E-War Guide

Intro: I started on this some time ago and put it off to the side when I had to take a break from EvE but I have finished it and updated the information I had. I’d like to thank Friedrick Psitalon for his Ewar guide posted in 2006 as it helped get me hooked on my favorite ships in game. I have used a similair format as his as I found it easy to understand.  Without Further delay I present

Elf’s House of Ewar

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide. It is my sincere desire to help players, new and old alike, understand a bit more about about one of the most overlooked combat professions in PvP…The Ewar Specialist.

First we will start with some basic E-War Terms that you may run into in this Guide:

Dampener:  Remote Sensor Dampener – These Lower the Target Range and Increase the Target Lock time of an enemy ship

Jammer or ECM : Electronic Counter Measures – These completely Jam the Targeting abilities of a ship and make it unable to target anything as well as losing all previously locked targets for the duration of the cycle ( currently 20 seconds )

TP : Target Painter – Increases the signature of the target ship so that it is easier to hit by your teammates

TD: Tracking Disruptors – Reduce the Optimal Range and Targeting speed of the enemy ships Turrets, thereby making them less likely to score a hit against close moving ships, or ships further away

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Each Race has a type of E-war that they specialize in, meaning, that they have ships that receive bonuses to the strength or activation cost of the modules . That does not mean however that you can not cross faction Ewar, just that you will only receive bonuses for part of your modules.

The order of the guide doesn’t go something like this, it goes exactly like this:

Tracking Disruptors, which are Favored by Amarr pilots

Sensor Dampeners, which are favored by Gallente Pilots

ECM, which are Favored by Caldari pilots

Target Painters, which are favored by Minmatar pilots

each Section is separated by a line like this ————————- to make it a bit easier to locate.

Even though the ships favor a certain type of Ewar, please note that one of the beauties of EvE is that you can cross train and fly other ships or you can cross fit and unleash some nasty surprises. Even though you may not have the bonuses on your ship any Ewar if used properly can be devastating.

The Key to E-war is knowing that all of the modules have uses and that they are all relatively balanced, when used properly. When used poorly, you are simply taking up space in a fleet, yet when used properly you can shift the tide of battle without ever having to fire a single round of ammunition.

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Tracking Disruptors:

These devices are sometimes overlooked as they work on only one type of weaponry, Turrets. Missiles and drones are not affected by TDs . Therefore, the majority of Caldari and Gallante ships that you come against will only be slightly aggravated by the use of TDs.

What it does:

- Reduce Turret Optimal Range and Fall off.

- Reduce Turret Tracking  Ability

That is bad for all turret users but really hurts those that rely on superior range to defeat their foes ( sniper ships and such ).

Say for Example you had a ship that had a 100k effective range, one tracking disruptor would make him unable to hit a target at that range due to the decreased optimal range and Fall off.

Blaster, auto-cannon and Pulse laser users are not safe either, even though the range may not be as much of a factor, the tracking speed is crippled as well which is what they rely on as they move quickly around a target. With the Tracking speed disrupted, they will be moving too fast for their turrets to score a hit accurately ( kind of like using a rail gun while orbiting at 500 meters ) Also note that some short ranged weapons will be reduced so low that the pilot may have to move closer or be useless. Moving in will often put them in Web / Neut Range.

The downside to tracking disruptors is that there are very few pure turret ships, even among the Minmatar or Amarr, and will not have an effect on the other missile bays or things that these ships may have equipped.  You CAN stack TDs to increase their effectiveness but you will incur a penalty to the bonus, and after 3 TDs on your ship the bonus is severely negated.

Only the Caldari typically fly ships with no turrets, so you can almost always be assured of disabling at least 1 turret.

It is important to note that most “Sniping” ships will have at least one Tracking computer installed. Although it is not a meter for meter equal of the TD it can increase the chance to hit and the optimal range as opposed to not having one at all.

TDs are most Effective on  a slower ship that relies on long range combat. Short range ships will certainly feel the hurt but can counter alot of the effect of the tracking speed by simply slowing down or by slowing you down ( Webifier ) .  The sniping ships are often big and slow moving and cannot adjust to their new range quickly, if rushed they can be defeated as their slow tracking has been made even slower and the range has been partially negated.

