Confessor vs. Sleepers

Background

A competition was held, in-game, that would determine the release order of each of the racial T3 Tactical Destroyers. Just before EVE Vegas 2014 a devblog was released where capsuleers were asked to donate Sleeper loot to secret research projects. The research projects turned out to be contest where the order, that the new Tactical Destroyers, would be determined by the amount of donated Sleeper loot.

At EVE Vegas it was revealed that the Amarr won and the Confessor would be released as part of the Rhea expansion in December 2014.

The Ship

The Confessor appears to be a radical new design for the Amarr, its different but retains the patterns and appearance people expect of Amarrian ships.

Slot layout is VERY Amarrian, 7 high (6 turrets), 3 mids and 5 lows, showing that is supposed to be an an armour ship.

Like the original Tech 3 cruisers, Tech 3 tactical destroyers add a new mechanic that is unique to the hull. Instead of being modular design with sub-systems the destroyers have three different modes (Speed, Sniper and Defensive) of operation, that can be changed 'on the fly' (but with a 10 second cool down).

These modes certainly make the Confessor a very flexible ship and a somewhat unpredictable foe in space.

If you want more information on the ship and its fittings please check out the linked article above.

Heavy Hitter

The Confessor is a great little ship, light on tank but not as much as you'd think considering its size. I've seen many fits, a lot theory-crafted but some actually used and very dangerous.

I'd love to share one particular fit that I'm familiar with that is excellent as a station undock killer but I promised the pilot I would not because the potency of the fit is something that, so far, everyone has underestimated. Perhaps after the release of all the T3 Tactical Destroyers I will be able to share that.

Most fits are built around a passive tank (no plate) and a couple of damage mods to increase the dps from the Small Focused Pulse lasers that will be fitted. A decent pilot will easily get around 400 dps from the ship but there is one environment where a well skilled pilot can get over 1000 dps.

Wolf Rayet

Of all the wormholes in EVE Online those that have the Wolf Rayet have the most impact on small weapon armour ships. Shield ships need not stay, they will suffer badly from the effects this wormhole will have:

Affected Stat	Wormhole class
	1	2	3	4	5	6
Armor Resist	+10%	+18%	+22%	+27%	+34%	+50%
Shield Resist	-10%	-18%	-22%	-27%	-34%	-50%
Small Weapon Damage	+25%	+44%	+55%	+68%	+85%	+100%
Signature Size	-10%	-19%	-27%	-34%	-41%	-50%

C1 through C3's are profitable, now more so, but lets look at C4 and C5's because they offer the most "bang for your buck".

The Fit

The fit spec was simple, cheap where possible but designed to maximise damage and try to use the speed of the ship to limit the incoming dps. Of course being a wormhole ship we must have a probe launcher fitted, that was the only requirement I had for a module that must be present.

[Confessor, Confessor]

Coreli C-Type Small Armor Repairer
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
True Sansha Adaptive Nano Plating
Heat Sink II
Heat Sink II

Cap Recharger II
Cap Recharger II
Coreli C-Type 1MN Afterburner

Expanded Probe Launcher II, Sisters Core Scanner Probe
Small Focused Beam Laser II, Gleam S
Small Focused Beam Laser II, Gleam S
Small Focused Beam Laser II, Gleam S
Small Focused Beam Laser II, Gleam S
Small Focused Beam Laser II, Gleam S
Small Focused Beam Laser II, Gleam S

Small Energy Metastasis Adjuster II
Small Energy Metastasis Adjuster II
Small Capacitor Control Circuit I

Aurora S x6

Sisters Combat Scanner Probe x8

Yes, beam lasers over pulse, we don't want to be close to the Sleepers. We want to be able to kite at least 15/20km from them whilst maintaining a good speed so as to limit the effectiveness of their fire. 

Tanking modules occupy three of the five low slots, we've got two resist modules and a deadspace repairer. The wormhole effects are going to significantly improve our resistances so lets make them as high as possible before the bonus. The final two low slots we'll use for heat sinks and thanks to the Energy Metastasis Adjuster rigs we get the benefit of an extra one or two heat sinks but without using the low slots.

We're far from cap stable, especially with the repair module running, so we use cap rechargers to help maximise the time we can remain on field. We aren't designed for PvP so no need for point, our tracking from the guns is enough to be able to kill frigates as is without the need for a web.

Conclusion

This ship, in the W-R setup, is a beast and can easily complete sites here without support. Two chew through the sites like a Drake (pre-nerf) did or the Ishtar does now ratting in anoms.

The whole fit does require a bit of ISK to setup and run but its not overly expensive compared to other more dedicated fits for these sites. You could add more ISK but we use the ISK for modules where they will do the most good. You could shiny more modules but then the ISK-Loss ratio weighs more to the loss should you lose it to a ambush or the sleepers.

This is a great PvE ship for sleepers but its also a fantastic PvP ship. The new Minmatar Tactical Destroyer will certainly add a new element to the game but since release the Confessor has curved a great niche in New Eden.