Catalyst

Catalyst Ideally suited for both skirmish warfare and fleet support, the Catalyst is touted as one of the best anti-frigate platforms out there. Faced with its top-of-the-line tracking equipment, not many can argue. Destroyer Skill Bonus: 10% Bonus to Small Hybrid Turret tracking speed and 10% bonus to Small Hybrid Turret falloff per level Penalty: -25% rate of fire for all turrets Bonus: 50% bonus to optimal range for small hybrid turrets Structure Structure Hitpoints 782 HP Max Velocity 256 m/sec Inertia Modifier 2.9495 Ion Propulsion Strength 6 points Mass 1,761,000 kg Volume 55000 m3 Capacity 400 m3 Fitting powergrid Output 60 MW Low Slots 3 Med Slots 2 High Slots 8 CPU Output 170 tf Launcher hardpoints 0 Turret hardpoints 8 Calibration 400 points Upgrade Hardpoints 3 Capacitor Recharge time 312500 s Capacitor Capacity 468.75 GJ Targeting Maximum Targeting Range 33 km Max Locked Targets 7 Magnetometric Sensor Strength 11 points Optimal Range Bonus 50 % Signature Radius 86 m Scan Resolution 500 mm Shield Shield Capacity 677 HP Shield Em Damage Resistance 0 % Shield Explosive Damage Resistance 50 % Shield Kinetic Damage Resistance 40 % Shield Thermal Damage Resistance 20 % Shield recharge time 625000 s Armor Armor Hitpoints 730 HP Armor Em Damage Resistance 50 % Armor Explosive Damage Resistance 10 % Armor Kinetic Damage Resistance 35 % Armor Thermal Damage Resistance 35 % Drones Drone Capacity 5 m3 Drone Bandwidth 5 Mbit/sec Miscellaneous Tech Level 1 Rig Size Small

Blueprint Catalyst Blueprint Required skills Primary Skill required Gallente Frigate III Spaceship Command I Secondary Skill required Destroyers I Spaceship Command III Material Requirements Skill / Industry Industry 1 Material / Mineral Tritanium 51,487 Pyerite 14,520 Mexallon 6,362 Nocxium 266 Zydrine 45 Megacyte 26 Waste Waste Factor 10% Variations Tech I Catalyst Tech II Eris

Often overlooked in the leap from frigates to cruisers, the Catalyst is a valuable tool for the aspiring Gallente pilot. The ship's eight turret hardpoints and supporting bonuses give it a peerless ability to destroy small, fast moving targets like frigates and even interceptors. It can run low level mission with ease in PVE and functions admirably in PVP eliminating tacklers and other small targets before they can harass larger ships that might be unable to deal with them. Unfortunately the ship's underwhelming mid and low slot layout as well as limitations to its powergrid and capacitor mean that even if a pilot can manage to fit the full eight gun setup they will be hard pressed to back it up with any kind of meaningful tank. Pilots are well advised to capitalize on the ship's range bonuses and stay well away from the fray, as entering it will be done at their own peril. When out of combat the Catalyst takes on a second life. With its high slots and substantial cargo hold repurposed it can be used as a potent industrial ship. It can mine nearly as much as its much larger cousin the Vexor, and when fitted with an afterburner it is arguably second to none as a salvaging platform. Any Gallente pilot would be well served to have such a ship at their disposal.

Destroyers are also normally seen as the mainstay in wreck salvaging ships, and in this role the Catalyst has the best blend of slots to be the most efficient at it, with the following fit:

HIGH SLOTS:

4 x Small Tractor Beam I

4 x Salvager I

MID SLOTS:

1 x Cap Recharger II

1 x Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

LOW SLOTS:

1 x Type-D Attenuation Signal Augmentation

2 x Expanded Cargohold II

This build surpasses all of the other destroyers in several ways:

The Minmatar Thrasher and the Amaar Coercer lose out as the Catalyst can lock onto 8 targets with the signal amplifier instead of 7. You can have all four salvagers going on different wrecks, and the four tractor beams bringing four more wrecks into range. The Coercer also only has a single mid slot which would be used for the Afterburner, but it would then lose capacitor too quickly to be useful for continuous long-term salvaging. The Thrasher also loses out as it has an extra unnecessary mid slot and loses a low slot for a cargohold expander.

The Caldari Cormorant can also lock onto 8 targets with a signal amplifier, but it has too many mid slots to be useful and only a single low slot for the signal amplifier to maintain maximum salvaging rate, but it would not have the cargo capacity of the Catalyst and would have to drop off salvage loads far more frequently.

To top it off, the 5 m3 drone bay of the Catalyst can be used to hold a mining drone so if you are salvaging around asteroids you could send it out to grab some ore while you work, giving you that little bit extra income (and every little bit helps).

The Afterburner is preferable for speed enhancement over an MWD for this purpose. Many deadspace rooms prevent MWDs from working, and this fit allows for you to drag-salvage 4 wrecks simultaneously while moving into range of others. Since the tractor beams can only drag a wreck at 500 m/s, going any faster than this will bring your ship outside of salvager range while you're dragging wrecks along. With high skills you will be able to hit speeds over 530 m/s with the afterburner, but slightly reducing your ship speed will easily compensate for this without being anywhere near as capacitor intensive as a MWD doing the same.

Additional Images

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

Catalyst 1

Catalyst 2