Tracking Disruptor Modules listed least to most effective

Tracking Disruptor I

‘Abandon’  Targeting disruptor

F-392 Baker Nunn Targeting Scrambler

DDO Photometry I

Tracking Disruptor II

Balmer Series Targeting Inhibitor ( same Stats as TD II  but less skill intensive and easier to fit )

Ships that Receive a bonus to TD use are:

Crucifier – 5% per Level

Arbitrator – 5% per Level

Sentinel – 5% per Level

Curse – 5% per Level

Pilgrim – 5% per Level

Skills to Maximise Effectiveness of TDs are:

Warp Disruption

Turret Destabalization

Long Distance Jamming

Frequency Modulation

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Remote Sensor Dampners:

What it does

- Lowers Maximum Targeting Range

- Lowers Sensor Resolution

This can hurt alot of ships badly as the now have to move in closer just to get a target lock on you or your allies, and it takes them longer to lock Target which when fighting Intys or Frigates can itself mean certain death.

The downside to these is that they only by time, eventually the target will get a lock and unless you are abale to move out of the new lowered targeting range it will stay locked onto you.

You can use multiple Sensor Damps, but Just like TDs they will incur a penalty .

Sensor damps can be countered by the appropriately named Sensor Boosters, these Items work exactly in opposite of Damps although not an exact match so the damps are still effective just not as much.

Sensor damps are most effective on ships that have relatively short targeting ranges to begin with, namely Frigates and Interceptors. It is possible that an interceptor could be brought down to such low ranges that due to their speed, the could whip right out of targeting range as they orbit you. They also rely on Fast locking times which can be made longer by the use of Sensor Dampners.  Damps can also be effective against Battleships by making their already long locking times, even longer.

Types of Remote Sensor Dampners least to most effective

Remote Sensor Dampner I

Kapteyn Sensor Array Inhibitor

Indirect Scanning Dampening Unit

Low Frequency Sensor Suppressor

Remote Sensor Dampner II

Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor ( same as RSD II but easier to fit  and less skill intensive )

Ships with Bonuses to Sensor Dampening ( all at 5% per Level )

Maulus

Celestis

Arazu

Lachesis

Keres ( Also 10% reduction in cap use per level )

Skills to help maximize Sensor Damp usage:

Sensor Linking

Signal Suppression

Long distance Jamming

Frequency Modulation

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Electronic Counter Measures

ECM… Always good to have in a group, not so much fun to fight. This is easily the most popular type of Ewar module and the one that often is the first to come to mind when someone mentions ewar.  There are 2 types of ECM modules available, Multi-Spectral ( kind of a jack of all trades and can be successful against all types of ships. Although they are generally not reccomended as they are weaker than their counterparts and as such have less of a chance to successfully jam a target ) . The second type available is Racial Specific, these get a large bonus to jamming against a certain race but are no where near as effective against the others.

What it does

- Jams a ships targeting abilities based on 2 factors

- Target Ships Sensor Strength

- Jamming Strength of the Ecm Module

The chance to jam a target with one jammer is illustrated by the following formula:

C = J/S * 100%

Where J is the jamming strength of your jammer, S the sensor strength of the target ship and C the jamming chance in %. The chance to jam a target with multiple jammers is a simple deduction of Bernoulli’s formula:

C = (1-(1-J/S)^n)*100%

Where J is the jamming strength of your jammer, S the sensor strength of the target ship, n the number of jammers and C the jamming chance in %. Computing the chance to jam with different jammers with different jamming strength against multiple targets is more for the realm of combinatorics enthusiasts, and is of little value here, so we shall not explore this further. Jammers also have an optimal and a falloff range.

As you can see the sensor strength of the Jamming ship has no effect on the chance to jam.

It is possible for multiple successful jams in a row, essentially leaving your opponent a sitting duck.

While many people claim that ECM is overpowered, I say nay, it too is balanced. In the event of an unsuccessful jam ( which happens more than you may realise ) the jamming ship is now burning capacitor for 20 seconds with nothing in return, and the multispectrals, although equally effective against all types of ships, are also heavier on cap usage than their race specific counterparts.

