[OOC] The Kane Rizzel approach...

Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em.

-- (Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time)

Wensley of Rifter Drifter fame made an interesting Blog post in which my name was mentioned. So I thought I'd take the time and expand on what is a very simple yet effective approach to PvP in the EVE universe.

Wensley said:

The Kane Rizzel approach: Fit to win. Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, really. Fit your ship to make it perform as well as possible. Buy the absolute best that you can. There are lots of videos of people flying like this for example Mezzik’s -10 and Alex Mevedov’s Flight of the Jaguar.

Yes, it is exactly what it says on the tin. Fitting your ship correctly to your style is one of the key things in any PvP engagement, there are a fair few others but I won't expand on them just yet.

We'll concentrate on the Rifter for this article, as it's the most versatile frigate with regards to fitting and can be run in any number of ways depending on your style and won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Now I'll be using my skill set as the base. No Implants. I'll be using images from EVE Fitting Tool aka EFT. (Disclaimer: EFT is a great tool but don't believe the DPS numbers, they only give you the absolute best you could achieve in optimal conditions but as with everything, theory is not the same as the real thing and very rarely if ever will a target be sitting dead still with zero resists, I use EFT mainly to see if what I have in mind will fit)

Here's Wensley's favourite Rifter:



Now it's a very Tanky version of the Rifter and also relies on range, something the Rifter is more than capable of dictating. Being able to deal damage at 10km is awesome and takes quite a bit of flying to pull it off.

Now there's my favourite, I'll take this against any other Rifter, I'm supremely comfortable with it, having flown it without the rigs for the better part of 3 years.



You''ll notice the lows are similar except for one mod, a Damage Control. Wensley's fit is what I would consider to be the current cookie cutter fit for the Rifter and it is very good but it doesn't suit my style, so I stick a Gyrostabiliser in for that extra bit of damage.

The mids are exactly the same except Wensley uses named mods, I prefer T2 mods just because they are cheaper than best named but give me a slight performance edge over lower meta named items (and I have massive stockpile of the bloody stuff).

Now I will say one thing, t2 guns are probably the most important aspect of a Rifter for two reasons, #1 Barrage, oh how I love thee, you give me sexy range and #2 the extra damage bonus even when using t1 or faction ammo. T1 and named guns will do you for a spell but get the skills for t2 guns as soon as you can, they make such a difference.

The NOS/Neut/Rocket utility high is a question of style and also dependent on the rest of your fit. In my humble opinion: NOS if you're relying on out tanking your opponent with an active tank, Neut if you're looking to mess with overtanked setups and Rockets if like me you just like as much ordinance flying out towards your opponent as possible.

You'll notice by the ammo the different styles with regards to fitting and this is another important aspect of PvP, know your ship, know your ammo and above all know your opponents ship and capabilities (knowing cookie cutter set-ups is a good way to determine this as many people rely on tried and tested fittings, they'll also tend to try and engage at their ideal range which makes your own ammo choice important)

Experiment, try different things, the Rifter as Wensley said in his Blog runs between 6million ISK and 13million ISK, now that is not a lot of ISK (It was when I started playing mind you) but you need to be comfortable with your fit, you need to know its capabilities and you only learn this by actually flying the ship.

This is true for any ship in the game and my philosophy with regards to the Rifter extends to everything else I do and fly, that includes my implants.

A great Blog post by Wensley and definitely gives one pause for thought, also, I'm very flattered to have been mentioned like that :P

In other news

Last night saw the first ever NovaKane EVE meet in London. Walter Tull, my corpmate was over from the States and we got together for drinks and dinner, a good night. (Walter is pretty much inactive as he's an alt of a friend from my old corp but I keep the character in NovaKane as a tribute)

I have been scarce as of late due to Real Life™ commitments, work has been hectic. I will however be taking an extended break next month as I go to South Africa to visit family. Apologies to my regular readers, both of you ;) for the lack of updates and fantastic stories of Piracy.

I will be back however, here and there, December will see very little of me as the silly season gets under way, work will be flat out but the new year will bring some new things for me and NovaKane in EVE.

Stay Classy