Teach Me The Way of Prismatic Shields

[Nobody]

The TLDR Version:
I play PVE combat only.
I have used Bi-weave shields for the majority of my career. They charge quite quickly which allows me to fight almost non stop at a good killing field, say, a compromised nav beacon.
I have tinkered with Prismatic shields and LOVE the punishment they can take but HATE the fact that they take forever and a day to recharge between fights. For all of the Prismo aficionados out there, how do you keep them topped up when fighting continuously?

The rest of the story:

Background info that may be helpful:
I use (and love) my T-10 for much of my combat. A fighter bay and 9 gimballed MCs, all but the size 1's overcharged. make short work of most opponents. My 8c thermal resist/fast charge bi-weaves don't even go down often but when they do, they're right back up. Occasionally I'll need to pop 4 dots into systems to recharge them quickly between combats.
For the chaff users I either fire in bursts between chaff, or demonstrate that a T-10 makes a fine battering ram. Ploughing under a SCB/Chaff spammer or a jouster with a well-timed ram is cathartic by the way.

My experimenting with Prismatics mostly came into play with my Imperial Courier. Loved the speed and shield tankiness of a prismo'd Courier, hated taking a nap between fights or using a SCB charge to replenish.

I don't use a Python 1-2 or FDL because the off-center cockpit and support beam obstructing my view drives me bonkers. I know that many would criticize my love of my T-10 but I would prefer that advice mention ships incidentally and not focus on "get a Conda" or Fly an FDL to fight" etc.

So, all that being said, teach me the way of the Prismo, O great sensei!

[Agony_Aunt]

I would never use Prismatics for long engagements. Even if you slap a load of SCBs on it you're going to burn through the SCBs if you're getting hit enough that recharge is an issue.

Prismatics i'd only really use for those high value kill missions where you are facing a wing and going to get pounded on.

[Reggit]

It's a balance thing - but it helps alot if you play into a ships innate strengths.

My rule of thumb is, if a ship has good base shield strength, I'll fit Prismatics and SCB's...
But if a ship has low base shield strength, I'll fit Bi-weaves (possibly with fast charge depending on the power distributor)

Some ships are kind of 'in the middle' though - so personal preference will also play a part!

[Walrus-Sama]

Prismatic Shields are for fights were you don't want your shield to break while under constant fire.

In order to maintain them in drawn out fights you'll have to use Shield Cell Banks. This somewhat limits what ships to use them on as you will need the Prismatic shield itself as well as SCB's to support it. You can also do a Reboot and Repair while at 0% Throttle to recharge shields back to 50%.

If a Prismatic shield breaks, a general rule of thumb is that it will not regenerate before the fight ends. So escape is generally recommended if that happens.

Prismatic's are generally not recommended for combat ships with low innate shields, such as 'Hull tanks'. Hull Tanks generally prefer Bi-weaves.

The Type 10 is a Hull Tank, however it does have decently strong shields and room for SCB's, so it can use a Prismatic shield tank build. It may benefit more from a strong Bi-weave though, depending on what you want it to do.

Prismatic's can also be used on non-combat ships (traders, etc) to provide more time to survive and escape being attacked, such as during an Interdiction.

[Reggit]

Originally posted by Walrus-Sama:

Prismatic's can also be used on non-combat ships (traders, etc) to provide more time to survive and escape being attacked, such as during an Interdiction.

Good advice

The Elite Wiki actually says this;
"Multipurpose ships equipped for combat usually have less severe power management issues and thus the capability to use a Prismatic Shield Generator in combat, although other modules may have to be downgraded to accommodate it depending on the ship. For traders, however, the Prismatic Shield generator might be a welcome upgrade since most freighters should be able to cope with the power draw, especially since a ship outfitted for trading usually reserves its largest internal compartments for Cargo Racks"
https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Prismatic_Shield_Generator

[Sighman]

Prismos on a mining ship, explorer (undersized), ground mission craft, BGS mission ship, passenger ship, etc. They'll last longer while you're running away.

Biweaves on most combat ships (PVE).

No shields on AX ships.

[ZombieHunter]

Prismatics are really good for under-powered outgunned ships. They will give a trading ship, passenger ship or a mining ship a bit more time to handle a failed interdiction or any other encounter. They are good for these ships. They are quite heavy, though, so I would not use them on a fighter. But they work well on FAS or FGS ships that are trying to tank. Again it depends on the build. Some prefer bi-weaves on those b/c what you lose in strength you gain in recharge. But with prismatics, you gain a lot in strength at the expense of recharge. So in a prolonged engagement if the prismatics go down, best get the heck out of Dodge before it is too late. SCBs are pretty useless on prismatics as well so they do limit your options. They are not useless and are nice for certain builds, but as in all things Elite, they are not a magic solution to everything.

If there is one thing Elite Dangerous does better than any other game (besides the truly awesome sound design), it is ships and combat balance. There is no one magical solution or build. Sure there are metas, but even those can be countered. This is why you see so many different builds in Elite. There isn't a single best build or ship. There may be best for this or that activity but even that is up for debate. Engineering also does not throw things out of balance. There isn't a magical engineering build that will handle every encounter or every build every single time.

