If you’ve ever wondered how to get the most out of railguns in EVE Online, this guide distills over 10 years of in-game experience into a single package. From skills and specializations to ammo choices and tracking mechanics, it’s all here—concise, actionable, and rooted in thousands of hours of firsthand gameplay. Whether you’re flying a Kronos or experimenting with your first hybrid turret ship, these insights will sharpen your aim and deepen your understanding.

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Foundational Skills for Railguns (and Beyond)

Before diving into railgun-specific training, you should prioritize gunnery skills that apply to all turret weapons. This gives you flexibility in case you ever switch from railguns to blasters or other weapon types. Start with:

• Gunnery – It’s fast to train and gives immediate damage boosts.
• Rapid Firing, Motion Prediction, Sharpshooter – Train the lower-skill-point ones first to get more benefit quickly.
• Controlled Bursts – Manage your capacitor more efficiently.
• Avoid training high-SP skills like Trajectory Analysis or Surgical Strike early. They’re valuable but take a long time to yield a return. Knock out several smaller skills first for a better skill-to-benefit ratio.

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Tech II vs. Faction Railguns

Faction railguns hit harder out of the box and require fewer skills to use, making them ideal for newer players who can afford them. However, Tech II railguns eventually outscale them due to specialization skills:

• Large Railgun Specialization, for example, boosts damage of specific Tech II guns by 2% per level.
• Faction guns don’t benefit from these bonuses.

So what’s the plan?

• Start with faction railguns for early power.
• Transition into Tech II once your skills catch up—lower cost, better performance in the long run.

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Ammo Deep Dive: Range vs. Damage

Railgun ammo is all about tradeoffs:

• Close-range ammo (like Antimatter) does more damage.
• Long-range ammo (like Iron or Tungsten) offers reach but reduced damage.

If you’re sniping from a distance, you’ll often stick with Tungsten. But in most PvE scenarios (like Triglavian hunting), Antimatter remains the go-to. For Tech II guns, you also get access to advanced ammo types—these come with unique bonuses and penalties.

How much ammo should you bring?

• For large railguns (like those on a Kronos), about 2,000 rounds per type is a good starting point.
• Medium and small railguns chew through ammo faster—scale your stockpile accordingly.

Pro Tip: Use your frigate escape bay as an ammo cache. If your main ship runs dry, you can resupply from the frigate loaded with extra charges.

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Railgun Modules: Damage First, Tracking Second

To boost your damage output, start by fitting:

• Magnetic Field Stabilizers – Increase base damage for hybrid turrets.

Then layer in support modules:

• Tracking Enhancers and Tracking Computers – These improve your ability to hit moving targets.
• Use scripts in Tracking Computers:
  • Tracking Speed Script – Improves hit chance against fast or close targets.
  • Optimal Range Script – Pushes your effective damage range further.

Typical loadout philosophy:

• 3x Damage modules, 2x Tracking support. Prioritize damage first, then adapt tracking to your needs.

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Tracking Speed Explained (With Visuals and Explosions)

Tracking speed isn’t about how fast your turret moves—it’s about how well your guns can hit a moving target.

It all comes down to transversal velocity:

• When enemies move towards you in a straight line, their transversal is low, and your shots hit harder and more accurately.
• When enemies orbit or strafe perpendicularly, their transversal increases, and your shots begin to miss or graze.

That’s why, when hunting Triglavians who charge you head-on, you can easily land massive, penetrating hits. In the Kronos Bastion mode, you’ll see crits of 1700+ damage thanks to near-zero transversal. But if an enemy is fast and orbiting, even your best railgun shots may only glance for a few hundred.

Use this to your advantage:

• Bastion mode to lock down and tank.
• Webifiers to slow enemies and reduce their transversal.
• Pre-align your position so enemies approach head-on instead of orbiting.

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Conclusion: Railguns Reward Discipline and Distance

Railguns are about precision. They’re not flashy, but they’re brutally effective when used properly. With the right skills, ammo, modules, and mechanics knowledge, you’ll be smashing enemies at range and watching them pop before they even reach you.

To recap:

• Train fast, general gunnery skills first.
• Start with faction guns, switch to Tech II for long-term damage.
• Master your ammo choices, and carry enough.
• Fit for raw damage first, then tracking.
• Learn the mechanics of transversal and tracking speed.

There’s more depth to explore, and we’ll have future guides for blasters and specific fits like the Proteus coming soon. If you have questions, drop them in the comments—I answer all of them. And if this helped, sub to the channel for more EVE insights.

Until next time, fly smart, aim true—and let those railguns sing.