Outfitting: How does one decide on shield tank/hull tank/shield cell ‘bank tank’?

[Branithar]

I don’t want to just blindly borrow from cool builds, because people will often outfit the same ship in completely different ways, and some builds don’t have a shield at all. Looking at websites like edshipyard and coriolis, how does one decide whether they want to outfit the ship as a shield tank/hull tank/shield cell ‘bank tank’?

 

[Devari]

I don’t want to just blindly borrow from cool builds, because people will often outfit the same ship in completely different ways, and some builds don’t have a shield at all. Looking at websites like edshipyard and coriolis, how does one decide whether they want to outfit the ship as a shield tank/hull tank/shield cell ‘bank tank’?

The only viable builds are generally ones that use some sort of shield tanking. Usually this is based on either high resistances or high absolute MJ (to deal with plasma weapons and ramming) combined with SCBs to keep the shield up. Some "hybrid hull tanks" use a fast biweave shield that can recharge quickly once it drops and relies on hull taking for limited periods instead of SCB use. The choice between a high resistance rating, high shield MJ rating or a biweave setup really depends on what you are building the ship for, i.e., RES/CZ combat (sustained survivability), assassination missions (short-duration survivability) or PVP combat (whatever the current PVP meta happens to be).

Hull tanks without any shields are not generally viable and have never really been competitive with shield tanking builds, they are only really relevant for maximizing certain highly specialized niche builds.

 

[Hacker#451563]

Some of it comes down to the ship itself - different ships with the same shield class often yield significantly different shield ratings so there is much less point "wasting" internals to tank them.
Sometimes it's more of personal flying style -does the pilot like to use silent running a lot for instance.
Are you mostly going to use it against NPCs or players? Players will often use weapons that deal absolute damage like PACs that you need thick shields to counter that as resistances are much less useful.

Other considerations include things like how you want to use your "Utility" slots - Shield boosters + Heatsinks (boosters generate A LOT of heat when fired off) or something else like ECM, Chaff, whatever, or actual utilities like scanners.
Once you have a good idea what you want your ship to be capable of doing well then you should look into what you need to get that going and then you can decide on the kind of defenses that suit you best.

Personally I would advise something of a hybrid set-up until you have a firm grasp on outfitting and flying that particular ship...An undefended hull can go down frighteningly quickly vs. high lvl NPCs and against a combat built player...BOOM.

 

[NCFCpaul]

My FGS does exactly as Devari suggests, bi-weave shields that are not terribly strong and a massive amount of hull reinforcement. When doing this don't forget the module reinforcement, otherwise on many ships I find your canopy can be vulnerable. Module reinforcement resists this.

In practice I find when my shields go down my FGS can soak up an extraordinary amount of punishment and carry along quite happily.

My advice is that the websites are helpful but the practical aspect of getting out there in the game is better.

I spent ages trying to find the right combat ship for me, the one I enjoyed the most. I ended up with a build most others may not like or agree with, so I get the point of wanting to figure out what works for you.

Everyone recommends the FDL, I tried it, the Mamba, the Alliance ships, I tried everything I could and the process itself was fun. It isn't quite as expensive as you might think either as many modules can be carried over and you sell the ships you don't like.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Without copying too much, it's basically to the ships.

FDL, Krait, Corvette, Python, Mamba, and a few others make excellent shields tanks.

FDS, FAS, FGS, Chieftain and Challenger make excellent hybrids.

 

[13A]

I guess it also depends on your fighting style.

Personally I don't like SCBs. There's nothing wrong with them, I just never got to grips with them. I find small biweaves on a hull tank are better - they're not the strongest, but when they drop they're not down for long.

 

[Bortas]

I don’t want to just blindly borrow from cool builds, because people will often outfit the same ship in completely different ways, and some builds don’t have a shield at all. Looking at websites like edshipyard and coriolis, how does one decide whether they want to outfit the ship as a shield tank/hull tank/shield cell ‘bank tank’?

Generally try to fly a ship to its strengths... some combat ships are clearly predestined to be flown as hull tank/hybrid (i.e. Federal Assault Ship), while others are obviously designed as shield tanks (FdL, Mamba). Most multi role ships are best used as SCB shield tanks, because they have room to fit several large SCBs, i.e. Python or Krait Mk2.

Only few ships can be used similarly effective both ways. An example is the Imperial Clipper, which can be a reasonably durable shield tank thanks to a C7 SCB but is also a good hull tank hybrid with a C7 bi weave and plenty of HRPs/MRPs.

 

[Trollymctrollerson]

Dont try hull tanking with anything slow. Anaconda hull tank= death by broken modules. Shield cell banks are heavy and power hungry so be mindful of that when debating whether to use them, especially on smaller ships. If you do opt for a bi weave/regen focused set up, dont forget the point defense.

 

[DNA-Decay]

I haven’t flown it in 3.3

And everyone hates my build.

They say: “Don’t do that”

But the bulk of my combat rank has been done in this shieldless hull-tank Frag Krait. The Cyco Star-Pig.

It has PvP survivability and the couple of times I’ve seen a CMDR go pop when I ram them were particularly satisfying.
https://inara.cz/cmdr-fleet/3414/554577/

 

[JetsonRING]

Ask 100 CMDRs and you will likely get 100 opinions. Like many other things in life you must use what works best . . . for you.

Different CMDRs will each achieve success in their chosen tasks using whatever build they find to be the most effective and easiest to use for them. Some CMDRs will always prefer shield tanks, some will prefer hull tanks and some, "bank" tanks. You must experiment with everything and choose the setup that will best help you to achieve success in battle.

Also, the situation is fluid. As another CMDR noted "whatever the current PVP meta happens to be". The game is constantly evolving and whatever outfit is the current "best" outfit is might not be the best setup next week or next month.

 

[Oopsie Daisy]

Don't worry about what is "best". Do what seems fun to you. E.g., right now I am running a shieldless T10 with torps and pack hounds, it is fun as heck, and it owns against shield tanks.