[Jester's Trek] Fit of the Week: Mackinaw tank
Fit of the Week: Mackinaw tank
Sometimes, things happen by coincidence. I'm pretty sure this is one of those times. But I've had three different people in the last couple of weeks either ask me about Mackinaw fits or complain about Mackinaw fits. I sent this fit to all three people:
[Mackinaw, Master Blasters]
Damage Control II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Mining Laser Upgrade II
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Medium Shield Extender II
Limited Kinetic Deflection Field I
Thermic Dissipation Amplifier II
Modulated Strip Miner II, Veldspar Mining Crystal II
Modulated Strip Miner II, Veldspar Mining Crystal II
Medium Processor Overclocking Unit I
Medium Core Defense Field Extender II
Mining Drone II x5
Hobgoblin II x5
Now, I'm not an expert at this so don't get the impression that I am. The last time I got into a mining ship was when they upgraded the beams for mining lasers. I wanted to see what they looked like. So I undocked in a mining ship, warped to a belt for a cycle or two, watched it, said "huh, pretty!", then warped back to the station. So if you know when CCP changed mining beams, that's the last time I flew a mining ship.
But obviously, there's a lot of you out there that do like the mine. I understand: I was a regular miner myself about... oh... four years ago. I found it very relaxing while I was working on the side on something more complicated or if I was watching a movie or something. So I know how Zen a good mining op can be. But of course gank Catalysts and the like roam the skies looking to spoil your Zen. So how do you respond?
Well, the first way to respond is eternal vigilance: watch that directional scanner. Gankers can't warp cloaked and if you see a lot of destroyers (or in some memorable cases, a lot of Taloses or Brutixes), be aligned and ready to warp off. That's your first best defense against ganking. But if you must stay and mine, there's no reason why you have to be a soft target. And if I were going to fit a Mack to be a hard target, what's above is how I'd do it.
To the very basic shield tank of an Invul and a MSE, you counter the primary source of gank damage: kinetic and thermal damage coming from blasters. You can't fit the T2 active kinetic hardener, unfortunately. But the meta one does a nice job and is supplemented by passive thermal resistance. Fitting a Processor Overclocking rig allows you to fit that, the DC, and a single Mining Laser Upgrade. The often-overlooked MAPC module is a great fit for a Mack, closing your grid deficiency. And don't neglect a T2 CDFE rig! Rig prices are remarkably low right now and this is the perfect sort of ship to take advantage of that situation. Mining lasers and a standard complement of drones rounds out the package.
Even with no shield links operating, as long as you are receiving standard fleet boosts, you will have 50k EHP against blasters and like damage which you can overheat to near 60k. That's a lot of Catalysts that will be needed to hurt you. But if you go the extra mile and actually have active shield links operating in the system, the tank on this boat will go to nearly 70k! And all the while your mining yield with drones will be 1540m3 before mining bonuses.
So again, vigilance is your best defense but if you can't have that, a BC-strong shield tank will stand you in good stead and will put in the situation of that old fable that tells us that gankers prefer soft targets...
If you have a Mack fit that you prefer to this one, post it in the comments! As I said, I'm not an expert at this.
Mine safe!
All Fits of the Week are intended as general guidelines only. You may not have the skills needed for this exact fit. If you do not, feel free to adjust the fit to suit to meet your skills, including using meta 3 guns and "best named" defenses and e-war. Ships can also be adjusted to use faction or dead-space modules depending on the budget of the pilot flying it. Each FOTW is intended as a general guide to introduce you to concepts that will help you fit and to fly that particular type of ship more aggressively and well.
Source: Fit of the Week: Mackinaw tank