The Caldari Navy Issue Raven Battleship -- Fitting and Skills
So You’ve Got the Raven
Turning a profit can be hard when you have to worry about loathsome pirates, hidden Jovian spies, and the self-righteous attitudes of the Gallente Federation. The Caldari State corporation makes the navy issue Raven battleship available to the most loyal of its pilots. The ship is heavily armored, but most pilots will want to make their own modification to the ship so the Raven battleship suits the play style they prefer.
The Raven is considered to be one of the best ships in the game to use in player versus environment situations. It does suffer in most PvP encounters, but a skilled pilot and the right situation make this offering of the Caldari state a valuable contribution to certain types of PvP encounters.
Recommend Skills for the Caldari Navy Issue Raven Pilot
The best equipment only gets a player so far. Shields, hulls, and armor are all useful, but learning the right skills gives the player an extra edge
that no amount of high technology gear can replace. Caldari battleships is the most important skill for the Raven pilot, as it is difficult to pilot this ship without it. Other suggested skills, according to the Evelopedia are energy management, electronics, navigation, and energy systems operation.
Because the Caldari State ship weaponry relies heavily on missiles, it does not hurt to pick up the missile skills as well. Knowing a few levels of Gallente Drone operation, if the player can manage to pick the skill up is also beneficial. This might be a little difficult as the Caldari State Corporation won its independence during a war against the Federation, but a resourceful pilot can find a way to get around this minor inconvenience.
Fitting the Raven Battleship
One or two laser ports on each side of the Raven would are a welcome addition to any fit. The laser mounts should be purchased with tracking equipment to extend the weapon’s range. However, more slots should be devoted to missile weapons than lasers as Caldari ships and pilots have the skills to use them more efficiently. Missile weapons usually do more damage than their laser weapon counterparts.
A pilot should not skimp on armor or shields when fitting the Raven for his use. It is better to go all out and make sure the ship has as much armor as an Imperial star destroyer would most likely have. (Be sure to give it even more armor though, those star destroyers are surprisingly poorly armored.) This ship should be wading into the front lines when it is used. It may have slightly less firepower than some of its competitors, but when fitted properly it should be one of the last ships standing during naval encounters.
Using the Caldari Raven in PvE
The Caldari Raven may not be considered to be a desirable ship in PvP, but it finds a ready and welcome role in PvP encounters. It is well suited to going after NPC ships as well, and can always find a place in fleets going after computer controlled targets. This assumes that the pilot can fulfill the role other players expect of him, which is mainly serving as a tank and drawing attention away from the smaller, faster ships.
The Megathron battleship can be fitted for use as a sniper and a tank. The Raven, on the other hand, attracts just as much attentioin and should not be kept away from enemies in PvE battles. The extra armor and hull on this Caldari battleship allows it to survive attacks that would easily cripple other ships. Pilots of this spaceship should not be afraid to go out against opponents guns blazing. If other ships are flying with you, the goal is to take the brunt of the attack, while the other ships that are capable of dealing damage far more quickly finish off the enemies of his fleet.
Siege Operations: Where the Caldari Raven is Welcome in PvP
The Raven is not a welcome edition to most Eve Online PvP encounters. The one exception is when it is used to lay sieges, although the pilots will usually be asked to make sure their torpedoes and missiles of their Raven pilots only use a certain type of energy. The Fleet Commander will let the piloting a Caldari Raven battleship know what is expected of them when a guild conducts the siege.
It is common for an Eve Online pilot to own more than one ship that can be used for different situations. Pilots who enjoy PvP who do not wish to pilot a Raven battleship exclusively should consider buying a ship better suited to player versus player combat. It may be tempting to change the perception of the battleship, but a player who sets out to do so should make sure he is fully prepared to go up against human opponents with this battleship before engaging in Quixotic crusades