There are a few ways you can counter ECM. The first is ECCM ( Electronic Counter Counter Measure ) these take up a valuable mid slot though they are decently effective. Another Option is Sensor Backup Arrays which fit in the low slots and are also effective against ECM.  A more aggressive approach would be to carry an ecm or Sensor damp of your own, since Caldari ships get bonuses to ECM it is most likely that a single Caldari Racial Jammer would suffice.  There is also Projected ECCM, these can not be used on the person carrying them but can be used to protect a fellow fleet member.

ECM is most effective on ships with low sensor strength, tech-1 vessels of smaller size, thats not to say though that any ship is immune as their is always a chance to be jammed. I personally have managed to save a few ships for people by undocking and warping in quick enough to secure a jam and facilitate the escape.

ECM Jamming Modules again ranked lowest to highest in each category.

Multi Spectral

ECM-Multispectral Jammer I
Initiated Multispectral Jammer I
Induced Multispectral Jammer I
Compulsive Multispectral Jammer I
ECM-Multispectral Jammer II
‘Hypnos’ Multispectral ECM I

Anti-Gallente, A.K.A. Magnetometric Jammers
ECM-Ion Field Projector I
Initiated Ion Field ECM I
Induced Ion Field ECM I
Compulsive Ion Field ECM I
ECM-Ion Field Projector II
‘Hypnos’ Ion Field ECM I

Anti-Minmatar, A.K.A. LADAR Jammers
ECM- Phase Inverter I
Faint Phase Inversion ECM I
Languid Phase Inversion ECM I
Halting Phase Inversion ECM
ECM – Phase Inveter II
Enfeebling Phase Inversion ECM

Anti-Amarr, A.K.A. RADAR Jammers
ECM- White Noise Generator I
‘Penumbra’ I White Noise ECM
‘Gloom’ White Noise ECM I
‘Shade’ White Noise ECM I
ECM – White Noise Generator II
‘Umbra’ White Noise ECM I

Anti-Caldari, A.K.A. Gravimetric Jammers
ECM- Spatial Destabilizer I
FZ-3 Spatial Destabilizer ECM
FZ-3a Spatial Destabilizer ECM I
CZ-4 Spatial Destabilizer ECM I
ECM- Spatial Destabilizer II
BZ-5 Spatial Destabilizer ECM I

ECM- Burst, Effects all races out to a certain range, but very high cap use
ECM-Burst I
‘Rash’ ECM Emission
‘Deluge’ ECM Burst I
1-Z3 Subversive ECM Eruption
ECM-Burst II
‘Cetus’ ECM Shockwave I

ECM-Burst is not reccomended except as a get out of jail free as it effects everyone in the area, including friendlies.

Ships that recieve bonus to ECM use:

Griffin ( 15% strength 10% cap per level )

Kitsune ( 20% strength 10% cap per level )

Blackbird ( 15% strength 10% Optimal and Falloff per level )

Rook ( 30% strength 10% capacitor use per level)

Falcon ( 30% Strength 10% capacitor use per level )

Scorpion ( 15% Strength 20 % Optimal and Falloff and 20% to Burst Range per level )

Widow ( 30% Strength per level )

As you can see there are plenty of options for ECM pilots, this is part of what makes them popular.

Skills to Maximise ECM effectiveness:

Electronic Warfare

Signal Dispersion

Long Range Jamming

Frequency Modulation

Although the ECM are popular they are an all or nothing module. if they work great if not you are draining cap for the next 20 seconds to try again.

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Target Painters

This module although not widely used acts as a beacon for your fleet.

What it does:

- Increases the signature radius of a ship

This means that bigger guns that usually miss smaller ships will start connecting and doing big damage .  Also, missile will explode on target instead of near the target also increasing damage.

The downside to Target painters is that it only really works in a Big to little way, as the smaller guns and lighter missiles have less problem attacking bigger, slower targets. Think of it like Bifocals or Reading glasses for your ship, the things it had a harder time seeing will now become clearer. The best target painters only provide a 30% bonus to signature so it is not the perfect cure for frigates beating your battle ship to a pulp but it helps.  That being said it does work well for missiles.

