Development
The Naga was designed in YC 109 by Corporate Police Force as an anti-Guristas ship, sacrificing the usual robust Caldari Navy standards in favor of supporting battleship-class weaponry. It was rejected by Hyasyoda management for being overspecialized.
The Naga design remained in the Hyasyoda archives, forgotten (save for a cameo in the Gallente holo-series CPF Blue). In YC 113 the Caldari Navy entertained contracts for a new tier of gunboat battlecruiser. Hyasyoda quickly submitted and won with the Naga, underbidding both Kaalakiota and Ishukone.
Battlecruiser Skill bonus per level:
5% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret damage
10% bonus to Large Hybrid Turret optimal range
Role Bonus:
95% reduction in the powergrid need of Large Hybrid Turrets
50% reduction in the CPU need of Large Hybrid Turrets
50% reduction in the capacitor need of Large Hybrid Turrets
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Design History
The Naga was created for the Design a Starship contest held on the popular artists' site DeviantArt in October of 2010. Original submission. Designed by DeviantArt user dlamont as a Caldari battleship, it was originally called the Ascog. When CCP introduced an extra tier of battlecruiser, the design was adapted for the Caldari Naga. It was then implemented by CCP in the Crucible expansion of Winter 2011 as a tier 3 Amarr battlecruiser.
Know Your Enemy by Azual Skoll, The Altruist
The naga is the ultimate sniper tier 3, and probably one of the best snipers in the game right now. Its 8/6/3 slot layout as well as its visual design gives it a strong resemblance to the rokh, and indeed it performs a very similar role in game. With a 5% bonus to hybrid turret damage and 10% to optimal range, the naga is able to match the range of the rokh while actually putting out more damage (the rokh gets a bonus to shield resists, rather than turret damage). In addition the naga's agility, while worse than that of the other tier 3s, makes it capable of getting out when the situation requires - something which for a large ship like the rokh can be a challenge.
Compared to the tach oracle, the rail naga generally has a slightly lower damage output, but exceptional range (224+39km on a typical fit). The sacrifice to achieve this, as with all tier 3s, is in survivability; a sniper naga operating at maximum range usually has very little tank. That said, when you're operating at the ranges that it does there's an argument to say that if you need to rely on your tank, something has already gone horribly wrong.
While it may not have the alpha strike of the arty tornado, the rail naga is a popular choice simply on account of its range, especially when you have a group of them. I know a number of inty pilots who have turned up at an on grid bookmark to scout a gate, only to be sniped by a group of nagas from almost 250km away!
In addition to the sniper option, the blaster naga has proven a popular competitor to the talos. In many ways the comparison between the two ships mirrors that between the blaster rokh and the mega; while the naga lacks the talos' drones and tracking bonus, it matches its turret damage on paper and has increased optimal range (6.8+13km with antimatter, or 19+18km with null). In addition, when it's not giving up space for sensor boosters and tracking computers the naga's mid slot bias allows it to mount a strong shield tank, making it one of the tougher tier 3 BCs (not that this is much of an achievement).
While the blaster talos appears in a range of fits, there's only really one common way to fit a blaster naga which makes it relatively predictable - it will always be shield tanked, and doesn't have the low slots to fit tracking enhancers or speed mods meaning that its range and speed are relatively constant. The only real question is whether it will save two mid slots for tackle and EWAR, or one; the latter obviously gives it a stronger tank, while the former allows it a small taste of the versatility that the talos enjoys - usually in the form of a single web. When fighting one of these solo in anything relatively small, the web is potentially a game changer - it will still have a much harder time hitting you than even a single web talos, but it gives it a better chance than either of the other two tier 3 BCs when fighting inside web range. There's no reason that you couldn't fit a blaster naga with a 2 slot shield tank (the same as a shield talos) and fit dual webs on it, however I haven't seen anyone do so yet - it's probably worth watching out for.
At just under 1.4km/s the naga is a little on the slow side - it has the lowest base speed or the tier 3s and no room for speed mods (other than rigs), however its faster than the oracle and slightly faster than the talos when those ships are armour tanked. While this speed is still fairly impressive for a battlecruiser and (along with its bonused range) is still sufficient to make the naga a proficient kiter, it tends to be less popular for this role than the other ships in its tier.
