EVE ship fitting is the difference between a battle lost and a battle won. You could be the greatest pilot in the galaxy, but if your ship isn’t well-built for its purpose, with modules and weaponry that play to its hull’s strengths, then you’re in deep-space trouble. This EVE ship fitting guide will explain how to access community fits and other pre-made fits, how to fit your own ship from scratch, top tips from top-tier EVE Online players, video walkthroughs, and a selection of pre-made ship fits that you can use or adapt.
If you prefer your learning in video form or you’d like a visual reference point for our guidance, here’s a handy EVE ship fitting video guide from Amoni P. Otherwise, read on!
EVE ship fitting: your options
Players looking to fit their ships in EVE Online have two options, both of which will be covered in this guide. They can either opt for a pre-made ship fit, which they can tweak if they wish, or they can start from scratch and create their own. Let’s look at the benefits of each option:
Why use a pre-made fit in EVE Online?
“When it comes to fitting your first ship, my number-one piece of advice is: don’t, not just yet.” - Sturmer
Using a pre-made fit is a lot easier and quicker than making your own.
There are loads of pre-made ship fits available, most of which are tried and tested, reducing the chances of something going wrong.
Community fits can be found, purchased, and equipped in-game.
Using a pre-made fit and adjusting it will teach you about the nuances of ship fitting without throwing you in at the deep end.
Why fit your own ship in EVE Online?
There are a number of reasons why pilots might want to ditch the templates and create their EVE ship fitting from scratch:
Creating your own ship fit from the ground up can be a deeply rewarding experience. You’re creating something truly unique and then testing your EVE acumen against that of other pilots out in the field.
Creating your own ship fit allows you to create bespoke ships for particularly niche roles, especially useful for theorycrafters who want to try something unique.
Learning how to fit a ship from scratch will provide you with a deep understanding of the game’s mechanics.
Top tips for EVE ship fitting
Before we get stuck into custom fits and pre-made fits, let’s look at some top-tier advice from our Just EVE Online community that’s relevant regardless of whether or not you’re starting from scratch:
Understand ship roles
“The ship’s role will dictate the fittings it requires.” - Hunter
Long before you fit modules, you need to understand the function you’re trying to fulfil. There are countless roles for ships, with some that are extremely specific. Whether you’re hunting down relic sites alone or providing logistical support for a smallgang fleet, be sure you understand the challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities of the role you’re fitting for.
“The most important thing: research first to know what role fits you, and therefore what ship fits the role. You’re the captain, and no one ship will be better than any other if you don’t know what type of captain you want to be.” - Dydo
Don’t aim to do too much
“Don’t try to have a ten-in-one ship. Be focused!” - yan57436
You may be tempted to create a multi-purpose ship ready for any occasion. Don’t. If you attempt to be a Jack(daw) of all trades, you’ll spread yourself too thin. Versatility will be your undoing. While there’s a place for more generalist ship fits, the nature of EVE gameplay makes purpose-built ships far more effective.
We’ll elaborate on this later, but in the meantime, heed Luka Zaharin's warning:
“Don't mix your guns, tank, or utility unless you’re really sure that’s what you need - for example, if you’re making a Dualrep Breacher. I'm going to leave you with this:"
Clearly define your ship’s purpose
So, you understand ship roles and the inadvisability of overambitious diversification. Now you can plan your build by starting with a specific end goal and working backwards. This is a vital piece of advice submitted by nearly every contributor to this guide. Here are a couple of choice quotes:
“Determine the specific goal you want your ship to achieve. You’ll be much more effective if you pick a single task, be it shooting Gurista NPCs in Nullsec anomalies, mining Isogen ‘roids in Lowsec, or ganking transports in Highsec.” ShoMenao
“It’s very important to define the role of your ship. Do not hesitate to have several fits for the same hull type depending on what you want to do with the ship at any given moment.” - Luka Zaharin
Get help
Even if you’re going to design your own ship rather than use a pre-made one, there’s no shame in using other people’s fits as a starting point. And there’s certainly no shame in asking for help. Here’s Luka:
“Dissect and analyse every fit you get to understand how it works. And ask for advice; every player group will have a crazy fitting dude or dudette who’ll tell you much more than you ever thought you wanted to know.”
Don’t run before you can fly
“I believe the basics, when done well, are much better than crazy ideas made without proper knowhow.” Yan
You may be tempted to theorycraft a wildly obscure new ship design, and frankly, we’re into it. But you can’t write a concerto before you can play a chord. As Luka explains:
“For your first ship fits, don’t take things too seriously. Fly cheap stuff, throw together what you have in your hangar, and enjoy the game. There’ll be time for min-maxing later.”
