Power distributor and Sheild strength.

[Greyhart]

Does the class of power distributor effect the shield strength?

As we know the number of pips increases the resistance from 0% to 56% with 4 pips. I.e. The sheilds stay up longer.

The logic of this is that more energy is flowing to the shields. negating weapon damage.

Power distributors effect the amount of power in that flow.

For example (figures are made up)

A class 3E distributor might have 2mj flowing into SYS with 4 pips.

A class 5A power distributor might have 4mj flowing into SYS WITH 4 pips.

Does this mean a sheild powered by a class 5A distributor will last twice as long as the same shield supplied by a class 3E distributor?

 

[crushdepth]

I don't think so. But if your distributor is undersized it will not be able to keep up with the shield's power draw when it is damaged, and your sys capacitor will drain out, and then your shield recharge rate will slow down badly.

 

[Greyhart]

If it doesn't I would point out that it makes no sense that how open a valve is should not determine strength. The amount flowing through should.

 

[bootsam]

There are a multitude of valves. Not all are merely flow rate control.

 

[Nerwan]

Does the class of power distributor effect the shield strength?

As we know the number of pips increases the resistance from 0% to 56% with 4 pips. I.e. The sheilds stay up longer.

The logic of this is that more energy is flowing to the shields. negating weapon damage.

Power distributors effect the amount of power in that flow.

For example (figures are made up)

A class 3E distributor might have 2mj flowing into SYS with 4 pips.

A class 5A power distributor might have 4mj flowing into SYS WITH 4 pips.

Does this mean a sheild powered by a class 5A distributor will last twice as long as the same shield supplied by a class 3E distributor?

No so here's how it works (at the moment). As you say your SYS fills up depending on the size of your distributor but your shields do not recharge at that rate. All shields in the game except bi-weave shields charge at exactly the same rate. That means if you have a little tiny distributor (say on an eagle) you'll need to put 4 PIPS into SYS to charge your shields. If you have an Anaconda you'll only need 1 PIP in system to keep your shields charging.

Think of it as a bucket with a hole in. Your SYS affects how fast you fill the bucket, but the shields charge based on how much comes out of the hole. Not matter how fast you fill the bucket, the hole remains the same size.

Note: They're talking about changing how this works in the next version of the game.

 

[Greyhart]

I am not asking about the charge rate.

I am talking about the resistance increase received from putting pips into SYS

 

[Nerwan]

I am not asking about the charge rate.

I am talking about the resistance increase received from putting pips into SYS

If you're just asking about strength, then strength is completely unaffected by distributor size.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Shield_Generator

 

[Greyhart]

If you're just asking about strength, then strength is completely unaffected by distributor size.

But it is effected by the number of pips in SYS.

How does it make any sense that a larger distributor does not increase the resistance more than a small distributor

 

[Kneejo]

Can someone explain to me how the mechanic works behind 4 pips to sys, without pointing at that one test that one guy did on one shield class with one ship?
As far as I understand the mechanics, there is no reason for your shield to have more resistance with more pips to sys. The only thing pips increases is the power available to recharge the sys capacitor. Just like one post above here mentions, if you don't have enough sys capacitor the shield will not recharge efficiently. The only thing that makes a shield have more MJ of 'resistance' is the fact that the recharge rate from the capacitor effectively gives more MJ to the shield, and thus the shield lasts longer. On a very large shield this effect is relatively much less than on a smaller sized shield. This is all I know about the mechanics.

So, please someone explain to me the mechanics behind the 4 pips to shield idea. I'm about to debunk this myth and that guy who tested it, but as far as I can tell no one understands the actual mechanics behind it, so my debunk would be useless as I would be talking about things that you wouldn't even comprehend in the first place.

Go! Bring on the flames! But I would prefer to hear an in depth explanation.

EDIT: upon reading some more I've come to conclude that no one knows the actual mechanics, and testing is all we have.. I'll do some tests on this. With different ships, different classes of shield.. as elaborate as possible,.

 

[Nerwan]

But it is effected by the number of pips in SYS.

How does it make any sense that a larger distributor does not increase the resistance more than a small distributor

The number of PIPs you put in sys actually has two completely independent affects. The recharge + the strength. In a way it's similar to the way that PIPs in Eng affects both your boost recharge and also your maneuverability..

 

[Kneejo]

The number of PIPs you put in sys actually has two completely independent affects. The recharge + the strength. In a way it's similar to the way that PIPs in Eng affects both your boost recharge and also your maneuverability..

