[TMA] Solo ratting in 0.0 in a SB

[Gabriel]

So I'm returning to the game after a six month hiatus (only played for a year before that mind you) and while I loathe pve content, for various reasons I need to get and keep my sec status above -1.9

I figured the easiest way to do this would be the usual loop null killing one rat BS in each system thing, and that the easiest ship to do that in without dying would be a SB.

But to be totally honest I know nothing about ratting in one so I'd like to ask for some tips.

Planning on using torps on a Hound to do this.

My questions are mainly:

1) What range should I be from rat BS's when I'm attacking them? I assume I should be orbiting them.

2) I've seen arguments that the sig penalty for a MWD on a ratting SB is small enough that it's worth it to go MWD over an AB, is this true?

3) How concerned should I be with smaller rats in belts where I just want to pop a BS and leave? Can I safely ignore rat frigs/destroyers to just pop a BS and leave, or do I need to pop the smaller ships first?

And of course anything else any of you feel might be relevant.

[Varcaus]

If I do this should I just use the best damage type for the rat or is it better to use a ....

[Mr Marram]

If you want to use a hound then hit angel rats to make best use of the bonused damage type. Great wildlands can be pretty quiet, I used this section, you can avoid that main route by going along the side path back to the first system, it takes longer but it is very safe.

[Cortess]

Yet angels tend to target-paint and have a low sig themselves and are the fastest. Making them the "worst" npcs. Still shouldn't be a problem to bring down a BS

I'd personally would just go for which ever nullsec is the closest. Don't care for tackle much, since you want to do the kind of damage that those ratters are hardened for.

[Gabriel]

Thanks for the replies.

Honestly the main thing I wanted to know from someone is what range I should be orbiting at. Like I said, I know nothing about PVE in this game.

Though now that it got mentioned I never even thought of bothering to carry tackle either....

[Mr Marram]

Depending on the rats, some try to get into close range but others try to pull range.
Your best bet is to orbit at about 40km with mwd on, transversal should keep you safe from BS guns and the mwd speed should keep you ahead of the frigates.

[Gabriel]

Depending on the rats, some try to get into close range but others try to pull range.
Your best bet is to orbit at about 40km with mwd on, transversal should keep you safe from BS guns and the mwd speed should keep you ahead of the frigates.

Thanks.

[Mr Marram]

A bit of buffer like a MSE should be fine for tank.
Fine tune the orbit to reduce damage, with decent skills your tops should hit out to 50km ish.

[Ralara]

Serpentis or Sanshas are p. cool to kill - serpentis dont have much weapons range (tho they can damp you) and sanshas tracking disrupt, which doesn't affect torps, obviously.

[slight]

Don't bump into roids in a speed tanked SB

[Tyrus Tenebros]

3) SBs do enough dps, 700? you will be fine

The DPS of stealth bombers is a myth and I hope it starts to fade as Eve now shows your ingame DPS, instead of people choosing to not believe EFT or not realizing how much their shitty skills affect the ship.

I whipped up pretty specialized stealth bomber fits for solo'ing, trying to pretty much get max gank on to them.

A 2x BCS, T2 Bay Loading Rig (ROF), +3% torp damage, +3% missile ROF purifier firing rage which does full damage to next to nothing (I had shitton laying around for a reason I can't remember and I was shooting an IHUB), does just over 700 dps. With my skills, maxed except for 4's in warhead upgrades and torp specialization, I got 704. This is before heat, ofc, but you're not going to be heating while ratting.

That same bomber with T1 torps does 550 dps.

In that same fleet, we had bombers ranging from i-shit-you-not 220 dps on a poorly skilled alt, to the majority between 300-400 dps, with a few outliers. I had BY FAR the most dps, i was outdamaging many bombers with rage loaded as a test while using T1 torps. What they get is high alpha, but most derps don't really think about that

Yes, I mad and I had to let that out, and I happened to see this post for the first time just now. Bombers are NOT fast ways to get "high dps", they're utter shit until you get skills, just like every other ship in eve and I really wish people would stop fucking training for them.



In other news, if you rat in an SB, pop the stupid frigates fast. I was sec status ratting in an MSE / AB bomber (the one mentioned above @ 550dps) and i was down to about 40% shields after popping a single BS against a 2x BS / 3x Frigate spawn.

