Hi Cmdrs. Thinking of putting prismatics on my Cutter & Corvette but what size would be best for each?
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Newcomer / Intro Prismatics for Corvettes & Cutters.
- Thread starter Cypher-Shryke
- Start date
It depends on what you want to do with the Cutter. For mining and hauling, I use a class 5 or 6 to leave the class 8s for cargo. For the Corvette, which is mainly a combat ship, you'd want 7A, but again prismatics are not so good for farming bounties, where biweaves with fast charge would be better. They work OK for conflict zones, but only with two class 7 SCBs and heatsinks. They're also good for the on foot stuff, when you want to do a mission while your ship is under fire. The problem is that for repeated or constant battles, prismatics don't charge fast enough, so they go down and down until you have to charge them with two SCBs (one SCB - heatsink - wait until zero deg - 2nd SCB). Thermal vent lasers can be used instead of heatsinks, but aren't as reliable because you can't always get them to land on the target while you fire off the SCBs.
Hello Commander,
Just wanted to let know know I'm a vet player from vanilla release, as such the Prismatic has several roles as the above commanders have given good advice on this. I myself run a max level with engineered prismatic on my Cutter. It's heavy and uses a lot of power, that being said I don't go looking for fights but I've never been in one that chaff, beams, hounds, and can't even be touched by a full military fleet, 20-30% maximum shield damage.
Mind you I have a lot of experience in combat with this Cutter, not to say it's all me, but an extremely, untouchable, and powerful "Alpha Striker". Mind you I run engineered beams to cool ship but I also need to be within 200-700 meters before the range fall off starts, but in the range and hitting target cools my ship cold enough to let loose a volley of all four pack hounds two times, Target===Serious Ouch, Me===120-150 heat. Very good at one shooting thrusters, if you can get that lucky hit.
Now Combat Zones are an entirely different beast as the above Commanders mentioned, terrible at prolonged attacks, "not" really a good choice as they charge "very" slowly, even slower when broken, that's the time when you boost, boost, boost, boost and hope you're not fighting a smaller faster ship as an engineered Cutter can cruise very fast and boost faster than most, but still not one of the fastest...
Hope this information helps in some way for you.
See you in the black Commander...o7
Just wanted to let know know I'm a vet player from vanilla release, as such the Prismatic has several roles as the above commanders have given good advice on this. I myself run a max level with engineered prismatic on my Cutter. It's heavy and uses a lot of power, that being said I don't go looking for fights but I've never been in one that chaff, beams, hounds, and can't even be touched by a full military fleet, 20-30% maximum shield damage.
Mind you I have a lot of experience in combat with this Cutter, not to say it's all me, but an extremely, untouchable, and powerful "Alpha Striker". Mind you I run engineered beams to cool ship but I also need to be within 200-700 meters before the range fall off starts, but in the range and hitting target cools my ship cold enough to let loose a volley of all four pack hounds two times, Target===Serious Ouch, Me===120-150 heat. Very good at one shooting thrusters, if you can get that lucky hit.
Now Combat Zones are an entirely different beast as the above Commanders mentioned, terrible at prolonged attacks, "not" really a good choice as they charge "very" slowly, even slower when broken, that's the time when you boost, boost, boost, boost and hope you're not fighting a smaller faster ship as an engineered Cutter can cruise very fast and boost faster than most, but still not one of the fastest...
Hope this information helps in some way for you.
See you in the black Commander...o7
Unless you are into to PvP, there is no reason ever to run prismatic shields as both normal and bi-weave are more than sufficient for any and all PvE content in the game.
Even for Open Mode, normal shields offer enough protection to dodge ganks, provided you know how.
Same with weapons that consume ammunition, if you aren't into PvP just stick with lasers and enjoy the unlimited ammo.
Even for Open Mode, normal shields offer enough protection to dodge ganks, provided you know how.
Same with weapons that consume ammunition, if you aren't into PvP just stick with lasers and enjoy the unlimited ammo.
Sorry, that's not true. You need to look at wider aspects as I explained in the other thread post#8.
Newcomer / Intro - Help with prismatics
Hi Cmdrs, making my back from Beagle Point and my next goal is getting prismatics. I'm thinking of getting them for my Asp Explorer, Anaconda (Explorer), Type 9, Imperial Cutter & Federal Corvette. My question is what size should I get for each (except Type 9, no bigger than a 5 as I don't want...
I disagree, sorry. I think it's really bad advice. Even during progression both normal and bi-weave are more than sufficient to get you through any and all game activities.
If you are struggling with NPC ships it means you lack engineering and possibly skill. Practice makes you a master but never use prismatics in PvE, it's completely pointless.
