Shield Cell Banks Fully Explained (REPOST)

In this video we're going to be looking at shield cell banks, their use and how to defend against feedback cascade experimental effects
REPOST: I'm a little baffled but somehow the original post of this from a few weeks back got deleted from my account and I have no idea how. So here you go again!
Music
Artist: Miguel Johnson
Album: Citizen of the Stars
Track: Grand Finale
migueljohnson.bandcamp.com/
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[@MrBillUp]

Hands up if you are oblivious to what was just discussed ✋😁 Jesus I have a lot to learn.

[@Exigeous]

Well this is a really technical one for more advanced pilots - don't worry, it'll make sense soon.

[@jasonprice800]

I’ve played this game off and on for years, and I don’t understand 60% of it. I don’t have time to get a PhD in fictional sci-fi rocket science. Lol. It that is another thing that is so great about this game. If you can’t, or don’t want to get into all that, you don’t necessarily have to just to enjoy the game. None the less, I definitely appreciate the work that goes into these videos. Have definitely learned a lot from them.

[@paulferry7791]

I didn't catch a word of it. I know it was English but beyond that I didn't grasp a word of what he was trying to convey.

[@Mimeniia]

@Rod 🤣 Welcum to the club.

[@ssPeto]

It went over my head too but if I was getting into pvp combat, I would take time to learn exactly what he is talking about. As a fairly new pilot with ~250 hours, I am more focused on basics. I really don't think this tutorial is necessary at all for me and trying to tack it on to my current level of understanding of the game would not be helpful until I really wrapped my head around all the engineering and power play modules which precede top level game play. But it's good to know that this level of information is available to anyone who wants to learn it now or in the future. It also is an indicator of the many layers of complexity this game has... Fortunately, top-tier level understanding of those complexities are not required to enjoy the game and that's great. It is said by many that Elite Dangerous is a pond a galaxy wide and an inch deep. I think videos like this one disprove that point! I think it's at least a foot deep. :)

[@Exigeous]

No you aren't seeing double - I'm a little baffled but somehow the original post of this from a few weeks back got deleted from my account and I have no idea how. So here you go again!

[@MiguelJohnson]

Yeah I remember watching this. It's all part of that KZbin conspiracy of disappearing videos and not showing videos on subscriber's feeds. ;)

[@attilabiber]

You've said cancelled too many times. Silly but that's the only thing what can be no-no by the algorithm.

[@VincentVegas]

Bad KZbin, No Cookie! Stop deleting useful videos ffs! :D

[@Devast8r34]

Thank you

[@kaseymathew1893]

Oddesy gives us actual numbers for our shield integrity. Currently, my Corvette can bank from about 25% all the way back to fully charged. It also does several thousand credits worth of heat damage to itself . . .

[@crimsonfoxonusae4472]

>turns into the a small sun Yep it's working

[@KodieCollingsGaming]

Hi i'm new to Elite Dangerous. I've been playing for 3 weeks now and your videos have really helped. Best Elite Dangerous Content Creator on KZbin!

[@summersasquatch]

This helped me with learning double banking. I had no clue until I watched. Thanks

[@SRSR-pc8ti]

Amazing. I am such a nub in ED, had no idea what a cell bank was or how to use. Thanks a lot!😊

[@alexsmith3103]

Man, no idea what you are talking about. Seems I must return to Elite kindergarten :\

[@Devast8r34]

Amazing video, audio, and i love the index up top. KZbinrs are better teachers than teachers.

[@joshuaosborn3737]

Wonderful video CMDR! How'd you get your Throttle and Flightstick position on screen like that though? It looks amazing! As always, thank you for this information. While not an introductory level, I don't think it was intended to be. This video did answer a lot of questions I had about the more esoteric parts of Shield Cell banks

[@Dolph_Vader]

very cool idea putting time stamps at the top with a progress bar.

[@jeramyneeley3351]

I actually use my cell banks to heat me up so I can do bonus damage on my plasma accellorators.......

[@rylertufo7230]

I applaud your efforts

[@nikisepps]

Fantastic! I forget the advice you gave in the comments on the original regarding B class Shield cell banks, what did you say originally?

