Sunday 28 August 2011

Ship Spotlight - The Merlin

Note: Due to rebalancing, the information in this article is now out of date.

I know I've already talked broadly about many different ship types, but today I'd like to spend a little more time on one ship in particular. The thing is, I've seen a lot of new players recently asking how they should start get involved in PVP - almost every one of them was quickly told to train minmatar and fly the rifter. This advice probably won't steer them wrong, but a PVP environment where everyone flies the same ship is more than a little boring, and more importantly in my opinion, does not do some of the other combat frigates the justice they deserve.

Don't get me wrong, the rifter is a really good ship - it's fast, it's flexible, and it packs a punch. It's also a ship that I'm personally very fond of - I've had some of my most memorable kills in a rifter, as well as some equally memorable losses. I just resent the idea that it's the only viable option, and that somehow by flying any of the other t1 combat frigates, you're doing it wrong.




Regardless of your ship's actual capabilities, there's a real psychological advantage in solo PVP to flying something uncommon, or which generally has a reputation (rightly or wrongly) for being less powerful than some of its peers. Fly a common ship with a reputation as a strong PVP vessel, and your opponents will be both cautious and informed. Fly something unusual and underestimated on the other hand, and your opponents will be both uninformed and overconfident - exactly how you want them. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

This article really begins with the time I spent flying with Red vs Blue (RvB). Much of their combat happens in t1 frigates, and I decided to try out a few ships that I hadn't really used before. One of my favourite ships for gang work is the dual prop jaguar, and I originally looked at the merlin because I wanted to create something that filled the same niche using a t1 hull. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised:

Show EFT
[Merlin, Dual Prop]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Damage Control II

Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
Medium Azeotropic Ward Salubrity I

150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma S
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I


I quickly fell in love, and the dual prop merlin soon became my standard fit for RvB fleets. While I'd advise against it for solo work, I'm a big fan of dual prop for gangs - it allows you to chase down and scram fast targets while still having the survivability of an AB fit frigate once you've done so. The merlin in particular is great for this, since like the jaguar it can fit dual prop and still have room for a hefty MSE shield tank (while most other frigs capable of dual prop have to settle for a more fragile armour tank). As with most dual prop fits, this one is pretty tight on powergrid and will probably be difficult for new players.

But what about solo? How does the merlin pull its weight there? The answer is surprisingly well. Here's a fit that Agony pilots have used for some time:

Show EFT
[Merlin, Fishing]
Damage Control II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

1MN Afterburner II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Medium Azeotropic Ward Salubrity I

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I


As the name suggests this fit was built for interceptor fishing, although like many fishing setups, it works well for any kind of solo frigate PVP. Its damage output at close range is respectable, and thanks to the merlin's optimal bonus it can hit out to around 6km with null quite easily, with rockets effective even further out depending on skills. With a MSE it fields one of the stronger tank for a t1 frig thanks to the merlin's shield resist bonus, and the fact that it can maintain the AB/scram/web combo at the same time as doing so gives it a great deal of flexibility. Some people opt to fit autocannons instead of blasters (which drops the damage a bit, but makes it much easier to fit - potentially a good idea for newer players). What most people don't do however, is fit lasers. Like this:

Show EFT
[Merlin, Pulse Merlin]
Damage Control II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Medium Shield Extender II

Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Dual Light Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I
Small Core Defence Field Extender I


We have a corpmate in Agony who's a big fan of pulse merlins (incidentally it's the same guy who PVPs in a helios, with even more success). It may sound like a joke at first, but when you look closer it actually begins to make a lot of sense. With multifrequency crystals, the dps output of the pulse merlin is similar to the autocannon variant (the cap usage from the two lasers is not very significant, and this fit is still easily cap stable with everything running). With scorch however, you suddely have an optimal of about 10km allowing you to hit for your full damage anywhere in web range, while blaster or autocannon variants will lose dps rapidly as range increases (even with barrage, ACs are doing about 50% damage at that range). This lets you take full advantage of the range dictation ability granted by your AB/scram/web combo, while still having the tank and dps to go toe to toe where necessary. Having seen what this fit could do, and remembering granger's helios fit (which I mentioned briefly in my t2 frigates article if anyone is interested), I decided to try taking it one step further:

Show EFT
[Merlin, Pulse Merlin w/ track]
Damage Control II
200mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
DDO Photometry Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption

Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Gatling Pulse Laser II, Scorch S
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Caldari Navy Foxfire Rocket

Small Energy Burst Aerator I
Small Energy Collision Accelerator I
[empty rig slot]


This fit is quite a bit more fragile than its shield tanked counterpart, although the tank is still reasonable (it's roughly similar to an armour tanked incursus, or rifter without a rep). However by freeing up the 4th mid slot, you gain almost complete control of most engagements - both dictating range and crippling your opponent's ability to respond. This fit is excellent against any turret ship which can't control range against you, meaning punishers, shield tanked rifters, and any interceptor other than the crow or the taranis (if the latter is AB/scram/web fit). An alternative version (which I didn't get to try) swaps the tracking disruptor for a second web, virtually guaranteeing range dictation against any target (although you're likely to still take some damage from other frigates packing t2 long range ammo). If you don't have pulses trailed (and let's face it, most caldari pilots don't), both of these options also work fine with rails - the trade-off is that if your target does get close, you may not be able to track them.

That's about as far as I got with the merlin - shortly after this I shipped off back to Agony and back to my usual inties, AFs and the like. That said, I was very impressed by ther versatility of what I'd always considered to be a quite unremarkable ship, and I hope from this article you can begin to see where I'm coming from. Who knows, maybe next time a young caldari pilot asks you how they should get started in PVP, you might even hesitate for a moment before suggesting they train for that rifter!

9 comments:

  1. Amen to that. The only problem I've ever had with the Merlin was its Powergrid...it isn't even that small really, but considering 200mm ACs are as easy to fit as Electron Blasters, it's no wonder that Hybrid frigates have trouble with getting everything to fit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I fly the dual web armour Merlin with 200 AC's

    Unless pilots know your fit, which sadly for me they do, it catches most out. When seeing a Merlin most will load EM/TH damage and whilst the armour tank is smaller the wrong ammo buys you more resists.

    I like the 200's as they also allow you to close range on article/long range fits and brawl it out.

    Also just started testing an MWD Missile/Arti fit too. Providing you have the time and they are not active tanking you will take down most frigates.

    I love the Merlin! Though I need to on the lazorz as it may actualy suit my play style

    Barrack

    ReplyDelete
  3. In a lot of gaming, especially mmo's, if something is not the very best in whatever particular category, then it's considered useless. You can thank the min/max'ers for that.

    That's the reason so many people suggest the Rifter over everything else. Because it's considered the best tech 1 combat frigate, everything else is useless and you are doing it wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I fully agree with the sentiment that being underestimated can win you more fights than just being in the best "so called" ship.

    Like a aliance I flew with once used 4-6 ECM myrmidons in a BC gang to trick people into fighting them, since they thought we had no Ewar. They worked remariably well and no one knew to primary our Ewar till it was to late, and by then the myrms had asigned drones and burned off to 50k

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  5. Nice to see somebody else pushing something besides the Rifter. I'm a huge fan of the Tristan myself. Last time I went to make a movie, sadly almost every fight was with a Rifter (they all died to the Tristan BTW). Check out my blog if interested in watching it.

    But yea, thanks for helping my efforts in showing people the Rifter isn't the end all solo pwn mobile.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for this! As an extremely new player and recent member of RvB this is a great goal for me to work toward and gives me an idea of what I need to look for to be a more useful fleet member in my trusty Merlins. Thanks again for all you do!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm certain I have better skills for Rifters than Merlins, but when I fly frigates, I usually fly Merlins. When everyone drives Honda, sometimes you just have to go Toyota.

    Great article Azual, you're on Open University's required reading list! :)

    Bren Genzan
    [AWA-OUCH]

    ReplyDelete
  8. I used to love having a Merlin in my gang back in my pirate hunting days. A Merlin with 2xSEBO(Scan Res), Disrupt and 1mn MWD makes an excellent cheap quick lock tackle frigate for catching those pesky pirates who think they are immune when flying around low sec in their frigates.

    Sure, sure, you could do this with an interceptor, but for a new pilot wanting to help out its a perfect ship as it comes in under 1m ISK ship + mods.

    - munK

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  9. I flew a Merlin in RvB too. It is a great PvP ship and also a good tackler as it has some tank and can hold tackle against neuts if you swap the rockets for a NOS or 2.

    ReplyDelete

The Altruist is the Eve Online blog of Azual Skoll, PVP instructor and small gang PVPer.

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