MidnightsRequiem Posted March 27, 2012 Posted March 27, 2012 So Im playing a powertech and I was wondering... Does my shield activate even if Im using, any other cylinder besides Ion? If so, what do shields actually shield? Just basic/melee/ranged based attacks? Nothing that does elemental, kinetic, crushing or anything like that? I know shadows/assassins need to be in a particular stance for the shield to even work. What about Juggs? Thanks for the info and help!
hadoken Posted March 27, 2012 Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Doesn't work at all if you're not in the right cylinder buff. It only protects against melee and ranged attacks, which are kinetic/energy but there are force/tech attacks that can be those damage types too and bypass the shield. Same rules for all the tanks, they have to be in the 'tank stance' for the shield to activate and work. Edited March 27, 2012 by hadoken
Applicator Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Yeah shields work, but only 5% chance so not really worth it. Ion cylinder etc make it an extra % to block and there are talents that can further increase it
Tenacity Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) Yes, your shield will activate without ion gas cylinder. However, the base shield chance on shield generators is only 5%, so unless you have shield rating gear or talents you're not likely to see very many shield procs. I occasionally use other cylinders in pvp or when I'm not actively tanking, but still have around 32%~ shield chance from skills/talents and my tanking gear. If so, what do shields actually shield? Just basic/melee/ranged based attacks? Nothing that does elemental, kinetic, crushing or anything like that? Shields can activate against any basic melee or ranged attack. The damage type doesnt matter, it's the type of attack that determines whether it can be dodged/shielded. Force and Tech attacks cannot be shielded (or dodged). The roll for shielding an incoming attack also takes place -after- defense and absorption rolls - meaning if you have something like a sorceror's static barrier (bubble) on you, you wont shield or dodge incoming attacks. Dodging always takes priority over shielding, and armor mitigation takes place after all shielding and defense rolls. As an example, if a boss attacks you for 10,000 damage, and you have 50% damage reduction from armor and 30% absorption, and you successfully shield the attack... -You will absorb 3000 damage with your shield, so 7,000 damage bypasses the shield. -Your armor will reduce that 7,000 incoming damage to 3,500 damage, which will be dealt to your hitpoints. Edited March 28, 2012 by Tenacity
Eternalnight Posted March 29, 2012 Posted March 29, 2012 (edited) While the "hints" you can read during loading screens seem to suggest that turning your "tank mode" on will activate your shields, they are just badly written. You will always have at least 5% shield chance. Turning on your "tank mode" will increase this by 15% to a total of 20% (of course it will get even higher when wearing gear with shield rating and having skillpoints spent on things that increase shield chance) And turning on your "tank mode" has more purposes than just affecting your shields. Edited March 29, 2012 by Eternalnight
Tenacity Posted March 29, 2012 Posted March 29, 2012 That's just because those hints in the loading screens havent been updated since early beta. During beta (at least during the time I played it), you had 0% base shield chance without your tanking stance active. Shield generators themselves actually had 0% base shield chance and 20% base absorption, so you needed the shield chance bonus from gear or your tanking stance to actually get the shield to work at all.
Herew Posted March 29, 2012 Posted March 29, 2012 In addition, critical attacks can not be shielded against.
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