EVE Online Capturing Complexes Guide

EVE Online Capturing Complexes Guide by Threv Echandari

Capturing Enemy Complexes- A Key mechanism of Faction Warfare. The capturing of Enemy Complexes and subsequent destruction of the bunker (bringing it into structure), determines the occupancy of the System. It changes the color of the dots on the map, gets the Winning Faction some good press, and maybe influence the Eve Storyline- a Little. So what’s in it for YOU? Well, accumulated Victory Points gives you a rank in your Faction Militia. Of course you don’t need those mere trinkets as the Honor of Serving the State is reward enough. (OK Access to Faction Gear is pretty Sweet too!)

hopefully CCP Will make it Worth it.–’nuff said)

‘Plex capping really is how to tell the winners and losers in addition to the Kill Statistics. Since it’s played out in Low-Sec, a different mindset is required than that of 0.0. The Rules of Engagement are different, the battle lines are amorphous, where the enemy (and you!) can strike from almost anywhere, then fade back into space. Just because there is a lot of fighting at TAMA doesn’t mean TAMA or Old Mans Star is the Frontline. This is attributable to open NPC Stations and Jump/Pod Clone Technology. You could use the market to get ships and just set your med clone to a Station in enemy Territory and start ‘plex capping! Think of 0.0 as Open Field Combat and Low-sec as House- to-House Urban warfare, Different Tools, Different tactics.

How to Do it.
OK You can read The Knowledge Base Article at the Eve Site and that will give you the Official Story and a definition of Terms, but here is the Meat and Potatoes what you need to know to get in your RIGHT NOW and go do your duty for the State:

Open Star Map, Sort by “Occupancy”, “Offensive” (because the best Defiance is….) “My Militia”. Look for the Blue Dots. Those are plexes that have been discovered and Need to be Captured. The Bigger the Blob the more sites there are in that System, chances are there’s the enemy in there too trying reset the timers.

Now Filter the Maps and note down, ships destroyed, and number of jumps in past hour, and pilots in station. This should give you a rough idea of where the bad guys are and what the traffic is like.

Pull out your updated OMBEYS MAPS (you do have it Don’t you?) Or perhaps the new spiffy Serenity Steel Map. Either way PLAN YOUR ROUTE. How you get in and how to get out. Sure you can just Wing –it but do you want to get your gang-mates Stuff blown up because your were too proud to read a damn map?

Move quickly to your Target Systems you planned your Route now use it.

Once in the Target System, Fan out to each planet. (The Sun too!)

At your Scanning spot Align to some object (Planet, Belt Station etc.) and hit your Thrusters. You may need to make a Quick Getaway.

Open your On-Board Scanner: Set for System Scan, Cosmic Anomalies, On-Board Scanner the Click “Analyze”, and wait… If No Results do it again (scanner isn’t 100% effective), if it’s still nothing, go to the next scanning spot.

Once an Unknown Result is found, you may then warp to it. Once you arrive at the Acceleration Gate (Mission entrance) the Beacon will light up in System (and on the F10 Map) and anyone may warp to it. (If in a large gang, some gang leaders prefer to NOT warp to it until the fleet is ready to cap it.)

If your Ship is capable of entering the Acceleration Gate (the Site name will clue you in but See the KB Article for specifics) you will then be flown to the Mission area. This Will be Surrounded by NPC you do not have to engage them a Speed tank is usually enough to keep them from hitting you

Find what Caldari FC’s call “The Coin” that’s the Station Beacon in the mission you need to Orbit for s specified period of time. 10 Minutes for Minors up 15 minutes for Majors.

Once the timer is up You will receive notice that the Site was Captured.

Rinse Repeat –Sounds easy? Well it is.. until other players come to spoil your orbiting Funtime.

Solo Capping

This is where you go it alone. Extreme “Space Commando” behind the lines action! Set yourself up with some ships in Hostile Faction Lowsec Station and go to town! This is totally do-able and can be done in a T1 Frigate with ABII’s, a small Tank or Resist and a WCS for running gate camps. You would do well to limit yourself to Minor Complexes though as that keeps the T2 and more lethal ships out of the mission unless you’re sure you’re alone. In this case a Destroyer is a better choice if you actually want to engage any other ships as they will usually be other Cappers in T1 Gear.. That said a Destroyer is easier to catch at a gate than frigate so you have to weigh the risk yourself. Another Option for the Soloer is “Defensive” Capping, where you go around in you own LowSec trying to undo all the work Enemy pilots have started by Resetting the timers.

Note that Speed Fit inties can do Major plexes quite easily, it only when real players come in that it get tricky.

Gang Capping

What good alone is even better with friends! Share the Glory!. Small Gang capping is a good way to get to know other Militia pilots and work together as well as “Show the ropes” to the new pilots (it’s not always about blobbing in TAMA). It’s also a fun Activity for Corps to do that Benefits them and Gives them something to do besides Gate Camping. The Ideal T1 capping Gang should have a 1:2 ratio of Destroyers to Frigates and preferable an Ewar Ship such as a Griffin. So 2 Destroyers 3 combat frigates with Web/Scram and one Griffin to Turn out the lights on the enemy DPS ships.

