Caracal

Caracal The Caracal is a powerful vessel that specializes in missile deployment. It has excellent shield defenses, but poor armor plating. Its missile arsenal, when fully stocked, is capable of making a piece-meal of almost anyone. Caldari Cruiser Skill Bonus: 5% bonus Kinetic Missile Damage and 10% bonus to Light, Heavy Assault and Heavy Missile Velocity per level.
Structure Structure Hitpoints 1,329 HP Max Velocity 178 m/sec Inertia Modifier 0.425 Mass 12,910,000 kg Volume 92000 m3 Capacity 450 m3 Fitting powergrid Output 530 MW Low Slots 2 Med Slots 5 High Slots 5 CPU Output 350 tf Launcher hardpoints 5 Turret hardpoints 2 Calibration 400 points Upgrade Hardpoints 3 Capacitor Recharge time 381.25 s Capacitor Capacity 1062.5 GJ Targeting Maximum Targeting Range 57.50 km Max Locked Targets 6 Gravimetric Sensor Strength 15 points Signature Radius 145 m Scan Resolution 242 mm Shield Shield Capacity 1563 HP Shield Em Damage Resistance 0 % Shield Explosive Damage Resistance 50 % Shield Kinetic Damage Resistance 40 % Shield Thermal Damage Resistance 20 % Shield recharge time 1250 s Armor Armor Hitpoints 1,055 HP Armor Em Damage Resistance 50 % Armor Explosive Damage Resistance 10 % Armor Kinetic Damage Resistance 25 % Armor Thermal Damage Resistance 45 % Drones Drone Capacity 10 m3 Drone Bandwidth 10 Mbit/sec Miscellaneous Tech Level 1 Rig Size Medium		Blueprint Caracal Blueprint Required skills Primary Skill required Caldari Cruiser II Spaceship Command III Caldari Frigate IV Spaceship Command I Material Requirements Skill / Industry Industry 1 Material / Mineral Tritanium 338,237 Pyerite 84,924 Mexallon 27,840 Isogen 5,812 Nocxium 1,404 Zydrine 304 Megacyte 84 Waste Waste Factor 10% Variations Tech I Caracal Tech II Cerberus Faction Caracal Navy Issue

The Caracal and its variations are great platforms for PVE play, particularly for level 2 missions. Capable of mounting up to five heavy missile launchers (with the appropriate skills). Missiles allow the Caracal to attack NPC ships from ranges exceeding 40km, which is often outside the range of enemy weapons. Missiles are also a good weapon system to use in level 2 missions because they do excellent damage to enemy cruisers, but are also effective against frigates because they don't rely on turret tracking speed.

Fitting your Caracal

High Slots

Weapons on the Caracal should consist primarily of missile launchers due to the considerable bonuses offered for this weapon type. Heavy missile launchers are the primary weapon for the caracal, because they have a high damage output, and a long range. Heavy Assault Missile Launchers are also an option, but they are less favored due to the fact that the Caracal performs better at longer ranges. Assault Missile Launchers are useful for level 2 missions where most targets are frigates which do not receive full damage from heavy missiles. They are also a surprisingly effective and fitting-friendly choice against larger targets, since their DPS is close to that of heavy missiles in the hands of lower skilled players, though their range is shorter.

Medium Slots

In PVE, an active tank is often the preferred method of protecting the Caracal. However, it is also a good idea to fit some passive modules such as a shield extender and modules that provide enemy-specific resistance bonuses.

Low Slots

Low slots on a Caracal are rather limited, with only two slots, and may be used to fit modules increasing CPU and/or power grid. A popular option is to use a low slot to fit one or more missile guidance systems to improve missile damage and launcher speed.

Drones

All variations of the Caracal have a 10m³ drone bay with 10Mbit/s bandwidth meaning they can carry a small amount of drones to assist in missions. Since the Caracal should have no trouble damaging medium targets such as other cruisers, a good idea is to carry 2 Light Drones, which are useful for taking down frigates, as well as saving ammo when attacking structures in missions when you have extra time.

Example Fitting

This is an example fitting for PVE missions using the best available named modules. This is a good all-around combat mission vehicle, though you should expect to change the shield resistance amplifier to better represent the factions you fight in missions. This is not the *best* fitting available for the Caracal for all players, your play style should be considered when fitting any ship.

High Slots

• Heavy Missile Launcher x 4
• Assault Missile Launcher x 1

This missile setup allows plenty of firepower for taking down cruisers. It also includes an assault launcher to help take out frigates, and also because it consumes less CPU and power grid to fit.

Medium Slots

• 10MN Afterburner I : Afterburners allow you move quicker to help escape or engage enemies, collect loot faster, improve translational velocity, and many other useful purposes.

• Medium Shield Booster I: This shield booster will allow a quick recharge of your shields, and is the main component of your active tank.

• Shield Boost Amplifier I: Will improve the amount of shield hp recovered by your shield booster and will also reduce the amount of capacitor charge used to regain shield HP.

• Medium Shield Extender I: Increases your shield hit points by 42%, as well as causing your shield to recover more hp per second.

• Magnetic Scattering Amplifier I: Increases resistances EM damage. It is a good idea to add an amplifier that corresponds with the type of damage your NPC enemies will deal.

Low Slots

• Damage Control I: Damage control devices are an excellent addition to any ship, providing a huge overall resistance bonus for extremely little activation cost.

• Ballistic Control System I: This will increase the damage of your on-board missile systems. This provides an obvious benefit to your combat abilities.

Recommended Skills

The following skills up will greatly increase the performance of your Caracal. It is recommended that you train all of them to at least level III.

• Caldari Cruiser - Training this skill increases the damage output of your Caracal, and level 4 is eventually required to pilot a Battleship.
• Energy Management - 5% bonus to capacitor capacity per level
• Energy Systems Operation - 5% reduction in capacitor recharge time
• Navigation - 5% ship velocity bonus
• Electronics - 5% bonus to ship CPU output per skill level. This is a necessary skill if you want to fit a robust tank to your ship.
• Engineering - 5% bonus to ship power grid output per skill level

Additional Images

Below are additional ships images. Click the image below for a larger version:

Caracal 1

Caracal 2