Outfitting a New Corp

I can guarantee you that anyone starting a new corp has run into the age-old problem of “what do I use as a doctrine ship?”. I don’t intend to solve that in one shot since the meta is always shifting and there are so many module combinations that it’s not even funny. In fact, the number of combinations of cruiser fits is about the same as the number of atoms on Earth.

Instead, I intend to talk through some solid and simple PvP options at a variety of price points. They’ll be designed with all 5 skills in mind as usual, so if something is a bit too difficult to fit then just downgrade as necessary. The key tenets of these fits are going to be that they are easy to use, competitively priced, and not particularly experimental. If you need PvE fits then check out my How 2 Krab series or for more fits, in general, there are the theorycrafting archives.

This is a Patreon request post made available for all.

Brawling Fits

Perhaps the easiest way to start off would be with a solid brawling fleet. It’s not always viable to sit at zero on someone’s face, but it’s popular and effective in situations where you need to hold a specific grid and kiting isn’t going to work well. My first suggestion would be that you actually head over to a different article and check out the Wolf fleet and the Stabber fleet. Both are great, tried and tested options in the Assault Frigate and Cruiser classes respectively.

Really, what the goal should be is to use ships that offer good “bang for your buck”. Cheap and effective fits that get the job done without having to force anyone into hours of slavery killing Sleepers. T1 battlecruisers fill that niche pretty damn well and you’ll find that, particularly in wormhole space, they offer a nice balance of speed, tank, and DPS for around 100m ISK. And what better way to start off than with a classic, the Drake.

The below two fits are about as barebones as I would be willing to go in “serious” fleet PvP. There are some flaws in the doctrine such as an EM hole on the drake (can be patched if you swap a rig), and the cap reliance of multispectrums. The idea here, though, is that you have so much staying power with nearly 80% resists despite the Surgical Strike update. It’s a very engageable fleet and one that is forgiving of pilot mistakes.

Simple Buffer Drake

[Drake, Shield Drake]

Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Power Diagnostic System II

Faint Epsilon Scoped Warp Scrambler
Compact Multispectrum Shield Hardener
Compact Multispectrum Shield Hardener
Large Shield Extender II
Large Azeotropic Restrained Shield Extender
50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive

Shield Command Burst II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II

Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium EM Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer II


Hornet EC-300 x5

Simple AB Osprey

[Osprey, AB Osprey]

Damage Control II
Mark I Compact Power Diagnostic System
Power Diagnostic System II

10MN Afterburner II
Large Shield Extender II
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Compact Multispectrum Shield Hardener
Compact EM Shield Hardener

Pithum C-Type Medium Remote Shield Booster
Pithum C-Type Medium Remote Shield Booster
Pithum C-Type Medium Remote Shield Booster
Medium Inductive Compact Remote Capacitor Transmitter
Medium Inductive Compact Remote Capacitor Transmitter

Medium Processor Overclocking Unit II
Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Light Shield Maintenance Bot I x4


Nanite Repair Paste x50

Taking this idea of a shield fleet further is really easy. One way to go about that is to upgrade to a faction battlecruiser and fit it in a similar way such as from Drake -> Drake Navy Issue. I personally quite like the idea of doing this with several different DPS ships and mixing them all into one fleet. It isn’t quite the doctrine that you’re used to, but it’s a fleet that looks disorganised while being a lot more cohesive in reality. It gets around that “spook factor” where people are worried about your fleet being too scary so they don’t fight.

I’ve provided a selection of fits below including an upgrade to the Osprey by way of using a Basilisk. All of these, and the Drake can be slotted together to form an easy “starting” fleet. And if that’s too much for some players then it’s easy to keep them in the easier fits such as the Drake or HFI depending on skills. Just be sure to mix up ewar as much as possible; don’t go into a fight without at least a few ships having tackle!

Really, you can go with almost anything you like here, though. I’ve stuck with shield since tank+damage is very simple. For a throwaway hull option there’s always the good old Brutix. In armour, you can also use easy options of a Deimos or Sacrilege fleet supported by Guardians.

(No images here to save space and time, paste them into Pyfa)

[Basilisk, AB Basilisk]

Signal Amplifier II
Damage Control II

Federation Navy 10MN Afterburner
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
EM Shield Hardener II
Republic Fleet Large Shield Extender
Republic Fleet Large Shield Extender

Large Inductive Compact Remote Capacitor Transmitter
Large Inductive Compact Remote Capacitor Transmitter
Large Remote Shield Booster II
Large Remote Shield Booster II
Large Murky Compact Remote Shield Booster
Pithum A-Type Medium Remote Shield Booster

Medium Core Defense Field Extender II
Medium EM Shield Reinforcer II


Light Shield Maintenance Bot I x5


Nanite Repair Paste x100
Large Radiative Scoped Remote Capacitor Transmitter x1
Large Murky Compact Remote Shield Booster x1

[Drake Navy Issue, Simple DNI]

Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II

Warp Scrambler II
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Pithum C-Type Kinetic Shield Amplifier
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Gistum C-Type EM Shield Amplifier
50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive

Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Medium Energy Nosferatu II

Medium EM Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Core Defense Field Extender II


Hammerhead II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5

[Sleipnir, Buffer Brawl Sleipnir]

Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Pithum A-Type Kinetic Shield Amplifier
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II

425mm AutoCannon II
Shield Command Burst II
425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
Shield Command Burst II
425mm AutoCannon II

Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Explosive Shield Reinforcer II


Hornet EC-300 x5


Barrage M x4000
Hail M x8000
Nanite Repair Paste x100
Republic Fleet EMP M x2500
Republic Fleet Fusion M x2500
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M x2500
Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot M x2000
Active Shielding Charge x300
Shield Extension Charge x300
Shield Harmonizing Charge x300

[Tengu, Shield DPS Jam]

Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Missile Guidance Enhancer II

Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Multispectral ECM II
50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
EM Shield Hardener II
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II

Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Small Energy Nosferatu II

Medium EM Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Core Defense Field Extender II
Medium Core Defense Field Extender II

Tengu Core - Obfuscation Manifold
Tengu Defensive - Supplemental Screening
Tengu Offensive - Accelerated Ejection Bay
Tengu Propulsion - Chassis Optimization

[Claymore, Buffer Claymore]

Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
IFFA Compact Damage Control

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Gistum C-Type Kinetic Shield Amplifier
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler

Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Shield Command Burst II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II
Shield Command Burst II
Heavy Assault Missile Launcher II

Medium Explosive Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer II


Hammerhead II x5
Hornet EC-300 x5

[Hurricane Fleet Issue, DPS HFI]

Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II

Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive

425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
425mm AutoCannon II
Medium Energy Nosferatu II
Domination Medium Proton Smartbomb

Medium EM Shield Reinforcer II
Medium EM Shield Reinforcer II
Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer II


Hammerhead II x5


Barrage M x4000
Hail M x8000
Nanite Repair Paste x100
Republic Fleet EMP M x2500
Republic Fleet Fusion M x2500
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M x2500
Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot M x2000

Kiting and Skirmish Fits

Not every situation is going to be one where you can afford to brawl without throwing away your entire fleet. It might be one where you’re outnumbered heavily, or it could be an important defensive objective where pushing the enemy off is more important than killing them. Either way, having a long-ranged doctrine is a useful tool for when you don’t want to just give up.

In many cases, it can work well enough to simply take a gang of solo PvP kiting ships and have a lot of success, especially when paired with supporting EWAR such as a Keres or Sentinel. A true doctrine, however, should be one that works most effectively when scaled up into a fleet. You should be able to add more logi and more DPS as you like without running into the limitations of a small buffer, a local rep, or otherwise. The options below are examples of such fits. A cheap and basic Caracal and an RLML microwarping Gila (or you could run a 100MN IshtarGila). Either of these could be supported easily with a couple of Scimitars or Scythes.

Simple RLML Caracal

[Caracal, Super Cheap]

Damage Control II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
EM Shield Amplifier II
Multispectrum Shield Hardener II

Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II

Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Hydraulic Bay Thrusters I


Hobgoblin II x2


Inferno Fury Light Missile x1600
Mjolnir Fury Light Missile x1600
Mjolnir Precision Light Missile x1600
Nova Fury Light Missile x1600
Nova Precision Light Missile x1600
Scourge Fury Light Missile x1700
Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile x800
Caldari Navy Nova Light Missile x800
Nanite Repair Paste x35

50MN Kiting Gila

[Gila, Simple 50MN Gila]

Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Drone Damage Amplifier II
Drone Damage Amplifier II

Multispectrum Shield Hardener II
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Caldari Navy Large Shield Extender
Pithum C-Type EM Shield Amplifier
Warp Disruptor II
50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive

Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Drone Link Augmentor II

Medium Polycarbon Engine Housing II
Medium Core Defense Field Extender II
Medium Thermal Shield Reinforcer II


Hammerhead II x2
Infiltrator II x2
Infiltrator II x2
Valkyrie II x2
Vespa II x2


Inferno Fury Light Missile x2000
Scourge Fury Light Missile x2000
Caldari Navy Inferno Light Missile x2000
Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile x2000
Core Scanner Probe I x8

Moving on from shield once again, you could look into something a little slower but with more range such as a Harbinger Navy Issue fleet or even a budget Muninn by way of using an armour Hurricane Fleet Issue. Shield still works better with those, but I’m trying to provide options.

My personal favourite two picks are the excellent all-round spider tanking Drekavac, and a cookie-cutter Tornado. The former performs excellently out to around 40km and can brawl very very well. I’ve already talked about it at length in another article and I feel that this is one of the best fits you could fly as a sub-15 man fleet right now in 90% of situations. The latter is a great option for simply deleting opposing ships, no matter the situation. It’s nice to have a stock of them.

