Nubs R Us (outfitting a kestrel)

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TseTse

Veteran X
EDITED

NEWBIE FRIENDLY KESTREL SETUPS

One thing i've found in reading all these Kessie threads is that... folks tend to talk about this from a "back in the days" point of view or as if the players coming to such a thread have a million skill points already. These are setups i've actually used in my first 3 days playing Eve, knowing nothing when i first came.

Tips:
#1 Stay cheap and conservative. Prepare to lose your ship.
#2 The Kestrel is really suited for ranged fighting, so max around that and learn to keep our of close range
#3 Find and use "evemon" which can quickly help you look up equipment and skill requirements.

Here are some setups for lvl 1 mission players who have under 80k skills. The required training is mostly implied when not explicitly mentioned. This is purely about Mission Level 1 configs.


Newbie, First Setup :D

- 2 Rockets + 1 Missile
- Civilian AfterBurner (jets)
- Civilian Shield Booster

This is a very simple, cheap starter-setup for somebody without any real skills but who just went straight for a Kestrel right away.

This assumes you are still learning how to keep your distance. Initially, you dont have to worry about range but you should start learning to keep a nice 14-16k range from opponents to let your missiles do the hard work (instead of rockets). Make the shift to missiles as you get money and some experience with this.

Train up for "Power Diagnostic Systems" when you can (req: Energy Grid Upgrades II, i believe).


Interim Fitting #1 (under 90k skills)

- 3 Standard Missiles I
- 1 Limos Rocket
- 1 Coldgas Arcjet AB (afterburner/jets)
- 1 Small Shield Booster
- 2 PDS (Power Diagnostic Systems)

This is a very flexible 'starter' setup which can get you through a lot of level 1 if not all of it. You have a booster, 3 missiles and then rockets in case you are still learning to keep your distance (and you better learn fast).

You will need to do some minor training to get this stuff, but nothing too long. I prefer the Sabertooth missiles because they shred shields so quickly.


Interim Fitting #2 (under 90k skills)

- 3 Malkuth Missile**
- 2 Small Shield Extenders
- 1 Monopropellant I Hydrazine Boosters (afterburner)
- 2 Reactor Control Unit I

** you can use 1 malkuth + 2 standards

This is a beefed up, replicable system without much more in terms of skills. You can plug in slightly more efficient shield and power stuff to garner other options. If you blew a ton more $$$ or have MAPC you can add 4th missile but at lvl 1... it is not needed. This is for those who insist on the nice afterburner capabilities. You can try the Cold gas arcjet AB if you want to make it fit...

I'm fond of passive shield configs cuz i like to not worry about power while fighting. If they rip through all those shields, it's simply time to go... and i can bust out without any concern. You might also save on the Malkuth and sacrifice passive shielding. Depends on how well you keep at range and how much you want to save.

Interim Fitting #3 (under 90k skills)

- 4x Malkuth Missiles (20cpu, 8mw grid each)
- 1x Civilian AB (yea, that's right... civ)
- 2x Small Subordinate Screen Stabilizer (i.e. extenders)
- 2x Reactor Control Unit I

This is my working fitting setup. Strong missile power with nice passive shielding.

You might not have to use pure Malkuths nor the fancy extenders, but each is better energy/cpu-wise. It makes it a lot more expensive, i realize, but you will need to cut down on cpu/grid usage to make it work. See what fits. :)

The Civ AB gets the 4th weap powered under this passive-shield config, and frankly... it is totally fine since all i use it for is a slight edge on darting lvl 1 mobs as well as getting to loot faster. It's worth it in order to get the 4th missile bay for me, right now.

RCUs are a nice power boost and take a little training, but have been worth it.

This setup gives you nice shield HP, a simple AB and then allows you do really pour on the damage. If you know how to keep your distance from enemy... this is a rock-solid setup in spite of the weak AB.
 
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TseTse said:
Is there an IRC channel for eve?
no, I don't think so. That channel is as close as it gets.

Are there ultra-vital skills i need to prioritize at the start?
I think you have the right idea.

Anybody have tips for things to focus on in your first week?
It's been too long for me to remember.

