Spaceships of Eve Online

"Eve Online", a science fiction-themed massively multiplayer online game, features a wide variety of spaceships. Ships are organized into different classes based on size, characteristics, and intended role, with each class containing several ships (and variations thereupon). All vessels in-game are scaled to one another; some of the capital vessels, such as the Titan, are orders of magnitude larger than some of the smaller ships. [ [http://www.eve-files.com/media/12/eve_chart-rmr.jpgShip Size Comparison Image] eve-files.com]

Ship characteristics

Each spaceship within the Eve universe has a different set of characteristics and can be fitted with different combinations of modules subject to their fitting requirements. [ [http://www.eve-online.com/guide/en/g08.asp Eve Online Players Guide, Chapter 8 Ship Fitting] ] Ship characteristics include:

* Module slots (high, mid and low; see below)
* Rig slots (see below)
* Power grid
* CPU
* Calibration
* Capacitor size and recharge rate
* Shield hitpoints, recharge rate and resistances
* Armor hitpoints and resistances
* Structure hitpoints and resistances
* Velocity and agility
* Targeting range and maximum number of targets
* Signature size and radius
* Cargo Bay size
* Drone Bay size
* Drone Bandwidth
* Sensor strength and resolution.

With the notable exception of module slots, almost all of these characteristics may be further modified by modules and skills. In many cases, there are skills pertaining to a certain aspect that will affect every ship the player pilots.

Module slots

Each ship has three different types of standardized hardpoints, sorted by power rating (high-powered slots, mid-range slots, and low-powered slots). Generally speaking, offensive weapons are fitted to high-powered slots (which also require an available turret or launcher hardpoint). Mid-powered slots are generally used for sensor boosters, propulsion-based modules, shield-affecting modules, and electronic warfare items. Low-powered slots are used for additional armor, armor repair units and weapons upgrade and assistance modules. [ [http://www.eve-online.com/guide/en/g08.asp Eve Online Players Guide, Chapter 8 Ship Fitting, Mid-Slots and Lo-Slots - Where do you want to go today? Section] ]

Ships tend to have similar slots across classes; more powerful ships generally have more modules. It should be noted that more available slots does not necessarily guarantee more powerful weaponry; larger ships may have fewer slots, but have a significantly larger power grid and CPU, allowing much more powerful weapons to be fitted.

Rig slots

Rig slots, also called "upgrade hardpoints", are special, passive modules that upgrade a ship's performance in one area while (usually) penalizing it in another. For example, while the Bay Loading Accelerator I [ [http://www.eve-online.com/itemdatabase/EN/shipmodifications/missilelauncherrigs/26026.asp Eve Online Item Database, Bay Loading Accelerator I] ] item increases the rate of fire of any mounted missile launchers, it increases the CPU requirements of the launchers. Generally speaking, training a higher skill level in the specific area will reduce the penalty.

Rigs are special in that, once fitted to a ship, they cannot be removed again. Repackaging a ship will destroy any rigs fitted, and they will never be found in the wreck of an obliterated vessel. Rigs thus function in a manner similar to implants: once "plugged in", they are removed from the game as a tangible commodity and remain a part of the ship until it is destroyed or repackaged.

Apart from requiring a free rig slot, every rig also has a certain calibration cost, varying from 50 to 300 points, which may be thought of as the rig version of power grid. Tech 1 ships generally (with the exception of pods, shuttles, rookie ships and freighters, which may not be customized with rigs at all) feature three rig slots and 400 calibration points, with faction ships having the same amount of slots, but only 350 calibration points. Tech 2 ships come with 400 calibration points, but only two rig slots.

Factional distinctions

All ships and classes in Eve Online are mirrored across all four playable races; the only exceptions being mining barges and the capital industrial ship which are badged under an NPC corporation. Factional ship counterparts tend to be similar in terms of performance, differing mainly in terms of aesthetic appearance. Each faction's ships tend to specialize loosely in one area. The ships in each faction reflect the aesthetic and military philosophies the developers have chosen to associate with that faction and, apart from shuttles, each faction's ships requires a different set of skills to use. Ships can be flown by any player regardless of race, as long as the required skills are cross-trained.

