The Shield discussion thread

[Quineloe]

Expensive ought to have the advantage, or what's the point?

You already have a big cargo hold, so you can also trade in the expensive ship.
You have much more firepower, which makes the expensive ship superior for bounty farming and Conflict zones.

And speaking of "advantages", isn't having more firepower also an advantage in PVP? No one asks equal treatment, but Pythons can still spam shield cells no problem due to their massive shield lasting long enough for those 5 seconds, while smaller ships need to be a lot more psychic about when to press that button.

So instead of having versatility, we now have this game down to like 2 ships that are viable for PVP.

 

[Vyvian]

A quick note about larger ships and SCBs.

The heat mechanics have added a new dimension here, in that using a SCB can potentially cook Pythons and Clippers causing more hull damage than you were likely to do in a Cobra or a Viper.

Although I haven't got into game yet to see how much heat mechanics have been dialed back since Beta, but hopefully it is still possible.

 

[Lustan]

So in conclussion,
With weakened shield cells elite assassination anaconda missions are no longer possible?

Combine that with the eventual coming of enhanced ai flying skills and any npc with a bigger ship than yours will win.

 

[Ian Skippy]

So in conclussion,
With weakened shield cells elite assassination anaconda missions are no longer possible?

Not by every pilot in every ship, no.

Combine that with the eventual coming of enhanced ai flying skills and any npc with a bigger ship than yours will win.

If you rely that much on shield cells, then in your case the example is: yes, everyone else will win.

 

[adoredtv]

So in conclussion,
With weakened shield cells elite assassination anaconda missions are no longer possible?

Combine that with the eventual coming of enhanced ai flying skills and any npc with a bigger ship than yours will win.

They were already getting more difficult due to the better AI but yes I would assume that it would take a very good pilot to down an Elite Anaconda in anything smaller than a Cobra now. Even the Cobra might struggle. I'll be trying one out in my Asp soon but I'm mostly D-spec and don't have a lot of faith that it'll be enough.

 

[Quineloe]

So in conclussion,
With weakened shield cells elite assassination anaconda missions are no longer possible?

Combine that with the eventual coming of enhanced ai flying skills and any npc with a bigger ship than yours will win.

No, this is from a PVP aspect. Elite Anaconda damage is so ridiculously predictable, this won't change it at all - but will eat into your profits a little now.

 

[Skuli]

Wrong thread. edited.

 

[PotatoOverdose]

They were already getting more difficult due to the better AI but yes I would assume that it would take a very good pilot to down an Elite Anaconda in anything smaller than a Cobra now. Even the Cobra might struggle. I'll be trying one out in my Asp soon but I'm mostly D-spec and don't have a lot of faith that it'll be enough.

I don't suppose that anyone is bothered by the fact that all it takes to kill an Elite Anaconda, the toughest npc in the game, is a cobra?

 

[CR33P]

About time i'd say, Really annoying to see viper pilots thinking they can take on a player anaconda easily and use their shield cells if things go south then run away.

I could make this exact statement, but in reverse

 

[Hitsuke]

I don't suppose that anyone is bothered by the fact that all it takes to kill an Elite Anaconda, the toughest npc in the game, is a cobra?

I would be bothered if the rewards were good. If you got 500k+ for killing one, I'd say "Yeah sure make it a lot harder", but now you're seriously risking a 200k or 500k insurance excess bill in a Viper or Cobra... and both bills are higher than any potential reward from killing one.

 

[Vyvian]

You already have a big cargo hold, so you can also trade in the expensive ship.
You have much more firepower, which makes the expensive ship superior for bounty farming and Conflict zones.

And speaking of "advantages", isn't having more firepower also an advantage in PVP? No one asks equal treatment, but Pythons can still spam shield cells no problem due to their massive shield lasting long enough for those 5 seconds, while smaller ships need to be a lot more psychic about when to press that button.

So instead of having versatility, we now have this game down to like 2 ships that are viable for PVP.

Ring farming has been removed and this is where the larger ships had the advantage in collecting bounties.

And personally I never take my Combat Clipper into combat zones as the chance of getting rammed far outweighs any monetry gain.


As for PvP, I fought a lot of ships in Beta in a Viper. Caused many a Python and a few Clippers to flee. (Not many people were flying Clippers in Beta cause they didn't get discounted.)

Never destroyed any of them, except one Python pilot who wanted to stick through to the very end, but I did 'win' these fights.

 

[Jex =TE=]

Why should they take any significant power at all? Those emergency batteries that charge your phone don't draw any.

