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Armor fleets vs Shield fleets
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Hikaru Kuroda
Extheria
#1 - 2012-10-19 20:09:23 UTC
Hi there PvP-sages,

I searched for information about both types of fleet, but haven't found anything tangible apart of shield fleet being extremely popular on Incursions.

So, why choose one over another for PvP? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks, guys.
ShahFluffers
Ice Fire Warriors
#2 - 2012-10-19 20:32:11 UTC
Shield Fleets:
- faster (shields don't slow down the ship)
- more DPS (you can fit damage mods in the low-slots)
- more range (you can fit tracking mods in the low-slots)

Armor Fleets:
- takes more punishment (more raw HP and smaller sig radii)
- easier to use remote armor reps (more forgiving CPU, PG, and capacitor requirements)
- can employ more Ewar (each ship with an "extra" mid-slot can equip a sensor dampener, tracking disruptor, etc).

How did you Veterans start?
Azock
Backwater Redux
Tactical Narcotics Team
#3 - 2012-10-20 01:57:31 UTC  |  Edited by: Azock
ShahFluffers wrote:
Shield Fleets:
- faster (shields don't slow down the ship)
- more DPS (you can fit damage mods in the low-slots)
- more range (you can fit tracking mods in the low-slots)

Armor Fleets:
- takes more punishment (more raw HP and smaller sig radii)
- easier to use remote armor reps (more forgiving CPU, PG, and capacitor requirements)
- can employ more Ewar (each ship with an "extra" mid-slot can equip a sensor dampener, tracking disruptor, etc).



This is pretty much the general run down of the two fleets. There are exceptions out there though. Most fleets now a days in Nullsec are formed using one or two racial ships and the tanks that come with them.

Example: Abaddon Fleets = Armor + Lasers.
Rokh Fleets = Shield + Rails.

The two fleet comps perform somewhat similar but each have slight advantages as mentioned by ShahFluffers. The reason shield is so popular for incursions because it is all about Max DPS + Instant Reps from shield reppers. You do not need to fill your mids with ewar or anything else that can be a game changer in PvP.
Hikaru Kuroda
Extheria
#4 - 2012-10-20 08:36:23 UTC
Azock wrote:
You do not need to fill your mids with ewar or anything else that can be a game changer in PvP.


So armor fleets for PvP are slightly better because they have are EWAR focuse, while shield fleets excels in PvE, right?

Thanks for answering!
ShahFluffers
Ice Fire Warriors
#5 - 2012-10-20 08:52:47 UTC  |  Edited by: ShahFluffers
Hikaru Kuroda wrote:
Azock wrote:
You do not need to fill your mids with ewar or anything else that can be a game changer in PvP.


So armor fleets for PvP are slightly better because they have are EWAR focuse, while shield fleets excels in PvE, right?

Thanks for answering!

Yes and no.

Shield fleets focus more on damage and speed (as I said in my post above)...
... the damage part makes them ideal for Incursion Fleets as the group that deals the most DPS wins the rewards at the end....
... in PvP fleets, it is the speed and DPS combined that make them ideal for skirmishing (i.e. "hit hard and run fast"). Small gangs often shield tank as their effectiveness and survival depends on getting in and out of a fight.

Armor fleets are more of a "brawler" type thing where you sit, soak up damage, and dish it out over a period of time.

Basically it boils down to this:

- small, fast gangs and people expecting very short lived fights use shields.
- large, defending/brawling gangs that expect to be on the "field" over the long haul use armor.

There are exceptions to this... but this is generally how people use the two tanking styles.

How did you Veterans start?
Doddy
Excidium.
#6 - 2012-10-20 09:24:51 UTC
Hikaru Kuroda wrote:
Azock wrote:
You do not need to fill your mids with ewar or anything else that can be a game changer in PvP.


So armor fleets for PvP are slightly better because they have are EWAR focuse, while shield fleets excels in PvE, right?

Thanks for answering!


Its a bit more complicated than that, an abaddon fleet uses no meds for ewar and fits damage mods in lows, so its really breaking these generalisations straight away.

Really the main difference is speed against survivability. Shield fleets tend to be faster as they are not fitting plates and armour rigs. Armour fleets tend to be tougher as there are usually more slots for tanking and they are not getting massive sig bloom from extenders/shield rigs.

There are exceptions though, tengu fleets for example are very tough and have relatively small sigs while being not that fast

That is for pvp, for pve (i.e. incursions/wormholes) its about the dps so the shield fleet not using lows for tanking lets them fit 3 or even 4 damage mods.
Hikaru Kuroda
Extheria
#7 - 2012-10-20 13:26:47 UTC
Pretty clear now :)

Thanks!