Pilot Archive
Thread: Importance of Reactor Power
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frightwig
Thu Jun 02, 2005 9:49 am
#1
I have a nice 25k mass, 35k power reactor..
With the 25k mass taking up space I could've used for missles/countermeasures, my reactor drain was 10.5k/35k
My question is, how important is the reactor? Does reactor power do anything to change the performance of the ship or engine, or is it just a number that needs to exceed the "reactor drain" rate from the installed components?
I replaced it with a 12.5k power reactor with only 7k mass, which gave me room to put some overall better components into the ship, as well as load a missle launcher and chaff.
My new reactor drain is only 11.7k/12.5k.
Isn't the 11.7k a constant or static number... kind of making a 35k power reactor overkill?
This might be a dumb question, but I can't find any reason to justify putting that reactor into any ship but a TIE bomber (tons of room for it, and I can power two missle launchers, two weapons and other systems). Maybe it would come in handy for a decimator.. once I finally finish Storm Squadron.
With the 25k mass taking up space I could've used for missles/countermeasures, my reactor drain was 10.5k/35k
My question is, how important is the reactor? Does reactor power do anything to change the performance of the ship or engine, or is it just a number that needs to exceed the "reactor drain" rate from the installed components?
I replaced it with a 12.5k power reactor with only 7k mass, which gave me room to put some overall better components into the ship, as well as load a missle launcher and chaff.
My new reactor drain is only 11.7k/12.5k.
Isn't the 11.7k a constant or static number... kind of making a 35k power reactor overkill?
This might be a dumb question, but I can't find any reason to justify putting that reactor into any ship but a TIE bomber (tons of room for it, and I can power two missle launchers, two weapons and other systems). Maybe it would come in handy for a decimator.. once I finally finish Storm Squadron.
Fuss
Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:09 am
#2
Well if WO3 worked like its supposed to, I suppose it might, I have ran around with WO4 running (which would require a big reactor) but the capacitor drain is too much to bother with it.
Fuss
Peeter-Griffin
Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:41 am
#3
I think reactor drain doesnt matter at all unless it exceeds it. If you have 9999/10000 on a reactor its fine, but if it goes over... im not quite sure about that. I would guess that the more it goes over, the effectivness of everything on your ship will be reduced, capacitor will recharge slow and have less energy, weapons will do less damage, shields will recharge slow and be weaker, you get the picture. But the reactors max drain is how much energy it has, having 20k extra energy in your reactor is useless, it wont make anything more effective, it could help if it gets damaged in combat so if it loses 10k-20k of its max drain you can still be fine but i would say its not worth it. If your reactor gets that badly damaged, chances are everything else will be too so it wont matter. But 35k on a reactor? Wow thats a lot! Save it for your decimator 
POB ships have like 5 million mass capacity so it never matters, i never even passed 1 million on my nova .
POB ships have like 5 million mass capacity so it never matters, i never even passed 1 million on my nova .
Peeter-Griffin
Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:44 am
#4
Oops, forgot to answer the part about the drain of components being static. The answer is yes. It never changes, certain components will drain more than others. My guess is that the shipwright can experiment on how much reactor drain each component has. Thats where your 35k reactor can come in handy for when you get your decimator. You might be able to get a shipwright to make weapons and stuff and use his experimentation points on damage and refire rate. But im not a shipwright and never have been so i might just be being a n00b here. But anyways, the drain on your rector will always stay at 11.7k unless you get new parts.
frightwig
Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:00 pm
#5
Thanks for the info Psiko.. I've seen the droid commands faq before (although I've still never found a reason for using reactor overload and a couple of others).
The only two I use are CSS4, which drains from my capacitor, and WO3... which, like fuss said, is bugged..
So, it seems the new setup I have wouldn't cause any problems. I don't ever use any of the droid commands that drain reactor power, so I don't need excess.
I had always thought that the reactor was some sort of multiplier for shield recharge rate, speed, weapon power, etc.. But it seems it's more of a static or "what's available" rate -- except in the case that you mentioned, where droid commands will drain more power from the reactor.
[EDIT: although I mentioned WO3 was bugged, I'm still not clear on how much reactor energy it drains.. normally it should be +333% drain or something.. but is it bugged in the sense that it uses even less energy than it would operating without that program, while still increasing weapon damage?]
The only two I use are CSS4, which drains from my capacitor, and WO3... which, like fuss said, is bugged..
So, it seems the new setup I have wouldn't cause any problems. I don't ever use any of the droid commands that drain reactor power, so I don't need excess.
I had always thought that the reactor was some sort of multiplier for shield recharge rate, speed, weapon power, etc.. But it seems it's more of a static or "what's available" rate -- except in the case that you mentioned, where droid commands will drain more power from the reactor.
[EDIT: although I mentioned WO3 was bugged, I'm still not clear on how much reactor energy it drains.. normally it should be +333% drain or something.. but is it bugged in the sense that it uses even less energy than it would operating without that program, while still increasing weapon damage?]
Message Edited by frightwig on 06-02-2005 04:04 PM
psikobunny
Thu Jun 02, 2005 1:04 pm
#6
Consider adding Cap Overcharge and Engine Overload to your list of droid programs. With what you have, those are the traditional quad, and make life much simpler. Cap overcharge is very handy when you have CtSS, as it add to total energy (thus more hp go back into your shield) and increases recharge (letting you get a better CtSS sooner). And engine overload? Who doesnt want to go faster, need I say more?
psikobunny
Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:31 am
#7
Excess reactor power is important when you plan to run Overload programs. The level of drain is NOT static when you take those into account. The rare drop reactor you have is nice, but overkill. It needs to be reverse engineered for lower mass, then dropped into an MP ship, but it's not worth squeezing intoeven the largest fighters, when you can get excellent reactors that weigh under 5k mass and with a boost from Reactor overload, can power anything you need.
To learn more about Overloads, check the FAQ, there is an excellent writeup on droid programs there.
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