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 15-20 million ISK the Gila and Dominix offered, all the way up to 40-55 million ISK. You also gain an obscene amount of tank, and the ability to instantly jump to safety with the click of a button.
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 on top 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.
Table of Contents
Nidhoggur
Minmatar Carrier
The Ratting Progression Chain
The Vexor Newbro Edition
Gallente T1 Cruiser
Free From The Dojo! Low Skills
The Ratting Myrmidon
Gallente T1 Battlecruiser
~80 Million ISK Low Skills
The Ratting Gila
Guristas Faction Cruiser
~390 Million ISK Low Skills
The Isktar
Gallente Heavy Assault Cruiser
~225 Million ISK Medium Skills
Ratting Marauders
Caldari / Gallente Marauders
1 - 2 Billion ISK High Skills
Ratting Carriers
Minmatar Carrier
3 - 4 Billion ISK Capital Skills
Ratting Supers
Minmatar Supercarrier
38 - 42 Billion ISK Capital Skills
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:
- The High Tick Configuration prioritizes income above all else. It sacrifices tank and survivability to allow you to make as much money as possible.
- The Safety Configuration prioritizes tank, and contains a Capacitor Booster to ensure you stay above jump cap at all times.
- The Balanced Configuration takes aspects from the two other fits to give a nice balance of safety and income.
Almost all modules can be safely downgraded to T2, Meta, or even T1 to accommodate your budget and comfort level.
Ratting Nidhoggur - Balanced Configuration
[Nidhoggur, Ratting Nidhoggur - Balanced Configuration] Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Drone Damage Amplifier II Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Sentient Sensor Booster Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link Sentient Drone Navigation Computer CONCORD Capital Shield Extender Fighter Support Unit I Fighter Support Unit I Fighter Support Unit I 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 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Einherji I x9 Einherji I x9 Einherji I x9 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Scan Resolution Script x1 Tracking Speed Script x1
Ratting Nidhoggur - Safety Configuration
[Nidhoggur, Ratting Nidhoggur - Safety Configuration] Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer Damage Control II Capital Capacitor Booster II Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Sentient Sensor Booster Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link CONCORD Capital Shield Extender Fighter Support Unit I Fighter Support Unit I Fighter Support Unit I 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 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Einherji I x9 Einherji I x9 Einherji I x9 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Cap Booster 3200 x60 Scan Resolution Script x1 Tracking Speed Script x1
Ratting Nidhoggur - Max Tick Configuration
[Nidhoggur, Ratting Nidhoggur - Max Tick Configuration] Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Imperial Navy Drone Damage Amplifier Drone Damage Amplifier II Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Enhancer Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Dread Guristas Multispectrum Shield Hardener Sentient Sensor Booster Sentient Omnidirectional Tracking Link Sentient Drone Navigation Computer CONCORD Capital Shield Extender Fighter Support Unit I Fighter Support Unit I Fighter Support Unit I Heavy Energy Neutralizer II Large EMP Smartbomb II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Capital Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer II Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Dragonfly II x9 Einherji I x9 Einherji I x9 Einherji I x9 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Equite I x12 Scan Resolution Script x1 Tracking Speed Script x1
How to Run Sites
If You're New to Ratting in a Capital
Give the Introduction to Ratting page a read to avoid common mistakes and get some background knowledge.
You absolutely must be proficient at controlling your fighters to successfully rat in a carrier. A guide on controlling your fighters can be found here.
It is highly recommended that you keep a Cyno Recon Ship on a dockable structure in a nearby system while ratting.
Running Each Site
Your Sensor Boosters and Omnidirectional Tracking Links should always be active while you're in a site.
The key to maximizing ticks while carrier ratting is to always keep your fighters moving. When a target's about to drop, command them to start orbiting the next target. Letting your fighters stay stationary could result in them getting volleyed.
- Warp to the site at 50 - 100 km.
- Align to a dockable citadel.
- Drop fighters and get them to the center of the site.
- Lock and begin killing rats as soon as they appear, following the Kill Order below.
- Note: You should have time to kill one Battlecruiser or Battleship before you've finished locking up frigates.
- At the beginning of the last wave, align out to your next site.
Kill Order: Cruisers → Frigates → Destroyers → Battlecruisers → Battleships
Site-Specific Information
Some sites require special attention due to a particularly nasty wave or unusual mechanics.
Havens and Sanctums
- The final wave of these sites may spawn NPC Capitals. You won't be able to solo these ships in a carrier, and should warp off.
Additional Information
Runnable Sites
The sites in this list have been tested and determined to be runnable using the above fit(s). It is not necessarily comprehensive, and some sites may require special attention which will be noted in the section above.
- Guristas Sanctums (Ring Variant)
- Guristas Havens (Both Variants)
- Guristas Forsaken Hubs
If Neutrals Enter Local
Warping Off
This assumes you are fully aligned to a dockable citadel.
- Immediately warp to the citadel.
- Preferably to a tac within tether.
- Once you have fully landed recall your fighters.
Emergency Jumping (E-Jump)
This assumes you have a Cyno Recon sitting on a dockable structure in a nearby system.
- Light your Recon's Cyno.
- Recall fighters with propmods on.
- Once fighters are recalled, jump to the cyno.
- If hostiles land before your fighters are in, you may need to consider jumping out without your fighters.
If You Get Tackled
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 and in fleet that you're tackled.
- Begin killing the weakest tackle ships on grid.
- If you find yourself not applying to frigates, switching to Equites may help.
- If at any point tackle drops, follow the warp-off procedure above.
- If tackle isn't dying quick enough, continue to the section on Heavy Resistance.
For Heavy Resistance
Anything that's stronger than "Light" resistance is "Heavy" resistance.
- Heat your hardeners.
- Start yelling on comms and in fleet for support.
- If you don't have your own cyno ready, get someone to light and keep one up in a nearby system.
- Kill any tackle you're capable of killing.
- You may be able to neut out tackle as well if you need to.
- If at any point tackle drops immediately warp out or e-jump to a dockable citadel.
- If an FC forms a fleet follow their instructions.