If you watched my most recent PVP video The Night Walker then you saw me using the Comet to get some super cool fights.
But just watching doesn't tell the whole story so before I release the narrated version of that video I wanted to do an article about the Fitting and Tactics I used.
Fitting:
[Federation Navy Comet, FW Kiter 400]
Damage Control II
400mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I1MN Afterburner II
Fleeting Propulsion Inhibitor I
Warp Scrambler II125mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]
125mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge SSmall Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
[empty rig slot]Hobgoblin II x3
Warrior II x2
Warrior II x1
This is a "Kite within Scram Range" Fitting. In the past a fit like this would be rare, but it's becoming more and more popular to use this tactic in FW (Faction Warfare) because it is so effective.
Just a year ago, you would have been much more likely to see a Kiting Comet with Railguns, MWD, and Long Point that orbited out at around 15-20km. Or perhaps the Blaster Version that's basically just a slightly better Taranis.
Kiting Inside Scram Range means you scram your opponent, then attempt to keep him near the edge of scram range (between 5km and 8 km usually). The Comet is built to operate best at this range while most opponents you face will be the more traditional Brawler types that expect fights to happen at less the 3km.
For Example:
Should you fight a Blaster Comet, as long as you can dictate the range of the fight, you will win very easily because his blasters would do almost no damage to you while your rail guns would be doing close to full damage.
The idea of Kiting inside Scram Range is not a new one. If you've seen me flying the Taranis, you know it's a tactic I use often against other Taranis' and it works VERY well because most Taranis pilots are very predictable (as shown in the Frigate PRO Guide).
Before moving on to tactics let's go over the fitting in more detail...
The lows are your tank. This setup uses a Buffer Tank to stay alive. The down side to this is reduced mobility but that can be slightly offset by the new Armor Layering Skill.
Many people fly a very similar setup to this except they use a Small Ancillary Armor Repair instead of the Plates.
Fitting:
[Federation Navy Comet, FW Kiter AAR]
Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Corpii C-Type Explosive Plating1MN Afterburner II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
[empty high slot]
150mm Railgun II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge SSmall Hybrid Burst Aerator I
Small Hybrid Metastasis Adjuster I
Small Hybrid Metastasis Adjuster IHobgoblin II x3
Warrior II x2
Warrior II x1
This makes the ship more mobile and easier to fit for younger characters but the Small AAR only lasts about 30 seconds (depending on skills) which means that any fight longer than that puts you at a disadvantage. However 90% of your fights will last less than 30 seconds so it is a very good option.
In the Mid Slots it's all about Range Control. Because you are fighting on the warp in spot of FW Plexes, you can guarantee that most of your fights will start at close range. The Afterburner, Web, and Scram allow you control range most the time, but you will still need to overload the AB at times.
The High Slots are your Damage. Rail Guns do great beyond Blaster Range, but the down side is they have less tracking. The reason I leave an empty slot in between the guns is so that they overload for longer.
The Rigs on the 400mm plate setup are strictly for added DPS, while the Rigs on the AAR setup have a Burst Aerator for more DPS and two Metastasis Adjusters for Tracking because it has larger guns. With the two Tracking Rigs the larger guns actually track better than the 125mm Railguns.
Implants:
At minimum I suggest you get the SH-603 because it's dirty cheap and boosts your DPS by 3%. Beyond that the rest are optional with the next most important being the Hyper-Link for 5% more Speed.
Tactics:
The tactics here are pretty simple. Exploit the fact that most frigates with Turrets are short range and try to fight at less than 3km.
When it comes to finding targets, simply set a course through FW space and in each system check the Novice and Small Plexes with your Directional Scanner for targets. When you find one, warp in and fight. Alternatively you could just sit inside a Plex and wait for a fight. When doing this however you must be very cautious of getting out numbered.
The best way to know what's coming when sitting inside a Plex is to drop the range of your directional scanner so that it only picks up whats on the entrance gate. The time it takes a ship to land on the gate then warp into you is your protection. Should you see too many ships on scan getting ready to come in on you, you simply warp out before they arrive.
Before you engage you should Prime your AB and Guns to Overload. The guns will most likely overload the entire fight while the AB will only need a cycle or two most the time.
Upon engaging, your first Priority is getting to your Kite Range. Do this by setting your "Keep At Range" Button to 7km and then hitting Keep At followed by hitting the Lock button and getting a Scram + Web on the target.
Next get your drones out and guns on target as quickly as possible. The faster you get DPS on target the more damage you will do over the course of the fight. Many fights will be won or lost based on who applies their DPS first.
Once you have done all this, you go into Monitoring Mode where you watch your Hit Points vs your Opponents Hit Points so that you know who is winning (in case you need to disengage) AND you watch the Range of your opponent. Many times your opponent will see what your doing and realize he can't win, then turn around and move away from you to warp out. Should you see this, you need to approach and possibly overload the AB again.
Disengaging is possible, however in most fights you should not plan on disengaging. Typically you will be losing for the first 5-10 seconds of the fight, but once you've established your range, it will turn in your favor. DON'T RUN TOO EARLY. A big turning point in my PVP career was when I decided to commit to fights to the death. Doing this meant I HAD to execute as best as possible and that caused me to win many more fights.
Should you see that you are obviously out matched and have no chance, overload your AB and move away from your target to get out of his Scram Range. Ideally when you move away you will be aligning to something in that direction at the same time, but if not, just burn out 15-20km and warp away.
Final Advice:
You're going to die. As you may have heard me say before, don't worry about dying. It's how you learn and you will learn far more from dying 10 times than you will from avoiding 10 fights because they aren't the Perfect Setup.
Fit up at least 5 of these if you are serious about learning the ship. Having them fit and ready to go will remove some of the sting from losing. As you burn through your ships you will find yourself getting more confident and less fearful. The repetition will also improve your execution greatly.
And Finally... HAVE FUN!
Thanks for the article. I never flied a comet before. I might give it a try.