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Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.04 18:01
by Tal Tracyn
Next up for your consideration the Stabber.

XL ASB/PVP
Spoiler
[Stabber, XL shield/pvp]

Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Overdrive Injector System II

10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
X-Large Ancillary Shield Booster, Navy Cap Booster 400
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II

Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Small Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
Small Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer

Medium Processor Overclocking Unit I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I


Warrior II x5


Phased Plasma M x1000
EMP M x1000
Cap Booster 400 x9
Republic Fleet EMP M x1000
Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M x1000
Brawl Armour/Reps
Spoiler
[Stabber, brawl armour/reps]

Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Damage Control II

10MN Afterburner II
Warp Disruptor II
Stasis Webifier II
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Navy Cap Booster 800

Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Hail M
Medium Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Anti-Explosive Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I


Warrior II x5
Shield Buffer/Tackle
Spoiler
[Stabber, shield buffer/tackle]

Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II

Warp Scrambler II
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive

220mm Medium 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Medium 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Medium 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP M
220mm Medium 'Scout' Autocannon I, Republic Fleet EMP M
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Medium Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I


Warrior II x5
My Skirmish Stabber 3343ms cold 4759ms heated/ 65-75km range /80km drone range
Spoiler
[Stabber, zoidberg mk2 buffer]

Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Overdrive Injector System II

50MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Warp Disruptor II
Tracking Computer II, Optimal Range Script

650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
650mm Artillery Cannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
Drone Link Augmentor I
[Empty High slot]

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Ionic Field Projector I
Medium Auxiliary Thrusters I


Warrior II x5

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.26 10:36
by Avrin Dennard
I cannot see anything wrong with the fits for the roles they have. However, to try and stimulate some discussion I thought I'd drop a fitting on that is derived from the 100 most recent fits on zKillboard. Maybe not much use but it shows what is currently being used out there.
Spoiler
[Stabber, Stabber zBoard]

Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Large F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II

220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I


Warrior II x5


Barrage M x1000
Hail M x1000
Caldari Navy Mjolnir Light Missile x500

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.27 11:14
by Tal Tracyn
Rapid lights ?
I can see the extra damage would be nice but my inner stabber pilot is saying "omg you need to reduce the incoming dps with neuts because my tank is terrible!"
:D

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.27 15:21
by Hirmuolio Pine
When I was looking at large ancillary remote shield boosters I noticed that some people were using them on Stabbers.

RR stabbers: Bad, horrible or "special"?

Here is one example: https://zkillboard.com/kill/72866464/

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.29 16:21
by Raido Kudonen
Stabbers are large frigates. They lose to all PvP-fit cruisers 1v1, as well as nearly all PvP-fit T2/T3 small ships. This means that the Stabber has two use cases: hard tackle (for a blobby gang that is too cheap to pay for/rep a tackle Jaguar/tackle Enyo), and frigate killing if there are frigates that are silly enough to feed to you.

RR stabbers are pretty suspicious. If you look at related kills there, it looks like Darwinism were up to their usual low-tier gatecamping play in a slightly creative comp.

10mn Stabber fits are somewhere between suspicious and just bad. The ones on the wiki are particularly risible: one has an XLASB with invul, meaning no web, and the other is an armor brawler with a long point instead of a scram. So you have really serious range control problems, leading to expanding the already-large number of bad guys who hard counter you.

The other fits are unfocused and therefore not optimal. For example, if you want a tackle Stabber, you need to be able to actually hold down the target, and it's silly to fit DPS on your tackle ship because you're looking for targets you can't kill by yourself. So you should have neuts or anti-drone/anti-tackle weapons in the high slots, not autocannons, and should have both a scram and a web so that you can hold down slippery targets for your gang.

