Ship Setups – The Shield Buffered Battlecruiser
Today we're going to open our ship fitting series by talking about shield buffered battlecruisers. In a day and age where armor buffered ships have become the norm, Arrogance Unlimited's combat doctrine involving shield buffered BC's seems to fly in the face of convention. After all, if everyone is doing something, it has to be the best option...right?
Wrong, at least when it comes to [CALC]. You see, we place a premium not just on survivability, which armor buffers offer in spades, but on firepower, maneuverability, and acceleration as well. In these areas, shield buffered ships not only match the capabilities of those that pile on the armor, they routinely surpass them.
Let's take a look at three distinct examples of how this doctrine plays itself out using the Brutix, Hurricane, and Harbinger as our case studies.
Brutix
When I started Cal oh-so-long ago, he was a Gallente specialist. As such, I have a special place in my heart for all things Gallente...except the Brutix. For the longest time, I was extremely displeased with all of the commonly flown "viable" setups for it. This thing was a blaster boat...but one that couldn't really fit blasters if it wanted to have any semblance of survivability. Thus you had to go "glass cannon" on it if you wanted to come up with a fit that provided halfway decent firepower...
Until now.
With a shield buffer on the Brutix, you're able to rock the firepower without making yourself paper thin in the process. Does it have a mean tank? Heavens no. But it has enough survivability so that you might actually kill your opponent before he cuts through you in return. Let's take a look at the setups.
EHP: 60,928
DPS: 704 (786 overheated)
Top Speed: 874 m/s
Align Time: 14.2 s
In my personal opinion, there is something wrong about fitting Electrons on a Brutix. This ship is made to gank, and Electrons are the opposite of gank. However, this setup does weigh in with an acceptable 60,928 EHP. It's not great, but if you'd told me a couple years back that you could get "that much" survivability out of a Brutix while still doing 704 DPS, I'd have laughed at you.
As an additional downside, while a Brutix is normally pig slow already, adding this much additional mass through the plate and trimarks and you feel like you are flying a land barge...not necessarily good for a ship with only point blank damage capabilities. With a top speed of only 874 m/s, it is hard to either close with the enemy, or escape them if the battle gets too intense.
And now for the shield buffer:
EHP: 50,329
DPS: 855 (960 overheated)
Top Speed: 1112 m/s
Align Time: 12.4 s
Now we're talking. While the EHP does take an appreciable hit...down to just 50,329...all of the other capabilities skyrocket. The damage is up to a whopping 855, and that figure climbs to the nigh-ridiculous levels of 960 when the guns are overheated (note: that is close to blaster Megathron levels, for 1/3 the price). Moreover, with a top speed of 1112 m/s and much less overall mass, the shield buffered Brutix is better able to close to its still-pitiful optimal range.
Does this setup have its negatives? Of course. Dropping 10k EHP for 150-200 DPS is questionable. However, that same drop in the DPS allows the Brutix to better dictate range (read: close with the enemy) and escape if need be. In Arrogance fleets where we're often burning fast to and from our targets, the extra maneuverability and speed (not to mention additional DPS) are indeed life savers.
As an additional side note: Even without using the damage drones, the shield buffered Brutix deals only SEVEN less DPS than the armor buffered model does WITH the drones. This means that, properly prepared and outfitted, a fleet can make substantial use ECM or Logistics drones to improve their functions. Imagine a couple of these bad boys, still tossing out the pain, but also utilizing 5x Medium ECM drones preventing the enemy from retaliating. That, my friends, is what we call flexibility.
Hurricane
Ah, the Hurricane...how I have come to love thee. When the Hurricane was first introduced by CCP, I rushed to grab a BPO. Not because I thought I'd make extensive use of it in production (I'm a PvPer, not an industrial giant), but because I absolutely loved how it looked. CCP, for near the first time, had produced a Minmatar ship that I couldn't wait to fly. "Hello EVE Star Destroyer! Would you like to go for a spin?" I asked the first that arrived in my hangar. "Yes sir," it replied, "I can kill just by looking awesome." You get the drift.
EHP: 69,621
DPS: 590 (620 overheated)
Top Speed: 1025 m/s
Align Time: 13.7 s
The armor buffer fit for the Hurricane isn't bad at all. It weighs in with a very nice 69,621 EHP, which is quite a bit higher than the armor buffered Brutix. We're still nowhere near battleship levels, but we're at the point where we aren't worried about melting quickly even under concentrated fire.
The DPS, though, takes a hit when compared to the Brutix. A significant one. Yes, astute observers will probably say, "Well, you can boost this by dropping the nos and adding in launchers." They're right. We could, but we also feel that nuking the enemies cap in rapid order outweighs the marginal benefit that two unbonused launchers would provide.
Despite the additional mass, the Hurricane retains acceptable top speed and maneuverability. While the 1025 m/s speed likely won't turn any heads or catch up to the smaller things that could outrun it, it doesn't really need to because of Barrage. Instead of the crappy long range ammo that blasters have, Hurricanes have access to the awesomeness of Barrage, allowing the pilot to engage from much further out than his Gallente counterpart. So in this case, speed is good, but not quite the live-or-die value that it is for the Brutix.
