Fit Kitchen: The Deimos

Hey everyone, Amy Austrene back at it again with the… fittings..! This week we’re going to over the Deimos and what you can do with it since the Surgical Strike update. It’s an all-round pretty ok ship, but if market PvP is to be believed then people are going to want to get their hands on some fits before long. Enjoy!

Ashy here- Do note that this is another guest piece by Amy. I edited it, but much of the theorycrafting and writing credit goes to him for this article.

The Deimos has a history of being a pretty gnarly brawling cruiser with its hybrid turret based damage platform and its significant rep bonus. With a pre-patch blaster setup for dual reps, a capsuleer could easily achieve a respectable 700+ heated tank along with 837 heated DPS. The Deimos was thus cemented into the Gallentean stereotype of “high tank and face-melting damage”.

Regardless of this, the Deimos sits at the 139th rank on zKillboard within the past 90 days at the time of writing. Compared to the other HACs, the Deimos is the second least used HAC in EVE, beating only the Sacrilege which is placed at 174th (#1 is the Ikitursa by the way!).

Seems like it might be time for a buff, right? Let’s delve into what CCP has done with the Deimos, firstly by reviewing its role and attribute changes.

Gallente Cruiser bonuses (per skill level):

5% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret damage

7.5% bonus to Armor Repairer amount

Heavy Assault Cruiser bonuses (per skill level):

10% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret falloff

7.5% bonus to Medium Hybrid Turret damage (was 5%)

Role bonus:

50% reduction in Microwarpdrive signature radius penalty

Can fit Assault Damage Controls

The Deimos has also seen an increase of 50 to its base power grid as of the 18.04 patch release

While the increase to its power grid doesn’t sound like much, it allows the aforementioned setup to run easily without any fitting rigs. On top of this, the hybrid turret damage bonus is further improved by a whopping +15% bonus to Void introduced in the patch. This pushes the Deimos’ DPS out of the fire and into the slightly hotter fire. This is a good thing.

The changes CCP have made in this patch aren’t exactly going to throw us into a new Deimos meta, but they’re a welcome change. They helpfully mean easier fitting, especially for brawling setups. Speaking of which, let’s start with a Gallentean favourite.

Blaster Supremacy

With its damage bonuses, it would be heresy to theorycraft the Deimos without considering its brawling potential. Pre-buff, a dual rep Deimos would typically have had to sacrifice a rig slot due to power grid issues. However, the Deimos is now capable of pulling off a hefty 912 cold // 1035 heated DPS with Void and light drones. That’s four Atrons you’re firing at your enemy.

Your damage also has the potential to be increased with a flight of medium drones in lieu of the lights. I wouldn’t recommend this however as having flights of light drones to push off tackle is essential for a slow, brawling platform.

Dual Rep MWD

[Deimos, Dual Rep MWD Brawl] Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Assault Damage Control II Reactive Armor Hardener Magnetic Field Stabilizer II 'Greaves' Medium Armor Repairer I 50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive Stasis Webifier II Warp Scrambler II Medium F-RX Compact Capacitor Booster, Navy Cap Booster 800 Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II Medium Anti-Explosive Pump II Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump II Acolyte II x5 Warrior II x5 Null M x2000 Void M x2000 Navy Cap Booster 800 x12 Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M x2000 Nanite Repair Paste x100

Tank wise, the free rig slot allows for dual armour rigs to be installed. The end result of this is a heated tank of 820 omni DPS, going down to 476 heated after the ancil charges are used. This is all while being cap stable with the occasional hot cap charge. Combine this with the fitted ADC, one could easily exceed 50k EHP tanked during a reasonable engagement even after the global resist nerf. Provided the nullsec blob isn’t starved of content on that day of course.

Do note how this fit uses a storyline armour repairer instead of a T2 repairer. The reasoning behind this is that with a T2 repairer, this fit will need a 1% power grid implant to fit. By using the ‘Greaves’ repairer, it’s now possible to use a set of Asklepian implants, further improving the tank.

The clear downside to this fit is its low speed. This ship goes 1.8km/s cold // 2.6km/s hot. While its speed is not atrocious; care will have to be given in the current speed heavy meta where ships like the Orthrus and Cynabal can easily run 2.5-3km/s cold. However, if you’re smart with your engagements by playing gate games with enemy gangs and by not overextending during an engagement, you could easily get the drop on someone and witness the glory of blaster supremacy.

Alternatively, one could opt for an ancil + plate fit to achieve more EHP after using up their ancil charges. This setup results in more EHP after ancil (70k as opposed to 52k) at the expense of overall active tank and a slight decrease of DPS (860 cold // 976 heated). This is also slower than the dual rep fit (1560 cold // 2206 hot). A typical buffer + rep fit would be the following:

Plate + Buffer

[Deimos, Rep + Plate] Assault Damage Control II Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Reactive Armor Hardener Magnetic Field Stabilizer II 1600mm Rolled Tungsten Compact Plates 50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive Stasis Webifier II Small Capacitor Booster II, Navy Cap Booster 400 Warp Scrambler II Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M Heavy Ion Blaster II, Void M Medium Anti-Explosive Pump II Medium Anti-Explosive Pump II Acolyte II x5 Warrior II x5 Null M x2000 Void M x2000 Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M x2000 Nanite Repair Paste x100

The ancil plate fit, in my opinion, just provides a different way to flavour your gameplay. You’ll have more EHP, have to manage one less module and technically have better tracking from the ion blasters but with tradeoffs. My personal preference is the dual rep fit. If you don’t get blobbed and are smart about who you engage then it has more potential for outplay and lasting longer on grid.

