Cyno Fields 101 (Part 2)

In Part 1 we covered the basics about ships and fitting of ships for cyno work. In this part we will cover location choices for lighting cynos, and combat concepts for covert ops cyno fleets. Let's start with the basics - when you light a cynosural field, and someone jumps to it, they will appear anywhere from 2500 - 5000m from the field center - in a sphere. Your ship (the cyno destination) is at the exact center of a sphere with a perimeter at 5000m. The traveller(s) will appear anywhere within that sphere, from 2500m away to 5000m away. (NOTE - this can change with a destroyed cyno, which can throw you all sorts of crazy places in system). This can be interesting if you are able to pop a cyno ship before the traveller arrives - they may not land on target, creating an opportunity for combat. Understanding this 10km diameter sphere is critical, and the use of the tactical overlay is very important when setting up cyno bookmarks. So we have a ship, and we know that our friends will appear anywhere within 5000m of it. Where should we park?

Where the heck is that cyno - at the POS:
There are two situations for bringing a ship in to a POS - when the incoming pilot needs to enter a starbase field password or not. We'll go over the easiest one first - no password needed. In this situation, the objective is to get the cyno as close to the POS shields as possible. It is technically possible then for the traveller to appear inside the shields (although I have not seen it happen). From the cluster of POS Modules (silos, hangars, etc.) head towards the closest shield edge. You will want to have a side-view of your ship approaching the shield so you can see as you approach - when you get close, shut down the engines. You will slow down gradually, and should drift just outside the shield if you did it right. If you are just outside the shields, make a bookmark, labeled appropriately, for this beautiful pos cyno spot. This is your spot for ships that can fly into the shields directly.
If the incoming pilot needs to enter a password, you will want to provide some defense for them. You will want to keep in mind the 5000m radius, and light the cyno close to a gun or neut array. That way, if hostiles do approach and attempt to assault the incoming ship they will have to deal with the tower defenses. You must make sure that you are outside 5000m from the POS shield in any direction - if the incoming pilot bounces off the shields you will likely be looking for a new job very soon...

Where the heck is that cyno - at the station:
Station designers have created a myriad of beautiful and functional platforms in space - but we are only concerned with two things when lighting a cyno at a station - range and the undocking ring. When lighting a cyno at a station, the last thing you want is the incoming pilot to bounce off the station, so you want to make sure you are outside that 5000m sphere again. Referencing the image below, you will want to make sure that you are 5000m in all directions from the physical station:


The second part of the station puzzle is the size of the undock. You only want to light cynos for carriers at stations with really big undocking rings. To determine if the station you wish to use has a large undock ring, go ahead and undock. Watch your session change timer (you have that turned on in your options, right?) and the range to station in your overview. If at the end of your 30 second session change timer you are still at 0m to the station, open up your tactical overlay and see how far you are physically from the station. If you are at 5000m or further, then you have a station with a large undocking ring, an ideal place for a cyno. A side benefit of this, by the way, is that during your 30 second session change timer, you are invulnerable - and if you undock into a bubble or a hostile fleet, you can usually dock back up before taking any (significant) damage at the end of your timer - just don't try to activate any modules or change direction - and start spamming the dock button as your timer ends.

Covert Cyno Concepts
The covert cyno is a mainstay of hit and run/terror warfare. This requires some preplanning, to ensure that the system(s) you want to jump into are within range of your Black Ops battleship. The maximum range of a Black Ops battleship portal is 4.5 lightyears(base range is 2 light years), so you will need to either plan on bridging across multiple systems for greater range or set up within your skilled range. A Black Ops bridge can be used by any ship with Jump Harmonics 2, including Stealth Bombers, Covert Ops Frigates, Force Recons, Black Ops Battleships, and Blockade Runners. Tech 3 cruisers with a component to allow Jump Harmonics 2 can also use a black ops bridge. Utilizing multiple Blockade Runners to move fuel and Black Ops Battleships to run additional bridges, you can extend the range of your operation beyond the 4.5 light year maximum.

When we've done black ops, we set up at a staging POS, with bomber squad(s) sitting around 2500m from the BOps Battleship (much like a Titan bridge). The scout, or destination pilot will usually be in a well tanked Force Recon (unless we are going after a mining op), and will uncloak, tackle the target, and light the covert cyno. Always wait to light your cyno until you have your target locked down in this situation - save the isotopes and the element of surprise if the target gets away. The Black Ops Battleship will open the portal, and the fleet will right-click on the BS and bridge to the destination. Light up the target, destroy, loot, and bridge back out, leaving the scout alone again. Rinse and repeat as long as you remain within range of your Black Ops Battleship.

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.