A
Fleet To Rule Them All:
It
has been a while since I have talked about a fleet comp ...
Real
life has been getting in the way and as such it has taken me more
than a month to write this blog about what is quickly becoming one of
my favourite fleets, the C.Q.C. Shield Assault Frigate Fleet. The
brain child of Gallente FC Guiyan has spawned a corp C.Q.B lead by
the Perunga. In its most complex form this fleet is designed to
transverse the warzone quickly using its speed and agility to out
maneuver the larger more bulky cruiser fleet. In its simplest form it
is a wall of DPS that is out to capture and destroy its prey both
quickly and effectively. Whilst the Gallente Militias Ishtar Fleet is
still the Federations great sword C.Q.C has becomes its saber, a
swift blade of death.
CALLING
All DEEPS:
The base of
C.Q.C. is it DPS, like any fleet it is impossible to get the fleet
off the ground without a good DPS base. Attempting to capitalize on
the power of blasters, three Hulls were considered for the fleet. The
first was the Federation Navy Comet, with a 7.5% per level damage
bonus, 20% damage bonus and being one of the fastest ships in the
game it was perfect for new Federation pilots to get into, and
because LP was used to buy the ship it became a cheap platform of
DPS, rocking 245 DPS and being able to move at over 3k with links it
became the fleets heavy tackle.
The
second ship added to the DPS squad was the Shield Blaster Enyo, with
its 10% damage bonus and its 10% optimal range bonus it is able to be
used effectively in tight battles. It does not however have the tank
of the Harpy or the speed of the Comet, but in terms of raw DPS it is
the king of the frigate world, with a small sig, these ships are able
to hit well above their weight and make up the bulk of the fleet.
The
final ship added to the DPS squad is the Harpy "long range"
Blaster platform, with a tank that can get over 15,000 EHP these
ships tend to be the last ships targeted in the fleet. But with two
10% optimal range bonus and 5% damage bonus the Harpy can pull off
250 DPS and acts as first damage. These three ships working together
are deadly combination.
The
Supporting Cast:
While
the leads get the credit, it is the supporting cast that makes the
show. It is no different in C.Q.C. Here the cast can be mixed and
matched to make some incredible magic. First, in the Kitsune
Electronic Attack Frigate while his bigger brothers the Blackbird,
Falcon, and Rook sport a hardier tank the Kitsune is able is rocket
around the battle field at over 3.4k with links. This makes it very
hard to catch and because of this it usually acts as the first. The
second muse in the fleet is the range control Hyena, this Minmattar
Electronic Attack Frig is able to put long range webs out on any
target out to 25k with links. This ablity makes it perfect in gate
camps as well as inside plexes to maintain range on targets. The
third is the Keres E.A.F, this Gallente boat hosts a couple different
fittings that make it as useful and versatile as a Swiss Army Knife.
The first fitting is the roaming long point and damps, where it uses
its 7.5% bonus to Senor Dampener as an effective means to neutralize
DPS or enemy logistics. The second is in gate camps where its 5 med
slots make it perfect as a fleets insist and long range point.
Last
are the interceptors that act as the FCs eyes and ears while on the
move. Fast and nearly impossible to catch they spread out and seek
targets for C.Q.B. to engage. Most the time they are the first wave
of tackle in any roaming fleet.
Logi
Bros, Best Bros
When
C.Q.C. Fleets first rolled out of hangers it was not hard to decide
what ship was going to command the logi role. While the new Logistic
Frigs could do some great things, they were just not of what C.Q.C
needed. So the new Logistic Cruiser the Minmatar Scythe was put into
action. With its bonus to range and repair amount; it would become
the work horse of C.Q.C. roaming fleets. It also became clear that it
would be the only Cruiser that would be up to
the task of keeping up
with the fast roaming fleet. While its size keeps C.Q.C out of small
and novice plexes, the Cruiser has become a best friend to everyone
that has flown in one of these fleets.
Lasting
Impressions:
The
Gallente Militia will always
hold that armor cruiser gangs
are its work horse. Whether
it be with guns and laser (Mallers and Thoraxes) or Drones (VNI and
Ishtars), armor
cruisers will always
be there to protect Federal Space. But I contend that in the last two
years no fleet has had the lasting impact that the C.Q.C.
has had. While alliances bicker
over which cruiser gang is better, nearly every corp has a training
program in place to get its members
into a C.Q.C. Fleet Doctrine ship as fast as possible. It is a fleet
that can act as a stand alone hunter killer, or as a support fleet
for cruiser gangs and up. It carries with it raw DPS that is mostly
unmatched by other Frigate hull gangs, and is
able to punish medium size
cruiser gangs and small battleship gangs. As time moves forward I
believe that we will see this
fleet to continue to evolve in an ever changing warzone.
