# Are tech 1 cruisers supposed to have similar DPS as tech 1 frigates? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243 "2026-10-31T04:50:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![varrra](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/varrra/32/504015_2.png) [@varrra](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/varrra)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/1 "2026-10-31T04:50:32Z")
Been playing a tech 1 amarr frigate punisher, got around 90 to 100 dps. # This is the fit, if curious: [Punisher, Punisher - varrra] Small Armor Repairer I Experimental Enduring Kinetic Armor Hardener I Experimental Enduring Thermal Armor Hardener I Extruded Compact Heat Sink Extruded Compact Heat Sink 1MN Afterburner I Small Cap Battery I Gatling Modulated Energy Beam I Gatling Modulated Energy Beam I Gatling Modulated Energy Beam I Gatling Modulated Energy Beam I Small Capacitor Control Circuit I Small Capacitor Control Circuit I Small Energy Collision Accelerator I # Multifrequency S x4 anyway, tried to fit a tech 1 amarr cruiser, a Maller…and i got 150 dps??? 150 dps, which is very similar to my 100 dps on my tech 1 frigate, but on a ship that costs way more than my tech 1 frigate. I thought cruisers were supposed to be better than frigates, but this thing only gives 50 more dps, is significantly more expensive, slower, bad at tracking…bad in every way. # This is the fit: [Maller, \*Simulated Maller Fi] Experimental Enduring Kinetic Armor Hardener I Experimental Enduring Thermal Armor Hardener I Medium I-a Enduring Armor Repairer Heat Sink I Heat Sink I Heat Sink I 10MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner Medium Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery Medium Compact Pb-Acid Cap Battery Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I Medium Capacitor Control Circuit I # Multifrequency M x5 Am i doing something wrong, or are cruisers supposed to be only a tiny winy bit better dps compared to tech 1 frigates? I know my frigate is fitted with tech 1 meta 5 turrets or something instead of tech 1 meta 1, but still…Cruisers are 15 mil, expected it to be 500 dps. Instead my frigate is 100 dps and my cruiser is 150. Very similar. Might as well use my frigate. What am i doing wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Geo\_Eclipse\_Oksaras](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/geo_eclipse_oksaras/32/500781_2.png) [@Geo\_Eclipse\_Oksaras](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Geo_Eclipse_Oksaras)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 5:29am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/2 "2026-10-31T05:29:09Z")
Oh gee wally, maybe its cause you dont train skills. ---
**Author:** ![Yarda\_Black](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/yarda_black/32/373282_2.png) [@Yarda\_Black](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Yarda_Black)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 7:35am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/3 "2026-10-31T07:35:10Z")
5 things come to mind: Like you said; better turrets on the punisher You have better heatsinks on the punisher There’s a damage rig on the punisher, which the Maller doesnt have The Maller gets a damage bonus per skill level of Amarr cruiser. Turrets deal more damage per level they are trained. ---
**Author:** ![Drx\_Drx](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/drx_drx/32/383107_2.png) [@Drx\_Drx](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Drx_Drx)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 8:18am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/4 "2026-10-31T08:18:08Z")
> [@varrra](#): > > I thought cruisers were supposed to be better than frigates, but this thing only gives 50 more dps, is significantly more expensive, slower, bad at tracking…bad in every way. More tank, more range, more slots. The question you should be asking is why do t1 cruisers have the same dps as navy dessies ---
**Author:** ![Gerard\_Amatin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/gerard_amatin/32/481361_2.png) [@Gerard\_Amatin](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Gerard_Amatin)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 9:23am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/5 "2026-10-31T09:23:03Z")
Your weapon choice is strange. I’ve never seen people willingly pick the worst/smallest type of weapon system of a tier when two larger better guns exist. But this may be caused by the lack of fitting skills. More of a problem is that you are comparing the best meta 4 weapons in the Punisher with the worst T1 meta 0 weapons in the Maller. If I then fit the ships all with T1 multifrequency ammo (the cheapest short range high damage type) for comparison I get: **Punisher - varrra** : 122 dps **Maller - t1 bad** : 220 dps **Maller - meta 4 like Punisher** : 256 dps Moving to the ‘bad’ T1 cruiser already is a 80% improvement in dps from the Punisher. But if you were to stick to meta guns like you do in the Punisher you improve your dps by 110%. I think that’s a huge improvement. Of course your own improvements may be a bit less, depending on your (lack of) skills. Anyway, cruisers are great to fly if you don’t need the speed of a frigate. ---