I've seen Vipers with CR torpedoes bring Cutters with prismatics to their knees in seconds and I've seen Cutters with simple shields and SCBs out tank and out last multiple fighters and ask for seconds. I've seen AspX ships with engineered MC's that melt other ships in seconds and I've seen FAS and FGS tank builds with nary a shield in sight out tank Condas and fighters and go home to tell the tale.

[Lupinus Rictus]

If you find somewhere quiet, bring your ship to a stand still and reboot, you get your prismos back at 50 % strength, if you didn't already know this, it might help with long npc missions etc.

[Nobody]

Thanks everyone! I wish I could mark more than one post as the answer to this thread, but since I can't I just want to thank you all!

This whole prismo question was prompted by various posts I have read over the years praising prismatic shields, which didn't make much sense to me given the fact that when I use them I either have way too much downtime or end up burning SCBs.
Maybe I missed something, wouldn't be the first time, so I asked the community here. As usual you are all great! :)

I do like the idea of using them on a fast trader (probably why Cutters use them, right?) and appreciate all the tips. Hopefully this thread helps more than just me.

[funkynutz]

Originally posted by Reggit:

It's a balance thing - but it helps alot if you play into a ships innate strengths.

My rule of thumb is, if a ship has good base shield strength, I'll fit Prismatics and SCB's...
But if a ship has low base shield strength, I'll fit Bi-weaves (possibly with fast charge depending on the power distributor)

I do it the other way around, just to be awkward

Actually... that's a lie. I used to...

These days I either run with no shields or bi-weaves if it's a combat ship, a lightweight one for explorers (saved my ass from a few bumpy landings), then whatever fits in a free slot for cargo haulers... I do have a few prismatics in storage... I've never been one for shield tanking in Elite though.

[Sighman]

I will add that a teammate with healy beams completely changes the equation.

My friend flies a corvette with prismos. I fly a Vulture with 1 multi and 1 healing beam. I can fill his shields in about 5-10 seconds.

[XOLiD]

I see no use in prismatic for small/medium ships. Not nearly enough shield bonus over bi-weave to make up for the long recharge time.

[Sighman]

Originally posted by XOLiD:

I see no use in prismatic for small/medium ships. Not nearly enough shield bonus over bi-weave to make up for the long recharge time.

I have a prismatic on my combat Mandalay. It's equivalent to the next shield class up.

[Walrus-Sama]

Originally posted by XOLiD:

I see no use in prismatic for small/medium ships. Not nearly enough shield bonus over bi-weave to make up for the long recharge time.

I put a Prismatic on my Vulture, mainly cause I though a small ship have a 1000+ MJ shield would be funny. It works I guess.

[ждун]

In pve combat high total shield strength is not really important. Resistences and regeneration rate is of much more value. I would prefer shield strength and go prismatic only on non combat ships like miner or trader. Hence on a combat ship I would prefer Bi-Wave with high resistences and low strength. Really low strength on purpose for faster regen. No any heavy duty boosters. No any guardian shield reinforcements. There is no need for it really. Better to use the optional slots for hull upgrades and engineer shield boosters only for resistences.

Consider you go into pve combat with a shield tank that brings like 15k shield capacity or even more. Sure it is like godmode. But it is actually godmode already with 3K shield that regens in like a minute. This will also never break down even in constant action such as power combat zones. However investing too much in shield str. will leave you with weak hull. That means you will hate phasing lasers striking though the shield. For example Spec-Ops in combat zones do that. And you will be much more afraid of losing your strong shield. And therefore you will find yourself taking a break from combat sometimes waiting for your strong but slow regen shield to build up. With a strong hull however, even if that happens and your shield breaks or drops below say 30% you must not panic and run. You can take quite a lot of beating even without the shield, enough to rebuild a fast regen shield without cancelling the fight.

For example look at that corvette build. I use it sometimes in combat zones.

https://edsy.org/s/vqbyo7h

notice that it appears to be a hull tank. But in fact its relatively weak shield is never breaking in pve combat. It actually rarelly goes below 50%. Because it regens so crazy fast. It is usually refilling full between fights. It takes only one and a half minutes to regen from 50% to 100%. And even less than that for rebuild when it would ever break down. With 15K hull this ship can easily survive until the shield comes back up without needing to cancel the fight. It would lose only a few % of hull strength during rebuild time. And the spec ops with their phasing lasers don't bother this ship at all. They barelly do a scratch to that hull. You can tank all 4 of them at same time and even then they don't survive long enough to drop that relatively weak shield.

notice that there are no any guardian shield reinforcement packages.
Nor there are any heavy duty shield boosters.
Notice that the shield boosters are all 0D and not 0A.
That is all on purpose its not because I don't have that available.

The reason is, when I use any of these, the regen rate would suffer significantly. Yes it would also raise the total shield strenght, but I don't really need that.
Another advantage is that you don't need an overcharged powerplant to power all the shield boosters and shield reinforcements. This ship in fact can even effort a low emissions power plant with thermal spread engineering. So it runs cool and hence can use all incindiary round mcs. That would not be possible with overcharged powerplant as it would overheat quickly. Running cool has also other advantages, you are not targeted by enemies in combat zones so much, because when youre cool they can only get a lock on you from like 2,5km or less. So distant ships don't target you, only those that are close.