For my Kestrel, my first build goal is something like 4 decent missile launchers, shield booster, shield extender, and then some type of power thing. I dont know much about power stuff, but i see terms PDS and MAPC tossed around so i suppose i'll aim for a decent power supply to keep everything going.
4 light launchers is a good idea, so long as you have the cpu and powergrid (pg/grid) to fit them. Power Diagnostic System (PDS) is a device that fits in a low slot and increases your capacitor (cap) regen rate and your shield regen rate, and I think it gives you some more pg, but uses cpu. I dunno what MAPC is.

TACTICS: I also am totally lost on ammo types. My quick guess is that i should aim to get something loaded that can rip shields FAST from range, and then seek to get big punch missles for up close. I understand the Kestrel is slow as hell even with afterburners (which i used in my first real fight woot), so you gottta figure out how to get in close, right?
1. if you go into the 'fitting' display, and you look at the missiles or rockets loaded into the launcher, you can right click and hit show info. That will show how they work, including any bonuses they get from the launcher or skills or your ship. (also, if you're in space, you can right click your ship, show info, and look at the 'fitting' tab, the loaded missiles should be there too)

Anyway, multiply the flight time by the speed they'll go, that gives you your range. As long as something is in range, you'll do the exact same amount of damage as if they were right next to you. (ppl can outrun a slow missile with a very fast ship)

You'll want to stay as far as you can, within range, of your target, especially if they're a gunnery-based boat. Gunnery takes all the traditional physics of hitting moving targets into consideration. The game calculates hit and damage percents of objects past the optimum distance, and past the falloff distance.

In your display overview, turn on Transversal velocity (the speed that something is moving across or around your ship) If this gets too high, they won't be able to hit you, but your missiles don't care. (different ships, different guns, and different modules (mods) will help a player shoot with a higher and higher transverse, so be careful)

2. If you look in your fitting display or in show info, attributes tab, you have resistances for 4 types of damage for your shield, armor, and hull. There are 4 types of damage that can be dealt: EM, thermal, explosive, and kinetic. You want to deal the type of damage that your target is weak to. Some people (including myself) have information about which npc's are weak to what on our bios...and there's an eve website somewhere that also has the info. It makes a HUGE difference to use the right ammo type.

What are these "web" things and how do you use them? Should i worry about them at this stage for basic missions? My understanding is they are used to basically keep people from running/dashing frmo you which is good if you have a slow ship, but isnt that more a pvp thing?
It's a device that takes away like 99% of your speed.

If you have a fast moving ship, and you just can't hit it with your guns, you would web it so you could fucksmash it. Rat (npc) or player.
 
Thanks for the tips. I also downloaded EveMon which is great. I prolly wont run quickfit simply cuz i hate running java stuff (and evemon does what i need).

I started with: First fitting

- 2 rockets + 1 missile
- civilian afterburner
- civilian shield booster

Frankly, that rocked everything i came across during level 1 missions.

After just 2 days, im now looking at this: Interim fitting (87k skill)

- 3 Standard Missiles I
- 1 Limos Rocket (just because)
- 1 Coldgas Arcjet AB
- 1 Small Shield Booster
- 2 PDS

In the coming days, i may play around with new power options and armor, but frankly at lvl 1-2 this is dominating on a Kestrel. As new challenges emerge, webifiers, ballistic, armor/hardeners and MAPC might be good options.

This setup oughta take me a ways, and i might eventually use stronger power systems, add armor and then a ballistics control system. But eevn before i got the toys i was owning last night just with basic rockets and missiles.

EDIT: at this level, civilian AB and shield boosters were totally fine... as that is what i started with along with 3 rockets. I'm only now switching more to missiles and the non-civ gear.

EDIT2:

I've tracked all my skills and such, so i might make a post on the Newbie Guide thread going over the precise steps for getting started with caldari and a kestrel.
 
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This is my setup. I have more than 8 million skill points, and this is simply deadly to most frigates. I didn't realize how simple it was until I'd looked at it again.

4 light missile launchers
1 small shield booster
2 small shield extenders
1 reactor control unit (RCU)
1 50mm titanium armor plate
 
i tossed the two PDS for 2 RCUs.

so, i have 4 weaps lit up but i had to swap the full shield booster for a civilian one. no biggie as i barely ever take damage at this point.

by the time in really getting challenged i will be on the way to a caracal :D
 
Chikaze said:
This is my setup. I have more than 8 million skill points, and this is simply deadly to most frigates. I didn't realize how simple it was until I'd looked at it again.

