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How to Rat in a Carrier
Carrier Ratting has long been regarded as the beginning of the endgame for making ISK, with Rorqual mining and Supercarrier ratting being the only conventional means of making more. Your ticks in this ship skyrocket from the 14-16 million ISK the Gila and Dominix offered, all the way up to 50-55 million ISK. You also gain an obscene amount of tank, and capital status which makes you by default important enough to send a ping and drop our capital forces to save.
In exchange for this though, the carrier is among the most action-intensive ships to fly in Eve. AFK ratting is not possible with this class of ship, and ontop of this you need to familiarize yourself with the different mechanics surrounding capital ships to give yourself the best chance of survival when ratting, and to make yourself the most ISK.
You MUST be able to reliably control your fighters to use this ship for ratting. A guide on how to do this can be found on This Page.
The Ratting Progression Chain
Fittings
Ratting carriers are extremely variable in their fittings and can be customized in countless ways. For the sake of simplicity three fits are supplied here; a max tank fit which will slightly reduce ticks while giving you some buffer, and a max tick fit which will sacrifice that extra buffer for an extra 15-30 mil per hour. The fits below may be meta'd down to accommodate your budget and comfort level.
Ratting Nidhoggur - Max Tank Config
The tank config of this ship is designed to give you a chance to get support on field if you get tackled. It won't make a difference to a dreadbomb, but with a small-medium sized fleet tackling you, you should be able to survive long enough to get a FAX and support on grid. Even more importantly, this variant includes a capacitor booster to both keep your tank active under neut pressure, and allow you to jump out in an emergency.
[Nidhoggur, Ratting Nidhoggur - Max Tank Config] Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer Capital Capacitor Booster II Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link CONCORD Capital Shield Extender Networked Sensor Array Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Heavy Energy Neutralizer II Large EMP Smartbomb II Capital Core Defense Field Extender I Capital Core Defense Field Extender I Capital Core Defense Field Extender I Dromi I x3 Dromi I x3 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Tracking Speed Script x2
Ratting Nidhoggur - Max Tick Config
The max tick config does exactly what its name implies; it sacrifices any and everything to make you as much ISK as physically possible. This variant is extremely unforgiving if you screw up, getting tackled will likely only give you seconds to get support on grid.
[Nidhoggur, Ratting Nidhoggur - Max Tick Config] Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Capital Shield Extender II Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link Sentient Drone Navigation Computer Networked Sensor Array Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Dromi I x3 Dromi I x3 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Tracking Speed Script x2
Ratting Nidhoggur - No NSA Config
This fit merges qualities of the Max-Tank and Max-Tick configs and removes the NSA entirely. If you want the best chance of avoiding being tackled, this is the fit you'll want to use.
[Nidhoggur, Ratting Nidhoggur - No-NSA Config] Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer Shadow Serpentis Sensor Booster Shadow Serpentis Sensor Booster Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Multispectrum Shield Hardener II Capital Shield Extender II Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Fighter Support Unit II Large EMP Smartbomb II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Dromi I x3 Dromi I x3 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Einherji II x9 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Scan Resolution Script x2 Tracking Speed Script x1
How to Run Sites
The carrier is best suited to running Havens or Forsaken Hubs, however it's technically capable of running all combat anomalies.
The Networked Sensor Array massively decreases your lock time, however it also prevents you from warping for 60 seconds and uses enough capacitor to keep you below jump cap. You may use it if you accept the risks, or not use it and accept the slightly reduced ticks.
The Number One Rule of running sites in a carrier is to ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FIGHTERS MOVING. If your fighters stop moving for more than 1-2 ticks you can find them getting volleyed by the battleships on grid. With this in mind, you'll only want to use your fighter's MWDs when recalling, as during combat the increased speed messes with their application.
DO NOT run sites in GE-8JV. You are very likely to lose your ship due to high PVP activity.
Before Undocking
- You absolutely need to be on comms and in standing fleet so you can hear intel and call for support in real time.
- Load 3 squads of
Einherjies
(orTemplars
in Catch) into your fighter tubes. - Load Omnidirectional Tracking Links with
Tracking Speed Scripts
and Sensor Boosters withScan Resolution Scripts
. - OPTIONAL: Having a Cyno Ship undocked in system will greatly increase your chances of survival if you get tackled.
After Undocking
- Begin cycling your Hardeners, Ominidirectional Tracking Links, and Sensor Boosters. Keep them active for the duration of your ratting.
Repeat For Each Site
- Warp to a site at 20 km.
- Align to a safe citadel.
- Drop Fighters and get them to the center of the site.
- Begin killing rats as soon as they appear, always prioritizing smaller ships.
- Repeat for every wave.
- OPTIONAL: If using the NSA, single-cycle it at the beginning of each wave.
- At the beginning of the last wave, align out to your next site.
If You Get Tackled
As a note: If at any point during the site an enemy ship lands on grid you should immediately warpoff to the citadel you were aligned to, recalling your fighters only once you have fully landed on the citadel (and abandoning them if you find enemy ships on your out citadel). The below guide is assuming you were in a state of not being aligned out.
If at any point a Mobile Cyno Inhibitor begins anchoring while you're tackled, immediately light your cyno.
For Light Resistance
"Light" resistance is any combination of up to 10 subcaps that does NOT include:- Triglavian Ships
- Heavy Interdiction Cruisers
- Logistics Cruisers
- Battleships
- Begin aligning to a citadel.
- Mention on comms that you're tackled and may require support.
- Begin killing the the weakest tackle ships on grid.
- If you find yourself not applying well to frigates you can switch to your Equites for maximum application.
- If at any point tackle drops, immediately warp off to the citadel. DO NOT recall fighters until your have landed completely.
- If you find yourself unable to kill the tackle or your tank is breaking, continue to the below section.
For Heavy Resistance
Anything that's stronger than "Light" resistance is "Heavy" resistance.- Heat your hardeners.
- Start screaming on comms and in fleet for support, ping #impass-pings on the Voltron Discord.
- Get someone else to FC the organization of caps and subcaps, doing so yourself can overwhelm you.
- Put 'www <system>' in fleet, and kill any tackle you're capable of killing.
- If you have a cyno ship, warp it to the grid near your carrier and cloaked, and light it when the FC calls for it.
- Follow FC directions from this point on.