There is no real counter for Target painters. Sure you can be affected by the other forms of Ewar but that is it.

Target painters are most effective on ships being hit by missiles, as the increased signature radius can really run the damage numbers up. If you are in a roaming gang, your Missile Launching friends will love you lots if you think ahead and pack a target painter.

Target Painting Modules:

Target Painter I
Partial Weapon Navigation
Peripheral Weapon Navigation Diameter
Parallel Weapon Navigation Transmitter
Target Painter II
Phased Weapon Navigation Array Generation Extron

Ships with Bonuses to Painters:

Vigil ( 5% bonus to effectiveness per level )

Hyena ( 7.5% bonus to effectiveess per level also a 3% reduction in Signature Radius per Level )

Bellicose ( 7.5% effectiveness per level )

Huginn  ( 7.5% bonus to effectiveness per level  )

Rapier ( 7.5% bonus to effectiveness per level )

Skills to Maximize Target Painter effectiveness:

Target Painter

Signature Focusing

Long Distance Jamming

Frequency Modulation

Like any Combat skill Ewar takes a certain amount of focus to excel at. Alot of people may just throw together an ECM ship but they are not catching the whole picture.

Remember, an effective Ewar pilot will not be on top of many kill mails, but can certainly help determine who wins the fight in the first place.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope maybe you learned a few things you didn’t know before.

~ Elf

Update

So it has been a few days since my last update, but in that time I have learned a few things

1: Gate camps suck….I have lost an Arbitrator, Maller and Amarr Navy Slicer to gate camps, I liked those ships too, so it hurt a bit.

2:  Ewar is fun..Tracking disruptors and Eccm Can turn the tide of a battle from quite a distance in subtle ways and is alot of fun.

3: Hisec Can Flippers just don’t have the guts to go to low-sec and rely on the stupidity of others.

4: Faction police use warp scramblers.

I have now learned to use drones decently and am in the processing of training ewar skills. Right now the goal is to use an arbitrator ( ewar + drones = soooo sexy )  or curse as my main combat cruisers and fly a blackbird or Falcon in larger ops.  it is just a matter of acquiring the Manuals from the caldari but they can be found reasonably cheap.

So in addition to my losses as I mentioned above, I managed to kill a Kestrel in a Punisher.  He was in a faction control area and let me come right up on him before he started firing. unfortunately for him the Caldari shield tank on a kestrel can not withstand the beating from a pulse laser battrery. and he popped rather quickly and I was barely in armor and had to pulse my repper once before it was good to go.

I have been Roaming with the Tuskers a bit and have had alot of fun with them as well as learning alot. They are a great group of Honorable Pirates and it is a pleasure to fly with them.

Well thats it for now.

New Beginings, Fresh Blood.

First a RL note:       About 6 months ago my work schedule changed and I could no longer be as active in EvE as I would have liked. Thinking it unfair to the rest of the Corp members I removed 25081197 from The Tuskers. I have recently returned to the game, yet I had forgotten that 250 was near penniless and had no ships left as I had lost my last ship to a gank squad not 10 minutes after resubscribing. For this reason and due to Missiles being hit with the Nerf bat yet again 250 met the Biomass and Elfhat0r came into my possession. The blog will remain with the same title but will now follow Elfhat0rs adventures…

My name is immaterial, you can and shall refer to me as Elfhat0r or simply Elf, not that I particularly like that name any better than my own but it seems to have been the one that stuck through the years. I am an Amarr of the Khanid bloodline. I was once a proud Amarrian, willing to fight and die for what out ruler and founder thought was right. That was until the day that I found, much like Khanid II , that I could control me better than anyone else. And so it began that I set out on my own, intent on carving a name for myself through the blood and tears of those that would oppose me. Certainly any venture has it’s risks but many also have their rewards.

I recently have been flying in the area of Verge Vendor, a somewhat  lawless little section of space that is home to Miners, Mission runners and Pirates alike. Within this mass of Society there is a group whom I have run into frequently, The Tuskers. These pirates, although skilled in small gang warfare as most pirates are, are also all stellar individual pilots, as a requirement to join their ranks involves official documentation of 5 solo kills with 2 of those being a ship higher on the food chain than your own.