Shield tackle:
Spoiler
Stabber
Damage Control II
Power Diagnostic System II
Power Diagnostic System II
Co-Processor II

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II
X-Large Ancillary Shield Booster, Navy Cap Booster 400 x9

Medium Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

Hornet EC-300 x5
Armor tackle Stabber:
Spoiler
[Stabber, hard tackle for cheap armor gang]

Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Warp Scrambler II
Stasis Webifier II
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Navy Cap Booster 800

Medium Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
Medium Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Small Energy Neutralizer II

Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I
Medium Hyperspatial Velocity Optimizer I


Hornet EC-300 x5

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.30 22:03
by Tal Tracyn
I have to disagree with most of what was said last.
I think of the stabber as the best destroyer in the game and it can handle some T1 cruisers easy depending on fits.
And i've had a few kills on T3D's with stabbers using different fits.
I think relegating it to a tackle frigate is completely underestimating it.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.10.31 23:33
by Raido Kudonen
Tal Tracyn wrote:I have to disagree with most of what was said last.
I think of the stabber as the best destroyer in the game and it can handle some T1 cruisers easy depending on fits.
And i've had a few kills on T3D's with stabbers using different fits.
I think relegating it to a tackle frigate is completely underestimating it.
You have three solo kills with the Stabber. All are in hisec, which should immediately prompt suspicion. Closer analysis shows that the Thrasher is a well-known ganker and the two T3Ds are badly fit wardec ships.

There is no properly PvP-fit solo cruiser that loses to any Stabber fit.

But hey, let's do some analysis.

There are four T1 "attack cruisers", the Stabber, Thorax, Omen, and Caracal. It should surprise nobody that the Caracal and the Thorax get by far the most solo kills. The Omen and Stabber get similar (low) amounts of action, although a lot of the Omen's action comes from one "anti-ganker" dude who likes to use an Omen to whore on hisec gankers.

On the first page of zkill solo kills (so 50 kills, which takes you back to October 26th because of low usage), Stabber pilots have killed 8 cruisers, one T1 hauler, five T3Ds, and one assault frigate. The other 35 kills are a mix of mostly T1/faction frigates, T1 destroyers, ceptors, dictors, a bomber, and a T1 cargo hauler; that is, things that any cruiser should generally kill. So let's take a look at the first set of 14 ships that might be considered "fair" fights:

Cruisers:

Only two of these can be considered reasonable PvP fits. They are:

A 10mn XLASB Stabber, which died to a kitey Stabber with a warp disruptor that could simply have orbited it outside scram range and waited for the XLASB to run out. (Remember what I said about 10mn XLASB fits being suspicious?)

A 50mn XLASB Moa, which died to someone who also has a history of kitey long point Stabber losses.

One Rupture might have meant to be a PvP fit, but is fit with a hodgepodge of meta modules and appears to be an attempt at a kiting active-rep armor AC fit. Hard pass.

The rest are all bad fits or PvE fits.

A pair of Vexor Navy Issues fit for AFK ratting, which can easily be killed by a T1 frigate. [1] [2]

A pair of Stratioi, both very badly-fit for PvP. One has NPC damage on the km and is fit with specific hardeners; the other has salvage drones and T1 Ogres in its drone bay, and is fit to be stable with the reps but not the neuts, so is probably also a PvE fit.

And a Moa with no lowslots or rigs, two different-sized shield boosters, and a missing gun.

AFs and T3Ds:

At the top, we have a brawl-fit Jaguar with a single MASB. I leave the question of why this is a trash fit as an exercise to the reader.

Let's go to T3Ds. The "best" two fits are a 1mn pulse Confessor and a gatecamp-fit Hecate. Both are a bit outside the meta, but they're not overtly garbage.

In the intermediate range, we have a dual-tanked brawl Hecate with faction tackle. This was certainly intended as a PvP fit, but one must question the choices to put armor rigs on a ship with no other armor mods and to fit faction tackle on a relatively cheap ship.

Finally, we have a PvE Svipul and a missing-slots Hecate. Nuff said.