This may be part of the answer I had been looking for in my question above. But does that also apply to the weapon capacitor? Meaning that your weapons give more DPS when 4 pips to weapon? I think not, but correct me if I'm wrong. Oh, and what's the mechanic behind it, aside from testing?

 

[Nerwan]

This may be part of the answer I had been looking for in my question above. But does that also apply to the weapon capacitor? Meaning that your weapons give more DPS when 4 pips to weapon? I think not, but correct me if I'm wrong. Oh, and what's the mechanic behind it, aside from testing?

No, unlike SYS and ENG, the weapon PIPs have no hidden affect as far as I'm aware... it's all just about whether you have enough power to fire the weapon. If you run out of distributor you'll fire what ever weapons you can in that volley with the weapons of lowest distributor drain picked first.

 

[crushdepth]

But it is effected by the number of pips in SYS.

How does it make any sense that a larger distributor does not increase the resistance more than a small distributor

The shield has a fixed power requirement. Once the power requirement is met, there is no point adding a bigger distributor. If the distributor is too small the shield will draw down the buffer in the sys capacitor (when damaged) until it is empty. Then performance will suffer.

- - - Updated - - -

No, unlike SYS and ENG, the weapon PIPs have no hidden affect as far as I'm aware... it's all just about whether you have enough power to fire the weapon. If you run out of distributor you'll fire what ever weapons you can in that volley with the weapons of lowest distributor drain picked first.

I think additional weapon pips make them cool down faster, but not sure.

 

[bitstorm]

I'm about to debunk this myth and that guy who tested it

Even if you get an answer you should try to debunk it anyway if you feel inclined to do some tests, this is good science!

Even if you get the same result it is worth doing if you have doubts.

 

[kalniel]

I am not asking about the charge rate.

I am talking about the resistance increase received from putting pips into SYS

Currently no, only pips matter. If you want some psuedo logic, you could say that the shield can only take a certain amount of hardening - getting a better distributor doesn't change the limitation of the shield generator, only how easy it is to maintain that extra hardening.

 

[KevinMillican]

Can someone explain to me how the mechanic works behind 4 pips to sys, without pointing at that one test that one guy did on one shield class with one ship?
As far as I understand the mechanics, there is no reason for your shield to have more resistance with more pips to sys. The only thing pips increases is the power available to recharge the sys capacitor. Just like one post above here mentions, if you don't have enough sys capacitor the shield will not recharge efficiently. The only thing that makes a shield have more MJ of 'resistance' is the fact that the recharge rate from the capacitor effectively gives more MJ to the shield, and thus the shield lasts longer. On a very large shield this effect is relatively much less than on a smaller sized shield. This is all I know about the mechanics.

So, please someone explain to me the mechanics behind the 4 pips to shield idea. I'm about to debunk this myth and that guy who tested it, but as far as I can tell no one understands the actual mechanics behind it, so my debunk would be useless as I would be talking about things that you wouldn't even comprehend in the first place.

Go! Bring on the flames! But I would prefer to hear an in depth explanation.

EDIT: upon reading some more I've come to conclude that no one knows the actual mechanics, and testing is all we have.. I'll do some tests on this. With different ships, different classes of shield.. as elaborate as possible,.

I have made this point myself many times.
Currently they work by some kind of magic - it would make so much more sense if the number of pips affected the charge (and recharge rate), rather than resistance.

 

[Nerwan]

I think additional weapon pips make them cool down faster, but not sure.

That might be true.. but it's definitely the case that firing weapons with zero in WEP causes overheating. I'm not sure if having 4 PIPS in WEP just makes that less likely to happen. I know that if I'm firing rails/hammers I always keep 4 in WEP as I fire if I possibly can so I can keep firing without overheating.

 

[Erika]

They should remove all these secondary effects. Make sys increase regen, eng increase boost recharge, and wep increase weapon capacitor recharge. Just rebalance shield strength and engine speeds around pips doing nothing for them anymore. Then things can be logical and make sense and nobody will have to suffer from the drastic life altering effects of disbelief becoming unsuspended.

 

[777Driver]

That might be true.. but it's definitely the case that firing weapons with zero in WEP causes overheating. I'm not sure if having 4 PIPS in WEP just makes that less likely to happen. I know that if I'm firing rails/hammers I always keep 4 in WEP as I fire if I possibly can so I can keep firing without overheating.

The WEP capacitor is a cooling system, discussed many times in the past.

 

[Nerwan]

The WEP capacitor is a cooling system, discussed many times in the past.

So what's the relationship between PIPs and cooling effect? Is it simply a question of if capacity remains then cooling occurs, or is there a more direct relationship between PIPs and cooling.