name Range Mod. Tracking mod. Cap. Need mod. EM damage Therm. damage
Scorch 50% -25% 25% 9 2
Conflagration -50% -30% 0% 7 7


T2 Beam Laser Crystals

The Tech 2 crystals for beam lasers are Aurora and Gleam. Gleam deals good damage and receives a tracking bonus, but has a much shorter range. Aurora comes with a massive 80% range bonus but low damage and a heavy penalty to tracking speed.

Name Range Mod. Tracking mod. EM damage Therm damage
Aurora +80% -75% 5 3
Gleam -75% +25% 7 7


Related Modules Summary

Besides turrets themselves there are a number of related modules which you can fit to improve their performance. In this list the links for items are to the basic Tech 1 Meta 0 version -- as always, you can expect significantly better performance from Tech 2 or high-meta versions.

Remember that stacking penalties mean that it's usually not worth fitting more than three modules which have the same effect.

  • Each turret has an associated lowslot module which boosts its damage and rate of fire. These 'damage mods' have already been mentioned individually, and they are
  • Another important lowslot item is the Tracking Enhancer ("TE"), which increases your tracking speed, optimal range and falloff.
  • Unlike TEs, the Tracking Computer is a midslot item. It uses capacitor and has to be activated, but can offer a more substantial tracking speed bonus as well as small bonuses to optimal and falloff range. It can be loaded with either the Tracking Speed script, which doubles the tracking speed bonus but removes the range bonuses entirely, or the Optimal Range script, which removes the tracking speed bonus but doubles the range bonuses (it doubles the falloff bonus despite its name).
  • There is also the remote Tracking Link, a module which you can use to boost another ship's tracking speed and range (it can be scripted like the Tracking Computer). Although a few ships (like the Scythe) get bonuses for these, they're rarely used.
  • Sensor Boosters ("sebo") and Remote Sensor Boosters ("RSB") are active midslot modules which increase targeting range and scan resolution (speeding up locking time). Like Tracking Computers they can be scripted for more targeting range or faster locking.

Names Reference

Category Race Type Range Small Medium Large Extra Large
Frigates, Destroyers Cruisers, Battlecruisers Battleships Dreadnoughts, Titans
Projectile Minmatar Autocannon Short 125-200mm Dual180-425mm Dual425-800mm 2500mm
Artillery Long 250-280mm 650-720mm 1200-1400mm 3500mm
Hybrid Gallente/Caldari Railgun Long 75-150mm Dual150-250mm Dual250-425mm Dual1000mm
Blaster Short Light Heavy, Cannon Mega, Blaster Cannon Siege Blaster Cannon
subtypes: Electron, Ion, Neutron Electron, Ion, Neutron Electron, Ion, Neutron
Energy Amarr Beam Long Light, Medium Quad, Medium, Heavy Dual Heavy, Mega, Tachyon Dual Giga
Pulse Short Gatling, Dual Light, Medium Focused, Heavy Modal Dual Heavy, Mega Dual Giga


Turret Comparison

Tech 1 Projectile Turret Comparison

Name Size Range Rate of fire Damage mod Tracking sped Signature res.
125mm Gatling AutoCannon I Small 800+4,000 m 3 s 2.0625 x 0.417 rad/sec 40 m
150mm Light AutoCannon I Small 900+4,400 m 3.38 s 2.475 x 0.362 rad/sec 40 m
200mm AutoCannon I Small 1,000+4,800 m 3.75 s 2.8875 x 0.315 rad/sec 40 m
250mm Light Artillery Cannon I Small 8,050+8,750 m 8.5 s 4.62 x 0.0825 rad/sec 40 m
280mm Howitzer Artillery I Small 10,000+8,750 m 10.71 s 6.403 x 0.066 rad/sec 40 m
Dual 180mm AutoCannon I Medium 1,600+8,000 m 4.5 s 2.0625 x 0.139656 rad/sec 125 m
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon I Medium  1,800+8,800 m 4.73 s 2.31 x 0.12144 rad/sec 125 m
425mm AutoCannon I Medium 2,000+9,600 m 5.63 s 2.8875 x 0.1056 rad/sec 125 m
650mm Artillery Cannon I Medium 16,100+17,500 m 12.75 s 4.62 x 0.0275 rad/sec 125 m
720mm Howitzer Artillery I Medium 20,000+17,500 m 20 s 7.97276025 x
0.022 rad/sec 125 m
Dual 425mm AutoCannon I Large 3,200+16,000 m 6.75 s 2.0625 x 0.057132 rad/sec 400 m
Dual 650mm Repeating Artillery I  Large 3,600+17,600 m 7.5 s   2.444203042 x 
  0.04968 rad/sec     400 m
800mm Repeating Artillery I Large 4,000+19,200 m 7.88 s 2.695 x 0.0432 rad/sec 400 m
1200mm Artillery Cannon I Large 32,200+35,000 m 21.04 s 5.082 x 0.01125 rad/sec 400 m
1400mm Howitzer Artillery I Large   40,000+35,000 m  40.16 s 10.672 x 0.009 rad/sec 400 m