This Setup is good up to Full Squad level using 4 Destroyers 2 Griffins, 4 Combat Frigates. (Rifter is popular Choice for its speed but Merlins are good if Proper EWAR is mounted. For that Caldari Flavor.) However, The use of a Covert Ops Scout is highly advisable so that you’re your group can move about undetected. The Scout (and a MAP) allows you to re-route away from high Concentrations of hostiles so you keep them guessing where you are.

You’ll notice I did not mention Cruisers. This is intentional as Cruisers cannot Go into T1 only plexes. That said if you have more Cruisers than Destroyers then the their job is different. Since Cruisers can’t go the Minor they provide the Role of Gate Guard and Scout. Dealing with hostile ‘Plexers before they get in.

Fleet Capping
This is the full ownage. Multiple Wings Sweeping through Systems Capping everything they can Find and Steam Rolling the enemy who try to stop you. Or more often; Tense games of Cat and Mouse on a fleet level as you try to spread their fleet out and accomplish your goals. Picking them apart while avoiding any backup they rally. Like “The Hunt for Red October” in space. The Fleet is essentially clones of the First Squad layout with minor Alterations for ship composition. As long as you try to Keep the T1 Frigs and Dessies in their own Squads you can setup as you see fit. Usually though the Fleet is setup into 2 Wings one wing is the “Capping Fleet” and the other Wing is the DPS Fleet, This wing is setup as your more Standard PVP fleet , Battleships, Battle Cruisers, Snipers/DPS, Inties, HACs, Support etc. the DPS Wing goes and takes care of serious opposition and the Cappers go about their business

Fleet Structure
The fleet should be laid out so that each squad with its Squad Leader can operate independently to achieve the goal, and be re-tasked or moved quickly.

Wing
The Wing is composed of discrete elements that work together to establish the objective. While each element can do the job individually the combined arms approach results is better organization, Combat effectiveness, and more ‘plexes capped

Squad 1 –“Cappers” T1 Frigates and Destroyers.
Most popular frig by Far seems to be the Rifter Very easy to fit and Very Fast. However most Races Frigate will do the Job nicely as long as you fit for speed. Same With Destroyers with Thrashers and Coercers being Popular . Scram and WEB a must have

Squad 2- Small T2 ships, T1-Cruisers
Keep it light keep it Fast Make Sure it Hits hard If you’ve got Webber and Tracking Disruptors use them here.

Squad 3 – DPS- Ships Battleships/Cruisers, HACs
Damage on command. Not fast but helpful. Ifthe Enemy Calls for backup.

Fleet movement – Plan your route
This is one of those things that seem obvious but is often overlooked. Sure you’ve Cruised the Bleak lands thousands of times and know that Teskanen near Vaaralen is a dead end system. But do you Wing Commander and Squad leaders? What about the 3 Week noob who Signed up for FW when he accidentally hit Enlist and Some dude in Nourve hands him Condor and Says go Tackle ‘em Tiger! And never once been in Low-Sec.

Plan a Rally Point(s)
No plan ever survived contact with the enemy. Sometime Things go wrong.. very wrong and you have to GTFO. Without your “Exit Strategy” in place a lot of your pilots will Get Scattered, Lost. Picked off and Podded. Give them a route that helps them regroup so they can get back into fighting condition or at least be able to cover each other.

Communicate it to your Wing Commanders/Squad leaders
All the planning Doesn’t help if you don’t let the other guys with Warping Powers know what you’re up to. Open up a Separate Chat channel (you can bind up to 2 in Fleet Chat) and Relay Route info and Fallback info. That way if you get popped they know the game plan and it makes it easier for them to step up control the Situation.

Use Scouts
It was hard not to put this first, but there it is. Even a Crappy Covops in a Buzzard is better than 5 Condors. Do what you can but get a Covops pilot or two. One in front and one as a tail scout to make sure your not being “Herded”. The Covops in Front is Especially important in plex capping because your want to Disguise your Numbers and whereabouts as much as possible. You are working against an unseen Clock. And mobility and Surprise are your Greatest assets

Be Quick
Another easy one. Don’t dilly dally if there’s nothing there you must stay on the move as much as possible.

‘Plexing Tactics – Fan out and Scan.
When Arriving at a target system, All pilots should pick a planet to scan and put the number in fleet chat, this is so the FC Knows all the sights are covered. When Arriving at Target make sure to align and be ready to bolt.

Final Bits…
One plex at time.
Often times the FC only wants to light up one plex at a time so it doesn’t Draw too much attention on the F 10 Map.

Multiple
Other times you may have enough pilots to Lockdown a system and do simultaneous captures however this does not seem to occur to often.

Engaging the enemy – Ambush at the Warp-in Corral
Hit the Enemy first. If you think that you have enough to take whatever is coming through the Gate have your pilots get as close as possible so they will be right on top of them enemy (or at your weapons appropriate Optimal)

But before committing your troops uses your Scout to get intel on the enemy. You have the advantage and can take initiative if you know what’s coming.
When at gates remember aggression rules, he who fires first Jumps last. Listen to the FC when he says don’t fire.
Make sure the Gates and the Concord sign aren’t on your overview You don’t want to waste Valuable Time “Accidentally” targeting them.
Don’t panic Listen to the FC and Target who he Calls Primary and Keep flying don’t just hit F1-F8 and sit back.