Electronic Attack Frigates, otherwise known as EAFs, are amazing force multipliers for small gangs. With massive bonuses ranging from neuts to damps to jams and webs, they are very versatile and amazing ships. The four EAFs are the Amarrian Sentinel, specializing in neuts and tracking disruptors, the Gallentean Keres, which specializes in remote sensor dampeners and warp disruption (scramblers & points.) There is also the Caldarian Kitsune, which specializes in ECM, and finally the Matari have the Hyena, which specializes in target painters and stasis webifiers.
The Sentinel is a very strong support ship and also serves as an impressive solo ship. The bonuses for the Sentinel are amazing for neutralizer range and transfer amount as well as tracking disruptor effectiveness. While it does have the tracking disruptor bonus, it is usually not worth fitting them when you could instead fit a cap booster to keep your neuts up longer. The reasoning for this is because the Crucifier also has a bonus for tracking disruptors but is much cheaper.
Amarr Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
20% bonus to Energy Vampire and Energy Neutralizer transfer amount
7.5% bonus to Tracking Disruptor effectiveness
Electronic Attack Ships bonuses (per skill level):
80% bonus to Energy Vampire and Energy Neutralizer transfer range
5% reduction in ship capacitor recharge time
Looking at these bonuses it is evident why the Sentinel is such a strong ship; able to neut out frigates and cruisers extremely quickly. It has a very weak tank to balance this, usually less than 10k EHP, however. Touching back on it being a strong solo ship, because it is bonused towards energy neutralizers, it is able to neut out most ships very quickly. Most pilots realize this though so getting a fight 1v1 in while piloting one can be hard to do.
The second EAF mentioned was the Keres:
Gallente Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
7.5% bonus to Remote Sensor Dampener effectiveness
10% reduction in Remote Sensor Dampener activation cost
Electronic Attack Ships bonuses (per skill level):
15% bonus to Warp Scrambler and Warp Disruptor optimal range
10% reduction in Warp Scrambler and Warp Disruptor activation cost
Looking at these bonuses it is easy to see why the Keres is an amazing small gang ship; the point range bonus is awesome! It is essentially a mini-Lachesis for only 10% of the cost. A fully skilled Keres pilot can easily point to 38km cold and scram to 14km, which is insane in small gang situations. Personally though I would not fit remote sensor dampeners on it as the Maulus can do that with bonuses as well, but at a much cheaper price tag.
The third EAF previously mentioned was the Kitsune:
Caldari Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
20% bonus to ECM Target Jammer strength
10% reduction in ECM Target Jammer activation cost
Electronic Attack Ships bonuses (per skill level):
15% bonus to ECM Target Jammer optimal range
5% bonus to ship capacitor capacity
The Kitsune is a massive force multiplier, but it is also the bane of all solo PvPers. While it is able to jam out most targets in one or two ECM cycles, it has a paper thin tank to balance this out. Any competent Kitsune pilot warps at range of its target.
The fourth and final EAF mentioned was the Hyena:
Minmatar Frigate bonuses (per skill level):
10% bonus to Target Painter optimal range
10% bonus to Target Painter effectiveness
Electronic Attack Ships bonuses (per skill level):
40% bonus to Stasis Webifier optimal range
3% reduction in ship signature radius
The Hyena is probably the most underwhelming EAF of them all, with the only really good bonus being the webifier, which with Electronic Attack Ships at IV, can web to 26km cold. The target painter bonus isn’t really used frequently, but was used a lot during gate camps with assigned fighters from carriers to increase the sig radius and allow the fighters to hit more effectively.
Overall the EAFs are amazing force multipliers and if you are not using them in your small gang roams, you are doing something wrong. Saying that though, as a solo PvPer, I do hate you if you use Kitsunes.