Caldari

:Caldari design philosophy features ships with powerful defensive shielding, at the expense of armor and structural strength, backed by missile- and railgun-based offensive weaponry. While missiles have the versatility to deal all damage types, Caldari ships tend to receive bonuses to kinetic damage, thus favoring that damage type for both weapon systems. The Caldari are also noted for fielding dedicated Electronic Warfare vessels, and are generally considered the superior choice for such purposes, due to strong sensor arrays and abundant fitting space for Electronic Warfare equipment. Many of their ships also have extremely long range, whether it be to their weapons or electronics systems, and can engage foes at significantly longer ranges than comparable ships. Aesthetically, they lean towards asymmetrical geometric designs, and have a tendency to name their ships after animals, particularly birds. Some of the heavier hulls of the Caldari fleet are also named after mythological creatures. Their superstructures are typically coloured bare blue-tinged gunmetal, often adorned with antennae and blinking sensor lights accompanied by the typical Caldari State symbol. The Caldari Navy is generally considered the most modern spacefaring fleet outside of the Jove Empire, fielding vessels of comparatively lower service time and more advanced technology.

Gallente

:Gallente ships feature sturdy defensive armor plates, while typically attacking with powerful short-range blasters and combat drones. Their combat tactics are akin to that of 16th and 17th century cannon-wielding naval warfare or like the Lancers of their race's French origins. Gallente vessels are designed to charge, deal damage in close quarters and shrug off counterattacks to do so repeatedly. As such, Gallente ships have the strongest structures out of the four races. Many Gallente ships are specialized drone carriers with bonuses to drone damage, range, carrying capacity, or a combination thereof. Gallente-manufactured drones are also regarded as significantly better than those of the other races, most notably for their superior firepower. Aesthetically, they are more colourful than Caldari vessels, with the Gallente design ethos preferring smooth, curving lines that often give them a somewhat organic, asymmetrical appearance. Gallente ships are most often dull metallic colors ranging from silver through bronze to verdigris, and are sometimes named after mythical figures, or are named in Latin.

Amarr

:Employing strong armor and large laser arrays, Amarr vessels are the heavy hitters of the Eve universe. The Amarr Empire's design ethic is much the embodiment of its people: constant, forthright, and brutally effective. Where the other races tend to field at least one ship with an alternative mission profile, the Amarr rarely venture away from their core design principle. Amarr ships are split into two general categories: damage-oriented ships and armor-oriented ships. Damage-orientated ships tend to have one or more damage or rate of fire bonuses and focus on raw laser damage, while armor-orientated ships focus on the ability to sustain and repair damage. Aesthetically, the Amarr appear to borrow from Art Deco, with a tendency to the ornate, favouring curved golden hulls, often inscribed with iconography relating to the Amarrian religion. Symmetry is a common design element in vessels of Amarr construction. Amarr ship names are often associated with religious terms and names.

Minmatar

:In terms of philosophy, Minmatar ships are geared towards hit-and-run combat and are typically faster than their counterparts. Their long-range weapon system, the artillery projectile, has relatively low damage over time but an extremely powerful single strike, making it ideal for fast strikes. Their short range weapon system is the autocannon, which has a lower single strike damage but a higher rate of fire, giving it a higher overall damage and making it suitable for prolonged combat. Depending on the vessel in question, Minmatar ships rely on either their shields or their armor for protection, with some being suited towards either approach. The Minmatar versatility is also a drawback, as its ships may be skill-intensive, requiring strong skills in a variety of areas to be fully effective. Their primary battleship is perhaps the most infamous in this regard, featuring a split weapon layout of four turrets and four launchers, as well as the second-largest drone bay of all battleships. Ship names include animals, names of storms, names of Norse mythological origin and names one would associate with violence and destruction. Minmatar ship design is often viewed as haphazard or "junky" due to ships' appearances, giving them a distinctively utilitarian design element; more recent additions to the Minmatar fleet stray from this design towards a more unified appearance.

Tech I ships

Shuttles

:The shuttle is the smallest ship type. It is very agile, very fast, and very cheap. However, shuttles have poor defenses, cannot be fitted with modules, and have very little (10 m³) cargo bay space. One type exists for each of the four major factions, with only a slight difference in damage type resistances. Shuttles are the only ships that require no factional ship command skills to use.

