The Orb Shields Of Borderlands
Sat, 03/14/2009 - 10:42
In a video game with scads of guns, itchy-triggered-fingered bandits, and hungry rakks, you're going to want some protection. A solid life insurance policy would be prudent but the premiums on Pandora are way too high. A more accessible option: orb shields.
L3vi, in his diligent research for the Gunopedia, uncovered a handful of these defensive items in the Borderlands game play footage. Some of the tougher bandits you'll fight on your PS3, 360, or PC carry them. If you kill one, he'll drop it as loot.
Like the guns in Borderlands, orb shields are each made by specific brand-name manufacturers. We know that the guns of each manufacturer have unique traits, so I'm betting it will be so with the orb shields too.
From L3vi's screenshots we can see each orb shield has three statistical categories. The first number is next to a shield symbol. The obvious guess is that it represents the overall strength of the shield or the maximum damage it can absorb. So the assumption is that it is the overall strength of the orb shield. Maybe the total amount of damage it can take.
The second number is next to a symbol of a clock. L3vi and I both guess it is related to how quickly the shield regenerates after taking a hit. The third number, …err…I have no friggin’ clue.
At the end of the data screen for orb shields, there's also a mention of level. Most of them are level 6 but this Maliwan above appears to be level 8. As you would expect, the level 8 orb shield has the highest shield rating of the five orb shields I’ve seen.
One other thing we know about the shields: They stack up better against certain weapons than other. (Thanks again to L3vi for finding this). In July 2008, a Borderlands director posted on their forums.
When you walk around the corner and 4 bandits are standing ready to fight, you have to assess them all and take out the biggest threat in the room first. One has a Shock weapon, the other Corrosive. Shock or Corrosive? Kill the Shock guy. But if you are already in a fight and your shields are almost out... kill the Corrosive guy. Why? Because Shock weapons will drain your shield fast. The more shield you have, the more dangerous the Shock weapons are.
Orb shields people, don't leave your bunker without them.
Sat, 03/14/2009 - 13:23
#2
Interesting that as of the
Interesting that as of the recording of that demo the shields didn't have names yet. That's probably why they didn't show off that many of them.
Sat, 03/14/2009 - 14:30
#3
ItalianGerman, the thrid row
ItalianGerman, the thrid row appears to be a gauge, not a clock. Have you ever seen if voltmeter or anmeter? If not, you have definitely seen a speedometer. That's the concept that they appear to be trying to get across. If that's the case then it's gauging (c wut i dad thar?) something about the shield. I'm going to guess that's it's the shield's strength (higher strength = less damage from harmful object). It's improbably that it's a time because higher numbers of the gauge get the green arrow. Generally, qualifying time is like golf. The lower, the better.
Sat, 03/14/2009 - 19:46
#4
oh sorry about that, i was
oh sorry about that, i was just waking up and my vision was kinda blurry lol
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 14:25
#5
3rd guage
it may just be me but it looks like a radar...maybe a radar range, it looks like a ship (boat)'s radar pinging in a circle
Tue, 03/17/2009 - 23:43
#6
Nie. E3 showed us that the
Nie. E3 showed us that the radar is a 360 degree x,y radar. That being the case, your suggestion is unlikely when you take note of the fulcrum of the needle. It's in the corner, therefore, it can't rotate about 3/4 of the way around the circle necessary.
Wed, 03/18/2009 - 12:19
#7
still
it still looks to me like the universal symbol of a ships radar system, and it would kinda make sense that there be radar range mods on certain armors seeing that the game is huge
Wed, 03/18/2009 - 23:20
#8
Yeah
Durandal's right. And welcome to the boards. It's always good to see some new faces...well...profiles. You get what I mean.
Thu, 03/19/2009 - 06:28
#9
Sauce?
I don't recall seeing such a symbol. Can you redirect me to a link?
Thu, 03/19/2009 - 23:42
#10
What?
What are you talking about L3VI? No one said anything about a "Sauce"...
ill say that your right with the shield and it being how much damage it can sustain. what i think with the clocks is that the middle clock is how much time it takes to regenerate the shield after being shot at and maybe the last clock is how long the shield actually lasts for until is just explodes or falls apart lol