Rebalancing and Ship Roles
Frigates, Destroyers and Cruisers are popular ships for both new and seasoned pilots, but only a portion of the ships in each class were being regularly flown. In Retribution, we’ve revisited, reworked and rebalanced these three classes to make every ship a viable option. Specialization of ships within each class was a core focus of this process.
Retribution has opened up new opportunities and more choices for players by giving each ship a role, allowing players to fly a ship that plays strongly toward their preferred playstyle or path.
Those roles are Combat, Attack, Disruption, Support, Exploration, and Mining.
COMBAT – These are general purpose warships. Pilots looking to directly engage the enemy, travel in small wolfpacks or embark on solo PVP runs will find the Combat frigates a great choice. What they lack in speed they make up for in resilience.
ATTACK – Designed for cheap interception and scouting roles, these ships favor speed over resilience and fittings. Attack ships are good for quick strikes and pilots who are actively on the offensive in battle.
DISRUPTION – At the frigate level, these are cost effective ships that focus on electronic warfare. Disruption cruisers offer higher resilience and more options for range and fitting flexibility. Disruption ships are used in fleets of all sizes, greatly complementing the damage dealing Attack and Combat ships.
SUPPORT – Alone, these ships are at a slight disadvantage, but their benefit in group combat makes Support pilots a desirable addition to any fleet. Support ships provide remote reparations and can even transfer their own shields and energy to aid allies in battle.
EXPLORATION – Exclusive to the frigate class, these ships provide a low-cost and low-profile platform for probing and exploration. Very versatile for their cost and size, Exploration ships can tackle most discover-conquer-retrieve expeditions solo due to their large cargo bay, ammoless weaponry and expanded drone bay.
MINING – Offering unparalleled harvesting and transport capability for their class, the Mining ships are great ships for pilots looking to specialize in mining and industrial professions.
ROOKIE – Fragile ships with a wide range of bonuses, the Rookie ships give new pilots the tools they need to learn the ropes but an incentive to upgrade to better equipment.
Frigates
Combat Frigates ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Tormentor | Amarr | Reduced requirements and increased damage output for small energy turrets. |
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Punisher | Amarr | Increased damage output for small energy turrets and improved armor resistances. |
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Merlin | Caldari | Increased damage output for small hybrid turrets and improved shield resistances. |
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Incursus | Gallente | Increased damage output for small hybrid turrets and improved armor repair. |
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Rifter | Minmatar | Increased damage and tracking for small projectile turrets. |
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Kestrel | Caldari | Increased damage and velocity to missiles. |
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Tristan | Gallente | Tristan provides improved tracking for small hybrid turrets and a range of features for drone use and storage. |
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Breacher | Minmatar | One of the fastest frigates, the Breacher also offers increased missile damage and additional shield boosts. |
Attack Frigates ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Executioner | Amarr | Reduced energy usage for warp scrambler modules with additional bonuses for small energy turrets. |
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Condor | Caldari | Reduced energy usage for warp scrambler modules. With multiple launchers and increased kinetic damage, the Condor is a good Attack ship for those who prefer missiles. |
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Atron | Gallente | Reduced energy usage for warp scrambler modules with additional bonuses for small hybrid turrets. |
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Slasher | Minmatar | Reduced energy usage for warp scrambler modules with additional bonuses for small projectile turrets. |
Disruption Frigates ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Crucifier | Amarr | Increased range and effectiveness to disruption of enemy tracking systems. |
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Griffin | Caldari | Highly effective electronic control module and jamming systems. |
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Maulus | Gallente | Reduces the range and speed of the enemy ship's sensors, affecting their ability to lock onto or hit targets. |
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Vigil | Minmatar | Increased effectiveness of Target Painting, the projection of electronic "tags" on enemy ships to make them easier for allied ships to hit. |
Mining Frigate ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Venture | ORE | Increased mining output and greatly expanded cargo for harvested resources. |
Destroyers
Attack Destroyers ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Coercer | Amarr | Increased tracking, range and efficiency of small energy turrets. |
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Cormorant | Caldari | Increased tracking, range and efficiency of small hybrid turrets. |
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Catalyst | Gallente | Increased tracking, range and efficiency of small hybrid turrets. |
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Thrasher | Minmatar | Increased tracking, range and damage of small projectile turrets. |
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Dragoon | Amarr | Increased drone damage and resilience. Extended energy vampire range. |
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Corax | Caldari | Improved light missile and rocket performance, especially when using kinetic damage missiles. |
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Algos | Gallente | Increased drone damage and resilience. Faster tracking for small hybrid turrets. |
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Talwar | Minmatar | Improved light missile and rocket performance, especially when using explosive damage missiles. |
Cruisers
Combat Cruisers ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Maller | Amarr | Increased damage output for medium energy turrets and improved armor resistances. |
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Moa | Caldari | Increased damage output for medium hybrid turrets and improved shield resistances. |
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Vexor | Gallente | Increased damage output for medium hybrid turrets and improved drone damage and resilience. |
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Rupture | Minmatar | Increased damage and rate of fire for medium projectile turrets. |
Attack Cruisers ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Omen | Amarr | Improved rate of fire and capacitor use for medium energy turrets. |
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Caracal | Caldari | Missile specialization, including improved rate of fire and missile velocity. |
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Thorax | Gallente | Increased damage and improved tracking for medium hybrid turrets. |
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Stabber | Minmatar | Improved rate of fire and damage range for medium projectile turrets. |
Support Cruisers ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Augoror | Amarr | Increased range and effectiveness of remote armor repair and energy transfer systems. |
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Osprey | Caldari | Increased range and effectiveness of shield and energy transfer systems. |
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Exequror | Gallente | Increased range and effectiveness of drone and remote armor repair systems. |
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Scythe | Minmatar | Increased range and effectiveness of drone and shield transfer systems. |
Disruption Cruisers ↑
| Ship | Race | Bonus | |
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Arbitrator | Amarr | Increased tracking disruption strength and significant boosts to drone damage and resilience. |
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Blackbird | Cruiser | Increased performance of all electronic counter measure (ECM) modules. |
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Celestis | Gallente | Increased capability and range of remote sensor dampeners. |
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Bellicose | Minmatar | Improved target painting strength and exceptional speed for a cruiser class disruption ship. |