Ship Grimoire - Cruisers

Ship Grimoire
Chapter 1 Cruisers

So, you have all no doubt hopped onto EFT at some point, and built a fantasy boat, wondering whether that 5,000,000.00 ISK for a Vexor for instance, is a total waste of ISK. Should you fly it at all, will it perform in PvP, and will it make the ladies throw their bras and panties at you as you fly by? Well, this comprehensive list will give you the bottom line on all those ships you wish you had a good excuse to buy, undock, or fly.

*Note: If you do not see your favorite ship listed here, it is either A) Flying Scrap Metal, B) Just Not Listed Yet, or C) I honestly do not have enough experience with it to do more than repeat what I have seen or heard.

Ratings: Between 1 and 10, 1 being very poor performance, 10 being the best possible performance.
Gangs:
Small - Around a half dozen pilots
Medium - Around a dozen pilots depending on fleet composition
Large - A dozen or more pilots depending on fleet composition





CRUISERS

Omen
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 3
Strength: Damage
Weakness: 15 Mbit/sec

Frequently overlooked and underrated the Omen is much like the Thorax; high damage output, paper thin tank. The downside is that the Omen cannot field five medium drones like a Thorax, which is likely why it is easily considered the underdog of the Amarr cruisers. However, being a T1 variant of the Zealot, its damage output scales greatly with skill points and weaponry. It performs noticeably well in L2 missions as it is able to quickly deal with incoming alpha before it is overwhelmed.


Maller
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 2 PvE Rating: 1
Strength: Tank
Weakness: 0 Mbit/sec

The Maller, often lauded for having a serious tank for a cruiser, is nothing more than a floating asteroid in a small gang. Although good for adding weight to a smaller gang, the Maller merely delays the inevitable realization that without even moderate damage output or some secondary role to play, it is rare that you will see this ship in a PvP setting. Fielding no drones whatsoever, this cruiser is a flying coffin in any PvE mission above L1 difficulty.


Arbitrator
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 4
Strength: Drones
Weakness: Turrets

The Arbitrator, much like the Vexor, is a drone boat that can field up to five medium drones with a bonus to damage per skill level in racial cruiser. However, the Arbitrator plays more of a logistics role in that it receives a bonus to tracking disruptor effectiveness. This classes it in a role that is not filled by many other cruisers, both dealing significant drone damage and having a utility bonus. The Arbitrator is not seen in small pitched combat very often, but those who fly it will quickly find it adds a layer of protection to the entire gang. Having comparable capabilities compared to the Vexor, the Arbitrator comes in as a close second in dishing out the pain in L2s missions, and will still easily complete them.


Vexor
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 6 PvE Rating: 5
Strength: Damage, Tank
Weakness: Utility

The Vexor is a staple in standard small gang combat and you will usually see at least one stray pilot floating around dealing death in a cruiser gang with this damage heavy cruiser. Being able to both field five medium drones and dish out blaster damage via a bonus to hybrid turrets, the Vexor is versatile in the way it can take out its foes. This ship is a miniature Dominix in every way and is very popular among newer pilots. It also doubles as an excellent mission runner and will effectively neutralize any L2 on the map.


Thorax
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 5 PvE Rating: 3
Strength: Damage
Weakness: Blasters

The Thorax, like the Omen, is a damage dealer. It has the added bonus of being able to field five medium drones however, which puts it a class above the Omen in versality. However, being a far cry from the range that a Vexor is capable of it is easily kited by hostile pilots and dispensed with from a distance. Thanks for nerfing blasters CCP, btw. Still a staple in almost all gang combat where sentry fire is not a factor, the Thorax is well loved and likely holds this spot more out of a sense of legacy than usefulness.


Caracal
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 3 PvE Rating: 2
Strength: Range
Weakness: 10 Mbit/sec

The Caracal, or "Crapacal", as some of us like to call it is the black horse of cruisers. Not really fitting in an ideal role in any way, it is more of a hanger-on in gang combat than a useful asset. Though it does have the added advantage of ranged damage like its T2 variant the Cerberus, it fields a poor tank and useless drone bandwidth. This ship though good for training purposes, should be left in the hangar once the pilot becomes accustomed to combat operations.


Blackbird
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 4 PvE Rating: 1
Strength: Electronic Warfare
Weakness: Tank, 0 Mbit/sec

The Blackbird is a surprisingly good ship for PvP but is often overlooked or ignored by pilots seeking more pew pew than jam jam. Unable to do any significant damage on its own, the blackbird is a floating liability in space that performs a role that most gangs could greatly benefit from. Given the recent nerf to the jamming range of such ships as the Falcon, the Blackbird has become a perfectly viable alternative due to being cheap and disposable. Fit T2 jammers on this puppy, and you have a miniature Falcon for around 10,000,000.00 ISK. Unfortunately, due to having no drone bandwidth, damage, or tank role bonuses whatsoever, this ship should never see the inside of a mission pocket unless it is in a wormhole where Electronic Warfare is effective against Sleeper rats.


Stabber
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 3 PvE Rating: 1
Strength: Speed
Weakness: Everything else...

The Stabber. To be honest, I only see pirates flying these, and these are cheap pirates who cannot afford a Vagabond. Why do they fly them? Because they are afraid to lose a ship, even a cheap one. These speedy devils have a few advantages as a relatively heavy tackle in null security, but other than that, I would not expect to perform much of any other kind of role in a ship of this low caliber. Even in PvE it will perform poorly due to low artillery damage and a laughable 5 Mbit/sec bandwidth.


Rupture
Preferred: Small Gang PvP - Null Security
PvP Rating: 6 PvE Rating: 5
Strength: Tank
Weakness: Artillery

The Rupture, suffers from the curse of relative anonymity among newer players still under the impression that all things Minmatar perform poorly with low skill points. The Rupture, lovingly nicknamed the "Ruppy" by veteran pilots, actually performs exceedingly well for a ship of its size. Having a naturally high tank and base speed, versatile damage range, and able to field five small drones, this cruiser has the best of both worlds. In small gang combat, a Rupture will be able to effectively engage and often speed tank any target larger than itself, and take quite a few hits to boot. In PvE it performs on par with a Vexor due to its versatile nature and speed.