A quick study in Pistol/Shield vs. Rifles and Gloves from an Engineers Perspective.
I've seen some debate since the shields released on what is better to use. This discussion only extends to Engineers, as shields should not be used by coms or ops, imho. For the purposes of this discussion, only lvl 30 non-plat weapons were considered. I also assumed that a shield would be used with the pistol, as without it, why even use a pistol? I feel that the shield I use is the best choice for a pistol/shield Engi, the Limited Class VI Holo-Shield.
Just a note here, the summaries are my opinion, not fact, please don't take them as fact. Review the data I have presented and draw your own conclusions.
I would like to take a second and thank LelouchX, a guildmate of mine, for allowing me to borrow his Custom Atomite. Thanks, bud!
Check out Hullukko's post on dps and damage range effect on skill damage and compare some more. Thank you very much for this!
1. Full plat armor, 5% dodge implant
Black Widow vs. Bionic Crushers
When Bionic Crushers are equipped instead of Black Widow and Limited Class VI Holo-shield you:
LOSE:
-5 Str
-5 Dex
-4 Int
-2 Hit %
-15 Health
-1 Health Regen
-30 Mana
-3-6 damage
-134 Armor
GAIN:
+9 Dps
Hardly worth the trade there. A decent hit to max health and a big hit to mana for +9 dps isn't worth it.
WINNER: Black Widow
Black Widow vs. Atomic Disperser.
When equipped with the Atomic Disperser instead of Black Widow and Limited Class VI Holo-Shield, you:
LOSE:
-5 Str
-9 Int
-1 Hit%
-31 Health
-1 Health Regen
-36 Mana
-4 Dps
-134 Armor
GAIN:
+4-8 Dmg
Hmm, yeah, not worth the trade offs. An even bigger hit to health and mana make the damage increase seem paltry at best.
WINNER: Black Widow
Here, I'll compare apples to apples. Black Widow v. Incinerator. Generally, the Incinerator is looked at as a lesser pistol when compared to the Black Widow, but we shall see.
With the Incinerator equipped instead of the Black Widow you:
LOSE:
-5 Dex
-1 Hit%
-3-9 Dmg
GAIN:
+6 Int
+17 Health
+7 Mana
+4 DPS
Well, this is an eye-opener.
WINNER: Toss-up, depending on your build
Incinerator vs. Bionic Crushers
With Bionic Crushers equipped instead of Incinerator and Limited Class IV Holo-Shield, you:
LOSE:
-5 Str
-9 Int
-1 Hit%
-32 Health
-1 Health Regen
-37 Mana
-134 Armor
GAIN:
+0-5 Dmg
+5 Dps
Well, you gain a slight increase in max damage and dps, but no where near enough to make up for the health and mana loss.
WINNER: Incinerator
Incinerator vs. Atomic Disperser
When equipped with the Atomic Disperser instead of the Incinerator and Limited Class IV Holo-Shield, you:
LOSE:
-5 Str
-14 Int
-48 Health
-1 Health Regen
-43 Mana
-8 Dps
-134 Armor
GAIN:
+5 Dex
+7-19 Dmg
Dex gain doesn't mean anything here, either. But that and the damage increase vs. the major loss in health and mana doesn't even come close to making up for it.
WINNER: Incinerator
2. Standard Atomite gear, 5% dodge implant
Black Widow vs. Bionic Crushers
With the Bionic Crushers equipped instead of the Black Widow and Limited Class IV Holo-Shield you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-4 INT
-3 Hit %
-15 Health
-30 Mana
-2-5 Dmg
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+9 dps
As I said with the Plat armor, the loss of the health and mana just isn't worth the increased dps. Also, for whatever reason, when the shield is removed with this armor, I lost 135 armor instead of 134. This was true across all combinations.
WINNER: Black Widow
Black Widow vs. Atomic Disperser
When equipped with the Atomic Disperser instead of the Black Widow and the Limited Class VI Holo-Shield you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-9 INT
-2 Hit %
-31 Health
-36 Mana
-5 DPS
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+4-8 DMG
Large loss of health and mana for a bit of damage makes you a less effective Engineer.
