Fighters

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Fighters are extremely powerful Drones equipped with cruiser, battleship, or dreadnought-grade weaponry, launched by carriers, supercarriers, Guristas capital ships, and Upwell Structures.

General Fighter Mechanics

In order to use fighters you need to train Icon skillbook2.png Fighters (5% damage bonus per level). There are 3 types of fighters: Light (Anti-Subcapital), Heavy (Anti-Capital), and Support (EWAR). Each has a Tech 1 and Tech 2 variant. Light fighters and heavy fighters are further split between the roles they perform. Each type of fighter has a squadron size that determines how many individual fighters make up a squadron, and each carrier or supercarrier is limited by how many launch tubes exist for squadrons. A squadron of fighters is controlled and targeted as a single entity in space, and will generate a Killmail if the last fighter in a squadron is destroyed. Fighters are a lot larger, in volume, than drones. The skill Icon skillbook2.png Fighter Hangar Management increases fighter hangar size by 5% per level.

All fighters are capable of warping, and will pursue a target into warp - the only escape from fighters is to jump system or to dock.

Fighters cannot receive remote assistance, such as repairs or shield boosting. However, they are vulnerable to ECM, and with their weak sensor strengths, jamming fighters is a common strategy for reducing a carrier's damage potential.

Each race has each its own fighters, their damage matches the race's primary damage type, and they follow the same racial patterns of damage versus speed which are present on ordinary drones.

Most Fighters have two weapons systems: a primary weapon which can be fired continuously, and a secondary weapon with high damage but a cooldown and limited ammunition. When firing, all (alive) fighters in a squadron fire together, and their damage is added together.

Fighters have thick, regenerating Shields, but no Armor and only 100 Structure HP. As a fighter squadron sustains damage, the rightmost segment of its health indicators will shift color from green to yellow to red to black. When a fighter squadron sustains damage equal to the Shield (and Structure) HP of one of its fighters, one fighter is destroyed and the squadron's damage is reduced accordingly. Tech I fighters have 0% resistance to all damage, however Tech II fighters' shields come with a 30% bonus to their faction's primary resistance, and a 15% bonus to their faction's secondary resistance.

When Fighters are recalled to their carriers, they go through a short Refueling period before they can be launched again. The duration of this period is based on the number of fighters in the squadron. During this refueling period, their shields are restored and the ammunition for their secondary weapons is reloaded, and after refueling completes, new fighters can be loaded into a tube to replace any fighters which were destroyed.

Like Drones, Fighters can also be Abandoned in space in case of emergency. Unlike Drones, there is no Drone Control Range which limits the range at which Fighters can engage targets. The only limit on a fighter's engagement range is the extremely long targeting range of the carriers which launch them.

Fighters have Destroyer to Cruiser-sized signature radii of 80-120m. Combined with their high speeds, this makes fighters most effectively targeted by Small or Medium weapons and drones.

All Fighters also have Standup versions which can be used by most Upwell Structures. Standup Fighters do not require training in Fighter skills, and can be used by any player with access to Take Control of a structure. Standup fighters have improved base stats over regular fighters (2x speed, 2.5x damage, better explosion velocity and radius, +50% shield HP, better ECM resistance, 2x cargohold volume) but are not affected by any modules or player skills. Standup Fighters can be changed and loaded while an Upwell structure is damaged or Reinforced.

Fighter Damage Mechanics

Fighter weapons use a variation of Missile damage mechanics: their weapons have explosion radii and velocities, and deal constant damage with no chance of missing. However, they also have optimal and falloff ranges, which obey the standard falloff curve of Turrets and Electronic Warfare modules.

