Fit Kitchen: Imperial Navy Slicer

Shocking, I know. A Minmatar fangirl and here I am writing about Amarr Foundation Day and the 3v3 Slicer battles to come. From the 7th to the 11th of August 2020, you’ll be able to throw Slicers at each other in the new abyssal proving grounds. So why is this a Fit Kitchen and not a Fittings for Glorification article? Well, it’s a single ship format and I haven’t yet done a Slicer one. We can talk about all the different ways of fitting this speed machine.

It also gives me an excuse to write about a ship which really doesn’t have many options without running into “just watch a Chessur video”. We all know that this is a speedy, capless, slot limited laser boat. To use it in another capacity is difficult to justify. Extra ewar means dropping prop or point and there isn’t much else that fits into those two turret high slots other than beams or pulses. None of this is particularly bad, it’s just limiting.

Amarr Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
10% bonus to Small Energy Turret optimal range
25% bonus to Small Energy Turret damage

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Fittings for Glorification

As you can see from the image above, my thoughts are that this is going to be a very rock-paper-scissors style situation. I expect to see remote rep slicers as a mainstay of the 3v3 format. If you can sit and soak up all the damage in the world while hitting out to lock range then it really doesn’t matter. Having the utility high for RR just makes the concept more attractive. Kiting Slicers just can’t beat that really.

To fight against the RR we might also see some anti-RR comps developed. Going all-in on neuts and high DPS can be enough to break the RR chain while neutralising the incoming DPS. Going down this route could likely make you vulnerable to kiting gangs of Slicers though. You can, of course, mix up various ideas here, but one of the key concepts of fleet design is synergy between different ships. One kiter, one neuter, and one RR ship might not be particularly effective, for example.

To kick the fits off, though, I’ve got two ways of running a remote rep setup below. Neither have props and one is… weirder than the other. Number one is pretty simple and runs with beams to 50km and a web to prevent anyone from getting under your guns. Number two, however, is a mixed beam and pulse fit. I know I know, mixed fittings are bad, but running a setup like that allows you just that little bit more fitting and means that a web isn’t necessary. I have full confidence that anyone at range should still die to your combined 6.75 effective beams, while also providing a safety net against pulse brawlers.

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So how do you beat RR fits? You could always run your own RR setup and try to just be better. Running faction reps instead of ancils will also afford you the longevity in a drawn out fight. You could also run with neuts and, if you like, tracking disruptors. You already know everyone will have guns so why not?

The two fits below are ways to fight back against the (potential) RR menace. I don’t have foresight so I can’t exactly solve the meta before it starts! The main idea is to use a 1MN tracking disruption fit and forget about any kind of web or cap assistance. Having the offensive neut and using an afterburner should be enough to solve all of your problems within 2-3 minutes of laser dance party time. There is actually an additional benefit to that tracking disruptor in that it can help force other ships closer if you end up being kited.

The other way to solve the kiting issue is to run two AB neuters and some sort of “catching” ship to scram while you burn your other ships over. That lets you beat others in an RR brawl while not being totally defenceless when someone shows up to feather you into oblivion. The speedy fit I’ve gone for isn’t the fastest, no, but you do need something that is going to survive beyond just a few seconds. Use positioning and tracking disruption instead to force your opponents into a bad situation and get those AB slicers on top ASAP.

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And we move around the circle back to the true calling of the Slicer. To kite. As with other discussions I’d like to throw two fits at you guys and see what sticks. And it isn’t quite as simple as watching videos on Youtube and pasting the fit you find into Pyfa. The problem is that any true non-arena kiting fit has a lot of potential to end up in a mirror match or against tanky beam bois. Both of which could end up being disappointing and very short fights against your 3k EHP.

My way of getting around this is to drop speed a little bit and exchange it for a bit more tank, damage, tracking, and a pair of pulses. We’ve also managed to squeeze on the neut. In a desperate situation that neut could be what saves you given the cap reliance of every ship in this Slicer format. Of course a standard setup is still an option and you can see a fit for that in the next section, but I’m quite a fan of my “arena style” fit here. Your max range with Scorch is about 23km and getting under your guns just isn’t a problem at all.

I also like the idea of opting for a super long-range Slicer. By using the right rigs and a lock range boosting sebo, you can reach out to about 70km of lasery goodness while still being perfectly cap stable. The downside is that speed suffers a little compared to a proper kiting ship and I’m not sure if you’d break past a full remote rep setup. On this fit, you will also find that I’ve given it a plate and a remote rep. Against a hostile gang those only there to rep back up between skirmishes. Given that you’ll be well out of range of most other Slicers there should be plenty of time to do this.

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The Meta Slicer

So all that arena stuff is great fun. It’s interesting to think about fits for fights which may have never occurred before in EVE. Seriously, when have people ever gotten together for an even 3v3 Slicer fight? Once the 11th August is over, though, it’s back to reality for us. The fits above will still be viable in certain situations, but for the most part you’re going to need to pivot back to a the speedy Slicer meta.

I’m not going to pretend I’m some sort of solo PvP queen and that I have all the best tips on how to fly a Slicer. What I can give you instead of that is a good idea of what does actually work. That comes partially from asking for other peoples’ opinions and looking at what the killboards say. One of those popular fits is Asilthar’s beam Slicer and it’s everything that a Slicer should be. Speed, damage, range, and bugger all in the way of cap. This is the ship you fly to learn how to kite and how to manage your own capacitor. It’s also why I’m terrible with it.

And honestly other than that I don’t have much else. Unless you’re fitting up shield Slicers (which I actually quite like for what it’s worth) then there aren’t a huge amount of options. The aforementioned Shield Slicer is also just a small Oracle. I recommend watching this 2012 video below from Agony Unleashed to help you get a grasp on proper feathering mechanics. The UI is old (and beautiful), but all of the tips still apply here. I’ll link that shield Slicer below alongside the “proper” beam/pulse fit, too.

Have fun guys ♥