After flying with and against these pirates for a week or so I decided to put in my own application and although I do not have the required knowledge of ship systems or the kills, I am working towards both.

As far as Ship systems go, I am focusing my training on the Gallante vessels. I came to this determination after flying vessels from the 4 main races of the galaxy, having no success to speak of with many of the others and weary of the Amarr vessels I have flown for longer than I care to remember.  Their mix of powerful weapons with the addition of the added benefit of drone systems make them formidable foes. I am currently only certified to fly the frigate class vessels but that is fine as I wish to have the proper support skills in place before I move up a notch to the more specialized ships or to cruisers.

My first combat kill of the solo variety came approximately 3 standard days ago. I was in the Ostingele system testing an Incursus frigate, when I stumbled upon a Catalyst destroyer class vessel in the systems lone asteroid belt. I activated my Microwarp drive and sped towards the vessel as it was about 20 km from where I landed. While I was speeding towards it I launched and engaged my drone, and had my warp scrambler and webifier ready to lock as soon as the the targeting systems finished locking the signal.  Soon enough the system locked and the destroyer was trapped. Luckily for me, I was orbiting so closely, a mere 500 meters from his ship that his guns had a hard time tracking me and soon there was a deafaning sound as the metal twisted and moaned underneath the blaster fire until the ship exploded and all that was left of the vessel was a twisted wreck. The unfortunate pilot did not escape in time and his control pod soon met a similair fate.

Still shaking slightly from the adrenaline I quickly gatered the remaining fitting that I thought I could sell, recalled my drone and went to a secluded area of space to let  the local authorities cool their search for me. It was only then that I realised that I had forgotten to scan the area first. I was lucky the ship was something I could easily fight in my small frigate.

My second kill, came just yesterday as I was roaming through the Placid area in a cheap Atron class frigate that I picked up on sale after losing a few ships through my own bad luck. I came to a jump gate in the Aunsou system when my ships HUD ( heads-up display) registered a known outlaw a mere 5 km from the gate, in a Manticore stealth bomber. Although I am a new pilot I know that the larger missiles are often not effective at close range so I  quickly sped towards him as fast as my afterburner would carry me and acivated my warp scrambler, not fearing the sentry guns on the gate as this was a Concord approved target. I think he was a bit supprised that I engaged as he quickly fired a missile at me, and although it took a good 1/3 of my shields away, it was his downfall as he could now no longer activate the gate for a short period as he had recently been involved in aggressive combat opperations. This allowed me time for my pulse lasers and drone to disintigrate his shield, and eat through his armor, ( which I have noticed lasers have a hard time doing ) Finally ripping through his structure I heard the satisfying explosion as his 40 million isk Ship had fallen to a ship that except for the laser crystals cost me maybe 1 million isk at the most. Unfortunately for me most of his fittings were lost in the explosion, but I suppose thats what happens when all those warheads go off at once.

I will continue my training and shall up date this log as I further progress in my adventures.

Sir! We’ve been…Tagged

I have been tagged by the boss so here goes. Here are the rules of this game of tag:

• Link to the original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share 7 facts about myself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

Facts:

Spent nearly 5 years working in a county jail, mostly working with violent Felons ( Murderers, Rapists etc.)

Have a rather large collection of Starwars books, nearly 50 as of last count.

Once had a cat named Smokey. As soon as we got him home from the pet store he ran out of the back door of the house, never to be seen again.

My birthday, February 13th is shared by Randy Moss, Jerry Springer, Mats Sundin, Pope Alexander VII and several others

Played Jesus in a church easter pagent for 4 years, the last year I did, I hung on a cross in nothing but a loin cloth for nearly an hour in 35 Degree F weather

Was Born in Rochester, New York. Home of the best musician of all time, Chuck Mangione.

Both my parents served in the US Army.

Tagging:

Joc

Will update when I find 6 more to tag.