Let's see how the shield buffered version compares:
EHP: 50,509
DPS: 677 (761 overheated)
Top Speed: 1311 m/s
Align Time: 11.9 s
Now we're talking! First, the negative: When moving to a shield buffered Hurricane, you lose EHP. A lot of it. Nearly 20k of it. Some of you may be asking, "So why would we ever use a shield buffer instead of armor for the Hurricane?!" Because, my friends, the Hurricane becomes a hit-and-run maven when it moves from the comparatively "Pokey Joe" armor setup to the fast and furious shield one.
You see, using Barrage, the shield buffered Hurricane is able to dictate range on a much wider variety of targets than its armor buffered cousin. The additional 300 m/s may not seem like a huge amount, when you're able to keep every battlecruiser, command ship, and battleship right at the range you want them at, you get to decide how the engagement is going to play out. Do you get in fast orbit them at 1000 meters? Do you "kite" them at the limits of your Warp Disruptor II range (not shown in the above screenshot)? The answer to these question is, "Yes, if I feel like it. Eat THAT armored Hurricane!"
All of this without evening touching on its DPS. The shielded Hurricane does more damage firing its guns normally than the armored Hurricane can achieve through overheating. And when the shielded Hurricane does overheat? Well, 761 DPS is nothing to laugh at. That's more than a armored Brutix. It's almost as much as the armored Brutix that is overheating, at a much greater range.
So to recap: The shield buffered Hurricane offers better DPS, better speed, better maneuverability, and a wider selection of targets that you can force to engage the way the you like, rather than catering to the demands of the enemy. All of this, at the expense of a rather hefty chunk of EHP.
Harbinger
The Harbinger is one of those ships that I love to hate. I've always been a bit anti-Amarr in-game, despite being able to fly their ships (and trust me, I love my Curse). This laser spewing behemoth is no exception to the rule. It hits hard, soaks up the punishment...and that's about it. Typical Amarr...
EHP: 73,412
DPS: 620 (690 overheated)
Top Speed: 896 m/s
Align Time: 14.4 s
This is what a Harbinger is supposed to look like. Lots of armor, lots of lasers, and slow as molasses. The EHP is incredibly respectable. 73k is as much EHP as most of your mission running battleships have. You know, those that don't fit a passive buffer, because they don't have to worry about things like neuts and nos.
However, all of this EHP comes with a price. Due to the Harbinger's crappy fitting, you are forced to choose "HP or Gank". By fitting the 1600mm plate and accoutrements, you are forced to downgrade all of your shiny lasers to Focused Medium II's. That, in turn, brings down the DPS to a paltry 620 DPS. Yes, you still get to use the much loved Scorch. And yes, Scorch is still awesome...but your DPS frankly isn't.
Thankfully, the ability to use Scorch compensates for the armored Harbinger's abysmal speed and acceleration. No need to rapidly close range when your longest range ammo is nearly as good as most other race's short range stuff, right? So unlike the armor plated Brutix, the Harbinger's survival isn't inherently tied to its speed. Instead, it just sucks to go this slow, and have this little maneuverability. But hey, at least you have 73k EHP, right?
EHP: 52,194
DPS: 760 (850 overheated)
Top Speed: 1138 m/s
Align Time: 12.5 s
This is taking the traditional Amarrian mindset and giving it a Khanid twist. "Armor? Pssh. Who needs it? We'll take some shield lovin' thank you!" Unfortunately, the Harbinger loses a staggering 21 thousand EHP in the process. That's a lot of EHP, no matter how you slice it. On the positive side, though, you're still have more EHP than a shield buffered Hurricane or Brutix does! 
In return for that loss of survivability comes an impressive leap in DPS. 760 normally is nice and all, but just take a look at the overheated damage numbers. 850. From a battlecruiser. From a battlecruiser that isn't paper thin! I love it!
Let's take just a moment to think about the psychological impact this ship would have on your enemy. They all know that your ship is going to be doing some nice damage, and they also know that you're going to be armor buffered, right? Imagine their surprise when you get primaried, and your shields don't drop nearly as fast as they "should" be. That's enough to cause pause in any fleet, and quite a bit of panic in those that were expecting to get in, get a kill, and get back out again in rapid fashion. Maybe they change targets? Maybe they hesitate just a moment? All the while, you're pouring our near-gank battleship levels of DPS and melting their face.
Not only that, but people won't be near as able to dictate range to your shield buffered Harbinger. You're not as fast as a Hurricane, make no mistake, but you can keep most other battlecruisers and battleships at exactly the range you want them to be at. Want to make use of your amazing Scorch? Do it. Want to close to point blank range and wreck them with faction Multifreq's? Do it. And when you need to bug out because the enemy is jumping more people in from the other gate in the system, you stand a much better chance of accomplishing that due to your higher top speed and acceleration.
Closing Thoughts
Are shield buffered ships battlecruisers inherently better than armor buffered ones? Heck no. In fact, in many situations they're flat out worse. No two ways around it. However, when fit into a specific combat doctrine that emphasis maximum damage, maximum maneuverability, and maximum acceleration...all while retaining average survivability...that's when they come into their own.
That's the way we fly in Arrogance Unlimited, as we feel that it caters to our name. Anyone can fly armor buffered ships in a large fleet. That's safe. We prefer flair and finesse, while remaining survivable. Our pilots are mobile, agile, and able to bring the pain. For us, there is joy and reward in going against the grain, and attempting something different that flies in the face of convention.