So i am not that high ranked and havnt unlocked all the energy and hull modules yet, but still want to know at what point sheilds/hull become more effective than the other?

because as my medium ranked buddies and i have realised, hull is much more effective than sheilds in the earlier stages. (as it provides more points per ship deck) and when deck size is limited and credits are not; hull integrity is an easier way to protect yourself.

Hull for the space it uses is more bang for you buck.

While shields are bulkier space wise but recharge on there own.



Personally I feel that maxing both out is best. Though hull comes faster.

You should max out hull modules before you start on shields

They both have pros and cons, but hull is a better choice

Shields take a lot less research, though, and will give planetary defense structures as well.

both need to be researched, but the shield tech is only useful protecting your planets until decks are no longer a problem.
when i was really into pvp i had people giving up attacking me cos my hulls seemed never ending lol (had more than 1 message left on comm asking what hulls i had)

Well, I'm not high rank, and I went for shields, I'm below rank 100 and currently am on over a 1000 shield, it puts people off if they attack you, and all they hit is sheilds.

So while hull gives more per space, I think in the long run shield is better.

but then there are the krionite torpedo's.

This topic has been debated dozens of times. Here are some quick answers, and other forum links you can read:

1. Hulls are better at lower ranks (under 200)
- You get more points for fewer deck space
-They are cheap to repair
-They are fairly easy to research

2. Shields are better at higher ranks
-When you are off line (and have many enemies)
-They recharge on their own; thus no "repair" cost

For more info, check out these forum discussions:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2134

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1929&hilit=shields

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2059&hilit=shields

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2050&hilit=shields

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1891&hilit=shields

HULL, HULL, HULL... then work in the shields onto your ship after you have a decent defense and attack.
but, you do still need the shield research for planetary defenses.

Yeh these scare me lol

They would render my ship useless, so even though my opinion is a little biased I think they are quite over powered.

for us low ranked players/those lucky enough not to have encountered one, what do they do?

lol.... it zeros your shields

Hull, at really high ranks, plus Fixer instead of Builder if you can control your upkeep to leverage hull and reduce repair costs.

- Hull repairs every 5 minutes if you got credits. At higher ranks 200m (max repair) is affordable. At low ranks repair cost is insignificant.
- The best shield charge time is still too slow for massive NPC runs. It still takes over 30m to recharge, while your buffs count down. See previous point.
- Hull has better space efficiency.
- Legion base repair bay helps reduce cost too when hull tanking and is a LOT easier to reach tech than the shield recharger
- Kalvium plates for +5% hull twice. Relatively easier than getting the Aegis shield booster.
- Hull is all natural and 100% gluten free.

Yea, but it tastes like a brick.

Shields dont have to be paid for, they also recharge on their own.
They help protect planets, and they are usually just a bonus too hull. The TO Chain (On 4th Mission). Gives a few shield modules, the TO Shield Generators and also the 2nd mission is good Tarlis Codes that if you dont use them you get to on other TO Ships, but the Barrier cells you get from the Tarlis Ships give 15 shield per so 15 X 5 = 60 free shield. So shield is EASIER to get but Hull is significantly better

I won't agree with here, it's true that hull is expensive to research at first. But here are some advantages of each

Hull-
- Can be instantly refilled with Repair Button
- More efficient, gives significantly more health than shields
- Durtanium Brackets add 10 hull permanently unlike x charge cells which only add 5
- When engaging NPCs, you dont have to wait for shields to recharge, this is especially useful when you have artifact buffs like nuerals that last only 20 minutes, it takes around an hour for shields to fully recharge.

Shield
- Credit efficient in long run
- Lots of Shield Discourages enemy ships from finishing you off. however if enemy has high scanning power that surpasses your cloak, they can predict how much shields you have.
- Needed for planetary defence
- Cheapest to research


From my experience, i was battling some guy who had 5x shield modules, and i had all 5x hull modules, we were similar in overall strength and i was 3 ranks higher than him. I had disabled him 4 times in a row WHILE he was online. He disabled me once while i was offline.

I choose hull. I have 4 hulls and 0 shields, with 2 defenses, I rarely get killed unless it is part of a war.
HOWEVER: I quite often get attacked, so I get on with low health.
I'm Sillix Explorer, so I'm neutral.
But I have 1090 hulls, 40 shield at rank 80.
Shield break down:
20 default
5 from Xcharge Cells
15 from Q-Phase Battery Array
_______________________________
40. 0 size.

Hull break down:
50 default
30 from Thrust Stabilizer
80 from Durtanium Brackets
4x240 (960) from Nanosphere Plating
____________________________________
1090 hull, 84 size.

Well, even from the defaults you can see hull is more efficient.
Durtanium Brackets seem more common.
Both Brackets and Xcharge cost same AP (1800)
For 84 size I can get 960 hull, or 360 shield. (yeah, that's a stupid difference)
Thats 4 hulls or 3 shields.
(Nanosphere)(Heavy Lattice)

Recharge times for shield are mediocre at best for pvp and pve combat.
Hull's ability to recharge instantly for credits is much better suited.

Only ways to recharge shields instantly are:
Level up,
TriMatrix,
Shield Restorer,
Galaxy Points.

Hull there is:
Repair
Repair bay (base)
Repair Drone
Ally repair (when disabled)
Galaxy Points
Level Up
TriMatrix

So yeah, I go for hull. If i see someone with shields I don't go: "Dammit, he's using the least efficient protection, I'll never break through!" I go: "Wow, he's a shield nub. Ohwell, at least he hasn't invested all that space in hulls and defenses!"

Which brings me onto another point:
Doing 20-30 damage/round is far more off putting than shields. If you want them to go attack someone else, stock up on defenses (4 of your most powerful should do!) and 1 of your best shield (yeah, I know, shields) this can be REALLY off putting to a pker.

Well I wrote too much. :/

Yea but to balance them both all you have to do is the TO Chain. Gives me 60 with Barrier Cells and 150 with the TO Shield Generators, (Plus the XP output on the 3rd mission is 600)

Not done the T.O. chain, what does the reward do?

1ST mission requires like 250 cloak. the second mission in the chain, uses 85 energy, 200XP. [ rewards: atri-taris codes battle- T.O command ship] on completion

not sure about the third...