Reactor + Shield Combo's

[garblesoup]

Background: my primary chars in Live were TT and JE, though I did have a mid-high lvl TE (among others) - I've just forgotten a lot about it.

As I plan out my TE's progression I've become even more aware of the overlaps on buffs between two of the more popular lines of shields used for this char. Specifically that the Model X/Y/Z shields have much the same buffs as the Supergiant/Nova/Supernova reactors.

The point of this thread is to invite TE's to share their preferred reactor + shield matchups as they progress forward.

From what I've been able to determine so far (my TE is only Lvl 30) the TE setup can be very reactor-constrained. This would then lead one to try to equip the best reactor possible which helps me understand why the Supergiant (lvl 3 @ 200% 15.66 recharge) is so popular. It's got a moderate-high cap and a super-high recharge when compared to other reactors available to TE's. In fact this pattern appears to continue throughout the whole Supergiant/Nova/Supernova line so my initial premise is this is the primary reactor So here's where I begin to wonder . . . what shield to fit (assuming lvl 3)? Model X is a good shield but the buffs are redundant and there's no stacking so . . .

Cobalt Scale has a higher cap than Model X and the same recharge, no buffs

Petit Honfour has a higher cap but lower recharge, no buffs

Mastiff has a lower cap but higher recharge and has active equipment engineering buff (redundant) and passive Hull Patch buff

At lvl 4 Shields it seems like Black Dragonplate has a rather huge advantage over the others with it's fairly high cap (further augmented by energy/impact deflects) and *very* high recharge rate.

At lvl 5 the Mastiff's big brother Rottweiler suddenly jumps up with a pretty high cap (though less than the Red Dragonplate or Model Y) but the highest recharge AND the (passive) hull patch and (active) equip engineering buffs. Makes one wonder a bit if the Black Dragonplate's recharge was supposed to be that high . . . Not to leave out the favorite for many from Live the Grand Honfour has the highest cap but, by comparison, a very slow recharge. If I'm going to take a no-buff shield I'd take the Dragonplate over the Honfour but at this stage I'd probably go with the Mastiff anyway.

At lvl 6 it gets increasingly difficult. The Dragonplate series is gone, of course, and now the cap diffs between the Model Y (6445), Gold Scale (6005) and Rottweiler (5556) are growing. The Y and the Scale have similar recharge rates (70.47 and 71.55, respectively, at 200%) and the Rottweiler is still the big dog at 80.19. I begin to lean back towards the Y here.

At lvls 7 and above it gets a lot more wide open as new loot-only shields like the Barrier of Ooze/Barrier of Slime seem to be the go-to shields.

So, just thought I'd get the ball rolling. Not even pretending that I know what's best here, just trying to gather some feedback from more experienced TE's out there so that others may benefit when choosing how to do this important loadout. Look forward to learning something.

Edited to add: I meant to mention that I'm aware that any jumping around on shield lines could end up being rather expensive, especially as it frequently means jumping into another and requiring multiple builds to get there. So a valid reason for a streamlined approach would be to minimize cost.

[garblesoup]

Bumpage to say, wow, really, no TE's have any comment on this?

[dcwestby]

In live, I didnt play my TE very often, I'm not sure I even had the best reactor at the time [cant recall it]. Still, I am finding out that no matter the class, playermade stuff is really good at any level above 10.

[totteswede]

For lvl 6 I wouldn't be too obsessed with the Nova reactor, since there are other good options. As the Model shield is the prime contender at 6 you might wanna check out stuff like the Warriors Pride reactor. Higher cap, slightly less regen, but a shield regen buff and the very nice shunt to reactor effect (although this was broken in ST3).

Sure, it's only 10 levels from Reactor 6 to Shield 7 and it might be an idea to decide on which way to go before you get there (i.e. if you are gonna go with Barrier at 7, then just stick with Nova all the way)

[garblesoup]

w00t! People adding content, thank you!

I guess I should add that I've chosen to equip a Dragonflight engine for the passive shield regen boost. It's a bear on the reactor at startup so it's not a good choice for exploring/traveling but in combat it sure is nice.

[Mattsacre]

Here is some content If you go with the "harrier" or wing type engines like falcon "x" then your going to get the best missle range buff to level...has a high sig..but then your a missle boat suppost to kite them anyway If you go this route to get your range rather than shield/reactor this will free for you to have a wider range shield/reactor to cherry pick. Many of the progen reactors have either shield and/or reactor buffs that are very good..most the progen shields have the highest cap and/ recharge. Some of the jenny reactors however have a slightly higher cap/recharge and most of them are recharge centric.

As a missle boat and stand off fighter..you should with right gear not tend to get hit as much on shield as say a PW would..this leaves you the option of great reactors like L6 warrior pride/heart..if you take the heart your really living on the edge..its more for classes with shield charge skill since it takes a hefty chunk of shield away to recharge your reactor. If you however take the pride it has a smaller hit to shield and actually reroutes it over a time (think 10 sec.) rather than instant like heart..so your not left with 0 shield.

Now here is something to consider also L7 supernova..that baby has a thrust boost that is HUGE...if you getting in range of a mob and would like to get at a more advantagous range this is it..good cap/recharge and a scramble the heck away from agro buff. The energy consumption of the thrust buff isnt to bad either..as you dont have to face enemy to shoot many TE employ the buff and tear circles around the mobs not leading them out of teather range.

[Evoz]

Just a quick note as a TT (i'm not a TE so might be different). Seeing as you're saying that TE's have energy problems, I would go for the model X,Y,Z with the missile buff and go for a very high-cap reactor (usually a jupiter/callipus/other jenpie reactor), instead of going for the reactor with the missile buff and a high-cap shield (who needs shields when you're kiting?)

That said, maybe mattsacre is right with suggesting the ENGINE with the missile buff. i haven't looked that far into it as i have just been trading mostly