Overview
What’s the fastest ship in EVE? While I’m not sure about that, I am sure that the Crow is up there. It gives the the thrill to be able to dodge missiles and bullets and the ability to make someone really steamed when you bump them from jumping out of the next system.
While it is expensive, the role that it fills in fleets is important, such as catching up to targets and holding them in place, without running a great risk of having the tackler blown up. The Crow really is just a tackler, do not look for it to go solo and take on battlecruisers or crashing a gate camp.
For The Beginners
3 - Standard Missile Launcher I, Bloodclaw Light Missile
1 - 1MN MicroWarpdrive II
1 - Warp Disruptor II
1 - Cap Recharger II
1 - Ballistic Control System II
2 - Overdrive Injector System II
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2 - Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Purpose: Solo, PvP, 1v1 engagements
This fitting should be fairly cap stable depending on skills, so that means everything can be left on during a fight, keeping the ship fast and the enemy in place.
When entering a fight, set the orbit to around 18km, so that the speed of the ship carries it out to 20-22kms. This way the disruptor is still in range of the opponent and you can be out of range of the web. Just keep peppering the enemy with light missiles and almost any T1 frigate should succumb without a whole lot of problems.
Watch out for Punishers and Rifters as they can withstand the light DPS for a long time if not indefinately.
If you do decide to disengage, burn out of their disruptor range, which is probably 24km as well, and warp away.
For The Intermediates
3 - Standard Missile Launcher I, Bloodclaw Light Missile
1 - 125mm Gatling AutoCannon I, EMP S
1 - Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
2 - Warp Disruptor II
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2 - Capacitor Control Circuit I
Purpose: Small/medium fleet, PvP, tackler
In fleets and gangs, most of time there are one or two interceptors. And among all those ships you will likely to see the Crow.
With two warp disruptors, the Crow can help with the tackling against another small gang and lay some DPS into them. This should also be cap stable with the two rigs, and if it is already without them, feel free to use speed rigs like the polycarbon engine housings or auxiliary thrusters.
With the gang, warp in and put down the points on the primary and secondary targets, and with the microwarpdrive on, orbit the secondary since the primary probably has points from the other folks. If the secondary tries to burn out then you are on his tail as the three nanos will have the ship turn in a jiffy.
If anyone throws their drones in the way, target them and blow them up first as that is the first priority; the small gun helps with that job too.
For The Advanced
3 - Rocket Launcher II, Thorn Rage Rocket
1 - 150mm Light AutoCannon II, Barrage S
1 - 1MN Afterburner II
1 - Warp Scrambler II
1 - Stasis Webifier II
1 - Damage Control II
1 - Small Armor Repairer II
1 - 200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
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2 - Bay Loading Accelerator I
Purpose: Solo, PvP, crazy 1v1 engagements
This is my prized treasure, my super crazy but fun to fly Crow. Notice I have never flown this setup on Tranquility, but when I am on SiSi I enjoy pulling this out and getting a few surprised pilots.
The goal of it is to burn close with the afterburner and start dishing out 100 DPS, up to 130 with some better skills, and kill the other ship. With the tracking of the 150mm autocannon, it is not necessary to shut off the afterburner while in orbit.
Repair once into armor and soon enough the other ship should explode. Damage should not be switched since the bonus of the ship only applies to kinetic damage, and I suggest the primary targets be cruisers because their guns can not track fast enough and their missiles will not hit for a lot.
Frigates will be able to hit for much more, and since this ship is already very fragile, it is recommended to no engage them.
It is not a risky fight most of the time against Ospreys, Mallers, and that bunch, but more experience is required to fend off the drones of a Vexor or Arbitrator.
Summary
Several drawbacks with the Crow are it’s low hit points and the ease of counterability with webs, but it is definitely a ship that excels at its role of tackling and is notably one of the greatest intercepters.