WEll you need to understand the technology. The cell isn't just sat there giving power like a battery - it's waiting to send a massive boost of energy to your shields at a moments notice. To this end, it draws power for the systems within the cell the push the power to your shields when needed, which of course, requires power of its own

 

[PotatoOverdose]

I would be bothered if the rewards were good. If you got 500k+ for killing one, I'd say "Yeah sure make it a lot harder", but now you're seriously risking a 200k or 500k insurance excess bill in a Viper or Cobra... and both bills are higher than any potential reward from killing one.

So...we should be able to take out all npc's in the game with a viper just because they aren't as profitable as trading?

 

[CR33P]

I believe there may be some people who are confused about defining the space flight paradigm. We are flying "Space Ships" not "Space Planes". Anyone attempting to compare how air planes fly to how ocean going ships sail is making a paradigm mistake. Correctly using ships as a metaphor, a "Dinghy" should not be able to sink a "Destroyer" let alone a "Battle Ship" or "Cruiser". I will add that submarines (On which I have years of experience) fly through the depths of the ocean in all 3 directions. We may informally call them boats, but submarines are ships. Space ships are ships. Larger ships have more power, have hulls built to withstand more damage and carry bigger weapons which inflict more damage. Once the correct paradigm is applied, there should be no further disagreement about how larger ships should be able to easily defend against and destroy smaller ones.

So a small submarine can't take down a large aircraft carrier, in your experience?

 

[Non Grata]

WEll you need to understand the technology. The cell isn't just sat there giving power like a battery - it's waiting to send a massive boost of energy to your shields at a moments notice. To this end, it draws power for the systems within the cell the push the power to your shields when needed, which of course, requires power of its own

Then surely the drain on the powerplant only kicks in when the shield cell is triggered?

 

[glojo]

Agree only to a point. Using your analogy, please keep in mind PT boats (not much bigger than that dingy) could take out cruisers and even battle ships. Yes, while running terrible risks getting shredded in the process, but still.... Watch the old John Wayne classic "In harms way" for reference.

Argggg! Ninja'ed

cough, cough... Using a fictious event to help your case is perhaps slightly unfair?? Yes a small submarine could easily sink the huge battleship\aircraft carrier,look no further than Her Majesty's Submarine Conqueror. BUT... If that submarine was on the surface and it tried to 'dish the dirt' on that same ship, the outcome might be slightly different. A Viper could not in reality carry the same amount of warfare equipment as its much bigger brothers and sisters. surely in reality the bigger ship should have the technology to out trump the smaller ship at every turn? If the viper could hide in an asteroid belt and shut everything down, then yes, I accept it might then make a name for itself, but in open space I personally believe the writers of this game are using artistic licence when allowing the tiny Viper to take out the mighty Anaconda. I confess that I for one enjoy taking the 64k plus credits for destroying these goliaths with my Viper and hopefully we still can after this upgrade.

 

[Vyvian]

I would be bothered if the rewards were good. If you got 500k+ for killing one, I'd say "Yeah sure make it a lot harder", but now you're seriously risking a 200k or 500k insurance excess bill in a Viper or Cobra... and both bills are higher than any potential reward from killing one.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Originally Posted by PotatoOverdose
I don't suppose that anyone is bothered by the fact that all it takes to kill an Elite Anaconda, the toughest npc in the game, is a cobra?

I am a combat pilot. I do very little else. I have never been one to ask for combat to give greater earnings. I am happy with the current rewards for combat as all I need is a Viper and I can kill any NPC, give a good account of myself to any player who attacks me, and I can reach ELITE.

If I am unable to complete parts of the game in a Viper, great, bring on more content and a greater challenge but then combat earnings will have to be raised 10 fold to allow combat pilots to experience the entirity of the game.

 

[PotatoOverdose]

If I am unable to complete parts of the game in a Viper, great, bring on more content and a greater challenge but then combat earnings will have to be raised 10 fold to allow combat pilots to experience the entirity of the game.

Why? You can easily make between 200,000 and 500,000 cr/hour bounty hunting - that will easily put you in a fully fit cobra - or indeed an asp in a couple of weeks assuming you only play an hour or two a day. I don't think a couple weeks worth of ship progression to take on any threat in the game is too much to ask of a combat pilot.

 

[Goilveig]

So in conclussion,
With weakened shield cells elite assassination anaconda missions are no longer possible?

Still very possible but more challenging. I am not an ace either, as Vyvian can attest to

 

[Chummy62]

I will not confirm or deny the capabilities of a U.S. Submarine. I was referring to surface ships in general. While carriers are not generally known for their anti-submarine warfare capabilities, most surface warships are so equipped. The Annaconda is not a "Carrier" so your comparison is not valid. You would need to compare a capitol ship which can launch eagles to a carrier.