My Little Pony . . .No, wait . . . Rifter!

I thought that I would post up my current preferred Rifter fit. Flying the classic "cookie cutter" just doesn't do it for me, it never really has.

Regular readers will know that I prefer my Rifters fit with Cap-Boosters instead of webs, I love the superb damage it does and how long it can keep going in a fight often surprising my adversaries and where I do lose one it has usually taken a good 3500 damage. One single Cap-Boosted Rifter of mine took around 6500 damage from a Firetail before it finally died.

This fit is a refinement of the "normal" Cap-Booster fitting, foregoing the damage control for a Gyro. Max skilled she will do 166 dps without overloading, my skills put me at 155 dps in her. Overheated and max-skilled she is just shy of 200dps!

Up until very recently I didn't use Faction Ammo as I felt I couldn't afford to lose it. Now with additional income from my small-time trader I feel I can splash out on some. Do all my fellow pirates out there use "the good stuff" or do you stick to the off the shelf ammo? I would be interested to hear what you use and why.


Here she is:

[Rifter, Kirith - Current]

200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Small Armor Repairer II
Gyrostabilizer II

Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Fleeting Progressive Warp Scrambler I
Small Cap Booster II, Cap Booster 200

150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Rocket Launcher II, Foxfire Rage Rocket

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator I
[empty rig slot]

A small example of how resilient this fit is, last night I walked into a Caracal TARP in a belt. The Caracal was anti frigate fit and resulted in a second Caracal joining the fray who was also anti frigate fit. Whilst had a stayed I would have certainly died I held out long enough to get out still in low armour. By the time I had gotten out I had one Caracal to half shields. The Rifter lived to fight another day =)

Rifter Loadouts

Inspired by a few recent blog articles by Wensley & Kane Rizzel I thought I post the loadouts of the Rifters that I currently fly. Now remember I'm only three months old and am without deep pockets or alts (excluding hauler) to finance me. I tend to fly one of two loadouts at the moment and alternate between them. When my current stock of Rifters is exhausted I'm going to try two more variants, but I shan't post those until they are tested.

"Classic" Setup
High
3 x 150mm Light Autocannon II
1 x Small 'Knave' Energy Drain
Mids
'Langour' Drive Disruptor
Cold Gas Arcjet Thrusters
Fleeting Progressive Warp Scrambler
Lows
200mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates
Small Armour Repairer II
Damage Control I
Rigs
Small Projectile Burst Aerator
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator

"Cap-Boosted" Setup
High
3 x 150mm Light Autocannon II
'Limos' Rocket Launcher
Mids
Small F-RX Cap Booster (200 Charges)
Cold Gas Arcjet Thrusters
Fleeting Progressive Warp Scrambler
Lows
200mm Reinforced Crystalline Carbonide Plates
Small Armour Repairer II
Damage Control I
Rigs
Small Projectile Burst Aerator
Small Projectile Collision Accelerator

I have had much success with both loadouts and when my skills were lower I certainly found the cap-boosted fit easier to succeed with, especially against Neut ships. I alternate the fits now to give myself some variety and am looking forward to trying out some fits perhaps with less tanking capability but more gank capability.

Replication

Last night was quiet again. I did find a couple of targets in Tabbetzur system but sadly there were two other pirates in the system from the same corp so I didn't feel like taking the risk of engaging only to find myself under assault from a third party.

Later on I did find a pilot whom I had fought on a previous occasion in a different system. I scanned them down to an Angel complex in the system. Warping in the overseer tower had been destroyed so they must have been in the second room. I headed back to my home base to grab a spare room key that I had in the Corp Hangar before returning to the complex location. Warping directly to the complex I scanned on my way in. I found that my quarry was on scan but not in complex, drat! Sat at the acceleration gate trying to pinpoint their location, they warp in so I immediately engage them. My adversary is in a Rifter and is five months my senior with a pvp fit. The fight is a long one but I prevailed and was rewarded with the obligatory pretty explosion. It took nearly 4000 damage to bring that Rifter down. The pilot escaping easily with their pod.

Checking the killmail I can see the reason it took such a beating to kill the Rifter, the pilot was using a T1 version of the Rifter fit that I was flying. Against other frigates this fit can take some punishment.

Back when I first fought (and killed ;)) this pilot I was flying a Cap-boosted fit, they were in a classic fit Rifter. After the fight they requested my fit, which I obliged in giving and it seems that they liked it and started using it themselves!

Performance Review: Cap Boosted Rifter

As promised in yesterdays post I would review the performance of the new loadout after it's first fair fight. Just now it got it's first test. Up against a pilot 5-6 months older than me at the very least it was going to be a tough fight, clearly attempting to scan each other down in the system I landed at a belt before she did, but I was on the way to warp out to a nearby planet as I didn't want the belt rats to sway any fight against me. Landing at the planet she soon came in landing just 11km from me.

The distance was closed and we crossed swords, she had the advantage of a web and I had the advantage of a cap-booster. It was a very close run thing in the end and I can categorically state that the cap booster was what allowed me to fly away victorious. Even with it I came away from the fight having consumed 6 "200" charges and with 52% structure remaining. Looking at her fit from the killmail I am very pleased to have beaten a Rifter fit with T2 guns & tank which bodes well compared to my low skills and Meta 1/2 modules.

This also now brings me into a favourable kill/loss ration which is nice, not that I expect it to last.

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After downtime I spotted a Wolf piloted by a player 6 months older than me. I decided to seek and engage, perhaps buoyed by the performance this morning. Unfortunately it was not to be and although I made it through his shields quickly enough and into his armour the superior firepower he could bring to bear blew me to pieces very quickly once through my shields. Lesson learned for now!