Eldar Ships utilize Solar Sails to capture stellar energy, allowing for swift movement. These ships are renowned as graceful and extremely maneuverable, allowing them to dart in and launch their attacks and then pulling back before enemy fleets have a chance to react. Eldar ships are usually protected by Holofields which distort targeting sensors, making them very hard to hit but offering less physical protection compared to the vessels of other races. This emphasize on speed and confusion fits the Eldar naval methods of war perfectly, particularly those of Eldar corsairs.[1]
While Eldar flotillas are devastating, especially in raids, if an enemy fleet can bring sufficient force to bear the lightly protected warships of the Eldar may be overwhelmed by weight of firepower. Thus strength in numbers and compact defense have always been the best tactics to use against Eldar fleets. Besides raiding, Eldar ships are often designed around escorting their Craftworlds and other civilian ships.
Eldar fleets are often famous for the skill and experience of their crews and pilots,[1] their highly trained psychic Helmsmen and Wayfarers walk the Path of the Mariner.[2] Larger ships, like the Eclipse Class Cruiser are piloted by the captain-equivalent Craftmistress (or Craftmaster), and her crew including her second-in-command known as the Lann Caihe or Water Bringer, who is responsible for tempering the Craftmistress in her command from the temptation of excess that the power she commands brings, and communications officers known as Thought Talkers,[5] and sometimes psychic navigators known as Void Dreamers are consulted to determine safe Webway and Warp paths.[6] Besides the primary fleets of Craftworlds, smaller Shadowhunter patrols are also dispatched to scout ahead, disrupt the enemy, and generally do as they please.[2]
For faster-than-light travel, Eldar ships utilize the parallel dimension known as the Webway. Craftworld docks have massive Webway portals that even the most gargantuan of Eldar vessel can travel through in order to quickly arrive at their destination. The largest vessels of the Eldar fleet also contain their own Webway portals that allow them to move smaller vessels and even ground troops into position quickly.[2]
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