Conclusion

Most solo Stabber pilots fly the Stabber in order to punch down against small ships or to gank PvE pilots while having enough mobility to run away after the fact. This is most easily accomplished with semi-kitey long point Stabbers using the Stabber's falloff bonus to project AC damage outside scram range, although arty Stabbers aren't entirely garbage. This use case relies heavily on the broad (and correct) perception that the Stabber is not a very good ship, which means that people will sometimes overextend against it when they'd otherwise fly smart against ships like the Caracal.

Outside of the "engageable" solo anti-frigate role, the main use for Stabbers in recent months has been as a blobby tackle QRF in Pandemic Horde, who use hyperspatial-fit Stabbers with a scram, autocannons, and RLMLs to chase down gankers in a fairly cheap and disposable large tackle frigate. Hmmm.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.01 19:14
by Tal Tracyn
I have no problem going against Thoraxs or caracals in a stabber.
And you should check out this guys channel on ze youtubes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgm3No ... Gpg/videos
And for some reason my killboard is missing kills i have ingame ..shall have to sort that.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.02 16:25
by Raido Kudonen
Thoraxes or Caracals should never lose to a Stabber without both a hard counter fit and pilot error. Active rep brawl Thoraxes are better than active rep brawl Stabbers. Kiting Caracals are better than kiting Stabbers - in fact, they're so much better that solo PvP specialists have used the matchup as evidence of RLMLs being too good. Kiting Caracals are usually better than brawling Stabbers, for that matter, unless the Caracal pilot is dumb enough to engage at zero.

The main thing I found out from that guy's channel is that he is using a multibillion ISK pod in his Stabber. Which is fine - standard lowsec practice for solo pilots - except that it creates a false perception of the ship being good when it's fighting pilots who don't use those pods. For example, the MG Crystal plus Zor's (plus some other hardwiring implants) pod he's using in his XLASB Stabber means that he would be a little bit better than an active-rep Thorax, when normally the Stabber is a lot worse than an active-rep Thorax. However, this is a good reason not to recommend suspicious fits that only work with a ~2B isk pod on the UniWiki.

If you're missing kills, the most likely cause is that you haven't submitted your ESI to zkill. Pretty easy to fix that.

EDIT: That video you recommended has a really good example of why implants skew how "viable" a fit is. At this timestamp, we see Felicia using the XLASB Stabber against a triple rep Vexor. Now, the triple rep Vexor is very hard to fit after the PG nerf, but I probably would go with a whole bunch of PG rigs and heavy blasters instead of the light blasters that Felicia's opponent went with. But let's go with the fit in the video:
Spoiler
[Vexor, Telemichus Rhade's Vexor]
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Medium 'Accommodation' Vestment Reconstructer I
Medium 'Accommodation' Vestment Reconstructer I
Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer
Reactive Armor Hardener

50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I
Warp Scrambler II
Medium Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I,Navy Cap Booster 800

Light Neutron Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Neutron Blaster II,Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S

Medium Anti-Explosive Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I

Hornet II x5
Valkyrie II x3
Valkyrie II x2
We can write off any damage application from the light blasters, since the Stabber has range control. Still, the Vexor has about 240 DPS from a flight of mediums (also a strange choice, as a 2x heavy/2x medium/1x light flight is the normal choice for Vexors when fighting cruisers), and against an XLASB this will slowly whittle down EHP until the XLASB runs out of charges, then kill the Stabber during the reload. The problem is that the Vexor can only rep about 364 EHP/s cold after the ancillary rep runs out of paste, if you're not using implants, which means that the Stabber will eventually slowly break its tank. With the Stabber pilot using an expensive crystal pod, the Stabber can tank the Vexor's drones for so long that the Vexor will almost certainly break first.

If both pilots use implants, though, the Stabber is just embarrassingly bad. The Vexor can tank the Stabber's entire DPS until it runs out of cap boosters, and the XLASB will definitely hit reload first. At that point, the Stabber will die (or maybe heat its prop and run away, depending on whether the drones get any lucky hits). And that's with complete range control against an MWD-fit opponent.

