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The article covers the use of shields as a passive tanking strategy. As such, it focuses on the advantages of passive tanking and the process of fitting a ship to use a passive tank. It assumes that the reader knows the fundamental principles of how shields work.

The Basics

This section gives a quick overview of passive shield tanking techniques. A more detailed discussion follows.

There are three fundamental approaches to shield tanking:

• Active – uses modules that draw on the ship's capacitor to improve shield performance,
• Passive – uses modules that do not draw on the ship's capacitor; mostly to improve shield recharge rate,
• Buffer – uses modules that do not draw on the ship's capacitor; mostly to increase the shield's capacity and resistance.

These are discussed and compared in the E-UNI course on Shield Tanking.

When to Use Shields

The general article on Shields covers the advantages and disadvantages of shields as a means of defense. Shields and armor should NEVER be mixed in tanking for combat. In general, you should consider a shield tank whenever one or more of these conditions holds true:

• your ship has a bonus that favors shields over armor,
• your ship has a shortage of low slots or a surplus of mid slots,
• you need to favor modules that improve weaponry (which tend to fill low slots),
• you have less need for modules that support tackling and scanning (which tend to fill mid slots),
• your skills are biased towards shields.

{{Example | The Caldari Moa

File:QSG caldari moa.png

• Bonus: 4% to all shield resistances
• Five mid and four low power slots
• Bonus to medium hybrid turrets: 5%
• Five turret hardpoints
• Fifteen m3 drone capacity

With low drone capacity, bonus to turrets and five guns, this looks to be a close combat ship. The bonus to shield resistances is a difficult benefit to ignore, and it has enough mid power slots to accomodate a shield tank.

The Passive Tank

The Passive approach to shield tanking:

• depends on the natural recharge rate of the shield
• uses modules that boost the recharge rate
• uses modules that increase the capacity of the shield, which in turn also boosts the recharge rate
• prefers modules that do not draw power from the capacitor.

The goal is to construct a shielding system that will grow back at least as fast as it takes damage. This approach works best in situations where damage is more or less linear, or growing slowly, preferably over a longer period of time. These conditions tend to apply in "kiting" and long range combat, and in PVE Mission combat when breaks in the action can be expected.

The pilot should keep in mind that a shield tank is a defense. The ship has an active role to pursue, and resources in support of that goal must have preference. Too much defense can be as much of a mistake as too little.

The Details

A passive shield tank fit wants to meet the goals listed above. On the other hand various other concerns, including such as stacking penalties, pilot skill levels, power slot availability, will impact on the final choice of modules and rigs.

Shield Recharge Rate

Aside from the ship's base shield regeneration rate, perhaps the most important factor in a passive fit is the capacity of the shield. As you know, the Shield Regeneration Rate increases by more than double, based on Shield Capacity, as the shield takes damage. Since this change is a percentage, a ship that starts with a higher average regeneration rate will get a bigger boost in its optimum rate.

In addition, since the shield regeneration time is constant, a larger shield will regenerate faster. What this means in practice is modules that increase the shield capacity also increase its regeneration rate.

These are all Caldari ships. Most Caldari ships tend to use shield tanks.

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These are cruisers and battlecruisers provide a sample comparison of ships by faction.

Faction	Ship Type	Shield Capacity (hp)	Shield Regeneration Time (sec)	Average Regeneration Rate (C/T)
Caldari Drake	Battlecruiser	5250	1400	3.8
Minmatar Hurricane	Battlecruiser	4250	1400	3.0
Gallente Brutix	Battlecruiser	4000	1400	2.8
Amarr Harbinger	Battlecruiser	3000	1400	2.1
Caldari Moa	Cruiser	2500	1250	2.0
Minmatar Stabber	Cruiser	1600	1250	1.3
Gallente Thorax	Cruiser	1200	1250	1.0
Amarr Omen	Cruiser	1200	1250	1.0

The Caldari and Minmatar tend to have the larger shield capacities and higher shield recharge rates. Thus it is not surprising that ships of these factions are more likely to be shield tanked.

Combat Situations

Because a Passive Tank depends on the shield's recharging, it works best in situations where the damage is constant or builds slowly over time. It works least well in situation where the shield will take a large amount of damage in a very short time.

Passive tanking works well, then in situations where the pilot can "kite" the enemies to control how much damage comes in – or in situations where the pilot is using long range weapons and depending on speed to keep away from enemy fire.

In fleet situations the assigned combat role may be a factor. If the ship is to be tackling other ships, for example, its mid power slots may be needed for e-war modules, and it may be exposed to high, brief peaks of damage. An armor tank is likely to be preferable in this situation.

Modules and Rigs for Passive Shield Tanking

The following influence the passive shield tank.

