Ships 7A Prismatic or 6A Prismatic or Bi-Weave or 7A Shields for Anaconda?

[BestestTiger]

Fellow Anaconda owners, now that I have the choice to buy Prismatic shields, I'd like to know your opinions. Which shields do you think are the best for Anaconda? Which ones do you use?

7A Prismatic or 6A Prismatic? Would 6A Prismatic be a good choice since it's less heavy? I'm concerned about 7A Prismatic's mass because I don't want my jump range to go down a lot, but if 7A Prismatic is so much better in terms of protection, I guess I will have to go with a more reduced jump range.

Other choices I consider are the 7C Bi-Weave shields I'm using now, I like them because they recharge faster. Would you prefer Bi-Weave to Prismatic? What about 7A?

I do mostly PVE, and all activities, occasional combat, trading, mining, etc.

 

[Deefrize]

if you using shield cell banks , shield will be 6 class , if not.. just take Bi-Weave 7C
Prismatic shield is more for PVP.. or just for bigger ships like Vette and Cutter.. conda have smallest shields in big 3 ships..
so.. Bi-Weave on conda is really good choice in pve and pvp(if you have good hull , something like from 3K+.)
I am playing in open play with 6C Bi-Weave shield 1520MJ (4 Shield boosters) for me its more than enough..+ i have 7A+6A shield cell banks.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

The Anaconda's biggest strengths are its cargo capacity and jump range.

7A prismatics ruin both of these things with their vast weight, power draw and loss of the 128T cargo bay. Not only that, the Anaconda has the weakest shields of the big three anyway, so it's kind of a waste. Class 5 shields are the most efficient shield for the hull mass - Just to give you an idea, the 7A Prismatic will give you 700MJ (raw) on the Anaconda for 160T, whilst the 5A prismatic will give you 528MJ (raw) which is three quarters the shield strength for one quarter the mass and cargo space; It is literally 3x better in the "shields per mass/size" metric. Make up the MJ difference with an extra heavy booster if you must, but those larger cargo slots are best used for SCBs if you're making a battle wagon rather than a more general-purpose ship, at which point the size of the SCBs is more important than having the absolute largest original shield.

Honestly though, if you want a battle wagon, the Anaconda's just not the best ship for that - the fact you can afford 7A prismatics means you can afford a Corvette which is better in a fight, or a Cutter which is what 8A prismatics were made for. The Anaconda is certainly not a bad[i/] battle wagon, but heavy combat doesn't play to the ship's strengths.

For a general-purpose PVE build capable of REZ farming etc, I'd stick with high-resistance 5C bi-weaves (via thermal mod and 3x aug + 2x heavy boosters). That's going to get you ~3000MJ effective, but with the faster regen of bi-weaves being amplified by the high effective-to-raw ratio. A 2.2MJ/s unbroken regen rate actually works out to 7.7MJ/s regen rate with the above mentioned loadout, good for another 460MJ of effective shields for every minute you can avoid getting hit. The only downside to low-capacity/high-resist shields is that they're bad for ramming attacks so if you're a clumsy pilot who crashes a lot or can't avoid a ramming attack I'd suggest a 6A normal shield with the reinforced mod, 3x heavy-duty boosters to get you to around 2000MJ and then at least one thermal-resist booster. It'll be tougher than the bi-weave setup but regen is almost nonexistent compared to the resistant bi-weave build so it won't actually allow you to stay in a REZ or CZ for as long.

 

[Imo]

For pve you can use 7C be-weave. For pvp better use 7A prismatic. Do not use smaller classes of shields.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

For pve you can use 7C be-weave. For pvp better use 7A prismatic. Do not use smaller classes of shields.

Because otherwise you'll have cargo space, jump range, and space for larger SCBs?

You're right, those things all sound terrible. I definitely think that a lack of cargo space, poor jump range and no room for a large SCB is a totally worth the almost insignificant increase in base shield strength; Your reasoning was sound and very persuasive.
(/s)

 

[Caramel Clown]

Because otherwise you'll have cargo space, jump range, and space for larger SCBs?

You're right, those things all sound terrible. I definitely think that a lack of cargo space, poor jump range and no room for a large SCB is a totally worth the almost insignificant increase in base shield strength; Your reasoning was sound and very persuasive.
(/s)

He was right though, if we talk combat scenario here class 7 is the best option, hands down. You will most likely go over optimal mass if you use lower class and want a full combat outfit.

 

[Deefrize]

The Anaconda's biggest strengths are its cargo capacity and jump range.

