Question about Ion's defensive effect...

[Seato39]

My Ship currently has 300,000 shields and is at 100k mass, but I still have a few huge empty spaces to fill I was wondering about Ion's defensive effect. If I have my ion computer and 1 ion module placed and activated on my ship it says "something is affecting your shields.... 17.8% efficiency." I currently have around 4,700 shield capacitors and yet 1 ion module gives that much efficiency?! So I started placing more ion modules, up to 1,000 of them and I noticed that my efficiency went down to 17.3%. So how does this work exactly? You'd think placing more blocks would yield more efficiency, or do effect blocks work similarly to reactors where L shapes are more efficient?

 

[CyberTao]

Make sure to turn the Ion computer off and restart it after changing the number of modules. It's based on the number of blocks your ship has, and while the mass updates as you add them, Effects don't take into account new or removed blocks until they are shut off and restarted.

You'd want about 10% of your ship to be Ion to get maximum effect (60% resistance).

 

[Seato39]

Turning the computer off by hitting r on the block itself? Or just the icon I have of it in my hotbar (already tried that)? Also I guess I should ask should I use that space for those ion modules or just throw in more shield capacitors?

 

[CyberTao]

Hotbar yes. 60% works the same as armour If I remember right, so can over double your shields if you have the power. Make sure all the modules are connected to the same computer.

 

[Keptick]

Uhm.... I have 300k shields on a 4k mass ship... You sure that your numbers are right? Unless you haven't added shields yet of course.

 

[Master_Artificer]

is there a set minimum value for the effect?

 

[Panpiper]

My Ship currently has 300,000 shields and is at 100k mass...

My runabout ship is also 100K mass, and it has well over eight milion shield. It is frankly rather under shielded for a ship of it's mass, compensating for that somewhat by other means. For a ship of that mass, you should not be thinking in terms of thousands of shield blocks, but in hundreds of thousands of shield blocks. Note that 100K mass is the same thing as one million blocks. Most people recommend that a ship have at least 30% of it's mass in shielding which would translate to three hundred thousand shield blocks and fifteen million shield. Of course shield regenerators come out of that, so your actual shielding might be somewhat lower.

is there a set minimum value for the effect?

No. I suppose it is possible to have such a small quantity it might not register, but even a small amount of defensive ion effect should have it's effect. I do seem to recall once seeing the effect displaying as 0.3% (that is 'not' 30%) as I was just starting to put in some of the system. Do remember that you have to activate the system from your hotbar before it will show you anything or have any effect. An effect system you have not activated from your hotbar will have no effect.

 

[Seato39]

Uhm.... I have 300k shields on a 4k mass ship... You sure that your numbers are right? Unless you haven't added shields yet of course.

Yeah got my numbers wrong. My ship is around 100,000 blocks. which translates to around 10,000 mass. Now that I have the defensive Ion effect at 60% efficiency my shields have an effective health around 800,000 (307,982 x 2.6 = 800.7532), I think or am I wrong about that as well? Seeing as damage is reduced by 60% that should be right or am I horribly wrong about all this?

 

[CyberTao]

Well, 50% armour on hull is basically x2 Estimated health, so 60% would be around x2.2 I would think?

 

[Keptick]

Well, 50% armour on hull is basically x2 Estimated health, so 60% would be around x2.2 I would think?

Yep.

 

[Snk]

FYI: You can also activate effects via logic.

 

[CyberTao]

FYI: You can also activate effects via logic.

That only works with instant-effects like push and pull. Effects that are toggled on or off need a player inside the ship, else it deactivates the effect (Think like cloaking and Jamming, which is what they are based off).

 

[Lecic]

Make sure to turn the Ion computer off and restart it after changing the number of modules. It's based on the number of blocks your ship has, and while the mass updates as you add them, Effects don't take into account new or removed blocks until they are shut off and restarted.

You'd want about 10% of your ship to be Ion to get maximum effect (60% resistance).

Doesn't Ion only need 5% mass for 60% resistance? Or was that changed?

 

[jath]

It doubles your shield and your recharge rate (effectively). It's more effective than adding that many capacitators and rechargers.

 

[Lecic]

It doubles your shield and your recharge rate (effectively). It's more effective than adding that many capacitators and rechargers.

It doesn't increase your recharge rate, functionally or effectively. It just applies an armor rating to your shields.