[math] \displaystyle\rm\text{Total Damage} = \text{Base damage} \times {\it N} \times \min\left( 1, \frac{ Signature }{ Explosion\ radius }, \left(\frac{ Signature \times Explosion\ velocity }{ Explosion\ radius \times\ Velocity } \right)^{DRF} \right) \times 0.5^{\LARGE \left(\frac{\max(0,\ Distance - Optimal )}{ Falloff } \right)^2} [/math]

Where

  • Total Damage is the actual damage dealt, before resistances.
  • Base damage is the damage displayed in the fighters' Show Info window.
  • N is the number of fighters in the squadron.
  • Signature is signature radius of the target.
  • Velocity is velocity of the target.
  • Explosion radius and explosion velocity are values for the fighters' weapon.
  • Distance is the distance between the fighters and their target.
  • Optimal and Falloff are the values for the fighters' weapon.
  • DRF is the damage reduction factor. This is not visible either in-game, or in database statistics for fighters. In stead, it is calculated from two other values:
[math] \displaystyle\text{DRF} = \frac{ \ln \left( \text{Damage reduction} \right) }{ \ln \left( \text{Damage sensitivity} \right) } [/math]

Where Damage Reduction is specific to the weapon the fighter is using, and Damage Sensitivity is always equal to 5.5. Because these values are constants, the resulting DRF values can be easily calculated.

Fighter type Weapon Damage Reduction DRF
Space Superiority Micro Missile 2.0 0.406598
Light Attack Cannons 3.0 0.644443
Light Attack Heavy Rockets 5.0 0.944091
Heavy Attack Cannnons 5.5 1.0
Heavy Attack Torpedoes 5.5 1.0
Shadow Cannons 5.0 0.944091
Heavy Long-Range Cannons 5.0 0.944091

A shorthand on the results of the range formula:

  • Within Optimal range, the weapons can deal full damage.
  • At Optimal+Falloff, the weapons deal 50% damage.
  • At Optimal+(Falloff x2), the weapons deal 6.25% damage.
  • Beyond Optimal+(Falloff x3), the weapons deal effectively no damage.

These mechanics mean that fighter damage is very predictable, and can be effectively mitigated using Afterburners (but much less effectively mitigated using Microwarpdrives). However, the lack of a 'tracking' type attribute mean that the fighters' own high speed is ignored when considering their ability to deal damage. In practice, because of their flight speed, fighter damage tends to be dealt as "If the fighters are not in orbit range, they do not deal damage; If the fighters are in orbit around a target, they deal full damage." As such, this range calculation generally is only important for long-range heavy fighters.

Light Fighters

Light fighters require the skill Icon skillbook2.png Light Fighters (5% bonus in light fighter velocity per level). Tech 2 light fighters requires Light Fighters IV.

Attack Fighters

Attack fighters are general purpose attack craft, equipped with a faction-specific primary weapon (i.e., blaster cannon, pulse cannon, autocannon) with a short effective range. Their secondary weapon is a Heavy Rocket Salvo, effectively a single volley of battleship-grade torpedoes. Also, these fighters are equipped with a Microwarpdrive that increase base speed by 500%, at the cost of a 500% signature radius increase, with a 20-second duration and 60-second cooldown.

Light attack fighters are effective against cruisers and battleships, but will struggle to effectively damage frigates and are not generally hard-hitting enough to engage capital ships.

All damage values on this page are per-fighter, not per-squadron.


General Stats
Squadron Size 9
Icon volume.pngVolume 1000m3
Icon ship sig.pngSignature Radius 100m
Icon shield.pngShield Capacity (T1) 2190 HP
Module icon shield extender tech2.pngShield Capacity (T2) 2420 HP
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon ship sig.pngExplosion Radius (cannon) 185m
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon velocity.pngExplosion Velocity (cannon) 105m/s
Icon missiles.pngIcon ship sig.pngExplosion Radius (rocket) 400m
Icon missiles.pngIcon velocity.pngExplosion Velocity (rocket) 70m/s


Faction Fighter DPS Rocket DPS Speed (Base) Speed (MWD) Orbit
Amarr Templar I 65 Icon damage em.png 119 Icon damage em.png Icon velocity.png 926 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,630 m/s Icon orbit.png 6,500 m
Templar II 72 Icon damage em.png 131 Icon damage em.png Icon velocity.png 963 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,815 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,300 m
Caldari Dragonfly I 72 Icon damage kin.png 131 Icon damage kin.png Icon velocity.png 837 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,185 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,500 m
Dragonfly II 79 Icon damage kin.png 146 Icon damage kin.png Icon velocity.png 872 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,360 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,900 m
Gallente Firbolg I 75 Icon damage therm.png 138 Icon damage therm.png Icon velocity.png 793 m/s Icon velocity.png 3,965 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,500 m
Firbolg II 83 Icon damage therm.png 152 Icon damage therm.png Icon velocity.png 826 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,130 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,900 m
Minmatar Einherji I 62 Icon damage exp.png 113 Icon damage exp.png Icon velocity.png 970 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,850 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,000 m
Einherji II 83 Icon damage exp.png 142 Icon damage exp.png Icon velocity.png 1,009 m/s Icon velocity.png 5,045 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,400 m

