08. May 2020.
Welcome to your starting point for Abyssal diving capsuleer!
This post was made for a sole purpose of providing a solid entry point for running Abyssal sites with verified and tested cruiser fits for each of the major factions of New Eden. Every fit listed below is 100% Alpha friendly and will allow even lesser trained pilots to successfully run and finish low-tier Abyssal sites. Even though the fits will be listed with the preferred Tech II version of modules fitted, feel free to downgrade to Meta level for any module you currently don't have the training for. If flying the fits listed below – you can expect to safely run T1 (calm) and T2 (agitated) Abyssal filaments.
When it comes to enemy types, you will be facing Drones, Sleepers, Drifters and Triglavian forces. Each spawning with different variants so it's extremely important to know what each variant does and which one is the priority for your fit. In general – you will always try to get rid of neuting ships first. Those are the ones sucking your capacitor dry, and a ship with no capacitor is pretty much a sitting duck.
Your other high priority will be any battleship spawn – especially the Drifter one. These vessels deal massive amounts of damage from a distance but have poor weapon tracking. This means you will want to burn into close range as soon as possible, but never do it in a straight line. Always approach them at an angle so they don't land hard hits. Once in range, start a close orbit and simply unload all your DPS at them at which point they should not be able to hit you at all.
This is also the only time you’ll want to actually orbit stuff. You will want to manually pilot in any other situation since that way you dictate the positioning of the enemy spawns and yourself. This is also beneficial since the Abyssal pocket is relatively small and you don’t want to burn out of the boundaries since that will kill you.
For a very detailed guide on all Abyssal mechanics check out this article, while you can find all notable spawn variants and their abilities below.
Join the ingame channel "EX-SA Abyssals" for fits, guides and abyssal resources
Abyssal spawns
Always prioritize neuts -> logi/ewar depending on your ship fit
Neuts
- Dissipator, Firewatcher, Nullcharge, Sentinel, Starving
Logi
- Aegis, Escort, Fieldweaver, Plateweaver, Preserver, Renewing
E-war
- Webber / scram - Snarecaster, Tangling, Anchoring, Entanglement, Nullwarp, Spearfisher
- Tracking, Missile disruption - Fogcaster, Ghosting
- Sensor Dampener - Gazedimmer, Blinding
- Target Painting - Spotlighter, Harrowing
General tips
- Get to know your ship! Depending on your fit, some priority targets may change (see the list above)
- Always keep an eye out on your drones. If you see them taking damage, simply pull them back in and re-deploy them
- T1 and T2 sites should be easily done with fits listed below - but with low skillpoints, T2 might have some tougher spawns. Don't be afraid to overheat your modules if necessary
- If by any chance you can't fit some Tech II version of listed modules, simply downgrade to a meta module
- Even though these fits don't have top resists in EM damage types, it's recommended to start with Electric filaments due to the fantastic capacitor bonuses you get from running these sites. Having a solid cap recharge helps greatly with low skillpoint characters and you will be able to run all your modules at a longer time - if not permanently while in these sites
- If you find these fits tight on your CPU or Powergrid, consider using CPU/Powergrid boosting implants until you train up your skills
- CPU: Zainou 'Gypsy' CPU Management
- Powergrid: Inherent Implants 'Squire' Power Grid Management
Starting fits
Some of the videos below showcase wrong priorities / reckless flying on purpose just to test maximum durability of listed fits while playing on an Alpha account
Amarr - Omen
We chose the Omen to represent the Amarrian Abyssal divers because it simply looks great, has solid range, drone support and can be upgraded later on into the Navy version for even more punch.
How to fly it
Load long range crystals at the beginning so you can start applying damage as soon as possible. Turn on your MWD and burn straight towards your enemies. Once you grab aggro, toss out the drones at your primary target. Try to stay in range of your webs so you can further slow down your target while applying more DPS by swapping to close-range crystals. This will help out your drones with tracking small and agile enemies as well.
Make sure to shut down your MWD once you are in close range of your targets because there is no need for it to be running, and having it on will simply make your tracking worse and drain your capacitor unnecessary. If you’re facing extremely fast enemies that keep breaking your web lock, simply pulse the MWD once to get back in range.
[Omen, EX-SA Abyssal Omen]Medium Armor Repairer IIMultispectrum Energized Membrane IIMultispectrum Energized Membrane IIDamage Control IIHeat Sink IIHeat Sink IIStasis Webifier IILarge Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery50MN Y-T8 Compact MicrowarpdriveFocused Medium Pulse Laser IIFocused Medium Pulse Laser IIFocused Medium Pulse Laser IIFocused Medium Pulse Laser IIFocused Medium Pulse Laser IIMedium Trimark Armor Pump IMedium Trimark Armor Pump IMedium Capacitor Control Circuit IImperial Navy Infiltrator x4Scorch M x5Conflagration M x5
Caldari - Caracal
Probably one of the most popular PvE ships in general also showed as a really capable Abyssal vessel as well. The Caracal is actually so good, you don’t even have to think about upgrading to the navy version.
How to fly it
The Caracal is cheap and extremely easy to fly due to the fact it’s a missile ship that doesn’t require you to worry about tracking or positioning much as long as your target is in range of your launchers. The only downside is the lengthy missile reload time which you might want to time so you don’t run out of missiles when you really need to apply damage to a nasty situation since sitting there for over 30 seconds without doing any damage might be a little bit butt-clenching.
This especially applies during pocket swaps where you should always make sure you are fully reloaded and ready for the next room. When it comes to tips – simply kite the enemies as much as you can at the start of the pocket since you should be getting solid range on your missiles while managing your two small drones to get a bit more damage – that’s all there is to it.