Technical Information
- 10% bonus to kinetic missile damage
- 5% reduction in signature radius
- 10% bonus to missile velocity
- 80% reduction in propulsion jamming systems activation cost
- Tech 2 ship – Increased thermal damage resistance
- Default targeting range is 36 km with 4 locked targets
- Velocity is 425 m/sec with 0 m3 of drone capacity
- Shield hit points is 528 and recharges in 625 seconds
- Power grid is at 35MW, 150ft of CPU, and 400 calibration points
- There are 4 high slots, 3 medium slots, 3 low slots, and 2 rig slots
- 3 slots for launchers and 2 for turrets
18 comments
My ship of choice for small gang actions, fit with a T2 disruptor and web and you are golden. Orbit outside of web range with your MWD on (I prefer the Gistii Type-B for price/utility) and keep the pinned with the disruptor and all is good for you.
I’ve flown a similar rocket setup and have had a blast with in lowsec. Yes, on Tranquility :)
I get about 110dps with it, and I have certainly surprised a few folks.
Ah, a breath of Dust-free air. Thank you.
@Chainer Cygnus
Why do you have a web if you orbit outside of web range? Also, try not to blow that 150mil loan so quick ;)
@Squizz Caphinator
Did you ever record your killmails? I am honestly wanting to try that, but I just cringe at the thought of losing the ship! It is very risky.
@Luccul
Thank you, if you could explain what that means?
I believe Luccul is referring to the recent flood of Dust 514 blog posts and the insanity surrounding “not” flying spaceships. It’s almost depressing to see how much furor abounds in the absence of pods. Like the mythical walking-in-stations concept, many pilots in New Eden somehow have this niggling and frankly incomprehensible urge to get out of their pods.
As for the setups, I like them, but would almost encourage the beginner to use rockets. They’ve proven a reliable and consistent damage dealer for me from an early point. This coupled with the fact that hopefully by the time they are flying a T2 ship, they have at least some of the support skills. And I’m assuming the inclusion of rigs on a ‘beginner’ ship is related to the forthcoming changes to rig sizing [which IS something to get very excited about].
Ahh the Crow… It was my first tech II ship that I was able to fly, and I’ve lost quite a few of them. While very fragile like you said, it can be a very deadly weapon.
The key: keep your distance and go as fast as you can. And if you see a Crusader coming, get the heck out of there.
I like your setups, I’ll have to give them a try.
The fit below is very tight and requires some pretty gnarly fitting skills. I’ve taken on three opponents at once with it and won, one of them being a rocket Crow. Most of my experience with them has been in high sec, and in small gangs or solo, so take it for what it’s worth.
Crow
Standard Missile Launcher II (x3, Caldari Navy Bloodclaw Light Missile)
1mn Microwarp Drive II
Warp Disruptor II
Cap Recharger II
Overdrive Injector System II (x2)
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Auxiliary Thrusters (x2)
Crow eh? I like the crow, she is a good reliable ship that can be exceedingly fast I admit. sadly for the king of speed you have to go with the claw…hands down the fastest ceptor in the game IIRC. Granted I think the missing mid slot in the claw gimps it a bit as my stiletto ( while slower) locks like lighting, but lacks punch in firepower. For great speed, good punch ( even tho i despise missiles) you are quite correct enjoy your Crow.
The Crow is actually one of the slowest interceptors in Eve. Only the Raptor and Taranis are slower.
Still, it’s a very formidable ship. :)
@Kename Fin
Yea the rigs were put on since this advice will most likely be taken by future Crow pilots after Apoc 1.5. The reason why I listed the rocket setup as an advanced setup was because new pilots may not want to lose their ship often, and after some experience in a small ship flying so fast, then maybe they can get up close and personal with it!
@Velocity Prime
Hey that was one of my first setups, and very close to the first setup listed here. I just changed it around as the extenders increase some shield hitpoints so the new pilots can have a little bit more room to mess up a few times ya know. That is still a great setup though!
