Intro
Season 3 Meta is here, and it’s time for a new fleet update! This is my third edition of the Top 10 Favorite Fleets. The pioneer Season 3 servers have now entered the arena stage, while the new Season 3 servers are about to step into the PvP era in just a few days – making it the perfect timing for an update.
You might ask: why did it take so long to post this meta update? Well, several factors lined up. First of all, the latest server merge was not by server, but by teams, which ended up splitting my alts from my main character. On top of that, I got very unlucky with rolls this time and ended up without most of the new stuff. That meant I had to passively observe or ask others to test things for me.
And proper testing takes time. A simple “hey, here’s a combat screenshot, look, I won” is not enough. I need to dig into combat logs, check if it was pure luck, what exactly made the difference, which rigs were used – or even better, ask the person to retry the fight multiple times. So yeah, gathering real meta insights was a slow and effort-heavy process this time.
Disclaimer
This post is still under construction. I’m currently on my way to Fanfest 2025, but decided to post this draft ASAP so you can start using the early version rather than waiting another week until I return home. At this stage, don’t expect much detail yet – but make sure to revisit the post later! Subscribe to my socials (links in the header and footer) and I’ll let you know there once the post is fully updated.
Thanks for understanding!
UPDATE: Added ship rigs.
Table of Contents
Are Season 1 and 2 Fleets Still Viable?
Pretty much, yes.
They can’t always compete against the newly overpowered (or outright broken) stuff from Season 3, but the NPCs are still mostly the same – just slightly boosted in power and squad counts (see this post for detailed comparison).
If you’re a F2P player, this is actually a great time to revisit the older posts (Top 10 S1 meta and Top Fleets S2 meta) and see if you can finally assemble some of the fleets, like Karth’s 3-star setup. At this point in the game, you should have most commanders and ships unlocked, and even some 2- or 4-star promotions. Plus, just like in fashion, ship meta moves in cycles: once everyone shifts to the new “boring” trends, forgotten vanilla comps can shine again.
All fleets and commander picks here echo my Tier Lists for Ships and Tier Lists for Commanders. Use those lists to synthesize new fleet comps to your liking.
Karishal + Anything = Season 3 Meta Core
The absolute pearl of Season 3 is Karishal. You can pair him with almost anyone, drop him into almost any ship, and get fantastic results – a true S-tier.
At first, I was quite skeptical, thinking he’s too OP, broken, and bound for a nerf. But over time I realized – it’s just one strong commander that nearly everyone has access to, so it’s not that big of a deal. He literally pulled me out of despair during early Season 3 PvE, where the difficulty had ramped up so much that pure F2P progression felt nearly impossible. Now I actually think it’s a blessing to have at least one reliable OP tool at your disposal.
1. Oracle – Victor & Otro
- Victor: AAA, Tactics implants
- Otro: ABA, Kinetic implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Oracle gun: Close-in turret or none (still figure out the damage changes after latest stealth nerf)
- Ship Rigs: 8% Firepower
- Fleet Agent: Assault Captain
Pretty easy to assemble – you might even have all the components gathering dust in your hangar. Oracle needs at least 2 stars, and it’s even better if you have a Guristas rig – it helps a lot.
This fleet has a very high proc rate across all active modules and skills, capitalizing on the Oracle’s massive base firepower. It shreds PvE Vexors even with the wrong formation – you can win fights with something like 400k vs 996k power with a bit of luck.
2. Stormbringer – Draea & Morda
- Draea: AAB, Kinetic implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Morda: ABA, Charged Strike or Kinetic implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Stormbringer gun: Close-in turret or none
- Ship Rigs: 8% Firepower
- Fleet Agent: Assault Captain
Like some of you, I was looking for a reason to finally undock this ship. While this fleet isn’t exactly OP, it performs decently enough to be useful. If you have both Stormbringer and Draea at 3-stars, you’ll have strong Repair Disabled presence, paired with Reactor Failure debuff to help deal with pesky Abbadons. You won’t be able to kill if the opponent’s power is equal, but you’ll scratch them really hard.
Special note:
If you have Draea’s special implant (the one that spreads Reactor Failure to commanders), this fleet becomes a very solid pick.
3. Rokh – Santimona & Karishal
- Santimona: AAB
- Karishal: ABA, Tactics implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Rokh gun: Repair Beam
- Ship Rigs: 8% Energy (more damage), or 8% Repairs (more durability), the difference is tiny.
- Fleet Agent: Absolute Defense
Credit to Spikespiegel, who spent the entire season experimenting with this and finally found a use for Rokh beyond asteroid mining (hehe). His quote: “It’s a fleet you just stick in a chokepoint and forget about it until it’s finally beaten.”
Personally, I call these kinds of comps “Door Wedges“. Surprisingly, it works not only against direct fire spam comps like Tristans and Dramiels but also against slow-buildup fleets like Otro’s Drakes and even Abbadons.
Important:
This fleet is PvP only – for PvE, you’ll just end up with draws against most enemies.
4. Scythe – Gear & Tribe Prophet
- Tribe Prophet: AA0, Energy Damage implants
- Gear: AAA, Repair implants
- Scythe setup: Only the first two modules, gun should be a Repair Beam
- Ship Rigs: 8% Repairs
- Fleet Agent: None
I know, I know – but this is the triumph moment for Scythe!
