Subset Games Forum

zzandrio wrote:Yes, it goes down in the first volley, but it also blocks that first volley. You dont have to worry about stealthing or anything till the second volley. It also prevents boarding while it is up. In my opinion it is far superior to even the weapon preigniter.

You've just said it's same as cloaking. Except that cloaking recharges while Zoltan shield does not. Cloaking blocks all damage, Zoltan shield only 5 of it. Plus cloaking does not block one augment slot.
Look at them again and think about it again...

It really shines when combined with cloaking though. The Zoltan Shield denies boarders. Couple it with a Stealth to dodge the first volley (keeping your Zoltan shield) and you have enough time to destroy their teleporter or their ship entirely without dealing with their boarders at all.

Agent_L wrote:

zzandrio wrote:Yes, it goes down in the first volley, but it also blocks that first volley. You dont have to worry about stealthing or anything till the second volley. It also prevents boarding while it is up. In my opinion it is far superior to even the weapon preigniter.

You've just said it's same as cloaking. Except that cloaking recharges while Zoltan shield does not. Cloaking blocks all damage, Zoltan shield only 5 of it. Plus cloaking does not block one augment slot.
Look at them again and think about it again...

You can't compare it to cloaking, as cloaking is not an augment. Of course cloaking is better, it is a ship system that takes power to run. Cloaking is better than every augment. That said, combined with cloaking, you take no damage for a long period of time at the start of a fight. The zoltan shields only weaknesses are drones and asteroid fields.

zzandrio wrote:You can't compare it to cloaking, as cloaking is not an augment. Of course cloaking is better, it is a ship system that takes power to run. Cloaking is better than every augment.

Yes, I can compare it to an augment, just like I can compare weapons to drones. They both do damage, just like cloaking and supershield block damage and teleporting. They affect my gameplay in a same way, so they're basically same thing for me. It's just different method of payment (reactor power vs augment slot and crappy ship layout) for the befit of damage block.

It is futile to compare Stealth to Zoltan shield for two reasons mainly:
- they are not mutually exclusive
- they serve different purposes
- Zoltan Shield uses no reactor energy, Stealth does
- there is an enormous cost difference.

Zoltan Shield sells for what? 40? So that means 80 Scraps base value. And you start with it.

Stealth requires a starting investment of 150, + upgrade costs + reactor costs/occupied slots + Augment (Stealth Weapons) cost/occupied slot.

Fully upgraded Stealth's scrap value is about 5x the Zoltan Shield's scrap value, not to mention the occupied reactor slots.

DaemonX wrote:There is nothing in the game better than pre-igniter. That thing is the closest thing to an I-WIN button that FTL has.

Depends on your weapons... If you have a Burst Mk3 and a Glaive beam, then yes the preignitor is the best possible complement to that. But if you use a couple of fast Ion cannons to bring the shields down before your other weapons can get through, then the preignitor is only worth the 60 scrap you can sell it for.

Has anyone ever had 2 Zoltan Shields? Is that even possible? I know you can buy them (have seen available) and obviously start with one. Do the effects double up?

Addicted wrote:I know you can buy them (have seen available)

Are you sure about that? I certainly never have. Do you run a lot of mods?

Kaerius wrote:

Addicted wrote:I know you can buy them (have seen available)

Are you sure about that? I certainly never have. Do you run a lot of mods?

No mods, and almost certain I've seen one in the shops.

e: Now doubting myself...

Doesn't a game event have you observing Zoltan fleet exercises and noting their shields' weaknesses? I believe beam weapons are one. I think even Anti-Bio beams have an effect.