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PvE Shield tanking vs. armor tanking?

Asked by [ Editor ]

I see that similar questions have been asked, but none quite offered the type of answer I was looking for, so I'll pose it here:

Assuming my boat can tank shields and armor equally effectively, and not knowing what types of ammo my opponents will be using, which tank would be the better option?

I ask because I've switched from an armor tanking perspective to a shield tanking style for a few reasons.

First, my shield tank is a passive setup, leaving me free to worry about other things, while the armor tank required constant monitoring.

Second, my shields will recharge no matter what, and instantly once I hit a station, while armor requires waiting for an armor repairer to catch up or paying once I'm docked.

Third, if I'm getting my butt kicked, the basic armor under my shields gives me a few extra seconds to make like a tree and get outta there, whereas if I'm giving up shields and letting my armor take the beating, once it's gone, my boat sinks very quickly.

Armor tanking is obviously effective, so what ideas from that side of the argument am I missing?

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7 answers

1

melissa blick [ Editor ]

From a PVP perspective, armor tanking has the benefit of the guardian (amarr logistics). With an armor tanking gang running 3+ guardians, the armor/cap transfer bonus means they are literally pulling cap out of thin air to keep 4 large remote armor reppers each running at 70km from the fight. On the shield side, scimitars and basilisks are nowhere near as effective. This is why armor hac gangs with guardian logis are so popular.

On a separate but minor note, most people fit damage controls in PVP ships; it adds 15% armor resists, but only 12.5% shield resists.

From a PVE perspective, I prefer passive shield tanking. My cheap drake absolutely rocks when it comes to ratting solo.

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reverend drew
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Props for the first answer to actually express a personal preference, rather than saying, “It depends.”

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1

pedro_46

You should think how many mid and low slots you have ;) Low are good for armor tanking and mid is good for shield tanking ;) For example Coercer have 1 mid and 4 low slots. Make it good for armor tanking but sucks to shield tank.

So the question is not what is best. But what is best for your ship. And what you will use the ship to. If it is for web/scramble another player. Then armor tanking will probely be the best answar. (passiv tanking)

(This is best on what I know. Nothing is test. And it is what I have readed on the internet. Many good places with stuff about tanking ;) ) Fly safe :D

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reverend drew
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I appreciate the help, Pedro, but my of the question still stands unanswered.

Assuming my boat can tank either one equally effectively, which is best?

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1

aoshikenshin

If your boat can tank them both equally effective it depends on different variables. If you do low dps with turrets or missiles and want to do more then shield tank so you can fit weapon upgrades in the lows. If you want to have good speed then you can speed tank so you need the lows for speed mods and tracking mods and then you can fit a small shield tank still. If you aren't very cap stable then an armor tank USUALLY takes less cap because of the armor reppers versus shield boosters but there is always the passive tank which if it is completely passive will be fine on cap but if you have too many Shield Power Relays fit with invulnerabilities then your cap won't be good and in PVE you normally want to be cap stable.

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1

lazymofo

1) If you're armor tanking in PvE, you should never - NEVER!! - be without an armor repairer module. And as long as you have an armor repairer, you don't need to pay for repairs in station.

2) A passive armor tank and a passive shield tank are not "passive" in the same way. A passive shield tank will still regenerate shield HP, even if it is at a relatively slow rate. A passive armor tank, however, does NOT regenerate at all. For PvE, I cannot recommend using a passive armor tank. I'm not a fan of the "lets see if I can live long enough" approach to tanking. Passive armor tanking is generally reserved for PvP engagements, as they normally don't last long enough for real tanking to be an issue.

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0

breal d'nie [ Editor ]

It should also be noted that a shield booster gives you your hp at the begining of the cycle while an armor repper gives your your hp at the end of the cycle.

This causes issues for armor tankers against enemies with high alpha's. you need to have better timing to estimate when you will see the dmg.

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reverend drew
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Not quite what I was looking for, but that first sentence is good info. Thank you.

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0

juan forner

If you can shield and Armour tank equally well with a ship then it is completely down to personal preference.

I prefer Armour tanking so I can warp in with hardeners activated and assess the enemy before I have to start running the repairer using the shield as a buffer while I'm assessing.

Shiels Advantages, Spare Low slots can be used for Nano, Overdrive, DPS upgrade (ballistic/Heatsink/Gyro/Mag Field) Armour Advantages, Spare Med slots can be used for Cap if low, AB/MWD, Target Painter, Webber

As stated above most ships are determined by number of slots but if your happy you have the same strength shield and armour then its your choice

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0

anon_me_is

Every race has ships that have certain bonuses to certain ship attributes, Caldari being notorious for their shield tanking ability. Active and Passive:

Passive tanking refers to the use of passive shield recharge to resist damage. As the shields recharge automatically, no intervention is required to tank.

Active tanking refers to the use of shield boosters, armor repairers, and hull repairers to actively replace hitpoints that have been destroyed by damage. Resistance modules can also be used in active tanking arrangements. This reduces the amount of damage taken and thus the amount of hitpoints that needs to be repaired

Active tanking consumes cap (Capacitor) where as Passive tanking you can be cap drained and still be providing a tank.

33.3% is the magic number, drop below this for any shield tanking and your shields are bust. I do believe in RL (real-life) capacitors recharge at a slight faster rate when they hit 33.3% as well?

I think for PvE, if you have another account (anyone only have one eve-account??) use it as a remote repper. if you have 3 accounts, 2 reps, running a psuedo spider tank. Reppers repping themselvers and donating one repper to the lead ship.

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reverend drew
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Yes, sorrow of sorrows, I use one toon. Sue me.

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