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This page is about spaceships with repair capabilities. For Sovereignty, Space Infrastructure and Maintenance, see TEST Logistics.
ARE YOU A HERO? Are you looking for a challenge? Do you want to be welcome on pretty much every single fleet out there? Can you think and function with grace even under heavy fire? Do you want lose your ship waaaay less often and get paid for it when you do? Do you want to be directly responsible for life and death of your fleets (and your alliance) as a whole?
Do you want the feeling of flying home with someone saying “thanks man, we couldn't have done it without you”?
Fleet logistics (or “Logi”) encompasses all ships with remote repair capabilities. This can also include force auxiliaries, but most times these will be treated separately. A Logistics wing will often comprise of a mixture of the Tech 1 and Tech 2 variants, and be led by someone other than the FC, the Logistics anchor; they ensure the group of pilots remain safe and useful on the battlefield, while also updating the FC on the fleets integrity. Logistics pilots also organise themselves using an ingame channel, and a mumble sub-channel.
There are 21 subcapital ships that receive bonuses to their remote repair modules. They come in frigate & cruiser sizes, with T1 & T2 variants for each race. In addition there are the T3 cruisers, and a single pirate battleship. Each ship is bonused to either shield or armour repair (not both).
Logistics cruisers may be subdivided into two broad categories: those that typically use a cap chain, and those that are self-sustaining.
| Armour | Shield | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | T2 | T1 | T2 | |
| Cap chaining | Augoror | Guardian | Osprey | Basilisk |
| Self-sustaining | Exequror | Oneiros | Scythe | Scimitar |
Another worthy mention is the Nestor, a Sisters of Eve battleship that receives bonuses to remote armour repair; however high cost means these are rarely seen outside of high-end wormhole combat.
Finally there is the Etana cruiser, an alliance tournament prize ship that receives bonuses to shield reps and is extremely strong. However you are extremely unlikely to fly one unless you find yourself with a few hundred billion ISK to spare.
Required skills: Check skill sets from skills.pleaseignore.com website
Fits (correct for fleet i.e. armour/shield AB/MWD): Check fittings' module layout, basilisk have five medium power rack slots. Your three active modules have to be separated [hardener/buffer/propulsion module/buffer/hardener]
Consumables (nanite, cap boosters, drugs): Always carry 200-500 nanite paste, combat booster before undock, consume on call from Logi Command
Mumble channel + whisper key: This is critical aspect to wing's success. Whisper key setup and comms channel is the very first thing you do if flying a Logi ship, no matter what other ship you run on multiple clients. If you fly Logi - Logi is prioritized over anything else. You are not allowed to dual box unless you dual box two logistics cruisers
In game channel (if we put the exact channel here please keep it updated): Specific set channels are created and moderated and MotD updated for each fleet
Cap buddies: Part of “In Game Channels” information. Read it, ask on comms using whisper key if unsure
Broadcast settings!: For a line member logistics pilot, have “broadcast target” removed via settings. Colour code “Shield”, “ Armor” and “Capacitor” broadcasts in different colours as you prefer. There is no set colour scheme
Broadcast keybinds: Up to the pilot to set up their own keybinds
99% of your actions in fleet combat are your piloting skills, listening to rapidly changing information from Logi FC and acting on that is what makes this wing
Anchoring: Part of Standard Operating Procedures - data will be in logistics’ channels
Watch list: Part of Standard Operating Procedures - data will be in logistics’ channels
Broadcasts: People might broadcast early and that is what saves them more often than broadcasting late. Locking up target and seeing full health may not always mean he has already been repped. Use personal judgement based on number of locked targets you have, number of broadcasts for reps coming in and how long ago that particular one has been locked by you, is it worth while keeping him locked
Cycling reps: This is one of the situations where logistics wing is repairing a friendly ship, but they are still shooting him and starting to rapidly change primary, you can call on comms about switching reps, also it is not uncommon for Logi FC to call swap of reps between friendly ships
When to broadcast: When broadcasting for reps, this is where individual pilot skills come to the table. Broadcast early when mass locked by hostiles, or you may not have time to catch landing reps after
Watch your cap: Individual capacitor management is the most vital area of expertise for any devoted logistics pilot in the game, you can always ask on comms using whisper key if unsure
Assign drones to get on killmails
Now you know the basics of how to do your job in a fleet fight. Great! However, the difference between an “okay” logistics pilot and a great one is skills - not just SP, but your personal ability. Read on for pro tips on how to maximise your effectiveness in combat and be a real hero…
Cap management is one of few things that is SP dependant; it's the reason Logistics V is a requirement to fly T2 Logi; it's the reason why logistics is the hardest role to fill; it's the reason why people respect AT logi pilots. There are two schools of thought for capacitor management in regards to logi: make it as stable as possible, sacrificing everything for the glorious +0.00 GJ/S or to depend on pilot SP and technical skill. While the first is best for newbie alliances flying T1 Logi, the latter has a higher capacity to rep, but more importantly much more survivability. Being able one of these logistics fits is what defines the logi pilot.
