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The Maller is an Amarrian T1 cruiser with a 6/3/6 slot layout and a 10% bonus to Medium Energy Turret capacitor use and 5% bonus to all Armor resistances per level. Due to these bonuses and slot layout (and lack of drones), the Maller is essentially a cruiser-sized version of the Punisher. As a result, its fitting and fighting style is remarkably similar to that of the Punisher (you may want to read the Punisher Guide before continuing).
Fitting
The Maller’s key distinctions are its phenomenal endurance and slightly-larger-than-average capacitor and powergrid. Its endurance comes from its 6 low slots (compared to the Rupture, Omen, and Thorax’s 5 lows and the Caracal’s 5 mids) and its armor resistance bonus. The Maller’s 1,500 GJ capacitor is the largest of the cruisers; the Moa, which has the second-largest cruiser capacitor, only has 1,375 GJ. In addition to this large capacitor, the Maller also has the most powergrid: 900 MW as opposed to the Rupture’s 860 and Thorax’s 820. Although these distinctions may initially seem insignificant, they are crucial to fitting the Maller.
As with the Punisher, a Maller fitting starts with the low slots to take advantage of its bonuses and distinctions. The Maller is a very slow ship (especially with armor plates) and also has poor damage (no drones and no damage/rate of fire bonuses), so speed and weapons upgrades modules in the lows are a waste of slot space. Thus the low slots are best dedicated to armor modules, which capitalize on the 5% bonus to armor resistance per level.
The Maller’s large capacitor enables it to active tank quite effectively, and its large powergrid and resistance bonus also facilitate a fearsome buffer tank. The types of tank differ in that an active tank focuses on armor repaired per second, while a buffer tank focuses on increasing EHP (effective HP; the net amount of damage you can take before you pop). For both types of tanks, a Damage Control II is helpful, as the Maller has plentiful low slots and a Damage Control’s resistance bonuses do not suffer from stacking penalties. T2 equipment, while not mandatory, is immensely helpful, as the extra 5% here and there really boost its survivability. Armor plates are the only exception to using T2 modules, as meta 4 (Rolled Tungsten) plates add less mass to your ship than meta 5 (Steel II) plates (thus your maneuverability improves).
Choice of modules for the three mid slots is fairly restricted. For PVP, you must fit a warp disruptor/scrambler in one of the slots. A disruptor has longer range, but a scrambler works better as it turns off a target’s MWD. Due to its slow speed, the Maller is a poor tackler – even if you fit a warp disruptor (24km range), your opponent can easily escape if he is outside web range (11 km).
The other two mid slots can be fitted in several ways. For active tanks, one of these will usually be a cap booster and the other a stasis webifier or afterburner. For buffer tanks, most fit an afterburner and stasis webifier, but dual stasis webs can be stunningly effective. Not only do webs require less capacitor and leave more powergrid available for other modules on the ship, but they also allow you to successfully engage frigates (it also allows the use of T2 close range ammo). The drawback to this is that tackling is more difficult.
In the high slots, you can theoretically use energy turrets (lasers), hybrid turrets (blasters/railguns), or projectile turrets (autocannons/artillery). However, projectile turrets deal lackluster DPS, and the fact that the Maller rarely suffers from capacitor shortages negates projectile turrets’ largest advantage. Thus, unlike on the Punisher, projectiles are a poor choice. Choosing between hybrids and lasers is a slightly more difficult choice, as hybrids have more DPS and better tracking, but lasers ultimately are better. Not only do they have better range (essential for a ship that cannot easily dictate engagement range) and less capacitor use (but only for medium energy turrets – small energy turrets use twice as much cap as blasters), but lasers also use less CPU (the Maller has very little CPU).
Fitting five turrets in the turret hardpoints still leaves one free high slot. The only practical module to fit here (excluding a Salvager) is an energy neutralizer or nosferatu. The key difference between the two is that a neutralizer takes away both your cap and your target’s cap at a fairly even rate (you lose a bit less cap), while a nosferatu only drains your target’s cap if it is higher in percentage than yours (so if you have more cap than they do, it does absolutely nothing). A nosferatu also drains far less cap from the target (a Small Nosferatu II removes 9.6 cap; a Small Energy Neutralizer II drains 54 cap) and requires slightly more CPU (15 vs 10) and powergrid (10 vs 9).