Talking of “cheap stuff”, remember EVE’s eternal half-meme, half-mantra: don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose.
If you’re fitting for PvP, keep spares
EVE Online PvP is unforgiving. Another EVE mantra is ‘ships are ammo’. In other words, be prepared to lose them. With that in mind, Luka has a piece of frustration-avoidance advice:
“If you start flying in PvP, prepare at least five fitted ships of the same type in your starting station. There’s nothing worse than having to source a new ship every time you die and see that ISK drain out of your wallet. You will die, certainly, but the blow is easier if you can jump right into the next ship and undock again without having to refit and rebuy.”
If you’re fitting for PvE, avoid the Damage Control module
We’ll conclude this section on generalist EVE ship fitting tips with a higher-level piece of advice. Damage Control is a module that provides moderate resistances across the board, including ‘structure’ - your backup hull hit points, which will be drained once your armour and/or shields are depleted. Sturmer says it should be avoided in PvE situations - here’s why:
“If you’re relying on structure in PvE, something has already gone wrong. The damage control module offers diminishing returns on resistances and isn’t useful in most PvE situations.”
EVE ship fitting: pre-made fits
If you’ve followed the tips above, then you’ll already have a purpose for your build in mind, and this will help you choose between the many pre-made fits that you can find in-game and online. One route is to search for ship fits for your chosen purpose. Another is to choose a hull first and then find a purpose-appropriate fit for that hull. If you’re choosing the second option, see the ‘choosing the right hull’ section further below.
Where to find the best EVE ship fits
A Google search will reveal a great number of player-made fits in blogs, subreddits, YouTube videos, and third-party websites. For example, we have a range of ship fits along with detailed explanations here at Just, such as these EVE Online mining fits or these Khizriel and Alligator fits. There is, however, an even more convenient, in-game option:
EVE Online community fits, explained
“Community fittings are tried-and-tested setups that can help you avoid mistakes early. So stick to them!” Dydo
These proven, public, beginner-friendly fits can be accessed in-game and most should come with a short blurb explaining what the fit is good and/or bad for. As Sturmer notes, some fits submitted to rewards at Just have been featured in-game, such as these three Sisters of EVE fits:
“Start with community fittings. They’re great! For example, the Just EVE fits (‘EVE JA’ fits), which include ‘how to fly’ explanations. You’ll find them available in the game itself.”
ShoMenao is a fan too: “There are many community fittings in the fitting window to choose from. These fits are tailored to the niches in which they excel and will indicate what they do best.”
Where and how to find, buy, and equip community fits
It’s simple. Here’s a quick explanation from Dydo:
“First, head to a major trade hub like Jita. You’ll be able to find a wide variety of ships and modules there. On the left of your screen, click the ‘Ship Fitting’ icon (or use Ctrl + F). Once the window is open, go to the ‘Hulls and Fits’ menu and filter the fittings you see by ‘Community Fittings’. After checking that your skills allow you to use the ships and modules, right-click the fitting and select ‘Buy All’. The cost of all the required items, including the ship itself, is then shown on a new window where you’ll be able to hit ‘Buy’.
“After making your purchase, click the ship in your inventory to unpack it. Next, right-click once more on the community fit you’ve chosen and select ‘Fit to Active Ship’ or just click ‘Fit Ship’ in the interface, and all the purchased modules will equip. Once done, you’re ready for action!”
ShoMenao notes that while other trade hubs are available, Jita often has the best prizes and availability for both ships and modules: “Others can be expensive, and will occasionally offer modules at exorbitant prices, waiting for some unsuspecting pilot to purchase them.”
Extra tips for pre-made fits:
Dydo notes that in some pre-made fits, the fit may be poorly constructed so that the power grid or CPU is overloaded, preventing pilots from running all the modules. This is rare, but it’s worth checking, even on community fits. Read the CPU and capacitor management sections below for more information.
Sturmer recommends that even those using pre-made fits familiarise themselves with the modules used. Understanding how the fit will help you face the situations it's built for will help you to get the most from it.
From here, it’s time to experiment. Hunter notes that what once worked for you in the past may not be your best option anymore: “As you progress in EVE, you’ll gain access to more modules, better skills, and more ships. Keep experimenting with different fits.” Sturmer recommends a great place to conduct your research:
“Once you’re comfortable with the tactics and module performance, start experimenting. One of the best tools for learning how successful (and unsuccessful) pilots fit their ships is zKillboard. With advanced filtering, you can find the fits that interest you.”
We run regular killmail competitions, and you can look through some of the commendatory posts’ zKillboard links to see which fits our players are excelling with.
