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Best Purple Shield for PvP?

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
edited August 2010 in PvP Gameplay
I noticed in PvP some ships seem like they have CONCRETE shields...they NEVER fall. And I dont even notice them using shield heals!!

What are the best shields to use for space PvP? Would it be the Purple Covairant CAP X3 ?? 54 Marks of Honor or Exploration is a steep price to find you got the wrong shield.... and dont EVEN get me started on the REDICULOUS Valor costs (you get 4 per stf?! ).
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    They best shield for your ship depends on its class. And the abilities you have given to your BOs. And your playstyle.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I have a purple Covariant [2xcap 1xreg(or is it 3xcap i can't remember)] as well as a purple Resiliant [2xcap 1xreg], and I switch between these depending on the ship I'm in.

    In order to keep shields up I have 2 emergency power to shields to maintain a high amount of power to my shield systems, and my ship is also continuously re-balancing shields to keep the shield faces evenly distributed. Re-balancing with emergency power also improves the rate the shields recharge, and emergency power gives about 25% extra resistance. I'll wait as long as I can before having to pop rsp.
    Since the patch they've also ruined science team III as that also used to give a 50% resistance for a while, as well as recharging all shield faces.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    regx3reg = hardcore :o
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I guess I should have stated I like to tank in my Assault Cruiser. My power settings are usually 108/100/54/42 (Weaps/Shield/Engine/Aux). I use Emer power to weaps, Emer power to shields I, Rotate III(from my Eng Capt), and RSP I in a pinch.

    The thing I noticed, when using covariant, is once the shield facing gets low it takes A LOT to bring them back up.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Well I would play around with the Green (or blue? can't remember) ones you get from the regular PvP and Exploration vendors first, see what suits you best. The purple ones don't really change the equation much.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I am a Tac officer flying an Assault Cruiser, my playstyle is DPS with a side of tank/healing.

    I use Very Rare Covariant Shields [CAP]x3. Each face has 8,490 point capacity, which I find important for resisting alpha strikes. The shields only have a 131 listed regen, but with my standard 71/50 power I get ~245 regen (and a ~14% innate shield damage resistance).

    I regularlly rebalance my shields during a fight, and/or shift power to a specifc facing if I've just one that's failing. I have Reverse Shield Polarity II & III, Science Team I, and Emergency Power to Shields I & II to buff shield healing/resistance as necessary, and of course I keep Shield Batteries in place for use in a pinch.

    Note also my hull is 46,739 with Neutronium Armor (15% resistances) and a base 121.5% repair rate (Aux Power to SIF II, Hazard Emitter II, and Engineering Team II for Hull Buffs). So when my shield fails, I can take a beating while giving them time to get back up.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Resilient [Cap][Reg][WhateverYouWant] + EPtShields + Rotate Shield Frequency + TSS/High shield power = literally impenetrable shields. I say Resilient here because the only damage you'll take is bleedthrough, for which Resilient only has 5%.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I find a maxed out cap covariant best for spamming distribute shields
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I did Resilients on my B-Cruiser up until T5. In fact, it also had a Phaser resist...which was great against the Feds. But the burst pre-patch was too high in T5, so I dropped it.

    I go Cap x2 Covariants now...but with the overall burst fad deminishing, I might try Resilients again ( I really liked them). I have a Resilent with anti-proton resist sitting in my Bank...it might be dusted off in the near future. As of now, there are still a few who can Alpha Strike pretty similar to pre-post levels of effectiveness...these more rare bursts still have me concerned...HYT III + CRF III is still devstating...especially with a Beam Overload mixed in from a dual beam bank. Its still a 2 salvo shield arc down with a 4 torp chaser.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I always go with the Covariant shield with the most [Cap] bonuses I can find...but I run an escort which means that by the time my shields are down I should have either killed the baddie or I'm in a world of hurt, so I don't worry too much about the stated regeneration stats on the shield. Go do daily explore the B'Tran cluster missions for a week or two and buy yourself a purple of whatever kind you find suits your style the best
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    What I hate about covariant shields is that once all the facings have been depleted by half, the entire advantage of them is gone. Short of RSP, outside intervention, or the people attacking you taking a nap, they're not filling that lost bonus capacity back up anytime soon. So, all you're left with is a crappy regeneration rate for the remainder of the fight.

    Regenerative shields, on the other hand, start the fight with half of the capacity as covariant shields. But then for the remainder of the entire fight their bonus regeneration rate is hard at work and being useful. (unlike covariants, which are only useful for the initial alpha strike).

    Bleh.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I've said this before and I'll say it again here.

    you only need as much cap as will give you enough of a response time to respond with your own skills. Unbuffed shields are going to break quickly regardless of what their cap is. A higher cap means that you have a larger response window (its still going to be smaller though). Skills like RSP or boosting shield resistances above 100% will keep a shield face up regardless of the cap.

    Regeneration makes it easier to stay in a fight once your shields take damage. The problem with it is that until your shields actually take damage, that regeneration is worthless. However once you start taking damage, you still need to pump out skills because 6 seconds between regeneration cycles is way too long to actually be counted on in a clutch situation.