With a better fit, of course, you could have heavy blasters reaching out to scram range with Null and still permatank the Stabber. Well-timed heat on the blasters combined with an actually good flight of DPS drones would give a half decent chance of breaking the Stabber after the XLASB runs out of reps and before the Stabber can heat enough to warp out.

Implants make bad ships look good, and good ships look broken.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.03 16:40
by Tal Tracyn
He dosn't use expensive implants in them all.
In many fight he dosn't use any at all.
Also i'm not sure if you are taking into account a stabbers 2 ancillary highs that should be fitted with neuts.
Kiting in scram range and outside a blasters range is a valid tactic and the reason i believe people fit disruptors and webs for the extra distance they get.(or a defensive web)
Even with longer range ammo like null its a reduction in incoming damage a stabbers tank has to take before the neuts do the buisness.
This is the reason i'd fight a thorax for example, for the simple reason i could stay out of the area of maximum damage and kill his drones with mine and just wear his cap/tank out with either neuts or guns.
Caracals can be tanked untill the reload and neuted and the stabber certainly has the pace to keep up with one.
I've killed Caracal's in Rupture's before..stabbers not much different.

But in all fairness its not the apex pvp ship but i do think it needs to be given more dues.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.03 20:39
by Raido Kudonen
What are you even on about? Go watch the video I linked, where he specifically shows the pod that he's using. It's MG Crystals with 5% hardwirings.

You also apparently haven't looked into how a Stabber's utility neuts compare to active rep brawl fits (they don't actually neut them out, in most cases, and at any rate won't make the Stabber outlast good brawl fits). For example, in the Stabber vs Vexor brawl that I analyzed in the previous post, the two small neuts change the Vexor from being stable at 62.7% cap with everything but the MWD running (since the fight takes place in scram range) to being stable at 48.9% cap.

The final irony of your post is the assertion that Caracals can be tanked until the RLML reload, then neuted and killed, and that the Stabber can keep up. This is funny because not one of the fits in the OP can do both of these. In order:

- The XLASB fit can tank through one reload and then dies to the second, and never gets in neut or scram range because it's AB fit.

- The active armor rep fit can't tank a full RLML reload; it actually just dies on the first reload. Not that it matters, because it's an AB fit.

- The shield buffer fit can keep up with a Caracal, and in fact has the best chance of killing one. Nonetheless, the Caracal has more HP than the Stabber does even with the invul off, and can just barely burn the Stabber down with one RLML reload and 40 seconds of drone DPS, so the Stabber probably still loses.

- The arty kiting fit is probably a draw because the Caracal can't force it to stay in range, but the Stabber dies if it approaches within point range of the Caracal to hold the Caracal on grid. But it's what chess players call a "two-result game": the Stabber can draw if it runs away or lose if it tries to approach; it won't win.

You keep claiming that the Stabber should get more respect. This shows that you have it backwards: people fly the Stabber with expensive pods because it's bad and they hope to use that to bait people into an engagement where they have an advantage from the pod, or because they've picked it for the one thing that it's genuinely good at, cheap fast tackle. But it's a bad idea to post fits on the UniWiki that only work with expensive pods, and otherwise are clearly worse than other ships.

(And no, the Rupture is nothing like the Stabber, except that they both use medium autocannons in solo fits.)

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.03 20:47
by Erwin Madelung
Tal Tracyn wrote:I have no problem going against Thoraxs or caracals in a stabber.
Please follow that through and fight Raido in a Stabber :lol:
Tal Tracyn wrote: And you should check out this guys channel on ze youtubes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgm3No ... Gpg/videos
If you ask ze youtube, Oracle with small blasters is the new meta https://youtu.be/qunXoLC84zg

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.05 18:41
by Tal Tracyn
Ok i'm calling a time out so people can take a breath and calm down.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.05 19:33
by Glasi Vookto
Let me make some peace here. You are both right and wrong at the same time :D

Raido is right in one aspect, the Stabber is kind of a big frig and is overall inferior to it cruiser counterparts, however, it is not as bad as most people think. There are a couple of fits that are versatile and work pretty well in the meta, especially as most people underestimate it. Unfortunately they are none of the fits in the OP, those are all bad.

