Where do I find information?

Doug Ragan

Can someone give me a reason for upgrading my shields?

I know you are probably wondering why I ask what seems like a silly question, but I cannot find any stats on the different shields. 

What does Shield Energy mean? Why are all 3 listings for "Defenses" the same across the board? 

In other words, is there a way to make sense of this without having to guess? 

Doug Ragan

And does anyone know what Range Modifier means?

Sprouts

Shield energy is basically a measure of how many times the enemy ships can hit your ship before your shields are gone and you're taking 100%-damage hits to your armor/health.

Range modifier is where some ships can shoot longer than the default setting for that weapon. For example, a railgun on a longbow is going to be able to shoot stuff that's farther away than a railgun on a harrier.

Doug Ragan

Okay, the range on the railguns says 2000 - 4000 meters. Which of those numbers is the default? If the ship modifier is 100%, does it use the 2000? 

And thanks. 

Sprouts

2000 is the minimum range, 4000 is the maximum range. So, if you take a ship out with a railgun and put it into a battle, you'll see that the yellow part where you can shoot stuff does not start right at the ship, there's a gap before the yellow starts. That's what the 2000 is. 

The range modifier makes the 4000 farther away, so for 140% on a longbow, it's actually 2000 (minimum) to 5600. 

Doug Ragan

Thanks again

So if a ship with a smaller min range gets withing 2000m of me, I'm a bit screwed. :-)

Sprouts

Yep, that's why you have other ships with short-range weapons in the same fleet. The combinations are endless.

michael.germain.10

Are there any hidden resistances to the different armors? plassteel vs tritatianium, ect...

The only stats they have listed are armor amount and weight but is one type of armor better against a different weapon like the 3 shield types are?

Sprouts

It's just straight armor points for weight. You are aiming for as much armor as possible for as little weight as possible. Tritanium is more efficient about this than plasteel, iridium moreso than tritanium, etc.