Rookie ships

:New players begin the game in their race's rookie ship, fitted with a very basic gun turret and mining laser. Although technically considered Frigate-class vessels, rookie ships are weaker and less customizable than regular frigates. All rookies ships feature two high slots and one medium/low slot, and receiving minimal amounts of skill bonuses. One rookie ship exists for each faction, with very small differences between them.

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Cruisers

:Medium-sized vessels designed to perform a broad variety of functions, Cruisers are larger and slower than frigates or destroyers but are significantly more durable. Their increased power systems allow them mount generally 4 or 5 medium-sized weapons.

:Four types of cruiser exist for each major faction.

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Battleships

:Battleships are a fleet mainstay, and most experienced players will own one. Although they are slower than many combat-oriented ships, they are significantly more durable, and mount impressive firepower in the form of six to eight large weapons systems.

:Three types of battleship exist for each major faction.

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Electronic Attack ships

::"Parent class: Frigate"

:Electronic Attack ships are frigate equivalents of combat recons. While lacking in electronic warfare capabilities and firepower in comparison to the cruiser sized equivalents, their lower cost and size greatly increases their multitasking ability.

:A single type of Electronic Attack ship exists for each major faction.

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Interdictors

::"Parent class: Destroyer"

:Interdictors have fewer turret mounts than normal destroyers, but do not suffer any rate of fire penalties. Depending on ship class, they are also faster and can mount a comparatively large number of turrets or missile launchers than their Tech I counterpart. Their main purpose is to launch special warp interdiction spheres, which prevent warping for two minutes, within a 20 km radius. This allows Interdictors to disable large fleets for long periods of time.

:A single type of Interdictor exists for each major faction.

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Logistics Cruisers

::"Parent class: Cruiser"

:Logistics Cruisers are designed exclusively for the purpose of aiding allies in combat. Their role in combat is to remotely repair, and boost allies, which is made easy by their bonuses to such tasks. Recently, Logistics Cruisers have been granted increased resistances, and a number of special bonuses allowing them to field battleship-sized remote repair modules.

:A single type of Logistics Cruiser exists for each major faction.

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Black Ops

::"Parent class: Battleship"

:The Black Ops battleships specialize in infiltration and covert operation. Equipped with a jump drive, they can jump short distances to pass enemy blockades. Black Ops are the only ships that can lock on to the newer Covert Cynosural Field Generators modules. Black Ops can also utilise Covert Jump Portal Generators, to assist in sneaking allied forces behind enemy lines. The resource consumption on the Black Ops jump drives and the Covert Jump Portal Generator is very high, which requires conservation of jump fuel. However, Black Ops can also use ordinary jump gates to assist in the fuel saving.

:A single type of Black Ops is available for each major faction.

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Exhumers

::"Parent class: Mining barge"

:Exhumers are mining barges with enhanced defensive and mining capabilities. Unlike standard mining barges, where the larger the ship, the more capable it is - each Exhumers fulfils role, which it performs better than any other mining ship.

:Three types of Exhumer exist. The "Skiff" is specialized in Deep Core Mining, the "Mackinaw" is specialized in mining Ice, and the "Hulk" is specialized in mining asteroids.

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Capital Industrial Ship

:Capital Industrial Ships are designed to assist mining operations and the movement of ore. They have the ability to compress ore, making it smaller to transport, and give out bonuses to other miners nearby. They can also carry a ship maintenance bay, and a clone bay. However, to use these extra abilities and modules, it must anchored in space, and cannot move. They also have drone bonuses and a bonus to shield transferring.

:A single type of Capital Industrial Ship exists.

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Motherships

:Motherships are similar to, but considerably larger than, carriers and are the second largest ships in the game. Motherships offer all the same features as a carrier, but in considerably greater amounts, and are completely immune to almost all forms of electronic warfare. Motherships contain a ship and items hangar, and can fit cloning vats. Motherships, along with Titans, are the only ships that cannot dock at a station, and so must permanently remain in space.

:A single type of Mothership exists for each major faction.

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Titans

:Titans are the largest ships available and are immune to any electronic warfare. They are the only ships capable of creating jump portals through the use of a Jump Bridge Array. Although their offensive power is overshadowed by Dreadnoughts, they are the only ship capable of utilising doomsday devices - area-of-effect weapons that inflict heavy amounts of damage on every ship within a large radius, but prevent the Titan from jumping out of the solar system for 10 minutes, and take an hour to recharge.

:A single type of Titan exists for each major faction.

