EVE Online Ship Classes & Roles Guide

EVE Online has 350+ flyable ships—too many to list individually. They are categorized by Size (Meta Level), Role, and Faction (Race).

Size Hierarchy (Small → Large)

1. Shuttles / Corvettes / Frigates: Fast, cheap, tackle/scout.
2. Destroyers: Frigate hull, more guns; anti-frigate / salvaging.
3. Cruisers: Versatile backbone; T2 variants (HACs, Recons, Logi).
4. Battlecruisers: Cruiser hull, battleship guns; DPS projection.
5. Battleships: Heavy tank/DPS; fleet backbone.
6. Capital Ships: Carriers, Dreadnoughts, Force Auxiliaries (FAX), Supercarriers, Titans. Require Cynosural fields; cannot use gates.

Primary Roles (Cross-Size)

• Combat: Tackle (Interceptor), DPS (HAC, Marauder), EWAR (Recon), Logistics (Guardian/Scimitar).
• Industry: Mining (Barge/Exhumer), Hauling (Transport/Freighter), Manufacturing (Rorqual).
• Exploration: Covert Ops (Astero, Stratios), Scanning frigates.
• Support: Command Ships (Links), Black Ops (Bridge), Jump Freighters.

Racial Flavors

• Amarr: Lasers (EM/Thermal), Armor Tank, Drones.
• Caldari: Missiles (Kinetic), Shield Tank, ECM.
• Gallente: Hybrid (Thermal/Kinetic), Armor/Shield, Drones.
• Minmatar: Projectiles (Selectable Damage), Shield/Speed, Utility.

Browse In-Game: Use the Ship Tree (Neocom → Ship Tree) or external tools like EVE Uni Ship Chart / EVE Workbench.