Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Cyno Fields 101 (Part 1)

As documented in the EVE Wiki, nearly any pilot can generate a cynosural field. If you don't know what a cyno field is, take a few minutes to go and read the wiki article.

Ok, now that you are back, and you think you understand the basics of cyno generation, let's cover it with a little more detail. First, cyno travel requires a destination ship (the cyno ship) and a traveller. These ships include Carriers, Supercarriers, and Titans, while the black ops group includes Covert Cyno Frigates, Stealth Bombers, Black Ops Battleships, and Force Recons. These ships must be in fleet together for the traveller to jump to the destination. Since you cannot light a cynosural field in hisec space, there is always risk since the ships jumping to a cyno are popular to destroy, as told many places, including this earlier post. There are 5 basic types of cynosural bridges:

  • Deep Safe Cyno: These will not exist after Tyrannis, but the concept here is a cyno so deep out that it takes more than 30 seconds to warp to it from any celestial in the system.

  • POS Cyno: Common in 0.0 systems without stations, the POS cyno is necessary to get materials in and out of your POS farms.

  • Station Cyno: By far the most common cyno (besides the hot drop), bringing carriers in to stations where your corporate offices exist, to move goods between systems.

  • Hot Drop Cyno: Very different from the transit cyno fields, hot drop cynos are combat oriented - to bring carriers onto the field and overwhelm your enemy.

  • Covert Cyno: The last of the cynosural fields, and the most dangerous, a covert cyno does not appear on the overview, and is not visible to anyone unless you are on the combat grid when it is lit. In addition, it is only used to bridge in combat ships like Recons, Stealth Bombers, and Covert Ops Battleships.


Cyno Ships
Let's start with the options for cyno ships. I'm going to group 3 different kinds of ships: Traditional Cyno Ships, Combat Cyno Ships and Covert Cyno Ships.

Traditional Cyno Ships
Traditional Cyno Ships get blown up a lot. Because of this they are usually the cheapest frigate you can afford, with nothing but a Cynosural Field Generator fitted, and only enough fuel in the cargo hold for a single cycle. Personally this is a Navitas, since I own a highly researched BPO:

[Navitas, CynoFish]
[empty low slot]
[empty low slot]

[empty med slot]
[empty med slot]

[empty high slot]
Cynosural Field Generator I

[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]

Combat Cyno Ships
This is a more difficult ship to justify. A combat cyno ship is an effective combat vessel, but has a cyno generator fitted as well. That means it needs a gang for remote repair and (or) a killer tank, as it will be a sitting duck for 10 minutes. Battlecruisers are usually a good option here, with a solid mixture of cost, tank and overall flexibility.

[Myrmidon, CynoMrym]
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Reactor Control Unit II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Damage Control II

Y-T8 Overcharged Hydrocarbon I Microwarpdrive
Faint Warp Disruptor I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Monopulse Tracking Mechanism I, Optimal Range
F-90 Positional Sensor Subroutines, Scan Resolution

Cynosural Field Generator I
200mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge M
200mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge M
200mm Prototype I Gauss Gun, Antimatter Charge M
[empty high slot]
[empty high slot]

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I


Ogre II x3
Hammerhead II x5
Warrior II x5

Covert Cyno Ships
These ships are truly silent terrors, since they represent a double threat - they can warp cloaked, and the ability to bridge in a covert ops fleet. The scout ship (Covert Ops Frigate) is the less expensive of the two, while the Combat Recon is the battlefield version.
[Helios, CovertCyno]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Micro Auxiliary Power Core I
Damage Control II

1MN MicroWarpdrive II
Low Frequency Sensor Suppressor I, Scan Resolution Dampening
Low Frequency Sensor Suppressor I, Scan Resolution Dampening
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Tracking Speed Disruption
Balmer Series Tracking Disruptor I, Tracking Speed Disruption

Covert Cynosural Field Generator I
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

[empty rig slot]
[empty rig slot]

The Covert Cyno Recon has a complex job - get in place, hold tackle, and light the covert cyno. This is the heart of a black ops fleet.

[Arazu, CynoRecon]
Damage Control II
Adaptive Nano Plating II
Medium Armor Repairer II
800mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I

Warp Scrambler II
Warp Disruptor II
10MN MicroWarpdrive II
Large Shield Extender I
Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor I, Scan Resolution Dampening
Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor I, Scan Resolution Dampening

Covert Ops Cloaking Device II
Covert Cynosural Field Generator I
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Spike M
Dual 150mm Railgun II, Spike M

Medium Trimark Armor Pump I
Medium Trimark Armor Pump I


Hammerhead II x4

Although traditionally the backbone (and sitting safe at a POS) in a covert hot-drop fleet, the Sin is also a battlefield menace, although often primaried in combat.

[Sin, Black Ops Leader]
Large Armor Repairer II
1600mm Reinforced Rolled Tungsten Plates I
Reactor Control Unit II
Armor Explosive Hardener II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II
Energized Adaptive Nano Membrane II

Heavy Electrochemical Capacitor Booster I, Cap Booster 800
Sensor Booster II, Scan Resolution
Warp Scrambler II
ECM - Multispectral Jammer II
ECM Burst II
ECCM - Magnetometric II

Covert Jump Portal Generator I
Covert Cynosural Field Generator I
Improved Cloaking Device II
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Void L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Void L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Void L
Neutron Blaster Cannon II, Void L

Large Ancillary Current Router I
Large Ancillary Current Router I


Bouncer II x5
Ogre II x5


This covers the introduction to Cynsural Fields, specifically the ships involved. In part 2 I will talk about actual use of the fields, in both transit and combat concepts.

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