Furthermore, you don't just buy 1 prismatic shield, you buy a lot of them in bulk if you're smart.
At least 3 of each size from 1A to 8A in which is a substantial amount of credits is required.
You do this so you don't ever have to switch back to the powerplay figure and do the silly merrit runs ever again. You get em all, and move on to the next PP unlocks so on etc.
I use a derivative of this build for PVE, the only drawback is that I only have a single 3C Beam Laser for cooling by Thermal Vent, so I have to wait until it is focused on target to use the 2C Plasma Accelerator and 1B Seeker Missile or it risks overheating. Most of the time I go away with it and the shield are just fantastic, very strong, coupled with two 7B Shield Cell Bank, I rarely lose them. Check it out.
Deep Blue Federal Corvette.
You shouldn't be so affirmative in your assumption, it all depends on circumstances.
In my case I took assassination missions which sent me in the middle of an FDL, 4 escort Vultures and a mercenary Anaconda, I lost at least 3 fighters (and my pilot is VERY efficient as Elite) before I was able to take down the first Vulture, once that done I already used one Shield cell, and had yet the rest of them to deal with.
With a normal shield of even worse in this situation, a bi-weave my shiled cells No1 would have been exhausted before the end of the first engagement, the strength of the Prismatic shield allowed me to go through the whole fight but I had to swap to the Shield cell bank No2 in the middle of it, I also ran out of Seeker Missiles before taking the FDL on.
The ships you're pitted against in those missions are a lot tougher than those you encounter during simple bounty hunting, they also fly better and seems to cause more damage as well, I have been using this Prismatic for my Corvette coupled with engineered Shield cell banks and wouldn't even consider looking back after 16,079 bunties claimed, 310 combat bounds and 241 assassinations.
I'm not the best pilot out there and wouldn't be able to compete vs younger kids with faster reflexes in PvP, that's why I play solo, I'm passed the age of throwing myself into this sort of contest, I also managed to lose my Corvette in Rodentia when I find myself surrounded by a dozen ships all firing at me without any explianation (no wanted or bounty against me), but I have enough experience to figure out what this sort of fit does for me in PvE combat situations.
At the end of the day it is every Commander's own choice mine is this combination and fit.
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Deleted member 110222
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Hot take: "Why not?" is a perfectly valid reason.
Not everyone min-maxes. In fact I dare say that most do not do this. I know I don't...
In case of intense combat situation, a shield would never have the time to recharge, that simple, the only solution is more strength and shield cell banks, at least what you gain using them will last you longer.
Having said that, I don't use Prismatic shields on all my ships, to me they are a solution most suited to heavy combat ships, those which are the most vulnerable because of their lack of maneuverability and speed but posses an powerplant strong enough to feed the whole fit.
I am not an expert on the details but if you are not planning on using the BIGGEST size prismatic, isn't it more efficient (in weight and recharge time) to use a bigger standard A or bi-weave?
e.g. If you have a slot 6, isnt it better to use a A or Bi-weave 6 instead of a Prismatic 5? Ignoring that rare ship where you need that biggest slot for something else (which is unlikely since shields should be a priority).
7A Thermal Resistant level 5 Force Block.
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Oh dear lord, why do I even bother
It kinda reminds me of a argument a had a while back, which was whether or ammo modules were the better for PvE.
- My argument was that they were not, because you need to reload them after 1 high end mission.
- The counter argument was that they were because they would kill the mission targets faster.
Both arguments here are true and it all comes down to playstyle. Do you do 1 single high end specific mission, then return to station for R/R/R?
Or... do you run several high end missions without the need for R/R/R.
I hope you see the parallel that applies to the shield discussion, because the real answer we need from the OP is how long is his play session is and how many missions he intends to do at once.
We also don't know what exactly he uses his Corvette and Cutter for... we both just assumed that it's combat, but we have no way of telling... we don't know if he plays in Open, Private or Solo which also massively impacts the decision.
With all those unknown factors, It's really hard to give a solid answer but I can give one that is certain... Prismatics ARE the best option for PvP for both ships.
However his statement implies that he has either just unlocked or is about to unlock prismatics after grinding IMP/FED rank along with credits to get those ships, putting him in a state of play where he hasn't touched on PvP yet.
Which would also imply the unawareness of how prismatics with laser/beam weapons impact power/capacitor draw as well as ship/build performance.
Lastly and quite frankly the most important statement, being that he is thinking of putting primatics on 2 ships. Yah don't. You buy them in bulk at least 3 in every size so you never have to unlock Aisling again and thus saving a lot of time in the future.
So the logical advise is that they are not worth the investment until he understands those mechanics and delves into PvP.
But I'm pretty sure OP has left the discussion months ago as well... we should too.
