Shields Up! Observations of Shields & Holographic Displays

[IBNobody]

Sloucho added shields and some other off-hand items. How good are they?

Holo-Shields apparently add the same level armor as an equally rare commando chest, 124-144 pts, lv 26-30. That is a significant amount of Armor. The cost is that you must give up using 2-handed weapons such as Rifles, Heavy Weapons, Hand Blasters, and Dual Pistols. You would have to use Light or Heavy Pistols instead.

The difference between an epic Rifle and an epic Heavy Pistol is (currently) 4-8 damage points. Since weapon damage determines skill damage (and engineer heals), a trade-off has to be made between 4-8 damage points and 124-144 armor. (The damage difference in damage may be less, though, because shields DO add stat points, which DO affect your damage output.)

If you are a Commando, a holo-shield and a heavy pistol may make you more survivable. However, a good rifle will give you better control of aggro.

If you are heal-tanking as an Engineer, grabbing a holo-shield and a heavy pistol may be a good idea. If you're playing with a good tank, you may want to use a rifle.

If you are playing as an Operative, your best bet is to run around and not get hit. Rifles are the clear choice.


The Holographic Display, though, is an odd duck... It only provides 32 armor... Is it just for aesthetics, or does it improve something beyond printed stats?

[Nourish]

Omg sorry I posted cuz ur avatar is sick.

EDIT: Read through it, gonna say I'm sticking with my classes specific weapon. E.g. Engi has gloves op pistolz and com riflez

[BodMaster]

Great job again buddy keep up the good work!

If you are a Commando, a holo-shield and a heavy pistol may make you more survivable. However, a good rifle will give you better control of aggro.

Agree totally! I use a Lvl 30 Shield with a Heavy Pistol.. though this has been mocked I believe it is the best combo for Sloucho though if in Numa always going to go with the Rifle due to its awesome ability to keep and center aggro.

The Holographic Display, though, is an odd duck... It only provides 32 armor... Is it just for aesthetics, or does it improve something beyond printed stats?

Never understood these as soon I got one (multi coloured) looked at stats and thought "ahh these are okay" then I seen a shield and thought "got to have that now!" Though I still see players running around with these Holographic Displays over the shields :/

[sickside]

Never understood these as soon I got one (multi coloured) looked at stats and thought "ahh these are okay" then I seen a shield and thought "got to have that now!" Though I still see players running around with these Holographic Displays over the shields :/

i dont think its them running around with holographic displays over shields as much as it is holographic displays are easier to obtain/cheaper


i myself at lvl 27 used a holographic display due to the fact i was runing around with a pistol to keep my agro down and could use the extra armor and stats and shields are expensive for the lower lvls

[Register]

Yup. I was gonna say, NO SHIELDS FOR COMMANDOS! 144 armor wont protect you. Remmeber that armor test? ~55 armor=1 dmg reduction, i think. So very minimal boost. AOE cannon will be much more useful

[GigaBits]

At level 30 my engineer uses a holo display. Cant check now, at work, but it adds more mana by 5 and less health than holo shield plus a handy +9 to int, IIRC. I feel it's a better choice for the discerning engineer. Granted the armor from shield is WAY better, I just feel that the display is a better choice for engineers, mainly because of + int.

[Kindread]

Yup. I was gonna say, NO SHIELDS FOR COMMANDOS! 144 armor wont protect you. Remmeber that armor test? ~55 armor=1 dmg reduction, i think. So very minimal boost. AOE cannon will be much more useful

I agree with Register. I am not a fan of commandos and the pistola/shield combo. Besides the problem with the ability to hold aggro with the pistol, the commando loses out on the AOE capablities of the Heavy Weapons. I'm all about effectiveness. Yes it is nice to have an extra 144 armor from the shield which gives you a little more than 2 points damage reduction but who cares about damage reduction when most of the time, you're running in groups with an engineer? You're not going to notice the reduction at all when you're getting healed on a constant basis.

Instead you lose out on the damage output of an AOE heavy weapon which when combined with your crit boosting skill, probably clears house. I'm working on my commando alt right now and I'm loving the AOE of Heavy Weapons. When mobs are closer together, I'm damaging at least 3 at once. I don't have the crit boost skill yet but I'll bet it'll be fun.

[BodMaster]

I'm working on my commando alt right now and I'm loving the AOE of Heavy Weapons. When mobs are closer together, I'm damaging at least 3 at once. I don't have the crit boost skill yet but I'll bet it'll be fun.

I agree that it used to be very effective but in Sloucho I would like to disagree.. I can hardly hold any aggro when fighting mobs no matter what kind of weapon I try Rifle, HW etc. all seem to be unable to hold it rather well than Delta or Numa.. with my silly amount of Dodge and that extra armour I still live by the Heavy Pistol and Shield. (All weapons in new upgrade seem to be less effective than what im using right now)

[IBNobody]

First, to keep things in context, the shield is equivalent to a commando chest plate. That means it gets 5 armor points per level at rare, and even more on an epic or legendary. At 30, it's 144. At 60, it will likely be 294.

Also, if they were to release platinum shields (very likely), those would likely carry bonuses to %hit/%crit/%dodge. Would losing 5-10 damage be worth a 5% increase in your hit rate?

