<b>Caldari Battleship bonuses (per skill level):</b><br>
30% bonus to Afterburner velocity bonus<br>
'''Amarr Battleship bonuses (per skill level):'''<br>
7.5% bonus to Large Energy Turret tracking speed<br>
'''Role Bonus:'''<br>
150% bonus to Large Energy Turret damage<br>
100% bonus to Shield Extender hitpoints<br>
50% bonus to Armor Plate hitpoints<br>
5% Additional bonus to Reinforced Bulkhead hitpoints
6,950 GJ
830 m³
Battleship
710
75 m³
Sansha's Nation
Pirate Faction Battleships
High Amount of Medium Slots
6
Nightmare Class
0.122
When this terror was first seen haunting the spacelanes, rumors abounded about its design, which bore the indelible stamp of Sansha Kuvakei's unique madness. Who else, the conspiracy theorists argued, could come up with such marvelously twisted designs?
These and other theories were all but confirmed during the Sansha invasions of YC 111-112, as endless swarms of Nightmare fleets descended upon planet dweller and capsuleer alike, eager to serve their returned master Sansha Kuvakei once again.
The Nightmare is a pirate laser battleship created by the Sansha's Nation. Like other Sansha ships, the Nightmare requires Caldari and Amarr ship command skills, has bonuses for afterburner speed and energy turrets, and is designed to be shield tanked.
While the Nightmare only has 4 turret slots, its flat 150% damage bonus makes its lasers deal as much damage as 10 unbonused turrets, without any skill training and at less than half the capacitor cost.
The Nightmare's main drawbacks are its sheer cost in ISK, and its demanding SP requirements. It is commonly used in PvE combat in Incursions, and in PvP combat by wealthy soloists and when well-resourced but outnumbered groups need to escalate to a powerful sub-capital fleet and cannot resort to the "n+1" tactic of a larger HAC gang. The Nightmare also sees frequent use by richer nullsec alliances as a fast, long-ranged, hard-hitting doctrine ship.
Skills
A Nightmare is an expensive investment for many pilots, and deserves excellent general support skills. Capacitor skills such as Capacitor Systems Operation, Capacitor Management, and Controlled Bursts will be especially important, as will navigation and afterburner skills for PvP Nightmares.
While in most contexts Nightmares almost universally fit afterburners, an Incursion Nightmare is typically MWD-fit, so its pilot only needs the first rank of Caldari Battleship.
Tactics
As a shield tanker and a laser boat, the Nightmare's capacitor requirements tend to be very high. Although its 7 mid slots look generous, they often have to be used for capacitor upgrades or a capacitor booster as well as the shield tank.
Since the afterburner speed bonus (150% with Caldari Battleship V trained) makes a Nightmare able to treat an afterburner much like a MWD on any other ship, it has a particular niche as one of the most powerful and tactically-flexible ships which can enter an ESS grid, where MWDs do not work and capital ships cannot go.
