The Summer of FW Hunting is probably drawing to a close. The changes implemented today and those still to come in Retribution will probably significantly change the landscape once again. I for one, welcome the changes. While I did my best to enjoy jumping into FW Plex and trying to kill ships 150k from me, which I did rather frequently, the entire process was rather stoopid to be honest.
As always though, I do what I can with what is given. I am after all a criminal terrorist of the space-lanes.
Over the Summer I tried just about every combination of ship possible to catch and kill these carebear types. I had some success with the Slasher, which remains a great Frigate, but it also happens to be a death trap should anything AT ALL go wrong. The Merlin also works sometimes, but given its slow speed, catching anyone is challenging. And while the Daredevil probably remains the best overall small ship for this purpose, it also remains the most expensive. ( The DD's perfect fit requiring faction mods )
I tried Tormentors, Arazu, Pilgrim, Moa, Vaga, SFI, Ranis, Atron, Jags, Wolves, seriously, every frigate, destroyer, and AF available. Even Thrasher's. Which require camping and that is something that holds no interest to me. Talk about boring.
I did happen to also learn a lot about small ships during this process.
So what do you need to kill these often gun-less idiots? Speed most of all. So something fast with a long point. That eliminates a lot of ships right off the bat. Something that can kite, just in case they do actually have guns. And something that can project damage, while also surviving some. Not only do the rats often shoot at you, but sometimes the target brings friends along.
So speed, distance, projection and survivability. So how about the Comet?
Two 150mm Railguns. MWD, Long Point, ASB or TD in the medium slots and DC2 and damage mods in the lows. I prefer the shield booster, but I carry a TD with me just in case. Combined with 6 Hobs or Warriors, the Comet projects damage from a comfortable range outside of scram/web. The damage output isn't anything to write home about, depending on ammo and drone skills, it hovers right around 200 dps on average. But the drones give that dps a nice projected ability and the option of multiple targets if needed. Add to that 4k+ speed and it makes a deadly combination.
My RL situation changed on me just as I was really starting to test this, but other people are flying it now and it looks like the whole thing might be pointless now anyway.
I hope so. T'was a silly thing.