Large Disruption Shield (Apocalypse)

The Large Disrupter Shield is identical to the Small Disrupter Shield, only it's larger in size and capacity. It is now 3×3 option module slots in size but provides only 400 rechargeable hit points.

Due to its size, it's not as favoured as its smaller cousin for use on anything but the Annihilator.

Please refer to the Small Disruptor Shield section for more generalized information on the vehicle shields in general.

Large vs. Small Shield Efficiency

The Large Disrupter Shield appears to be designed to be fitted in pairs on the Annihilator, which is also the only ship that can make maximize the efficiency of the Large Disrupter Shields in combination with 3 small shields or a variety of other 2×2 optional equipment.

On any other ship, the large shield is extremely inefficient. A large shield will take up 9 equipment slots, while two small shields will only take up eight and provide equal shielding. On ships with 4x4 slots, a large shield will only offer 400 extra hitpoints and any leftover room can only be filled with minor accuracy modules. On the other hand, four small shields will fill all 4×4 slots, but provide 800 points of shield energy. Twice as much as a single large shield.

Why do the large shields work best on the Annihilator when it's inefficient on almost every other ship? See, the Annihilator has a 5×6 block of optional module space. It has an odd number of rows compared to other ships. That means it can fit 6 small shields maximum with a 1×76 gap, or fill all spaces with 2 large shields and 3 small shields.

6 × 200 = 1200

vs.

(2 × 400) + (3 × 200) = 800 + 600 = 1400

The only benefit of using 6 small shields is that you have that free 1×6 strip that can fit a variety of small or medium accuracy modifications. Due to the nature of the weapons that you will fit on the Annihilator, accuracy upgrades are rarely necessary.

With the 2L and 3S combination: If you replace one small shield with an X-Com advanced accuracy mod, that will give you the same amount of shield energy as the ×6 small shield option, but with vastly superior accuracy modification. Or if accuracy modification isn't your cup of tea, then a Missile Evasion Matrix or teleporter can be used. The flexibility that of a 2×2 slot is certainly much more robust than a 1×6 strip.

The only other ship that may benefit from the Large Shield would be the Explorer. It can fit only two small shields and a pair of medium accuracy modifications, or one large shield and three small accuracy modifiers. As Accuracy modifiers of either caliber aren't terribly effective, it doesn't matter which setup is used as you'll always get a maximum of 400 shield points.