Space Superiority

Space Superiority fighters are anti-drone and anti-fighter weapons. Their primary weapons, Micro Missile Swarm, are extremely efficient at killing hostile drones and fighters, however deal greatly reduced damage to real ships. Defensively, they can enact evasive manuevers that increase base speed by 200%, reduce signature radius by 80%, and increase all shield resists by 50%. Lastly, they can tackle hostile drones and fighters (but only drones and fighters), slowing them and disabling their warp drives.

General Stats
Squadron Size 12
Icon volume.pngVolume 800m3
Icon ship sig.pngSignature Radius 80m
Icon shield.pngShield Capacity (T1) 1600 HP
Module icon shield extender tech2.pngShield Capacity (T2) 1760 HP
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon ship sig.png Explosion Radius 15m
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon velocity.png Explosion Velocity 300m/s
Faction Fighter DPS Speed (Base) Speed (AB) Orbit
Amarr Equite I 38 Icon damage em.png Icon velocity.png 1,111 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,222 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Equite II 42 Icon damage em.png Icon velocity.png 1,211 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,422 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Caldari Locust I 40 Icon damage kin.png Icon velocity.png 1,005 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,010 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Locust II 44 Icon damage kin.png Icon velocity.png 1,046 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,092 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Gallente Satyr I 42 Icon damage therm.png Icon velocity.png 952 m/s Icon velocity.png 1,904 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Satyr II 46 Icon damage therm.png Icon velocity.png 991 m/s Icon velocity.png 1,982 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Minmatar Gram I 36 Icon damage exp.png Icon velocity.png 1,164 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,328 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m
Gram II 40 Icon damage exp.png Icon velocity.png 1,211 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,422 m/s Icon orbit.png 10,000 m

Heavy Fighters

Heavy Fighters are anti-capital-ship fighters, and can only be used by supercarriers. Each race has its own heavy fighters, which follow the same damage and speed patterns as light fighters.

Heavy fighters need the Heavy Fighters skill (5% damage increase per level), while Tech 2 heavy fighters requires the skill Heavy Fighters IV.

Heavy Attack

Heavy Attack fighters use a faction specific primary weapon (i.e., blaster, pulse laser, or autocannon), while their secondary weapon is a very high damage Torpedo Salvo. The large explosion radii of these weapons renders them only effective against capital ships. Additionally, they possess a Microwarpdrive that increases base speed by 500% and signature radius by 500%, with a 20-second duration and 60-second cooldown.

There is also a Sansha faction heavy fighter (the Shadow). The Shadow deals both EM and Thermal damage, significantly higher total damage than an ordinary T1 heavy fighter, and has better damage application than an ordinary heavy fighter, but does not have the secondary torpedo salvo.

