Fleet Commander
There are many legends out there that I am sure many of you have heard about. You may even have some FC's in your corp/alliance that you look up to. They are the guy/gal that log in, rally the troops for either a random fleet to a random location, or they are the ones that prepare a fleet to engage on a strategic object.
There are a wide variety of FC's in the game. In this guide, i will give you basic advice that can be useful for a wide variety of fleet type. As a disclaimer, most of my experience comes from Null-sec. In low-sec using small ships on a gate to tackle is not recommended unless you are using on grid pings to "drive-by" tackle. Gate guns will ruin most destroyers and below quickly.
Rule number One. Have a doctrine.
This is what sets a random FC leading a bunch of nerds to their death apart from an FC that will take home some kills and fight with a purpose.
Why do doctrines set me apart from other FC's? Simple, you know what your fleet can and cannot do. You know that your gang of RLML Caracals can apply their damage to at least 50 KM with decent skills. That gives you an idea of what you can and cannot fight.
Fleet of vexors? No problem, take out their logi while your tackle holds them down at range.
Fleet of Oracles? Look for a fight elsewhere. They will out range you and you will find your fleet falling all around you.
There are many basic doctrines to be used, however as a newer FC you want to use one that has Logistics ships involved.
With a fleet of 13, shoot for 3 logistics pilots. The T1 Cruisers that have bonus's to remote reps are actually very strong ships, do not underestimate them.
You will also want a scout, preferably in an interceptor, to provide good intel and to act as the initial tackle for your fleet.
If you are in Nullsec, ensure that you have an Interdictor as well, it can open a lot of opportunities for your fleet.
Fill the rest with main line DPS ships, keep it simple since you are still learning.
Rule Number Two. Have a way to Communicate.
Teamspeak, Ventrilo, Discord and Mumble. These are just a handful of programs that you can download and use. Discord has the benefit of being completely free and extremely easy to use. A fleet that only uses text to pass commands, or only broadcasts (ill get into this later) will not do well. The ability to voice a command and have an open line of communication is invaluable to the success of a fleet.
So you got yourself a way to communicate, what next?
Make sure your fleet members understand you clearly and know when to keep comms to a minimum. Nothing is more infuriating than trying to run a fleet and give commands as some shit lord is saying " i need reps oh god help"
The opposite is true as well, you don't want a silent scout. You don't want to find out that scout went out and tackled something 3 jumps away and never told your fleet it was clear. You will be down a scout soon and have to wait for him to catch up.
Some simple commands for the fleet
This is your fleet window. All fleet members should have this open, and set to History. Make sure that the filter is set to Broadcast history.
A good thing to practice is to make sure DPS ships cannot see shield/armor/cap broadcasts. This is to mitigate friendly fire in large fleets. Color coding the broadcasts is a very useful tool as well. To access the broadcast setting menu, click the horizontal bars in the upper left of the fleet window then click Broadcast Settings.
Making sure your fleet does this at the very least before moving forward will keep your very efficient. To broadcast a target, simple hold X and left click the ship to broadcast. It will let the whole fleet know that this is who you want dead. Make sure you are also communicating this information over comms.
Your fleet only has to hold CTRL and then left click the text in the broadcast window to begin targeting that ship.
Logi have a very easy time as well, anytime a ship broadcasts for shield, logi can just hold CTRL and left click, same as DPS ships, and get a lock on an ally to being applying reps.
It is a good idea to let your fleet know that in the event of seeing the enemy fleet "YELLOW" boxing them, to broadcast for reps. This will cut down on lock time and potentially save your fleet member.
Rule Number Four. Set Expectations
This basically means that if you are a new FC, ensure your guys know this. Don't learn to FC a HAC fleet with T2 Logistics as your first fleet. It will lead to distrust in your organization in your ability to make good calls and at the same time cause you a bunch of frustration.
T1 Cruisers are very cost effective ships. I recommend that while learning that you stick to brawly fleet comps. This means Logi and DPS.
If you want a skirmish gang, you need to first learn to manage your fleet while maneuvering around an enemy that is pinned down from a combination of great interceptors and an interdictor. Do not be afraid to try this however. This fleet comp is for those that have a very good understanding of keeping range and work well with ships that can get out of a fight quickly if backup arrives.
Let your fleet know what you are planning on doing with them. Don't tell them this will be a quick roam and then set a destination 30 jumps away in cruisers. We all know plans change, however you need to communicate that with your guys as new destinations come up. Your fleet members have lives too.
Rule Number Five. Use your Resources.
Press F10. Make sure you go down to Statistics and click Average Pilots in space last 30 minutes. This is a great way to find hot spots nearby for your fleet to go check out. Is it a 10 man mining fleet or a small gang nearby? That is what your scout is for!
http://evemaps.dotlan.net/
Dotlan is also another great tool. A lot of the data is similar as the in game map, but if you have two screens, you can keep this on your other monitor as you manage the fleet system to system.
As always, remember to have FUN. This is a video game, your friends don't want to stay docked, they don't want to read Reddit all day about other entities having content. Rally them, get them to move around this universe we all share. The opportunity to get into good fights only rises when you leave the station.
I will be working on making some very basic cruiser fleet comps that new FC's can use to get a feel of what they like. Check back here from time to time!
This is what sets a random FC leading a bunch of nerds to their death apart from an FC that will take home some kills and fight with a purpose.