Update: I wanted to add on a few more options for long-range doctrines. Part of the issue here is that it’s difficult to justify many of the meta ships since they usually require dozens of pilots to work. With that said, I’d like to also recommend a Beam Harbinger, a Longbow Cormorant, or a Beam/Pulse Navy Augoror. They’re the kind of fits which work very well and are worth having as a doctrine, but without at least 7/8+ DPS and logi you can easily be overrun.

Spider Skirmish Drekavac

[Drekavac, Skirmish Drekavac]

Reactive Armor Hardener
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Entropic Radiation Sink II

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Medium Micro Jump Drive
Medium Capacitor Booster II
Warp Disruptor II

Heavy Entropic Disintegrator II
Armor Command Burst II
Medium Remote Armor Repairer II
Medium Ancillary Remote Armor Repairer

Medium Trimark Armor Pump II
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump II


Hornet EC-300 x5
Infiltrator II x5
Ogre SD-900 x1
Warrior II x5


Mystic M x1000
Occult M x1000
Armor Energizing Charge x300
Armor Reinforcement Charge x300
Rapid Repair Charge x300
Navy Cap Booster 800 x15
Baryon Exotic Plasma M x700
Meson Exotic Plasma M x700
Tetryon Exotic Plasma M x700
Electronic Hardening Charge x300
Electronic Superiority Charge x300
Sensor Optimization Charge x300
Nanite Repair Paste x300
Evasive Maneuvers Charge x300
Interdiction Maneuvers Charge x300
Rapid Deployment Charge x300
Coreli A-Type Explosive Plating x1
Information Command Burst II x1
Skirmish Command Burst II x1
Compact Entropic Radiation Sink x1
10MN Afterburner II x1
Stasis Webifier II x1
Warp Scrambler II x1

Alpha Tornado

[Tornado, Alpha Tornado]

Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Inertial Stabilizers II

Sensor Booster II
Sensor Booster II
Tracking Computer II
Tracking Computer II
Tracking Computer II

1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I
1400mm 'Scout' Artillery I

Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Ionic Field Projector I
Medium Low Friction Nozzle Joints I


Republic Fleet EMP L x1000
Republic Fleet Nuclear L x1000
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma L x1000
Republic Fleet Titanium Sabot L x1000
ECCM Script x2
Scan Resolution Script x2
Targeting Range Script x2
Optimal Range Script x3
Tracking Speed Script x3

Doctrine

I wanted to finish this short piece with a bit of a discussion on why we have doctrines anyway and what their purpose is. In most cases, we have a doctrine so that the FC has a clear idea of what their fleet can do and can act accordingly. When properly controlled, two FC’s engaged in a battle are almost fighting a pure 1v1 where their “ship” is their fleet and their individual fit is their doctrine of choice as a whole. Beyond this, doctrine ships also help smaller corps create some greater level of cohesion and help stop people bringing their solo PvP fit to a heavy armour brawl.

Needless to say then, doctrines are important. You just need to pick the right ones and you need to know that you don’t have many “slots” to effectively train people into them. Each and every required doctrine you add to the roster can mean potentially weeks of training for some pilots and additional overhead for them to purchase it in the first place. For that reason, I like to say that corps should limit themselves to three, maybe four total proper doctrines. Now, that doesn’t have to be restrictive at all; the way I run things looks like this:

• Skirmish Drekavac – for most content.
• Heavy Shield – for fighting in pulsars and for suicide fleets.
• Heavy Armour – for the more “serious” brawls.
• Nanogang Assault Frigates – for frig holes and more fun throwaway content.

The above gives me a nice mix of ships to take to various occasions without too much training required and some nice doctrine overlap that lets us mix, say, Assault Frigates with Drekavacs. I’m missing a formal long-range doctrine here, but that is something which we tend to figure when the need arises. For now, each doctrine I use has a purpose. I wouldn’t add in anything else without stripping out one of these and considering the implications in what we can fight. The exception being for something funky and niche like a snatch fleet of spider tanking Magus‘.

For a brand new corp, I would suggest the following questions as ways to start thinking about what ships you might want to ask people to buy. Just try not to have any major overlap that would make one doctrine obsolete unless you’re looking at a throwaway fleet.

• Where will we be fighting most of the time?
• Do we want to tank and hold grid or cause damage then leave?
• How much ISK am I happy for us to all lose at once without any worry?
• Will we be flying through ship-restricted areas such as frig holes, C1s, or taking a Black Ops bridge?
• Who am I designing these for? How much SP will they have?
• Do we need to fit in with another pre-existing doctrine?
• How much do I trust my individual pilots’ skills?
• Are there any specific ships I expect to fight?
• What is the minimum number of people I need for this to work?
• How quickly can I form this up and travel somewhere?
• What happens if x dies?
• What happens if we face neuts/jams/damps/high alpha damage/interceptors?