Scrap or redesign shield cell modules, they are too overpowered and trivialize PvP.

[CMDR Reza Malin]

Shield cells allow players to do things they would not be able to do in any other way without the use of shield cells, be it skill gapping or ship gapping. This one simple statement should cover why they need to be changed or removed.

They are primarily a crutch for bad players, or players who think they are better than they are. The game is easy enough as it is, just remove them.

At least then there will be far less people making threads or videos about them killing anacondas in vipers etc, when in actual fact they suck quite hard, but the shield cell gets them through it. They then talk on forums and channels like they are badass pilots.

 

[soma]

I agree that shield cells currently are not a very good mechanic and should be changed.


Here is an idea: I was thinking the other day, what if instead of restoring weak shields, shield cells could only be used once your shield is down to somewhat speed up the re-initialization process? When shields are down and start to rebuild (the red circle starts building) we could use a charge to add maybe 25% to the progress (maybe put in a delay so people can't just use 4 charges in rapid succession to get their shields back up immediately).

That way, the base strenght of shields will matter more and pilots with stronger shields and better power management will have a bigger advantage (as it should be IMHO). If a ship has weak or highly damaged shields the pilot will have to be more careful or risk getting hull damage. The shield cells will still increase ship survivability, but the shield generator and good energy management will matter a lot more.

 

[FlamingMonkey]

I agree, shield cells are just a poor game mechanic. Remove them.

 

[Adept]

I agree, shield cells are just a poor game mechanic. Remove them.

There could be a component, not a consumable, that is like a "backup shield generator", or "system energy bank". I don't mind the option to add a (heavy) component into the ship to bolster shields. The QTE shield potion gameplay does need to go, and fast. While it's done, we really need the NPCs to start carrying shields 100% of the time again as well.

 

[Starbuckz]

I do not agree if you dont like other players having more shield cells than you, then its your job to keep up with them not FD's job to make your game easier.

Simple as that!

Says someone who obviously can't fight without. Shield cells are a broken mechanic, there's nothing more to it. It needs to be adjusted and it will be.
Just yesterday I interdicted a player in an ASP, it's impossible! to even harm it in any way as long as he/she can simply use a cell. It will be jumped away again before you could even scratch their shields.

 

[Poy]

I never understood why chaff had such a long downtime but it was possible to just pop a shield cell every 3 seconds... (I'm looking at you coward python in Kappa Fornacis)

 

[AdmiralS]

I do not like potion spamming which shield cells essentially are. Frontier should remove them from the game until they come up with a working shield recharger solution.

 

[Adept]

I never understood why chaff had such a long downtime but it was possible to just pop a shield cell every 3 seconds... (I'm looking at you coward python in Kappa Fornacis)

I still think they are a last minute idea introduced in a slight panic. "Elite is too different from standard MMOs. What if people will not like it because of that?"

 

[Morbad]

I never understood why chaff had such a long downtime but it was possible to just pop a shield cell every 3 seconds... (I'm looking at you coward python in Kappa Fornacis)

It takes six seconds between uses for SCBs, unless you have multiple ones bound to different fire groups.

This is about the same as chaff.

 

[Flyinpiranha]

Or more accurately, not at all. That was a pretty bizarre statement. I guess there are a few people who really love their shield potions.

I love em. I hope they don't remove them. By the looks of the conversation that was had earlier this is hopefully their plan also. Adjust the usage, but not remove them.

And before you ask, yes, I play Solo most of the time, or in a private group, "PVP", especially the afterthought of what it is in this game, doesn't seem fun to me, too high a price for too little cost to the attacker if I'm trading. I play this game as a single player game and I would hate to see them start chasing that unrealistic goal of "PVP balance".

If I want PVP I'll play a game designed around it like Guild Wars 2 or something that is more equal. Not 4 Vipers vs Type 6 "equal PVP".

 

[soma]

I love em. I hope they don't remove them. By the looks of the conversation that was had earlier this is hopefully their plan also. Adjust the usage, but not remove them.

And before you ask, yes, I play Solo most of the time, or in a private group, "PVP", especially the afterthought of what it is in this game, doesn't seem fun to me, too high a price for too little cost to the attacker if I'm trading. I play this game as a single player game and I would hate to see them start chasing that unrealistic goal of "PVP balance".

