Naval frigate upgrades: Republic Fleet Firetail
As promised, I took a deeper look at the navy frigate changes coming with Dominion, the EVE Online expansion in winter 2009. CCP wants to beef them up and turn them into something like a hybrid of assault frigates and interceptors. Due to the depth of the analysis, I’ve chosen to break it up into four separate articles. This first article will examine the Republic Fleet Firetail.
Speed Considerations
Historically, the Firetail has been one of the fastest T1 frigates around, and its popularity largely rested on this (in addition to the aesthetic appeal).
The old base speed of 357 m/s and 5% bonus per level of Minmatar Frigate gave it a top speed of about 446 m/s with Minmatar Frigate V (not counting additional navigation skills or equipment). In Dominion, CCP will remove the speed bonus but boost the base speed to 410 m/s, faster than all the other naval frigates. The Firetail also will get a slightly higher inertia modifier (3.2 instead of 3.1), which keeps it as one of the more ponderous frigates in terms of align time.
Other Minmatar T1 frigates will beat it, though not by much: the Slasher has a base speed of 419 m/s, and the Vigil has a 5% bonus per level to boost its 353 m/s speed, so it tops out at about 441 m/s. Additionally, the Atron only loses 1 m/s to the new Firetail, but has about 2/3 the inertia, so it’s a good bit quicker. This drops the Firetail to third in terms of raw speed among all T1 frigate hulls, with the Atron close on its heels in a fight. Then again, none of those ships can match the Firetail in sheer firepower.
Design
CCP will drop a high slot and add a medium slot on the Firetail, so that the ship will end up having a 3/4/3 layout. With the addition of a full 20% damage per level, those two turrets effectively become 4, though. This ends up giving the Firetail more firepower than the long-time favorite Rifter, with its relatively-paltry 5% bonus per level. A substantial boost in CPU (125 to 140 TF) and minor powergrid upgrade (38 to 39 MW) will also allow a great deal more flexibility in the fitting. Perhaps pilots will add a bit of shield tank (e.g. afterburner, stasis webifier, warp scrambler, and shield booster in the mids) and add some propulsion boosts like inertia stabilizers, ODIs, or nanofiber internal structures in the lows. The capacitor drops from 325 to 250 GJ, but recharge time also drops from 234.38 to 187.5 seconds.
Time will tell whether Minmatar militia pilots end up using these gems in greater numbers, as they have costs similar to T2 frigates but can enter minor facilities. Essentially, she won’t be quite as quick but even meaner than before, so the cost/benefit ratio will improve considerably.
Tomorrow: the Caldari Navy Hookbill.