How do they both work? Whats the difference? Can Guardians use both?

 

Thanks!

generally the shield generators are for tanking as they have the 20% absorb on them (proc I think).

 

I think guardian can use both, as they can spec either tank or dps.

Guardians can use both yes. The Power Generator has better stats on it for hitting things, whereas the shield generator gives you a chance to suffer less damage when hit. (although the chance for it to activate is really low unless you are in your tanking stance). Therefore, ideally you use the power generator when dealing damage and the shieldy thing when tanking hard stuff.

Good to know.

Do you have to activate one once it is equipped or is it a passive thing? Also if it requires activation how do you?

Power Generators exist for classes who can't use shields in their off-hand, they just give stats.

 

Shield Generators do everything Power Generators do (including having offensive stats) and also allow shield procs.

 

Shield chance is: 0% base + 20% tanking stance + shield rating.

Shield absorb is: 20% base + absorb rating.

To be honest, I never seen my shield proc. I am in Soresu stance, so I should have a 20% chance. It should trigger quite often but never???

 

Do you have to do anthing for it to proc or just hit or get hit? Do you need some special item I am missing apart from the shield generator in off hand?

 

Would appreciate any ideas/comments.

 

Thanks.

The shield generator gives a 5% base chance to proc a 20% absorption as mentioned, but a tank class can also use a power generator to gain the additional stat such as Tech Power (using an Aim / Endurance shield as an example here) they offer over the shield generator. This would be useful if you are using a dps spec as it increases bonus damage under the tech stats. Edited December 5, 2012 by CPTMightyWhitey

Do you have to activate one once it is equipped or is it a passive thing? Also if it requires activation how do you?

 

No it is "always on". As opposed to Relics many of which require activation, which can be made easy by dragging your relic onto an empty task bar slot and assigning it a hot-key.

(Some relics are active when equipped and don't need this)

To be honest, I never seen my shield proc. I am in Soresu stance, so I should have a 20% chance. It should trigger quite often but never???

 

Do you have to do anthing for it to proc or just hit or get hit? Do you need some special item I am missing apart from the shield generator in off hand?

 

Would appreciate any ideas/comments.

 

Thanks.

I don't believe there is a visible animation when the shield procs. At least it doesn't for my Shadow Tank. But it should be happening automatically.

I don't believe there is a visible animation when the shield procs. At least it doesn't for my Shadow Tank. But it should be happening automatically.

it's a very, very transparent sphere that lightly glows around you for a quick second. it's very easy to miss.

A couple notes about making use of a shield generator:

 

You have to be in the correct "Stance" to enable the shield. Each of the 3 tanking classes (Shadow/Assassin, Guardian/Juggernaut, Vanguard/Powertech) have one stance that enables it among the 3 or 4 stances available to them. Mouse over your different stance abilities and look for the one that mentions it enables your shield generator.

 

The generator gives you a 20% chance to block damage, which can be further modified up by equipping gear with the "shield rating" stat. Endgame tanks in the best gear can get around a 60% chance to shield.

 

A successful shield does not reduce the damage you take to nothing. It reduces it by a percentage. You can open your character menu and select the "defense" dropdown there to see what your chance to shield is as well as how much a successful shield reduces damage by. While you are levelling, your absorb amount may be small (around 20-30%, so you may not notice that the damage is being reduced, but it is and you will live longer if you're shielding attacks. The stat that modifies how much damage a successful shield is blocked is called "absorb rating."

 

There are multiple types of attacks that enemies in the game can use against you. Force attacks (like when a sage does his mind blast attack on you) and Elemental attacks (like when an enemy uses a flame thrower on you) are not subject to your shield. You can't block them at all. Some enemies rely heavily on these types of attacks and your shield just doesn't help you against them, but the majority of enemies will do Tech (like when an enemy opens up on you with his machine gun) or Melee damage, which can be blocked. So, using a shield generator is definitely good if you want to tank and stay alive longer.