Pirate Implants

Well the name would imply that all pirates have pirate implants wouldn't it? For Kirith I'd have to disappoint and say that as a pirate he doesn't have pirate implants. Only recently have I started to fly with more than just skill training enhancing implants and even then nothing expensive or extraordinary.

On occasion though I do find myself wondering whether they are worth the huge isk cost investment. Some say they are, some that they are not and some say that they wouldn't or indeed couldn't fly without them.

It worth saying at the outset that there is really no denying that they give you a huge leap in effectiveness, granted that they rarely benefit all ships nor in all circumstances. For example you may end up in a situation where you are in a Crystal clone when flying an armour tanked Hurricane. Those Crystals won't be helping you there.

For me personally, the decision to plump for pirate implants must come down to a cost versus benefit comparison. In my simple math this would then come down to assessing how many more kills am I likely to get because of them that I wouldn't get without, or how many fewer ships would I lose.

Continuing to use myself as the example, lets assume that I buy a set of low-grade snakes for say 600 million (that's a guess). Snakes it can be said affect every ship as they increase speed so we don't need to think about being in the wrong clone for the ship you want to fly. How many more kills or fewer losses should I expect?

So, taking the situations one at a time:

More Kills

As the implants are snakes, they are not going to provide me with more damage output. I will mitigate some damage through a speed tank and thus be able to remain in the fight longer. I will be more likely to control the range the fight is fought with the aim of fighting at the optimal range for my ship. I may be able to chase down that opponent who is trying to escape my clutches.

Fewer Losses

Clearly if I am getting more kills from the factors above then one would hope that you are losing less fights unless your getting killed by rats or something else daft.

In addition I will be able to mitigate damage better through more effective use of a speed tank. Through range control I am better able to be a distance from my opponent and thus mitigate as much of their damage as possible.I will also stand a better chance should I need to attempt to GTFO.

Conclusion

If most of your fights are close fought nail biting affairs which come down to a matter of a last few hit points or who gets the last volley then it is likely that pirate implants are going to help you tip that balance in your favour. If that's not the case then it's going to be less likely that they'll make financial sense.

In my case, as much as I'd love a set of pirate implants I just can't justify them to myself.