Fitting 101

Preparations
Before you do anything else, make sure you have the EVE Fitting Tool, or EFT for short, installed. Get it here, and read the quick tutorial on how to use it). EFT will let you test fits out of EVE, and without spending tons of ISK on modules you may or may not be able to use. It is highly recommended and damn near essential.

Alternatively, you can use the Python Fitting Assistant, or PyFA. Both programs do the same thing, ultimately.

If you use a current Linux distro or Mac OS X, you will find EFT runs perfectly in WINE. PyFA has at least one fairly annoying bug in Linux.

The Art of Fitting
Fitting basically boils down to adding modules to your ship to make it capable of fulfilling a certain role. This can become a very complex thing given the many ships, the large amount of roles those ships can take and the variety of modules that can go on ships.

The three basic categories for roles are PVP, PVE, and industry.

Common PVP roles:
 * Tackling
 * Damage Dealing
 * Scouting

Common PVE roles:
 * Mission Running, Anomalies
 * Ratting, Chaining
 * Exploration

Common Industry roles:
 * Mining
 * Salvaging
 * Hauling

Slot Basics
Each ship has a distinct number of slots, which is broken up into three categories: High, Medium and Low slots. If you click on the Fitting button on the left hand side of screen, in game, you can see how many of each slot you have on your active ship. You can also find this information by reading the little box with information in it in game (press the blue exclamation button).

High Slots
These slots are usually for your offensive modules (turrets, launchers, neutralizers), remote repair modules, or a small selection of utility modules (Cynosural field generators, warfare links, cloaks).

Medium Slots
These slots will fit propulsion modules, electronic warfare modules, tackling modules, your main shield tank or armour tank support modules.

Low Slots
These slots will fit your main armour tank or shield tank support modules, damage increasing modules, speed/agility modules and cargo expansion modules.

Which roles with which ship
Usually the role a ship can fulfill will be determined by the bonuses it gets. Look in the info of the ship you want to fit and see where the bonuses point you too. Or the other way around, if you have a certain role in mind, then pick a ship that has the bonuses that compliment that role.

Say, you have bought a frigate, but are unsure how to fit it. For example the Imicus. The bonuses will show that it should be used as a probing ship. Or you would like to have a ship to move your stuff around. Check which ships you can fly, and industrials will show bonuses geared for cargo expansion.

What goes on First
Let's assume now that you have a certain role you would like to fit a ship for. Open EFT, and start fitting the modules that define the role. Always fit those first. This is because there are limited resources and you will or might need to compromise on the quality of the modules against limited resources when finishing the fit. You do not want to compromise the modules that actually define the fit. Certainly not at this stage anyway.

For example:
 * Tackling: Scram/disrupt, a webifier and an MWD.
 * Salvaging: Salvage mods.
 * Hauling: Cargo expanders.
 * Heavy Damage: The biggest turrets/missiles that will fit.

What goes on Second
Next you will want to fit modules that help the modules already fitted, so they get boosted with even more potential. Often you will find that modules are greatly improved by adding those support mods. There are also mods that increase the efficiency of the intended role instead of supporting to already fitted mods. That is what goes on next.

For example:
 * Tackling: Speed mods like align mods and speed overdrives
 * Salvaging: Tractor mods, cargo expanders, a propulsion mod.
 * Hauling: A propulsion mod.
 * Heavy damage: A propulsion mod and a tank so you can keep dishing out damage longer and Damage modifiers, to increase the damage you can dish out.

What is left
You now have the basic role fitted on your ship, but will still have slots and resources left. Never leave slots empty if at all possible. Also try and maximize the resources that your ship has (CPU, Powergrid and Capacitor). If you have alot of those left, then you most likely have not fitted your ship to maximum potential.

You will want to fit modules that expand the possibilities of the ship beyond its most basic role. Here you will also find tweaks and opportunities to make a ship fitted to more specific roles beyond your basic role.

For example:
 * Tackling: Guns/missiles for a little added damage dishing. A cloak, so now you can also double as a disposable scout. A salvage mod, earn some extra isk during the op.
 * Salvaging: Cap rechargers, so you can keep your capacitor topped off. A cloak, so you can get 'safe' faster.
 * Hauling: Cap rechargers, A cloak, align/speed mods. Warpcore stabilizers to be less vulnerable to scramming
 * Heavy damage: Tracking mods, Range mods, Drone support mods, Tackle gear, Salvger.

