Item Database:Ships:Battleships:Advanced Battleships:Marauders
Marauders are tech II battleships specifically designed to aid in various types of npc-hunting without becoming overpowered in pvp.
Marauders are purpose built mission ships.
The Marauder Role Bonus turns 4 physical weapons into 8 effective weapons, and their Tractor Beams have twice the base range, as well as having 4 utility high slots.
They are also characterized an active tanking bonus, and a the ability to fit a Bastion module.
Given the high skill requirements and costs associated with these ships, they will generally be well and expensively fit. It is common for these ships to be equipped with faction, deadspace and officer equipment and tech 2 rigs. Due to their role bonus, they are also among the few ships that can use faction ammunition cost effectively in missions.
Their very low sensor strength, low scan resolution, and very high cost usually make them unlikely PVP ships.
Looting and guns
All marauders have the number of weapon hardpoints reduced to four. To balance this they all have a special 100% bonus to weapon damage, allowing their four weapons to do the work of eight. This reduces the amount of ammunition and, in some cases, capacitor spent while retaining the same damage. The bonus also gives the marauders several free high energy slots into which the player can fit tractor beams and salvagers to effectively loot the battlefield during combat. This role is further aided by a 100% bonus to tractor beam optimal range, increasing the looting sphere from 20km to 40km. Few rats orbit outside 40km, although some do. Further, all marauders have cargo space in excess of 1100 cubic meters, almost double that of a regular or faction battleship.
Tank and E-war
All marauders have a tanking bonus fitted to their race's chosen tanking type. Minmatar and Caldari marauders have a 7.5% bonus to the effectivness of shield boosters and Gallante and Amarr marauders have a 7.5% bonus to the effectivness of armor repairers. Further, all marauders have a slight resistence bonus to their race's favored enemy: EM for Minmatar, thermal for Caldari, kinetic for Gallente and explosive for Amarr. All marauders also have an e-war bonus to further aid their race's chosen weapon systems: target painters for caldari, to increase missile damage against smaller craft, and stasis webifiers for the other three, to help their guns track smaller, close-orbiting craft.
Weakness in pvp
One could easily imagine marauders as incredibly powerful short range pvp ships, using their free highslots to fit nosferatu or energy neutralisers and their huge cargo bay filled with capacitor boosters. To make sure marauders are not too powerful in PVP, they all have a very low sensor strength, making them easy to target jam using ECM. This, combined with the fact that a marauder can run in the area of 750 million ISK for the hull alone, ensures that they are indeed a rare sight in PVP.