[@Exigeous]

Yeah, I'm super pissed that got lost - but in short you'd use B class with larger ships and/or with specialized and don't need heatsinks they are great - but generally as you get 5 with a B class but only 4 sinks. B class gives you more MJ overall.

[@irsissz]

Great information CMDR. Do you use a mouse/Keyboard or hotas with FAOFF ?

[@Glovebox-pg2ui]

Just got to colonia and not sure which to pin rapid charge or specialised I've watched your video and still can't decide what's your recommendation from scb I plan to use it on my FDL and cutter

[@MrBishop077]

Greetings, i am not sure if i am missing something. it seemed you were saying that the banks increase your total shields. were you meaning max shield health + the recharge = total shield value? or - just by virtue of having them you also gain a bit of extra shield, much like a booster? srry just trying to clarify, still a very new pilot and much inside the game could use a touch more clarity. Ty o7

[@devildelirious8662]

With double banking couldn't you just set both cells to the same fire group or is that what he means

[@metalmavenmike80]

Cmdr. What is that overlay that shows pitch /yaw/throttle/etc eith those other buttons?

[@crowsnest8295]

8 boster on my vett heat damage is minimal but it adds up after 14 charges

[@Jo-Heike]

I was looking for how to set up the hotkeys for shield banks/fire groups.

[@_JB89]

Personally I dont bother fire grouping them since they need to be used very quickly. I use the keybinds: C- chaff, V- heatsink, B-banks

[@Rykaas]

I honestly have no idea how to use it. It doesn't work either in combat mode nor analysis mode. I have it set in a fire group but it just doesn't do anything

[@nikisepps]

Anyone know if the Thermal Resistance Shields are better than the High resistance shields? Should I be focused more on outright absolute strength or trying to gage resistances better?

[@Exigeous]

Completely depends on the ship and what you're doing. Short version: - Bounty hunting: Biweave with Thermal+Fast Charge, 1-2 HD booster 1-2 RA boosters - PvP: FDL Prismatic, Reinforced+High Cap: 4 HD boosters 1 Thermal (you can also to a biweave on it) - Thargoids: Biweave with reinforced+fast, HD boosters (as they ignore all resistance) On a biweave you want all resists to be about even and hopefully above 35% - prismatic you'd likely be a bit lower but the overall number will matter more and as PAs are the darling of PvP you'll want more base strength vs. resistances. Make sense?

[@nikisepps]

Yep makes sense, didn't quite know the Pvp shield meta but yeah. Thank you.

[@shoutingstone]

Could someone run the example by me again where using a smaller shield generator with a larger Cell Bank leads to more overall shields? ie does the shield Cell Bank 'overheal' you past your shields normal maximum health? And if so, whats the 'actual' max strength of a shield or can you just keep popping Cell Banks like tictacs and stacking the effect?

[@devildelirious8662]

I think he's saying that larger cells restore more mjs of shield per use, therefore giving you a larger pool of shield health to dig into. I don't believe they stack in any way so once your shield is full they have no effect

[@ntme9]

Thanks

[@Wisco_Nick]

This is clearly not the video I needed… I just want to know if these (cell banks) auto engage when needed or not 😂

[@TrangleC]

Same here. I have no idea what those things do and was looking for info on that.

[@paul074bluesky]

@@TrangleC no. U need to set it in firegroup. Not automatic

[@MGlBlaze]

@@paul074bluesky You can also bind it to a hotkey so you don't need it as a firegroup, along with some other utilities. Some are even bound by default, though I forget which. I have shield cells on B, myself.

[@Tschudenizer]

Shield cell banks have charges that are activated manually via a key you define. Once you fire such a charge it injects energy into your shield and thus strengthening it by a certain amount. If Elite Dangerous was an RPG you could simply call a SCB charge a "health potion" for your shield. The downside to using these are that the amount is limited to a few charges, it takes a certain amount of time to activate and apply to your shield and firing a charge will create heat which might damage your ship (hence the mentioning of using heat sinks which cool your ship down). I hope that made sense to you guys.