General Stats
Squadron Size 6
Icon volume.pngVolume 1800m3
Icon ship sig.pngSignature Radius 110m
Icon shield.pngShield Capacity (T1) 3650 HP
Module icon shield extender tech2.pngShield Capacity (T2) 4030 HP
Icon shield.pngIsis sansha.pngShield Capacity (Shadow) 5500 HP
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon ship sig.pngExplosion Radius (cannon) 3000m
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon velocity.pngExplosion Velocity (cannon) 40m/s
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon ship sig.pngIsis sansha.pngExplosion Radius (Shadow) 2000m
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon velocity.pngIsis sansha.pngExplosion Velocity (Shadow) 60m/s
Icon missiles.pngIcon ship sig.pngExplosion Radius (torpedo) 5000m
Icon missiles.pngIcon velocity.pngExplosion Velocity (torpedo) 50m/s
Faction Fighter DPS Torpedo DPS Speed (Base) Speed (MWD) Orbit
Amarr Malleus I 316 Icon damage em.png 2,527 Icon damage em.png Icon velocity.png 576 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,880 m/s Icon orbit.png 6,500 m
Malleus II 349 Icon damage em.png 2,793 Icon damage em.png Icon velocity.png 600 m/s Icon velocity.png 3,000 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,300 m
Caldari Mantis I 349 Icon damage kin.png 2,793 Icon damage kin.png Icon velocity.png 521 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,605 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,500 m
Mantis II 386 Icon damage kin.png 3,087 Icon damage kin.png Icon velocity.png 543 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,715 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,900 m
Gallente Cyclops I 366 Icon damage therm.png 2,926 Icon damage therm.png Icon velocity.png 494 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,470 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,500 m
Cyclops II 404 Icon damage therm.png 3,324 Icon damage therm.png Icon velocity.png 514 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,570 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,900 m
Minmatar Tyrfing I 299 Icon damage exp.png 2,394 Icon damage exp.png Icon velocity.png 604 m/s Icon velocity.png 3,020 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,000 m
Tyrfing II 331 Icon damage exp.png 2,646 Icon damage exp.png Icon velocity.png 628 m/s Icon velocity.png 3,140 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,400 m
Sansha Shadow 400 Icon damage em.pngIcon damage therm.png N/A Icon velocity.png 543 m/s Icon velocity.png 9,500 m/s Icon orbit.png 2,172 m


Long Range Attack

Long Range Attack fighters have faction specific long-range weaponary (i.e, beam cannon, railgun, and artillery), a Micro Jump Drive for range control, and are capable of launching unguided bombs (much like stealth bombers but weaker). Fighter bombs have the same 30km range, 12s flight time, and 15km damage radius of regular bombs, and are immune to their given damage type (making it impossible for multiple matching bombs to destroy each other in flight). Usage of these bombs are disallowed in Low Security space.

The weapons of long ranged fighters can be used against battleships, but their explosion radii leaves Light Attack Fighters as more efficient against smaller subcapital ships.

General Stats
Squadron Size 6
Icon volume.pngVolume 2000m3
Icon ship sig.pngSignature Radius 120m
Icon shield.pngShield Capacity (T1) 3420 HP
Module icon shield extender tech2.pngShield Capacity (T2) 3780 HP
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon ship sig.pngExplosion Radius (cannon) 380m
Icon gunnery turret.pngIcon velocity.pngExplosion Velocity (cannon) 80m/s
Icon missiles.png Damage (bomb) 640
Icon missiles.pngIcon ship sig.pngExplosion Radius (bomb) 400m
Icon micro jump drive.pngIcon target range.pngMicro Jump Drive Range 100km
Icon micro jump drive.pngIcon warp time.pngMJD Activation Time 10s
Icon micro jump drive.pngIcon ship sig.pngMJD Signature Penalty +150%
Faction Fighter DPS Optimal Falloff Speed (Base) MJD Range Orbit
Amarr Ametat I 253 Icon damage em.png 34 km Icon target range.png 8,000 m Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 555 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 31.50 km
Ametat II 279 Icon damage em.png 40.80 km Icon target range.png 8,000 m Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 578 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 36.60 km
Caldari Termite I 279 Icon damage kin.png 30 km Icon target range.png 12 km Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 502 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 31.50 km
Termite II 309 Icon damage kin.png 36 km Icon target range.png 12 km Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 523 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 36 km
Gallente Antaeus I 293 Icon damage therm.png 30 km Icon target range.png 12 km Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 476 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 31.50 km
Antaeus II 323 Icon damage therm.png 36 km Icon target range.png 12 km Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 495 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 36 km
Minmatar Gungnir I 239 Icon damage exp.png 26 km Icon target range.png 16 km Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 582 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 31.50 km
Gungnir II 265 Icon damage exp.png 31.20 km Icon target range.png 16 km Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 605 m/s Icon velocity.png 100 km Icon orbit.png 36 km

Support Fighters

Support fighters are specialized fighters that each perform their own type of EWAR. They also each come with a Microwarpdrive, increasing their speed (and signature) by 500% for 20 seconds on a 60 second cooldown. However, they have no weapons. In addition, the Siren warp disruption fighters have an Afterburner ability in place of the Microwarpdrive ability, meaning they have a lower boost speed, but without the signature radius penalty. Support fighters require the Support Fighters skill (5% increase in support fighter hit-points per level). Tech 2 support fighters requires Support Fighters IV.

