New Player Fleet Guide

Fleets can be intimidating the first time. This guide covers voice, what to fly, the fleet UI, and common questions—enough to undock without panic. You do not need to memorize it all; skim before your first fleet and come back after.

Voice

Our alliance uses Discord for voice communications. This is fairly uncommon, as most groups have strict Teamspeak or Mumble setups.

• Use push to talk, not voice activation. Nobody wants to hear minor sounds when there are over a hundred in voice.
• If you use voice activation, activate Krisp. Background noise disrupts everyone in comms.
• Do not talk over the fleet commander. If the fleet commander is communicating, stop talking for a minute. Cheesus gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.
• Don't report the same thing twice, unless you're obviously meme'ing. We're often on the same grid as you. If a single ship lands on our fleet, we see it, too. Cheesus gave us all two eyes.

Generally, for your first fleet, just listen. Type in fleet chat, people will respond to you. It's okay if you're confused on your first fleet—I'm confused after 1000.

MOTD

The fleet MOTD should communicate nearly everything that you need.

• The doctrine
• The staging location
• The fleet commander
• Links to channels, overview profiles, broadcast settings

Before you ask a question, read the MOTD.

Ships

Fleets are often flying a doctrine, typically listed in the MOTD. If a fleet is not using a doctrine, they're designated as "kitchen sink" fleets, which means you can bring whatever you want.

• If you can fly the doctrine, great. Purchase a doctrine ship off of contracts or the market; they should be available. See the doctrine list.
• If you can't fly the doctrine, do not ask the fleet commander what you should fly. Just pick your favorite ship based on your best judgement, undock, and learn. Tackle, electronic warfare, and anti-frigate ships are great.

Note: Doctrines are constantly evolving. They're introduced regularly, and retired regularly. Make sure that the fitting you're bringing is still accurate.

Fleet User Interface

Open the fleet window from the Fleet icon in the Social Neocom folder.

Fleet Finder

Use the Fleet Finder tab (or a fleet link in chat) to join. Check the MOTD after joining for doctrine, Discord channel, and form-up.

Fleet Composition

Shows members, wings, and squads. If free move is on, drag yourself into the right squad, then switch to Broadcasts.

Broadcasts

Keep this tab visible while moving or fighting. The FC broadcasts warps, aligns, and primary targets here—right-click to warp/align, control-click to target.

Watchlist

A separate window. Drag your FC to the top so you can always find and anchor on them. Logi pilots use it to prioritize reps.

Overview

Use a hostile-only tab and a fleet/friendly tab. Move broadcast targets to the top of the overview so the primary is easy to find. A bad overview is how you shoot the wrong people—or miss the ones you should.

FAQ

Is there a fleet active?

Check the in-game fleet finder first, then ask in alliance chat. Also check fleet schedule in Discord.

I've joined a fleet, what ship should I be flying?

Check the MOTD for the doctrine. Fly that if you can; otherwise bring tackle, EWAR, or anti-frigate and undock—don't ping the FC asking what to fly. Some doctrine ships have multiple variants (e.g. Cyclone Fleet Issue 50MN MWD vs 100MN AB).

Where do I need to be?

First, check the MOTD. Listen on comms for a bit to find out if the fleet is fighting or actively moving. You can also find the fleet by opening the in-game map, clicking the "Color by" icon at the top left, and selecting My fleet members in the Personal section. If still unsure, ask in fleet chat: someone should be able to tell you where the fleet is at the moment, and where it is heading.

The fighting has started, who should I shoot?

Make sure you have your fleet window showing, with the broadcast tab active. Your FC (or a designated target caller) will broadcast targets to shoot. The primary target will also be called out in voice comms. Shooting anyone other than the primary results in split damage, which is bad.

I'm being shot by the enemy fleet, what should I do?

Broadcast for repairs (shield or armor as appropriate) if in a doctrine ship; you should do this as soon as large numbers of enemies yellow-box you, as by the time those boxes turn red it might be too late to save you. Overheat your hardeners if you have any, and see if there is something you can align to (if not already aligned). Warp out if your logi ships aren't holding you and you aren't tackled.

If you aren't in a doctrine ship then try to warp away; if you can't warp out, prepare yourself for a heroic death.

What is the logi channel, and should I be in it?

The logi channel is an in-game chat channel used for coordinating the activities of pilots flying logistics ships. If you aren't flying logistics (or you don't know what this means) then you shouldn't be in the logi channel and will cause problems if you are.