[@joshuaramsey5212]

Have to set up Fire group's

[@andysherris7949]

I hot bank the first 2 its good for TC on plasma's . After that I double bank with HS (3 times with extra ammo) I can still run 5 boosters using an over charged G5 power plant with thermal spread. If I hot bank to many times It does tend to fry my modules. If I don't get cancelled it gives me 4,111 mj

[@Joseph-lk7il]

What would be the best experimental effect on the thermal booster?

[@Exigeous]

Generally you'll go thermo block depending on the rest of the build, sometimes you may need low draw due to power but usually you need as much thermal as you can if you're going reinforced on the generator.

[@Joseph-lk7il]

@@Exigeous ok thanks, damn just put super cap on it last night, will be heading back to didi today to put thermo block lol thanks for the reply

[@seven9766]

idk. Two schools of thought on that. I generally go for thermal resist shields, then go for 2 resistance augmented, 2 hi cap, experimentals to balance resists or just hi cap. If a ship has 6-8 utilities, take 3 resist boosters and the rest Heavy duty. That gives me slightly more oomph from my banks as well, unless i fight someone with 5 PAs or some other bullshit like that.

[@cmj0929]

Ok, because I thought I had already seen this video lol

[@Exigeous]

Yeah, I'm perplexed as to how the fuck the first one got deleted. I sorta panicked when someone said it was gone and was worried somehow someone had gotten in my channel. Fortunately it was the only one effected.

[@lordwontner3936]

So sorry might be a dumb question but how do u know what your shield strength is then if it doesn't tell the actual mjs 🤔

[@Exigeous]

Great question - this is why you want to use a tool like Coriolis or EDShipyard (I prefer Corolios). It will show you all the full numbers so you'll understand better what's going on.

[@lordwontner3936]

@@Exigeous thanks for this will have a look hopefully it will help 👍

[@AECFXI]

I came here looking for an actually full explanation of how they work and how to use these, not just tips for only the most advanced players... don't get me wrong, I'm happy you made this, but it could be titled better...

[@BengolRaven]

in my PVP FDL I have no shield banks. I run 6 boosters and guardian shield reinforcement. That gives me about the same amount of shield strength as if I were running 2 4A fast charge banks. Without fiddling with heat sinks and the fear of getting cancelled.

[@Exigeous]

Uh, well I'd love to use my Vulture to show you why that's a really really bad idea as your hull is going to be so weak that phasing is going to destroy you. That's a reason using banks is really effective as you can balance out the build much better. For non-PvP that can work fine.

[@BengolRaven]

@@Exigeous yep I have around 1450 hull. Please do FDL pvp build video like the PvP Alliance Chieftain , thank u.

[@BengolRaven]

​@@Exigeous My FDL build, bit.ly/2NIbAQ7 please let me know what can I change.

[@Exigeous]

Well the very simple answer is swap the two class 4 guardian reinforcements for cell banks and swap one booster for a ammo-cap heat sink. That puts your total shields at 5008MJ over 4873MJ and while not a big change the single biggest issue is all HD boosters as your thermal resist, one of the biggest you'll come up against, is awful. So then swap another HD booster for a thermal or rails and PAs are going to eat you alive. That would then lower your overall number but increase your thermal resist to 22% making effectively stronger: s.orbis.zone/5vat - really the only way this would be "better" is against explosive or an all kenetic build which you aren't going to run into. In short there's a reason the current meta is what it is and a reason the top players run it. If you don't want to go with banks due to the higher skill needed then really the only thing I'd have real issue with is all HD boosters, without question you want one of those to be Thermal. Finally realize that virtually all the structured tournaments out there, which you may or may not care about, limit you to 4 boosters as anything more is considered OP and very low skill. I debate that with folks - all's fair in love and war, right? But then again we want to have fun and build skill so I run the builds that would be able to be used in all areas. I also want to run a build that builds my skill which is why I would swap to banks. So again it's not that I'd call it "wrong", just very unbalanced. Oh, and one last thing - swap that class 1 guardian for a thermal hull reinforcement as again you're way light there and wouldn't last long once your shields drop. My guess is you haven't used this against any of the top players yet - I'd encourage you to stop by Level 11 (my player group) or the PvP Hub and find some of those guys to duel with to see how things go. My guess is you'll see why I suggest these changes. Hope that's helpful.

