Guide: Shields

WORK IN PROGRESS

The following is a WORK IN PROGRESS and should not yet be linked to any other articles, nor categorized anywhere.

A starship's shields are an integral part of any vessel, however unlike the hull where statistics like hull strength and repair rate are known, the shield array is a modular component so the shield capacity and regeneration rate are dependent on the type of shield that is installed. A vessels exact shield statistics are non-trivial to determine, but there are some simple rules to help a player calculate the

Each shield array has three primary statistics; capacity, regeneration rate, and absorption. This guide describes the effects of each and how they are calculated.

This guide is intended first to demystify the way shields work, and second to help guide players in choosing the most appropriate shield array for their playing style.

Note that this guide does not cover Personal Shields, though they are likely to follow similar rules.

Statistics

Capacity

The capacity or strength of a ship's shield determines how much damage it can take before it fails. If a players overall style requires them to withstand sustained fire then a high shield capacity is desirable.

NOTE: THE NUMBERS IN THIS SECTION ARE APPROXIMATE AND WERE DETERMINED BY EXPERIMENTATION.

Basic Capacity

The formula the calculate a ship's shield capacity is as follows:

Capacity = 2,500 × S × A × M × (T + K)

Where:

• S is ship type bonus
• A is the shield array type bonus
• M is the modifier bonus, +10% for each [Cap]
• T is the ship tier bonus; 15% for each tier above tier 1, minus 1%
• K is the mark number of the shield array multiplied by 5%

Ship type bonus

Ship Type	S
Escort	90%
Cruiser	100%
Science Vessel	130%

Shield type bonus

Shield Type	A
Regenerative Shield Array	85%
Resilient Shield Array	95%
Shield Array	100%
Covariant Shield Array	125%
Paratrinic Shield Array	162.5%

Tier bonus

Ship Tier	T
Tier 1	100%
Tier 2	114%
Tier 3	129%
Tier 4	144%
Tier 5	159%

Effective Capacity

Once out in space, the capacity of the shield array itself will read the same. The actual capacity though, shown in the ship statistics window, is modified by Starfleet Training skills.

The shield capacity will receive a ~0.19% bonus for each bonus point.

Effective = Capacity × (1 + 0.001964 × Points)

NOTE: THE CONSTANT VALUE GIVEN ABOVE IS APPROXIMATE

Examples

Tier 1 Light Cruiser with Shield Array Standard Issue:

• S = 100%
• A = 100%
• M = 100% (+0%)
• T = 100% (+0%, as this is tier 1)
• K = 0 (Standard Issue is effectively Mk 0)

Clearly, the result is:

Capacity = 2,500 × 1.00 × 1.00 × 1.00 × (1.00 + 0)
         = 2,500

Lets say this ship's captain has seven ranks in Starship Command, giving a bonus of 17 points.

Effective = 2,500 × (1 + 0.001964 × 17)
          = 2,500 × 1.033388
          = 2,583.47
          = 2,583

We can see that the ship gained a 3.3% bonus to its effective shield capacity. Now lets try something more complex...

Tier 2 Escort with a Paratrinic Shield Array Mk IV:

• S = 90%
• A = 100%
• M = 100% (+0%)
• T = 114%
• K = 120% (+5% × 4)

The overall capacity for this shield array will be:

Capacity = 2,500 × 0.90 × 1.625 × 1.00 × (1.14 + 0.20)
         = 2,500 × 1.4625 × (1.34)
         = 2,500 × 1.95975
         = 4,899.375
         = 4,899

The captain of this vessel has seven ranks of Starship Command and all nine ranks of Escort Captain, giving a total bonus of 47 points.

Effective = 4,899 × (1 + 0.001964 × 47)
          = 4,899 × 1.092308
          = 5,351.216892
          = 5,351

This time the ship gained a 9.2% bonus to effective shield strength from skill points.

Tier 3 Research Science Vessel with a Resilient Shield Array Mk VI [Cap]:

• S = 130%
• A = 95%
• M = 110%
• T = 129%
• K = 130% (+5% × 6)

The overall shield capacity for this vessel will be:

Capacity = 2,500 × 1.00 × 0.95 × 1.10 × (1.29 + 0.30)
         = 2,500 × 1.045 × (1.59)
         = 2,500 × 1.66155
         = 4,153.875
         = 4,154

This time the captain has a typical set of captain skills which modify the statistics of their chosen ship type:

• Seven ranks of Starship Command giving 17 points
• Nine ranks of Science Vessel Captain giving 30 points
• Nine ranks of Research Science Vessel Captain 52 points

This gives a total bonus of 99 points.

Effective = 6,453 × (1 + 0.001964 × 99)
          = 6,453 × 0.194436
          = 6,453.727492
          = 8,367

This gives a healthy 19.4% bonus to effective shield capacity.

Tier 5 Assault Cruiser with a Covariant Shield Array Mk X [Cap]x3:

• S = 100%
• A = 125%
• M = 130% (+10% × 3)
• T = 159%
• K = 150% (+5% × 10)

The overall shield capacity for this vessel will be:

Capacity = 2,500 × 1.00 × 1.25 × 1.30 × (1.59 + 0.50)
         = 2,500 × 1.625 × (2.09)
         = 2,500 × 3.39625
         = 8,490.625
         = 8,491

This time the captain has a typical set of captain skills which modify the statistics of their chosen ship type:

• Seven ranks of Starship Command giving 17 points
• Nine ranks of Cruiser Captain giving 30 points
• Nine ranks of Heavy Cruiser Captain giving 26 points (50% of 52)
• Nine ranks of Exploration Cruiser Captain giving 26 points (50% of 52)
• Nine ranks of Assault Cruiser Captain giving 52 points

This gives a total bonus of 151 points.

Effective = 8,491 × (1 + 0.001964 × 151)
          = 8,491 × 1.296564
          = 11,008.6387125
          = 11,009

At tier five with a full set of captain skills, the ship gains 29.6% bonus to effective shield strength. This emphasizes the importance of a players choice of ship respective to their skills.

Regeneration

The regeneration value is modified by your shield power. At 50 shield power, you have the number listed in a shield's description. For every point above 50, you shield regeneration value increases by 4 %, and for every below, it reduces by 4 %. Formula: (1 + (Power Level - 50) / 25) x Base Regeneration at 50. Note that this formula doesn't really apply below 25 power - you would normally get a negative regeneration then, but this is not applied to your ship. Otherwise, you would lose shields at Full Impulse. Only if you are using an ability that brings your shield power to 0 do you lose shield capacity.

Absorption

By Default all shields have 10% bleed-through and 0% absorption.