EVE ship fitting: making your own fits
So you’ve decided to take the plunge and want to take EVE ship fitting into your own hands. Follow these steps to ensure your fit slaps:
Choosing the right hull
Your hull is the foundation of your build. In addition to its cost, slots, and basic stats, there are two key considerations when choosing the right hull: its bonuses and the skills you’ve trained. First, here’s Kane Carnifex suggesting a route for educating yourself about appropriate bonuses:
“Learn, padawan, you must. Some of your first steps in EVE Online will be choosing a type of mission to pursue. Certain ships will lend themselves to the role. If you’re undertaking a security (PvE) mission, you’ll likely be facing multiple low-grade enemies. So you’ll need guns to shoot, a regenerative form of tanking, and maybe something that gets you in a good position to shoot. Certain ship hulls will provide relevant bonuses and you should choose one of these, e.g. ‘+50% damage to [weapon type]’. Similarly, shields regenerate and armour doesn’t, so choose a ship with shield bonuses.”
And here’s ShoMenao on how skills come into play:
“Pick a hull that fits your current level of skills. As a newer player, you’ll only have a relatively small selection of SP (Skill Points). Allocating them into improving the performance of your ships is imperative. Make sure to select ships/hulls that you have good skills for and that have bonuses towards modules that you also have good skills for. I advise initially training for active shield tanking and drone and missile skills, as they open up good early-game ships like the Caracal and eventually the Gila.”
Both of those ship suggestions are well suited for early-game combat encounters. If either combat or logistics is your priority, Dydo recommends any basic frigate hull, whereas if cargo transportation is your objective, they recommend a hauler.
While you could choose a hull that reflects your skill training, a more prepared pilot would train skills with a specific ship in mind. Read our EVE Online skills guide for detailed advice.
Understanding ship fitting slots and rigs
“Just like when buying a car, knowing how the parts work will inform your decision making.” - Yan
Hulls also have different numbers and ratios of high, mid, and low slots for the insertion of modules. Here’s a simplification of what they generally cover:
High slots tend to be for offensive weaponry, but they can also include cloaking devices, tackle (anti-warping) devices, resource-procurement devices like mining lasers or gas cloud scoops, and a range of other utility and miscellaneous modules.
Mid slots arguably vary the most based on your ship’s role, but they tend to be activatable devices. Common mid-slot module categories include EWAR (Electronic Warfare), propulsion, scanning, capacitor, shield tanking, damage application supplements, and tackle.
Low slots are usually passive modules designed for improving ship performance. They are often occupied by modules designed for armour tanking, capacitor, damage supplementation, propulsion, and CPU and power grid extension (more on that below).
And then that leaves rig slots. Unlike with modules, rigs are permanent enhancements that can only be removed via destruction*. Rigs do not take up power or CPU. However, they require their own fitting resource: calibration. Most, but not all, ships have rig slots, and how many they have varies depending on the class of ship. Another unique facet of rigs is that they have downsides, though these can be minimised through the training of relevant skills.
* T3 strategic cruisers can remove their rigs.
Limal recommends that the curious visit EVE University and read the relevant articles on low, mid, and high slots, as well as rigs.
CPU and power grid management
So can you simply fill your slots with the best modules? Afraid not. If you get all of your household and kitchen appliances and plug them into a never-ending web of extension leads, you’re going to overload the system. The same is true here.
Every module drains your Power Grid (PG) and/or your CPU (Core Processing Unit). Exceeding your ship’s PG or CPU limits will disable its modules.
This is why bigger guns aren’t always better guns; they come at the cost of other modules. Flashing bars will indicate if you don’t have enough power or CPU to run the fit. Long story short: it’s a matter of getting the most out of what you can power; play around and experiment.
Certain skills, such as CPU Management and Power Management, will increase your power output. A few low-slot modules and rigs do too. However, if you’re using multiple of these, chances are that you’re trying to do too much with your fit. Strip it back.
Capacitor management
Similarly, there’s your ‘capacitor’, commonly abbreviated to ‘cap’. This is the third fitting resource, and it works differently. Capacitor is an additional reserve designed to unleash quick bursts of energy to certain modules, such as energy turrets, shield boosters, and armour repairers, as well as warp. While CPU and PG determine which modules will work, think of capacitor more like your ship’s stamina. It will decrease and recharge based on your actions while flying the ship.
Certain modules like capacitor rechargers (mid slot) and capacitor power relays (low slot) help maintain ‘cap stability’, i.e., having a cap recharge rate equal or greater to the consumption rate.
We strongly advise you to do further research on cap management and cap stability. Its implications go far beyond ship fitting, and as you’ll discover in your research, there are debates as to if and when it’s even preferable to be cap stable.