Lets talk skills: Logistics V, (and Racial Cruiser V for the T1 variants) provide a huge reduction in capacitor usage and should be high up on your to train list. Next up is Capacitor Management (the skill!) as it grants bonus capacitor size, and consequently regeneration, followed by High Speed Manoeuvring, which reduces MWD cap use. These skills should already be to a sufficient level if you've followed the 120 day plan, but maxing them out is always helpful. Lastly, the relevant Remote Repair Skill (Shield Emission Systems / Remote Armour Repair Systems); while we don't use the T2 variants often, the skill reduces cap usage of your RR modules by another 5pc per level; this is last as the hull bonus is already sufficient enough, and this is the cherry on the cake.
Technical ability is next, and relies partially on your ability to respond quickly to a changing battlefield environment. First off, listen to your logi anchor who will provide calls on when to cycle your MWD; as a safety measure, lock them up, and should they get more than 10km away, pop your MWD for a single cycle. Second is to not run all your reps; your initial rep cycle should be the only time where all your reps are active, and you should only run this for one or two cycles at most. Most pilots will be able to maintain 1 each of medium and large repairers permanently, and so this should be your aim when the rep target has stabilised. The added advantage of this is that you can swap to a new rep primary more quickly. Next is drugs: Mindflood that gives you an increased capacitor pool for no noticeable drawback. Lastly but most risky, especially for those not paying full attention, is to keep your hardeners off and overheated; if and when your are primaried you will need to activate your hardeners to avoid a quick trip back to home. The amount of capacitor saved by keeping hardeners off quickly adds up in demanding situations, and is well worth the risk if you're confident.
A T2 logistics ship can lock up to 10 targets, provided you have Advanced Target Management to Level 2. You will have at least 2 targets locked permanently (the Logi anchor and the FC), and an additional 2 if you are in a capchain. The main consideration when managing who you have locked is how long you've had them locked for: generally, enemy target callers will go one or two back in their broadcast list, but rarely 5 or 6. Fortunately the order in which you locked targets is the order they are across your screen they appear, so you can quickly free up space by Shift-Ctrl-clicking on portraits (default keybinding for unlock target). The second consideration is how important they are to the fleet. If they're on your watchlist then you should keep them locked for a little longer as they will be the enemies priority targets. Consider unlocking low priority targets first like T1 hulls, or smaller ships (there is a reason we don't like frigates broadcasting for reps). In general, if they are full HP and do not have currently have active reps on them, you can unlock them: aim to have 4-5 targets free in case there is a bomb wave and the primary is not immediately obvious. This is one of the things you get a feel for over time, and will hopefully become something you can do in your sleep.
The survival and effectiveness of the logistics wing is the most important aspect of fleet management, which is why there is almost always a logistics sub channel and logistics commander to forward pertinent information to the overall FC. Assuming appropriate mainline ships were called for, that they are tanked well enough to mitigate being 'alphaed' (destroyed in a single volley whereby logistics are irrelevant), and there is an appropriate logistics to fleet-size ratio, few if any mainline ships should be lost. If it becomes apparent that the mainline cannot be broken an enemy looking to hold the field will almost always try to break the logistics wing next (if they didn't immediately begin targeting logi).
Your ship does not need to be destroyed to be ineffective. Sensor damps, ECM, and capacitor manipulation (through neuts or void bombs) can also destroy the effectiveness of a logistics wing. When these challenges are confronted, ensure the FC is aware and knows the EFFECTIVE number of logistics (ie, if 4 of 10 logi are ECM jammed on a given cycle, you have 6 effective). The logi boss should be coordinating and forwarding that information. If half the wing is sensor damped, make sure the anchor (if your using an anchor) knows.
Insofar as coping with incoming damage goes, best practices are dependent on the fit and circumstances. Mind-flood should already have been taken.
1) Broadcast for reps. If red-boxed and you don't see your fleet locking you, broadcast again.
2) Overheat your resistance module(s). You have to manage your own heat damage.
