Feedback Shield

[MasterXMatthew]

I would appreciate any thoughts (feedback) that y'all might have on feedback shields. I actually use them on several of my ship builds, and really like them (I use distortion shields on my scouts and a couple other ships), but I don't fully understand how they work. Reading through the tooltip, it appears to me that rather than reflect damage, they cause a set amount of damage to occur to your next "successful" attacker. While I've seen mention of this being a viable approach when specifically taking blaster fire, I know I've taken damage as a gunship when firing my railguns at someone with feedback shields. I also know that I have died to a railgun slug when my feedback shields were deployed and that an ion gun hit that I've taken with my feedback shields up didn't immobilize or drain the gunship firing it, so this is also supportive of feedback shields not reflecting damage.

 

I guess my question though is how much damage can they cause and is there still some reflective component to blaster fire? How much of the damage is shield vs hull damage? Does feedback shield work on missiles as well? I've killed many a scout who seemed to be at about 10-15% health with them. What confused me a couple days ago is a scout that picked up a damage overcharge and was chasing my gunship. I LOS'd him at an asteroid, turned around, and met him in a head to head duel with feedback shield + burst cannons as he turned the corner and actually killed him. It seemed to me that he took a big hit when he first hit my feedback shield, and it made me second guess the whole reflective damage thing. If feedback shields do in fact reflect a large component of blaster fire, it would make them much more viable in deathmatches with damage overcharges than I think they are popularly given credit for. If the damage is primarily hull damage, they probably deserve more consideration for all builds and for all maps.

 

I wasn't sure if there is some way to look at the numbers - have they been published/datamined for the different ship components somewhere? It would be really nice to have combat logs to review.

[Nemarus]

Feedback Shield does not reflect or otherwise reduce the damage your shields take. Basically, you activate it, and the first time you get damaged during its duration, the attacker is hit with a single blast (there's actually a line of light from you to him). Upgraded, it does ~650 I think, but it can crit for more than 800 if I recall correctly. This is normal damage, with no shield or armor piercing.

 

It's especially useful if you've hit a Scout with a railgun to soften him, and he is charging you. The Feedback Shield may destroy him outright depending on his shields/hull. If not, it will leave him so damaged that a single shot from your BLC's will kill him.

 

Feedback Shield generally doesn't do enough damage to really make a difference against anything else but Scouts, I've found.

 

One thing to note though is that Feedback Shield is the only full-capacity shield available to a Quarrel or Mangler. Every other shield they can use suffers a capacity penalty. So if you want "lots of shields" Feedback Shield is a good choice.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Nemarus

[Kuciwalker]

Feedback shield is terrible. Don't use it. Edited March 13, 2014 by Kuciwalker

[wishihadaname]

Feedback shield is why I carry quick charge shields on my gunship hunting blackbolt . Most guys I fight use it, and the usual course of action is this:

-I sneak up on them from below/behind get into 3km, stop, power weapons, start firing and locking a sab probe.

- Gunship barrel rolls and activates the shield at the same time.

- I count to 3 and barrel roll after them coming back within 3km.

- I proceed to get my missile lock off, eat about 600-800 damage, quick charge my shields to get back to 90%, and force feed them their own tailpipe while they get to slowly fly in a straight line in front of me

 

Sab probes: "Hey you see that wall over there? Yes look closer! much closer! too close "

[Zoom_VI]

I say all gunships should be using fortress shield

[Fractalsponge]

The only people taking feedback shields are either bad, or have gotten too used to soft opposition. If you're constantly farming newbies and F2P, why not? it gives you a little bit extra DPS to pad your numbers. But against real opposition, forget about it.

[ToMyMa]

I say all gunships should be using fortress shield

 

I used it in my initial build, but stuck with it as the regen buff is pretty helpful when you're sitting and gunning away. Might not be ideal for anything else than that, though.

[QuinMantha]

Feedback shield nets me a few good kills during a match.

 

The trick is, only let them have the one shot on you to damage them, then evade. It'll typically finish off a damaged scout, and soften up most anything else.

 

Plus, people don't expect Gunships to dogfight, so staying in long enough for the cooldown on Feedback Shield to finish is a good tactic for staying healthy and possibly even coming out with a kill.

[Zoom_VI]

I used it in my initial build, but stuck with it as the regen buff is pretty helpful when you're sitting and gunning away. Might not be ideal for anything else than that, though.

 

Your sarcasm detector must be bugged.

[ToMyMa]

Your sarcasm detector must be bugged.

 

Nah, I know what you meant

 

You want all them easy kills on GS that are using Forretress shields, as they're basically worthless since almost anything can rip through them in no time.

[Verain]

Never use Fortress or Feedback. They need to be redesigned or massively buffed. Fortress shield might need to actually quintuple shields to be good. Feedback isn't as far off- if the value was higher, it could be threatening. It would still need to be a large boost however, and when it was made large enough to be worth using over distortion or directional the gameplay would be deviant. It doesn't feel good to shoot a ship and take damage, after all, and for a shield component to actually be worth using it would need to feel very bad to play against it.

 

Fortress shield's worst part is that it reduces the frontloaded part of the shield. So, your shield is only at like 0.7, and under the boost, 1.4. This is trash compared to directional's 1.1 or Disto's 0.8 + evasion, given the "hold still" requirement.

