What hull and shields/deflector you use?

[Upurock]

So I downgraded from Radovich to Sturville and oh, boy: who needs trading when you can go and do Merchants dead drop missions in Extreme sectors for 500K credits? Null-Gravity boosters and MK4 shields/hull that's all you need really. Didn't want to get 'cuda because it's so ugly lol.
Now question is what hull/shields/deflectors you guys have?
I was able to get that Damage Absorber component that turns missile explosions into recharging your shields, so I was thinking about getting the slowest recharging shields with the highest value - Field Impact I think they are called, because missiles will speed up the recharge rate, correct?
Aegis shields from what I heard are nice, but i will have to do a lot of missions for RD, that kind of hate me right now lol.
What about the hull though? I have merc's hull that reduces damage taken from missiles, which should work ok, since I will let missiles explode to recharge my shields, what do you think?
Deflectors I am using are ramming deflectors - I also use Magna Mines and since those have a very short range I tend to find myself right next to capital ships so extra damage from deflectors to their shields is nice, since I am also using neutron beams as broadsides (I keep a shieldbuster turret and ion turret for that as well)
Anyway, what combos hull/shield/deflectors are you guys using?

[InAComaDial999]

The Damage Absorber + Field Impact combo sounds like a nice idea. Throughout the game I have just used standard shields and organic hull plating, though really I should just switch to standard hull plating at this point. I am using EMP Flak secondaries and have two flak turrets, so I pretty much slaughter fighters before they can even dent my shields much less hit my hull. I'm basically at end-game now, I used a Sturville for a long time but I've switched to a Minotaur with all Mk6 equipment and the maneuvering thrusters upgrade, and the firepower is just insane, so there's no point trying to minimax my shields.

I liked dead drop missions too, but I bought the biggest Merchants Guild cargo extender for my Sturville which allowed me to do those 1.5million credit preloaded cargo runs.

[Upurock]

Originally posted by InAComaDial999:

I liked dead drop missions too, but I bought the biggest Merchants Guild cargo extender for my Sturville which allowed me to do those 1.5million credit preloaded cargo runs.

I haven't seen any of those yet. I guess I need to make sure I'm all MK5 or above? I am not really sure how the game scales missions and enemies - read somewhere that it is a game "perceived value" of your ship - so the more expensive the ship is and the higher the weapons the harder/more money missions you get, because game thinks based on your ship's technical data you can handle those situations.
I do have the biggest merchants cargo extender as well, couldn't switch to Sturville from Radovich until sold a bunch of crap from cargo hold lol

[InAComaDial999]

Originally posted by Upurock:

I haven't seen any of those yet. I guess I need to make sure I'm all MK5 or above? I am not really sure how the game scales missions and enemies - read somewhere that it is a game "perceived value" of your ship - so the more expensive the ship is and the higher the weapons the harder/more money missions you get, because game thinks based on your ship's technical data you can handle those situations.

It is a combination of your ship's value and the min/max level of your equipment. If you still have Mk4/Mk5 stuff then yeah you won't quite see those 1M+ credit cargo missions.

This is also why it's important not to get too much ship too soon. A sure fire way to get killed is to burn up all your credits on a bigger ship that you can't equip fully with the best Mk equipment you have access to, because then you'll face enemies that you can't handle. Much better to have an overgunned small ship than an undergunned big one.