**Author:** ![varrra](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/varrra/32/504015_2.png) [@varrra](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/varrra)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 10:31pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/6 "2026-10-31T22:31:36Z")
Yeah, its probably a skill issue. Going to compare a tech 1 frigate and cruiser using short range turrets and ammo, with nothing put on except the turrets and ammo. Tech 1 meta 1 turrets. ====================================================== 115 DPS Cruiser [Maller, \*Simulated Maller Fitting] Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I Focused Medium Pulse Laser I # Multifrequency M x5 and then frigate ===================================================== 58 DPS frigate [Punisher, \*Simulated Punisher Fitting] Gatling Pulse Laser I Gatling Pulse Laser I Gatling Pulse Laser I Gatling Pulse Laser I Multifrequency S x4 ====================================================== With my skills, the 500k frigate does 58 DPS, and the 15 mil cruiser does 115 DPS. … Feels like this game is built around max skills people, which takes years of real life time, or alot of 40 million ISK alpha injector skill things. ---
**Author:** ![Tiger\_space\_Thedark](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/tiger_space_thedark/32/373728_2.png) [@Tiger\_space\_Thedark](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Tiger_space_Thedark)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/7 "2026-10-31T23:30:03Z")
> [@varrra](#): > > With my skills, the 500k frigate does 58 DPS, and the 15 mil cruiser does 115 DPS. And that’s the crux of your problem, you didn’t skill the cruiser skill ---
**Author:** ![varrra](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/varrra/32/504015_2.png) [@varrra](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/varrra)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/8 "2026-10-31T23:53:41Z")
> [@Tiger\_space\_Thedark](#): > > And that’s the crux of your problem, you didn’t skill the cruiser skill Most of the relevant skills for turrets and cruisers are at level 3, some at level 4. ---
**Author:** ![Gloria\_Exercitus](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/gloria_exercitus/32/509735_2.png) [@Gloria\_Exercitus](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Gloria_Exercitus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/9 "2026-11-01T00:09:15Z")
You gain 25% increase in DPS for each level of Amarr Cruiser skill. Add Surgical Strike skill on top of that. Add Pulse Laser skills as well. Then add an implant such as SS-903 ( Eifyr and Co. ‘Gunslinger’ Surgical Strike SS-903 )…and the cumulation of all that gives you lots of DPS. Of course, even more so with Tech 2…where you can get something like an Exequror Navy Issue to over 1000 DPS. In fact you can even get a humble cheap T2 Thorax to bordering on 1000 DPS. ---
**Author:** ![Gloria\_Exercitus](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/gloria_exercitus/32/509735_2.png) [@Gloria\_Exercitus](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Gloria_Exercitus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/10 "2026-11-01T00:13:07Z")
> [@varrra](#): > > Most of the relevant skills for turrets and cruisers are at level 3, some at level 4. I’m not sure what you mean by ‘relevant’ skills. _Every_ level of skill is relevant if you want maximum DPS. If you have Amarr Cruiser level 3 and the other guy has Amarr Cruiser level 5…the other guy has a baseline DPS 50% more than you…which does not bode well. ---
**Author:** ![Geo\_Eclipse\_Oksaras](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/eveonline/user_avatar/forums.eveonline.com/geo_eclipse_oksaras/32/500781_2.png) [@Geo\_Eclipse\_Oksaras](https://forums.eveonline.com/u/Geo_Eclipse_Oksaras)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://forums.eveonline.com/t/are-tech-1-cruisers-supposed-to-have-similar-dps-as-tech-1-frigates/521243/11 "2026-11-01T00:23:30Z")
its inevitable you’re gonna have to purchase skill injectors to get beyond the 5 mil sp… you can have up to 20 mil in SP.