Starting Out In DUST 514: 0 SP Dropsuit Fits

DUST 514 can be harsh for the new player.  While EVE Online is unfriendly to those starting out due to its complexity, DUST matches are loaded with experienced, high SP players prepared to ruin your day.  The fastest way to close that gap is to level into the proficiency skill for the weapon of your choice.  Then begins the slow grind into better dropsuits and modules.  That grind is necessary to rule the battlefield in the long run, but for the most part you won't notice your gear helping your gameplay on a day to day basis.  This is especially true if you screw up and waste your SP experimenting with different archtypes and play styles.  I cannot express how important it is to conserve your SP until you know exactly what kind of DUST player you want to become.

DUST comes with four starter fits.  The great thing about those fits is they are completely free.  The bad thing is you wouldn't be caught dead fitting better suits in a similar fashion.  You can replace the mods and weapons on those fits if you chose, but you can not remove them to fit something better in a slot elsewhere.  While you can use those fits to rake in some quick cash to pay for skill books while you learn how to work the controller, they offer nothing in terms of showing how you will be fitting your dropsuits to fill battlefield roles later on in the game. However, there are ways to mimic useful loadouts using dirt cheap militia gear.  Although the range of selection is limited, and the fitting requirements are more restrictive than basic gear, there are ways to fit your dropsuit in order to test out different styles of gameplay without using a single skillpoint.  Here's a handful I came up with:

Medium Suits       

Shield Assault

Militia Caldari Medium Frame

Militia Assault Rifle

(Sidearm Empty)

Militia Shield Extender

Militia Shield Extender

Militia PG Upgrade

Militia Drop Uplink

(Grenade Empty)

Cost: 2855 isk

Assault suits are tough to mimic as you will be the weakest assault suit on the field.  The PG Upgrade is there in order to fit the Drop Uplink.  The reason being, uplinks are the easiest way to earn WP, giving higher isk payouts at the end of the match.  So while you take your lumps trying to become a solid line soldier, you will do so with a fatter wallet.

Armor Assault

Militia Gallente Medium Frame

Militia Assault Rifle

(Sidearm Empty)

Militia Armor Plate

Militia Armor Plate

Militia PG Upgrade

Militia Drop Uplink

Cost: 2975 isk

Shield tanking is typically better than armor tanking when it comes to infantry.  This loadout is designed to show you the difference, especially when it comes to the speed drawback.  However, the armor buff may lead to winning encounters you typically wouldn't win in a shield suit.  It also approximates the feel of a commando suit, albeit with far less shield buffer.  A local repairer does fit in the place or an armor plate.  However, buffer is usually preferred when going forward in battle.   

 Anti-Armor

Militia Amarr Medium Frame

Militia Swarm Launcher

Militia Submachine Gun or Scrambler Pistol

Militia Light Damage Modifier

Militia Light Damage Modifier

Militia Nanohive

Militia Locus Grenade

Cost: 3055 isk

There is a starter anti-armor fit in the game, but this one is much better.  AV got a nerf in Uprising 1.7, so you definitely need the damage modifiers.  This loadout also features a nanohive for reloading your swarm launcher.

Sniper

Militia Amarr Medium Frame
(Sidearm Empty)
Militia Sniper Rifle

Militia Light Damage Modifier

Militia Light Damage Modifier

Militia Nanohive

(Grenade Empty)

Cost: 2605 isk

Again, there is a free sniper fit already in the game, but this one hits harder and allows you to reload.  Unlike the other fittings, this one is designed to test out the sniper lifestyle more than it is a serious fit.  Advanced snipers should have more self-protection and survival options in their loadouts.

Remote Armor Repper

Militia Minmatar Medium Frame
Militia Assault Rifle
Militia Shield Extender
Militia Shield Extender
Militia Light Damage Modifier
Militia Repair Tool
Militia Locus Grenade

Cost: 3180 isk

This is a decent all-around fit with some survival in mind in order to test out the remote rep.  Swap the repair tool for a nano injector if you like.  Logi suits start off with 2-3 equipment slots in their basic suits and it is impossible to mimic it with militia gear.

Light Suits

Shotgun Scout

Militia Gallente Light Frame
Militia Shotgun
Militia Submachine Gun
Militia Profile Dampener
(Equipment Slot Empty)
Militia Locus Grenade

Cost: 2510 isk

Scout suits require a considerable amount of role-specific SP to become beasts on the battlefield.  You MUST know you want to play primarily as a scout before spending the skillpoints.  This fit will allow you to experience and figure out how to get in close and blow the enemy's head off (and usually dieing seconds later). 


Faction Warfare Scout

Militia Minmatar Light Frame
Militia Shotgun
Militia Submachine Gun
Militia Cardiac Regulator
Militia Codebreaker
Militia Nanite Injector
(Grenade Slot Empty)

Cost: 2465 isk

Although scouts tend to be atrocious in a firefight, one thing they excel at is creating havoc in Skirmish matches.  As a result, the above fit is the only one I would recommend using in Faction Warfare matches.  The Cardiac Regulator is to help cover the most amount of ground, the Shotgun is for shooting someone trying to hack in the ass, and Codebreaker helps you steal those points for the good guys.  The Nanite Injector could be used to save valuable clones, and I left the grenade slot blank as you will probably do a lot of team-killing with them, something unique to FW matches.

Heavy Suits

Forge Gunner

Militia Amarr Heavy Frame

Militia Forge Gun

Militia Submachine Gun or Scrambler Pistol

Militia Heavy Damage Modifier

Militia Armor Repairer

Militia Locus Grenade

Cost: 2710 isk

There are no Militia Heavy Machine Guns, the infantry weapon for heavy suits.  In order to try them out, you need to skill into Gunnery V, and then Heavy Machine Gun I.  That is a considerable amount of SP when starting out.  Although this suit is for the Forge Gun, you can still sample the feel of the lumbering beast and see how you like it.  The gun itself is a mighty AV weapon, so you can always use this as a 0 SP fallback option is enemy tanks are becoming a problem. 


In conclusion, the aim of these fittings is to allow mercs to sample different play styles before committing to a specific training route.  All of these suits are cheap and allow you to die over and over and over while still making a decent profit, especially in Ambush matches.  Spending SP to get into basic equipment may allow you to fit in an extra mod, but your performance gain may not be even noticeable.

As I mentioned earlier, the quickest way to close the skill gap is to get a rifle proficiency trained.  I advise the first thing you spend SP on is getting the three other rifles not available to level one (Scrambler, Combat, and Rail) and play around with them in place of the Militia Assault Rifle.  Pick the one of the four you like the most and train all way up until at least proficiency II before you even start your core skills.