3) You should have traversal on your overview. When yellowboxed, get your traversal up (hint, align to a celestial that will put you traveling perpendicular to the enemy fleet). Once traversal is increasing, power on and overhead MWD depending on heat damage. Yes, this may require going a few KM away from the anchor and not sitting stopped or continuing in a straight line away from the enemy fleet about to kill you. Hopefully the logi anchor is already burning the group on a circular traversal-inducing path within rep range of the main fleet). Keep an eye on the logi group and your range to the fleet. Burn out of range of the main fleet if necessary; do not burn out of range of other logi.
4) if you're slowly melting and logi can not keep up, warp off and warp back to your anchor / cap buddy once into armor / hull. Don't just sit on grid and die like a moron. You absent for the 30 seconds it takes to warp to the nearest celestial and warp back is better then you dead and absent for the rest of the fleet.
If you're in a AB-fit armor logistics cruiser fighting BC/BS size ships and have neurotoxin control trained, be a good and pop improved X-Instinct before you even start fighting…
Logistic Commander role is earned, not given - and while there is no distinct space between Anchor and Commander, there is much more to it. Logistics anchoring is one of the most sought-after technical abilities in EVE, besides FC'ing. Unlike FC'ing, you're mostly flying blind; little to no intel on when a fight is about to happen, or what you're about to fight. When on the grid, it becomes your responsibility to track the number of ships lost (and update the Main / Logi FC), prioritise rep targets, maximise transversal against the enemy fleet, maximise range (while not losing rep-capability of the T1 ships, or suffering severe falloff penalties). In larger battles it becomes beneficial to split these roles between two experienced pilots, one to anchor, and the other to communicate and direct.
Logi Anchor role is the term given to the person in charge of positioning of the logistics group. People will either be orbiting or approaching you, and it's your job to manoeuvre them in and (hopefully not) out of rep range, as well as maintaining a safe distance and transversal to the enemy fleet. For this reason it is essential you manually pilot your ship, adjusting your direction and reassessing the situation often and regularly. A lapse in concentration could lead you to pull the logistics out of rep range, or into 0 transversal at the very edge of the enemies falloff.
This requires a experience in controlling your ship, especially when going at 2km/s+ in a MWD fit logistic cruiser, however you can transfer the skills from solo and small gang pvp. One example of how to hone your skills is taking out logi frigates or T1 Cruisers on small gangs. You gain all the experience but without the responsibility of a wing behind you.
The commander is the person in charge of directing reps, and reporting losses to the FC. This means you have to lock every single broadcast to assess whether they are A) being shot, B) in rep range and C) worth repairing. This is the primary reason the Logi Commander is among the most bitter of pilots, thanks to all the incorrect broadcasts. EVE fleet engagements, from medium to high stake combat environment, is an ever changing field. New tools from hostiles and friendlies are always in research how to break your wing, as such Logi Commander has to be aware of those possibilities and take actions to avoid them.
“Worth repairing” is a point of contention, but generally this correlates to the order of requested ships in the fleet ping; special snowflakes such as tackle, Command Ships, T3's, the FC, and other logistics will almost always be at the top of your list, while frigates, T1 ewar cruisers and non-doctrine ships will be at the bottom (there's a reason we push doctrine conformity!).
Communicating with the FC and appropriate use of your global PTT key is another highly desired trait. Know what to say, and when to say it. Often you'll be granted priority speaker which gives you the same talk power as the FC and others in the command channel; even if things sound quiet they could be discussing opsec or intel and you will interrupt them and possibly derail their train of thought.
Generally speak only if the FC asks “how are we doing?” or “are we holding?” (et. sim.), give a concise report on how many ships we've lost under reps and how quickly they've been lost. Ie. ships slowly dying under reps (when you're on the edge of your seat as they bleed structure), ships being alpha'd (no time for reps to land), ship didn't broadcast early enough (when you're saving some, but not others).
The exception is if the fleet is being consistently alpha'd such that you cannot lock targets before they are lost, 5/10/20 ships are good thresholds to remind the FC, but you should try and identify which ships are being lost (look for the locking icon around the bracket, then mouse over the bracket; look at the ship name in the “locking <ship name>” pop up; take the pilot name from the broadcast list and look it up in your overview (this is much easier to do in Tidi). This will prompt the FC to disengage and will hopefully minimise losses.
There's a lot to cover here, and no doubt some has been missed. Primarily experience will be the biggest factor, so the best thing to do is go out and practice. If you have aspirations, and there is an already experienced logi anchor, ask to take over. They'll be more than happy to offer you advice, feedback and if need be, correct your mistakes.
Probably the most important part being Logi Commander - psychological traits under pressure while engaged. Calm, calculated, decisive actions that make logistic wing to endure. Understanding the field of battle, what can harm your wing the most. Communication with your wing and with FCs.