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The osprey is one of the most useful cruisers in EVE Online. Though not exactly flexible, it has several excellent applications. These include: mining, frigate bait, remote-repair fleets, and a nearly unique logistics role. These specialties are so helpful, and the osprey so easy to skill up for, that the osprey is worth training Caldari Cruiser for, even for pilots that chiefly fly other races' ships.

The Osprey's Unique Qualities

The osprey is versatile to new players and old, though very specialized.

The osprey has three bonuses: a mining yield bonus, a bonus reduction to the capacitor used to run shield transporter modules, and a special range bonus to shield transporters. Each of these bonuses is very helpful, but also so specialized that the Osprey is best considered to be three ships in one.

The mining yield bonus is nice, and translates into extra ISK per hour spent mining. Useful for obvious reasons. The shield transporter bonuses allow two -or under some circumstances, three- Medium Shield Transporter modules to be fit without running out of capacitor. Shield transporters in EVE Online do not lower the shields of the transporting ship, as the name might seem to indicate. Rather, they just heal the shields of the targeted ship. In essence, it can be used as a priest ship. As we will see, this makes the osprey a very effective ship.

Mining With An Osprey

The mining osprey is the most accessible fitting setup. For most players, it is probably also the most applicable. With its mining bonus, ability to fit three Miner II modules, and a satisfying 20mb drone bandwidth that allows the fielding of four mining drone IIs, the osprey is the best mining cruiser in EVE. The only other ships that exceed it at mining are the specialized barges, and perhaps one or two of the battleships that can be retrofitted with Miner II modules. None of them can beat it on cost to mining effectiveness ratio, at least not in the current mining economy.

In any case, fitting it for mining fitting isn't hard. Fit the high slots with Miner I or Miner II modules depending on your skills. You'll need a Co-Processor in the low slots. Otherwise, the rest is up to you. Expanded Cargoholds are nice, as are Tractor Beams if you can get them to fit.

All in all, a good stopgap for someone to try mining out and see if they like it (most don't) and a decent way to generate some ISK without worrying too much about your safety. In high-security space, anyway. In other areas you may have some trouble tanking NPC spawns, though working with others can minimize this.

Frigate Bait

Nobody fears ospreys. They are forever associated with mining and helplessness in the minds of most gankers. Thus, if you have intel that a small war ship is in your vicinity trying to gank members of your corporation, or just roaming in your area of low-sec or high-sec, you can set up a trap that has a good chance of killing an interceptor or assault frigate.

The trap is very simple. Fit your osprey with weapons and an Energy Neutralizer in the high-slots and tackling gear in the mid-slots, along the lines of a Warp Disruptor, one or two Stasis Webifiers, and some combination of a Warp Scrambler, Target Painter, or a shield hardener. Shoehorn two 400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates and a Medium Armor Repairer I into your low slots. Fill your drone bay with x4 Warrior II drones, and use rigs that improve your shield resistances.

Put yourself somewhere that a mining osprey might conceivably be, like a belt or mining exploration site, and wait for your enemy to find and attack you.

It is very important not to spring traps like these until the target is within webifier range. Many fast ganking ships can fight you from outside 10km range, though they would generally prefer to be closer than that. Ways to get a leg up on your target:

•Psych him out by pretending to be away from your keyboard for the first few seconds that of the fight, so that he becomes overconfident and gets within web range. You can lock him back without suspicion, as though you have auto-target on.

•Overheat your stasis webifier and/or warp scrambler with the Thermodynamics skill to eke a little bit of extra range out of it, perhaps enough to snare an orbiting target.

•Remember that your drones are your best source of damage. If one of them is getting hit, you may want to pull it back into your drone bay for a bit, to let its shields recharge.

•The idea here is not to use any of the osprey hull's bonuses, as they are essentially in-applicable for combat. Your lack of suitability for combat is what makes you such great bait. If this lack of combat-readiness gets you blown up a few times, don't sweat it too much.