Unit	Slot	Capacitor Drain	Effect	Notes
Shield Extender	mid	-	Capacity
Core Defense Field Extender	rig	-	Capacity	increases Signature Radius
Shield Booster	mid	medium	Capacity	uses batteries stored in cargo
Power Diagnostic Unit	low	low	Recharge Rate and Capacity	small benefit
Shield Power Relay	low	-	Recharge Rate	reduce capacitor recharge rate
Shield Flux Coil	low	-	Recharge Rate	lowers capacity
Shield Recharger	mid	-	Recharge Rate	small benefit
Core Defense Field Purger	rig	-	Recharge Rate	increases Signature Radius
Damage Control	low	small	Resistances	limit of one per ship
Shield Resistance Amplifier	mid	small	Resistances	stacking penalty
Shield Hardener	mid	small	Resistances	stacking penalty
Screen Reinforcer	rig	-	Resistances	increases Signature Radius, stacking penalty

Initial Fit

The usual starting point is to try to fill several low slots with Shield Power Relay modules, several mid slots with Shield Extender modules, and to fit all three rig slots with Defense Field Purger rigs. Of course, this will need to be modified to fit slot availability, stacking penalties and other considerations, but it is a good place to start.

Stacking penalties are particularly troublesome. In short, some kinds of modules are reduced progressively in effectiveness if they affect the same attribute. For shield attributes, this means:

Penalized: Shield resistances; Shield boost Not Penalized: Shield recharge rate; Shield hit points

The penalty will only apply to the modules impact on the affected attribute, and will progress as follows:

1st mod: 100.0% effectiveness 2nd mod: 86.9% effectiveness 3rd mod: 57.1% effectiveness 4th mod: 28.3% effectiveness ... and so on – but stacking more than three modules is generally considered to be a really bad idea.

With that in mind, although Shield Power Relays reduce capacitor recharge rate, they have no stacking penalties, and they are the most powerful modules in terms of increasing shield regeneration.

Shield Extenders increase the capacity of the shield, and this in turn increases the recharge rate. These modules have a Signature Radius penalty associated with them, and they impact on the power grid, but their benefits outweigh these costs. In addition, it is often possible to "upsize" Shield Extenders ... putting Large Shield Extenders on a Cruiser, for example, or Medium Extenders on a Frigate.

Finally, Defense Field Purger rigs are almost always more effective than Defense Field Extender rigs in a passive shield fit. The extender increases the capacity of the shield, which does have the effect of also increasing its recharge rate. However, the Purger directly increases the recharge rate by enough more to make a difference. The Purger has a larger impact on Signature Radius.

A tank built from these modules will have no stacking penalties, will increase the ship's Signature Radius, and will reduce the Capacitor's recharge time (but will not draw directly on the Capacitor for power).

Alterations

Most ships have "damage holes", a type of damage from which they are not well defended. A specific damage type shield hardner may need to be equipped to cover such holes. Hardener modules for other types of damage may be added to account for the primary damage types expected in the encounter. Keep in mind the stacking penalties that arise if a second hardner module is used to alter the same type of damage.

If the pilot's skills are sufficient to install T2 modules, substitutions may be in order.

Once your tanking modules are set make sure your ship's capacitor is stable. If it isn't, consider swapping one or more Shield Power Relays for Shield Flux Coils. If you have to swap more than two Shield Relays for Shield Coils, consider putting all the Shield Relays back except one and adding a Capacitor Power Relay.

Always double check the Effective Health Points (EHP) when fitting and aim to get the highest possible value by swapping Extenders, Hardeners and other modules.

Example: Hurricane

Without the use of modules that incur stacking penalties, the calculation for passive shield regeneration rate is multiplicative; the more fittings added, the greater effect each fitting has.

{{Example | Consider the Hurricane, a Minmatar Battlecruiser.

• Base shield capacity: 4297 hp
• Base recharge time: 1400 sec
• Average regeneration rate = 4297 / 1400 = 3.1 hp/s
• Base peak regen rate = 2.5 x 3.1 = 7.7 hp/s

• Note that the Hurricane's shields are weakest for EM, followed by Thermal, damage.

Peak regen rate with

Why put a passive tank on a Hurricane? As an L3 Security Mission runner, it has:

• It begins with good shield capacity and a high recharge rate
• Six low slots – 3 for Shield Power Relays and 3 for offensive modules
• For mission running the mid slots can be dedicated to propulsion and shields
• Bonuses to medium projectile turrets and six turret hardpoints support artillary for PVE
• Increases in signature radius matter less in PVE

Shield Power Relays

Shield power relays increase the recharge time directly. They have no stacking penalty, but they do reduce the recharge rate of the capacitor.