First, we have the standard kite Stabber. There are multiple variations of it, this is one I have saved in Pyfa:
Spoiler
[Stabber, Stabber - kite 220mm]

Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II
IFFA Compact Damage Control

Warp Disruptor II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
50MN Cold-Gas Enduring Microwarpdrive

Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile
Rapid Light Missile Launcher II, Caldari Navy Scourge Light Missile
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion M
220mm Vulcan AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion M

Medium Ancillary Current Router I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender I
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I


Acolyte II x5
Its preferred prey are tacklers and smaller ships generally, but it can wear down brawling cruisers as well. Usually dies to Caracals or other kitey faction cruisers.

Second, we have the brawl skirmish Stabber. This one is designed to isolate smaller targets in nullsec, kill them quick, then get out before reinforcements arrive. Its main prey are again frigs and destroyers, but can kill most T1 kitey cruisers (including Caracal) and some faction ones (ONI, some Nospreys, some Cynabals etc). Dies to most brawly T1 cruisers, apart from maybe a Moa :)
Spoiler
[Stabber, XLASB dualprop cheap]

Counterbalanced Compact Gyrostabilizer
Gyrostabilizer II
IFFA Compact Damage Control
Mark I Compact Power Diagnostic System

10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive
Faint Epsilon Scoped Warp Scrambler
X-Large Ancillary Shield Booster, Navy Cap Booster 400

Small Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
Small Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M
Dual 180mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Phased Plasma M

Medium Ancillary Current Router II
Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Processor Overclocking Unit I
This fit gets slightly better if you slap a T2 ACR on it, but that almost doubles its cost.

Now both these fits are solo/micro gang fits. In my opinion there's no decent fleet fit for the Stabber, unless you specifically want to have a Stabber fleet for some reason.

The Stabber also sees some usage in blobs (read Horde) as ramming suicide tackle, but I don't think they are worth mentioning here. Plus, they are rapidly getting replaced by ramming Jags.

Re: Stabber

Posted: 2018.11.09 15:17
by Tal Tracyn
I've actually mailed Felicia Nethers from those videos ingame and asked for his opinion and to share his knowledge of the stabber with us and he replied.

From: Felicia Nethers
Sent: 2018.11.09 02:36
To: Tal Tracyn,

Thanks!
After having a quick look at page one, it's clear to me that the Stabber has misunderstood hate towards it.
This is, in fact, a good thing for me (a solo pilot) but a bad thing for people who are trying to give it the spotlight (like yourself)
I feed on the pilots who underestimate it (number crunching keyboard warriors like Raido Kudone)
Pilots with 99% gang kills and 5 solo kills in 2018 are the stabbers favorite diet.

I don't fly that fit with implants anymore (stopped about 3 months ago) bc it was not necessary in 80%~ of my fights

My XLASB fit has limits of course.
1: It will never be loved by null sec pilots (unless fighting 1-3 man small gangs on a gate)
2: It will die to most cruisers with AB, scram/long point, and a web. (It like to fight MWD ships)
3: it will kill any t1, t2, t3 dessy (unless they are bling fit)
4: and of course it can be directly countered if the pilot KNOWS you are in that fit.

I'll start work on a no implant video for the fit soon ;)

In short, I get most of my solo kills in the Stabbers because of pilots like Raido Kudone, and instead of trying to fight them in the forums I let them think they are right... more EZ kills for me :)

P.S. feel free to copy this into the thread if you like. It may bring me more fights :D

Thanks Felicia for taking the time to mail me. :D