Destroyers

The Destroyer

Introduction

The Destroyer (also called a "dessy") used to be one of the most overlooked and neglected ships in Eve. Thanks to recent changes to the existing Destroyer hulls in Inferno, plus the introduction of four new Destroyer hulls in Retribution, Destroyers are now very versatile and effective!

Strengths and Weaknesses

The key to effectively flying Destroyers is the same as the key to flying any other ship: understand its weaknesses and its strengths, and fly it with them in mind.

First of all lets consider the weaknesses and get them out of the way:

Somewhat low shield and armor hp. Destroyers used to have barely-minimal tanks, but thanks to recent changes to the hulls, they now have shield and armor hitpoints that are appropriate to their size, especially in relationship to Frigates and Cruisers. While they still can be considered "glass cannons," a Destroyer fit with a DCU can survive 2 or 3 bombs relatively easily. With a small armor or shield tank, the Destroyer now can hold its own in a variety of circumstances.

Larger and slower than a Frigate. Without assistance from modules, the destroyer is slower than a frigate and less agile, and is easier to hit than a Frigate. It is, however, more agile than most Cruisers.

On the other hand, Destroyers have many strengths:

Lots of high slots and turrets. All of the original Destroyers pack the maximum 8 high slots, and the new Destroyers released in Retribution all have at least 6 high slots. The huge number of guns can give Destroyers a massive volley damage (aka alpha strike).

Phenomenal Role Bonus. All Destroyers have a 50% role bonus to their weapon type range and/or velocity, depending upon the hull's base weapon. This allows the Destroyer to hit at much greater ranges than Frigates, while using the same size turrets/launchers as Frigates.

Hull Bonuses. Each Destroyer has a weapons-related bonus, generally 10% per level trained of the Destroyer skill, further enhancing the effectiveness of its turrets/launchers.

One of the obvious things that emerges out of this is that Destroyers are not necessarily intended to sit in a blow for blow slug fest with another ship, except vs frigates or possibly other destroyers. Many T1 Frigates or covert ops ships would get chewed to metal by a Destroyer. However, most tank-heavy assault ships would kill the destroyer without too much effort. You can kill an interceptor one on one with a Destroyer (though you are likely to only force a stalemate as the interceptor can get away), and assuming you can mitigate its incoming damage, you can also kill a number of common T1 Cruiser fits.

What should be clear by this point is that the Destroyer works most effectively when it is ganged with others, either in a small gang or a large massed fleet.

Fitting Destroyers

There are numerous different ways to fit a Destroyer depending on what you want to do with it. However, there are some constants with fitting a Destroyer and flying one. First of all make sure you bring enough ammo to reload your guns once or twice - Destroyers chew through ammo unbelievably fast.

As with frigates, Destroyers can be fit for short or long range fighting, and also as with Frigates, you REALLY WANT TO FIT A DAMAGE CONTROL UNIT. Destroyers tend to be a bit tight on the powergrid, especially when fitting T2 turrets/launcher, which can limit some of your tanking options. Training Electronics and Engineering to level V will ease your fitting headaches immensely. For the most fitting flexibility, get Weapons Upgrades V and Advanced Weapons Upgrades to any level as soon as possible.

If you are gate camping, it is usually best to fit your guns for an optimal of at least 16km. This way, if you are sitting on a gate at zero, you will be able to hit most targets coming through the gate (unless it is a huge regional gate).

Anti-Frigate in a Fleet

Another way to fit a destroyer is as an anti-frigate/drone force in a fleet. In this case you will be primarily staying close to the heavy ships and killing the frigates that are coming in to tackle. An astonishingly common mistake that destroyer pilots make when flying in a mixed fleet is to warp to their optimal range to the enemy fleet and then start slugging from there. This will get you killed as all the frigates and heavies can pop you in seconds. On the other hand, if your battleships warp in at 60, you warp in at 60 as well and then ORBIT one of the battleships. The tacklers will come to you and you will be able to kill them while their transversal is low.

In this case you have to remember that your destroyer will potentially be the target of sniper battleships so its important that you have an afterburner for speed and orbit another ship at all times. One tactic that can reduce this chance is to have your anti frigate fleet fly in only when the enemy frigates show up; however there are few fleet commanders that are that inventive.

You will want to set up for 10k to 15k with your guns and you will need at least one 20km warp disruptor. Make sure you have capacitor to run your AB and disruptor and all guns for at least a couple of minutes and then set up any remaining slots with high damage modules.

When flying as anti frigate destroyer, remember that the frigates will be concentrating on tackling the heavies and not on you or getting away. Forget the tank in favor of high damage fast hitting. Make sure at least two people in your fleet have a remote repairer and you will be ready to go.

Another important note about flying a destroyer in a mixed fleet is that you should not let yourself get talked into flying anti frigate for a long range sniper fleet. If your guys are sniping, the other guys will be as well and then there is a recipe for disaster. As Forsaken Empire found out many times against ATUK, the enemy will merely target all your light ships, ignoring the heavies and snipe them instead. If you are in a sniping fleet, your tackler defense is the hordes of drones you have between you, not a dessy.

Conclusion

When fitting for a wolfpack, remember that your hydra has fewer heads and the heads are a bit slower. With that in mind you can apply science to fit the fleet and make it work. Also, remember that this is a destroyer, not a small cruiser. It doesnt fly or fight like a cruiser. It is a frigate with a hell of a lot of teeth.

See also: Destroyer Tactics