A look back, A look ahead

Wow! What a first week as a pirate! I made a few mistakes and learned from them. Unfortunately, it cost me a few ships but I suppose that is the price of doing business. Although my losses were a drop in the bucket compared to some of the Tuskers’ targets this week, 2 Marauder class vessels, 6 Battle ships, 7 battle cruisers and a host of other once proud vessels that are now reduced to twisted heaps of scrap. Most of this was accomplished with a small gang of frigates and cruisers, showing that those big expensive hulls may look real nice and impress some but out in the black, it really amounts to almost nothing if the group that you are up against is hungry enough. As of the writing of this, according to the corporate killboard, we have inflicted 2.86 billion isk in damage while only taking a combined 300 million or so isk in damage. Not bad, in my eyes.

As I look ahead to continuing my studies, I have reached a bit of a crossroad. I am torn between a liking of ECM vessels and equipment and the speed and “tackling” capability of interceptors. I had told Fellow corpmate Wensley, that I would work towards piloting a Falcon class ECM vessel, and I will, but I am very tempted to delay it a little while in favor of learning to pilot interceptors. I do enjoy ECM and watching as a ships targeting systems are rendered helpless, however, it seems that with the caliber of pilot in the Tuskers, and the fact that ECM drones are readily available and used by some, it may not always be the best use of a ship. These things would make me lean towards interceptors for day to day use. In the more organized operations though we generally have tackling covered and I am free to use the ECM. I guess it comes down to which would I rather help first, the day to day operations of the Tuskers, or the every so often organized operation? Decisions, decisions…

Oh well, got to go get the Griffin ready, we have a little something planned for today, could get interesting…

New beginings

First I believe an introduction is due, to some I am known as Hatley. Officially, however the Caldari Navy has me on record as serial number 25081197. I am what some in this ‘verse would call a criminal. I prefer to think of it as a Professional Opportunity Manager. In short, I am a pirate.

It wasn’t always this way, for quite a while I was a simple miner, content to supply the things others needed to get rich, well richer than me anyway. We dealt with pirates as they came, usually by fleeing back to the nearest station and forfeiting what goods we couldn’t quickly stash in our cargo holds in hopes that it would appease them.

However, there was always a respect there for them and the boldness to see what they wanted and take it, not simply living day to day for the status-quo. I began to research, listen to their feeds, check their killboards and soon I found myself wanting to be one of “Them”. It was at this point I gave up my mining career and took a journey, the how, where and why is unimportant but I was gone for several months.

Upon my return to civilization, I realized that much had changed and I knew that I could see what I want and now it was my time to reach out and take it, or forever live with the regret of “what might have been” . And so I began to retrace the info feeds and frequencies of the local pirates, many were the same, “Join now, no experience needed” or “All welcome”  Now I am sure that everything has it’s place and purpose but I was looking for something different. It was then that I stumbled upon an advert for a company that required documentation of 5 solo kills as a demonstration of ability. It was then that I knew that the challenge had been laid before me, would I accept and carry out this calling, or would I simply fade back to my mining days and only dream of what could be?

I crossed the point of no return.

I began contact with the Corporation leader, a Mr. Ka Jolo and soon all I was missing from my completed application was the proof of kills.

Let the Hunt Begin.

I managed to get my hands on a cheap rifter with what was left of my mining fortune and soon had it with the bare essentials a young pirate would need.

The first target brought forth all the nervous energy that one could expect and then some, I was no longer the hunted but the hunter, but as I flew into one of the many asteroid belts in the Amamake solar system I saw a lone Rupture mining away, maybe on auto-pilot as it was rather late. I was so nervous that I almost fumbled the warp scramble! But soon it was locked and the Stasis Webifier had taken hold as my 125mm gatling cannons began to pierce the defenses of the ship. Soon there was a loud pop and then an explosion that rattled my small Rifter to the core.

I had done it! I had taken my first step into the path that I longed for.

As I peered through the wreckage I found a few salvageable Items that were of no real use to me now, but that would sell for enough to let me upgrade my ship and have a little fun to boot.

They all didn’t come as easily and I lost a few ships along the way, but one by one the kills came, I was able to shift into a few surplus Caldari vessels as I preferred the safety of their range to the speed and structural integrity of the Minmitar ships ( I swear some of them are held together by little more than chewing gum and tape )

And so it was that yesterday I returned to Mr Jolo with the proof of my kills in hand. It was then that I became…

A Tusker.