When you initially start playing EVE Online, you will find that you spend time attempting to fit your looted modules onto various parts of your ship.

Later on, you will likely purchase parts that you think would complement your ship nicely – sometimes to find out that those parts you just purchased? They don’t fit.

This is where 3rd party fitting tools come into play.

Fitting tools allows you to place modules into the high, low and medium slots of ships that you don’t nessisarily own or even can fly without having to spend the cost of the module and ship. As a result, you will know if a certain fit is possible before putting down the ISK and time for the entire thing. You’ll find this usefull as well in planning your training queue as you train for specific modules or ships. Last time I felt the usefullness of a Fitting Tool was when I purchased my first Tech 3 Cruiser, a Legion that I got via contract for ~500 mill. I needed it to be able to tank a certain amount of incoming DPS, so planning which modules and subsystems to get was critical.

Apocrypha Fitting Screen

List of currently avaialble fitting tools:

  • EVE Fitting Tool (EFT)
  • Python Fitting Assistant (PyFA)
  • Aurora
  • EVEHQ

EVE Fitting Tool (EFT)

Created by Gripen, this has had one of the longest histories of any fitting tool in EVE Online and continues to be very popular. Developed mainly as a windows platform in Delphi there are problems running it on mac and linux though. While it can use the current API to import your avatars to show correct stats, you can still use it with an “All V” avatar to get “best” results. The current version is 2.17 and contains Retribution data.

>> Installation link

 

Python Fitting Assistant (PyFA)

Pyfa offers a slighly better graphical UI than EFT and apparently does work on both Linux and Mac in addition to Windows but it is very similar to EFT in just about every way. Just like EFT it can use your API keys to show the stats based on your avatar. Until recently there were some problems with fleet bonuses not being applied, but with the latest build (1.1) they have added support for gang bonuses, system-wide effects and hybrid weapons. The calculator (dps, tank etc) seems to be a bit more accurate than EFT and an upcoming tweak should improve it even further. Current version is 1.1.9 and contains Inferno data up to 1.2.

>> Installation link

Aurora

Currently in alpha, and as a result not worth installing unless youre interested in helping with development/bugreporting. Extremely buggy.

 

EVEHQ

EVEHQ has a fitting tool as part of the officially supported plug-in kits, but it also offers alot more than just that. Current version is 2.11.2.

These are the main features it contains as per november 2011:

  • Pilot Monitoring
  • Skill Queue Planning
  • Training Bar
  • Prices System
  • Dashboard
  • Requisitions
  • EVEMail & Notifications
  • IGB Server
  • EVEHQ Settings Backup
  • API Checker
  • SQL Query Tool
  • Reports
  • API Relay Server
  • G15 Integration
  • Notifications

Pending final review of the plug-in’s …

>> Installation Link

 

Overall assessment: EVE Stratics! recommends that you look on what OS’s these applications support as the differences between the different ones are miniscule at best. Windows users can install both PyFA and EFT to complement eachother but as a windows user you can do with both PyFA and EFT at this point which then comes down to preferences of the UI. You will likely want to install a few in any case.

 

Disclaimer: There is a difference between being an EFT warrior (fitting a ship in an EVE Fitting Tool) and being an effective pilot. Being able to fit ships doesn’t mean theyre good or viable fits. You’ll need experience in combat to tell the difference, but if you need to flaunt your skills in fitting – you can get stuff here.

 

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