Rigs
These are to top off any lacking aspect on your fit. They can really put the icing on the cake. However, they can be costly. Note: once you put these on your ship then you can not take them off without destroying them. They also are destroyed when you repackage the ship (often required for our haulers).

More on rigs here.

For example:
 * Tackling: Keep it cheap, leave your tackle ship unrigged.
 * Salvaging: Salvage rigs, Cargo rigs.
 * Hauling: Cargo rigs.
 * Heavy Damage: Tank maximizers, Resources enhancers and maybe Damage maximizers.

Optimizing
You will often find that you cannot fit all the modules that you would like. You will need to compromise. You will also notice that you just prefer the fit differently in practice then you theory crafted in EFT. Fits might look very good on paper but work out differently when actually piloting them. This is a common thing and often referred to as EFT-warrioring.

For example:
 * Tackling: The guns will not fit, however you could drop abit more isk on modules that require less resources, but that will make your throwaway tackler more expensive. Maybe too expensive even.
 * Salvaging: Changing the ratio of tractors vs salvagers, Align/speed mods vs cargo expanders.
 * Hauling: Align/speed mods vs Cargo expanders vs Warpcore stabilizers.
 * Heavy Damage: Drop down a turret/missile size to get that little bit more tank, which you need.

I tried to put this DOOMSDAY on my frigate and it won't Fit
All modules have a specific powergrid and CPU requirement to fit. A doomsday for a titan will not fit on a frigate because it requires so much powergrid and CPU to run. There are mods to increase both but beware as you might be able to make it fit by bettering your skills or you might be decreasing the effectiveness of the ship as that slot could be better used elsewhere.

Also of note: mods usually (especially for high slots) come in different sizes for different class ships. Frigates and destroyers are small, cruisers and battlecruisers are medium, battleships are large, and capitals are extra large. Note however, some module names can be misleading: a Medium Pulse Lasers, for example, are small -- frigate-sized -- guns. Another misleading one is the XL Shield Booster; it is not, in fact a capital sized module (the Capital Shield Booster is, however).

NOTE: You can sometimes fit oversized modules. Example: A 100MN Afterburner on a T3 cruiser, or a Heavy Energy Neutralizer on a T2 cruiser to get 75km neut range. It can be done, but there are many reasons why you wouldn't want to in most cases.

Do not mix Turret ranges
How not to fit a rifter:

High slots:

100mm autocannon

200mm autocannon

250mm artillery

Standard Launcher

Spreading your damage output over different ranges will mean that when you are shooting at the furthest gun optimal (the 250mm arti), the other guns are ineffectual. In this example the 250mm artillery reaches far further, However, long range guns cannot do a lot of damage, even if used close range.

Turning this around, where you are shooting something close, then you are not doing your maximum damage potential. Instead of the 250mm artillery you could have fitted a gun for short range which does more damage, but can only do that in closer ranges.

Mixing ranges makes you a jack of all trades, but in none of those will the fit excel, it actually will be gimped from its possible potential. Either have an excellent range with decent damage, or be close range with excellent damage.

A better example of turrets on a rifter:

High slots:

150 autocannon x3

Standard Launcher

Resists
Damage comes in 4 types, and your shield, armor and structure have inbuilt resistances to each of those. In many fits you will want to fit your ship so that it can reduce incoming damage. Specifically when Ratting.

Make sure you know the basics on how resistance works before trying to fit that Isk making Ratter.

Note, in EFT you can see your ships' resists in the right side panel in the "Hitpoints" section. Check the EFT tutorial mentioned at the top on where it shows them.

Battleclinic
Battleclinic.com has a lot of fits that people can rate. It might seem a good idea to simply look for a fit, find the highest rated and use that.

This you should not do. For several reasons:


 * 1) The fit is intended for a role which you might not be using it for. For instance, pvp in null is very different from pvp in Empire. Fits will be different given different purposes.
 * 2) Fits are often outdated, either due to changes in eve mechanics, or because strategy in pvp has changed.
 * 3) EFT warrioring is common place on the site. And you will often see battle-tested fits get lower rates than the purely going by the 'best' stats in EFT.
 * 4) Due to the nature of a rating mechanism, the highest rated fits will often be cookie-cutter fits (which will not benefit you). You often won't see creative/out of the box thinking get high ratings.

You can still look at battleclinic of course, but preferably only to get the basic of basest notions of what a fit on your particular ship should be capable of.

However, it's a good idea to check out the lowest rated fit, and see why they are so bad from the comments.