General Stats
Squadron Size 3
Icon volume.pngVolume 3000m3
Icon ship sig.pngSignature Radius 120m
Icon shield.pngShield Capacity (T1) 6800 HP
Module icon shield extender tech2.pngShield Capacity (T2) 7500 HP
Faction Fighter Energy Neut Optimal Falloff Speed (Base) Speed (MWD) Orbit
Amarr Cenobite I 60 Icon energy neutralizer i.png 5,000 m Icon target range.png 2,500 m Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 715 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,290 m/s Icon orbit.png 3,750
Cenobite II 80 Icon energy neutralizer i.png 10,000 m Icon target range.png 5,000 m Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 744 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,464 m/s Icon orbit.png 7,500
Faction Fighter Jamming Strength Optimal Falloff Speed (Base) Speed (MWD) Orbit
Caldari Scarab I 1.6 Icon target max.png 5,000 m Icon target range.png 5,625 m Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 715 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,290 m/s Icon orbit.png 5,300 m
Scarab II 2.3 Icon target max.png 7,500 m Icon target range.png 8,400 m Icon falloff mod.png Icon velocity.png 744 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,464 m/s Icon orbit.png 8,000 m
Faction Fighter Warp Disruption Optimal Speed (Base) Speed (AB) Orbit
Gallente Siren I 1 Icon warp disruptor i.png 8 km Icon target range.png Icon velocity.png 715 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,145 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,000 m
Siren II 1 Icon warp disruptor i.png 16 km Icon target range.png Icon velocity.png 744 m/s Icon velocity.png 2,604 m/s Icon orbit.png 8,000 m
Faction Fighter Velocity Reduction Optimal Speed (Base) Speed (MWD) Orbit
Minmatar Dromi I 10% Icon stasis webifier i.png 8 km Icon target range.png Icon velocity.png 715 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,290 m/s Icon orbit.png 4,000 m
Dromi II 15% Icon stasis webifier i.png 16 km Icon target range.png Icon velocity.png 744 m/s Icon velocity.png 4,464 m/s Icon orbit.png 8,000 m

Fighter Improving Modules

Many modules which improve Drones also improve Fighters. All modules in this list are subject to Stacking penalties

High slot modules
Icon fighter support unit.png Fighter support unit improves the rate of fire, velocity, shield HP, and shield recharge rate of fighters by 5% for T1 variants, and 6% for T2 variants. Since these modules boost rate of fire rather than raw damage, they do not share stacking penalties with Drone Damage Amplifiers.
Medium slot modules
Icon drone navigation computer.png Drone Navigation Computer increases fighter speed by 25% (30% for the Tech 2 variant).
Icon tracking enhancer.png Omnidirectional Tracking Link increases fighter weapon optimal and falloff ranges, increases weapon explosion velocity and decreases explosion radius. Can be loaded with scripts to either double the range bonus or the application bonus, at the cost of eliminating the other bonus. Long-ranged heavy fighters can benefit from the range bonus, and all fighters can benefit from the application bonus when engaging cruisers and smaller ships. Unlike all other fighter-enhancing modules, these need to be activated to provide their effects.
Low slot modules
Icon drone damage amplifier.png Drone Damage Amplifier increases the damage your fighters deal by 15% (20.5% for the Tech 2 variant).
Icon tracking enhancer.png Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer increases fighter weapon optimal and falloff ranges, increases weapon explosion velocity and decreases explosion radius. It's similar to the mid-slot Omnidirectional Tracking Link module, but provides slightly higher bonuses to range, and slightly lower bonuses to tracking. Also, it cannot be scripted, and is a passive module (i.e. it does not need to be activated and uses no capacitor energy).