Ninja Fits: A New Icon (Vigil vs. Slasher)

Ninja Fits is about – wait for it – ships, and how to fit them. This one is about the Slasher, prophetised to be the new ninja go-to.

Getting with the times

For years, the Vigil has been the main workhorse of the ninja salvager's arsenal. Its combination of high speed, copious CPU and balanced slot layout made it the perfect ship for taking advantage of someone else's hard work. However, the times, they are a-changing. "Tiericide" is taking place and the T1 frigates are getting major overhauls. The Vigil is among the next batch on the chopping block. According to these plans, she will soon be out of the running when it comes to being a salvager.

Goodbye, old friend.

But there is a silver lining. The same series of overhauls has recently given us a set of T1 tackler frigates that are just perfect for our line of work. Those who have until now relied on the Vigil will be delighted to hear that the newly revamped Slasher is a worthy succesor indeed. Let's compare a couple of fits.

[Vigil - Ninja]
Salvager I
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Barrage S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Barrage S

1MN Afterburner II
Medium Shield Extender II
Warp Disruptor II

Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Damage Control II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I

Warrior II x1

[Slasher - Ninja]
Salvager I

150mm Light AutoCannon II, Barrage S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Barrage S
150mm Light AutoCannon II, Barrage S

1MN Afterburner II
Faint Warp Disruptor I
Medium F-S9 Regolith Shield Induction
EM Ward Amplifier II

Damage Control II
Beta Reactor Control: Diagnostic System I

Small Anti-Thermal Screen Reinforcer I
Small Projectile Ambit Extension I
Small Processor Overclocking Unit I

These are fairly typical "bait" frigates. They rely on a small signature and high speed to go places and avoid fire, while being beefed up with a Medium Shield Extender and some resistance enhancements for added survivability. Both are capable of pointing a mission runner in case you can have a kill ship delivered to you (or just let the mission rats do the dirty work instead). They have small autocannons mounted to defend against any drones an angry mission runner might send after you.

Comparison

I won't bore you with a lot of numbers, but on my skills, the Slasher gets a bit more EHP and about 30% more DPS. It gives up roughly 150m/s in top speed and 0.2 seconds of align time. It also has 30m3 less cargo capacity and it doesn't have a drone. On the upshot, its signature radius is only about two-thirds of the Vigil.

This makes the Slasher a better ship when it comes to baiting and potentially pointing a mission runner. Its higher EHP and smaller signature radius make it more survivable while its extra turret and tracking bonus are great for taking out enemy drones (the bane of the bait frigate). The sacrifice in speed and agility is negligible. What we do lose, however, is a good pure-bred salvage frigate. The Slasher does not have the CPU to support a significant number of salvagers. In fact it already needs an overclocking rig in the fit above. If you're more interested in munching wrecks than pointing bears, you'll need to look eslewhere.

The Vigil is dead – long live the Slasher!

With the upcoming changes, the Vigil will need to be retired as the ninja ship of choice. I'll have a lot of painful goodbyes to say. As some of you may know, I have named all my Vigils after pornstars and grown emotionally attached to them (to the point where I once cruised thirty minutes in a shuttle to retrieve Kitty, whom I had left several hundred kilometers from the acceleration gate after a particularly lenghty pursuit). That said, I'm already enjoying my zippy little Slasher and I know there are ninjas out there getting kills with this ship alone. Expect to see more T1 frigate fits over the coming months!