    Regardless of cap or regeneration value, you're going to need to use skills to keep the shields alive.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I think personaly the CAPx3 is the way to go but then again im a n00b, at math and all that TRIBBLE and just go on feeling.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    I'm not fond of Covariant Capx3. Once they are down, they are staying down, unless you have RSP. It takes way too long to refill them.

    I think that exposes a problem with the current healing though, there isn't enough shield healing available if you can't heal up depleted shields even using three different shield healing skills.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Combadge wrote:
    What I hate about covariant shields is that once all the facings have been depleted by half, the entire advantage of them is gone. Short of RSP, outside intervention, or the people attacking you taking a nap, they're not filling that lost bonus capacity back up anytime soon. So, all you're left with is a crappy regeneration rate for the remainder of the fight.

    Regenerative shields, on the other hand, start the fight with half of the capacity as covariant shields. But then for the remainder of the entire fight their bonus regeneration rate is hard at work and being useful. (unlike covariants, which are only useful for the initial alpha strike).

    Bleh.

    As previously stated, the best shield for you is based on your role. Covariants are perfect for my BoP. My goal is to uncloak, unloaded as much as possible on a target and if I see my shields take a beating(which means I should be finding the door), I pop RSP, extend away and battle-cloak. Regen and Resilients are pointless, because I need to have as much shielding to protect my frail hull until I can get out of danger. That means I need something that can withstand a good alpha strike or focus fire for the first few seconds only.

    But on my Cruiser, tanking can make good use of Resilients if the burst damage recieved isnt too bad. Frankly, i cant see any use of Regen in the high tiers, the damage I poured on too much, too quickly for 150HP every 6 secs to matter...thats how i see it atleast. Especially when we were dying in 1.5 secs due to alpha strikes from a single ship.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    If you run 100+ shield power regulary, and can live more than 60s alone, than regenerative are best :o 800+ shield heal per tick on all facings. However, they work best with shield reductions. An engineer in cruiser can probably take most advantage of that.

    What people forget, is that you get 4% regenerative bonus for each 1 point of shield setting above 50. Thus on 125 shield power, you get 300% regeneration bonus.

    ResilientX3reg seems interesting to me atm :o
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Covariant capx3 is great for small ships like escorts and BoPs. Buys a few more seconds of time before popping RSP.

    Tanky ships like cruisers and negh'var battle cruisers etc, benefit a lot from resilient shields. Since they can actually tank without RSP for a while and cycle through multiple RSPs over time, the reduced bleedthrough is invaluable for survival.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited June 2010
    Surgery wrote:
    Tanky ships like cruisers and negh'var battle cruisers etc, benefit a lot from resilient shields. Since they can actually tank without RSP for a while and cycle through multiple RSPs over time, the reduced bleedthrough is invaluable for survival.

    The benefit of Resilient shields is often touted as its reduced bleedthrough. The difference is 5% versus a Covariant shield. Let's say you take 10,000 points of damage through shields. The difference in bleedthrough is 500 HP. That's hardly "invaluable"...especially on a Cruiser with over 42k hull HP.

    The math further devalues Resilient shielding when the overall capacity is taken into account. A Covariant Capx3 capacity is roughly 8,500 per facing. A 5% difference on that amount would be only 425 HP. But a Resilient shield doesn't have that maximum capacity. So basing it off the lower shield capacity before hitting hull of 6,500 the difference would only be 325 HP. In other words, hardly worth the 2k extra capacity per facing.

    Now, distributing shield facing power can theoretically place you above the facing capacity. Covariant shields have three other facings at 8.5k so a total "drawing pool" of 25.5K to distribute as compared to the Resilient's drawing pool of only 19.5k total to add to the damaged facing.

    The real comparison of note is between that of Covariant and Regenerative shielding. Some people argue the refresh rate is more valuable and others that the extra facing capacity is. With Extend Shields nerfed into oblivion, other powers need to take up the slack for assistance in recovery of those high capacity Covariants. Regenerative shields have a higher innate refresh rate but the overall capacity loss leaves you with less time to react to Alpha Strikes, less of a drawing pool of power to distribute, and less overall shielding before hitting hull.

    As to the OP's post, in the end, use what you like. Experiment. Test. Don't take anyone's word on a forum...even mine...as gospel. You have a unique and specific playstyle, ship, and BO configuration which may or may not resemble mine and thus you need to find out for yourself what works best for you. But understanding the differences between the shield types and educating yourself as to the mathematics and tactics typically used can lay a foundation upon which you can build your own winning formula. Lots of good information in this thread from some experienced PvP'ers so put it to good use...;)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited August 2010
    MrWinkie wrote: »
    Would it be the Purple Covairant CAP X3 ?? 54 Marks of Honor or Exploration is a steep price to find you got the wrong shield....

    I believe the [Capx3] Covariant is only available through the Mark of Honor store. Mark of Exploration store has a [Capx2,Reg] Covariant I think. There is some overlap between the two stores (most ship weapons, personal armor/shields, maybe kits) but I don' think that is one of them.
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