Why do doctrines set me apart from other FC's? Simple, you know what your fleet can and cannot do. You know that your gang of RLML Caracals can apply their damage to at least 50 KM with decent skills. That gives you an idea of what you can and cannot fight.
Fleet of vexors? No problem, take out their logi while your tackle holds them down at range.
Fleet of Oracles? Look for a fight elsewhere. They will out range you and you will find your fleet falling all around you.
There are many basic doctrines to be used, however as a newer FC you want to use one that has Logistics ships involved.
With a fleet of 13, shoot for 3 logistics pilots. The T1 Cruisers that have bonus's to remote reps are actually very strong ships, do not underestimate them.
You will also want a scout, preferably in an interceptor, to provide good intel and to act as the initial tackle for your fleet.
If you are in Nullsec, ensure that you have an Interdictor as well, it can open a lot of opportunities for your fleet.
Fill the rest with main line DPS ships, keep it simple since you are still learning.
Rule Number Two. Have a way to Communicate.
Teamspeak, Ventrilo, Discord and Mumble. These are just a handful of programs that you can download and use. Discord has the benefit of being completely free and extremely easy to use. A fleet that only uses text to pass commands, or only broadcasts (ill get into this later) will not do well. The ability to voice a command and have an open line of communication is invaluable to the success of a fleet.
So you got yourself a way to communicate, what next?
Make sure your fleet members understand you clearly and know when to keep comms to a minimum. Nothing is more infuriating than trying to run a fleet and give commands as some shit lord is saying " i need reps oh god help"
The opposite is true as well, you don't want a silent scout. You don't want to find out that scout went out and tackled something 3 jumps away and never told your fleet it was clear. You will be down a scout soon and have to wait for him to catch up.
Some simple commands for the fleet
- Scout go ahead and +1 - This lets the scout know to move forward
- Fleet hold on XXX gate - The fleet should not take the next gate
- Fleet jump jump warp outbound - Normally after a scout has said system is clear, fleet should take the gate, and warp to the next gate
- Full fleet primary XXX - The fleet should primary the ship you called
- Spread points - Either you fleet is doing well in the fight or enemy fleet is mostly short range fit. Spreading points/webs will inhibit their ability to get into optimal range for their DPS.
- Fleet align XXX - this lets the fleet align either to an out-gate or a celestial, normally the command follows an align-to broadcast
- Shotgun - Your fleet will all jump into a system at the same time and warp to random Anomalies. Great way to catch ratters in their "safe" systems. Make sure everyone calls the celestial ID, for example "Wally CCY Haven"
- Starburst - Your fleet got into some shit that isn't good, everyone should pick a random point in space and burn that way. This is minimize losses to the fleet.
- Anchor up - Fleet members should be keeping at range 500 to their respective anchors. DPS to the FC normally and logi to their anchor (can also be the FC)
This is your fleet window. All fleet members should have this open, and set to History. Make sure that the filter is set to Broadcast history.
Making sure your fleet does this at the very least before moving forward will keep your very efficient. To broadcast a target, simple hold X and left click the ship to broadcast. It will let the whole fleet know that this is who you want dead. Make sure you are also communicating this information over comms.
Your fleet only has to hold CTRL and then left click the text in the broadcast window to begin targeting that ship.
Logi have a very easy time as well, anytime a ship broadcasts for shield, logi can just hold CTRL and left click, same as DPS ships, and get a lock on an ally to being applying reps.
It is a good idea to let your fleet know that in the event of seeing the enemy fleet "YELLOW" boxing them, to broadcast for reps. This will cut down on lock time and potentially save your fleet member.
Rule Number Four. Set Expectations
This basically means that if you are a new FC, ensure your guys know this. Don't learn to FC a HAC fleet with T2 Logistics as your first fleet. It will lead to distrust in your organization in your ability to make good calls and at the same time cause you a bunch of frustration.
T1 Cruisers are very cost effective ships. I recommend that while learning that you stick to brawly fleet comps. This means Logi and DPS.If you want a skirmish gang, you need to first learn to manage your fleet while maneuvering around an enemy that is pinned down from a combination of great interceptors and an interdictor. Do not be afraid to try this however. This fleet comp is for those that have a very good understanding of keeping range and work well with ships that can get out of a fight quickly if backup arrives.
Let your fleet know what you are planning on doing with them. Don't tell them this will be a quick roam and then set a destination 30 jumps away in cruisers. We all know plans change, however you need to communicate that with your guys as new destinations come up. Your fleet members have lives too.
Rule Number Five. Use your Resources.
Use the in-game map!
Press F10. Make sure you go down to Statistics and click Average Pilots in space last 30 minutes. This is a great way to find hot spots nearby for your fleet to go check out. Is it a 10 man mining fleet or a small gang nearby? That is what your scout is for!
http://evemaps.dotlan.net/
Dotlan is also another great tool. A lot of the data is similar as the in game map, but if you have two screens, you can keep this on your other monitor as you manage the fleet system to system.
As always, remember to have FUN. This is a video game, your friends don't want to stay docked, they don't want to read Reddit all day about other entities having content. Rally them, get them to move around this universe we all share. The opportunity to get into good fights only rises when you leave the station.
I will be working on making some very basic cruiser fleet comps that new FC's can use to get a feel of what they like. Check back here from time to time!
Thank you for reading my basic FC guide.
