The Tornado

Probably the most famous of the Tier 3 Battlecruisers is the Tornado.  This ship was originally designed as a Minmatar Battleship, so its release as a Battleship gun toting Battlecruiser was somewhat a surprise.  CCP went back to the original play book for this ship and made it fast and manuverable.  The battleship sided guns mask a fairly weak tanks, with neither enough midslots and lowslots as well as a fairly weak powergrid.  However, what it lacks in shield and armor strength, it makes up for in speed and agility.

The lacking CPU and Powergrid means that it was meant for close range combat.. i.e. Autocannons. I attempted to try to make decent 1400mm and 1200mm configurations, but the 1400mm version required at least two RCUs (or some other rig/module voodoo) just to mount the things, and the 1200mm proved to be.. anemic, particularly when pared with the Tornado’s speed and agility.  While it is technically possible to armor tank the Tornado, it would be a bad idea.  So, fitting armor plates on this boat would make its job much harder, not easier, and the added mass would play havoc with your superior speed and agility. The downside to this view is that the Tornado has only five midslots, leaving you with a fairly weak shield tank. Here’s what I figure a typical Shield Tanked Tornado will be configured as:

[Tornado, Shield Tanked]
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Tracking Enhancer II
Tracking Enhancer II

10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Invulnerability Field II
Warp Disruptor II

800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I
Medium Core Defence Field Extender I

This configuration allows for considerable firepower to be brought on target, as well as having the capability of hitting it. The shield configuration is similar to the Naga, except that it doesn’t have the web. Unfortunately, due to the weak tank, you are going to have to fight quite a bit into deep falloff. However, this setup allows you to use speed and agility to your advantage in combating the enemy. DPS for this beast runs just below 700 DPS, with a speed of about 1700m/s with MWD.

The following speed tank setup is a good starting point for those who are comfortable with speed tanking setups:

[Tornado, Speed Tanked]
Damage Control II
Gyrostabilizer II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II

10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Large Shield Extender II
Large Shield Extender II
Tracking Computer II
Warp Disruptor II

800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L
800mm Repeating Artillery II, Republic Fleet EMP L

Medium Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer I
Medium Polycarbon Engine Housing I
Medium Dynamic Fuel Valve I

This configuration allows for pretty much the same theoretical damage, however, expect less actual damage on target due to increased speed. The speed configuration here reaches nearly 2km/s and can keep it sustained for over four minutes. Though the tank is considerably weaker, its agility is comparable to that of a Vagabond allowing you considerable control over both range and transversal.

In Conclusion

The Tornado is not going to be an easy ship to fly, probably less so than the Hurricane.  The generally weaker tank and requirements for close to mid range combat coupled with speed will require a pilot comfortable with higher speed combat and maneuvering.  My recommendation is that, if you aren’t comfortable fly interceptors or Vagabonds, stay away from this ship until you are.

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