Where to go from here
Fitting:
 * Turrets: All About Turrets, with information on the various turrets. Additionally, explanations on why your turrets seem ineffective.
 * Missiles: Missiles, will give the inner mechanics and overview of the various missile types.
 * Drones: An extensive drone guide.
 * Tank: A guide on tanking, which explains the details on how to fit your ship so it can deal with incoming damage.

On how to group your weapons. Do make sure you have read Lag though.

An explanation on the stacking penalties various modules can get.

And an insight in the different roles ships can take. Which is an important part when fitting.

Short explanation on the ships capacitor.

Fitting Skills
Fitting skills are like lube: they help you put big things in tight places. If you just can't quite fit that last module, make sure you have the relevant fitting skills trained.

CPU Skills
These skills will increase your ship's CPU:
 * Electronics

These skills will reduce certain modules' CPU need:
 * Electronics Upgrades
 * Energy Grid Upgrades
 * Weapon Upgrades

Power Grid Skills
These skills will increase your ship's Power Grid:
 * Engineering

These skills will reduce certain modules' Power Grid need:
 * Advanced Weapon Upgrades
 * Shield Upgrades

Capacitor Skills
These skills won't actually help you fit bigger and better modules. They will, however, help you last longer, or even help you reach a cap-stable fit.

These skills will increase your ship's Capacitor:
 * Energy Management

These skills will reduce your Capacitor recharge time:
 * Energy Systems Operation

These skills will reduce certain modules' Capacitor need:
 * Afterburner
 * Controlled Bursts (Hybrid Turrets)
 * Electronic Warfare (ECM)
 * Energy Emission Systems (Neuts and Nos)
 * Fuel Conservation (Afterburner)
 * High Speed Maneuvering (MWD)
 * Propulsion Jamming (Scram, Disruptor, Web)
 * Remote Armor Repair Systems (Remote Armor Reps)
 * Remote Hull Repair Systems (Remote Hull Reps)
 * Sensor Linking (Sensor Damps + Boosters)
 * Shield Compensation (Shield Boosters)
 * Shield Emission Systems (Shield Transporters)
 * Weapon Disruption (Tracking Disruptors)

The following you will not want to get (they only affect capital ships) but are listed for completeness:
 * Capital Energy Emission Systems
 * Capital Remote Armor Repair Systems
 * Capital Remote Hull Repair Systems
 * Capital Shield Emission Systems
 * Capital Shield Operation

Fitting Guide
There is no shame in losing a ship, only in losing a poorly fit one.

The goal of this guide is to help understand how and why ships are fit they way they are. It will cover the terminology used, out of game tools that many players find indispensable, damage types, and tank types, resistances and how they are calculated, along with the modules that are necessary for a competent fit.

Fitting a ship correctly is not nearly as complicated as it seems. There may be thousands of modules and combinations but they can be narrowed down to a few general groups. In this section we will outline these groups and some general rules, tips and tricks to avoid shit-fits and general embarrassment.

The physical act of fitting a ship is simple, open the items hangar and the fitting window, drag the item from your hangar to the correct slot. High slot is three lines like a Benz,(/|\) Mid slots are two lines,(--) and low slots are one line(-) These icons tell you what slot a module goes into and can be found on the market screen or the fitting tab of the module’s show info window.

Modules can be divided into general groups, tank, fitting, capacitor, weapons/damage mods and utility.
 * Tank modules, are shield, armor or propulsion mods. Shield, Armor, Overdrive, MWD
 * Fitting mods are modules like Reactor Control Units or Co-Processors, modules that help out CPU or powergrid requirements.
 * Capacitor mods are for adding to or decreasing recharge time of your ships capacitor. Capacitor Battery, Capacitor Power Relay.
 * Weapons and Damage Mods are either weapons, or modules that increase weapon damage. 150mm autocannon, Gyrostabilizer
 * Utility mods are every thing else. Maybe a Probe Launcher, or a Remote Repair. Nosferatu and Energy Neutralizers are also in this category.

Every Ship has three “stats” CPU, Powergrid and Capacitor. CPU and Powergrid are for fitting, most modules use some cpu and grid, there are a few with no fitting requirements. Capacitor is what runs all the active modules on a ship. The top right of the fitting window has a capacitor meter showing how long all the modules on a ship can run for. (pic) If the cap is stable it means all the mods can run forever, don’t worry if the ship is not stable, very rarely are all the mods going to be running all the time.

