PVP 101 Tactics - Tackling

What is tackling, well, to put it blunt, it is when one ship stops another ship from getting away. Obviously, anyone "can" do it, however, some are more suited for the job than others. Small, fast ships that can easily get within range of an enemy to restrict their movement.

Is Tackling important? You bet, it is the diffrence of getting the kills or not, it is the difference of running an enemy off or completly destroying them.

Now being such an important task one should believe that it is up the the senior players to handle this important task....... no, not... tackle is the easiest and fastest fleet profession a new or inexperienced player can get in to. Basically all you need is a fast ship and a point! Fast often means small, so yes, we are talking frigates.

There are many suiteable frigates for the job, but for this example I will yet again use the Rifter. All you need is this ship, a 1mn MWD and a Warp Disruptor. Thats the basics. In addition, speed is your friend, so fit some overdrives and/ or nanos, a shield extender for some added protection and you are ready. Guns are not required, but obviously you want them.... :)

Basic good tackler fit;

HIGH
3x 125mm Gatling AutoCannon II

MED
1x Medium Shield Extender II
1x Warp Disruptor II
1x 1MN Microwarpdrive II

LOW
1x Damage Control II
1x Nanofiber Internal Structure II
1x Overdrive II

So you are in this ship, ready to go do your job and tackle a foe to let all your gangbuddies get an easy killmail. There is always the danger of being blown up before your buddies get there, so pick and chose your targets. Now on to the basics.

1. Do not fly directly at the enemy
2. Do not fly directly at the enemy
3. Do not fly directly at the enemy

Was that clear enough? Do not fly directly at the enemy! Why? Well my friends, this is basic game dynamics in EVE. You become easy to track by your target's guns and when he fires, he will hit you harder and for more damage and you may just go pop....

So how to get around this shit then? First, add transversal velocity or angular velocity to your overview columns. These will give you readings and if Transversal velocity is at 0 chances are you will die, the higher the number, the harder it is to hit you. So fly towards the target with an angle. Once you are close, do not overshoot but try to fall into a natural orbit of 10-15 km or there abouts, lock target and turn on your warp disruptor...

So your fleet decides to hold a gate... be alert, your role is to catch whomeever comes through the gate before he can warp off. Be ready with your overview and double click them. This will make sure you move towards the target, if in range, point your target to prevent him from warping off. If what came through the gate is a cloaky ship, you will still barely see it on your overview, double click and burn towards him. Once he cloaks you will stop, fly in a straight line towards his latest position to decloak. Good luck on that! You need to get within 2.000 meters to decloak him.