So I am planning on upgrading to a Type 9 because I loved it in Beta and was taking a look at equipment needed for it, specifically which shield type to use (because the shield and extra cargo space are mutually exclusive). After poking around for a while I realized that almost all shields on the Type 9 will work under optimum parameters (except the class 8 shield generator which has an optimum mass of 1800t). Considering that the T9 has a base mass of 1000t, the equipment easily goes above 200t and cargo space is going to be above 350t (otherwise what's the point of using a T9), then the class 8 generator is the only one able to cover that, however in doing so you need to give up 256t of cargo, so that's a bit of a vicious circle.
Am I right with my reasoning up to this point? I'm not entirely sure that the cargo mass is taken into calculation when determining shield strength, but I have to assume that it does.
The conclusion is that I'm always going to be at a value below 100% with my shield strength (not counting boosters). With a class 7 shield, I've calculated something on the lines of 75% strength, with a class 6 or lower, basically I'm always going to be at half strength 50%. A class 7 shield isn't particularly cheap either, I'm looking at losing 128t of potential cargo.
So my question would be, what are other pilots personal experiences with the Type 9's shields? Is it worth equipping a shield at all? Would a class 6 or a class 5 shield just melt away under attack? The Type 9 isn't exactly a small target anyway. And considering the alpha potential of a wing of pirate FdLs, it might just be more profitable to haul more and bribe more.
Am I right with my reasoning up to this point? I'm not entirely sure that the cargo mass is taken into calculation when determining shield strength, but I have to assume that it does.
The conclusion is that I'm always going to be at a value below 100% with my shield strength (not counting boosters). With a class 7 shield, I've calculated something on the lines of 75% strength, with a class 6 or lower, basically I'm always going to be at half strength 50%. A class 7 shield isn't particularly cheap either, I'm looking at losing 128t of potential cargo.
So my question would be, what are other pilots personal experiences with the Type 9's shields? Is it worth equipping a shield at all? Would a class 6 or a class 5 shield just melt away under attack? The Type 9 isn't exactly a small target anyway. And considering the alpha potential of a wing of pirate FdLs, it might just be more profitable to haul more and bribe more.
