EPTFrom research I’ve done I will show you that getting the shield upgrade is well worth it! I will go thru one example to show how many more hits they can take when you get that amazing shield upgrade! Now, we will test this theory on a unit used in almost every pvz: the zergling!
As we know, some people have complained about the “imbalanced” nature of the zergling in the pvz matchup. However, the shield upgrade can help combat this menace to the toss user.
The zergling has a cooldown of 8 and when upgraded to adrenal glands, has an astonishing cooldown of 6! These numbers are 15ths of seconds. For simplicity sake, let’s assume the zergling we fight has no attack upgrades but has the adrenal upgrade Now lets get into some math yo!
Vs. non upgrade Zealot – 100hp 60 shield, 1 armor
Normal convention tells us that you just take 60 shield, divide that by 5, then 100 hp and divide that 4, and WHOILA we get 37 hits to kill a zealot as a zergling! However, we are too SMART for that. Protoss shield regenerates at a rate of 35/15! Thus the zergling will hit the zealot 5 times, and REGENERATE one shield point before hitting it again. This process repeats a few times. Thus, taking the armor and shield into account, the true amount of hits it takes for one zergling to kill a zealot is actually:
100 hp, 60 shield
-30 shield (6 zergling hits at 0, 6,12, 18, 24, 30), timer:30/15
100 hp 30 shield
+1 shield regen, timer:35/15
100 hp, 31 shield
- 30 shield (6 zergling hits at 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66), timer:66/15
100 hp, 1 shield
+1 shield regen, timer: 70/15
100 hp, 1 shield
- 23 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at 72, 78, 84, 90, 96, 102), timer 102/15
77 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer: 105/15
77 hp, 1 shield
- 23 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at 108, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138), timer 138/15
54 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 140/15
54 hp, 1 shield
-23 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at , 144, 150, 156,162, 168, 174), timer 174/15
31 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 175/15
31 hp, 1 shield
-23 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at 180, 186, 192, 198, 204, 210) timer 210/15
8 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 210/15
8 hp, 1 shield
3 hits to death!
Thus, the true amount of hits it takes for a zergling to kill a zealot is 39 hits! Using this same logic, we can see the hidden effects of the shield upgrade – SHIELD REGENERATION! Each time you get regenerate a point in shield, you also get the shield upgrade as a damage reduction as well! To the naked eye a zealot with a shield upgrade would take 60/4+100/4= 40 hits to kill now! BUT we know better…
100 hp, 60 shield
-24 shield, (6 zergling hits at 0, 6,12, 18, 24, 30), timer:30/15
100 hp, 36 shield
+1 shield regen, timer:35/15
100 hp, 36 shield
-24 shield (6 zergling hits at 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66), timer:66/15
100 hp, 12 shield
+1 shield regen, timer: 70/15
100 hp, 13 shield
- 10 hp, -13 shield (6 zergling hits at 72, 78, 84, 90, 96, 102) this is where it gets a bit more complicated because at one hit, the zealot gets the benefit of both the shield upgrade and his natural armor upgrade! timer 102/15
90 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer: 105/15
90 hp, 1 shield
- 22 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at 108, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138), timer 138/15
68 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 140/15
68 hp, 1 shield
-22 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at , 144, 150, 156,162, 168, 174), timer 174/15
46 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 175/15
46 hp, 1 shield
-22 hp, -1 shield (6 zergling hits at 180, 186, 192, 198, 204, 210), timer 210/15
24 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 210/15
24 hp, 1 shield
-22 hp, -1 shield (5 zergling hits at 216, 222, 228, 234, 240), timer 240/15
2 hp, 0 shield
+1 shield regen, timer 245/15
2hp, 1 shield
1 hit to death!
Thus while conventional wisdom has your zealot surviving 40 zergling hits, in reality it is 42!!!!!!!!!! This number represents about a 7.6 % increase in the actual life of your zealot {(42-39)/39)} and a 5% jump from the former calculation! Note that this does not take into account the aspects of having multiple zerglings attack you at once, or micromanagement with your own zealots, but it at least gives us a rough estimation of how much stronger you are after the shield upgrade!
Other reasons to consider this upgrade pvz:
1. For units with more shields (dragoons, reavers, ARCHONS), this hidden disparity will jump even greater!
2. All of your buildings will take more hits from zerglings (CANNONS ANYONE?)!
3. With the upgrade, perhaps you can utilize SHIELD BATTERIES more effectively.
Well, I hope these reasons give you more reason to upgrade shields! This has always bothered me and I finally did the math for one specific, but very relevant example. If you guys want to do it for every situation and unit you can, but I think this gives enough reason for tosses to consider it.
Discuss! Did I do anything wrong? It’s late..