Tech 1 Hybrid Turret Comparison

Name Size  Activation  Range  Rate of fire   Damage mod   Tracking speed   Signature res. 
Light Electron Blaster I Small 0.938 GJ 1,000+1,500 m 2 s 1.75x 0.365 rad/sec 40 m
Light Ion Blaster I Small 1.561 GJ 1,250+2,000 m 3 s 2.8125 x 0.336 rad/sec 40 m
Light Neutron Blaster I Small 2.023 GJ 1,500+2,500 m 4 s 3.5 x 0.3165 rad/sec 40 m
75mm Gatling Rail I Small 1.67 GJ 6,000+3,000 m 3 s 1.5 x 0.13 rad/sec 40 m
125mm Railgun I Small 2.15 GJ 9,000+5,000 m 3 s 2 x 0.085 rad/sec 40 m
150mm Railgun I Small 3.34 GJ 12,000+6,000 m 4 s 2.75 x 0.07 rad/sec 40 m
Heavy Electron Blaster I Medium 2.8 GJ 2,000+3,000 m 3 s 1.75 x 0.12 rad/sec 125 m
Heavy Ion Blaster I Medium 4.669 GJ 2,500+4,000 m 5 s 2.8125 x 0.11 rad/sec 125 m
Heavy Neutron Blaster I   Medium  6.069 GJ 3,000+5,000 m 5 s 3.5 x 0.1 rad/sec 125 m
Dual 150mm Railgun I Medium 5 GJ 12,000+6,000 m 4 s 1.5 x 0.042 rad/sec 125 m
200mm Railgun I Medium 6.45 GJ 18,000+10,000 m 5 s 2 x 0.028 rad/sec 125 m
250mm Railgun I Medium 10 GJ 24,000+12,000 m 6 s 2.75 x 0.023 rad/sec 125 m
Electron Blaster Cannon I  Large 8.4 GJ 4,000+6,000 m 5 s 1.75 x 0.05 rad/sec 400 m
Ion Blaster Cannon I Large 14 GJ 5,000+8,000 m 7 s 2.8125 x 0.046 rad/sec 400 m
Neutron Blaster Cannon I Large 18.2 GJ 6,000+10,000 m 8 s 3.5 x 0.0433 rad/sec 400 m
Dual 250mm Railgun I Large 15 GJ 24,000+12,000 m 6 s 1.5 x 0.0175 rad/sec 400 m
350mm Railgun I Large 22 GJ 36,000+20,000 m 7 s 2 x 0.01167 rad/sec 400 m
425mm Railgun I Large 30 GJ   48,000+24,000 m    10 s 2.75 x   0.009625 rad/sec   400 m

Tech I Energy Turret Comparison

Name Size  Activation  Range   Rate of fire   Damage mod  Tracking speed  Signature res. 
Gatling Pulse Laser   Small 1.82 GJ 4,000+500 m 2.10 s 1.5x 0.308125 rad/sec 40 m
Dual Light Pulse Laser  Small 2.67 GJ 4,500+1,500 m 2.70 s 2x 0.27375 rad/sec 40 m
Medium Pulse Laser Small 4.44 GJ 5,000+2,000 m 3.50 s 3x 0.24625 rad/sec 40 m
Dual Light Beam Laser Small 3.89 GJ 8,750+3,000 m 3.20 s 2x 0.13 rad/sec 40 m
Medium Beam Laser Small 7.22 GJ 10,000+4,000 m 4.00 s 3x 0.1 rad/sec 40 m
Focused Medium Pulse Laser Medium  8 GJ 9,000+3,000 m 4.05 s 2x 0.09 rad/sec 125 m
Heavy Pulse Laser Medium 13.33 GJ  10,000+4,000 m 5.25 s 3x 0.08125 rad/sec 125 m
Quad Light Beam Laser Medium 5.45 GJ 8,000+1,000 m 3.15 s 1.5x 0.081 rad/sec 125 m
Focused Medium Beam Laser   Medium 11.67 GJ 17,000+6,000 m 4.80 s 2x 0.042 rad/sec 125 m
Heavy Beam Laser Medium 21.67 GJ 20,000+8,000 m 6.00 s 3x 0.033 rad/sec 125 m
Dual Heavy Pulse Laser Large 25 GJ 18,000+6,000 m 6.08 s 2x 0.0375 rad/sec 400 m
Mega Pulse Laser Large 40 GJ 20,000+8,000 m 7.88 s 3x 0.03375 rad/sec 400 m
Dual Heavy Beam Laser Large 35 GJ 35,000+12,000 m 7.20 s 2x 0.0175 rad/sec 400 m
Mega Beam Laser Large 65 GJ 40,000+16,000 m  9.00 s 3x 0.0153125 rad/sec  400 m
Tachyon Beam Laser Large 95 GJ    44,000+20,000 m     12.50 s 4.5x 0.0139205 rad/sec 400 m
Dual Giga Pulse Laser Extra large  320 GJ 32,000+5,000 m 11.81 s 8x 0.0040512 rad/sec 1000 m
Dual Giga Beam Laser Extra large 520 GJ 72,000+22,000 m 13.50 s 5.5x     0.002296875 rad/sec    1000 m


See Also

  • Turret Damage for the mathematics of gunnery. You can also try the information on CCP's own wiki.
  • This wiki's Gunnery Guide for less mathematical discussion of gunnery.
  • Missile Launchers and Drones for Eve's other main weapon systems.
  • NPC Damage Types for more information about the different kinds of damage (this is still relevant to PvP even though it's directed at NPC damage dealing).