Failfits might be one of the most entertaining things in EvE. Who doesn’t like seeing someone’s godawful mess of a ship posted in its full glory on the internet for all to see? Well, other than the maroon that lost it. But what makes a shitfit so bad? I am going to take a look at some common mistakes you see on fits that make them bad. There are a few exceptions that I’ll talk about, but most of these are things you just DON’T DO! But first: Some Excellence from Faifeaggro. Warning lyrics are totally NSFW, and totally appropriate.

Don’t Mix Guns

There actually used to be a website at Dontmixguns.com devoted to all the reasons this was bad. Sadly it doesn’t exist anymore. Don’t mix guns exists on several levels. First off you never want to have guns of different ranges or size categories. You don’t want cruiser and BS guns on your BS. All BS guns. Always. Also DO NOT put long and short range guns on your ship. You don’t want to use say Blasters and Railguns on the same ship. Pick a range and build your ship around it.

To a lesser extent you want to have all your guns exactly the same type/meta level. Ideally T2 of the biggest size. Sometimes this doesn’t work. I have a Mega fit that uses 6 T2 Neutron Blaster Cannons and 1 T2 Ion. That is less than ideal, but (barely) acceptable. The rule for meta-guns is similar. Ideally you want all your guns in one group so you can be an F1 monkey. If it ain’t possible 2.

One Tank to Rule them All

Pick one tank. Don’t go for more than one. Shields OR Armor, OR speed (OR hull.) If you are shield tanking, put as much into the shield tank as you can. Use your lows for damage mods, damage controls, PDS, or shield recharge mods. Not for armor. If you are armor tanking, use your mids for cap, speed, or weapon enhancements, not for shield mods. Speed tanking requires a single-minded focus even on ships that can do it, yes you want to include some buffer but putting a bunch of speed mods on a ship then dropping a plate on it… no.

This doesn’t mean you forego a damage control on… well… just about anything. Nor that you should skip a speed mod on a ship that needs it. Just that you focus your resources. Pick your best tank for the role of the ship and it’s fitting resources / bonuses and USE IT.

Fill ‘er up!

Lows and Mids are made to be filled. Put something in there. Ideally put something useful in there. This is where your fitting skills come in handy. Maxing out your electronics and the various upgrades skills allow you more CPU, as does engineering for PG. This allows you to use more and better mods to upgrade your capabilities. Mids and Lows. Always filled. Nothing missing.

Utility Highs might (MIGHT) go empty. For example the Drake has 8 high slots, and only 7 launchers. You don’t see a lot of people using that last high, it just isn’t necessary in a lot of fits. Hurricanes tend to see all kinds of things in their 2 utility highs, as do Tempests, and Armageddons. These slots often just aren’t that useful. There is ALWAYS something useful to put in a mid or low slot. Always.

Rig it!

Rigs are cheap. Decide what role the ship will fill and rig it appropriately. These slots are important. They give your capabilities beyond what normally you could do.

Fit to Your Bonuses

Lasers I cool. I like lasers. Don’t put lasers on a Brutix. Brutix gets a big bonus to Hybrid Damage. Fit Hybrids. Ideally Blasters. Your bonuses are what sets one ship apart from another. Check the description and find out what your ship receives for bonuses.

Decide on a Role, pick your Ship

Often a ship finds its way to death by being used because it’s “neat” rather than because it is the best ship for the mission. Don’t say “I have a *ship name* what should I use it for.” Instead say “I need a ship to do *role* what ship is best,” that way you pick the right ship.

Cap is Important. Sometimes.

PvE ships should generally be cap stable. PvP ships don’t worry about it as much. In general fitting for cap stability in PvP is pretty futile. PvE ships should use Cap Rechargers, CCC rigs, etc, PvP should rely on cap boosting, especially those that are highly cap dependent.

Don’t Forget Ammo!

Bring the right ammo. All guns should be using the same ammo, and have both long and short range varieties available. If you are going into a mission, make sure you bring the right damage type. Oh and make sure it’s in your cargohold. Nothing is worse than finding out you have what’s in your guns and that’s it.

This is just a few examples. There’s plenty of ways to fit ships badly. There are a few ways to help you fit ships well. The first is to use a fitting program. EvE Fitting Tool, EvE-HQ (my favorite) pyfa, I’m sure I’m leaving a few out.

Fly Dangerous. Fit Well.