[@BengolRaven]

@@Exigeous Thanks, no I haven't tried this build against good PVPers. I interdict people with Combat builds in Shinrarta and pvp that way. Will get to work on the changes you recommended. As for not using banks, I was being risk averse thanks to your videos I now know how to double bank during combat safely. Also was hoping frontier would include engineering for guardian modules. Thank you for your tips and taking the time to answer my questions. To be honest I did not think you'd respond as I am sure you have a lot going on as a renowned content creator. I really enjoy watching your thorough guides, keep up the good work.

[@MarsStarcruiser]

I love these vids, makes me want to fire up the game again and undock my fully engineered boss cutter

[@AudioDud3]

Okay but this doesn't explain why when I use one of my 5A banks on my anaconda it immediately goes to 2000% heat

[@samstephens7388]

can relate

[@Mimeniia]

Thats why I came here, to figure out wtf im doing wrong.

[@joshuaramsey5212]

It's called you need a heatsink on there buddy or a large or huge thermal venting overcharged laser that will help your heating issue

[@joshuaramsey5212]

It's a given take on certain builds can run thermal spread on some of your modules to help cool your ship if you're running too many Shield boosters that's going to make your ship hot using your weapons and boosting also generate Heat too many Shield Banks the first cell Bank

[@prisonerofthehighway1059]

Audio Dud3 put Thermal Spread on your power plant. That’s a good start. I dislike the Anaconda for that reason. Anything I did in it made it overheat lol.

[@sirlurksalot4454]

What is the difference between Boot time and spin up time?

[@Exigeous]

Boot time is how long it takes a module to power on from off (on your modules tab), spin up time is how long it takes to dump energy into the shield generator.

[@sirlurksalot4454]

@@Exigeous what confuses me is that it says boot up time 25s and I know it doesn't take 25 seconds to boot up or does it?

[@Exigeous]

It absolutely does - most modules boot up in far less time, for example a frame shift drive is 10 seconds. The reason cell banks are so slow is the amount of energy they have to build up to come online, as they then can dump that straight in. It's a balancing issue - as with some builds you won't have enough power to run 2 banks, if they came online really quickly you could just power one off, use the first one then quickly power it off when it was empty, power up the second and bingo, you'd have another bank. By making it take 25 seconds it makes that much harder and therefore not as effective, otherwise huge shield tanks would be even stronger and as it is they are already very OP that would be worse. Make sense?

[@joepiscapo1879]

@@Exigeous my banks take 15 seconds to power back on, i timed it with a stopwatch multiple times

[@Nolsen]

Is it a good idea to have a cell bank on a trading ship?

[@seven9766]

No. Trading ships want just enough shield to run away, you are not in there to fight. Also, a Bank will cost you so much cargo space... There is an Idea to run a shieldless cutter and rely on its ludicrous boost speed and high mass lock factor to outrun shit.

[@Mecryte]

@@seven9766 That is if you're going to use a shield. You also have the option of ripping out everything and replacing it all with cargo racks. Hauling more cargo at the cost of being a sitting duck in combat isn't so bad.

[@Retrocidal]

SO NEW I DONT GET a lot of this ill fly around maybe ill run into person might help with the ropes

[@fuceye]

ah... I just chug back a 6 pack and smoke a couple dubs after that I push the red button and wait for everything to become ok...

[@tacnav4465]

Was looking for how to employ them and when. So, not quite 'fully explained'.

[@duileyah]

I swear this game is so complicated they need to open up a night school or some shit for noobs like me.....currently I am shamed to call myself a commander.

[@alexsmith3103]

Haha yeah it takes time to git gut. Had my second pvp win today. And only because my vette is so over engineered :/

[@bravepart]

*Essential Modules* Laughs in High Resistance Bi Reeees

[@Jazod]

banks make bi-weaves stronger

[@athanoskerensky6778]

Are high resistance biweaves that good? I've been using prismatics sense powerplay came out so I've never tried anything else.

[@Jazod]

for pve yes, for pvp I’d way stick with prismatics Though it depends on the ship

[@Noruzenchi86]

@@athanoskerensky6778 Biweaves are more effective the longer you're in a fight thanks to the regen, but do carry the higher risk of a D rated base shield integrity. With that in mind, i'd modify a biweave for high capacity regardless (with like 1 or 2 resist boosters) so that you have an even ground of both regeneration and enough integrity to make solid use of larger shield cell banks.