7A prismatics ruin both of these things with their vast weight, power draw and loss of the 128T cargo bay. Not only that, the Anaconda has the weakest shields of the big three anyway, so it's kind of a waste. Class 5 shields are the most efficient shield for the hull mass - Just to give you an idea, the 7A Prismatic will give you 700MJ (raw) on the Anaconda for 160T, whilst the 5A prismatic will give you 528MJ (raw) which is three quarters the shield strength for one quarter the mass and cargo space; It is literally 3x better in the "shields per mass/size" metric. Make up the MJ difference with an extra heavy booster if you must, but those larger cargo slots are best used for SCBs if you're making a battle wagon rather than a more general-purpose ship, at which point the size of the SCBs is more important than having the absolute largest original shield.

Honestly though, if you want a battle wagon, the Anaconda's just not the best ship for that - the fact you can afford 7A prismatics means you can afford a Corvette which is better in a fight, or a Cutter which is what 8A prismatics were made for. The Anaconda is certainly not a bad[i/] battle wagon, but heavy combat doesn't play to the ship's strengths.

For a general-purpose PVE build capable of REZ farming etc, I'd stick with high-resistance 5C bi-weaves (via thermal mod and 3x aug + 2x heavy boosters). That's going to get you ~3000MJ effective, but with the faster regen of bi-weaves being amplified by the high effective-to-raw ratio. A 2.2MJ/s unbroken regen rate actually works out to 7.7MJ/s regen rate with the above mentioned loadout, good for another 460MJ of effective shields for every minute you can avoid getting hit. The only downside to low-capacity/high-resist shields is that they're bad for ramming attacks so if you're a clumsy pilot who crashes a lot or can't avoid a ramming attack I'd suggest a 6A normal shield with the reinforced mod, 3x heavy-duty boosters to get you to around 2000MJ and then at least one thermal-resist booster. It'll be tougher than the bi-weave setup but regen is almost nonexistent compared to the resistant bi-weave build so it won't actually allow you to stay in a REZ or CZ for as long.

^^^ This!!+++

I am using 5A prismatics (thermal) + 5 boosters (3 heavy + 2 resistance aug.) and with this i have 2097MJ 50/51/64 resistance 7A + 2x6A SCB and thats much more MJ from SCB than in Vette(2x7A SCB's).
And i can also use 6D fighter hangar.
p.s.
Here is a little examlpe :
Anaconda have 400t hull mass

Prismatic shield gen 7A is optimal mass 1060t (2366MJ)
+ we have 3x6A shield cells
our raw shield strenght is 7886MJ , effective shield from 23K+30K

Prismatic shield gen 5A is optimal mass 405t (1786MJ)
+ we have 1x7A , 2x6A shield cells
our raw shield strenght is 8061Mj , effective shield from 26K+33K
With this configuration we can use 6D fighter hangar.

Prismatic shield gen 5A is optimal mass 405t (1786MJ)
+ we have 1x7A , 2x6A shield cells
our raw shield strenght is 10441Mj , effective shield from 30K+40K

There is my shield on my conda with secondary effects
Prismatic shield gen 5A is optimal mass 447t (2097MJ)
+ we have 1x7A , 2x6A shield cells
our raw shield strenght is 8912Mj , effective shield from 26K+34K
With this configuration we can use 6D fighter hangar.

with secondary effects(optimal strenght + optimal mass) you can have 1900-2200MJ for 5A prismatics.

Still dont get it? good luck with 7A prismatics shields on anaconda

 

[XW_Ziggy]

He was right though, if we talk combat scenario here class 7 is the best option, hands down. You will most likely go over optimal mass if you use lower class and want a full combat outfit.

He really isn't. Here, let me educate you - and I may be out of date, in which case please correct me - but here's why you're both wrong:

Only your hull mass is taken into consideration by the shield generator, so factoring in the total mass of your full loadout for your shield calculations is completely wrong; It's always 400T for an anaconda, whether it's an Exploraconda or a Battleconda, meaning that C5 is optimal for shields and larger class shields suffer a huge penalty modifier based on the hull mass calculations. Yes, they're a little bit bigger, but it just so wasteful.

Secondly, the PVP meta is still in SCBs rather than generators, right? If you had two slots avaiable - say a C7 and C6 bay, you are better off using a C6 generator a C7 SCB than the other way around. A C7 prismatic shield is only 93MJ stronger than the C6 prismatic shield on an Anaconda. Let's not even think about the extra mass, cost, and power draw! A C7 SCB is 1295MJ higher. Why in sanity's name would you give up the C7 SCB?! Let me put it this way, would you like 93MJ more shielding, or 1295MJ more shielding? (oh, and if you take the 93MJ option you'll lose jump range and need a massively overcharged power generator with efficiency issues that will cause you to overheat during intense combat.)