[Magira]

Fortress shield's worst part is that it reduces the frontloaded part of the shield. So, your shield is only at like 0.7, and under the boost, 1.4. This is trash compared to directional's 1.1 or Disto's 0.8 + evasion, given the "hold still" requirement.

 

No, its 1.6 under the boost. T2 increased by 20%. But, make it not better.

[Zoom_VI]

Fortress shield's worst part is that it reduces the frontloaded part of the shield. So, your shield is only at like 0.7, and under the boost, 1.4. This is trash compared to directional's 1.1 or Disto's 0.8 + evasion, given the "hold still" requirement.

 

Fortress is the best shield around bro. I kill everything with fortress and never die. l2p

[Armonddd]

Feedback tickles, but has ~never stopped a kill. Fortress increases your time to live, but also guarantees that time will run out. Directional and distortion are the only ones that make a real difference... and only one of those breaks missile locks while also being available on a ship with ion.

[Kuciwalker]

I say all gunships should be using fortress shield

 

I love it when gunships use fortress shield. It tells me that they are a free kill.

[Nemarus]

Never use Fortress or Feedback. They need to be redesigned or massively buffed. Fortress shield might need to actually quintuple shields to be good. Feedback isn't as far off- if the value was higher, it could be threatening. It would still need to be a large boost however, and when it was made large enough to be worth using over distortion or directional the gameplay would be deviant. It doesn't feel good to shoot a ship and take damage, after all, and for a shield component to actually be worth using it would need to feel very bad to play against it.

 

Fortress shield's worst part is that it reduces the frontloaded part of the shield. So, your shield is only at like 0.7, and under the boost, 1.4. This is trash compared to directional's 1.1 or Disto's 0.8 + evasion, given the "hold still" requirement.

 

I think Feedback would be more interesting if, instead of one moderate pulse of damage, it had a more eccentric effect. Maybe a large DOT or an Interdiction debuff on the attacker.

[Altheran]

I think Feedback would be more interesting if, instead of one moderate pulse of damage, it had a more eccentric effect. Maybe a large DOT or an Interdiction debuff on the attacker.

 

Or maybe it could just have a passive buff of shield pool.

Since it works a bit like Charged Plating (in the way that it does not "repair"), and does not defend/avoid damage either, I'd see it having a +50% shield pool passive.

[Ramalina]

I love it when gunships use fortress shield. It tells me that they are a free kill.

 

Well the design theory is fairly clear. You use fortress shield, then rotational thrusters and burst laser cannon to fry that silly attacker.

 

The only problem is that since nerfing sensor dampening it's hard to find anyone crazy enough to take an engine component that doesn't have a missile lock breaking element.

 

Of course there are a lot of components that are useless even in builds that they're clearly meant to function well in.

[NotThatOne]

Feedback shield is terrible. Don't use it.

 

While it is possible to be more wrong, you'd really have to work at it.

 

I use feedback shield on every one of my gunships, and it's a great finisher for that tunnel visioned lolscout that you've tagged once.

 

I score an average of 2 kills a match with the feedback against scouts, other gunships, pretty much every thing, because it they're already damaged, it's a good 100% hitrate shot, maxed out it hits for 690 dmg, and can have a power drain effect if you select it.

[Armonddd]

I use feedback shield on every one of my gunships, and it's a great finisher for that tunnel visioned lolscout that you've tagged once.

 

Speaking as that tunnel visioned lolscout, I have never, ever died to feedback shield. Not even once.

 

No, really, I've died to lingering effect more than I have to feedback shield.

 

Besides, why would I want a shield ability that... doesn't shield?

[Altheran]

Besides, why would I want a shield ability that... doesn't shield?

 

If it were to give you a substantially bigger shield pool, would you still not consider the question ?

[Zoom_VI]

I love it when gunships use fortress shield. It tells me that they are a free kill.

 

quiet Kuci you are ruining my plan.

[Armonddd]

If it were to give you a substantially bigger shield pool, would you still not consider the question ?

 

See, then it would be actually shielding. It would still not be my favorite choice, but that's ok -- trading some shielding for some power is a perfectly viable tradeoff. But when there's a minimum bar of survivability being set by every other option in the game, and this one doesn't do anything at all to help you get there... it's a problem.

[NotThatOne]

Speaking as that tunnel visioned lolscout, I have never, ever died to feedback shield. Not even once.

 

No, really, I've died to lingering effect more than I have to feedback shield.

 

Besides, why would I want a shield ability that... doesn't shield?

 

Wrong. Because I distinctly remember cackling maniacally after you blew up against mine once in TS. You were chasing me, Molva or Uno tagged you, (can't remember which,) as I activated my feedback, then boom, Mae'thon bits

 

On a completely different subject, bring your afterburners back to Pot5.

[Armonddd]

Wrong. Because I distinctly remember cackling maniacally after you blew up against mine once in TS. You were chasing me, Molva or Uno tagged you, (can't remember which,) as I activated my feedback, then boom, Mae'thon bits

 

Oh, ok. I'll believe you, because that seems like something I would try to forget.

 

That means I have died an equal number of times to feedback shield as I have to lingering effect. Whee.

 

On a completely different subject, bring your afterburners back to Pot5.

 

It is spring break now, so maybe.