[@jeffcapes]

cascades? class 8 prismatic shields? I just came here to get an explanation on how shield cell banks work, might have helped to go over the basics first before getting into super technical end game stuff to count as "fully explained"

[@paul074bluesky]

maan. i dont get a glue what i just heard... just tell me what to put on my python.6A or 5 A . can't be so difficult like choose between Budweiser or Heineken. if Bud then 6A if Heineken than 5A . simple

[@seven9766]

You'll prolly be fine with a 6a shield. Unless you want to run 3 banks, then take all the banks as class 6

[@paul074bluesky]

@@seven9766 Thx mate

[@MrPaulervin78744]

Hey Ze-Gee (say it, then it makes sense). I finally got my balance right for vette. two 7's and a 6. two rapid the other spec. THANKS! two heat sinks at same time.

[@black8art]

What would be most helpful, is a way to understand what each weapon does to it's target and how each defensive tool works to counteract each type of attack! I understand Lasers boil off shiends. I understand how conventional weapons (guns, missiles, torpedoes etc) dent/break hull armour. EVERYTHING ELSE is a feckin mystery! Without an understanding of the PHYSICS of weapons/defense HOW IS ANYONE going to understand combat? It seems combat is only understood by a handful of anally retentive and highly secretive "illuminati"?

[@Exigeous]

Well not really - so there are just a few basic things. There are 3 types of damage, thermal | explosive | kinetic. You'll have resistance to each with a base number that the resistance multiples. Then the damage is calculated based on your base+resist - damage depending on type. Now that's VERY simple - so let me make it even easier. You want at least 25% resistance on all categories with as much base as you can get (that's VERY rough). If you use A rated or prismatic use reinforced-hi cap, if you use biweave use thermal-fast charge. The on A/pris you'd run 2/3rd HD boosters with 1/3rd thermal/thermo - on biweave you'd use 1/3rd HD and 2/3 resistance aug. Now the longer answer - is I'm working on a "Shields Explained" video that will explain all this in very deep detail and the same for hull. Look for that in the next 2 weeks. I'll then cover every weapon as quickly as I can.

[@spiritofnex]

KZbin be weird sometimes.

[@raddysurrname7944]

sometimes... that's an understatement

[@duileyah]

this is complete jibberish to a noob, me!

[@TrangleC]

Phew... I was just searching for basic information on what a Shield Cell Bank is and how you use it. Since there surely must be a lot of other noobs like me out there, searching for tutorials for this demented, cryptic, refusing to explain itself game, I would suggest you somehow make it clear in the video name, if it is advanced knowledge for advanced players. I get that I am not the target audience and that is not your fault, but I just googled for: "Elite Dangerous how to use shield cell bank?" and this was basically the first thing that popped up.

[@semibiotic]

Extactly the same complaint. Only bloody "engineering" mess.

[@TrangleC]

@@semibiotic Yeah. Every time I play it, this game finds another way to make me want to copy it on a disc, just so I can physically shove it down the throats of the people who made it. I wish I had something else to play. The second Cyberpunk 2077 or Baldur's Gate come out and I'm done with this garbage.

[@semibiotic]

@@TrangleC Yeah. They concetrated damn too much on technical side of the game (especially, combat), nullifying skills and other things. Shields are suffered the most. First they insane over-"engineered" them, then refused to fix, adding new imbalance bypass and/or anti-shield weapons instead.

[@semibiotic]

However, I seems to understand, how to use bloody SCBs There are some videos (f/ex. random "How to use Shield Cell Banks"), that somehow show that. Need to check in game, and find where are explicit keyboard mapping for SCBs.

[@Silvad0r]

Came looking for how Cell Banks work. Got math and gibberish. Fully Explained, my ass.

[@96Thompson]

I don't even know what a prismatic shield is. X^) I've only been playing this for a month. All well, this video isn't for me I suppose.

[@Jaktara]

Hey I'm first

[@Exigeous]

There's always one..... ;-)

[@vic20kid8]

wtf you talking about

[@NightOwlGames]

sounds like more hassle than its worth...