WINNER: Black Widow
Black Widow vs. Incinerator
When equipped with the Incinerator instead of the Black Widow you:
LOSE:
-5 DEX
-1 Hit %
-3-11 DMG
GAIN:
+5 INT
+17 Health
+7 Mana
+4 DPS
Like with the plat gear, this one really depends on your build. If you are more combat focused, then take the Black Widow. If you run a more support oriented Engi, Incinerator would work.
WINNER: Toss up, again, depending on what you want to do.
Incinerator vs. Bionic Crushers
When equipped with the Bionic Crushers instead of the Incinerator and Limited Class VI Holo-Shield you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-9 INT
-2 Hit %
-32 Health
-37 Mana
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+1-6 DMG
+5 DPS
Slightly more damage increase over the plat gear and DPS increase won't make up for the health, mana, and slight hit % loss.
WINNER: Incinerator
Incinerator vs. Atomic Disperser
With the Atomic Disperser equipped instead of the Incinerator and Limited Class VI Holo-Shield you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-14 INT
-1 Hit %
-48 Health
-43 Mana
-9 DPS
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+5 DEX
+7-19 DMG
That's an awful lot of Health and mana to lose. Perhaps against a boss this would work, but against anything else, it isn't worth it.
WINNER: Incinerator
3. Custom Atomite, 5% dodge implant
Black Widow vs. Incinerator
With the Incinerator equipped instead of the Black Widow you:
LOSE:
-5 DEX
-1 Hit %
-3-9 DMG
GAIN:
+5 INT
+17 Health
+7 Mana
+5 DPS
Same as with the other two armor sets, depends on your build.
WINNER: Toss-up
Black Widow vs. Bionic Crushers
With the Bionic Crushers equipped instead of the Black Widow you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-5 DEX
-4 INT
-3 Hit %
-15 Health
-29 Mana
-2-5 DMG
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+9 DPS
I just don't think the loss of enough mana to cast Empathy twice is worth the bump in DPS.
WINNER: Black Widow
Black Widow vs. Atomic Disperser
With the Atomic Disperser equipped instead of the Black Widow you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-9 INT
-2 Hit %
-31 Health
-36 Mana
-5 DPS
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+4-8 DMG
Boss fight would be about the only reason I would suggest this, and that's just a maybe.
WINNER: Black Widow
Incinerator vs. Bionic Crushers
With the Bionic Crushers equipped instead of the Incinerator you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-9 INT
-2 Hit %
-32 Health
-36 Mana
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+1-6 DMG
+5 DPS
Decent mana and health loss for a ok bump in damage and DPS is, in my opinion, not worth it.
WINNER: Incinerator
Incinerator vs. Atomic Disperser
With the Atomic Disperser equipped instead of the Incinerator you:
LOSE:
-5 STR
-14 INT
-1 Hit%
-48 Health
-43 Mana
-9 DPS
-135 Armor
GAIN:
+5 DEX
+7-19 DMG
Like before, this would be a good choice vs. a boss and maxing your heal ticks. In truth, though, you'll actually lose healing ability, as you lose 3 whole Empathy casts with that mana loss.
WINNER: Incinerator
In summary, with the current equipment available, a pistol/shield combo is the best set up for engineers in my opinion. I must admit that the Incinerator did not perform as poorly as I had expected. If you want to increase your health and mana, then it is an excellent choice. Actually, upon further review and though, I feel that the Incinerator paired with the Limited Class VI Holo-Shield may be the standard equipment for a basic Engineer. Yes, you'll take a hit to the amount of healing per tick, but you are half way to one more empathy cast.
After reviewing and testing with the Atomite gear, my opinion hasn't changed. I still feel that a pistol/shield combo is more effective for Engineers.
As you can clearly see, the different armor sets are not having much effect on your loss/gain stats. I had considered doing and average of health ticks with each weapon and armor set, as well as auto-attack averages and listing them in the comparisons, but I now feel that these comparisons are pretty much an exercise in futility and will be pretty much worthless once new gear drops. Perhaps I'll revisit this in the future, once the level cap and new gear has stabilized a bit more.
My final conclusion is that while there are situations where a rifle or gloves would be a better option, on the whole I believe that a pistol/shield combo is the best option for everyday use.
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