Interesting observation regarding MRP depletion priority

Morbad

Morbad
Figured I'd test this again since it's been quite a while, so I fired up the beta (wanted the most recent build of the game as 3.3 is about to drop and I doubt this will be changed when it goes live) and equipped a T-10 with seven flechette launchers and various permutations of MRPs. I then proceeded to shoot myself, a lot...

MRPs are depleted in the order they appear in the module pane, from top to bottom, which is determined by rating first (Ds always come before Es) and actual module slot location (ones near the top of the list in outfitting are depleted first). I was originally under the assumption that they were depleted in order of size, but this seems to have been a side effect of larger modules normally being closer to the top in outfitting.

Anyway, this has a few interesting implications, namely that if you want to mix MRPs to prolong a given protection value, don't bother with large E rated ones, just use the biggest D rated ones you can slot, then save the smallest slot you can spare for a small E (or D rated) one. If you have an AFMU, you should only need to repair your large D rated MRP.

Also, on a completely unrelated tangent, heatsinks restore ~20MJ of WEP, irrespective of ammo grade from synthesis.
 

rekurzion

rekurzion
MRPs don't work like that. E rated is not of lower quality than D rated. One is for burst damage the other for sustained damage. You will discover different behavior if someone were to target a module with lasers or mc's. Flachette launchers are burst damage so D rated will be more effective.

Read the descriptions carefully, they explain the differences.
 

Morbad

Morbad
rekurzion said:
MRPs don't work like that.
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MRPs work the way they work and what I have described is precisely the sequence in which they are depleted.

rekurzion said:
E rated is not of lower quality than D rated.
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Who said they were?

E rated MRPs absorb 30/15% of the damage that would otherwise make it to internal/external modules, but have slightly higher integrity than D rated MRPs, which absorb 60/30% of the damage that would otherwise be dealt to internal/external modules.

rekurzion said:
One is for burst damage the other for sustained damage. You will discover different behavior if someone were to target a module with lasers or mc's. Flachette launchers are burst damage so D rated will be more effective.
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They are both for protecting modules and stack multiplicatively with each other for determining total damage resistance.

With this in mind they can be mixed toward different ends with regard to how much damage absorbtion one needs and how long one wants them to last. This is where the sequence of depletion becomes important; having a lower integrity MRP deplete first means you lose that MRPs protection sooner.

What's more or less effective is extremely situational. For example, if you have fragile modules, but don't expect to be in protracted engagements while they are exposed, then you want maximum % of protection, even if the MRPs are rapidly depleted. If you expect a longer engagement, and want to extend the duration of protection to durable, critical modules, you want a lower % of protection, but more integrity.

Mixing E and D modules allows one to adjust these factors with more granularity, but if you aren't mindful of the sequence in which the MRPs will be depleted, you'll lose much of the benefits you could otherwise have.

In the case of flechettes, which I was using simply because they were a convenient way of damaging my own modules, high resistance will protect your fragile externals, at the expense of rapidly depleting your MRPs and then leaving everything else without protection...so high protection percentages are not always wise for resisting burst damage like this.

rekurzion said:
Read the descriptions carefully, they explain the differences.
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I'm well aware of the differences between E and D MRPs.
 
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Morbad

Morbad
Slange Lands said:
Awesome, Commander Morbad! Do you think the guardian module reinforcements work similarly?
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I don't have them and haven't tested them, but I'd expect them to take priority over other MRPs as the module list is sorted by power consumption and Guardian MRPs are the only kind that consume power.
 

moorison

M
Morbad said:
I don't have them and haven't tested them, but I'd expect them to take priority over other MRPs as the module list is sorted by power consumption and Guardian MRPs are the only kind that consume power.
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I would need to check next time, but I think my defensive Guardian modules were always on the bottom of the list (after several entries without power consumption).
 

Morbad

Morbad
moorison said:
I would need to check next time, but I think my defensive Guardian modules were always on the bottom of the list (after several entries without power consumption).
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Interesting.

Confirmation would be appreciated, especially if you can slot a standard MRP as well.
 

moorison

M
OK, there are multiple modules that don't consume power above the Guardian reinforcements (scanner and cargo racks), but the normal reinforcements are below them.
 

rekurzion

rekurzion
Krash said:
The impudence! You must be new around here :D
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not that new. the original post was sound but encapsulated a lot of information a newbie wouldn't know, to me it gave the impression that OP was saying D are better than E when its context specific. Their reply cleared that up nicely. didn't want someone reading the first post then getting upset when they faced a different scenario and didn't get the same results.

did i really come off as a jerk? must have not had my earl gray that day.
 
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