[Ophichius]

My two cents on the whole thing: If you're really seriously going to be ratting, invest in some synth crash. It's cheap, no side effects, and vs anything smaller than a BS your DPS goes up by about 10%

I used to rat in a Purifier, and I can attest that 700 DPS is a myth. The DPS you will get isn't bad if you have good skills, but nowhere near 700. Interestingly enough, with high enough skills it takes almost the same number of shots to kill everything from frigates to battleships, with the exception of interceptor/AF spawns which are a huge pain and should simply be warped away from.

Also, don't fit tackle, a TP in that slot will do you much more good.

Depending on how deep into 0.0 you're going and how long you intend to be out there, a blockade runner alt can be handy. Keep some nano-paste and a load of torps and drugs on it, and resupply as necessary. It also makes a safe place to stash faction loot.

-O

[RoemySchneider]

what TT said...

plus, rats are better at moving around than players - true story. you may hit a guristas BS for full damage, but that's about it; especially cruisers ruin your isk/h dramatically.
then there's the fact that asteroid npc, too, tend to throw defenders - ones that actually work.

eventually, i'd recommend a daredevil, even with t2 ammo

[Daredevil, Daredevil fit]

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Prototype Cloaking Device I
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S

1MN Afterburner II
Eutectic Capacitor Charge Array
Eutectic Capacitor Charge Array

Small Armor Repairer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Imperial Navy Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane

Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing I
[Empty Rig slot]

choose proper energized resistance membrane and/or add a resi rig
but in range, you'll deal a 'reliable' 400+ dps (with a few imps)

[Raz]

Chiming in on this thread because I really hate stealth bombers and people who think they're good at ratting. Like Tyrus and Roemy said, unless you have maxed skills their DPS is not that great and the damage reduction factor with torps against most things is p. bad.

I rat for sec in a pvp fit Daredevil in Serpentis space with pretty good success. It's actually faster than using a cruiser or BC because of the time you save warping between belts and gates between systems. A 2x MFS DD gets around 400 DPS with void and you're actually doing close to paper DPS against Serpentis battleships. The added benefit over a bomber is the ability to carry much more ammo than you needed and you can swat the frigs that spawn in one or two volleys.

[pr0lurker]

Chiming in on this thread because I really hate stealth bombers and people who think they're good at ratting

Last time I tried using one in the belts it was painful and that's with torp spec 5. Rupture with 425's is much better but you'll piss ammo away like no man....

[Hydro]

Fly a bc. It does better dps and can actually kill shit in belts other then npcs. Also, should you decide to pvp be sure to bring at least 4 falcon alts/buddies with you to pwn n00bies.

[James john]

Solo ratting in 0.0 in a SB provide us a lot of knowledge according to requirements and aspects so we will be
remind any best outcomes those provide us a best role in life.

[pr0lurker]

Solo ratting in 0.0 in a SB provide us a lot of knowledge according to requirements and aspects so we will be
remind any best outcomes those provide us a best role in life.

[Gabriel]

Chiming in on this thread because I really hate stealth bombers and people who think they're good at ratting. Like Tyrus and Roemy said, unless you have maxed skills their DPS is not that great and the damage reduction factor with torps against most things is p. bad.

For the record, I never said I thought I was good at ratting, or that SBs are good to rat with. Ratting for me is nothing but a temporary necessary evil and a stealth bomber the easiest ship to use without a second account scouting alt (which would take up money I would otherwise spend on plex to not have to do any of the god awful pve content in this game). Also, flying a SB is not bad for making bookmarks while roaming around NPC null and shooting 1 BS rat per system.

vOv

[Sparkus Volundar]

A lot of the down sides of SBs relate to the damage reduction torps suffer vs sub-BS rats but as he wants to rat up his sec status ASAP, it's not really a problem.

SBs are fine for warping around a system safely till he finds a BS. Then to summarise, stay at long range aligned to a gate/celestial blob in case of unwanted PvP (across the line of fire of the BSs), decloak, chuck torps, MWD for keeping range on frigates/cruisers (switching align to keep in range of the BS), leave system and not return for 15 mins.

I'd prefer PvP-fitted a BC if I had a base in null but it's prob not time-efficient to try and get one in solo from Empire.