I agree with Register. I am not a fan of commandos and the pistola/shield combo. Besides the problem with the ability to hold aggro with the pistol, the commando loses out on the AOE capablities of the Heavy Weapons. I'm all about effectiveness. Yes it is nice to have an extra 144 armor from the shield which gives you a little more than 2 points damage reduction but who cares about damage reduction when most of the time, you're running in groups with an engineer? You're not going to notice the reduction at all when you're getting healed on a constant basis.

Instead you lose out on the damage output of an AOE heavy weapon which when combined with your crit boosting skill, probably clears house. I'm working on my commando alt right now and I'm loving the AOE of Heavy Weapons. When mobs are closer together, I'm damaging at least 3 at once. I don't have the crit boost skill yet but I'll bet it'll be fun.

The AOE weapon is nice, but for many battles, a rifle will work better. It is only single-target, but its min damage is much higher. That will cause your skills to do more damage. I'd say that the best advice is to use a gun suited to the situation.

At level 30 my engineer uses a holo display. Cant check now, at work, but it adds more mana by 5 and less health than holo shield plus a handy +9 to int, IIRC. I feel it's a better choice for the discerning engineer. Granted the armor from shield is WAY better, I just feel that the display is a better choice for engineers, mainly because of + int.

Did you know that there is an Engineer-based Holo-Shield that provides the same stats and 134 armor? Check out my item compendium.

[GigaBits]

What!?!? *checking item compedium* guess I just kept getting the same one.

=P

Geeze, IB, you rock. Thanks.

[Nightarcher]

Okay, your choice of weapon and whether or not you use a shield only really effects the damage you do. Whether or not you take and hold aggro is based off your taunt skills. When clearing mobs, use your major AOE taunts like Singularity and Neutron Stomp. For bosses, it's pretty easy because commandos have 5 taunt skills. So learn to play your character, and you'll do fine.

[Ephemeris]

Yet another great "heads-up" to the masses; I dig!

[McBain]

There was another thread recently regarding heavy cannons vs. rifles and pistols with commandos. I personally have never been sold on heavy weapons. The AOE effect with cannons is highly overrated in my humble opinion. I've always been able to clear mobs faster with a rifle, and the rifles' significantly higher base damage makes a bigger difference overall, I think. Since aggro is also largely damage-based, it makes more sense in that respect as well.

Pistol and shield probably isn't a bad combo for Slouch-o though. I agree with Bod here. The damage difference between the 1H and 2H purple weapons is much smaller than with previous weapon sets. The trade-off of losing a small amount of damage for the ability to use a shield seems to make it worthwhile for those who choose to do so.

[CanonicalKoi]

I haven't run my Commando in Slouch-O much (it's only a baby!), but is the added armor from a shield that important? If it's harder to hold aggro (understandable with the kind of mobs there), you shouldn't be the focal point to receive as much damage. A Commando's armor and health pool are already high--for example, my level 26 Commando wearing a mix of Sandstorm and Modified Mark VI has armor of 456 and a health pool of 379. In comparison, my level 30 Op. wearing custom gear, has armor of 327 and a health pool of 348. That's a difference in 129 armor and 31 health between a level 26 wearing semi-decent gear and a level 30 wearing custom--and the Op is surviving just fine. Laying aside sheer luck on my Op's side, is a shield really necessary for my Commando as it gets "older"?

[krazii]

The shield combo combination is really only useful for engineers who get extra armor protection (which is important despite all the armor bashing) adn aren't relied on for damage. Get the limited shield with the int pistol (forget name) and you are set.

[Aperfecte]

Hey guys,

I know this is off topic but I was wondering how to get the SG avatar? Is it only for devs?

[octavos]

Hey guys,

I know this is off topic but I was wondering how to get the SG avatar? Is it only for devs?

Go here a bit off topic, but a question that deserves an answer.
http://www.spacetimestudios.com/show...r-Guard-Emblem

[Aperfecte]

Go here a bit off topic, but a question that deserves an answer.
http://www.spacetimestudios.com/show...r-Guard-Emblem

Now I understand. Thanks for the info and congrats on being a Star Guard.

I think you really deserve it for being so helpful

[bronislav84]

Heal tanking? What about support Engineers who heal and Protection the party, and must survive to Res the party? This seems to be surprisingly absent in the guide.

And suggesting rifles for Operatives? Um what is so bad about dual pistols? Please discuss the comparison better.

Also would be nice to know how much damage reduction each Holo Shield gives, and what the difference in damage reduction is between the two (Str for 30 and Int for 28). I have a Str shield and wondering how much damage reduction I'd love if I trade it for the Int shield.

[octavos]

Now I understand. Thanks for the info and congrats on being a Star Guard.

I think you really deserve it for being so helpful

Heal tanking? What about support Engineers who heal and Protection the party, and must survive to Res the party? This seems to be surprisingly absent in the guide.

And suggesting rifles for Operatives? Um what is so bad about dual pistols? Please discuss the companion better.

Also would be nice to know how much damage reduction each Holo Shield gives, and what the difference in damage reduction is between the two (Str for 30 and Int for 28). I have a Str shield and wondering how much damage reduction I'd love if I trade it for the Int shield.

Aperfecte, thanks but showing no bias to ppl is my greatest trait....everyone deserves help.

Karaai, Im a enginTank, I heal support....and have a big gun so i dont rely on other engineers for there support
but support from the whole team.....hence, when you do a run with me you dont die but if ppl dont help....im a goner lol