Frigate Roundup: Tech I Ninja Salvaging

I often get asked by ninja salvagers as to what kind of ship is best used for salvaging. There are several possibilities - a point that is still passionately disputed amongst ninja pros - but the short answer is the quickest, most efficient ship that you can fly. The more time you spend salvaging and the less time you spend scanning and traveling between wrecks, the better. The three things you should strive for when designing a salvage ship are cost (you are going to get shot at by rats and players), cap stability, and room for as many salvager modules as possible. 

For a new players, frigates are obviously the most accessible and affordable craft out there. Fortunately for the ninja salvager, frigates also make the perfect ship for getting the job done quickly and effectively. If you get shot up it's no big deal, and for the cost of one Alloyed Tritanium Bar you can buy yourself a whole fleet of salvaging frigates. Destroyers on the other hand are a big no no. They are too slow and too unwieldy. Cruisers? Well, don't even get me started...

All frigates are not created equal however, and there are only a few that really excel at ninja salvaging. Tech II and faction frigates aside, this article is focused on the best tech I salvagers out there. I'll cover scanning and looting ships in another guide. For the purpose of this guide, I've only used meta 0 modules, no rigs, and level 5 skills. You can adjust your numbers accordingly for your skills and replace any mods with tech II or named gear to get higher numbers. Again, we're going for cheap here.

Caldari

The Condor is a decent little salvaging frigate. It is cap stable, it can fit three salvagers in the high slots, and it has a top speed of 1255 m/s. Not bad for only having one low slot. Throw on a Small Capacitor Battery and an Afterburner and you're good to go.

[Condor, Tech I Salvager]
Overdrive Injector System I

1MN Afterburner I
Small Capacitor Battery

Salvager I
Salvager I
Salvager I

Amarr

The Executioner is the fastest tech I Amarr frigate. It will reach speeds of 1398 m/s with a tech I fit. It also has the benefit of being pretty cap stable if you have decent capacitor skills, allowing you to fit a small shield extender in lieu of a small capacitor battery or a cap recharger. It will give you a few extra hit points. The downside of the Executioner is that you only have two high slots available for salvager modules, lowering your chances at a succesful salvage cycle.

[Executioner, Tech I Salvager]
Overdrive Injector System I
Overdrive Injector System I

1MN Afterburner I
Small Shield Extender I

Salvager I
Salvager I

Gallente

The Incursus is one fo the faster Gallente frigates, but with a speed limit of 1196 m/s, it is the slowest choice out or a fast group of specialists. The Atron is a faster Gallente choice, but like the Executioner, it only has two available slots for salvagers. Three salvagers can be fit into the high slots of the Incursus, and the example fitting below is cap stable, but this frigate really suffers from the "too many mid slots" syndrome. The one saving grace is that it is capable of carrying a small drone, enabling you to snag a few juicy bounties while you salvage.

[Incursus, Tech I Salvager]
Overdrive Injector System I
Overdrive Injector System I

1MN Afterburner I
Small Capacitor Battery I
Cap Recharger I

Salvager I
Salvager I
Salvager I

Minmatar

That brings us to the Minmatar frigates. I have included all of the best frigates from each race in this guide for the sake of completeness, but if you have anything other than just a passing interest in ninja salvaging, go do yourself a favor and buy the Minmatar Frigates skillbook right now. They are the best.

The Slasher is one of the top ninja salvaging ships in the game. It has a top speed of 1317 m/s, it sports a very low price tag, it's capable of holding three salvager mods, and it's cap stable. There is nothing wrong with this ship. The Slasher is my recommendation to any new player looking to get into ninja salvaging.

[Slasher, Tech I Salvager]
Overdrive Injector System I

1MN Afterburner I
Small Capacitor Battery I

Salvager I
Salvager I
Salvager I

The pinnacle of tech I salvaging frigates is, without a doubt, the Vigil. The only reason I don't recommend it to brand new players is that it costs a bit more than the Slasher, but other than that, it is far superior to any other tech I frigate. This ship is fast! And depending upon your level of training in Minmatar frigates, it only gets faster. The example fitting below hits speeds of 1620 m/s. Three low slots enables you to fit a Nanofiber Internal Structure, making you much more nimble than if you chose three overdrives.

It can handle three salvager modules, it is cap stable, and has room for a small shield extender, an invulnerability field, ship scanner, target painter, or what ever else suits your fancy. It can even carry a small drone. With a super-far targeting range of 56.25 km, you can easily queue up the next few wrecks.

[Vigil, Tech I Salvager]
Overdrive Injector System I
Overdrive Injector System I
Nanofiber Internal Structure I

1MN Afterburner I
Small Capacitor Battery I
Small Shield Extender I

Salvager I
Salvager I
Salvager I

That about does it. Remember to start off cheap, and then you can add tech II mods later if you like. You are going to lose a few ships until you get the hang of things, but if you decide to keep at it, a bounty of riches and tears await you.

Fly it like you stole it,

VP

Comments

[Bob Ghias]

Vigil FTW, my ship of choice

[Mbuna]

I just got started with eve and heard about ninja salvaging and just wanted to let you know i found your post very useful for getting started and look forward to any other you post on this topic, Not much info out there about NS. Your article convinced me to train minmatar frigate just to start out using the vigil (work the little extra effort to use.

[Velocity Prime]

Thanks for reading, Mbuna.

Good call on training Minmatar ;) You'll be pleased with the results.