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Unique and Limited Edition Ships

Gold Magnate

:The "Gold Magnate" was a unique ship given as the first place prize for the Amarr Championship [http://myeve.eve-online.com/events/amarr/championship/ Amarr Championship] ] competition. However, in 2004, Tyrrax Thorrk, the owner of the "Gold Magnate", took the ship into combat, where it was destroyed by the m0o pirates.

ilver Magnate

:Nineteen "Silver Magnates" were given out as runner-up prizes in the Amarr Championship [http://myeve.eve-online.com/events/amarr/championship/ Amarr Championship] ] event. As many have been destroyed, and no more have been awarded since then, their rarity has steadily risen. The advent of Tech II frigates has made the "Silver Magnate" less notable as a combat ship.

Guardian Vexor

:Fifty "Guardian Vexors" were given out as part of an event, of which it is suspected that fewer than twenty still exist. They were not notable, as they originally only had an extra missile hardpoint, but subsequently did not suffer from a reduction in the amount of controllable drones, increasing their usefulness.

Opux Luxury Yacht

:Of the three Luxury Yachts that exist in the universe, two are player-controllable. One was acquired during an event, during which Iece Quaan boarded it after an actor ejected from it. The second was given out by CCP to a couple from New Zealand known in-game as Caytlyn Rose and Ramius Monteagne, who got engaged on the stage at the 2005 Fanfest and are now married.

Federate Issue Megathron

:The Federate Issue Megathron is also an event-related ship, similar to the Imperial Issue Apocalypse. It was handed out in the Crielere Incident [http://www.eve-online.com/races/crielere/ The Crielere Incident] ] . The ship is superior to the Megathron in many ways: higher power grid and CPU output, as well as an extra turret hardpoint, and an extra low and mid slot. Other improvements are to drone bay, speed and agility.

Imperial Issue Armageddon

:These ships were released in the Amarr Championships. [http://myeve.eve-online.com/events/amarr/championship/ Amarr Championship] ] . It has a higher power grid and CPU output compared to a normal Armageddon, but it's rarity is the primary reason for its great value.

Imperial Issue Apocalypse

:Four of these ships originally existed, but only one remains. These vessels were given out as part of the Amarr Championships. [http://myeve.eve-online.com/events/amarr/championship/ Amarr Championship] ] A fifth briefly existed, when one Imperial Issue Apocalypse was given out as a prize from the BIG Lottery. [http://big.wayland.dk/lottery.asp BIG Lottery] ] It was flown by a player named Clone 0, and while moving the ship from one station to another, an attempt was made to destroy it by a group of Minmatar roleplay corporations. It was defended successfully by a group of Amarr roleplayers. CCP took the ship back as part of a roleplaying event on the request of the player receiving the ship.

:The ships are superior to the Navy Issue Apocalypse due to better powergrid and CPU output. The ships' value comes both from their rarity and unobtainability.

tate Issue Raven and Tribal Issue Tempest

:Previous known as the "Corvus" and the "Storm", these are vastly upgraded Ravens and Tempests. Featuring additional slots, eight hardpoints of either missile or turret, double the armor, shielding and structure, boosted powergrid and CPU, and greatly improved sensors. The State Issue Raven, along with the Tribal Issue Tempest, was one of the prizes in the Third Alliance Tournament. Each member of the winning team was given a choice of either a State Issue Raven or a Tribal Issue Tempest, and the second team was given the choice of one, resulting in four of each ship entering the game. Fact|date=July 2007

Apotheosis

:A shuttle given to all players on Eve Online's fifth birthday, the Apotheosis has the same characteristics as a regular shuttle except for a larger size, and increased sensor strength. It is believed to be of Jovian design. Apotheosis shuttles cannot be obtained by any other means apart from the one-time present. The shuttle's description reads: cquotetxt|For you, children, on your fifth birthday. May your next five years be as full of promise and hope, and may you one day walk with us as equals among the stars.|Idmei Sver, Society of Conscious Thought, on the fifth anniversary of the Capsuleer Era.|color=silver|size=360%

References

External links

* [http://www.eve-online.com/itemdatabase/EN/ships/default.asp The Official "Eve Online" Ships database]
* [http://www.glowfalls.com/eve_ships/index.php "Eve Online" Trinity Ships Gallery, with the new models]