If I want PVP I'll play a game designed around it like Guild Wars 2 or something that is more equal. Not 4 Vipers vs Type 6 "equal PVP".

I understand that, and I also currently play mostly PvE. However at the current AI level it is ridiculously easy to kill any NPC ship, even without spamming shield cells. Taking down an elite Anaconda should feel like a real accomplishment, not just a slightly longer exercise in shooting a sitting duck. If you ask me PvE is already far too easy, and shield cells trivialize it even more.

PvP on the other hand is a whole different affair. The few PvP encounters I have had so far were battles of attrition. Whoever packed more shield cells ultimately had the upper hand.

I am not saying remove shield cells entirely, just maybe make them work differently, so that the other ship components (shield generator, power distributor) and player skill have a bigger influence on the outcome of a battle...

 

[NeilF]

PvP on the other hand is a whole different affair. The few PvP encounters I have had so far were battles of attrition. Whoever packed more shield cells ultimately had the upper hand.

I am not saying remove shield cells entirely, just maybe make them work differently, so that the other ship components (shield generator, power distributor) and player skill have a bigger influence on the outcome of a battle...

Well, it sounds like they're going to be toned down. Let's hope that's enough. My fear is people will still simply equip themselves with two, to beat people who only have one.

 

[Jex =TE=]

Didn't know what they did until now - so u can have as many as you want and u press a button and ur shields recharge?

That was a stupid idea then.

 

[soma]

Didn't know what they did until now - so u can have as many as you want and u press a button and ur shields recharge?

That was a stupid idea then.

Yeah... "shield healing potions" .. thats what they currently do (unless your shields are already down, they can't be used to bring collapsed shields back online).

 

[Poy]

It takes six seconds between uses for SCBs, unless you have multiple ones bound to different fire groups.

This is about the same as chaff.

The chaff gets used for 10 seconds then reloads for 10 seconds.

 

[soma]

Well, it sounds like they're going to be toned down. Let's hope that's enough. My fear is people will still simply equip themselves with two, to beat people who only have one.

Yes, lets see how this plays out. Coming from Mechwarrior Online I realize that balancing game mechanics can be a long and tedious process. Especially when you are catering to a "nerdy" gamer community where people dont shy away from spending countless hours on figuring out how to optimize their loadouts...

 

[ZappaBappa]

You get multiple charges which deplete, and you'll have to go back to a station to replenish them. I don't see what people are complaining about. Some people decide to go out without a Shield Generator, and some people decide to go out without SCB. We're flying expensive ships, and people are complaining that one has a better advantage (Which is available to the other person too), or takes too long to kill.

We sacrificed possible useful slots for an SCB, slots others apparently don't like to give up. SCB's are fine. They make tense battles with other SCB carriers last longer, instead of getting instantly demolished before you even realize whats up, and if you decide to not equip them, then that's your problem, not Frontier's

 

[Morbad]

Didn't know what they did until now - so u can have as many as you want and u press a button and ur shields recharge?

SCBs:
- Restore an amount of shield energy based on their size and quality.
- Have a number of charges based on size and quality.
- Have weight and power consumption, also based on size and quality.
- Take six seconds to deliver their energy to the shield and the same SCB cannot be used again until the prior charge is done filling.
- Can be equipped in multiples, but if you don't want to activate them simultaneously, you need to place them in different fire groups and activate them with weapon triggers (rather than a separate hot key), or leave the SCB module you aren't using disabled. Both of these methods have downsides.
- Cannot restore a collapsed shield.

The chaff gets used for 10 seconds then reloads for 10 seconds.

So they do. Seemed faster in practice, but I guess the same could have been said for SCBs.

 

[AlexRyder]

SCBs are ineffective against threadnoughts.

 

[Katkon]

I agree with the vocal majority that shield cells are ridicously overpowered, and trivialize NPC and PVP fights. What I don't understand is why it's taking so long to address. There have been posts like this on the forum for quite a while now, and it would surely be incredibly easy/quick to fix for FD.

For example, extending the SC cool down is presumably just a 30 second change in a config file somewhere. Adding logic that prevents more than 1 being fitted should also be trivial. Heck, eliminating them from the game would be easy too. Again, I don't understand why interim fixes haven't been introduced..... yesterday. This isn't complex to address, unless FD is going down the long route of fundamentally working how they work - which I don't think should negate a quick short-term fix.