Compared to the armour talos, the close range naga generally presents slightly less of a threat - it lacks the drones and the tracking even if it's mounting webs, and so is easier to evade. Like most of the other tier 3 BCs, the best tactic to exploit this is usually to get close and under its guns, although be wary of webs; expect one, but be prepared for two if your fit really depends on angular velocity to survive (it's not all that uncommon for blaster naga pilots to fit no web at all and instead go for a sensor booster or something silly, but I prefer not to make recommendations based on the incompetence of others). Treat this ship like an armour talos with less tracking and no drones, and you probably won't go far wrong. Even more so than against the talos, out-ranging it is probably not going to be effective without a tracking disruptor or range-bonused tackle; with a range of 19+18km with null, this ship will put out almost full dps anywhere inside conventional point range.
On most fits that I've encountered, the naga's EM and thermal resists are roughly similar (EM is actually slightly lower despite most pilots fitting anti anti-EM rig - this is because the naga tends to fit two invulns, which stacking penalise against the resist rig and reduce its effect). However, if the naga pilot chooses to field a four slot shield tank it's possible that they may use an active EM hardener (maybe along with a thermal rig) - this would still leave thermal marginally as the best choice, followed by kinetic and then EM. As with the talos, the naga's damage output is going to be all thermal and kinetic, with more kinetic at close range and more thermal when using null.
Additional Notes
The Naga's massive range boost gives it one major advantage as a sniper over all of the other Tier 3 battlecruisers. Due to new probe-down techniques, standard fleet sniping range is somewhere between 130-150km, and the Tornado, Oracle and Talos all need tech II range ammo to be able to hit at this range with any kind of decent accuracy or damage output. The Naga does not. True, it can be fitted with Spikes to easily hit at over 200km, but with the proper equipment fitted it can hit at the 130-150km range with faction ammo that does a notable amount of extra damage and does not have the tracking penalty of Spikes.
The damage ammo from Spikes can be perfectly matched with Caldari Navy Iridium rounds (in fact these do a hair more damage), and even with no range boosting equipment of any kind, at max skills a Naga can hit with CNI rounds at 130+30. With enough range equipment a Naga can go as high as navy Thorium rounds to hit at the 130-150km range. Its volley damage will be below the Tornado and Oracle at this range, but its overall DPS output will be noticeably higher, and it won't have any tracking penalty. In a pinch, Spikes can always be loaded if needed to hit targets at 200+ km.
Caldari Starships | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frigates | Tech 1 | Frigates: Ibis • Bantam • Condor • Heron • Griffin • Kestrel • Merlin | Faction Frigates: Caldari Navy Hookbill |
| Tech 2 | Assault Ships: Harpy • Hawk | Interceptors: Raptor • Crow | Covert Ops: Buzzard • Manticore | Electronic Attack Ships: Kitsune | |
| Destroyers | Tech 1 | Destroyers: Cormorant • Corax |
| Tech 2 | Interdictors: Flycatcher | |
| Cruisers | Tech 1 | Cruisers: Osprey • Blackbird • Caracal • Moa | Faction Cruisers: Caracal Navy Issue • Osprey Navy Issue |
| Tech 2 | Heavy Assault Ships: Cerberus • Eagle | Recon Ships: Rook • Falcon | Heavy Interdictors: Onyx | Logistics: Basilisk | |
| Tech 3 | Strategic Cruisers: Tengu | |
| Battlecruisers | Tech 1 | Combat Battlecruisers: Ferox • Drake | Attack Battlecruisers: Naga | Faction Battlecruisers: Drake Navy Issue |
| Tech 2 | Command Ships: Nighthawk • Vulture | |
| Battleships | Tech 1 | Battleships: Scorpion • Raven • Rokh | Faction Battleships: Scorpion Navy Issue • Raven Navy Issue • Raven State Issue |
| Tech 2 | Black Ops: Widow | Marauders: Golem | |
| Industrials | Tech 1 | Industrials: Badger • Badger Mark II | Freighter: Charon |
| Tech 2 | Transport Ships: Bustard | Blockade Runners: Crane | Jump Freighters: Rhea | |
| Capitals | Tech 1 | Carrier: Chimera | Dreadnought: Phoenix | Supercarrier: Wyvern | Titan: Leviathan |
Factions with unique Spacecraft | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarr Empire | Caldari State | Gallente Federation | Minmatar Republic | Jove Empire | Angel Cartel | Blood Raider Covenant | Guristas Pirates | Sansha's Nation | Serpentis Corporation | |
