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Are assault frigates or Interceptors capable of nulsec ratting?

Asked by [ Editor ]

I would like to head out to null sec in an assault frigate or interceptor (Minmatar only).

I am a frig sized ship specialist, so my AF skills are very good and my Inty skills will be right up there soon enough (all recommended certificates).

Having never ratted in null sec, my question is will an AF/Inty suffice? I have spent a lot of time ratting in low sec and easily take down BS rats there, but have absolutely no idea what I will be facing in null sec.

If an AF/Inty is not going to cut it, would two cut it? I plan to bring a friend who is pretty skilled with a Taranis.

To be clear, I intend to do no more than belt rat.

P.S. Any recommended fittings for a Wolf/Jaguar?

NN comments
nf_50
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To answer my own question: Yes.

I have had no trouble ratting solo in a wolf.

Things get a lot quicker when my friends taranis is around.

Ammo is a major problem, and makes this not very cost effective… but then I wasn’t looking for isk, I was looking for security status upgrades.

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5 answers

4

liverpooler [ Editor ]

You most certainly will not be able to break the tank on the 1.2 million+ Battleship spawns. Not to mention that you will be highly inefficient even if you do focus on killing the rats you CAN kill. My advise would be to at least fit a bomber with torpedoes, and sit far out and torp the rats to death. This way you can fit a cloak, and also maintain a smaller sig radius and warp out safely if needed.

NN comments
blackcat
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I have done the Stealth Bomber thing and it works great so long as you don’t want to kill the cruisers and frigs. Then you’ll waste as much ammo clearing them out hopping for a BS to spawn next time as you would with the BS spawn itself.

nf_50
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In so far as I wont be able to break the tank on the 1.2 mil BS spawns, would I be able to do so with an AF / Inty combination?

What kind of dps requirements are we talking about here?

matt_12
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I’ve broken a Guristas Raven 1.25m battleship with 215 DPS it was actually an arty fit though, so the alpha was much higher, although that shouldn’t matter. I’ll tell you now it was painfully slow getting past it’s shield peak recharge. Couldn’t tell you how long it took, but it felt like 10+ mins. Once it was well in armour it they do go down pretty quick.

nf_50
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As per the comment on my own question, this is entirely possible. I have just broken the tank on a 6mil isk bounty Domination BS, solo, with a wolf.

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0

virtucon [ Editor ]

forget the assault frig. your best bet would be to fly a vagabond if you can fly a minmatar HAC. they can punch out the damage of a hurricane, and can REALLY go fast and speed tank null sec rats. not to mention if you get caught, you have a good chance to get out by flying out of range of your scrambler, or killing the scrambler before his friends arrive.

NN comments
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0

redmage [ Editor ]

Assault Frig

  • Could crack low battleships, with time.
  • Battle cruisers take a while.

Interceptor

  • High survivability.
  • Low cruisers take a while.
  • Way too little dps to crack the battlecruisers.
  • Occasional problem into and out of 0.0

Alternatives:

Stealth Bomber Frigate class

  • Better DPS vs BS
  • Could take out BC with low skills.
  • Torp 4, Covert ops, CLOAK
  • Will NEVER be a problem in and out of 0.0 once you learn how.

With your tararnis friend able to easily scout around while you maneuver in 0.0, you could easily bring an AF for the DPS and work on rats with bigger bounties.

I would say do that, be safe and fit a cloak to hide, or go after or trap pvp pilots in the area while you are there.

With your friend you shouldn't have problems. Pay attention to the bounty of the rats. Keep tabs on both cruisers and battleships. A BC spawn can have lots of medium guns with decent tracking on you. Take it slow and see how it goes.

Be prepared for ppl to come around and try and shoot you.

NN comments
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0

matt_12 [ Editor ]

well speed tanking you may be able to rat in 0.0, depending on the security class of the system and natural damage resistances, as much as skills..

Certainly the Wolf is the best bit for you. for it's hardy tank and excellent DPS.

AB fit it and try to keep your sig low. Watch out for webbing/scramming frigates.

Not all 0.0 is created equal, true security status and H' class of a system is important, -0.2 shouldn't be too bad for you.

in a true -1 system they will be as brutal as a fully locked and loaded PVP fit damage wise, obviously they aren't as smart as players, but if a battleship hits you dead on you will likley go pop.

My advice if you are intent on 0.0 ratting in a frigate is to get fast keep small and wear them down, you can do the damage needed to break all but the strongest 2m battleships just a question of time... Clearly having two of you will help.

Be prepared it may cost you some ships when you get unlucky though.

If you are minmatar and want to continue to rat it is well worth investing in a skills for a hurricane so you can rat comfortably without the overhang of possibly being insta popped.

In terms of techniques I would get your friend in his taranis to go in and blast around at full speed gaining agro, his speed and MWD sig mitigation of a lvl4 or lvl5 trained inty pilot should keep him alive. Then you roam in and land the DPS on them.

Hope it helps and you are a braver man than I when it comes to PVE I prefer huge tanks and small DPS.

NN comments
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0

homshar chal

You do like a challenge! Truth be told is the DPS needed to kill some of the spawns might be more than an assualt frig can deliver. Speed is the key to survival, so wonder why not a MWD? This was key to my survival many times.

Also would strongly consider a cloak, esp running to hide from other players. seen many a neutral go AFK and just sit out in system untouchable. If you stumble into someone's system and they take offense, be sure they will try to bottle you in. Most of the null is non-blue shoot instantly, you will not get a chance to beg foregiveness. Fly to a random safe, cloak, go have dinner.

I've enjoyed using an Ishtar (heavy Assault Cruiser) for ratting, it can handle Sanctums and Havens solo without much worry. How long for you to skill up for that? This might provide you with more DPS and better survivabilty should you get locked by a battleship.

NN comments
canhasgank
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MWD increases your sig radius significantly (making you easier to hit) if not fit on an Interceptor.

nf_50
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Thanks for the answers guys.

I can actually fly and fit minmatar up to HACs… the main reason why I want to take an AF / Inty out to nul is to avoid getting bubbled on the way there or stuck in the middle of xyz nulsec after going through a wormhole.

Also, considering the possibility of getting noticed by an alliance, I would prefer to be in a smaller sig / faster / more capable of insta warp than a cane.

Af’s are also reasonably cheap to replace, so why not.

Any comments on this comment?

matt_12
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Best odds is to go out in a cov ops and recon your intended area. find a quiet system in NPC null sec to rat. Jump your HaC in a carrier to an NPC station. If you don’t have access to a Carrier, try to find a wormhole into the area or go right after D/T. Null sec is very tightly controlled in border systems but deep inside it’s relatively easy to move about in. Find a way through the perimeter and unless you happen upon a roam or enter the homeworld system of an alliance you should be ok. The AF’s would be fun, but the amount of ammo you will go through will remove the profit from it.

matt_12
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HaC’s have good speed and align time so you can warp to a safe and just cloak. They also have small sigs vs DPS output so would be my prefered null sec belt and small annom ratter.

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