@Manasi
Yes the claw is a very excellent ship, very fast. I like the Crow because the missiles pretty much hit all the time, there is less worrying with tracking and optimal ranges at such of a high speed.
@00sage00
Ah you are right, that is some good findings.
http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=3705922
http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=3606602
A couple of my kills using the rocket crow.
@Squizz Caphinator
Very nice jobs. Okay I will be following my own advice on TQ now. It should be fun!
I likes my Claw :) fast n furious.
No offense, but I hate your fits. Why would you ever suggest using T1 launchers on any ship ever, let alone a T2 frigate? At LEAST put something named on there. CDFE rigs? Come on now… if you get into range to be shot by something you’re going to be dead regardless. Better to fit something useful like rigs for more speed or DPS.
Lastly, the rocket Crow SUCKS. No one can really even debate that one… virtually every other combat interceptor and a majority of frigates is more effective at close range than a Crow and will rip a rocket Crow a new asshole. If you come in close with that ship against anything that can fight back, you’re basically pissing ISK down the sink. Go buy a Taranis instead.
Ok I’m done ruining the party. Nice post :)
@Biomassed
I have yet to get into the Claw, need Minny frigate 5 first…
@Spectre
Hey Spec, don’t worry, you are here to pass on your experience and I throughly enjoy your critical viewpoint as it changes the way I think by exposing weaknesses.
I changed the CDFE rigs on the one setup for some speed rigs, I guess the extra signature radius doesn’t help either :P
But you gotta admit, the rocket crow can be pulled off by very experienced players trying to go solo against targets that were choose wisely. I don’t think it will stand a chance against a Taranis, but I don’t think a missile Crow could kill it either.
Also, I did not fit T2 launchers because I was pretty tight on powergrid, need more advanced weapon upgrades trained up a level or two.
@Spectre
But after using a named MWD, I could fit some nice T2 launchers on, thanks for making me to get a second look!
Tony: You don’t have to choose just between vanilla T1 and T2. Generally, the named launchers use less and less CPU/Grid as you upgrade to better and better ones (Arbalest’s are lowest fitting reqs I believe) and they also have better stats to the point that I believe best named launchers do close to the same DPS as T2 (minus the fact that they cannot use T2 ammo). The only big downside is that good named launchers also tend to be very expensive. Regardless, you can upgrade your launchers at least a few meta levels for low cost and it will be better damage and easier to fit than T1.
If I was going to fit a Crow for tackle/range DPS I would fit it something like this:
[Crow, Range]
Overdrive Injector System II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
1MN MicroWarpdrive II
Warp Disruptor II
Stasis Webifier II
TE-2100 Standard Missile Bay
TE-2100 Standard Missile Bay
TE-2100 Standard Missile Bay
Salvager I
Auxiliary Thrusters I
Low Friction Nozzle Joints I
If I was going to fit a rocket Crow for close range DPS, I would fit it like this:
[Taranis, Super Ion Taranis]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
Warp Scrambler II
‘Langour’ Drive Disruptor I
Light Ion Blaster II
Light Ion Blaster II
Light Ion Blaster II
[empty high slot]
Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Hobgoblin II x2
P.S. Yes I realize the “rocket Crow” is a Taranis :)
Spectre, I agree with you in that the Taranis is a far better ship for up-close PVP than the Crow. At the time I flew the rocket Crow, I couldn’t quite yet fit the Taranis with the T2 goodies – so I just wasn’t going to fly it yet.
And anyway, choosing targets wisely the rocket Crow can be a lot of fun. Spectre, just try it sometime – your lowsec frig gangs would be perfect for it. I’ll even buy you one (if you have any missile skills that is!). Then you can blog about how fail it is AFTER you try it :)
@Spectre
Fair setups. I thought that since I display some pretty plain setups that maybe the readers can choose to upgrade wherever possible.
Also, I shall get into a Taranis soon, soon I say!
@Squizz Caphinator
I am in the same situation as you before getting the Taranis.
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