One final way to utilise the supreme blaster supremacy that is the Deimos is to go for a full damage setup. It’s the kind of fit that you might have seen in Squishy’s videos and can be hella fun if you get on top of your target. Shame the Deimos doesn’t have a meatgrinder skin like the Kiki. The name of the game is 1,500 DPS with some light implants and a bit of hope. Heat the ancil, heat your guns, and pray that your opponent dies first. It’s fun!

[Deimos, Ricardo Muscles] Assault Damage Control II Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II 50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive Stasis Webifier II Warp Scrambler II Medium Capacitor Booster II Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M Heavy Neutron Blaster II, Void M Medium Anti-Explosive Pump II Medium Hybrid Burst Aerator II Hammerhead II x5 Eifyr and Co. 'Gunslinger' Motion Prediction MR-701 Zainou 'Deadeye' Medium Hybrid Turret MH-803 Inherent Implants 'Lancer' Gunnery RF-903 Agency 'Pyrolancea' DB5 Dose II Void M x400 Nanite Repair Paste x32

Nano Kite

I’ll be honest, while Gallentean ships can be fast and agile, I don’t think a kiting setup is strong in a solo engagement, especially when compared to ships of similar calibre. Regardless, it does have enough speed, damage and utility to be used as a mainline DPS when paired with anti-tackle ships. And that is exactly what the following fits are designed to do. Let’s start with the armour nano Deimos.

MWD Ancil Kite

[Deimos, Rail MWD Kiting] Medium Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste Nanofiber Internal Structure II Armor Explosive Hardener II Overdrive Injector System II Assault Damage Control II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II 50MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive Warp Disruptor II 'Harness' Medium Capacitor Booster I, Navy Cap Booster 800 Federation Navy Stasis Webifier 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M Medium Polycarbon Engine Housing I Medium Hybrid Collision Accelerator II Acolyte II x5 Warrior II x5 Javelin M x2000 Spike M x2000 Navy Cap Booster 800 x9 Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M x2000 Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M x2000 Nanite Repair Paste x100

With railguns loaded and plutonium to hit out to point range, you’ll be reaching 543 cold // 624 heated DPS including light drones. Alternatively 389 cold DPS out to a 65km optimal with Spike. The Deimos is able to achieve this while cruising at a steady speed of 2.4-3.48km/s

Included in this fit is a defensive web, a strong ancil tank resulting in 38.1k EHP after charges, and a 13.5-second immunity period when using the ADC. While the ADC is nice to have, you can swap it out for a second magstab or a third nano, depending on if you want to prioritise speed or damage.

If you want to be weird, it is also possible to fit the Deimos for a passive shield tank in order to gain more damage and agility at the expense of overall tank and utility. The following fit is an example of a shield nano Deimos.

Shield MWD Railguns

[Deimos, Deimos MWD Kiting Shield] Nanofiber Internal Structure II Nanofiber Internal Structure II Overdrive Injector System II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Magnetic Field Stabilizer II Assault Damage Control II 50MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive Large Shield Extender II Warp Disruptor II Large Shield Extender II 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M 250mm Railgun II, Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer II Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer II Acolyte II x5 Warrior II x5 Javelin M x2000 Spike M x2000 Federation Navy Antimatter Charge M x2000 Federation Navy Plutonium Charge M x2000 Nanite Repair Paste x100

With this setup, your damage will increase by about 50 DPS at point range, to a total of 404 cold with Spike at 70km. Again, you have the opportunity for a further increase in DPS by replacing the ADC with a third magstab. Additionally, the warp disruptor in the mid slot can be replaced with a Federation Navy Web to be used defensively if you have competent tackle pilots in your gang.

While the kiting Deimos seems to work well when paired with tackle and anti-tackle ships, the ship does suffer from the inherent low tracking of medium railguns. With Plutonium loaded, the Deimos has a tracking value of 8.2 and with Spike loaded, a value of 2.05. To put that into perspective, an Omen Navy issue fit with pulse lasers has a tracking value of 24.4, which is almost three times that of the Plutonium Deimos. with slightly lower damage of course.

Before you consider fitting out a Deimos to be used in a nano gang, it’s worth considering other ships that could perform this role better. Such as the Vigilant, for example. Not only could you get higher DPS (662 cold // 763 hot at point range on a shield fit), but you’ll have the potential for greater speed and also have access to an incredibly powerful 90% defensive web.

For further perspective on the issue of application and why the Vigilant is a good alternative, take a look at the damage graphs below, which factor in application to cruisers and frigates.

Either way, they’re all different flavours of a similar fruit. Do you go with a fit with more lasting potential, or do you go with the higher speed/damage options? It’s up to you.

Closing Thoughts

The Deimos was and still is a capable ship. The only problem is that the ship’s design steers it in the direction of a brawling platform in a game dominated by n+1 and small gang nano. If the Deimos just had a little more speed or tracking, it could be a pretty potent ship in a nano gang.

Either way, the buffs provided by the Surgical Strike update are a breath of fresh air for the Deimos. Allowing for easier fitting and greater tank despite the recent resist changes, while also giving the ship an incredible buff to close range damage. If you’ve got an itch to brawl and the ISK to do it with, the Deimos is the ship for you.

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