Long struggling with a reputation for being the ugly duckling of the Caldari ship repertoire, the Hookbill recently got a new lease on life, being upgraded from a routine patrol vessel into a fleet-standard frigate. With the advancements brought on by the upgrade, the time is nigh for this little slugger to prove itself on battlefields throughout Caldari space and beyond.

The ship that the Hookbill is most comparable to is the hawk (or, as funny as it might sound, the buzzard). Like the hawk the Hookbill is a missile ship, with a bonus to missile range. It has a 3/5/2 slot layout with 3 launchers (and a 20% per level bonus to each, meaning that like the hawk the Hookbill receives a higher 'effective number' of weapons than the other ships in its class). What makes the Hookbill really shine however is those 5 mid slots. Remember during my discussion of covert ops ships, I mentioned that the incredible range control afforded by 5 mid slots make the helios and buzzard viable combat ships? The Hookbill is the only dedicated combat ship which has that many mid slots; while one is usually taken up by a shield extender, this still allows the Hookbill to field an ab/scram/double web combo, giving it one of the best range-dictation capabilities in the game. This is especially useful considering that the Hookbill generally fits rockets (fitting standards alongside a tank is pretty much impossible due to powergrid), and rockets benefit greatly from having a stationary target.

While the on-paper DPS of the Hookbill is still low, missiles are always deceiptive in that regard - when dual webbed it will probably be dealing close to its maximum damage very consistently, and it can do so anywhere out to 15km. The Hookbill is known to be one of the few ships which can consistently kill a dramiel without it simply being able to burn away, and against any blaster ship (other than potentially the daredevil) a dual web Hookbill is likely to walk through the fight with relative ease.

It's worth mentioning of course that not all Hookbills opt for the dual web combo, although due to the prevalence of dramiels at the moment it tends to be very popular. Some pilots may choose to further enhance their tank (which is fairly moderate by the way - similar to that of the firetail) or to fit other ewar like a tracking disruptor.

When fighting a Hookbill, having fairly flexible range yourself will be a big help given that they will likely be controlling the engagement. EM or thermal damage tend to be the best choices (EM is naturally the lowest resist but is often plugged with a rig, while thermal rarely is). Even with a rig covering the hole, EM remains a better choice of damage type than kinetic or explosive.

http://altruist.azual.co.uk/2011/07/know-your-enemy-faction-frigates.html

Caldari Frigate Skill Bonuses (Per Skill Level):

• 25% bonus to kinetic Light Missile and Rocket damage
• 20% bonus to EM, explosive, thermal Light Missile and Rocket damage
• 10% bonus to Light Missile and Rocket max velocity

• Caldari Frigate II
  • Spaceship Command I

[Caldari Navy Hookbill, Caldari Navy Hookbill fit]
 
Ballistic Control System II
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
 
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator 
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

Rocket Launcher II, Scourge Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Scourge Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Scourge Rage Rocket
 
Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I

[Caldari Navy Hookbill, Caldari Navy Hookbill fit]
 
Ballistic Control System II
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
 
Experimental 1MN Afterburner I
Medium Shield Extender II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype Engine Enervator

'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket
'Arbalest' Rocket Launcher I, Caldari Navy Scourge Rocket
 
Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I