4 light missile launchers
1 small shield booster
2 small shield extenders
1 reactor control unit (RCU)
1 50mm titanium armor plate

1) Why would you throw in an armor plate? Caldari, sheild tank is the way to go. If it's ripping in armor, gtfo heh.

I forgot my kessy setup, but like you, it was my bread and butter.
 
TseTse said:
i tossed the two PDS for 2 RCUs.

so, i have 4 weaps lit up but i had to swap the full shield booster for a civilian one. no biggie as i barely ever take damage at this point.

by the time in really getting challenged i will be on the way to a caracal :D


Anything civi .. is really shit heh.
 
I'd jump in a destroyer before you go for a cruiser. Quick skill to train, not too much more expensive but really rip through npc frigs you fight during the lvl 1 missions.

Also I just finished the 14 day trial period recently (now subscribed to my first month), by the time it was over I was flying a cruiser and had just enough cash for a battlecruiser (though you can't train the bcruiser skill in the trial).

I'm minmatar so can't really speak for skills too much, but i imagine missiles/shields/capacitor recharge/other engineering stuff would be a safe bet.
 
Honestly the route I took which is great is

Frigate - > Cruiser (In for a long time) -> Battlecruiser (I can hunt 0.0 with my ferox) -> right now battleship.

For pvp I am specializing right now in Ewar, and going to get an AF as soon as I can to do some damage.

Get your NPC setup down first, these are your money makers. PVP setups last.
 
i got DESTROYED trying a level 2 mission...

then i tried this "World Collide" mission and got raped as well :lol:

the solution was outfitting a simple condor for speed and ideal kiting on the last lap of the mission.... poor kestrel :D
 
Interim Fitting #3 (under 90k skills)

- 4x Malkuth Missiles (20cpu, 8mw grid each)
- 1x Civilian AB (yea, that's right... civ)
- 2x Small Subordinate Screen Stabilizer (i.e. extenders)
- 2x Reactor Control Unit I

This is my working fitting setup. Strong missile power with nice passive shielding.

Only draw back is slow afterburner with the civ gear, but honestly... it's sufficient for lvl 1 missions and looting.
 
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Chikaze said:
This is my setup. I have more than 8 million skill points, and this is simply deadly to most frigates. I didn't realize how simple it was until I'd looked at it again.

4 light missile launchers
1 small shield booster
2 small shield extenders
1 reactor control unit (RCU)
1 50mm titanium armor plate

Armor plating is totally absurd if you're shield tanking.

swap it out for a Ballistic Control unit and you'll get 7% more damage out of your missiles, and shave some time off your RoF
^^ = 28% more damage per volley, with faster volleys.

w1n.
 
I was setting it up to be a super-tank. Just hit hard and be unkillable.

It's for frigate wars. I pwn my corpmates.
 
TseTse said:
i got DESTROYED trying a level 2 mission...

then i tried this "World Collide" mission and got raped as well :lol:

the solution was outfitting a simple condor for speed and ideal kiting on the last lap of the mission.... poor kestrel :D
What do you do to get to the level 2 missions? Do they just become available after your standing with a level 1 agent gets to a certain point?
 
Your standing with the NPC corp has to be a certain level for them to be available to you. Check the info of agents "not available to you" and it will say what standing you need to get to.

Also
swap it out for a Ballistic Control unit and you'll get 7% more damage out of your missiles, and shave some time off your RoF
^^ = 28% more damage per volley, with faster volleys.
still means 7% more damage per volley, since (i'm assuming) your volley was already comprised of four missiles... they'll each do 107% of normal so the total volley will be 428% of one missile launch instead of 400%, which is a 7% increase.
 
Lessershade said:
What do you do to get to the level 2 missions? Do they just become available after your standing with a level 1 agent gets to a certain point?

As stated above...

Basically, i am Caldari. I did the tut missions and then focused on Caldari Navy agents. I look for agent with good Quality and then just whore that agent a lot.

You will quickly garner faction and Corp standing... enough to see some low Quality level IIs emerge, however i'd advise sticking it out with lvl I until you get a nice cruiser or something.
 
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