Feedback cascade rails are a thing, but even if you find a mythically-competent PVP opponent in a dual feedback rail build, it's highly unlikely that they'll successfully block even half of your SCB usage. Let's me play devil's advocate though and suggest that this opponent is SO AMAZEBALLS that they get perfect dual-volley feedback cascade hits on your SCBs every single time. Even then, it's only going to reduce the SCB output by 90% so that remaining 314MJ that actually works is still 3.5x more useful than the C7 prismatic shield would have been! Realistically though, I encounter feedback cascade PVP players one time in ten or so, and even then they tend to be single-volley, and even then you have to fly in a straight line in front of them whilst activating your SCB for them to have a chance. The window of opportunity for them is only 5 seconds so I just go to ram them and hit the SCB so that they spend the majority of my four (rapid charge mod) vulnerable seconds turning around to face me again.

 

[Lucius-Darcia]

For a multirole PvE Anaconda i prefer myself class 6A prismatic shields (g5 reinforced) with a 6A SCB and 3x 0E SB (1x thermal res, 1x res aug, 1x heavy duty)

 

[ForeverN00b]

Right now I use a c6 prismatic but I might consider a c5 prismatic so I can use a c6 fighter bay. I also use a c7 and 2 c6 SCBs.

 

[Spartanous]

I use 7A shields with 4 boosters. spent 3 hrs in haz res with more than 40 ships destroyed and had to use 1SCB.
this ship is a star destroyer. had to fix the ship with 21k CR total after

 

[Broadsword1986]

C6 prismatics on my multirole conda allowing the use of the single C7 slot to be switched up with a cargo-rack or a C7 SCB depending on what it is that I intend to do.

 

[Dad Rock]

I'm a little late on this, but thanks to everyone hear for commenting. I'm currently trying to build my PvE Anaconda and I've learned so much already just by reading your input. o7.

 

[Karamon]

I am not most experienced player but i did some testing of shields on Annie lately.

First i planned 7A prismatic approach but when i tested 7A shield i noticed it is not good for extended combat . You need to use SCB quite often to keep them up as they simply don't regenerate enough for extended fights. Yes they arte still good in Haz RES , but there you don't fight multiple ships too oftne. Next i took it to High CZ and when luck runs out i was out of heat sinks and SCB in 30 minutes .

Build i used was 7a shield Reinforced + 3x SB thermal + 4x SB heavy duty . ~2700 mj +2x 6A scb with single 4 shots Heat sink . SCB used both + single shoot of Heat sink .

Even with prismatics you will get ~3500 shield strenght keepinmg thermal and kinetic resistances above 40% , nowhere near the shields of Corvette.

Then i changed my approach.

7C bi weave with thermal resistance , biggest selling point of Biweave is regen rate , we don't want to reduce it using reinforced shield mod.
3x resistance augmented SB for CZ , 2x +KWS for bounty hunting
4x heavy duty SB


I really have do do something really stupid like atacking wing of Annie and FAS and FDL or other medium/big ships in groups to even bother using SCB, but i still keep thoise 2 6A + single heat sink with ammo upgrade

Another thing is that to really use 7A shield i had to keep more pips to SYS , at least 3 , sometimes more otherwise they were going down fast , with Bi weave with high resistances i just put 3 pips to weapons leaving 1.5 pip in engines and SYS and this is enough most of the time

*EDIT*

Just read Deefrize post , so what i undertstand if you want to focus on SCB effectiveness go for smaller shields with bigger SCB ? Quite nice to know , but i still prefer to focus on passive shielding with a little boost from smaller scb in time of crisis , i do not like run out of any type of ammo when i am doing my massacre missions

 

[Gueromarinero]

Wow

I am a fairly recent player so I am just getting to the point where I can upgrade beyond the "sure, she'll make it there... probably" stage. Like all things I will see what works for me, but I'm both impressed and grateful for the detailed analysis and real(ish) world experience. I am not alone relying on other CMDR's experience so I just wanted to say Thank you! See you in the black. o7

 

[sedilbur]

Hi,

I personally use a 7C shield for my PVE multirole Conda with a 6B SCB (in case of Oh button). In the past, I have compared 7A and 7A Prismatic.

My conclusion was that the 7A Prismatic despite have a better shield value in MJ has terrible cons. Mass & power draw & regen. Which was limiting me. You have to use SCB to recharge your shield because between two rapid combats...it will not top up to 100%.

But Deefrize has also a good alternative with Prismatic 5A.