The Dramiel is the most long-standing and often-used ship design in the Angel Cartel's vast repertoire of vessels. A frigate workhorse if ever there was one, this sharp-tusked, dangerous beauty can sting unimaginably hard if one is not prepared for its assault.

Right now, the dramiel is generally considered to be one of the more overpowered ships in the game - just looking at it you can see why. First of all, the dramiel is fast (and I mean fast)! With no speed mods at all, the dram is capable of over 5km/s (a fully speed fit claw, otherwise the fastest ship in the game, maxes out at around 5.5km/s). With speed mods, a dramiel can do almost 7km/s. It's also very agile, allowing it to reach that speed in very little time at all. The dramiel's low mass means that overheating its afterburner provides a massive boost - with a few cheap implants you're potentially looking at speeds of over 9km/s.

So, the dramiel is just a better version of the interceptor then? That would make sense, but not so. With a 3/4/3 slot layout and 2 turrets (with a fixed 100% turret damage bonus, effectively the same as the 20% per level bonus on the firetail) and 3 light drones for good measure, the dram puts out as much dps as some of the gankier assault frigates. It also receives bonuses to tracking and falloff, allowing it to apply that damage very flexibly. Finally the dram has the same excellent mid slot layout as the jag and firetail, allowing dual propulsion with a medium shield extender (by far the most popular fit for a dram) or other combinations as suits the occasion. In other words, the dram outperforms the firetail in every way (except for price of course)!

Now, don't get me wrong - the dram is not the best combat frigate. There are other ships which can do more dps and which have more tank. The dramiel however is unique in that with a single fit it can outperform numerous specialized ships in their own areas - it can be faster than any interceptor while still having a combined gank/tank stronger than most comparable ships. Add to this the fact that the dramiel is fast enough to escape almost any engagement (even when scrammed, an unmodified dramiel can do about 2.5km/s with an overheated t2 afterburner), and you can see why it's among the most popular solo ships out there.

Killing a dramiel is easier than you'd think. First of all, because most drams fit dual prop they have comparatively poor range dictation compared to an ab/scram/web ship (most drams simply rely on overheating their afterburner to escape engagements, and it often works). Also, due to their ability to disengage from almost any fight, dram pilots tend to be fairly gung-ho and will nibble at targets that they potentially shouldn't. Finally, due to the dram's incredible mwd speed many dram pilots have difficulty controlling the range they start the engagement at, with an initial overshoot being very common.

The best ships for killing drams are those with two webs (or with a web bonus such as the daredevil). The reason for this is that it removes the dram's ability to disengage, and at that point it's just one combat frigate vs another - a relatively level playing field. Aside from hookbills and helioses, cruisers are also very effective for this kind of combat - caracals and celestises have both proved very successful dram-slayers due to their underrated nature and abundance of mid slots. Some fast scram/web ships such as the taranis or comet are also capable of holding a dramiel with some good piloting. Even if your ship of choice isn't able to prevent the dram from disengaging entirely, many dram pilots will underestimate the time it will take them to get out when things start going wrong. Especially if you can keep them interested (for example by repping less than you're actually capable of, within reason) you may find a dram pilot sticks it out until the bitter end. Flying a ship with flexible range (to continue shooting the dram as it burns out of web range) will help you considerably when attempting to take out a disengaging dramiel, as will having a scram and/or web in the first place.

As with most shield tankers, em or thermal damage are the preferred choices. While drams can choose damage type, their drones will almost always deal explosive (warrior IIs are the only drones capable of keeping up with, and thus returning to, a mwding dram). Thanks to falloff and tracking bonuses, there is no ideal range to fight the dram - simply opt for the one which will maximize your own damage output and if necessary minimize the chances of the dram escaping. When the dram is able to disengage, aim to start dealing damage as early as possible and as quickly as possible - as I mentioned the dram will often overshoot initially, meaning low angular velocity and a delay before they're properly able to assess your damage output and react to it. You may even be able to catch the dram pilot off guard and tip the balance such that by the time they realize they need to disengage, it's too late to do so.

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

Gallente Frigate Skill Bonuses (Per Skill Level):

• 7.5% bonus to Small Projectile Turret tracking speed

Minmatar Frigate Skill Bonuses (Per Skill Level):

• 10% bonus to Small Projectile Turret falloff

Role Bonus:

• 100% bonus to Small Projectile Turret damage
• 50% bonus to warp speed and warp acceleration

• Gallente Frigate III
  • Spaceship Command I

• Minmatar Frigate III
  • Spaceship Command I

[Dramiel, Standard Dramiel]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Overdrive Injector System II
Damage Control II

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Coreli B-Type 1MN Microwarpdrive
Warp Scrambler II
Gistii C-Type 1MN Afterburner

200mm AutoCannon II, EMP S
200mm AutoCannon II, EMP S
'Upir' Small Nosferatu I

Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I

Warrior II x4

This is a fairly standard fit for a Dramiel. It will go around 5k a second with good navigation skills. You can change out the faction mods for meta 4 if you want. It will pump out 160 dps at 0.8+9 range and be able to speed tank almost everything.

[Dramiel, Sa Matra's Dramiel]
F85 Peripheral Damage System I
Fourier Transform I Tracking Program
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
Federation Navy Stasis Webifier
Gistii C-Type 1MN Afterburner

200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
200mm AutoCannon II, Barrage S
Small Diminishing Power System Drain I

Small EM Shield Reinforcer I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I

Hobgoblin II x4

This Fit is designed to stay out of scram, web and neut range the entire fight. The only time you would get webbed or neuted is if they have faction mods on or a boosting command ship or loki. The idea is to be able to point and web your target while still hitting him hard with Barrage S and drones. If you find out that the target you are fighting has rails or is also set up like you, you need to get within pissing range to not get fucked. If you get into a fight with a drone boat or a frig that has drones, you need to kill their drones ASAP.

[Dramiel, The Batwing]

Gyrostabilizer II
Pseudoelectron Containment Field I
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I

Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
Coreli C-Type 1MN Microwarpdrive
Faint Epsilon Warp Scrambler I
Gistii B-Type 1MN Afterburner

150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet EMP S
Small Unstable Power Fluctuator I

Small Core Defense Field Extender II
Small EM Shield Reinforcer II
Small Ancillary Current Router I

Warrior II x3

This is the Dramiel setup from the Batmobiles video (See here: http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=1238259&page=1), where the pilot flies around in a Dramiel and Cynabal and rapes everything.

The Faction Modules are less than 25 million each and absolutely worth it. As for implants, the pilot used a full set of low-grade Snakes and a Zor's Custom Navigation Link would also help a lot.

You can also swap the Gyrostabilizer II for a Republic Fleet Gyrostabilizer or a Domination Gyrostabilizer and the F85 Peripheral Damage System I for a Damage Control II for more DPS and EHP.