For the Maller, neutralizers are a better choice. You have a larger capacitor, so nosferatus are not as effective against other cruisers (and useless against frigates). In addition, it helps disable active tanks, which is very useful since the Maller has low DPS (even less than some gank frigates). In addition, unlike with the Punisher, managing the neutralizer is quite easy.
Suggested Fittings
Here are some fittings for the Maller.
PVP – Active Armor, Pulse
[Maller, PVP – Active Armor, Pulse]
Damage Control II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Medium Armor Repairer II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Heat Sink II
J5b Phased Prototype Warp Scrambler I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Medium Capacitor Booster II, Cap Booster 800
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Amarr Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Amarr Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Amarr Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Amarr Navy Multifrequency M
Focused Medium Pulse Laser II, Amarr Navy Multifrequency M
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
Medium Auxiliary Nano Pump I
This dual-repped Maller can tank 370 DPS while dealing 221 DPS. The neutralizer can paralyze frigates, but is less effective against cruisers, particularly if they have a cap booster. The active tank suffers from an inability to tackle effectively, as a cap booster is required to keep the reps running. A heat sink is used due to the fact that stacking penalties make a third resistance module less effective than increased DPS.
PVP – Armor Buffer, Pulse
[Maller, PVP – Armor Buffer, Pulse]
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Reactor Control Unit II
Warp Scrambler II
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Energy Neutralizer II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
This buffer tanked Maller has 85,395 EHP, as large as some battleships’ tanks. The dual webs and scrambler allow it to pin down targets so effectively that even Conflagration frequency crystals can be used (T2 crystals decrease tracking speed). Many frigates engage Mallers due to the fact that they lack a drone bay, but this fit is deadly for them. MWDs are turned off by the scrambler, and afterburners are not fast enough to counteract the dual webs. Once a target is tackled, there is virtually no escape. The Medium Neutralizer on this setup increases the deadliness of this fit, proving fatal for all frigates and cruisers without a cap booster. At 158 DPS, the damage this fit produces is not very substantial, yet the large buffer easily compensates for this.
PVP – Bait
[Maller, PVP – Bait]
Damage Control II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Warp Scrambler II
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Medium Pulse Laser II, Conflagration S
Small Energy Neutralizer II
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
This fit is a slight modification of the armor buffer fit presented earlier, replacing the reactor control with another Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane and downsizing the medium neutralizer to a small. These changes make this fit best used in a fleet as bait, as the small neutralizer is not powerful enough for solo work while the increased EHP (85,395 to 98,261) can be very helpful while the fleet is warping in. With bonuses from a fleet commander and a full set of Slaves, this fit can reach a stunning 160,761 EHP – more than the average T1 battleship. With that much EHP, even a gank-fitted battleship with 1000 DPS would take 2m 40s to kill a Maller with this fit (and do not forget that large guns and drones will have trouble tracking a cruiser).
Targets
The Maller can kill all T1 frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, but avoid range-fitted ships.
Tactics and Tips
It is difficult to make mistakes while flying the Maller. Simply overheat your mid slots when tackling, get close to the target, activate the turrets, pulse the neut, and overheat the turrets as required.
Keep the fight simple. There is no need for fancy tactics. Reduce the target’s options with your webs, scrams, and neuts, and make sure you stay in range. Many pilots have very little experience with fighting Mallers because few people fly it (the Arbitrator and Omen are considered to be better). As a result, they often underestimate the Maller – most enemies will blunder right into web range, allowing you to pounce on them.
Remove drones from the equation. Against drone-dependent ships like the Vexor and Arbitrator, web and kill dangerous drones before returning your attention to the target. For example, if a Vexor pilot deploys Hammerhead IIs, kill them before fighting the Vexor. Because most Vexors only have one flight of medium drones, this will force your opponent to use small drones. It is going to be a long fight (on average, around 5 minutes against cruisers), so reduce their DPS as much as possible.
Enjoy the fight. Think of the Maller as a Venus fly trap. Snare your opponents, then leisurely crush and digest them. Watch with satisfaction as your luckless victim slowly come to the realization that he is dying and escape is impossible.
Yarrbear Tales 