EVE Solo PVP: Day in a Brawling Slasher

All of the interesting fights and all losses from a day spent flying around in a double gyro brawling Slasher. The two losses (and also two fits) I am flying you can see:

https://zkillboard.com/kill/75286596/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/75285324/

The Slasher is a fast attack frigate that struggles to get solid DPS and tank. According to T Sky’s excellent frigate guide, the Slasher is the 10th most popular of the 12 attack & combat frigates, with the 11th worst 1v1 win rate against other t1 frigates of 40%. It has a 4/4/3 slot layout, and it’s hull bonuses are a 5% damage bonus coupled with a 7.5% tracking bonus per level of Minmatar frigate. One of the reasons that I think the Slasher underperforms, is that one of its most popular fits, I think, is very limited. It’s fairly common to see a fit like this:

[Slasher, TD Slasher]

Damage Control II
Small Ancillary Armor Repairer, Nanite Repair Paste

1MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner
Fleeting Compact Stasis Webifier
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
Baker Nunn Enduring Tracking Disruptor I, Optimal Range Disruption Script

Small Energy Neutralizer II
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion S
200mm AutoCannon II, Republic Fleet Fusion S

Small Projectile Burst Aerator I
Small Transverse Bulkhead II
Small Transverse Bulkhead II
This very common fit has some downsides such as low DPS, very little EHP, and big cap problems from having both an SAAR tank, a neut, and four active mid modules. While in theory the TD can do a lot to mitigate damage, if you get the wrong script loaded, or you have a moment where you are out of position, or traversal drops, it’s very easy to get burned down with the tiny HP pool. I do not find it all that fun to fly.

I have been playing with a variety of different Slasher fits, and while I do not feel that I have the perfect answer, I have found a couple of fits that seem to perform better, and are more fun to fly than the TD fit (At least for me). The two fits I fly in this video are:

[Slasher, 125 mm Double Gyro Neut]

Gyrostabilizer II
Gyrostabilizer II

1MN Afterburner II
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
Republic Fleet Medium Shield Extender
Stasis Webifier II

Small Gremlin Compact Energy Neutralizer
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Hail S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Hail S
125mm Gatling AutoCannon II, Hail S

Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Projectile Burst Aerator II
[Slasher, 200 mm Double Gyro Max Gank]

Counterbalanced Compact Gyrostabilizer
Gyrostabilizer II

1MN Monopropellant Enduring Afterburner
Initiated Compact Warp Scrambler
Republic Fleet Medium Shield Extender
Stasis Webifier II

200mm AutoCannon II, Hail S
200mm AutoCannon II, Hail S
200mm AutoCannon II, Hail S
[Empty High slot]

Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Core Defense Field Extender I
Small Projectile Burst Aerator II
The fits have 192/208 heated DPS at 0 meters with Hail loaded before any drugs or implants. Giving up a damage control costs a fair amount of EHP, but the RF MSE and 2x small core field extender get the fit to 4.65k EHP, and the intent is to try to fly them against active tanked armor ships, and use the combination of high DPS, explosive damage, and all tank being in buffer to burn down the target before they are able to get very many reps.

While the strategy mostly seems to work, it does so by a pretty thin margin, and I think if I did not have good SP, and was not willing to fly with drugs and implants, I would fly something else. In general this fit will lose to most MSE fits with a DCU because they will have a favorable DPS/EHP ratio, the reason being if you are shooting the max damage AC ammo (Hail) you will be doing explosive damage, and so shooting into their worst resist, and because their EHP is all buffer, not active tank, and so regardless of how fast you do DPS, they will still be able to enjoy the benifitt of their full tank.

One nice thing about the Slasher is that the hull is so fast you will have range control on almost everything that is not 2x web fit.



You can find a short article on these fits here: https://newedenreport.com/2019/03/25/...