[Caracal, EX-SA Abyssal Caracal]Damage Control IIBallistic Control System IIBallistic Control System IIBallistic Control System IIMedium Shield Booster IILarge Compact Pb-Acid Cap BatteryMultispectrum Shield Hardener IIMultispectrum Shield Hardener II10MN Y-S8 Compact AfterburnerRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIMedium Warhead Calefaction Catalyst IMedium Capacitor Control Circuit IMedium Capacitor Control Circuit IImperial Navy Acolyte x2Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile x1100Nanite Repair Paste x10
Gallente - Vexor
The glorious Gallentian race starts Abyssal diving in non-other than the space boot! Vexor will give you a lot of versatility while making sure you are applying solid DPS at all time. Once you get a bit more cash, upgrade to the Navy version for an extra low slot.
How to fly it
This is a drone boat, and as such – make sure you have tons of small and medium drones with you. Use your MWD to get in range and web your targets while tossing drones only after you grab aggro. This is important since you don’t want to get your main source of DPS killed. If you notice enemies “orange-boxing” you, this means they swapped to your drones so you might want to quickly recall them and redeploy them afterwards.
As with the Omen, turn off your MWD once in range and apply extra damage with your guns which should have little issues tracking even the smallest targets. Be extra careful of Deviant Automata Suppressor pylons! They are easy to spot since they spit out thousands of tiny red sparks and make a honking noise when doing so. These little sparks will kill your drones so you really don’t want to be near it.
For a VNI, use the same fit, just add the Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II to the extra low slot.
[Vexor, EX-SA Abyssal Vexor]Drone Damage Amplifier IIDrone Damage Amplifier IIDamage Control IIReactive Armor HardenerMedium Armor Repairer IIStasis Webifier II50MN Y-T8 Compact MicrowarpdriveMedium Cap Battery IIMedium Cap Battery IIDual 150mm Prototype Gauss GunDual 150mm Prototype Gauss GunDual 150mm Prototype Gauss GunDrone Link Augmentor IMedium Capacitor Control Circuit IMedium Capacitor Control Circuit IMedium Auxiliary Nano Pump IHobgoblin II x7Federation Navy Hammerhead x5Antimatter Charge M x3000Iron Charge M x2000
Minmatar - Rupture
The rustbucket you’ll be using is the Rupture. And even though it doesn’t look sleek – it will probably be one of the safer ships out of the basic four while tossing out the most DPS as well.
How to fly it
Even though you have a few drones, those are not your primary concern. The rupture uses projectile weapons that give really solid DPS while using no cap at all. Your flying will be almost the same as if you were flying the Omen. Simply use your MWD to get in range, web your targets and apply DPS while swapping to close-range ammo when needed.
Pulse your MWD if you need to get a bit closer and more personal. Overheat your web for a cycle or two if you get frigate spawns that keep orbiting right out of your 10km reach.
[Rupture, EX-SA Abyssal Rupture]Damage Control IIMedium Armor Repairer IIReactive Armor HardenerGyrostabilizer IIGyrostabilizer II50MN Y-T8 Compact MicrowarpdriveMedium Cap Battery IIMedium Cap Battery IIX5 Enduring Stasis Webifier220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II220mm Vulcan AutoCannon IIPrototype 'Arbalest' Rapid Light Missile LauncherMedium Auxiliary Nano Pump IMedium Capacitor Control Circuit IMedium Projectile Burst Aerator IAcolyte II x6Hail M x3000Nova Light Missile x1000
Guristas - Gila
Finally, we come to the queen of the Abyss – Once you have the ISK to buy and fit one, the Gila will rock your world in many Abyssal runs, barely noticing the damage while roflstomping your enemies with ease. It also provides an extremely versatile platform that enables tons of fit variation…
How to fly it
Even though this ship comes with missiles, almost all of your DPS comes from your drones. With fantastic drone bonuses, you will quickly notice why this ship is extremely popular with Abyssal runners. The fit here is a passive shield tank which makes pointing your ship straight towards the gate your only task. Your drones get tons of bonuses to damage and hitpoints so you can even ignore the suppressor pylons (unless there are multiple overlaying ones). And even though this is an AB fit, your drone range is huge so you can literally start killing stuff the second you drop into a pocket.
This fit will easily run any T1-T3 filament (but you should prefer Gamma/Exotic, while staying away from Darks) since you get fantastic DPS and resists. For lower tiers (Calm/Agitated), feel free to remove the Damage control module and put in another Drone amp for even more DPS. For T3, it’s highly recommended to keep the DC since the latest resist nerfs took away some of the Gila’s shield power.
If you’re an Alpha clone, you might not be cap stable which is not the problem usually since you’ll be clearing pockets way before you come to low cap. But, if you want to run only T1-T2 filaments and be on a safer side, remove one Shield Hardener and put in another Shield Extender. This will give you more shield regen while making you cap stable at the cost of lower resists which will pose no issue at lower tiers anyway.
[Gila, EX-SA Abyssal Gila]Damage Control IIDrone Damage Amplifier IIDrone Damage Amplifier II10MN Y-S8 Compact AfterburnerMultispectrum Shield Hardener IIMultispectrum Shield Hardener IICaldari Navy Large Shield ExtenderCaldari Navy Large Shield ExtenderCaldari Navy Large Shield ExtenderDrone Link Augmentor IRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIRapid Light Missile Launcher IIMedium Core Defense Field Extender IIMedium Core Defense Field Extender IIMedium Core Defense Field Extender IIImperial Navy Infiltrator x2Caldari Navy Vespa x2Federation Navy Hammerhead x3Nova Fury Light Missile x1000Scourge Light Missile x1000Caldari Navy Inferno Light Missile x1000Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile x1000