EXAMPLE FITS
For starters we will fit two frigates, an active armor tanked punisher, and a speed/sig rifter. All example fits assume the 30 day skillplan, with two modifications, racial frigate for Amarr and energy emission systems 1.

NOTE:due to tericide (ship rebalancing program by ccp) the number of slot might be differnt but the lessons are still the same.

Punisher
4 highs(3 turret hardpoints), 2 mids and 4 lows

The punisher has an Amarr Frigate bonus of 10% bonus to small energery turret capacitor use and a 5% bonus to armor resistances per skill level. This means for every level of Amarr Frigate the pilot’s small lasers use 10% less cap and the ship has 5% better base armor resists. For armor tanks we have two choices, active or buffer tank. Frigates are small and generally don’t have enough fitting room to get a truly decent buffer so for the demonstration we will use an active armor tank. The punisher is relatively slow for a frigate, but has potential for a beefy tank which lends itself well to this demonstration. The first mod in the low slots should be a Small Armor Repair System(SAR). For the remaining three slots we have a few choices, buffer, resists, speed or damage. As we said before the punisher is already slow, so this build wil focus on tank The next mod to go on our fearsome little frigate is a 200mm plate, this will provide some buffer and give the repper time to work. In the remaining two slots we should fit resists, because the Punisher already has resist bonuses this will play to it’s strengths. Adaptive Nano Plating (ANP) is a good choice because of the low fitting requirements. Our low slots are now full, with 2 ANPs, a SAR and a plate. With better fitting skills one could use a 400mm plate or even Energized Adaptive Nano Membranes (EANM).

The Punisher has two mid slots, one of which should be a propulsion module, a MWD, the other could be a cap module for pve or a warp scrambler or disruptor for pvp. Lastly, comes the high slots, because the Punisher has no damage bonus it can safely be ignored. Because of this it makes sense to use a capless weapon system, I prefer autocannons. Fill the high with 125mm or 150mm autocannons, and a small Nosferatu and enjoy blowing shit up.

This procedure is basically the same for all ships, the least important slots to fill should be your high slots almost every time. The reasoning behind this is that if you aren’t alive or are out of capacitor or range your dps doesn’t matter.

Rifter
The Rifter is a beauty of a ship, everyone should be able to fly one. This fit focuses on speed and small signature radius to mitigate incoming damage. However, the Rifter can flourish as either an armor or shield tanker as well. Rifters make fantastic tacklers and this fit will focus on that build, a cheap tackle ship that everyone will appreciate on the field. (DHD's Fucking Sweet Tackle Guide)

Since we are fitting the tanks first in this guide our first module will be a 1mn MWD,to finish off the tank put two overdrive injector systems.

For the tackle use either a disruptor or a scram in the first open mid slot and a webifier will fill out the last mid slot.

Now we move to the lows, with one remaining low and our tank relying on speed, one could put another overdrive, or a nanofiber internal structure; I, however, like to use a gyro because MOAR DPS gives me a boner. The highs are the last slots to fill and should be filled with 3 125 or 150mm autocannons and either a small nosferatu or rocket launcher for scram/web combo or a standard launcher for disruptor.

This loadout fits easily and can be modified to suit different piloting approaches.

Tips
Nearly every ship in 0.0 should fit a MWD Don’t mix tank types: Pick a Tank -Pick a tank and stick to it, armor or shield, never both. The easiest way to determine what tank a ship should use is to look at the slot layout. Normally if a ship has more mid slots than low slots it should be a shield tanker. The opposite is true for armor tanking. Once a tank type has been determined start filling slots.

Avoid shield rechargers, there is always a module that will be better in that slot.

Don’t mix ranges, keep all your weapons short or long range and never mix small, medium and large size weapons together.

Fit tank slots first, then propulsion/capacitor and leave high slots for last.

Always play to your ship’s strengths and generally do not fit against your bonuses. Every ship has bonuses based on the skills required to fly it. Usually they hint at parts of a good fit, yet sometimes they can be ignored. A good example of a bonus that could be ignored is the Punisher’s turret capacitor bonus, this will be covered shortly.