Don’t mix tank
‘Tank’ in EVE is a catch-all term for damage absorption, and thus includes shields, armour, and structure/hull integrity. As a good rule of thumb, you should stick to only one form of supplementary tank - meaning either shields or armour - lest you fall foul of our advice about being a jack of all trades. Here’s Sturmer:
“Over the years, I’ve helped a lot of players with their ship fits, and I’ve seen many common mistakes. The most frequent one is mixing modules, like fitting both active armour and shield tanking, or combining passive and active systems. When asked why it’s an error, most people say, ‘I start with shields, and when they’re gone, I switch to armour.’”
Sound logic in other games, but a bad move in EVE. Sturmer continues:
“Don’t mix tanking systems. Instead, stack resistances and performance-boosting modules and rigs for a single tanking system to maximise effectiveness.”
But which to choose? As a basic “but not set in stone” rule, Hunter suggests that if your ship has more mid slots, opt for a shield-based defence: “Fit shield extenders for passive tanking or shield boosters if you want active defence (healing while you fight).” Whereas if you’re flying a ship with more low slots, you’re more likely to benefit from an armour-based defence: “Use armour repairers for active defence or armour plates to increase raw HP.”
Don’t mix weapon types
There’s a reason that EVE Online empires specialise in different weapon types: the same advice applies to these as for tank systems. We’ll pass back to Sturmer:
“Another common mistake is mixing weaponry, especially on versatile ships like the Sunesis, Gnosis, or Praxis. The Praxis, in particular, has almost become a meme - people fit it with two 1,400mm artillery guns ‘for sniping’ along with a mix of lasers and blasters for close-range combat. This approach is not effective and is often dangerous.
“Align your modules to fully support your chosen weapon type. For example, if you opt for long-range weapons, focus on controlling the battlefield with speed and range. Use a light tank and high speed or add modules like target painters and webs to help you land hits at close range.”
Choosing a propulsion system
You have three main choices: afterburners, MWDs (Microwarp Drives), and micro jump drives. While it’s possible to fit a ‘dual propulsion’ ship with afterburners and MWDs, pilots should normally opt for one or the other, depending on their ship’s purpose. Here’s Hunter:
“Afterburners only produce a mild speed boost, but drain less power and can be used when warp scrambled. They’re ideal for PvE. MWDs give a massive speed boost but use a lot of capacitor. They’re great for quick evasions in PvP.”
So what about micro jump drives? Micro jump drives teleport your ship rather than propel it. Allowing you to instantly reach or escape an enemy. They’re most commonly used as a secondary tool in combination with an afterburner or MWD.
Simulation and analysis
Check yourself before you wreck yourself! By which we mean: make use of EVE Online’s handy fitting tool, which allows you to simulate your ships without having to purchase them. It’s popular and highly recommended:
“The in-game fitting tool is your best friend. It shows if you’re exceeding your power grid, CPU, or cap.” - Hunter
“Use the simulation function to test your ideas, which are often better in your head than in practice.” - Yan
“CCP Games did a fantastic job by allowing us to simulate fittings and share them via links. Before this feature, people had to create their own and share them through email and chats. It was time consuming and frustrating to recreate a fit, only to find out that you lacked the necessary skills, power grid, or CPU.” - Limal
“Simulate your ship and don’t buy until you’re certain they’re the right modules for your ship. The filters in the simulation will help you find exactly what you’re after.” - Luka Zaharin
Great EVE starter ship fits
As promised, we’ll close this guide with a few examples of great ship fits. Here’s a two-minute video from FirestormGamingTeam showing how to equip an Amarrian exploration frigate, a Magnate:
And here’s Limal’s Abyssal starter Tristan, a T1 frigate, “its versatility will help mitigate most mistakes you’ll make in your early capsuleer career”:
Pilots looking to get up close and personal can check out this curated selection of EVE Online brawler fits. Or those looking to keep their distance can choose from these EVE Online kiting cruiser and battlecruiser fits.
There are plenty of other EVE ship fitting decisions to consider that we haven’t included here, such as whether to opt for warp scramblers or warp disruptors if you’re hoping to stop targets escaping. Given the purpose-built nature of effective ship building, we can’t cover it all here, but we’ve hopefully laid firm foundations on which you can start building some epic spacecraft. We’ll leave you with these words from Limal:
“This approach will help ensure your first undock is smooth, and it pays off in the long run. The fitting system in EVE may seem complex at first, but it's logical and easy to grasp once you get used to it.”
What lessons have you learned in your EVE ship fitting endeavours? Which purposes or hulls would you like us to challenge our community to create fits for next?
Some text has been edited for brevity, clarity, or spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You can find the original wording here. Image credit: Razorien on Flickr.
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