Trying Out a Tackling Firetail

Since the last pass of rebalancing the Republic Fleet Firetail can be seen a lot more around the warzone. It is not a ship I can ever recall flying before. I'd been hearing good reviews on its performance since the changes so ordered a few hulls from the corp shop. I asked one of the guys who has been having some success with them for some fitting advice. 

I fitted up two different ones. The one I wanted to talk about is the dual-prop tackler. Kitey ships are very common in the Caldari Militia so I wanted a fast ship that could drive them off. With a micro warp drive the Republic Fleet Firetail is fast. Add some propulsion rigs and some nanofibers and it goes like something-off-a-hot-shovel.

2 x 200mm T2 Autocannons

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T2 Scram

Medium ASB

1MN MWD

1MN AB

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DC II

2 x Nanofiber

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3 x Polycarbonate engine housings

130dps with 3260ehp

4400m/s MWD - 1650m/s AB

Anyway the ships had been sat there waiting for something to use against. I got a reason yesterday.

I undocked in an untanked glass-cannon Thrasher to go and see if I could find some targets, only to find a Caldari Militia Raven outside the station!

Even if he was torp fit, he'd have probably been able to kill me before I got back up. I hesitated trying to think. I wasn't on Comms, fail! The Raven warped off and I didn't see where. Double fail!!

I quickly redocked, jumped in my RF tackler fit and got back out into space. I started bouncing around the surrounding systems to see if I could find him but I'd blown my chance, he was long gone. What a mistake-a to make-a!

Anyway I continue searching hoping to get lucky, and on the Kedama gate in Hirri I find a Caldari Militia Hurricane and a Tormentor. The Tormentor jumps through and the Hurricane locks me up. I assume the Tormentor is sat the other side waiting to point me and the 'Cane is trying to push me through. Obviously leaning from my earlier derpage, I'm now on comms which has been silent since I joined the channel.

"Hey guys, anyone active? I've got a Hurricane next door looking like he's wanting to play."

I receive a duet of - "OMW!"

The Hurricane has moved off gate some, obviously trying to lure me away from jump range. So I 'take the bait' and move off with him. Once we're away from the stargate by about 15km he opens up on me. I stick on the afterburner, get in a tight orbit and hope what I was told about the Firetail was right.

Yes! His medium autocannons are just grazing me so he puts out some DPS drones which do hurt. I fire up the ASB, keep point on the 'Cane and switch my guns to the drones. Thankfully my small autocannons are very effective against the drones and I'm able to take them down before the ASB is out of charges. Then he starts to neut me. This is a problem. Before I know it I've got Bitching Betty bitching that "The capacitor is empty". I'm losing and regaining point nearly every cycle. However, even without the afterburner running, I'm still fast enough to keep his AC's from hitting me properly. By the time he's got me in low shields the ASB has reloaded and I rep-up back to full. However, my guns are not even tickling him.

Finally the support arrives. A Vexor and a Prophesy turn up and the Hurricane forgets me completely and turns his attention to them. He goes down in short order.

So yes, as a fast tackle, the Republic Fleet Firetail is a very useful ship. Now really need to test it on someone my own size!