Terminology
General Terms:
 * Active -a module uses cap needs activation
 * Passive -a module uses no cap needs activation
 * Active(tank) -relies on using cap to repair damage
 * Passive(tank) -relies on natural shield regeneration to repair damage
 * Buffer(tank) -relies on a large pool of hitpoints to survive damage
 * Speed/Sig(tank) -relies on speed or small signature radius to mitigate damage
 * Signature Radius -a ship’s “size” according to sensors, larger is easier to hit
 * Remote Repair(rr) -using remote repair modules to repair another ship
 * Meta Level - A general “rating” of a module Tech I is meta 0, Tech 2 is meta 5
 * Fit -the modules on your ship
 * Loadout -see fit
 * Module -any item in your high, middle or low slots
 * Slot -place where modules go
 * Rig -special permanent item for your ship, under “ship modifications” market list
 * AB -afterburner, a propulsion mod
 * MWD -MicroWarp Drive, a faster speed mod 1mn, 10mn, and 100mn sizes
 * Point -a Warp Disruptor, applies one “point” of warp disruption
 * Scram - a Warp Scrambler, two points of warp disruption, also disables MWDs
 * Extender -Shield Module available in small, medium and large
 * Shield Booster -Shield module that repairs damage, small, medium, large & XL
 * Hardener -module that boosts resistances(armor/shield & active/passive)
 * DCU -damage control unit, boosts resistances across the board
 * Plate -Armor module that increase hitpoints
 * Repper -Armor Repairer small, medium, large
 * SeBo -Sensor Booster, increases lock range and decreases lock time
 * Damage Mod -module that increases weapon damage, one per weapon type
 * Hardpoint -spot for turrets or launchers to be mounted
 * Overdrive(OD) -propulsion mod
 * Nanofiber Internal Structure(nano) -agility/propulsion mod
 * Inertial Stabilizer(istab) -agility mod
 * Tackle - Warp Jammers & webs, used to hold targets in place
 * Capacitor - The “fuel” for a ships modules.
 * CPU - One ship fitting limit
 * Powergrid - Another ship fitting limit
 * Utility -refers to a slot or module used to add some variance to the ship
 * Scan Resolution - Higher value means faster targeting

Slot Layout
All ships aside from shuttles have some sort of slot layout. These slots are divided into High, medium/middle and low. High Slots: Weapons, Remote Repair, Bomb/Probe Launchers, Nosferatu/Neutralizer and utility mods.

Middle/Medium Slot: Tackle, Shield Tank, Capacitor, Propulsion, and Targeting mods

Low Slots: Armor Tank, Damage Mods, Capacitor, Agilty/Propulsion

Out of Game Tools

 * EFT - Eve Fitting Tool, an offline fitting program
 * Pyfa - The Python Fitting Assistant, an offline fitting program
 * EveMon - An offline character management program
 * Battleclinic - A handy website for loadouts BUT TAKE THEM WITH A GRAIN OF SALT you are better off looking at the low rated one and read the comment to see why they are bad
 * Scrapheap - Another website, better information but, less tolerance for noobs

Weapon Types
Close range weapons do more damage per second than long range weapons Sizes Small: Used on frigates and destroyers Medium: Used on cruisers and battlecruisers Large: Used on Battleships

Missile Launchers are not grouped by size like every other weapon in the game. Here is a breakdown of launcher sizes, close range followed by the long range variant. Missile Launchers Small: Rockets, Standard Missiles Medium: Assault Launchers*, Heavy Assault Missiles, Heavy Missiles Large: Torpedoes(Siege launchers), Cruise Missiles


 * Assault Missile Launchers are a specialized cruiser weapon designed to take out frigates.

Damage Types

 * Electromagnetic
 * Electromagnetic Damage is based on electromagnetic radiation. This weapon damage can be inflicted by lasers, certain types of missiles, and certain types of projectile rounds. Amarr drones do this type of damage. Shields are typically the most vulnerable to this type of damage. Armor is typically the least vulnerable to this type of damage.


 * Explosive
 * Explosive damage refers to explosions caused to hostile targets. This damage type is inflicted by some types of Missiles and some types of Projectile turrets. Lasers and Hybrid turrets cannot do explosive damage. Minmatar drones do this type of damage. Shield has the highest resistance against explosive damage, while armor has the lowest.


 * Kinetic
 * Kinetic damage pertains to impacts. This damage type is dealt by all hybrid turrets, some projectile ammunition varieties, and some missile types. Caldari drones do this type of damage. Shield has the second highest resistance against kinetic. Armor has the second lowest resistance against kinetic damage.


 * Thermal
 * Thermal Damage pertains to applied heat on an enemy target. Lasers can provide this sort of damage with different crystals loaded. Certain types of Missiles, Projectile Ammunition, and all Hybrid turrets will provide this damage type. Gallente drones do this type of damage. Shields and armor have moderate resistance to this damage type.