Shields

What Shields and Equipment Are

The Shields category covers active equipment: defensive shields, buffs, drones, turrets, repair tools, traps, cargo tools, movement tools, and special utility items. These items are as important as weapons because they decide survival, control, support, farming comfort, and fight timing.

Read this category with Combat States, Shield Absorption, Cooldowns, Ammunition, and Researches to understand how each item works in combat.

How to Read Equipment Tables

Core stats describe the listed effect values: healing, absorption, reflect, movement, helper strength, protection values, or special utility. Cooldown is the delay after use. Active time is how long the effect can remain active. Ammo and ammo cost explain how often you can use it before reloading.

The Requirements column combines player level and research requirements. Use the named requirements to move between related articles when planning an unlock route.

Equipment Families at a Glance

How to Choose Equipment

Choose equipment by the moment where it creates value. Repair Kit and Life Buff help recover or survive, H.E.X handles burst damage, Reflector punishes attackers, I.C.E punishes pursuit, GODMODE blocks dangerous windows, drones and turrets create pressure, and cargo tools support farming or Market routes.

Good equipment timing matters more than pressing every cooldown immediately. A shield used before a burst, a Cleanse saved for a disabling effect, or a movement tool used before a risky crossing can change a fight more than raw stats alone.

For long sessions, also check Ammunition Capacity, Gems, Skill Tree, Weekend Events, and Combat States because they can change how comfortable an equipment setup feels.

Activating Equipment

Equipment must be equipped, loaded and off cooldown. Each family then applies its own active duration and effect. Some effects are immediate, such as a repair or deployed mine; others remain active as absorption, a buff, a drone, a turret or a temporary state. Equipment marked as cancelable can end before its full duration when the linked unit or action is stopped.

Each level has its own base ammunition, reload price, cooldown, active time and research conditions. The same capacity bonuses that affect weapon ammunition can also affect equipment, while dedicated Skill Tree nodes can improve equipment ammunition separately.

Persistent, Deployed and Reactive Effects

Standard, I.C.E., H.E.X. and reflective shields change how incoming attacks are absorbed or returned. Repair, Life Buff, Cleanse and Godmode directly protect the ship. Drones, turrets, mines and collectable robots create map entities or delayed zones, so placement and map space matter. Cargo and Uranium tools protect or recover carried value rather than winning a damage race by themselves.

FAQ

Are shields only defensive?

No. The Shields category also contains active equipment such as drones, turrets, traps, cargo tools, movement tools, buffs, and support recovery.

Should I unlock every equipment family?

No. Focus on equipment that supports your current activity: survival, farming, PvP, group support, cargo routes, or objective control.