Now it’s an absurdly strong draw-machine for Military Exploits (ME) farming.
Thanks to the new guns, it can now create a very controlled environment where it can heal up all incoming damage. Big thanks to Premier13 from TISHA Corp for sharing this build openly with the community.
You have just one source of damage, and it’s very predictable (2 turns of output, then 5 turns of healing). Perfect for farming without losses.
Important Tips:
- Avoid Shield Absorb Talents and passives on both commanders.
5. Abbadon – Jamyl I & Falek
- Jamyl I: AAA, Tactics implants
- Falek: ABB (or ABA if hunting other Abbadons)
- Abbadon gun: Laser
- Ship Rigs: 8% Energy
- Fleet Agent: Flexible – Shockwave, Tactical Control, Assault Captain, or Absolute Defense (in that order)
Tips:
- Stay away from Rifters, Catalysts, and fleets carrying Tactical Control agents. Burn is your biggest weakness.
Alternatives:
- Jamyl + Karishal: No burn weakness.
- Karishal + Falek: If you don’t have Jamyl.
- Victor (ABA/ABB) + Faus: If you don’t have Karishal, Falek, or Jamyl (my case hehe). Even though both commanders are Kinetic and Abbadon is a pure Energy ship, it still works surprisingly well because both commanders contribute strong to the comp, and the ship itself deals massive damage.
6. Vexor – Alexander & Karishal
- Karishal: ABA, Tactics implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Alexander: ABA, Tactics or Repair implants
- Vexor gun: Maneuvering Engine
- Ship Rigs: 3.9% HP or 8% Energy
- Fleet Agent: Drone Assault
Karishal can be AAA too, but 2B seems even more broken – in some cases it can loop the control mechanics. A very reliable and accessible setup if you’re hunting for a flexible PvE/PvP option.
7. Catalyst – Blaque & Alexander
- Blaque: ABA
- Alexander: ABA
- Catalyst gun: Maneuvering Engine
- Ship Rigs: 10% Kinetic Damage generalist, 8% Firepower if hunting Abbadons.
- Fleet Agent: Tactical Control
I’ve been looking for a Catalyst build for a long time and finally found a good use: an Abbadon killer. If Falek is sitting inside, you will either kill it or heavily damage it.
The Catalyst’s third module is still bugged, but it is what it is. The reason you go Blaque 2B is because of Abbadon’s third-module attack spam. Statistically, it deals more damage overall, despite being Kinetic.
8. Drake – Haatakan & Otro
- Haatakan: ABB, Tactics implants
- Otro: ABB, Kinetic implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Drake gun: Railgun
- Ship Rigs: 3.9% HP or 8% Firepower for more ‘gank’, but durability is pref.
- Fleet Agent: Tactical Control or Absolute Defense
A solid Phalanx comp, also a pure Caldari fleet with a bond bonus. It’s capable of hurting Abbadons. You should expect draws, but they’ll usually tilt in your favor.
9. Rifter – Karth & Yun
- Karth: ABB, Data Rate implants
- Yun: ABA, Data Rate implants
- Rifter gun: None
- Ship Rigs: 10% Kinetic damage, if you observe Yun’s big damage contribution (>15% fleet’s overall), can switch to 8% Firepower.
- Fleet Agent: Shockwave Strike
After the latest changes to Decoder Error (now affecting heals and buffs), Yun finally becomes a viable option. This fleet lives fast and dies fast – but it can mess with Apocs, Abbadons, and Thunderchilds, often coming out victorious.
Yun’s Spreading Panic is very strong – make sure to apply it as early as possible.
You might even switch Karth to ABA for an extra edge in spreading early disruption.
10. Apocalypse – Karishal & Falek
- Karishal: ABA, Tactics implants for PvP, Grid/Pirates damage for PvE
- Falek: ABB (or ABA if hunting Abbadons)
- Apoc gun: Laser
- Ship Rigs: 8% Energy
- Fleet Agent: Tactical Control or Shockwave
Pretty much a mirror of the Abbadon fleet. Very strong – I’ve personally seen a 4,000-squad fleet faceroll 20,000 Dragoon squads using this comp. The burn effect from Apoc gives a slight edge in combat against Abbadons equipped with Falek.
It’s almost poetic: the best ship for Karishal Muritor, the iconic Minmatar rebel, ends up being the Amarrian Apocalypse paired with Falek Grange.
Closing Words
That’s pretty much the current landscape for Season 3. Of course, absolute classics like Rifter (Karth + Yorlas) or Thunderchild (Chelm + Santimona) are still very solid picks – I just didn’t list them again since they were already covered in my previous posts.
Fleet comps for Maller and Hyperion are still not fully found. The community is actively experimenting, but so far results are unremarkable – it seems we’ll just have to wait for a hull overhaul from the developers.
What fleets are working for you so far in Season 3? Feel free to share your comps and testing results below!
Saved a few fleets or cracked a tough matchup thanks to this post? Feel free to buy me a coffee – it helps to read long and boring combat logs. ☕️
Until then – fly dangerously o7
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