If you're talking about a combat vessel, you generally want to mount the largest shield gen possible, unless the ship's hull mass is so low that a larger shield gen doesn't offer much benefit...which never applies to the corvette or cutter.
Anyway, an engineered corvette can do about five back-to-back wing assassination mission without even mounting shields before it's at serious risk of falling apart and needs to head back for repairs.
Anyway, an engineered corvette can do about five back-to-back wing assassination mission without even mounting shields before it's at serious risk of falling apart and needs to head back for repairs.
The whole point is to have enough shield to survive one engagement, I thought I made it clear that without the Prismatic in a one v 5 scenario with hard hitting targets, my Shield Cell Bank would have been exhausted before I took down the second one.Oh dear lord, why do I even bother
It kinda reminds me of a argument a had a while back, which was whether or ammo modules were the better for PvE.
- My argument was that they were not, because you need to reload them after 1 high end mission.
- The counter argument was that they were because they would kill the mission targets faster.
Both arguments here are true and it all comes down to playstyle. Do you do 1 single high end specific mission, then return to station for R/R/R?
Or... do you run several high end missions without the need for R/R/R.
I hope you see the parallel that applies to the shield discussion, because the real answer we need from the OP is how long is his play session is and how many missions he intends to do at once.
We also don't know what exactly he uses his Corvette and Cutter for... we both just assumed that it's combat, but we have no way of telling... we don't know if he plays in Open, Private or Solo which also massively impacts the decision.
With all those unknown factors, It's really hard to give a solid answer but I can give one that is certain... Prismatics ARE the best option for PvP for both ships.
However his statement implies that he has either just unlocked or is about to unlock prismatics after grinding IMP/FED rank along with credits to get those ships, putting him in a state of play where he hasn't touched on PvP yet.
Which would also imply the unawareness of how prismatics with laser/beam weapons impact power/capacitor draw as well as ship/build performance.
Lastly and quite frankly the most important statement, being that he is thinking of putting primatics on 2 ships. Yah don't. You buy them in bulk at least 3 in every size so you never have to unlock Aisling again and thus saving a lot of time in the future.
So the logical advise is that they are not worth the investment until he understands those mechanics and delves into PvP.
But I'm pretty sure OP has left the discussion months ago as well... we should too.
So the argument about having to go RTB or not doesn't apply, without those cells you won't last, with them you need a Prismatic to go through the mission, any oither shield would go down way too fast in those conditions.
I've been doing some High Intensity conflict zones recently and it never was anything like the mission I mentioned, the targets were easier to kill and nowhere near as hard hitting as they were during those assassination missions, there I could have made it without a Prismatic, it is circumstancial not a rule.
I was on my own and it wasn't a wing assassination mission, there were mercenaries, (3 Anacondas) I killed two of them and reloaded at the system main station before aiming to the mission target signal, as I said, there were 3 Vultures, the target FDL and another Mercenary Anaconda, that's a lot of firepower.
The difference betwen those targets and the ones I hunt doing bounty huntig was obvious from the start of the engagement, the targets were better flown, harder to kill and caused more damage than your usual Vulture Anaconda or FDL, I saw players complaining about this kind of mission being too hard, it wasn't for my Corvette with this fit.
The only damage I suffered was by overheating because I use only one Thermal Vent Laser and sometimes fire Plasma Accelerator before it has a lock, I ended up with something like 94% health or so and a couple of Cell remaining.
Deep Blue Federal Corvette.
I’ve never known any assassination or massacre mission have multiple targets attack you at the same time OTHER than wing missions….I run a fully engineered corvette with 7C bi weaves, 6 x efficient and over charged beams with one size 3 mc with corrosive. I run one class 6 scb and very rarely need to use it. My shield boosters are a mix of heavy duty and resistance, of which I have thermal at 62.9% and is the highest resistance, with kinetic at 54.9% and explosive at 59.9%. I can stay out for 2-3 hours before the mc needs a reload and I only pretty much PvE assassination and massacre missions. Shields are 3,480 and hull 1,846.
Try this for size... This one was less difficult than the one I mentioned because there is one Vulture less, but it is certainly not uncommun to find at least 4 ships including the mission target on the spot, they don't wait for you to kill the first one or take turn to shot you, you're targeted simultaneously by everything that has its nose pointed toward you.
Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, they also can ram you for good measure. Now a little bit of observation, everything turning pink and flashing on the radar screen is an active shoter, that's if you fail to see the laser beams or other projectiles around your ship, if there are 4 other ships including a FDL, 2 Vultures, and an Anaconda, that's a LOT of firepower...
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Can’t see it as need to age verify for some reason and cba sending them my drivers license details!!
Also I use ramming as an offensive tactic and it works very well, for me at least!