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looting shields

If you are stuck in a mission and do not know how to continue, this is the place to ask for help. Missing that elusive Level 10 Shield? Don''t know where to find the lost Ohtori ship? This is the only place where spoilers are allowed!

Post Tue Oct 10, 2006 3:15 pm

looting shields

I didn't think this was possible, but I just looted a shield generator. (A Protector L.F. to be precise.) So, I can confirm that it's possible -- but I haven't figured out the exact conditions under which it's possible.

I can say this: it happened during the "Engage the Rheinland Fleet" battle (in TAU-29). I (yes, intentionally) blasted an ally with torp and catapult, guns blaring -- going for his other gear. Didn't expect his shield to drop! A Class 7 too.... Can't buy those 'til the campaign is finished.

I think it might have to do with the total impact damage. Am I just dumb trippin, and it's already a well known fact that shields can drop?

P.S.: just did the test a couple more times. Got the same shield to drop! So this is verified.

Post Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:37 pm

What mods are you presently running? This doesn't happen in the unmodded game; enemy ships use a different set of shield generators that charge much more slowly than the player's does- which is why they don't drop. Are you, perchance, using a mod that boosts AI shield performance by allowing AIs to mount the PC shield generators?

Post Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:59 pm

No active mods, but mine isn't a clean install. (I have used some mods in the past, that I have deactivated.) Maybe the game has some memory of a mod unsucessfully/unentirely deactivated.

That's probably it: I have been playing with mods for additional ships. (Alas, didn't find any sufficiently conservative ones. Looking for a genuine Junkers CSV.)

Edit: On second thought, it *might* be the fact that I was attacking an *ally* rather than an enemy. NukeIt writes that *enemy* shields don't drop.... If I found a little wrinkle I'll be very pleased indeed. Going to try to reproduce this after a clean install of Freelancer. Doubt it'll work, but here's hoping!

Edited by - breslin on 10/11/2006 5:47:19 AM

Post Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:22 am

That would be a big thing if you found that shields drop in an un-modded game. But if it's class seven you could'nt use it for a while anyway, right? Did you check and see if it regenerates on your ship?

Beware pirates bearing gifts!

Post Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:30 am

I think what NukeIt meant to say is that all AI shields by default do not regenerate, regardless of ally or not. However, it's not usually a big deal for the allies, since they almost never get destroyed unless scripted to be so.

Many mods enable shield looting, so I'd get a clean install and try your experiment again.

Post Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:23 am

Holy Mackerel! It works!

I reinstalled the game, got up my total worth to 1.5mil (just to be on the safe side), and went at Mission 7 with a Crusader armed thusly...

2x Pyros Type 1
3x Pyros Type 2
Catapult
Starkiller

...and I looted myself a Level 7 shield from one of the Razor Wing fighters during the "Destroy the Rheinland Fleet" phase of the mission (after leaving Shinkaku).

Note that Razor Wing is odd in that they seem to regenerate their shields faster than normal NPCs. Maybe they have different shields -- that might help explain why you can loot shields in this case, but not in other cases.

Edit: By no means does the shield drop every time. You'll probably have to try quite a number of times, maybe 10, maybe as much as 20. My superstitous theory (probably totally baloney) is that your chances improve if you make a highly damaging killshot (hence the suggested loadout -- though twin Catapults is probably even better).


Edited by - breslin on 10/17/2006 3:54:06 AM

Post Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:36 am

sounds pretty awesome ill have to give it a go! does anyone know where the freelancer ship size comparison link thing went?

Post Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:28 am

Neat!!! It makes sense that Razor wing's shields regenerate faster, because they would have to to survive.........5 freelance ships against a whole Rheinland fleet.

Beware pirates bearing gifts!

Post Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:53 am

If you scan them, the Razor ships in that mission are actually Sabres. Easily good enough to take on the Rheinland ships.

Post Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:53 pm

Someone needs to brush up on thier ship ID's, there aren't any sabre's in mission 7.
The ships in question are Dagger's and the shield is the class 7 "Protector LF".

**shuffles of with a new headache**

Post Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:51 am

I was thinking mission 10. Oops.

Post Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:25 pm

Now that my attention was called to this, I noticed something a little funny about the shield-regen time for the allies in the first leg of Mission 10.

And sure enough, you can loot shields there as well.

Edit:

You're gonna love the third and final opportunity for looting shields.

In Mission 13, Orillion can be destroyed, but only after you enter the Nomad Jump Gate, and before you've entered the "Dyson Sphere" area. (He re-spawns when you enter the "Dyson Sphere" area, after which point he is invulnerable.)

Orillion *rarely* drops a Protector HF shield.

I'll post a revision of the advanced walkthrough, incorporating notes on ally-killing.


Edited by - breslin on 10/20/2006 8:18:13 AM

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