Wednesday 4 April 2012

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.

10 comments:

  1. Can't say I use pirate implants, but some of the other hardwirings can be useful. The low end ones are relatively cheap and can increase dps or speed. Most of the 1% hardwirings are about 1MM isk.

    I think slot 9 can give you 1% damage to all turrets and slot 6 will give you 1% small turret damage. 2MM isk for a 2% bump in dps could be worth it.

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  2. I have some good experience with these, but I rarely use them. I have a full slave set with akimons modified 8pct armor implant for when I am in an aeon. Since I currently don't have an aeon this clone is unused. I have a low grade halo set with med turret damage Implants for flying armor hac's but no one flys armor hac's at the moment. I have debated getting a snake clone as we do fly alot of nano gangs at the moment. But that would tie up a third clone with purpose implants and then just leave me one for training and one for a no Implant prolly going to die in this fight clone. So I'm on the fence. They are fantastic for what they do if you have the isk.

    Zandramus

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  3. I now have a set of both Snakes and Slaves but have spent far more time out of them than in them. I currently fly with 2 learning implants for the skills I'm currently training plus a set of hardwirings for the ships I'm flying most at the time. You can find some pretty great hardwirings for not too much money. I tend to spend 10-20M on each. Zor's Hyperlink is pretty much a must have for any ship.

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  4. Not all "pirate" implant sets are expensive. For example: Halo, Talisman, and the FW ECCM implant sets are all pretty cheap.

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  5. Amen brother, a set of LG Snakes would be sweet. But damn they are expensive. Plus my random pod deaths REALLY hold me back from buying a set.

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  6. Yeah, I've fairly recently started using standard implants. Typically +3% as they seem to offer decent value.

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  7. Zandramus, I think you hit the nail on the head really well. They seem to be very situational for the most part.

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  8. Hey Grog o/, Only just invested in a Zor's. Slack I know :P

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  9. Liangnuren, I've never even heard of someone using an ECCM set. I guess your point also depends on your definition of expensive.

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  10. Naoru, totally with you on that note. You could guarantee being podded first trip out in the new clone.

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