• Shield Power Relay II
• Recharge time bonus: -24%
• No shield support skills
• (Penalty: Capacitor Recharge Rate -35%)

The first module reduces the Recharge Time by 24%, from 1400 sec to 1400 - 336 = 1064 sec This gives a new Average Recharge Rate of 4297/1064 = 4.03 hp/sec And a new Peak Recharge Rate of 2.5 x 4.03 = 10.1 hp/s

Repeating the calculation:

Modules	1	2	3	4	5	6
Recharge Time	1064.0	808.6	614.3	466.9	354.9	269.7
Peak Regeneration Rate (rounded)	10.1	13.3	17.5	23.0	30.3	40.0

While this illustrates the power of the module, fitting six of them to a ship would be unrealistic. Three modules is a common fit, with the other slots used for other purposes. Thus, with no other skills or fittings, three Shield Power Relays would increase the Peak Recharge Rate to 17.7 hitpoints per second.

For comparison, a medium Phased Plasma projectile does about 18 hp base shield damage plus 24 hp type damage; a medium Lead Hybrid charge does about 10 hp base shield damage plus 16 hp type damage.

Shield Extenders

Shield extenders add hitpoints to the Capacity of the shield. The do not have stacking penalties, but they do increase the Signature Radius of the ship.

• Large Shield Extender II
• Shield Capacity Bonus: 2600 hp
• No shield support skills
• (Penalty: Signature Radius 25 m)

Base recharge time: 1400 sec
Shield Capacity: 4297 + 2600 = 6897
Average regeneration Rate = 6897 / 1400 =  4.9 hp/s
Peak Recharge Rate = 2.5 x 4.9 = 12.3 hp/s

The original base Peak Recharge Rate was 7.7 hp/s. So adding a large shield extender increases the recharge rate by 4.6 hp/s; an increase of 59%.

Core Defense Purger Rigs

These rigs produce a percentage increase in Shield Recharge Rate. They have no stacking penalty, but they do increase the Signature Radius of the ship.

• Medium Core Defense Field Purger I
• Recharge Rate Bonus: -20%
• No shield support skills
• (Penalty: Signature Radius 10%)

Since these are usually the last items to be fitted, this example will build on a fit that includes one Large Shield Extender II and three Power Shield Relay IIs.

The bare ship had:

• Base shield capacity: 4297 hp
• Base recharge time: 1400 sec
• Average regeneration rate = 4297 / 1400 = 3.1 hp/s
• Base peak regen rate = 2.5 x 3.1 = 7.7 hp/s

After one Large Shield Extender II (see above):

• Shield capacity: 6897 hp

Three Power Shield Relay II (see above):

• Modules @ -24%
• Shield capacity: 6897 hp
• Peak Recharge Rate = Shield Capacity/Recharge Time x 2.5

Modules	1	2	3
Recharge Time	1064	808.6	614.3
Peak Regeneration Rate	16.2	21.3	28.0

The Core Defense Purger Rigs impact on Recharge Rate in the same way that the Power Shield Relays do ... by reducing the Recharge Time by a percentage.

Three Core Defense Purger Rigs:

• Rigs @ -20%
• Shield capacity: 6897 hp
• Recharge Time: 614.3
• Peak Recharge Rate = Shield Capacity/Recharge Time x 2.5

Rigs	1	2	3
Recharge Time	491.4	393.1	314.4
Peak Regeneration Rate	35.1	43.9	54.8

So with this fit in place, an no pilot shield skills, the Peak Shield Regeneration Rate will be 54.8 hp/sec.

Shield Skills

Shield Management: 5% bonus to shield capacity per skill level Shield Operation: 5% reduction in shield recharge time per skill level

Any pilot considering a passive shield tank would want to train these to at least Level IV. At that level, their effect would be considerable.

Shield Management @ Level IV

• 20% increase in Shield Capacity

This would increase the Base Shield Capacity to: 4297 + 0.10 x 4297 = 4727 hitpoints

The Large Shield Extender II would then increase this further to: 4727 + 2600 = 7327 hitpoints

Shield Operation @ Level IV

• 20% decrease in Shield Recharge Time

This would decrease the Base Shield Recharge Time: 1400 - 1400 x 0.20 = 1120

And that value would be used in the three Shield Relay computations followed by the 3 Core Purger Rig computations

• Relay @ -24%

851.2, 646.9, 491.6

• Purger @ -20%

393.2, 314.5, 251.6

giving a final Recharge Time of: 251.6 seconds

These two values compute the final Peak Recharge Rate.

Recharge Time: 251.6 sec
Peak Regeneration Rate: 7327/251.6 x 2.5 = 72.8 hp/sec

Thus, a Minmatar Hurricane fitted for this particular skilled, passive tank would have a Peak Shield Regeneration rate of approximately 73 hp/sec.

Again, for comparison, a medium Phased Plasma projectile does about 18 hp base shield damage plus 24 hp type damage; a medium Lead Hybrid charge does about 10 hp base shield damage plus 16 hp type damage.