How To Choose Damage Types in Combat

Guide by Mortarian

So full disclaimer this is inherently a bit of a shitshow because of the wide variety of fits out there, you could theoretically get shafted by someone flying a totally suboptimal fit if they decide to go out of their way to fill the usual holes that occur, but for some it’s much easier than others. Below are some general definitions/information that will help immensely in understanding this guide.

Background Information
T1 Hull - This is generally any ship that does not require a specific named skill to fly. Example being the Moa (only requires Caldari Cruiser) as opposed to the Eagle (its T2 counterpart which requires the Heavy Assault Cruiser skill). This includes faction hulls like the Ashimmu or Gila.

These have uniform resistances regardless of race, decided only by whether they go shield or armor. T2 Hull - Any ship that requires a specific named skill to fly. Examples being Heavy Assault Cruisers, Interdictors, Logistics Cruisers/Frigates, etc…
 * Shield will always be Explosive > Kinetic > Thermal > EM.
 * Armor will always be EM > Thermal > Kinetic > Explosive.

These do not have uniform resistances and vary greatly between the different races and even ships in that race. In general however each race has the following order. T3 Hull - At the moment these are just the Tactical Destroyers and Strategic Cruisers, their resists follow the same breakdown as the T2 hulls but are generally much closer to uniform naturally. Same choices apply.
 * Amarr - Explosive > Kinetic > EM > Thermal
 * Caldari - Thermal > Kinetic > EM > Explosive
 * Gallente - Kinetic > Thermal > EM > Explosive
 * Minmatar - EM > Thermal > Kinetic > EM

To make things easy I’m going to seperate and define 6 seperate general fits, and 2 special cases, as well as defining what each of them means.

General Fits
1. Adaptive Invulnerability Shield - This is a shield fit that uses Adaptive Invulnerability Fields. Most often seen in small gangs.

Against these fits it is more or less always best to go against their second lowest resist, since most will fill their lowest hole with either an Amplifier or rig. So refer to the guide above and select second lowest.

2. Capless Shield - This is a shield fit that uses a fully capless tank. (Resistance Amplifiers) Most often seen in fleets.

Since these fits use single modules for each resist and still have to fit their buffer and utility into the mid slots these tend to have lower overall resists. Most will fill their lowest and second lowest resist, so generally third lowest resist is the safest bet.

3. Active Repair Shield - These are shield fits that use Shield Booster modules to sustain themselves. Most often seen in solo and small gangs.

Due to the limited midslots available for resistances these ships tend to be weak to their lowest or second lowest resist. Ballsy choice is lowest resist, safest is second lowest.

4. Armor Hardener Armor - This is a fit that uses Armor Hardeners. Most often seen in small gang and fleets.

These fits are the most able to compensate for incoming damage due to being able to overheat their hardeners, but choices say the same despite the fact that it might not look like it’s right because of that added resistance. Stick to your choice and remember they can’t overheat forever.

5. Capless Armor - This is an armor fit that uses a fully capless tank. (Adaptives/Energized Adaptives) Most often seen in fleets.

Out of all the fits these are the most likely to not actually have a resist hole if they choose that over DPS. In most cases I opt to shoot into their highest natural resist because if they are fitting resistances that is the one that is most likely to not get a dedicated module/rig. Seems counterintuitive and you can get shafted if they do for some reason add resists to their highest, but it’s your best chance to hit their lowest.

6. Active Repair Armor - These are armor fits that use Armor Repair modules to sustain themselves. Most often seen in solo and small gangs.

Same logic applies as active shield, shoot into their lowest resist if you’re feeling ballsy, second lowest for the safe bet.

Special Cases
1. Nano Kite - These can be either armor or shield but generally do not fill in their resistance holes due to a limited number of slots. They will almost always be weakest to EM damage for shields, and EXP damage for armor. If you want to be extra safe you can however use THERM for shields, and KIN for armor.

2. Reactive Hardener Armor - Since these adapt to the damage you are doing there isn’t much you can do in the way of damage selection, best bet is to pick the ammo type you would have in the above cases since it will take the most number of cycles to reach max resists. As a small point though if you have drones always make sure to pick drones that do not do the same damage as the ammo you are firing, this will cause the Reactive Hardener to split it’s bonus resistances between the two and will keep the resist hole lower.