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Missiles and Explosion Radius

Missiles are a general category including missiles and torpedoes. They must travel through space to strike their target. If a target is within range it is always hit. Unfortunately, missiles can sometimes be outraced by speedy targets, and inflict reduced damage to fast targets or those with small signature radiuses (see below).

Missiles are unique in that they have completely free rein with regard to choosing damage types. Thus, if a pilot knows that his enemy is flying a ship that will be weak against kinetic damage, he may load the correct type of missiles to inflict that damage.

It is mostly Caldari ships that have bonuses to using missiles, though several Minmatar and a few Amarr ships have a bonus to that effect. The flexibility of missiles allows them versatility not only in PVP, but also in PVE, permitting the optimization of damage type based on the weaknesses of a particular NPC group.

Frigate-sized launchers include the close-range Rocket Launcher and long-range Standard Launcher. Cruiser-sized launchers include the close-range Heavy Assault Launcher, long-range Heavy Missile Launcher, and a special long-range, rapid-firing, anti-frigate Assault Launcher. Battleship-sized launchers include the close-range siege launcher, and the long-range cruise launcher.

In addition to the customization possible regarding damage type, missiles also have some very specialized tech two ammo options, for shooting larger or smaller targets. There are also rather inefficient "F.O.F." versions of each missile that will shoot random enemies within range, without needing a lock, as well as rather bugged and ineffective Defender missiles that can be fit into any launcher, and attempt to intercept incoming missiles.

Drones

Drones are a special weapon system possessed to some degree by most ships. They are small pet-like machines that orbit and attack targets as their controller commands. There are drones for each ship size, and that inflict any of the four kinds of damage, or a mix thereof. There are also a variety of specialized drones that use marginally effective forms of electronic warfare or repair armor or shields. Drones must travel to their targets, and cannot be used beyond a maximum range that is based on the skills trained by the pilot that controls them.

Drones are difficult to hit because they are usually very small, and killing one only partially reduces the total capabilities of swarm of drones. Normal ships can field up to five drones, depending on how much bandwidth the ship has. Drone-using ships have a maximum bandwidth of drones that they can control, along with a drone bay that can store reinforcement drones. Gallente ships tend to have a bonus to using drones, and the ability to field the most drones. Other races use less drones, though Amarr are noteworthy for having larger drone bays.

With the exception of the long-range Sentry Drones, drones need to orbit their target at a very close range. This renders them vulnerable to smartbombs (see below).

Special Weapon Systems

Smartbombs

Smartbombs cause damage to ships that are close enough to the ship that is using them, usually around 6000 meters. Unlike nearly every other weapon system in EVE, they do not cause less damage to smaller targets, making them excellent for warding off frigates or cruisers that get too close, or destroying orbiting drones. Unfortunately, they are very hungry for capacitor, and cannot determine friend from foe. Incautious use can result in injuring friends or destroying friendly drones. Their limited range forces smartbombs to be used as a primarily defensive weapon.

Smartbombs are high-slot modules that work by causing damage in an immediate radius around the ship that uses them. This does not require a lock, and can cause serious damage. It is avoided by staying more than 6500 meters away from the ship that is using them.

Bombs

A recent addition to EVE, bombs are launched from a special launcher that can only be used by stealth bomber ships. They do not require a lock in order to function. Instead, they fly straight ahead from the ship that fired them for about 30 kilometers, and then detonate, causing damage to all ships within 15 km of the detonation point. Because they take about ten seconds to detonate, it is possible for smaller or well-prepared ships to warp out or speed away before they go off.

Because they were introduced relatively recently, and are used by the newly-buffed stealth bomber class of ships, these are something of a fad right now. It takes a great deal of practice to use them effectively, and though the damage they cause is impressive, they inflict limited damage to ships with smaller signature radiuses (see below). Thus, they are best used en masse.

Doomsdays

Exclusively used by the massive titan class of ships, a doomsday inflicts up to three million damage to a single target, that is usually completely destroyed. After using a doomsday, a titan is locked in place, in space, for thirty seconds, and cannot cloak or jump out of that system for ten minutes. I mention this only as a point of interest for newer players.

Major Concept: Signature Radius

A signature radius is a quantification of how large a ship is. The larger a ship is, the more damage it takes from turrets, missiles, drones, and bombs. A ship with a small signature radius will often take only negligible damage from attackers, especially if it is moving quickly.

Signature radius also determines how long it takes to lock or probe out a ship. Ships with larger signatures will be locked faster or probed out with probing systems faster.

With the exception of smartbombs and doomsdays, every damage-causing weapon in EVE inflicts less damage to ships with smaller signature radiuses. This is so that the best weapon to use against a given ship is one of its own size category. E.g. a cruiser-sized weapon will deal the most damage to a cruiser-sized target.

The shield tanker's lament is that shield extenders also increase the size of one's signature radius. This trade-off is something of a balancing factor -- while armor tankers go slower when they use plating, shield tankers are easier to hit.

The Inertia Stabilizers are a low-slot module that also increases signature radius, in exchange for an improvement in maneuverability. These are often used by smaller ships that want to achieve a closer orbit, or larger ships that want to be able to enter warp faster.

The Target Painter module is the Minmatar electronic warfare specialty. It increases the signature radius of the target, causing him to take more damage from attacks.

Last and most commonly, Microwarpdrive modules dramatically increase one's signature radius. This partially offsets the great speed boost imparted by the module. Without this increase in signature radius, frigate-sized ships using "MWDs" would be impossible to hit.

A Final Word

I hope this overview has helped provide a basic understand of the weapon types found in EVE Online. In future articles, I will cover other major aspects of combat, including ship roles, tanking, and so forth. See you then.