In 2017, a new, horrifying ship joined the ranks of the Blood Raiders’ fleet. At the same time, the Guristas and Serpentis also gained Titan-class vessels in their ship tree. For the next six years, no new Titans were released, until EVE Fanfest 2023 announced another: the Angel Cartel’s Azariel.
Design
In a recent devlog, CCP Aurora mentioned the design of the ship was inspired by viewing the Angel Cartel’s emblem from the top down, depicting the two “horns” of the emblem as points on the front of the ship.
The Azariel’s early concept art, says CCP Goggi, had a major influence on the Titan. Concept art shown in the devlog depicts the Titan in its active state, with orange lines tracing each armor plate. Fans of the Dramiel’s and the Mekubal’s appearance will be sure to enjoy this new ship.
Attributes
The new Titan’s skill-based bonuses will make it a menacing opponent in large-scale fleet fights. For every level of Minmatar Titan, the Azariel gains a whopping 200% bonus to Capital Projectile Turret damage. At Minmatar Titan V, the Azariel gains a 1000% bonus to each turret’s damage, which adds up to doing the damage of 50 turrets with the Azariel’s 5 turret slots. Additionally, for every level of Minmatar Titan, the Azariel gains a 5% bonus to Capital Projectile Turret rate of fire and 6+ warp core strength.
The Azariel’s other required racial Titan skill, Gallente Titan, also gives a similar set of benefits per level: 6+ warp core strength, 10% bonus to Capital Projectile Turret falloff, and 5% bonus to Capital Projectile Turret tracking. These bonuses may not be as immediately helpful to the Azariel pilot, but Gallente Titan will be a vital support skill for any Azariel pilot.
Finally, the Azariel’s role bonuses, like the other Titans of New Eden, allow it to fit a Doomsday module, a Phenomena Generator, a Jump Portal Generator, a Clone Vat Bay, and three Command Bursts. Its myriad other bonuses allow it to fit either a shield or armor tank, be a tough target to jam through any type of racial EWAR, and warp faster than other Titans. The Azariel also does not appear to have the 5x Entosis Link duration penalty that other Titans have, although whether or not this is an oversight on CCP’s part remains to be seen.
Traits
The Azariel’s shield and armor have the same amount of hit points: 750,000, a sizable quantity for a Titan. Its shield has a 0%/20%/40%/50% resist profile, identical to the Guardian Angels’ Machariel-class battleship. Similarly, the Azariel’s armor resists are identical to the Machariel, with a 60%/35%/25%/10% resist profile. The Azariel has a 5-hour shield regeneration time with no boosters active. The Titan has 300,000 structure hit points, slightly below that of other Titans.
Fitting
The Azariel has 8 high slots, 7 medium slots, and 7 low slots, as well as 3 XL rig slots and 350 points of calibration. The ship has 1,150 tf of CPU output and 1,065,000 MW of powergrid.
With 6 turret slots and heavy bonuses to Capital Projectile Turrets, the Azariel could be fitted for high-alpha Artillery or high-DPS Autocannons. The remaining two high slots commonly will be taken up by a Superweapon and another Titan-only module.
A strong shield tank could be fitted in the medium slots, as well as a microwarpdrive. Alternately, the Azariel could be fit for high tracking or targeting range if using artillery.
With high armor HP and extremely good resistances, the Azariel is likely to be fit for an armor tank. With a Damage Control fitted, 6 low slots are free for repairers and armor plates.
Possible Uses
As soon as the Azariel is used in PvP, it will likely have a role in large-scale fleet fights, as well as being a high-DPS monster for Titan vs Titan engagements. Many of the Azariel’s uses still remain to be seen, and I’m excited to see this ship roaming nullsec!
The Azariel was released November 14 with the rest of the Havoc expansion. The first few of these magnificent ship’s have just recently come out of the oven.
