Can I get my shield explained to me?

[steeleswasser]

I've only been playing 2 weeks, so I don't really understand all the stats yet.

I picked up a 494 Rhino shield last week. I equipped it since it was better than my current shield. But after two week, I have found a better shield. So I did some looking on the forums about shields, and it seems that most shields only have a 2000 point capacity. But this one has 4010 with fire resistance and one armor plate. It's only a rare (green) item, and i just picked up a epic (purple) shield and it has 2471 capacity with 2 armor plates and damage resistance.

I guess what I'm asking is: Do I understand this right that my tier 2 shield is way better than the tier 4?

I'll try and attach a screenshot.

tier 2 shield.jpg
tier 4 shield.jpg

[SirServed]

Shields basically work on a 6-point system. This means if you were to categorize their attributes from 1-3 with 3 being Good, each shield type in the game will add up to 6.

There are three factors which determine the type of shield you're using. They are Capacity, Recharge Delay, and Recharge Rate. Capacity is how much damage the shield can sustain before it breaks. Recharge Delay is the time that needs to pass without taking damage before your shield will begin to recharge. Recharge Rate is the percentage of your shield that will regenerate per second. Armor plates on the shield itself are determined by the shield's rarity. White/Green have 1, Blue/Purple have 2, Orange shields have 3.

Respark - Capacity: 1, Recharge Delay: 3, Recharge Rate: 2

Hurricane - Capacity: 1, Recharge Delay: 2, Recharge Rate: 3

Tachyon - Capacity: 2, Recharge Delay: 1, Recharge Rate: 3

Rebel - Capacity: 2, Recharge Delay: 3, Recharge Rate: 1

Ironclad - Capacity: 3, Recharge Delay: 2, Recharge Rate: 1

Rhino - Capacity: 3, Recharge Delay: 1, Recharge Rate: 2

Shields with a Capacity rating of 3 tend to be close to double those with rating 1. Rating 2 falls somewhere in between.
Recharge Delays with a rating of 3 have a timer of 3 or less seconds. Rating 2 is 6 seconds and 1 is 9.6 seconds.
Recharge Rates with a rating of 3 have an 80% or higher value. Rating 2 is 40% and 1 is 10%.

[SirServed]

In regards to that shield specifically, I've run into several players that end up with Rhino shields with ridiculous capacity values. I would guess it's just random.

[steeleswasser]

Does the capacity warrant me keeping it?

[DrTogobban]

Hurricane - Capacity: 1, Recharge Delay: 2, Recharge Rate: 3

Mine's Capacity 3, it's the largest capacity out of all the shields I've gathered for months including Rhino and Ironclads

[DrTogobban]

Does the capacity warrant me keeping it?

depends on your play style. If you take a lot of sudden damage and don't run away or crouch much, a higher cap may be better. If you hit and run, a lower cap with faster recharge might be ok, or if you want to use skills that trigger when your shield breaks, you'd want one that can hover around the break mark.

[Tex_Arcana]

You are going to get better shields as you level.
Just watch for them.
That's all you need to know.
There's barely anything worth keeping during the early stages of levelling (from what I've seen to ego 3K).
Save your Arkforge like a miser with iron fists.